Meet Our Team
We are a team of passionate educators with a combined experience of more than 80 years in organisations such as Genpact, PayPal, Wolseley, eBay, CBRE, Sabre, Orbitz, Expedia and NTUC First Campus - across several geographies including India, USA, UK and Singapore.
Our Team
The brilliant minds behind our success
Vishal Desai
CEO
Vishal brings over 20+ years of rich experience in consumer tech, design thinking, product management, and marketing, all sprinkled with a zest for innovation and education. As the CEO of The Grit City, he’s the driving force behind executive decisions and leads the charge in Product, Design, and Marketing strategies. An alumni of Goa Engineering College and The University of Warwick, UK, Vishal is not just a leader but a creative soul—a fantastic singer, writer, poet, and teacher at heart. Passionate about sharing wisdom on goal-setting, profile building, experiential learning, and career choices, he’s all about empowering the next generation of talent with a dash of inspiration and a whole lot of heart.
Ryan Pinto
CTO
Ryan a seasoned Technologist, Engineer, and Entrepreneur with over 20 years expereince of rocking the Software and IT world. An alumni of Goa Engineering College, he’s all about building cutting-edge products and leading awesome teams that make a real difference. When he's not coding or inventing, you’ll find him soaring the skies in his own electric ultralight aircraft—yes, he’s a patent-holding inventor and a passionate aviator! Whether tinkering with tech or taking to the clouds, Ryan loves turning wild ideas into reality and inspiring the next generation of innovators.
Pranjali Desai
College Connect : Industry Partnerships
Pranjali’s 15+ years of experience working with leading MNCs and vibrant startups tell the story of a journey from chemistry to the fast-paced worlds of real estate, automobiles, and entrepreneurship. At The Grit City, she spearheads growth and nurtures meaningful connections among people, thriving through collaboration on social impact projects. With a deep love for nature and adventure, Pranjali embraces exploration both professionally and personally. She proudly sees herself as a product of The Grit City, where the right mentorship, valuable guidance, and a strong belief in experiential learning have shaped her career and fueled her passion for learning through doing.
Simmi Ramani
Campus Connect
Simmi is a statistics whiz with a Master’s degree from Bangalore University and brings over a decade of expertise as a data scientist across various industries. She’s a data enthusiast, entrepreneur, and an early childhood educator who’s all about spicing up learning and making it FUN! As someone passionate about advancing equity in education, Simmi is a lifelong learner who loves exploring new ideas and roles. At The Grit City, she leads Campus Connect and is on a mission to help co-create a world where education truly transforms lives—one exciting step at a time.
Siddharth Zarapkar
Advisor
A Mechanical Engineering graduate from GEC ’01, brings over 20 years of experience mastering data sciences and risk management. As a Sr. Director at PayPal, he leads global teams in the high-stakes world of fighting online payment fraud. With a sharp eye for strategy, product management, and data, Siddharth also dives into strategic investments with PayPal Ventures. Beyond the boardroom, he’s a creator at heart, crafting everything from surfboards to LED lamps. Passionate about experiential education, Siddharth plays a key role as an investor and strategic advisor to The Grit City, helping shape the future of learning with a spark of innovation and creativity.
Our Mission
The Grit City was founded in 2022, with the goal of co-creating a future where higher education and learning are self-directed, experiential, and collaborative. We aspire to groom young talent to thrive in the 21st century, and be a force for good within their community and the economy.
Self-Directed
Enable students to set meaningful goals, choose resources, and create learning paths that align with their unique interests, learning styles, and strengths.
As industry orients itself around AI (artificial intelligence) and other exponential technologies, we believe it is important to equip learners with self-discipline, motivation, and the ability to manage their own learning process.
We believe this will lead to increased autonomy, self-efficacy, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances — imperatives to keep up with the changing needs of the 21st century.
Find Out HowExperiential
Bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application through internships, projects, and apprenticeships.
This will provide students with a platform to get exposure to real-world problems, apply the concepts they’ve learned in class and in the process develop their critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
It will also be an incubator for ideas, innovation, and collaboration while facilitating access to top talent across educational institutions throughout the country.
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Collaborative
Provide access to experienced mentors who can offer guidance, feedback, and support to help students navigate their learning journey.
This will also help foster a sense of community, and help build valuable networks within industry.
The Grit City's mentoring programs provide students with actionable steps to apply what they have learned through a supportive environment and outcome-based learning experience both inside and outside the classroom.
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Let's discuss how we can help you achieve your goals with innovative solutions.