A note from the Founder
On Building Things That Last
I’ve sat in the rooms where 'unicorn' status is built, and I’ve seen the hidden toll hyper-growth and adrenaline fueled transformation efforts take on culture, on systems, and on leaders themselves.
During my time scaling organizations like Gojek, (and advising/investing in numerous others) I learned a hard truth: What got you to Series A will break you at Series C, and the sprint from Series D to an exit event for investors can test your soul.
I founded Cognisen because I saw a gap in the market. Founders and investors were drowning in theoretical advice, but starving for practical, operator-led wisdom. You don’t need another 100-page slide deck on 'synergy.' You need to know how to restructure a team without destroying morale, or how to scale culture when you’re hiring half your total headcount a month.
Cognisen is the partner I wish I had back then. We blend the hard logic of business strategy with the reality of human dynamics.
Let’s build an organization that does more than just grow; Let’s build something that lasts.
- Sunil Setlur, Founder and Principal
Meet Sunil
Sunil founded Cognisen to help teams and companies do what they do best– execute magically in service of their vision.
Having spent nearly two decades at the intersection of People, Organization, Strategy and Culture, Sunil is a technology optimist who is on a mission to build organisations that inspire people to do their best work everyday.
Sunil concurrently serves as Founder of Cognisen and as CHRO for Mindtickle
Prior to his current roles, Sunil was Advisor to the Group CEO at the GOTO group, Venture Portfolio advisor at Argor (formerly Go-Ventures)and most notably he was the Global Chief People Officer (CHRO) at Gojek.
Earlier in his career, Sunil held HR and leadership roles at Google, Amazon, and Accenture. Sunil holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations, Economics, and Sociology from Bangalore University, India as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Human Capital Management from XLRI Jamshedpur, India.
