Director - Strategic Programs and Ecosystem Development

Director: Strategic Programs & Ecosystem, Griffin Club

Griffin is building a private, high-trust platform for India’s most consequential unicorn and soonicorn founders — leaders shaping sectors across technology, manufacturing, AI, fintech, spacetech, consumer, defence, and beyond. At this level, relevance is not created through scale — it is created through judgment.

This role is designed for someone who deeply understands:

• How founders operating at scale think
• What challenges become relevant at different stages of growth
• How to architect rooms, relationships, and experiences that genuinely move the needle

The individual will work closely with Griffin leadership to:

• Identify emerging founder problem statements
• Curate strategic engagements
• Build institutional relationships
• Shape conversations across business, government, capital markets, global ecosystems, and culture

This is not an event-led role. It is a high-context ecosystem role requiring maturity, discretion, strategic thinking, and exceptional relationship capital.

About Inc42 Media
Inc42 is India’s #1 startup media & intelligence platform that informs, educates and empowers startup & business leaders through its incisive reporting, insightful reports, curated Events & Conferences & communities, and industry-leading executive courses & programs.

Since launching in January 2015 and having risen to become the authoritative voice on India’s startup economy, we've moved markets, gotten the early scoop on billions of dollars of transactions, and told you what's happening deep inside some of the fastest-growing startups & industries alike. Our stories have been followed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, TechCrunch, and other major outlets hundreds of times. We also track over 10,000+ startups and provide market research and intelligence through our in-depth research reports, and we organise some of the most sought-after conferences and Events for startup & business leaders across India.

The Inc42 Impact:

• Inc42 stories reach over 50 Mn+ people monthly
• Published more than 55,000 stories
• Successfully conducted 125+ events
• Launched 100+ research reports
• Receives 500+ startup applications monthly
• Worked with 350+ brands

Primary Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Programming & Event Architecture:

• Identify high-relevance themes shaping founders at scale, including:
  • IPO readiness
  • Global restructuring
  • Public markets
  • AI policy and applications
  • Governance
  • Capital allocation
  • Succession planning
  • Geopolitical shifts
  • Wealth preservation
• Design founder rooms and strategic engagements around these themes
• Shape Griffin’s annual salon and immersion calendar

2. Ecosystem Relationship Building:

Build and maintain relationships across:

• Government bodies
• Regulators
• Sovereign entities
• Capital allocators
• Family offices
• Global institutions
• Industry bodies
• Cultural leaders

Enable meaningful access and opportunities for Griffin founders.

3. Institutional & Government Engagement:

• Work closely with ministries, state governments, embassies, policy leaders, and ecosystem bodies
• Identify opportunities for founder–government collaboration
• Help shape closed-door dialogues around emerging sectors and regulatory evolution

4. Founder Relevance & Context Mapping:

• Continuously map:
  • What matters to founders
  • What challenges they are facing
  • Where Griffin can create disproportionate value
• Bring outside-in thinking from global ecosystems into Griffin programming

5. Experience & Immersion Design:

Curate highly contextual founder experiences, including:

• Salons
• Retreats
• Global immersions
• Institutional visits
• Private leadership interactions

Ensure every gathering delivers intellectual and strategic depth — not just access.

What sets you apart:
Strategic Execution-

You are comfortable operating without a playbook and can bring structure to ambiguity. You turn ideas into clear, actionable plans.

Executive Presence-

You bring clarity and confidence to every interaction and can engage senior stakeholders, lead discussions, and drive alignment at the highest levels.

High EQ & Stakeholder Maturity-

You understand context, nuance, and relationships — and know how to manage them with discretion and credibility.

Builder's Mindset-

You take ownership, move fast, and are comfortable building new processes, products, or programs from scratch.

Ecosystem Fluency-

You possess a strong understanding of India’s startup and investment ecosystem and can navigate it credibly.

Curiosity-Led Thinking-

You are naturally curious, intellectually sharp, and constantly seeking insights that can be translated into action.

Professional Traits:

• 8–15 years of experience across founder ecosystems, strategic partnerships, policy engagement, founder’s office, media, global forums, institutional relations, or ecosystem-building roles
• Strong contextual understanding of India’s startup, capital markets, policy, and business landscape — particularly across growth-stage, unicorn, and public-market companies
• Existing relationships or credible access across one or more of the following:
  • Government and policy circles
  • Industry bodies (e.g. Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, NASSCOM)
  • Founder and investor ecosystems
  • Global institutions and forums
  • Strategic communications and leadership networks
• Demonstrated ability to engage and operate with senior stakeholders — including founders, policymakers, investors, and business leaders — with maturity, discretion, and credibility
• Strong judgment around people, rooms, conversations, and institutional dynamics
• Experience conceptualising and executing high-context engagements such as:
  • Leadership summits
  • Strategic roundtables
  • Ecosystem programs
  • Policy dialogues
  • Founder gatherings
  • Global immersions
• Exceptional communication and synthesis skills, with the ability to translate complex trends, founder concerns, and institutional priorities into relevant programming and meaningful discussions
• Ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments and bring structure, momentum, and clarity without constant direction
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to think long term while executing with speed and precision
• High emotional intelligence and situational awareness, with a deep understanding of nuance, confidentiality, and stakeholder sensitivities
• Natural curiosity across technology, business, geopolitics, public policy, capital markets, and the evolving role of India’s founder ecosystem globally

Experience Level

Executive Level