Leadership Team

Rahul Bansal

Co-Founder

As the Co-founder of Mitr Learning & Media, Rahul Bansal plays a crucial role in steering the company's strategic growth and operational excellence. With over two decades of experience in the learning industry, he has been instrumental in driving business expansion, fostering innovation, and ensuring the successful delivery of enterprise learning solutions that create measurable impact.

Rahul was a key architect behind the acquisition of Upside Learning, recognizing its strong legacy in learning design and solution-driven approach. His decision was rooted in a vision to integrate Upside's expertise with Mitr Learning & Media's capabilities, creating a more robust and scalable enterprise learning ecosystem. He saw the acquisition as an opportunity to enhance the ability to deliver high-quality learning interventions while broadening the reach to global enterprises.

With a strong background in business strategy, operations, and learning technology, Rahul focuses on optimizing processes, driving efficiencies, and strengthening Upside Learning's position within Mitr Learning & Media. His leadership ensures that Upside Learning continues to thrive, leveraging Mitr's larger network and resources while maintaining its commitment to delivering impactful, performance-driven learning solutions.

Rahul's approach to enterprise learning is deeply strategic—ensuring that every learning initiative aligns with business goals and delivers tangible value. Under his leadership, Upside Learning remains a trusted partner for organizations worldwide, helping them navigate complex learning challenges with tailored, results-driven solutions.

Siddharth Agarwal

Co-Founder

As the Co-founder of Mitr Learning & Media, Siddharth Agarwal plays a key role in shaping the vision and strategic direction of Upside Learning, a division of Mitr Learning & Media. With over two decades of experience in the learning industry, he has been instrumental in driving business-aligned learning solutions that create measurable impact.

The acquisition of Upside Learning was a strategic decision led by Siddharth's vision of strengthening Mitr Learning & Media's capabilities in enterprise learning. Recognizing Upside Learning's strong reputation, deep expertise in learning design, and commitment to quality, he saw an opportunity to bring together two complementary forces in the L&D industry. His approach was not just about expansion but about creating a more comprehensive learning ecosystem—one that combines instructional excellence with scalable solutions to address evolving business challenges.

Siddharth believes that organizations today need learning solutions that go beyond engagement and truly impact performance. By integrating Upside Learning into Mitr, he aims to enhance the ability to deliver learning interventions that drive measurable business outcomes. His focus remains on ensuring that Upside Learning continues to thrive under Mitr's umbrella, maintaining its legacy while benefiting from a broader strategic direction and greater global reach.

With expertise spanning learning strategy, content development, and technology-driven solutions, Siddharth works closely with teams and clients to design impactful learning experiences. Under his leadership, Upside Learning continues to evolve as a trusted partner for organizations worldwide, delivering meaningful, performance-driven enterprise learning solutions.

Sonal Sheth

Chief Operating Officer

With over 22 years of experience in the Learning and Development industry, Sonal leads the Content Services team at Upside, guiding a large group of eLearning specialists and ensuring excellence across projects. She is responsible for the successful execution of projects and solutions, fostering collaboration with domain experts to create impactful workplace learning solutions.

Sonal also plays a key role in scaling operations, enhancing profitability, and optimizing team efficiency. She strategically collaborates with cross-functional teams, domain leads, managers, and clients to achieve targeted project outcomes, while also supporting the sales team in new client acquisition and presales to drive growth.

Sonal's diverse background in Graphic Design, Instructional Design, Project Management, and Operations has been instrumental in continuously enhancing Upside's portfolio with innovative solutions. She holds several qualifications, including a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Journalism & Mass Communication from Symbiosis, a Dual Diploma in Web Engineering from Arena Multimedia, and a Bachelor's degree in Physics, specializing in Photography & Mass Communication from Fergusson College in Pune.

Passionate about delivering high-quality solutions, Sonal prioritizes continuous learning and empowers her team through upskilling to ensure sustained growth and success.

Venudhar Bhatt

EVP - Learning Transformation & AI Strategy

As the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Upside Learning, a division of Mitr Learning & Media, Venudhar Bhatt leads business growth, client engagement, and market expansion. With extensive experience in sales leadership, business development, strategic marketing, and rich expertise in conceptualization and development of innovative technology enabled learning solutions, he plays a key role in positioning Upside Learning as a trusted partner for workplace learning solutions.

Venudhar brings a diverse background in learning, corporate development, and content solutions, having held leadership roles such as Chief Learning Officer, Head – Corporate Development and Associate Vice President – Learning and Content Solutions. His expertise in learning strategy and corporate growth enables him to align Upside Learning's solutions with the evolving business needs of global organizations.

Following the acquisition of Upside Learning by Mitr Learning & Media, Venudhar has helped integrate sales and marketing functions, leveraging synergies to enhance market positioning and strengthen client partnerships. His strategic vision continues to drive sustainable growth, ensuring that Upside Learning delivers impactful and scalable learning solutions that drive real performance outcomes.

Vicky Malhotra

Head of Business

With over 22 years in the IT industry, Vicky spearheads frontline sales across the APAC and EMEA regions for Upside Learning, a division of Mitr Learning & Media. He drives business growth through client engagement, relationship management, and market expansion, ensuring long-term partnerships and impactful outcomes for clients.

Vicky brings a diverse experience spanning testing & quality control, delivery management, and sales leadership, having worked with global IT leaders such as Amazon, NIIT, and Lionbridge. This cross-functional expertise enables him to align solutions with evolving client needs and deliver measurable business value.

In his current role, Vicky spearheads sales strategy, fosters strong client relationships, and collaborates closely with delivery and domain teams to create tailored solutions. His leadership continues to strengthen Mitr's market presence while driving sustainable growth across regions.

Shreyas Korad

Associate Manager – Learning Strategy and Innovation

As Associate Manager – Learning Strategy and Innovation at Upside Learning, Shreyas plays a key role in shaping impactful learning solutions for clients while also contributing to pre-sales, solutioning, and proposals. He began his journey in L&D as a Gamification Consultant and has since expanded his scope to bring together strategy, creativity, and technology in delivering meaningful outcomes.

With a foundation in data science, gamification, and media, he specializes in designing learning experiences that align with organizational goals and address complex challenges. His academic background includes a Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science from IIIT-Bangalore and a bachelor's degree in media studies from Symbiosis International University. He is also Octalysis Level Two certified and has completed additional training in product management from XLRI-VIL.

Shreyas is driven by a future-focused and entrepreneurial mindset, continuously exploring the intersections of data, learning, and communication to bring fresh perspectives to his work.

Outside of his professional role, he actively engages with emerging trends in technology, games, and media interests that not only fuel his creativity but also inspire new approaches to eLearning. These pursuits help him explore fresh ways of applying gamification, storytelling, and data-driven strategies to design learning experiences that are both engaging and impactful.

Divya Haladi

Associate Manager – Instructional Design

As Associate Manager – Instructional Design at Upside Learning, Divya Haladi leads a team dedicated to designing clear, effective, and learner-focused solutions. She plays an active role in shaping instructional strategies, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring projects move seamlessly from concept to delivery.

With a background in psychology from the University of Pune, she brings a strong learner-centric perspective that balances theory with practical application. Her work spans compliance, onboarding, leadership development, and performance support, always with an emphasis on creating meaningful experiences that deliver measurable results.

Driven by a commitment to impact, Divya focuses on ensuring every solution resonates with learners while supporting organizational goals. She continues to refine her approach by staying connected with evolving practices in instructional design and learning sciences.

Outside of work, Divya enjoys exploring subjects that fuel her curiosity about people and behavior, often drawing insights from psychology, books, and everyday experiences. These explorations influence her professional perspective, helping her connect more deeply with learners' needs and continuously evolve her design approach.

Sandip Tawar

Manager Quality

As Senior Quality Manager at Upside Learning, Sandip brings over 17 years of expertise in eLearning and software testing to ensure every solution meets the highest benchmarks of quality and reliability. Over the course of his career, he has successfully led several projects, delivering learning solutions across technologies such as HTML, Articulate Storyline/Rise, Captivate, and Lectora for multi-device platforms.

Sandip's core strength lies in his command of the software development and testing life cycle, where he specializes in functional, usability, accessibility, compatibility, SCORM/xAPI compliance, and regression testing. His proficiency spans web and mobile app testing, eLearning validation, compliance (SCORM, AICC, xAPI), and accessibility across diverse Learning Management Systems.

At Upside Learning, Sandip plays a pivotal role in building and mentoring a strong Quality team, ensuring rigorous checks at every critical stage of project delivery. He is responsible for reviewing quality parameters, sharing insights with stakeholders, and driving process improvements that enhance efficiency and reduce risks. By establishing robust quality frameworks and continuously refining workflows, he ensures consistency, scalability, and excellence across all projects.

His leadership goes beyond safeguarding standards; he anticipates challenges, fosters a culture of quality, and raises organizational benchmarks to align with evolving client expectations.

Sandip holds a Master's Degree in Computer Science from SRTM University, Nanded. Outside of work, he enjoys cricket, swimming, and music, which reflect his balance of discipline, energy, and creativity.

Mahesh Shinde

AVP-Visual Design

As AVP – Visual Design at Upside Learning, Mahesh Shinde brings nearly 20 years of expertise in graphic design and visual communication. Over the course of his career, he has built a reputation for combining creative vision with design strategy, ensuring that visuals are not only aesthetically strong but also aligned with learning effectiveness and business outcomes.

In his leadership role, Mahesh heads the Visual Design function, overseeing a team of designers who deliver high-quality graphics and multimedia solutions across global client projects. He is responsible for defining design standards, maintaining consistency across deliverables, and ensuring that every visual element enhances learner engagement and supports instructional goals. By mentoring his team and keeping them at the forefront of emerging tools, technologies, and trends, Mahesh ensures that the design practice remains innovative, scalable, and future-ready.

With a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Art, Mahesh brings deep expertise in crafting compelling visuals for eLearning solutions across platforms and devices. His approach blends artistry with precision, translating complex learning concepts into designs that are simple, impactful, and accessible. He also plays a key role in shaping Upside Learning's visual identity, ensuring the brand is represented with creativity and consistency across all touchpoints.

Beyond work, Mahesh is passionate about traveling, exploring new cultures, and watching films that fuel his creativity and broaden his perspective.

Sushant Gore

Head of Inside Sales

With over a decade of experience in the digital learning and enterprise training industry, Sushant spearheads business development for the Mitr Learning & Media Group, including Upside Learning, with a focused mandate on strategic growth and market expansion across the UK and Europe.

Throughout his career, Sushant has built a strong track record in frontline sales, strategic account management, and new business acquisition, consistently driving revenue growth and fostering long-term client partnerships. Following Mitr's acquisition of Upside Learning, and more recently Mynd, he now leads the group's integrated growth strategy in European markets — positioning Upside Learning as a leading enterprise learning solutions provider known for innovation, customer-centricity, and measurable impact.

Suyog Shaha

Senior Manager–Technical

With over 17 years of experience in technology and eLearning development, Suyog Shaha serves as the Senior Manager – Technical at Upside Learning. He leads a team of skilled engineers, blending technical expertise with strategic oversight to deliver solutions that are reliable, scalable, and learner-focused.

His career reflects deep proficiency in eLearning development, complemented by hands-on expertise in web technologies, enabling him to address complex client requirements with confidence. He has extensive experience with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, AngularJS, jQuery, Django (Python), Bootstrap, and Tailwind CSS. He has deep expertise in core web technologies and continuously adapts to the latest frameworks and tools to deliver high-quality, future-ready solutions.

He is committed to aligning technology with business goals, ensuring that every project achieves high standards of quality and performance. Recognized for his structured approach and eye for detail, he drives project risk assessments, enforces coding best practices, mentors through constructive feedback, and ensures timely, efficient delivery.

Suyog believes that technology delivers its true value only through effective use. This philosophy inspires him to strengthen Upside Learning's knowledge base, optimize processes, and guide his team toward continuous improvement. His leadership not only ensures technical excellence but also fosters a culture of learning and accountability across the organization.

Beyond work, Suyog enjoys cycling, trekking, and photography, passions that reflect his creativity, curiosity, and love for exploration.

Karan Hotwani

Marketing Manager

With over 12 years of professional experience, Karan Hotwani brings a well-rounded perspective to his role as Marketing Manager, where he leads content strategy, social media planning, SEO, analytics, and blog development. His expertise lies in crafting compelling brand narratives supported by data-driven insights, ensuring every communication effort delivers measurable value.

Karan began his career in content writing during his college years and went on to build a strong foundation in social media management, sales, and data-focused marketing. This hands-on experience across functions allows him to bridge creative thinking with strategic execution, playing a key role in enhancing brand visibility and audience engagement.

He specializes in integrated content strategy, performance analytics, and digital marketing execution. Known for his thoughtful and collaborative approach, he consistently aligns marketing initiatives with broader business goals.

Outside of work, Karan is passionate about music production and enjoys collecting rare plants, gardening, and staying active through sports, interests that reflect his creativity, discipline, and appreciation for growth and balance.

Hricha Chellani

Manager Human Resources

A seasoned HR manager with a unique blend of skills, including 15 years of hands-on experience in Human Resources complemented by a master's degree in the same field. Known for a results-oriented mindset, adept at developing and implementing effective strategies to drive organizational success. Demonstrates logical thinking in approaching complex HR challenges and excels in creating a supportive and inclusive work environment.

She has extensive experience in the e-learning domain for talent management. She firmly believes that an organization's success is intrinsically tied to the well-being and development of its employees. With this philosophy at the core, she aims to create an environment where employees feel valued, inspired, and empowered to reach their full potential.

Her mother is an inspiration to her. Besides work, her interests lie in coin collection, the outdoors, and a big movie buff.

Kavita Jadhav

Delivery Manager

With over 12 years of specialized experience in the eLearning industry, Kavita Jadhav serves as a cornerstone of client satisfaction and business growth at Upside Learning. She is responsible for ensuring seamless communication, building trusted client relationships, and overseeing end-to-end delivery of digital learning solutions.

At the core of her role, Kavita excels in leading key accounts and managing complex, multi-disciplinary digital learning projects with meticulous planning and perfect collaboration across all domains. By fostering strong partnerships and clear communication with diverse stakeholders on the client side, she consistently delivers exceptional client experiences and ensures results that align perfectly with expectations. Her proactive coordination and attention to detail enable smooth project execution, elevating client satisfaction at every stage.

Known for her strong focus on efficiency and proactive approach to challenges, Kavita consistently streamlines workflows, anticipates risks, and ensures projects are delivered on time and within scope. Her ability to balance client priorities with team dynamics makes her a reliable partner in achieving measurable, impactful learning outcomes.

Beyond project delivery, Kavita contributes to refining processes and mentoring teams, helping build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement within the organization. Her dedication to detail and passion for creating value through learning solutions have made her an integral part of Upside Learning's success.

Neha Agarwal

Delivery Manager

With over 15 years of experience across Quality Assurance, Project Management, Account Management, and Vendor Management, Neha plays a pivotal role in driving client success and organizational growth at Upside Learning. She manages large, strategic accounts across the UK, USA, India, and Australia, where her focus on profitability, revenue, and relationship building ensures sustained client satisfaction and long-term partnerships.

Beyond account management, Neha provides leadership to a team of Project Managers, mentoring them to deliver projects with precision, timeliness, and strong client engagement. She is deeply involved in shaping the delivery framework, overseeing everything from planning and execution to reporting and client communications, and ensuring that projects not only meet but exceed expectations.

Her role also extends into pre-sales, where she contributes significantly to business development efforts through RFP responses, proposal creation, solution design, POCs, estimations, SOWs, and MSAs. Neha's ability to connect delivery excellence with business outcomes makes her a key bridge between client needs and organizational capabilities.

Known for her keen eye for risk management, she proactively identifies account-level risks, implements mitigation strategies, and maintains stability across large-scale engagements. This foresight, combined with her structured approach, strengthens both client confidence and internal delivery standards.

Neha's career journey demonstrates her strength in both operational expertise and client-centric leadership, positioning her as a trusted advisor to clients and a mentor within the organization.