Meet Those Who Create
the ‘Magic’ behind Magic Bus

Formerly Chief Operating Officer of Cox and Kings and Founder of Cleartrip.com, Matthew comes with an extensive experience in senior positions in the corporate sector and an intuitive understanding of the needs of children and youth in India.

In 1999, Matthew established Magic Bus, and he has grown the organization from an informal, volunteer-led activity for disadvantaged children, into a leading organization working in the area of mentoring some of India’s poorest children and young people from education to livelihood. Matthew has been elected an Ashoka Fellow, a TED Fellow and more recently an ACSEP Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (ACSEP) Fellow. In 2007, he was awarded an MBE for services to children in the Commonwealth.

Jayant is an industry veteran with over 28 years of extensive experience in setting up and driving successful and scalable businesses for MNCs and startups. An entrepreneur for the last three years, with a strong corporate background, Jayant has diverse experience of working in the technology, distribution & enterprise segment. He has comprehensive exposure to operations and business development, both in strategy formulation as well as at the implementation level. In his recent entrepreneurial avatar, he has co-founded two ventures. Both these ventures are strongly technology led, one is a social venture focused on providing affordable healthcare for the less privileged and the other is an aggregator platform for commercial transportation. During his corporate stint, he has worked with MNCs namely Motorola Solutions (Enterprise Mobility biz) and Novell as the CEO for India and ASEAN region. He has been a part of senior management teams, both in India and in APAC, and also been a part of Global strategy teams.

Jayant is a mechanical engineer, with a flair for scaling up and driving large business operations. He is an avid believer in the benefits of Yoga and plays tennis and badminton.

With over 22 years of diverse experience in corporate, management consulting, and the development sector, Nikhil brings a wealth of expertise in strategy, operations, and large-scale transformation programs. As a consultant with the Big-4, he collaborated with 40+ corporate clients across sectors like Automotive, Engineering, Industrial Products, Consumer Products, and Healthcare.

At Magic Bus, Nikhil leverages this experience to develop scale-up strategies, manage strategic initiatives, oversee organization-wide performance, and conduct impactful external research. His unique perspective and skill set consistently deliver exceptional results, driving meaningful impact.

Nikhil holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from VJTI - Mumbai University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad.

Beyond work, he is an avid fitness enthusiast, enjoying activities such as music, cycling and holds a black belt in martial arts.

Sandhya is a development professional from Tata Institute of Social Sciences with 26 years of work experience in progressive levels of programme management and implementation across local voluntary agencies, government agencies, bi-lateral & multilateral agencies and international voluntary organizations.
Working on issues related to children with large multicultural and multisectoral teams and government liaison to influence emergency response are key aspects of her work in the sector till date.

Rajaram has completed MSW from Nagarjuna University and M. Com from Andhra University. He brings nearly 20 years of rich experience in development sector focussing on planning and implementation of large scale programmes in education, early childhood, livelihood and health domains for underprivileged and marginalised communities in 14 states in India.

Prior to joining Magic Bus, he worked with Nandi Foundation as Head - Operations. He was involved in handling various large scale projects like "Nanhi Kali", "N Star", "Nanhi Kali Graduate School", "School Management Committee", "Champion Trail Project" among others. His past work especially with children and adolescent most recently with Nanhi Kali and on driving government partnership is hugely valuable to Magic Bus. Rajaram has also been associated with Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) where he focused on livelihood / skill development programme and Byrajju Foundation where he focused on programmes for providing primary healthcare, sanitation, school infrastructure and safe drinking water in rural areas.

Preetha is Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Bangalore University. Other than this she has done her PG diploma in Child Rights School and Classroom Management from Lund University, Sweden. She has more than 30 years of rich experience in curriculum & content development, designing large scale sustainable remedial program, large scale training plan, modules and material , teaching and learning aids, tablet based learning plans and content and development of M&E tools.

Preetha's recent employment was with Janyaa Foundation, as CEO. She has worked with organizations like Center for Science of Student Learning and Naandi Foundation where she conceptualized and strategized Naandi's educational portfolio. Under her assignment with Nanhi Kali she strategized multi grade and mono grade remedial learning methodology and Liaison and finalized technology based learning program. Prior to these, she worked with National institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, The Concerned for Working Children (CWC), Dr. Reddy Foundation for Human and Social Development etc.

A growth hacking specialist with over 25 years of experience, Priti excels in strategic brand positioning, thought leadership, and digital campaigns, enhancing Magic Bus’ visibility and reach. She has spearheaded innovative initiatives, creating new revenue streams while expanding brand awareness.

Priti’s leadership fosters strategic partnerships, amplifying Magic Bus' mission. Her storytelling ability crafts powerful narratives that resonate broadly, vital in today’s social sector. Previously, she held senior roles at The Walt Disney Company, Viacom18, Cosmos Maya, Topps Entertainment, Jio Embibe, and Piramal Foundation, contributing to business as well as brand growth and educational content aligned with NEP 2020.

Priti is an alumnus of IIM Kolkata, the University of Cambridge, and Stanford University. Recognized as a thought leader, her award-winning campaigns have earned accolades from Promax India and PMAA Asia Awards. A passionate advocate for holistic living, she is a Kathak dancer and hosts the podcast “Deal With It,” exploring new-age parenting and generational change.

With over 26 years of experience, Philip is an expert in designing and managing strategic programs and policy interventions in various areas such as livelihoods, entrepreneurship, social inclusion and development, local governance, and poverty reduction programs. He has worked with Government bodies, the United Nations, and Non-Governmental development organizations. Philip's competence extends to capacity building, curriculum and guideline development, and building ecosystem support mechanisms for development work. He has worked on flagship programs for different state and central governments, including Kudumbashree, Govt of Kerala, and the National Rural Livelihood Mission, Govt. of India. Philip has also collaborated with larger organizations such as the Self-Employed Women Association (SEWA) and the United Nations Development Programme.

Philip holds a Postgraduate degree in Social Work from the University of Madras, an LLB, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from IIM Shillong.

Aarthi comes with more than 2 decades of work experience in corporate, education and development sector. Started development sector career with Dr Reddy’s Foundation and has been associated with leading organization in designing and developing livelihood programs for diversified groups and driving implementation of operational strategy at the grass root level. She comes with a hands-on experience in Entrepreneurship Development Program. She has also been associated in policy making, business continuity plan, donor management, liasoning with Government and budgeting.

She holds a bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Jammu University, Post-Graduation in Hotel Management from IHM Chennai and Post-Graduation in Business Administration

Aarthi is a voracious reader, enjoys travelling, loves to explore new destinations, loves to spend time with her children and her pet and is a great foodie.

Rajesh holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical & Electronics from Madurai Kamaraj University & Diploma in Management. With nearly 30 years of professional experience, Rajesh brings a deep understanding of both the social and corporate sectors. Over the past six years, he has concentrated on social sector fundraising across diverse streams, driving impactful partnerships and initiatives.

Prior to his transition to the social sector, Rajesh held senior roles in IT multinationals, including Oracle, Novell (now OpenText), and TechPacific (now Ingram Micro). His expertise spans donor management, direct sales, partner and distributor management, alliances, business development, and sales process optimization. Rajesh’s last role was as Chief Resource Officer at Smile Foundation.

Dr. Aheibam Swarnamayee Das holds a PhD in Management and Administration and a postgraduate degree in Biotechnology. With almost 20 years of experience in the Impact Sector, she is a highly result-oriented professional. Her areas of expertise include strategic partnerships, establishing Government liaison, overall program planning and designing, budgeting, CSR linkages, grant making, and NGO ecosystem management.
Before joining the Impact Sector, Dr. Das worked for Procter & Gamble, a leading corporate MNC. She has also worked with organizations such as the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), Azim Premji Foundation, National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), and United Way of Bengaluru.

Dr. Das is an avid reader and enjoys exploring new cultures. She also loves to cook and garden in her spare time. Most importantly, she cherishes spending quality time with her family.

Devender is a social sector professional with expertise in designing, implementing, evaluation of sustainable CSR programs in the area of on farm, off farm & non farm Skilling. He holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel management & has completed an executive MBA from Vinayaka Missions University.

He has overall work experience of over 18 years in the development sector & Prior to joining Magic Bus he was associated with Swades Foundation, ICICI Foundation, Centum Learning & IL & FS Skills.

Alpa is a developmental professional with more than 2 decades of work experience. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai University and an Executive MBA from IIM Kozhikode. She started her career as a Programme Coordinator with World Vision of India, was the National Programme Head with Concern India Foundation and prior to joining Magic Bus, was with Sonrisas de Bombay, a Spanish organization as the Executive Director.

Alpa's skills are in Programme Design and Implementation, Donor Management and Servicing, NGO Due Diligence and Empanelment and Grants Partnership Management.

Alpa is a nature and wildlife lover, extremely passionate about travel especially road trips and is a foodie, addicted to regional cuisines.

Arun has more than 43  years of experience. He has worked in corporates for 30 years at senior management positions, in India. Arun’s last assignment was in Accor as Country Manager, India where he scaled up the organization into a large player in the loyalty space.

Arun shifted to Magic Bus 13 years ago with a sense of giving back to the society and used his strong understanding of building and managing partnerships to build robust and large-scale collaborations between Magic Bus and Industries. Arun is a resident of Mumbai, India and regular in the speaker circuit in the Social Sector. Arun has attended Harvard Business School Spin program.

Dhanashri is a graduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, she has nearly three decades of rich experience working on gender, health, and micro-finance and adolescent empowerment. A large part of this experience has been with the UN, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) leading the gender and rights portfolio and overall UNFPA programme coordination. Establishing a robust body of knowledge on an emerging issue of gender biased sex selection has been her specialisation since 2004, along with deepening understanding of interventions that work to empower young women and adolescent girls. 

Dhanashri worked with the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India on micro-finance and women’s empowerment. Beginning her journey at the grassroots, Dhanashri has played many roles in capacity-building and programme design to ensure interventions are need based and community led, invest in adolescents and young people, especially girls, and strengthen stakeholder ownership and organisation building. 

Gitanjali has done her Post-Graduation in Rural Management, from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. She has 19 years of work experience in development sector. Her most recent employment was with Transform Rural India Foundation as Lead (Partnership & Grants).

Previously, she has worked with organisations like National Foundation for India, PRADAN, CSR- Usha Martin Ltd, BASIX, Indo-Swiss NRM Programme.

Ipe will head the Retail function and will help define the roadmap for our Individual Fundraising vertical.

A Physics graduate from Kerala University, Ipe brings along 20 years of work experience in the field of Individual Fundraising, Donor Development & Retention, Operations and Customer Service.

He has worked with organisation such as Direct Dialogue Initiatives, Amazon Development Centre, Bounce,Sightsavers India, Stayzilla, Capital One and Allianz Cornhill.

Monica is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has 25 years of experience in the field of Finance and Accounts.

She has worked in a diverse range of industries including IT, Aviation, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Textile amongst others: in Indian companies and MNCs, in India and abroad. Apart from the core finance expertise, her skill set also encompasses Business Planning and Analytics, Process Optimization, Budgetary Control - Forecasting and Analysis, Strategy, Decision Support and Advice.

Her last employment was with Allianz Technology India as CFO.

Monika has over 26 years of experience in the entire gamut of Human Resources, of which 10 years has been in the leadership role. She has experience in working with ITES, IT, Language, Technical Writing, Fintech and Engineering industry.

She is a hands on professional with experience in Employee Life Cycle Management, talent acquisition, on-boarding, talent management, manpower planning, HR budgeting, payroll and compensation, performance management, Organization design, competency framework, succession planning, learning and development, process design, system development, health and welfare benefits, employee relation & retention and strategic HR.

Monika's last employment was with Ingenico Group as Director - Human Resources and prior to Ingenico, she has worked with US multinational Lionbridge Technologies, Indian conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and Onida Finance.

Santosh has done MBA and Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development. He has also done one-year program in Strategic Management from IIM Calcutta. Santosh has more than 25 years of experience in designing and managing research, evaluations, M&E systems and knowledge management initiatives in large scale programmes. For the last 12 years, Santosh has been heading M&E and research vertical at country level for different organisations.

Jonali Saikia has 27 years of experience across social and corporate sectors, with experience in strategy, sales, entrepreneurship, capability development and leading livelihood programs. Jonali has been an entrepreneur, having started Heeya Social Enterprise, a social enterprise based on a collective model of entrepreneurship for women artisans in rural areas and created a market for local handwoven textiles and apparel. She has worked with Labournet to strategise, design and develop various entrepreneurship models for women.

Prior to this, Jonali was working with Global multinational Accenture as Regional Lead- APAC, overseeing learning delivery across the region and also delivering leadership programs across India and South East Asia. She has also worked with other reputed companies such as America Online, Kelly Services and NIIT in communications and sales. Jonali has been a visiting Faculty for Entrepreneurship with National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bengaluru.

Jonali is an MBA from Gauhati University and has an Executive MBA from IIM Bangalore.

Harish holds a B-Tech from IIT-BHU and an MBA from FMS - Delhi University. Prior to Magic Bus, he worked for over 3 decades in the IT Sector in India and International Markets, where he held significant roles in Sales & Business Development, Segment Leadership, Partnerships & Alliances, Key Account Management at major firms like Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, Lenovo, IBM & Wipro.

Transitioning to the Non-Profit sector, Harish is driven by the potential for Magic Bus to contribute to India’s Techade by empowering India’s underserved youth with Digital Skills, enhancing their employability & household incomes, thus helping to bridge India’s digital divide. Harish enjoys leisure time reading, revisiting English classics and studying Indian Philosophy

Ganeish is a Chartered Accountant with 23+ years of experience in financial management, compliance, and process optimization across corporate and nonprofit sectors. Known for streamlining processes, reducing underspends, and leveraging tools like Power BI, Ganeish drives transparency and operational efficiency.

His prior roles at organizations like Keppel Fels, Ipsos Research and Xoriant Solutions showcase his expertise in Finance, MIS, Regulatory compliance, and Automation. As strong leader, he has successfully guided teams across locations, fostering accountability and collaboration.

Ganeish enjoys playing cricket, listening to music, and reading books, fostering creativity and relaxation beyond work.