CACTUS Leadership

Abhishek Goel

Co-founder and CEO

After a chance encounter with a Japanese professor who needed support in editing his research paper, Abhishek co-founded Cactus Communications (CACTUS) in 2002. Today he continues to build, develop, and scale the organization. CACTUS has grown into a global scientific communications company that collaborates with researchers, universities, publishers, societies, and life science organizations to accelerate research publishing and impact. A recipient of Ascent Foundation’s “Entrepreneur of the Year" award in 2017, Abhishek’s role has been instrumental in establishing, developing, and scaling up the organization. Before founding CACTUS, Abhishek was a part of the international non-profit organization AIESEC in various leadership roles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Mumbai and possesses a deep understanding of customer experience, commitment to innovation, and entrepreneurial vision, and is dedicated to serving CACTUS customers. Under his guidance and inclusive leadership, CACTUS has won recognition like being featured among the Best Companies for Millennials, Top 20 Companies for Remote Jobs, and Best Organization for Women Empowerment/Women Talent Development.

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Basil D'Souza

Senior Vice President, Customer Experience & President, Korea Operations

Basil largely works with universities and academia to address challenges faced by South Korean authors in their publication journey. He also oversees the client servicing function, a role he took on in 2023. Basil has worked with Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, Hanyang University, KAIST, and UNIST, among others, to train young researchers on navigating the complex publication journey. He is currently President of the Council of Asian Science Editors (CASE) and a special member of the Korea Council of Science Editors (KCSE). He has a master’s degree in Nuclear Physics and has authored two published articles on science communication and dissemination. He has also been interviewed by Science Editor and featured on CNBC Korea for his views on academia.

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Christine Hu

General Manager, Greater China

Christine serves as the General Manager in Greater China and is responsible for setting up the market strategy, driving business development and commercial activities. Christine comes with extensive experience in marketing, communications, and government relations in the publishing, information service, clinical solution, and pharmaceutical industries. She served as Marketing Head of CACTUS Greater China before she took the current position. Prior to joining CACTUS, Christine has held leadership positions in the R&D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee and Wolters Kluwer China, and she was also associated with senior roles in China Daily.

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Dinesh Modi

Chief Financial Officer

Dinesh brings with him rich, hands-on experience of over 20 years across various domains like corporate finance, planning and budgeting, strategy, operations management, fundraising, IT, and M&A. He has worked extensively in the United States of America as well as in India in multiple organizations such as BearingPoint, M. C. Dean, Eros International Media, WNS, Prana Studios, and Modiguard. Having engaged with a range of different business houses, he has helped streamline finance and operational processes, enhancing efficiency and bottom line. A qualified Chartered Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant (USA), Dinesh brings a healthy mix of knowledge and hands-on skills. Combined with a strong business acumen and an entrepreneurial approach, he possesses exceptional leadership skills. Enthusiastic about life, Dinesh enjoys the process of meeting and discussing new approaches and mentoring people who have ideas and strategies to share.

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Elvira D’souza

President, Cactus Life Sciences

Leading a global team that works with pharma, biotech, and device companies, Elvira plays a key role in helping these organizations communicate their research to various stakeholders. Elvira has a sound understanding of global outsourcing of medical communications services and works extensively with key decision makers within medical affairs teams globally to provide customized solutions that meet their needs. Elvira is extensively involved with medical writing communities, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Mumbai and a master’s degree in business administration from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, India. She also has an ELS certification from the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences and is an active member of the International Society for Medical Publishing Professionals (ISMPP).

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Makoto Yuasa

Representative Director, Japan

Makoto heads the Japan and South Korea operations. Armed with a law degree from Nihon University, Japan, he took a detour into the world of marketing and sales. A significant player in the marketing and promotions of CACTUS’s editorial offerings to researchers in Japan, Makoto has been a key player in handling business development for publication support, education, transcription, translation, and design services. Since 2013, he has served as the Vice President of the executive committee of ScienceTalks, CACTUS’s initiative to build an interactive platform to enable authors and researchers to connect and exchange ideas in real-time. Makoto has a deep understanding of cross-cultural business differences after having lived in Japan, India, and the UK, and he uses this understanding to engage stakeholders and expand CACTUS’s work and imprint.

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Nikesh Gosalia

President, Global Academic & Publisher Relations

Nikesh drives partnerships with publishers, technology companies, universities, academic societies, trade associations, professional membership organizations, and funding bodies largely in the US and Europe. He has spearheaded partnerships with leading scholarly publishers such as Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Wolters Kluwer, and Frontiers. His mission is to facilitate the communication and dissemination of research and foster public engagement with science. He is the host of Insights Xchange (formerly All Things SciComm), a podcast where he invites opinion leaders from academia to discuss hot topics in academia. With over 20 years of experience in operations management, scaling up businesses, strategic partnerships, and driving B2B sales and marketing, the London-based MBA graduate from Warwick Business School brings a wealth of expertise to the scholarly publishing and financial services industries.

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Nishchay Shah

Chief Technology Officer and Head, Emerging Products

Nishchay oversees technology and innovation across products and brands at CACTUS. Experienced in handling tech-budgeting, outsourcing, and global tech recruitment, Nishchay manages a large department with over 250 experts working in product management, software development, UX, DevOps, Digital innovation, and Machine Learning. He focuses on creating, translating, and mobilizing big-picture visions downstream. Nishchay has over 15 years of experience in software development and technology and strives to stay on the bleeding edge of innovation. He has worked in the US for over a decade, and has handled diverse teams in the US, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, and the UK. Having successfully led both B2C and B2B product teams in the past, Nishchay has a thorough understanding of the end-to-end product and technology life cycles. He has a master’s degree from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, specializing in Computer Networks and Database Systems.

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Prabh Grewal

Senior Vice President, Operations (Research Solutions)

Prabh currently leads our operations teams, focusing on research solutions that include editorial, translation, publication support, and research communication services. He is dedicated to scaling operations and implementing lean, technology-driven processes, including cutting-edge AI-based automation. With over 24 years of experience across industries and countries, including India, South Africa, and the Philippines, Prabh has held pivotal roles in operations, encompassing diverse industry verticals like IT, utilities, retail, travel, banking and financial services, and mergers and acquisitions. He holds certifications in Finance for Business Managers (XLRI) and Operations Management (Harvard Business Review).

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Shriram Poonja

Chief Growth Officer

Shriram Poonja began his journey with CACTUS as a designer, and in the 15 years that followed, took charge of expanding business in APAC, ME, and EMEA. Over the years, Shriram has led diverse teams ranging from creative to technical, ensuring success of complex and innovative projects. His deep-rooted curiosity and passion to pursue next-gen innovations help him create effective B2C experiences. Shriram has a deep understanding of geographical and cultural nuances that equip him to forge strong B2B alliances. His rich experience helps him garner scale that directly translates into profitability in all his endeavours. Today, Shriram drives client and business growth across brands and markets. Prior to joining CACTUS, Shriram worked in CMM level 5 organizations where he designed, developed, and implemented multi-channel programs that have created measurable impact on revenues.

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Sourav Dutta

Chief Strategy Officer

Sourav is responsible for strategy roadmap, acquisitions and investments, post-merger integrations, strategic transformation, incubation of new businesses at CACTUS, and competitive insights. Within 3 years of joining CACTUS, he spearheaded its acquisition and integration of a Denmark-based AI startup and a Brazil-based company with the largest repository of scientifically accurate illustrations. He also drove CACTUS’s investments in scite, Scholarcy, doDOC, Kudos, and Cadmore. Prior to joining CACTUS, Sourav worked across Growth and Entry Strategy, M&A and Post-deal Integration, GTM Strategy, Corporate Performance Management, Supply Chain and Logistics, EBIT/ROCE Improvement, and Organization Design in leading companies like Tata Consumer Products, PwC (Consulting), and Tech Mahindra across India and the US. He is an Electronics and Communication Engineer from the Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, and has an MBA from IIM Bangalore.

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Yashmi Pujara

Chief Human Resources Officer

Yashmi entered the field of HR after spending a decade in marketing. With over 15 years at CACTUS, she has played multiple roles in Human Resources and Organization Development and has led initiatives spanning organizational culture, values, talent, performance, reward, and leadership development. She has been instrumental in shaping a unique culture at CACTUS and played an important role in conceptualizing and implementing its people policies, which has brought recognition to the organization through awards like Great Place to Work (ranked #1 among Mid-sized Organizations in 2017), Best Organization for Women Empowerment, among the Top 10 Safe Places to Work, and among the Best Companies for Millennials in 2019.

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