About
A LIFE SPENT BUILDING, LEARNING AND LEAVING THINGS STRONGER.
I am a technology entrepreneur, board advisor and author based in Dubai. For more than three decades, I have built, scaled and transformed enterprise technology businesses across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia—alongside a parallel life in writing.
Today
I am the President & Chief Executive Officer of Agile Financial Technologies, an insurance technology company serving insurers, banks, brokers and financial institutions in more than thirty countries.
I am also the founder of My Life’s Vault, a family-preparedness platform that bridges the space between financial planning and estate planning, helping individuals and families prepare for life, incapacity, emergencies, continuity and legacy.
Alongside these ventures, I serve on boards, advise leadership teams and mentor founders.
The Journey
Insyst Technologies
Learned the full life of an enterprise technology business—from product development and implementation to consulting, sales, marketing and general management. Later served as Chief Operating Officer.
Xmediaries
Founded in 2000, with operations across India, the UAE and South Africa. Built CrossRoads, an enterprise relationship management platform adopted by companies including GSK, BP, TNT and Canon. CrossRoads was acquired by Insyst in 2002 — the first of two operator exits — after which Kalpesh became Insyst's Chief Operating Officer.
3i Infotech
Served as Chief Operating Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and as a member of the Operating Board. Helped lead the transition from an IT services organisation to a global enterprise software business, later documented in an INSEAD case study.
Agile Financial Technologies
Founded in 2007 to bring global enterprise insurance technology together with strong local implementation and support. Today, Agile operates across more than thirty countries.
My Life’s Vault
Founded after recognising that families are often far less prepared for incapacity, emergencies and continuity than the organisations they depend upon.
Beyond the Executive Role
I serve as a Non-Executive Director of SunGlobal Investments (Middle East) Limited in the DIFC and as Advisor to the Board of Artee Group, the franchise partner of SPAR International in Nigeria. I also advise and mentor the leadership of emerging ventures and purpose-led organisations.
My contribution tends to centre on governance, strategy, technology, operating discipline, succession and the transition from founder or CEO dependence to institutional strength.
I see leadership and board service as acts of custodianship: protecting what has been built, preparing for what comes next and leaving the organisation stronger than it was found.
Writing
Writing has always existed alongside the operating life. It gives me room to examine questions that business conversations often move past too quickly: responsibility, organisational drift, memory, family, loss and what remains after a person leaves the room.
Not on My Watch, scheduled to be published by Shrishti Publishers, is a business parable about custodianship and the discipline of intervening before decline becomes irreversible. Its central ideas later helped shape Agilis Sentinel.
My literary work includes Jasmines in Her Hair and What the Train Left Behind. I also write poetry and spoken word, sharing reflections on love, memory, loss, identity and the quieter moments of life with an engaged audience on Instagram.
Still Learning
Every chapter has taught me something different: how to build, how to scale, how to begin again, when to intervene and when to step back.
I remain curious about institutions, technology, leadership, family and the decisions that shape what comes next.
