Manish Maheshwari completes Harvard Mason Fellowship

Manish Maheshwari, former Head of Twitter India and a prominent figure in the Indian technology sector, has successfully completed the Edward S. Mason Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School. The commencement ceremony, held on May 29, 2025, saw degrees conferred by Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein and Harvard University President Alan Garber.

The Mason Fellowship is designed for seasoned leaders from emerging countries committed to public impact and innovation. Notable alumni include Singapore's current Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, UN’s former Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Nobel Peace Prize laureates President Santos of Colombia and President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Alumni also include leaders across diverse fields including NGOs, central banks, social movements, media, and entrepreneurship, highlighting the program's impact and prestige.

During his time at Harvard, Maheshwari focused on artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing the deployment of technology to address societal challenges. He co-led the development of "MEGHA," a voice-first AI solution designed to assist rural citizens in accessing government schemes via basic mobile phones. The project won the top prize at Harvard Kennedy School’s AI for Good Hackathon, highlighting its potential to bridge digital divides in India.

This academic pursuit complements Maheshwari’s entrepreneurial endeavors. As General Partner and India Head at BAT VC, a cross-border venture capital firm, he recently announced a $100 million fund targeting early-stage AI startups in India and the U.S. This initiative aims to bolster the Indo-U.S. tech corridor, fostering innovation and scalable solutions in fintech, enterprise SaaS, and core AI sectors.

"The opportunity to study AI and public impact in a global context has been timely," Maheshwari remarked. "As AI rapidly reshapes economies and governance. Harvard provided the ideal environment to interrogate these questions and collaborate with peers from over 90 countries."

Maheshwari’s previous leadership roles include heading Twitter’s India operations, serving on its global new markets team, building Flipkart’s third-party seller ecosystem, and leading Intuit as Head of New Market Development.

With this latest academic milestone, Maheshwari is expected to play a growing role in shaping technology-led development strategies that connect India with global innovation ecosystems.