Why did you decide to leave McKinsey and join Avahan?
A. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was 17 years at McKinsey but I liked the ambitious arch of this HIV/AIDS program. McKinsey and the Gates Foundation know each other quite well. I joined at the end of 2002, and I officially started April 1, 2003. Q. How did you build your team? A. Most of the people came and found me and AVAHAN. People were all in good jobs, but they got excited about this ‘venture’, and it was exciting enough for them to go. Alkesh Wadwani was a senior manager at McKinsey, and set his career aside to start with this venture. It was a chance at doing something new. There were two other McKinsey people. I have a team of 15. Ten are from the private sector, five are from technical backgrounds. For example, one has an MD in infectious diseases. From the private sector they are from consumer products, IT, and banking. Q. When you started Avahan in 2003, where did you start first? A. We wanted to do HIV/AIDS prevention, and be highly focused on the high-risk gro
