Arun Venkatesh
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Puducherry, India
Toptal member since December 8, 2022
Arun has been working as a freelance consultant since 2018 and gathers 15+ years of experience contributing as an analyst on both buy- and sell-side engagements across various industries. His key analytical strengths are a clear articulation of business fundamentals, financial modeling, enterprise and equity valuation of companies, and bespoke market research. Throughout his career, Arun has been part of fundraisings amounting to over $100 million of capital.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Case Studies
Month-wise Modeling of a Proposed Real Estate Development
Investment Memorandum Documents for Diverse Businesses
Software Expertise
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Other Expertise
- Analytical Thinking
- Feasibility Studies
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- Industry Analysis
- Market Research
Work Experience
Independent Consultant
Various Clients
- Acted as an independent freelance analyst for clients across the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Singapore, and India. Targeted clientele includes investors, consulting and research firms, corporates, and investment banks.
- Developed an Excel-based model that optimized and simulated the daily logistics plans, including multiple legs of the inbound and outbound logistics, as a remote consultant to a niche Australian supply chain consultancy.
- Performed industry-focused research and financial modeling on a selected microfinance company as a support to a boutique sell-side investment banker.
- Conducted detailed procurement analytics, including should-be costing, in Excel to analyze and rank RFP responses from over 40 vendors across hundreds of SKUs. Acted as a remote RFP analyst for a global consultancy major.
- Built detailed financial models for large real estate developments in Europe and helped identify potential investors.
- Executed focused secondary research on B2C cash management solutions available in selected Asian countries for an East Asia-based emerging fintech venture.
Associate Director, Customized Research
CRISIL
- Delivered at least 15 financial feasibility assessment reports, supported by focused market research, for new projects in different sectors and industries. The reports were used to raise debt and equity, where applicable.
- Worked with investment bankers and client organizations to put together specific sections of draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for at least 12 companies seeking to get publicly listed.
- Led the execution of six commercial due diligence assignments for private equity and strategic investors, involving deep analysis of the business fundamentals of the respective target company.
- Collaborated with the owners of over 12 small and medium-sized enterprises to highlight their business fundamentals, articulated in the form of a fundamental grade and fair market valuation of the company, for consumption of institutional investors.
- Participated as a speaker at five industry conferences in India.
Consultant
Cognizant
- Pitched to a shipping line based in North Europe and won a new application development project to upgrade their voyage claims systems.
- Developed new business process maps in Microsoft Visio at L0, L1, and L2 of detailing to communicate process-level understanding to prospective clients in four specific sub-verticals.
- Conducted six training programs to align technical project teams with the essential domain knowledge of specific industry areas.
Senior Consultant, Advisory
KPMG
- Developed a detailed business plan for a new venture in bunkering and black oil storage, straddling the ocean shipping and energy sectors. The financial model allowed assumptions at a tank level and involved multiple stakeholders.
- Built a new analytical service, liaising actively with the local chamber of commerce.
- Created a flexible real estate financial model to address requirements from multiple mixed-use developers, which reduced the model-making time by 75%.
Education
Postgraduate Diploma in Management with a Specialization in Finance and Operations
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) - Bangalore, India
Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS—Pilani) - Pilani, India
Skills
Finance
Market Research, Financial Modeling, Credit Analysis, Revenue & Expense Projections, Forecasting, Debt Raises, Three-statement Modeling, Market Opportunity Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Cash Flow, Profit & Loss (P&L), Revenue Modeling, Cash Flow Modeling, Total Addressable Market (TAM), Fundamental Analysis, Valuation, Investment Thesis, M&A (Buy-side), Investment Briefs, Financial Advisory, Credit Risk, Asset-based Finance, Fundraising, Feasibility, Equity Research Analysis, Investment Memoranda
Output Software
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel 2016, Google Sheets
Industry Expertise
Industrials, Logistics, Construction, Oil & Gas
Geographic Expertise
India
Other
Feasibility Studies, Analytical Thinking, Business Planning, Industry Analysis, Business Plan Consulting, Excel Modeling, Management Consulting, Business Strategy, Strategy, Business Models, Business to Business (B2B), Logistics & Supply Chain, Competition Research, Competitive Analysis, Business Analysis, Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement, Request for Proposal (RFP), Startups, Market Research Analyst, Market Entry, Go-to-market Plans, Market Sizing, Market Research & Analysis, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Investment Research, Investments, Cash Flow Analysis, P&L Analysis, Vendors & Suppliers, Business Consulting, Waterfall Modeling, Credit Scores, Mid-market companies, Growth Strategy, RFPs, Value Proposition, Financial Analysis, Operations Research, Marketing Research & Analysis, Business Development, Costing, Pitch Deck Consultant, Credit Ratings, Investment Analysis, Finance, Data Analytics, Sales, Logistics & Warehousing, Third-party Logistics, Sourcing & Procurement, Sourcing, Negotiation, Pitch Decks, PowerPoint Design, Supply Chain Optimization, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Target Profiles, Market Fit, Go-to-market Strategy, Consumer Trends, Deal Structuring, Business Partnerships, Financial Writer, Contract Review, Contract Negotiation, Request for Information (RFI), Proposals, SOP Development, Supply Chain Operations, Contract Management, COO, Fractional COO, Offshore services, Regulations, Regulatory Analysis, Forex, Customer Acquisition, Deal Desk, Data Entry, Data Reporting, Investor Relations, Investor Reporting, Microsoft Visio, Science, Algorithms, Process Flows, Company Analysis, Sell-side, Economics, Consulting
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring