Rahul Chandran

Sharpshooter
DISC Type : DC

Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer | President, Grand Challenges Canada Foundation at Grand Challenges Canada

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Overview

Rahul Chandran is the Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer at Grand Challenges Canada, with over 20 years of experience in social impact, innovation, and sustainability. A graduate of Yale University and The Fletcher School at Tufts, he has a proven track record of securing major investments and leading large-scale public-private partnerships.

Colleagues describe him as a values-driven, pragmatic, and inspiring leader with empathy. His writings suggest a deep personal philosophy, advocating for a development policy centered on trust, care, and love. He approaches his work with a focus on human connection and people-centered policies rather than purely technocratic solutions.

Unique fact: Rahul is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists and previously worked on one of the largest civil rights actions in US history.

Personality Overview

Thorough Evaluator

ROI Driven

Fast But Analytical

They like to move fast and expect the same from others.  They prefer to be the ones controlling the conversation or defining the terms. More than the product, they care about the impact of the product.

Topics They Care About

Humanitarian Innovation
As the first Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation, he has been a thought leader on the future of humanitarian action and technology's role in crises.
Public-Private Partnerships
He specializes in architecting complex partnerships, having secured over $2. 6B in investments for innovation by bridging UN, philanthropic, and private sector entities.
People-Centered Policy
He co-authored an article arguing that development policy should be reconceived through "trust, empathy, love and care, " highlighting his humanistic and philosophical approach to global challenges.

Media Appearances

Rahul has no verified media appearances

Work History

8-2024
Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer | President, Grand Challenges Canada Foundation at Grand Challenges Canada
2-2023 - 2-2025
Managing Partner at Upswing Solutions
2-2022 - 12-2022
VP, ESG at Export Development Canada | Exportation et développement Canada
1-2020 - 2-2022
CEO & Managing Partner, Care Impact Partners at CARE
6-2019 - 1-2020
Principal - Inter-Generational Equity (Short-Term Project) at School of International Futures (SOIF)

Education

2004 - 2006
Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University
1994 - 1998
BA from Yale University

More Information

Social Presence :

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Exp : 6 Location : Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer | President, Grand Challenges Canada Foundation at Grand Challenges Canada
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Insights For Selling To Rahul

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Be respectful but crisp
  • Objectively showcase the impact that your product creates
  • Help them weigh the risks by sharing objective proof points without becoming too analytical

DONT's

  • Avoid being too verbose
  • Do not hesitate from asking counter questions, just avoid challenging their authority
  • Do not spend too much time focusing on product tech or features

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Rahul is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Rahul

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no without any hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Rahul move?

  • They can reach decisions fairly quickly if they are convinced.
  • Can Rahul take some risk or not?

  • They don’t mind risks but can be quite binary about them.

You And Rahul

Personality Compatibility


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