Mr. Gaurav Porwal
Dual Degree (B. Tech. + M. Tech.), 2005, Chemical Engineering

Mr. Gaurav Porwal is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Global Mobility – Ola, Bengaluru. He received his dual degree (B. Tech.+ M. Tech.) in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 2005 and MBA from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad in 2010.

Prior to joining Ola in 2019, Mr. Porwal was the Director of Fresenius Medical Care in Gurgaon during 2016-19. He worked as a Program Manager at Procter & Gamble in Bengaluru and as a Scientist at Procter & Gamble, Kobe, Japan.

Mr. Porwal co-founded Sparsh Nephrocare in 2010 having realized the acute need of good quality dialysis treatment for kidney failure patients in India beyond the largest 8-10 cities. Due to lack of facilities, patients from smaller towns were being forced to travel up to 500 kms two to three times a week just to get a dialysis treatment session. This led to higher mortality rates and life expectancy of less than 6 months post kidney failure as compared to more than 20 years in developed countries with good dialysis infrastructure. Shortly post its launch, Sparsh Nephrocare became one of the pioneers of dialysis industry in India and successfully piloted & scaled the model of outsourcing “in-hospital” dialysis units. The venture raised funds from marquee investors like Tata Capital and grew to 55 centres across 45 cities in 12 states with an installed base of more than 400 dialysis machines delivering more than 20,000 quality dialysis sessions every month. In 2016, Sparsh Nephrocare was acquired by Fresenius Medical Care from Germany, world’s largest dialysis services and products company. Till today, this has been the only acquisition of an Indian player in dialysis space by a global multinational and one of the very few cross-border transactions in healthcare services industry in India. This acquisition was testament to the truly transformative change that Sparsh Nephrocare brought about in the industry and most importantly, in the lives of many underserved patients across the country. Sparsh Nephrocare was also subject of a case study published by Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Mr. Porwal has received the Best Innovation Enabler in Asia by Procter & Gamble in 2008, Torchbearer Award by Indian School of Business in 2010, and Chapter Service Award by IIT Bombay in 2020.

Special Memories

No doubt, all 5 years spent at IIT Bombay were the most special of my life. From spending my first semester as a nervous wreck trying to navigate this new world, to being elected to one of the highest offices three years later, my time at our beloved “Insti” was nothing short of life altering and exhilarating. I still can’t forget the long nights spent across multiple months while organizing Mood Indigo at SAC or in the lab trying to push scientific boundaries leading to a publication in a high-impact journal. And most of all, the friendships I cultivated which to this day, remain my main pillar of strength & confidence. I really don’t think any amount of gratitude is enough for all I received from the Insti in terms of knowledge, work ethic, analytical rigor, desire to excel, deep relationships and the doors which keep on opening till today.