Sarvesh Rajagopal

sarvesh rajagopal

International business leader with 13 years of experience in logistics, e-commerce, trade finance & management consulting ; Ex- McKinsey

India

Bio Summary

I am a dynamic senior international business leader with over a decade of experience driving startup growth, shaping corporate strategies, and delivering impactful management consulting across Europe, the Middle East, and India.

As the founder and leader of Castlegate Forwarding Europe (CGF) at Wayfair, I successfully scaled the business to exceed 30,000 TEUs and achieved $100 million in revenue within four years while consistently maintaining a gross margin above 10%. I built and led a diverse, high-performing team of over 25 professionals from 10 nationalities, achieving an impressive customer repeat rate of over 85%. CGF operated effectively across six European countries, demonstrating our operational excellence.


My expertise includes:

- Leadership and Management
- B2B Sales and Customer Success
- Operations and Management Consulting
- Digital Business Building
- Cross-Border Commerce
- P&L Management

Fueled by a passion for developing sustainable, customer-centric solutions, I offer a unique global perspective on business problems, as I have worked in 10 countries

Please feel free to reach out for talks on potential opportunities or collaborations.

Employment History

Wayfair

General Manager - Castlegate Forwarding

Wayfair

February 2019 - October 2023

Berlin, Germany

Castlegate Forwarding Europe (CGF) is Wayfair's digital international logistics division from Asia & Far East to Wayfair's network across North America & Europe. • Founder of CGF in EU and Management leader of global CG ...see more
ING

Corporate Strategist

ING

June 2017 - January 2019

Amsterdam, Netherlands

- Founding member of the revised ING Group's corporate strategy team under new leadership, reporting directly to the group CEO - Delivered multiple high-profile engagements, including PMI of two retail banking units, launch ...see more
McKinsey & Company

Engagement Manager

McKinsey & Company

April 2011 - March 2017

Dubai - United Arab Emirates

- Strategized & launched a greenfield digital trade finance bank, focusing on MSME exporters across the globe, for an international shipping liner; Impact was a loan book of $350M+ within three years with a team of 80 FTEs - ...see more

Selected Project Experience

Project Description:
Strategized & launched a greenfield digital trade finance bank, focusing on MSME exporters across the globe for an international shipping liner; Impact was a loan book of $350M+ within three years with a team of 80 FTEs

Industry: Shipping

Topic(s): Trade Finance, Business Strategy, New Business Build, Container Shipping

Project Description:
Setup a central sourcing global organization & operating model for a Dutch telecom company covering 12 of their international subsidiaries

Industry: Telecom

Topic(s): Post Merger Integration, Procurement, Organizational Design

Project Description:
Achieved savings of $4-5 Mn (13-15% reduction) on sourcing costs for top 20 APIs for a leading Middle East pharmaceutical company

Industry: Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products

Topic(s): Procurement, Request For Quotation (RFQ)

Project Description:
Improved productivity by 40% by leading a back office lean transformation for a Danish Freight Forwarder

Industry: Shipping

Topic(s): Service Operations, Lean, Logistics, Air And Ocean Freight Forwarding

Project Description:
Castlegate Forwarding Europe (CGF) is Wayfair's digital international logistics division from Asia & Far East to Wayfair's network across North America & Europe. • Founder of CGF in EU and Management leader of global CGF responsible for building Top 20 trans-pacific freight forwarders organically in 5 years • Exceeded targets significantly by scaling the business to over 30000+ TEUs/$100M within four years with a consistent GM of >10% Established a customer success team, managing 150+ B2B customers, of international industry experts, resulting in a consistent repeat rate of over 85% • Built out local drayage operations in six European geographies for on-time & cost-effective container deliveries

Industry: Transportation & Logistics

Topic(s): New Business Build, Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales, Account Management, Air And Ocean Freight Forwarding, Drayage

Education

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta

2011

Bachelor of Technology - Chemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

2009

Language Skills

Country Experience

Germany India Netherlands Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates United Kingdom

Skills

Sales

Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales,

E-Commerce

Finance

Profit And Loss (P&L) Management,

Trade Finance

Business

New Business Build,

Service Operations,

Business Strategy,

Business Unit Strategy,

Management Consulting

Transportation, Supply Chain, and Logistics

Logistics,

International Logistics,

Procurement,

Air And Ocean Freight Forwarding,

Freight Forwarding

Industry Experience

Technology

eCommerce (B2C)

Transportation & Logistics

Logistics,

Shipping

Professional Services

Management Consulting

Financial Services

Retail banking,

Transactions Banking