Rao Mahesh

CEO and Board Member at ProPelOn AI, Business Transformation Advisor, Author

Seasoned business transformation expert with over 20 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies, holding 16 U.S. and international patents, and author of the business transformation book 'Front Runners'

Experience

CEO and Board Member · ProPelOn AI
2022 – Present
Founded AI-powered process automation platform that bridges the gap between business strategy and action, utilizing patented gamification and AI coaching to boost employee engagement by up to 87%
Investor, Incubator and Board Member · Various Startups
2013 – Present
Active investor and advisor to multiple startup companies
Founder · Transformational Leadership Group
2011 – Present
Founded one of the top leadership groups on LinkedIn, growing the executive community to over 120,000 members
Board Member · LaunchGTM
2021 – 2024
Served on the board providing strategic guidance for go-to-market strategies
Executive Consultant, Business Strategy & Business Transformation · SolomonEdwards
2003 – 2023
Provided executive consulting services for business strategy and transformation initiatives across Fortune 100 companies and high-growth startups
Founder and CEO · Quest 2 Excel (Q2E)
Founded company focused on gamification and channel partner engagement solutions, developing patented technologies for business transformation

About

Education

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
MBA, Innovation, Transformation, Operations Management
Unknown
BS, Engineering

Areas of Expertise

Business TransformationStrategy Planning and ExecutionOperational ExcellenceDigital TransformationInnovation ManagementGo-to-Market (GTM) Strategy

Key Achievements

Won the Japanese Government's Most Valuable Patent Award in 2005Holds 16 U.S. and international patents for innovative problem-solving designs and strategic initiativesAuthor of 'Front Runners: Lap Your Competition With 10 Game-Changing Strategies for Total Business Transformation'Founded and grew Transformational Leadership Group on LinkedIn to over 120,000 membersSuccessfully co-founded SpinCircuit Inc., which was acquired by Cadence Design SystemsReduced product launch cycles from 12 months to 5 months for a $300M enterprise software company

Personality Traits

DynamicCreativeCollaborativeEnergeticDrivenHigh emotional intelligence

Contributions

Developed the 'Transformation Triangle' framework emphasizing harmony between People, Process, and SystemsCreated the ProPelOn AI platform with patented gamification and AI coaching features for business executionPioneered methodologies for solving engagement and accountability challenges in organizationsAuthored ten strategic steps of business transformation used by Fortune 100 company executivesCreated comprehensive launch readiness scorecards and Launch Command Center frameworksDeveloped customer advisory board models for early feedback and advocacy