Kaushik Burman

Kaushik Burman is an engineer and business executive with a career focused on advancing sustainable transportation and clean-energy mobility solutions. With more than 20 years of experience in the energy and mobility sectors, Burman has contributed to the development and scaling of clean-energy transport infrastructure across emerging markets. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Osmania University UCE, an MBA from INSEAD, and completed an advanced program in technology and policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. At INSEAD, Burman is a certified coach and faculty member for executive programs on strategic disruption and digital transformation, collaborating with clients in the energy, consumer goods, and technology sectors.

Burman began his career at Tata Consultancy Services as a design engineer before moving to Nestlé India, Citibank, and HSBC in sales and business development roles. He later joined Shell, working across Europe and Asia in fleet management, transport solutions, and marketing, and was a founding member of Shell's Liquefied Natural Gas for transport team based in The Hague, Netherlands, where he contributed to establishing supply chains and designing refueling infrastructure. He served as general manager for Shell Fleet Solutions in Singapore and Indonesia before transitioning to Gogoro, an electric mobility and battery-swapping company listed on NASDAQ. At Gogoro, Burman led global expansion into markets including Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, and India, and served as managing director for Gogoro India.

Burman was appointed CEO of Spiro, a company operating electric motorcycles and battery-swap infrastructure in Africa, including Rwanda, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and Kenya. As CEO, Burman has overseen the development of Africa's largest electric mobility fleet and a rapidly growing battery-swapping network. His infrastructure-first strategy has focused on scaling electric two-wheel transport into a pan-regional system, prioritizing infrastructure development to drive adoption. Spiro expanded its electric motorcycle and battery-swapping operations across six African markets, with pilot deployments in Tanzania and Cameroon, deploying more than 60,000 electric motorcycles and over 1,200 battery-swapping stations.

Under Burman's leadership, Spiro has deepened local manufacturing by scaling assembly operations in Kenya and strengthening the connection between production, deployment, and maintenance. This approach has reduced supply-chain fragility and anchored the company within local economies. Spiro was included in TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies list and was named among the five finalists for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AI and Manufacturing. The company has completed a $215 million equity raise and acquired UK-based engineering firm Coexlion as part of its continental expansion. Burman's work at Spiro has influenced the electric mobility sector in Africa, demonstrating the viability of electric transport and highlighting the importance of infrastructure in scaling clean-energy solutions.