Dr. Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi
Strategy & Business Operations Leader | Applied Research to Commercial Execution
Strategy and operations leader with 4 years building and scaling Solarad AI, preceded by 6 years of industry-funded PhD research with ReNew Power — diagnosing a 10% power-loss problem for India's largest renewable energy company and leading a research programme generating USD 35M+ commercial impact.
6 Countries
Market Expansion
100+ Plants (~10 GW)
Deployed Capacity
USD 35M+
Research Impact
From Research Problem to Commercial Scale
A strategy and operations leader who defines problems rigorously, then builds the system to solve them — proven across both applied research and commercial execution.
Applied Research Foundation
PhD in solar aerosol science (IIT Delhi); diagnosed a 10% power-loss problem for India's largest renewable energy company, generating USD 35M+ in commercial impact.
Operating Leadership
Built Solarad AI's entire commercial operating system from zero: GTM, delivery, CRM/revenue operations, and financial planning.
Market Expansion
Led Middle East market-entry strategy from the ground up, growing the region from 0% to 40% of company revenue in 18 months.
Financial & Team Ownership
Owned full P&L, unit economics, and pricing strategy (+20% margin improvement); built and led an 11-person cross-functional team with under 10% annual attrition.
Dr. Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi is a strategy and operations leader who builds the systems that turn research into results. With a PhD in solar aerosol science from IIT Delhi, he began his career solving a concrete, high-stakes problem: diagnosing a 10% power-loss issue for ReNew Power, India's largest renewable energy company, through a research programme that went on to generate USD 35M+ in commercial impact.
That same approach — define the problem rigorously, then build the framework to solve it — carried into building Solarad AI's entire operating engine from the ground up: go-to-market systems, delivery infrastructure, CRM and revenue operations, and financial planning. As Co-Founder & COO (later CEO), he led the company's Middle East market-entry strategy, growing the region from 0% to 40% of total revenue within 18 months, while owning P&L, pricing strategy, and a growing cross-functional team.
The throughline across research and operations is the same: rigorous problem definition, disciplined execution, and a bias toward building repeatable systems rather than one-off wins.
Academic Foundation
Research credentials establishing technical authority and scientific rigor in renewable energy systems.
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering
2022Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
New Delhi, India
Focus: Solar aerosol science. GPA 8.2/10. Thesis: "Removal of Colloidal Asphaltene from Surfaces and Effect of Aerosols on Solar Power"
M.Tech., Chemical Engineering
2011 - 2013Harcourt Butler Technological Institute
Kanpur, India
Focus: Chemical Engineering
B.Tech., Chemical Engineering
2007 - 2011Harcourt Butler Technological Institute
Kanpur, India
Focus: Chemical Engineering
Experience
Progression from applied research to commercial operating leadership, building the systems that turn a well-defined problem into a repeatable result.
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer (progressed to CEO, Apr 2025)
Solarad AI
Delhi NCR & Middle East
- Designed and led Middle East market-entry strategy from the ground up — growing the region from 0% to 40% of company revenue within 18 months
- Built Solarad AI's full commercial operating system — GTM playbooks, client onboarding, CRM/revenue-ops infrastructure (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) — sustaining 95%+ customer satisfaction and 90%+ renewal rates
- Owned P&L and financial strategy — unit economics, pricing design (+20% margin improvement), and 12+ months cash-runway management
- Led fundraising end-to-end, closing USD 450K in seed funding with institutional investors
- Built and led a cross-functional team of 11 across data science, engineering, and operations, sustaining under 10% annual attrition
- Served as primary escalation and governance owner across enterprise accounts including Masdar, ACWA Power, Layla Solar Energy Company, Tata Power, Adani Power, Marubeni, ReNew Power, Jio Platforms, Jakson Green, Ayana Power, Zelestra Energy, South Rabigh Renewable Energy Company, TotalEnergies, ACME Power, and EDF Renewables
Research Lead – Industry Partnerships
ReNew Power Centre of Excellence, IIT Delhi
New Delhi
- Identified the root cause of ~10% monthly power loss from dust deposition through structured root-cause analysis; findings directly informed client capital allocation decisions
- Owned end-to-end delivery of a research programme generating USD 350K impact per 100MW plant, delivered 100% on-time
- Drove institutional adoption through structured knowledge transfer, training, and governance reporting
- Served as primary client-facing lead with ReNew Power's executive team
Industry Research Programme Lead & Laboratory Incharge
IIT Delhi
New Delhi
- Secured and led an industry-sponsored research collaboration with ReNew Power generating USD 35M+ commercial impact
- Led a cross-functional team of 8 across academia and industry
- Built the Complex Fluid Laboratory from scratch within a USD 255K capital budget
- Mentored 6 Master's students across 4 research projects; produced 5 peer-reviewed publications (2021-2024)
Visiting Professor
Harcourt Butler Technological Institute
Kanpur
- Designed and delivered undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum
- Mentored 4 cohorts (40+ students) on technical research and professional development
Also exploring: CredoCarbon, an early-stage carbon-credit concept, on a part-time basis. Not currently a full-time focus — open to pursuing further if market traction strengthens.
Research Authority
5 peer-reviewed publications (2021-2024) establishing scientific credibility and technical depth in renewable energy systems.
Solar Forecasting
Advanced prediction models for utility-scale solar power generation
Satellite Data Integration
Multi-source satellite data fusion for renewable energy applications
Machine Learning
Deep learning architectures for time-series energy forecasting
Grid Integration
Optimization strategies for renewable energy grid stability
Validating Meteosat Second Generation and Himawari-8 Derived Solar Irradiance against Ground Measurements: Solarad AI’s Approach
Jitendra Kumar Meher, Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi*, Bhramar Choudhary, Ravi Choudhary, Yash Thakre, Ritesh Kumar, and Vikram Singh
Assessment of Clear-Sky Irradiance from 6S affected by Local Climatology of India
Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Bhramar Choudhary, Ravi Choudhary, Jitendra Kumar Meher, Nimisha Gupta, Jasvipul Chawla, Mayank Kumar, and Vikram Singh*
Assessing Urban Heat Island Intensity and Emissions with Compressed Natural Gas in Non-Commercial Vehicles
Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Prateek Agrawal, Shivam Batra, Nidhi, and Vikram Singh*
Effect of pH and Surfactants on Shear Induced Asphaltene Removal
Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Shrimali Jonit Bharatbhai, Shivam Gupta, Jyoti Phirani, and Vikram Singh*
Deposition and Removal Studies of Asphaltene from the Glass Surface
Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, Anil Yadav, Jyoti Phirani, and Vikram Singh*
Leadership Capabilities
Operational excellence and cross-functional coordination at utility scale across emerging markets.
Strategic & Operational Leadership
- Root-cause analysis
- Business operations & process design
- Program & delivery management
- OKR frameworks
- Organizational scaling
Financial Ownership
- P&L management
- Unit economics (CAC/LTV/payback)
- Pricing strategy
- Cash-flow management
- Budget planning
Market & Commercial Strategy
- Market-entry & expansion strategy
- Commercial strategy & pricing
- Stakeholder & account management
- C-suite/VP contract negotiation
Applied Research & Technical Depth
- Applied research design
- Technical due diligence
- Satellite data analytics
- Solar irradiance forecasting
- Technical writing
6-Country Footprint
India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. Middle East grew from 0% to 40% of company revenue in 18 months.
Leadership & Recognition
President, PG Academic and Co-Curricular Council, IIT Delhi (2019-20)
Launched IIT Delhi's first Research Scholars' Day; led a 16-member team; secured sponsorship from Honeywell and Shell.
Best Secretary Award, Board of Hostel Management, IIT Delhi (2018-19)
Achieved lowest per-capita hostel costs among 13 hostels; increased resident participation by 40%; negotiated a 50% wage increase for support staff.
Gold Medal, Inter-IIT Snooker Championship (2017)
Competitive achievement at the national inter-institutional level.
Gold Medal, Inter-school Badminton (2008)
Competitive achievement at the national inter-school level.
What I'm Looking For Next
Bringing the same rigor from applied research and commercial operations to the next problem worth solving.
Open to Strategy & Business Operations Leadership, Solutions Consulting, and Revenue/Commercial Operations roles — ideally where I can take on a defined, complex problem and build the framework to solve it, the same way I've approached both research and company-building.
Strategic Problem-Solving
Given a complex business problem, building the rigorous framework to solve it — grounded in the same hypothesis-first approach from PhD research.
Operational Execution
Systems, playbooks, and cross-functional structures that turn strategy into repeatable, scalable execution.
Market & Commercial Strategy
Proven ability to open new markets from zero — P&L ownership, pricing strategy, and stakeholder management with Fortune 500 accounts.
Contact Gateway
Multiple touchpoints optimized for different stakeholder types—hiring managers, professional connections, and the research community.
Get in Touch
Direct Contact
Phone
+91 97951 19246Location
New Delhi, India | Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Professional Networks
Schedule a Conversation
Prefer a direct discussion? Book a quick call at a time that works for you.
Stakeholder-Specific Engagement
Hiring Manager / Recruiter
Professional Networking
Research / Academic Community
Other