Avinash Rao is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Mahindra Susten. In this role, he leads the company’s strategic vision and growth agenda, steering Mahindra Susten into its next phase of sustainable growth involving development and integration of large-scale renewable energy projects, and value creation for stakeholders.

With over three decades of experience in the energy sector, Avinash brings deep expertise across conventional power, transmission, and renewable energy. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of India’s renewable energy industry, having contributed to its evolution even before the launch of the National Solar Mission in 2010—the same year Mahindra Susten was established.

Avinash has a distinguished track record of building energy platforms from the ground up across multinational utilities, infrastructure funds, and listed infrastructure trusts (InvITs). Most recently, he served as CEO of Sustainable Energy Infra Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd., the Investment Manager to Sustainable Energy Infra Trust (SEIT), India’s largest pure-play Renewable Energy InvIT, listed on the NSE. 

Prior to this, he held leadership roles at Sekura India Management Limited and CLP India, where he played a pivotal role in setting up and scaling renewable energy businesses.

His leadership is defined by a unique blend of technical depth and financial acumen, with experience spanning the entire value chain—from project development, construction, operations to fund-raising, mergers & acquisitions, and scaling-up platforms.

Avinash holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mangalore University and has completed a management development program at IMD, Switzerland. He is also an alumnus of the Future Leaders Team of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Switzerland.