ESG & Sustainability Intern

Jiya Ahuja is an International Business Administration student at Rotterdam School of Management, with a strong interest in business strategy, marketing, sustainability and innovation. Currently pursuing a BSc degree, Jiya is also part of the RSM Honours Programme 2025/26 (top 5% of cohort), where she worked on consultancy projects focused on emerging technology-driven industries. 

Alongside her academic pursuits, Jiya has also developed practical experience through internships and leadership roles. She worked as a marketing intern at APWIG Media consultancy in Mumbai, where she contributed to data-driven digital growth strategies for F&B and lifestyle brands. She also worked as a Student Assistant at the RSM MBA department, supporting market research, competitor analysis and CRM insights. 

At university, Jiya is deeply involved with impact-driven initiatives; she is a Case Analyst at the RSM Star Case Club, member of a females-only investment group Asteria, and completed a year as Board Member & Head of Marketing at UNICEF Student Team Rotterdam. 

Founder & Managing Partner

Mathias, a Danish national, has operated between Europe and India since 2012, as he started his career in the Indian hedge fund industry with a focus on business development.

Subsequently, Mathias consulted European companies on market-entry strategies into India, whereafter he spent 3,5 years doing investment banking (M&A and private equity advisory) out of Mumbai. He would later head up investor relations and business development for an Indian hedge fund, and advise select MNC’s on M&A in India and support Indian fintech companies entering the European market.

Since founding Pontoka, Mathias has advised a wide range of clients on value propositions relating to either the Indian market, sustainability, capital formation, and often a combination of these. Clients have ranged from corporates, private equity, venture capital, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, public equity managers, private banks, etc.

Academically, Mathias studied International Business Baccalaureate from Niels Brock, Copenhagen, and RMIT, Melbourne, after which he completed his BA Honour degree in Global Marketing from the University of Greenwich, London, where he wrote his dissertation on ’The potential for value-based hedge funds in India’.

Operational Advisor

Minashree has over 7 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment, and environmental risk assessment. Prior to joining Pontoka, she was a Postdoctoral fellow at IIT Delhi, India in the Department of Civil Engineering. At IIT Delhi, her research was focused on emerging contaminants in water and wastewater, fate and transport of contaminants, mixture toxicity risk assessment, and developing risk assessment framework.

Dr. Minashree has attained her PhD from Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, IIT Dhanbad, Jharkhand. In her thesis on "Risk assessment, modeling and control of trihalomethanes (THMs) from drinking water", she has established the concentration of THMs in Indian drinking water systems, developed models for predicting the levels of THMs, assessed risk exposure effects of THMs on human health, and developed techniques for controlling THMs formation. Prior to her PhD, she was a Junior Research Fellow at IIT Dhanbad and worked on a project focused on disinfection by-products in rural India sponsored by the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (MDW&S), GoI, India. She has got several publications in well-renowned journals and presented her work in international and national conferences.

Her research interests are drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies, disinfection by-products, emerging contaminants in water and wastewater (environmental occurrence/fate and transport), environmental health risk assessment, exposure of contaminants in food, water and personal care products, antibiotic resistance, environmental chemistry, and environmental biotechnology.

Senior Analyst

Mohana supports Pontoka’s clients with critical research and planning of their environmental optimisation and innovation efforts. Mohana has obtained a Master degree in Applied Environmental Science from Halmstad University (Sweden), where her thesis analysed how companies address climate policies and how they align activities according to the GRI guidelines. She has another Master degree in Sustainable Development and Environment Management, and a Bachelor degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from University of Mumbai (India).

Mohana has a background in environmental sustainability optimisations as a Sustainability Expert at an Austrian startup called beeanco which is a business club developing sustainability reports for SME’s and providing sustainability consultancy services. Before this, Mohana worked for the Tata Group where she assisted the efforts to reduce plastic waste by 50% and reducing ash disposal by 70%.

Operational Advisor

Nikhil has over 12 years of experience working in the Indian power sector. Prior to this he headed the direct broking division of one of the foremost Reinsurance and Insurance Broking firms in the country for nearly a decade.

He has substantial experience working with commercial and industrial consumers, State Discoms, thermal and renewable energy generators, government and policymakers, and has handled numerous Open Access (and Captive) power supply and offtake transactions. He has been actively involved in The Renewable Energy Certification program since its inception in 2010, assisting generators with understanding the implications and benefits and of this new mechanism and undertaking end-to-end management of the entire chain of activities involved from accreditation and registration of the projects, issuance of Renewable Energy Certificates as well as the ultimate commercialisation through sale of green attributes.

Currently Nikhil serves as the Director at Energy Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd., a firm engaged in providing clients with solutions and services in all things related to power. They have experience working with and helping companies source renewable energy across India. Nikhil has a Bachelor of Commerce from Delhi University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Finance and IT) from Fore School of Management.

Operational Advisor

Padmavati completed her Masters in Social work from Andhra University. After a brief stint as a human resource professional, she has been actively engaged in welfare work for animals and protection of urban trees for more than 24 years. The intense engagement on field gives her a deep insight on the practical aspects that influence results and goals, which are crucial for bridging the gap between policies and outcomes. She has led The Green Police project of Chandigarh Police and works as a Consultant with WWF-India.

Padmavati is also involved as a Project-Director for an ecological restoration project in Barsana, India. Given her immense and in-depth experience as a biodiversity and conservation expert, she aims to help companies and corporates understand the organic means to offset carbon emissions, by ensuring that local and native biodiversity and ecology is preserved.

Programme Manager

Sanjoli is a lawyer with a strong background in legal practice, bringing rigorous analytical thinking, commercial acumen, and a keen understanding of complex stakeholder environments to her work at Pontoka Advisory. Her legal career has equipped her with experience in navigating complex matters, advising on strategic considerations, and working closely with clients and senior stakeholders.

At Pontoka Advisory, Sanjoli applies this legal and advisory perspective to investor and client engagements, with a particular focus on strategic initiatives and the execution of high-level international programmes in India. She combines her legal training with strong project management and relationship-building skills, enabling her to approach complex assignments with precision, discretion, and a solutions-oriented mindset.

Operational Advisor

Shubhi is the founder of The Material Library of India, which focuses on remodelling the use of industrial & agricultural waste materials by combining the knowledge and skills of traditional crafts with modern materials. In 2014, Shubhi graduated with M.A. in Material Futures at Central Saint Martins’ School of Art and Design in London where she developed her projects such as Life of a bullet & Traditional Futures. These projects were focused on manmade & agricultural waste and its impact on our everyday life. Prior to this Shubhi has been working as a surface designer for brands such as Givenchy, Balmain, Alexander McQueen, Ralph Lauren, among others.

Shubhi has advised companies such as Dr. Reddy’s, Godrej and IKEA on circularity, ethical raw material sourcing and repurposing of waste materials.

Shubhi has been a TEDx Speaker in 2018, a Lexus Design Award Finalist in 2018 and has won the CII Green Co. Best Practices Award in 2016. She has also been invited to present her work at various prestigious platforms such as Lakme Fashion Week, Mumbai in 2017, Ambiente Talents at Messe Frankfurt 2017, London Design Week 2014 to 2016, Dutch Design Week 2015 & 2020, Roche Bobois Student Design Competition in Paris 2013, among others.