Leadership Team
Leading the way with
Innovative Learning Solutions

Amit Garg

Founder and CEO

Amit got his first taste of the workplace learning at the shop floor of an up-and-coming chemical plant. He realized that on the shop floor, the workers learned only through doing their jobs and observing others doing theirs. After a few humbling experiences during his stint in automobile sales, he landed – almost by chance – into the workplace learning industry, working in a dotcom start-up in 2000. Here, he noticed the similarities between Instructional Design and advertising. This fascination drove him to get himself certified in Instructional Design.

A few years working in leadership roles and contributing to the growth of that start-up propelled him to establish Upside Learning in 2004, with the tagline - ‘Better Learning, Improved Performance’. From that point on, there was no looking back. He has been fortunate to collaborate with clients all over the world, assisting them in achieving tactical and strategic goals on this remarkable journey. Over the last two decades, it has become his passion to aid organizations in deriving real business impact from their learning and training initiatives.

He continues to learn every day in the field and feels obliged to share his experiences through speaking sessions, blogs, webinars, and eBooks. He is humbled to have been included in the eLearning Industry’s movers and shakers list for a few years. On the personal front, he is very excited to see his 11-year-old daughter choose Tennis as a sport and commit herself to learning it, putting in the effort on the court.

Rahul Bansal

Co-Founder

As the Co-founder of Mitr Learning & Media, Rahul Bansal plays a crucial role in steering the company’s strategic growth and operational excellence. With over two decades of experience in the learning industry, he has been instrumental in driving business expansion, fostering innovation, and ensuring the successful delivery of enterprise learning solutions that create measurable impact.

Rahul was a key architect behind the acquisition of Upside Learning, recognizing its strong legacy in learning design and solution-driven approach. His decision was rooted in a vision to integrate Upside’s expertise with Mitr Learning & Media’s capabilities, creating a more robust and scalable enterprise learning ecosystem. He saw the acquisition as an opportunity to enhance the ability to deliver high-quality learning interventions while broadening the reach to global enterprises.

With a strong background in business strategy, operations, and learning technology, Rahul focuses on optimizing processes, driving efficiencies, and strengthening Upside Learning’s position within Mitr Learning & Media. His leadership ensures that Upside Learning continues to thrive, leveraging Mitr’s larger network and resources while maintaining its commitment to delivering impactful, performance-driven learning solutions.

Rahul’s approach to enterprise learning is deeply strategic—ensuring that every learning initiative aligns with business goals and delivers tangible value. Under his leadership, Upside Learning remains a trusted partner for organizations worldwide, helping them navigate complex learning challenges with tailored, results-driven solutions.

Siddharth Agarwal

Co-Founder

As the Co-founder of Mitr Learning & Media, Siddharth Agarwal plays a key role in shaping the vision and strategic direction of Upside Learning, a division of Mitr Learning & Media. With over two decades of experience in the learning industry, he has been instrumental in driving business-aligned learning solutions that create measurable impact.

The acquisition of Upside Learning was a strategic decision led by Siddharth’s vision of strengthening Mitr Learning & Media’s capabilities in enterprise learning. Recognizing Upside Learning’s strong reputation, deep expertise in learning design, and commitment to quality, he saw an opportunity to bring together two complementary forces in the L&D industry. His approach was not just about expansion but about creating a more comprehensive learning ecosystem—one that combines instructional excellence with scalable solutions to address evolving business challenges.

Siddharth believes that organizations today need learning solutions that go beyond engagement and truly impact performance. By integrating Upside Learning into Mitr, he aims to enhance the ability to deliver learning interventions that drive measurable business outcomes. His focus remains on ensuring that Upside Learning continues to thrive under Mitr’s umbrella, maintaining its legacy while benefiting from a broader strategic direction and greater global reach.

With expertise spanning learning strategy, content development, and technology-driven solutions, Siddharth works closely with teams and clients to design impactful learning experiences. Under his leadership, Upside Learning continues to evolve as a trusted partner for organizations worldwide, delivering meaningful, performance-driven enterprise learning solutions.

Sonal Sheth

Chief Operating Officer

With over 22 years of experience in the Learning and Development industry, Sonal leads the Content Services team at Upside, overseeing 100+ eLearning specialists. She is responsible for the successful execution of projects and solutions, fostering collaboration with domain experts to create impactful workplace learning solutions. Sonal also plays a key role in scaling operations, enhancing profitability, and optimizing team efficiency. She strategically collaborates with cross-functional teams, domain leads, managers, and clients to achieve targeted project outcomes, while also supporting the sales team in new client acquisition and presales to drive growth.

Sonal’s diverse background in Graphic Design, Instructional Design, Project Management, and Operations has been instrumental in continuously enhancing Upside's portfolio with innovative solutions. She holds several qualifications, including a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Journalism & Mass Communication from Symbiosis, a Dual Diploma in Web Engineering from Arena Multimedia, and a Bachelor's degree in Physics, specializing in Photography & Mass Communication from Fergusson College in Pune.

Passionate about delivering high-quality solutions, Sonal prioritizes continuous learning and empowers her team through upskilling to ensure sustained growth and success.

Venudhar Bhatt

EVP –Sales and Marketing

As the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Upside Learning, a division of Mitr Learning & Media, Venudhar Bhatt leads business growth, client engagement, and market expansion. With extensive experience in sales leadership, business development, strategic marketing, and rich expertise in conceptualization and development of innovative technology enabled learning solutions, he plays a key role in positioning Upside Learning as a trusted partner for workplace learning solutions.

Venudhar brings a diverse background in learning, corporate development, and content solutions, having held leadership roles such as Chief Learning Officer, Head – Corporate Development and Associate Vice President – Learning and Content Solutions. His expertise in learning strategy and corporate growth enables him to align Upside Learning’s solutions with the evolving business needs of global organizations.

Following the acquisition of Upside Learning by Mitr Learning & Media, Venudhar has helped integrate sales and marketing functions, leveraging synergies to enhance market positioning and strengthen client partnerships. His strategic vision continues to drive sustainable growth, ensuring that Upside Learning delivers impactful and scalable learning solutions that drive real performance outcomes.

Mahesh Shinde

AVP-Visual Design

With over 9 years of graphic design experience, Mahesh Shinde currently leads Upside Learning's Graphic Design team.Mahesh is responsible for the graphic design function. He is responsible for delivering and maintaining the high standard of graphic and visual design across all projects executed by Upside Learning. He is also responsible for training his team and keeping them abreast of the latest technologies and trends.Bachelor's degree holder in Applied Art, Mahesh enjoys travelling and watching movies in his free time.

Sushant Gore

AVP Business Development

Sushant Gore's journey into the eLearning domain began serendipitously, sparked by a chance encounter during a flight. This fateful meeting opened his eyes to the possibilities within the field, igniting a deep interest. Embarking on his first foray into the industry five years ago, he has since navigated an exhilarating path of continuous learning.

With over two years spent in Europe pursuing a master’s degree in management, Sushant absorbed the region's culture and market dynamics, fostering a profound understanding. This connection to Europe persists, as he actively seeks business prospects in the L&D market. At Upside Learning, he strives to spearhead expansion across the UK and Europe, leveraging his extensive expertise in Business Development, Client Engagement, and Account Management. His global experience equips him to devise innovative solutions, fueled by his passion for problem-solving and emerging technologies.

Beyond the professional realm, Sushant is an ardent football enthusiast and a devotee of Science Fiction literature and films. Thriving in the outdoors, he indulges in activities like trekking, Safaris, and road trips astride his motorbike or car.

Suyog Shaha

Senior Manager–Technical

Suyog Shaha is the Technical Manager at Upside Learning, where he adeptly leads a team of passionate engineers. With a decade of proficiency in eLearning development and a year's expertise in Web development, Suyog deftly navigates technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, TypeScript, Angular-JS, Flash, Flex, and Adobe AIR. He champions the belief that technology's prowess is harnessed by its users, driving him to curate the company's knowledge base and enhance processes consistently. Suyog's multifaceted role encompasses project risk assessment, coding adherence, feedback provision, and project delivery punctuality. In his leisure moments, he finds solace in trekking, photography, and music.

Swapnil Bhate

Senior Manager
Business Development

Swapnil is a seasoned professional with over 19 years of illustrious experience in Sales and Business Development within the education sector. His journey commenced with a focus on selling ILTS, predominantly in soft skills, to corporate entities. As of 2010, he embraced a new chapter by collaborating with MNCs, delving into the eLearning Domain. This path proved to be both exhilarating and demanding, requiring him to engage with diverse clients on a daily basis, akin to delivering performances before varied audiences. Within the framework of Upside Learning, Swapnil assumes responsibility for the APAC region, representing an expansion into uncharted territory. His pursuit of excellence finds its culmination through collaboration with a dynamic leadership team and highly experienced colleagues at Upside. Beyond the professional realm, Swapnil nurtures a passion as a proficient Percussionist, specializing in Tabla, and holds an abiding love for Indian Classical Music. This pursuit not only bestows upon him serenity and composure but also serves as a crucial counterbalance in his life. Evidently, rhythm isn't solely confined to his musical endeavors; it harmoniously echoes through every facet of his existence.

Hricha Chellani

Manager
Human Resources

A seasoned HR manager with a unique blend of skills, including 15 years of hands-on experience in Human Resources complemented by a master's degree in the same field. Known for a results-oriented mindset, adept at developing and implementing effective strategies to drive organizational success. Demonstrates logical thinking in approaching complex HR challenges and excels in creating a supportive and inclusive work environment. She has extensive experience in the e-learning domain for talent management.

She firmly believes that an organization's success is intrinsically tied to the well-being and development of its employees. With this philosophy at the core, she aims to create an environment where employees feel valued, inspired, and empowered to reach their full potential.

Her mother is an inspiration to her.

Besides work, her interests lie in coin collection, the outdoors, and a big movie buff.

Sandip Tawar

Manager
Quality

Sandip has over 10 years of experience in eLearning and software testing domain. He has worked on more than 70 projects with different technologies and tools, such as HTML, Flash, Articulate Storyline, Captivate, Lectora, etc. for multi-device platforms. His work experience includes web & mobile app testing, eLearning courseware compliance, and accessibility testing (SCORM, AICC, and xAPI) on different Learning Management Systems.Sandip is well-versed with all phases of software development & testing life cycle, and has hands-on experience in various testing methodologies like Functional Testing, GUI Testing, Database Testing, and Regression Testing.Sandip heads the team of Quality Executives at Upside Learning and is responsible for maintaining quality on all projects, and reviews all quality and audit reports to ensure that quality standards and consistency are maintained. He plays a key role in setting and improving internal standards and processes.Sandip holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from University of Nanded, India.