Umesh is the Research Director for The Circulate Initiative, a non-profit organization that works to solve the ocean plastic pollution challenge and build circular and equitable economies across emerging markets. In his role, Umesh is responsible for data and insights to fill critical gaps in the plastics circularity space. As a thought leader, he regularly shares his insights on the multifaceted nature of the global plastic waste problem, investment opportunities in the circular value chain and areas where potential for impact is the most significant across the ecosystem. Umesh has close to two decades of experience in research and consulting, with a dedicated focus on South and Southeast Asia. He is passionate about leveraging the power of data and insights to achieve impact goals, and the integration of sustainability into business practices. At The Circulate Initiative, he combines his experience in research and data analytics with his desire to make an impact on the world’s sustainable development. Umesh is committed to improving the availability and quality of data on the plastics circular economy to bridge knowledge gaps across hard-to-research topics such as the relationship between climate change and plastic waste management or the investability of the waste management sector, with the objective of spurring more evidence-based interventions against the plastic pollution crisis. Umesh is a management graduate from the Institute of Rural Management Anand.