# Svanika Balasubramanian

> Svanika Balasubramanian is the co-founder and Chief Circularity Officer of rePurpose Global, having served as CEO until January 2026. Born in India and raised in Oman, she studied economics at Wharton, where research into Mumbai’s informal recycling economy became the starting point for the company. Her work spans plastic recovery financing, circular economy partnerships and policy advocacy; she has also reported on migrant workers as a Pulitzer Center fellow.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Chief Circularity Officer at rePurpose Global
- **Organizations:** rePurpose Global, Innovation Alliance for a Global Plastics Treaty, Fast Company Impact Council, Aeravti Ventures, Pulitzer Center
- **Education:** Economics undergraduate degree, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** 2018 Penn President’s Engagement Prize recipient with Peter Wang Hjemdahl., Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia recognition with rePurpose Global co-founders in 2020., 2024 CNBC Changemaker.

## Career timeline

- **2015-2018** — Wharton undergraduate period; summer analyst experience at Deloitte Middle East and Morgan Stanley in New York, as described in Wharton’s 2025 interview.
- **2018** — Graduated from Penn; received the President’s Engagement Prize with Peter Wang Hjemdahl for rePurpose; worked with co-founder Aditya Siroya on the venture.
- **2018-2019** — Pulitzer Center student reporting fellowship on Indian migrant workers in Oman; reporting published in 2019.
- **2020** — rePurpose Global co-founders recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.
- **2024** — Named a CNBC Changemaker and appeared at the inaugural Changemakers Summit.
- **2025** — Continued as CEO during the launch year of rePurpose’s Packaging Compliance software platform.
- **2026-01** — Became Co-Founder and Chief Circularity Officer as Manika Doshi became CEO on January 28.

## Achievements

- 2018 Penn President’s Engagement Prize recipient with Peter Wang Hjemdahl.
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia recognition with rePurpose Global co-founders in 2020.
- 2024 CNBC Changemaker.
- World Economic Forum SDG Champion, One Young World Lead2030 Champion and Emerson Dial Fellow, as listed in public professional biographies.
- Co-founded rePurpose Global, which reported cumulative recovery of 100 million pounds of plastic waste across 11 countries in January 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Announced January 28 transition from CEO to Chief Circularity Officer; Manika Doshi became CEO.
- **2026-01** — In the same announcement, rePurpose reported 500+ brand partnerships, 100 million pounds of recovered plastic and operations across 11 countries.
- **2025-04** — Wharton Global Youth published an interview on her career, circular economy work and the company’s origins.

## Links

- Website: https://repurpose.global/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svanikab/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/svanika-balasubramanian
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22