- Gautam Narasimhan served as a Senior Adviser at UNICEF for more than seven years.
- In January 2026, he launched his startup Verdera, which is focused on climate adaptation.
- Narasimhan moved back to Bengaluru last month after spending over 12 years in New York.
- In a LinkedIn post shared two days ago, he reflected that his work remains largely the same, with only the timing of calls changing.
- He noted that Bengaluru's rains and traffic serve as real-world examples of the need for climate adaptation.
- Narasimhan stated that while life in Bengaluru feels very different from New York, his professional life has changed surprisingly little.
- He explained that his work is international and can be done from almost anywhere, leading to minimal changes in his professional life.
- Narasimhan mentioned that discussions on climate were common in New York, but he now spends more time with people unfamiliar with the terminology.
- He highlighted that people in Bengaluru have first-hand experiences of climate-related issues, even if they do not use specific terminology.
Gautam Narasimhan, who served as a Senior Adviser at UNICEF for over seven years, recently relocated to Bengaluru, citing family, personal, and professional reasons.1369
He stated, “We moved back to Bangalore, India last month after over 12 years in New York.” Despite the geographical shift, Narasimhan noted that his professional life has changed surprisingly little.8
“The work itself has been pretty portable, and the biggest difference is which calls I'm now doing earlier in the morning or later in the evening,” he explained.
Narasimhan highlighted the global nature of his work, stating, “On one hand, it's a totally different world. On the other hand, things, especially work, have stayed remarkably the same: working with team members in Europe to deliver work in the US, Africa and Asia.”
He also discussed the pressing need for climate adaptation in Bengaluru, where he is encountering people who may not use the terminology but have first-hand experiences of the issues.25
“When you talk about making sure organisations can keep functioning as floods, storms and heatwaves become less predictable and hit harder, a lot of people have a story to tell you,” he said.
Narasimhan used Bengaluru's unpredictable rains and traffic as examples of the need for adaptation, stating, “Bangalore has been a good teacher on this. The monsoon rains have arrived, though they're behaving strangely this year.”
“Narasimhan launched Verdera in January 2026 to build an operating system for climate adaptation. He notes that while climate discussions were common in New York, Bengaluru residents have first-hand experience with floods and heatwaves, making adaptation conversations more grounded.”
