Shahrukh Usmani

Business Head

Shahrukh’s appointment as Business Head at UpBuild Global Technologies Pvt. Ltd. heralds a new era of innovation, driven by his unique strength in navigating Project-to-Product-to-Market strategies. Entrusted with spearheading UpBuild Academy and cultivating a globally competitive workforce, Shahrukh brings to the table a wealth of experience and a proven track record in the dynamic realm of EdTech.

At Coding Ninjas, Shahrukh showcased exceptional leadership, steering the team towards success by leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Copilot and Gen AI. His adeptness in creating a state of Flow, where creativity and productivity converge, enabled the execution of effective sales strategies and solidified Coding Ninjas’ position in the market.

Moreover, Shahrukh’s leadership ethos is deeply rooted in a profound understanding of What Matters The Most – empowering learners and shaping the leaders of tomorrow. His unwavering dedication to this cause has been the driving force behind his remarkable achievements, including transforming Extramarks’ revenue from a modest USD 0.1 million to an impressive USD 30 million within a year and achieving a remarkable milestone of USD 1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with Bloombrain.

As a graduate of Amity University with a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering, Shahrukh embodies a blend of technical acumen and strategic vision. He thrives in environments that value innovation, collaboration, and a relentless pursuit of excellence – qualities that resonate deeply with UpBuild’s ethos.

With Shahrukh at the helm, UpBuild is poised to redefine the landscape of EdTech. Leveraging Copilot, Gen AI, OKRs, Flow, and a steadfast commitment to What Matters The Most and Project-to-Product-to-Market strategies, UpBuild is set to inspire, innovate, and elevate, leaving an indelible mark on the industry and society as a whole. Shahrukh’s visionary leadership, coupled with his profound understanding of the intricacies of EdTech and his proven track record of success, positions UpBuild for unparalleled growth and impact in the global marketplace.

His appointment signifies UpBuild’s commitment to driving transformative change and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. Shahrukh’s unwavering dedication to empowering learners and shaping the future of education underscores UpBuild’s mission to revolutionize the way the world learns and works. Together, Shahrukh and UpBuild are poised to chart new territories and redefine the future of EdTech, inspiring learners and leaders alike to reach their full potential.

Seema Giri

Chief Revenue Officer

Seema Giri is an award winning author, international speaker and Holistic Lifestyle Strategist. She has been an entrepreneur for 20 years in project management where she trained nearly 100,000 people; and she also co-authored the book, The Authorities, with New York Times Bestselling authors Dr. John Gray (Men are from Mars Women are from Venus), Marci Shimoff (Happiness for No Reason) and Raymond Aaron (Double Your Income Doing What You Love)

Seema established AstroWix Corporation in 1999 in Silicon Valley and in 2002 expanded its services and product portfolio in India, the growing economy. Created the niche for project management education, consulting and product roll-out and built the complete ecosystem for Microsoft Project, PMI® Certifications and leadership development in project, program and portfolio management. Under Seema’s leadership AstroWix, a  team of more than 250 employees provided project, program and portfolio management advisory, consulting and capacity building services in more than 25 countries.

Seema has trained 500+ project professionals on PMI-PMP® certification, PMI-ACP®, Conflict Management, Negotiation Skills, Communications Skills, Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers, CAPM, Project Management Fundamentals, Microsoft Project, Soft Skills in Corporate/ open workshop & seminar formats. She also developed, implemented and managed team metrics, evaluated team metrics and made recommendations to teams and management for improvements.

Seema has a global perspective from living  in India, Germany and the US. She  speaks five languages and is fluent in  two, and is also passionate about giving back to the community. She serves in leadership roles in the community group, Crack the Wellness Code—where she is a core co-founding member. She also serves in Toastmasters International where within one year she became an Area Director, leading five clubs in Oakland, CA, to help members master their public speaking and leadership skills. She also serves as a Board Member for Uttar Pradesh Mandal of America (UPMA), helping underprivileged children get an education, health care, meals and day care service.

Seema is married with two grown children and her dog Cartie.

Pawan Sharma

Chief Advisor & Mentor

An engineer by profession Pawan has been leading organizations in their journey towards Profitable Growth and Excellence. His experience of having lived in several continents and countries over the last 29 years, working with global companies in the field of Consulting, Information Technology and BPO have helped him learn from his own experiences and his mentors’ experiences. It helped him understand people who happen to be the best assets of an organization, processes that help companies be efficient and markets that help build the architecture of any organization. He has personally executed roles in Consulting, Manufacturing, Programming, Sales and Operations. In the very early ages of his career he got an opportunity to be part of some key Mergers & Acquisitions and then had the chance of profitably growing and diversifying these businesses. Over the last 20 years the industry recognized him to help organizations strategize, change their businesses, enter new markets, initiate new product & service lines while bringing a sharp focus on executing these businesses.

Over the years, Pawan served as a member of the council of the MLC, USA, Member of the Strategic Advisory Board to the Computer Science Department at the NCSU, USA, Member of the Standards Board of TSA & JD Powers USA, companies’ boards and a Charter Member of TiE.

His journey in the professional world gave him an opportunity to serve HP, IBM, HCL, KPIT and TechMahindra in leadership positions. Over the years Pawan has expanded his circle of influence which include his colleagues at work, the customers he served, his mentors and his students.

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow”, said Anthony J. D’Angelo. Pawan firmly believes in this. He is an alumnus of ISB-Kellogg where he did his Global Advanced Management Program. Pawan continues to be a student of the world – learning at all times from all he meets and everything he encounters.

Upendra Giri

Founder and CEO

Upendra Giri is a world-renowned business leader, serial entrepreneur, coach, trainer, consultant, and a high impact keynote speaker recognized globally with over 30 years of experience in providing exceptional business management services across industry sectors.  Upendra is known for his productizing mindset with a rare blend of innovation and unwavering determination to bring products to market, known for influencing change, building great talent, monetizing opportunities, and executing relentlessly with customer-centricity.

Upendra founded AstroWix Corporation in 1999 in Silicon Valley and later he founded PMI North India Chapter New Delhi which led him to establish Project Management discipline in India. Upendra “Received prestigious Eric Jennet Award by PMI® for his Outstanding Contributions to Global Portfolio, Program and Project Management Profession in 2009 made him first Indian and youngest professional to be bestowed with this honor.” Later he architected and implemented Program Management Framework for Indian Postal Services, National Irrigation Program, National E-Governance Program, and National Police Modernization under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

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He formulated the implementation framework for “Badalta Banaras” and  Ayodhya Development Authority. Upendra conceived, developed, and launched India’s first storefront for Education with Samsung “Samsung Smart Learning in 2012 which laid the foundation for the EdTECH revolution in India. An Environmental Engineer by profession, Upendra firmly believes that there is a symbiotic relationship between sustainable business and technology & innovation strategy: one delivers the other and if aligned correctly, with just one pocket of spending. Once aligned, the ability to define a direction and measure progress against commonly recognized KPIs which deliver environmental, social and governance advances as well as financial performance – at pace – is key for this decisive decade as we address climate adaptation. Upendra brings extensive cross-industry expertise in complex organizational change and redesign; ESG initiatives, Sustainable Infrastructure enabled through digital and green tech innovation, with a particular focus on value chain stewardship.

Upendra’s passion lies in helping organizations identify a clear path to realize meaningful and impactful outcomes in their journey towards a more sustainable and regenerative way of working by inspiring and helping individuals in the organization to align around a shared vision where sustainability and circularity are at the core, enabling the organization to achieve the outcomes necessary to effect impactful change. Climate Change, Circularity and Sustainability is currently his biggest priority. He is currently working on two fronts. Non-profit movement, THE BIG CIRCLE – he is working on Education, Advocacy, Evangelism and Outreach for awareness and creating a Sense of Urgency for saving the planet. He is working on bringing Sustainable Strategy Execution Framework called VALUENOW under his new venture, UpBUILD Global Inc. He aims to help individuals, teams and enterprises build a sustainability roadmap that goes beyond compliance to address board and consumer expectations.

Inspired by the proven Objectives and Key Results (OKR) goal-setting methodology, and his twenty-five years of thought leadership in Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Upendra aims to build UpBuild Global Inc, a mission-driven organization to build a safer, better, and sustainable future. His goal? Provide clarity of strategy and execution across teams, functions, and business units. Upendra earned his MS in civil (environmental) engineering from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1994 and B.Sc. in civil engineering in 1991 from Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India. Born in 1969 in a village in northern India, Upendra now resides in Silicon Valley, US, and is one of the most sought-after consultants by CEOs of big multinational companies and also an inspiration for budding entrepreneurs.