Dubai → Ohio → Dallas → London

Kritagya
Arora

Engineer by training. Strategist by instinct. Builder by nature. Currently designing what's next — probably over a pour-over.

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The Story

An engineer who followed curiosity into unexpected places.

I grew up in Dubai, where I first learned that the world is bigger than any one industry. I studied Industrial & Systems Engineering at Ohio State — not because I wanted to design factories, but because I wanted to understand how systems work. How things connect. How to make them better.

That curiosity pulled me into professional sports, where I spent a year with the Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew learning the business side of billion-dollar franchises. Then into Goldman Sachs, first in Dallas, then London — where I automated processes, led global reporting, and learned how decisions get made at scale.

But the thread that connects all of it? I'm a builder. I'm at my best when I'm taking something ambiguous and making it work. Finance is the current chapter. It's not the whole story.

Dubai, UAE Where it started

Grew up at the crossroads of cultures — Arabic, South Asian, global. Learned early that perspective is everything.

Columbus, Ohio The Ohio State University

B.S. Industrial & Systems Engineering. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Led a 25-person consulting team before graduating.

Cleveland, Ohio Haslam Sports Group

Year-long fellowship across the Browns (NFL) and Crew (MLS). Built pricing models, valuation tools, and a real-time draft database.

Dallas, Texas Goldman Sachs

Office of the COO. Automated reporting with Python, saved 40+ hours quarterly, and stepped up to lead when it mattered.

London, UK Goldman Sachs — Now

Credit Risk Analytics. Spearheading AI-powered reporting and leading insights across 30 analysts globally. But also plotting the next move.

Experience

Places I've built things.

Jun 2024 — Present
Goldman Sachs
London, UK
Associate — Credit Risk Analytics
Built an AI system that did in minutes what used to take days.
Spearheading internal AI automation for end-to-end reporting. Leading global coordination across 30 analysts. Turning complex credit risk data into narratives that land at the Board level.
Jun 2022 — Jun 2024
Goldman Sachs
Dallas, Texas
Analyst — Office of the COO (Risk)
Automated myself out of boring work, then took on harder problems.
Python scripts and Tableau dashboards that saved 40+ hours quarterly. Coordinated cross-team reporting for the Board. Ran the team when the manager was away — 8 people, zero dropped balls.
Jul 2021 — Jun 2022
Haslam Sports Group
Cleveland, Ohio
Diversity & Opportunity Fellow
From NFL game days to MLS draft rooms — a crash course in the business of sport.
Year-long rotational fellowship across the Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew. Built equity valuation models, optimised pricing for a 25% growth opportunity, designed a real-time MLS Draft database.
Sep 2020 — May 2021
Peerless Saw Company
Columbus, Ohio
Process Improvement Intern
Cut packaging time by 22%. Earned a Green Belt. Learned to love the factory floor.
Lean Six Sigma project that reduced packaging time and saved 30% on warehouse space. Briefed executives every two months and persuaded them to make the changes that mattered.
Ventures

Things I'm building.

I think about niche markets the way other people think about fantasy football — obsessively and with spreadsheets. Here's what I'm working on.

💎 Exploring

Men's Fine Jewelry

A demi-fine jewelry concept targeting a market most brands overlook. Still in research mode — market sizing, positioning, and figuring out if the unit economics work.

Thesis → The $44.3B ethnic accessories market has massive white space for elevated men's pieces.
Writing

Things I'm thinking.

✍️

Watch this space.

I'm building the habit of writing in public — on coffee, strategy, building things, and the gaps I see in markets nobody's paying attention to. First pieces dropping soon.

The Human

Beyond the résumé.

The stuff that actually makes me interesting at dinner parties.

Coffee Obsessive

Full espresso and pour-over setup at home. I've hosted pop-ups, dialled in light roasts at 6am, and have strong opinions about water temperature. The line between hobby and future business is intentionally blurry.

Espresso · Pour Over · V60 · Pop-ups
🏏

Cricket

India supporter through every heartbreak and glory. There's nothing quite like a test match on day five.

India Cricket · Test Purist

Football

Manchester United fan. Yes, it's been a journey. No, I'm not switching. Glory, glory.

Man United · GGMU
🎵

Music Without Borders

English, Hindi, Arabic, French, K-pop — if it's good, it's good. Genre and language are just containers.

Multilingual · Eclectic · Always Discovering
✈️

Food & Travel

I eat my way through every city I visit. The best meals are the ones nobody told you about — a side street in Dubai, a counter seat in Dallas, a market stall in London.

Foodie · Wanderer · Side Street Enthusiast
📚

Reading (Again)

Recently rediscovered the joy of reading — strategy, biography, and the occasional novel that rewires how I think about things.

Strategy · Biography · Fiction
Let's Talk

Let's build something.

Whether it's a venture, a conversation, or just coffee recommendations — I'm always up for it. Especially the coffee part.

Designed & built with intention (and too much espresso) · Kritagya Arora 2026

☕ You found the coffee corner.

Since you're clearly someone with good taste and attention to detail, here's what I'm currently drinking:

Current Rotation:

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Yirgacheffe — Light Roast
Brewed on V60 · 15g in, 250g out · 93°C
Notes: Blueberry, jasmine, lemon zest

If you want to talk coffee, that's honestly the fastest way to get me to reply to an email.