Rakesh Sharma marks 20 years with ventures across AI, food and chemicals

MUMBAI: Twenty years, three industries and one lesson that keeps coming back to the balance sheet: people matter. Rakesh Sharma, a banker-turned-entrepreneur and investor, is marking two decades of professional experience with a portfolio that now stretches from AI-powered careers and organic food to construction chemicals.

Sharma began his career in BFSI, building experience in wealth management, banking, institutional business and branch operations. At CSB Bank, he went on to head branch expansion and profitability, overseeing 51 branches across the West 1 zone with a team of more than 300 people. His responsibilities included turning around loss-making branches, hiring and training teams, and driving business growth.

His banking career also included roles at DCB Bank, where he worked across deposits and investment products, government and institutional acquisition, and wealth management. At DCB, he was involved in initiatives including PFMS and GeM, while also working on expanding institutional liability and government banking businesses.

The corporate experience eventually became a springboard into entrepreneurship. Sharma is now Co-Founder of JUUST CAREER P, an AI-powered career platform that is moving beyond its 15 years of recruitment and careers expertise to bring together career opportunities, AI tools and personalised guidance for students and professionals.

The platform’s proposition includes AI-powered resume building and connecting students and professionals with human mentors, with the ambition of becoming a broader destination for people navigating their next career move.

Sharma has also entered the consumer space with Gud4U Organicks, where he is building a conscious food brand beginning with clean, organic jaggery products. The venture is aimed at consumers who want greater transparency around what goes into their food and is also seeking relationships with retailers, wholesalers, distributors and FMCG companies.

His third current business interest sits much further down the supply chain. As a Business Partner at SMC Chemicals, Sharma is involved in scaling a chemical manufacturing business serving construction and infrastructure companies. The company currently has a presence across Mumbai and the MMRDA region and is exploring strategic tie-ups and new business lines across other regions.

The move into chemicals is not entirely new territory for Sharma. He previously worked as a business strategy consultant at SMC Chemicals from January 2021 to April 2022, handling strategy for the early-stage manufacturing business.

Alongside building businesses, Sharma says he is also backing early-stage founders across FinTech, EdTech, AdTech, AI, social media marketing and consumer brands. His approach, he says, extends beyond providing capital to helping founders develop growth strategies and access relevant networks.

That thinking ties together what might otherwise look like a rather eclectic career. From managing banking teams and turning around branches to building an AI career platform, an organic food business and a chemicals enterprise, Sharma’s focus remains on people, opportunity and growth.

Academically, Sharma holds an MBA in Finance and Financial Management Services from Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management, where he studied from July 2006 to April 2008 and graduated with First Class. He also holds a Master of Commerce in International Economics from Somaiya Vidyavihar University, completed between 2003 and 2005, also with First Class.