PNN
New Delhi [India], February 14: In a profession often defined by numbers, compliance, and caution, Mrs Bhakti Gautam Chheda has spent over two decades proving that the true measure of leadership lies not only in financial acumen but in vision, courage, and societal impact. Her conferment of the CA Woman Startup Award at the 3rd CA Women Excellence Awards stands as a powerful acknowledgement of a career that has consistently crossed traditional boundaries, linking corporate excellence with nation-building through sport, education, and inclusion.
The award, instituted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), recognises women Chartered Accountants who have demonstrated exceptional professional excellence while making meaningful contributions to society. Mrs. Chheda's journey fits this ethos precisely: measured, strategic, and deeply purpose-driven.
From Global Boardrooms to Grassroots India
A dynamic Chartered Accountant by profession, Bhakti began her professional career in high-stakes global environments. With senior roles across multinational corporations, investment banks, and private equity firms, including industry giants such as Halliburton and Deloitte. She built a formidable foundation in corporate finance, investment strategy, and systems audit. Over 20 years, she earned a reputation for precision, governance-driven thinking, and the ability to navigate complexity at scale.
Yet, as her career progressed, a deeper calling emerged, one that could not be contained within boardrooms alone.
"I realised that true impact is not only about managing capital," she has often reflected, "but about building ecosystems that allow people to grow."
The Birth of a New Sports Ecosystem
In 2019, Bhakti co-founded SGlobal Acumen Pvt. Ltd. (SGA), a Pune-based startup with a bold, unconventional vision: to revolutionise India's grassroots sports ecosystem through structured systems, technology, and education.
At a time when sports development in India remained fragmented, often dependent on individual talent rather than institutional support, SGA introduced a professional, data-backed, and inclusive model. The organisation bridged the long-standing gap between raw talent and opportunity by designing high-performance athlete systems, managing national-level sporting events, and integrating circular economy principles into sports operations.
Under her leadership, SGA positioned itself as a first-choice partner for grassroots sports development in India, combining operational excellence with social responsibility.
Measurable Impact, National Scale
The numbers behind SGA's work tell a compelling story, but they are best understood as outcomes of disciplined leadership rather than goals in themselves.
Over the last five years, SGA has achieved nearly 50x growth, delivering large-scale, high-complexity sporting projects across the country, often in collaboration with multiple national and institutional partners. These include:
- 38th National Games, Uttarakhand
- 37th National Games, Goa
- FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, Goa
- 11th Asian Aquatics Championship 2025
- 27th National Youth Festival, Nashik
- Multiple editions of Khelo India Youth and University Games
- State Olympics Maharashtra 2023, Pune
- Late Khashaba Jadhav Wrestling Tournament 2023, Udgir
- Para Khelo India 2025, Delhi
Beyond event delivery, SGA has managed logistics and operations across more than 30 cities, supported 60,000+ athletes and officials, overseen sports infrastructure projects exceeding ₹500 crore, and enabled millions of athlete movements through integrated transport and operations planning.
What distinguishes this growth is not scale alone, but consistency built on governance, compliance, and risk management principles drawn directly from Bhakti's Chartered Accountancy background.
Democratising Sports Science Education
Recognising that sustainable sports development requires more than events, Bhakti helped in the expansion of SGA's mission into education and capacity building. Through SGA's high-performance centres and online education platforms, she has worked to democratise access to sports science education across India and beyond.
These government-recognised, skill-based certification programmes span sports nutrition, psychology, injury management, talent identification, and sports data analytics, creating a pipeline of industry-ready coaches, athletes, and professionals.
Her belief is unambiguous: every woman, para-athlete, rural learner, and working professional deserves access to knowledge that empowers independence and excellence.
A Leader Redefining the Role of Chartered Accountants
The CA Women Excellence Award recognises not only Bhakti's professional longevity, but her role in redefining what it means to be a Chartered Accountant in modern India.
She represents a generation of CAs who move beyond compliance into creation using financial discipline as a launchpad for innovation, inclusion, and systemic change. Her work demonstrates how core accounting principles, transparency, accountability, and long-term thinking can be applied to sectors as dynamic and human-centric as sport.
By integrating financial rigour with social vision, she has shown that Chartered Accountants can be architects of ecosystems, not just custodians of balance sheets.
A Recognition Rooted in Purpose
Speaking on the occasion of receiving the award, Bhakti dedicated the honour to the countless athletes, educators, professionals, and women who continue to build quietly, often without visibility.
"For every athlete who dreams bigger, every woman who learns fearlessly, and every learner who believes in the power of knowledge, we are building more than platforms. We are building possibility."
This philosophy runs through every chapter of her career, measured, grounded, and forward-looking.
Looking Ahead
As India's sports sector enters a phase of rapid institutionalisation and global engagement, leaders like Bhakti will play a critical role in shaping its future. With SGA expanding its footprint across technology-enabled sports management, education, and analytics, the coming years promise a deeper impact and wider reach.
The CA Women Excellence Award 2025 is not merely a recognition of past accomplishments. It is a marker of sustained excellence and a reminder that when professional integrity meets social vision, the results can transform industries.
For the Chartered Accountancy profession, for Indian sport, and for women leaders across sectors, Mrs Bhakti Gautam Chheda's journey offers a blueprint worth studying and a legacy still unfolding.
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