Résumé

Skandha Suhas Badrinarayan

Download PDF

Education

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies College of Business) · December 2027

GPA: 3.9/4

Bachelor of Science, Finance; Minor in Business Analytics

Relevant Coursework: Financial Markets, Accounting, Corporate Finance, Data Science, Business Analytics, Leadership

Professional experience

AbbVie

Chicago, IL, USA

Jr. Business Systems (Market Research) Summer Analyst · May 2026 – Aug 2026

  • Analyzed operational and AI risks across the market research organization, identifying workflow and control gaps
  • Evaluated 10+ security vendors across capabilities, needs, and risk criteria to support enterprise technology decisions
  • Developed MRTHub, an agent-driven platform, aiding scoping for market research projects, winning AI Hackathon
  • Built DISHwatcher, a full-stack monitoring platform tracking 160+ enterprise endpoints for thousands of employees
  • Centralized real-time diagnostics, service status, and business-impact insights, winning 1st place in the HackVie

OrchardEDU

Portland, OR, USA

Co-Founder and Head of Business Development · Aug 2025 - Present

  • Co-founded an AI-native platform transforming instructor course materials into curriculum-aligned education content
  • Led customer discovery with professors and pilot schools while recruiting advisors and technical co-founders
  • Built AWS infrastructure cost models and multiyear financial projections supporting the RPI Catalyst grant application
  • Analyzed the $163B EdTech market to develop a tiered B2B SaaS strategy targeting departments, deans, and districts

The Institute of Internal Auditors (Portland Chapter)

Portland, OR, USA

EDGE Rising Star Volunteer · Aug 2025 - Present

  • Designed and facilitated 10+ GenAI training sessions for internal auditors from F500 companies and IIA chapters
  • Researched emerging GenAI tools, governance, and data-security risks to develop responsible-adoption curriculum
  • Conducted stakeholder interviews with auditors to align training content with enterprise workflows & business needs
  • Coordinated meetings and maintained member, alumni, and board records across professionals in various countries

Kiotek Digi Networks

Portland, OR, USA

Strategy & Investment Analyst Intern · Jan 2022 - Mar 2024

  • Screened 20+ investment deals across the US and India, assessing high-growth ventures across four industry sectors
  • Conducted market sizing, competitive benchmarking, founder diligence, and interviews to evaluate attractiveness
  • Developed investment memos and a ranked opportunity pipeline, presenting recommendations directly to the CEO
  • Identified critical risks in a prospective investment, supporting the CEO’s decision to discontinue further evaluation

Extracurricular experience

Illinois Business Consulting — Senior Consultant

Aug 2025 - Present
  • Built a 100-variable market-sizing model across 12 segments, quantifying a $70M entry opportunity for a F500 client
  • Developed a GenAI usage framework for a F100 client, reducing leakage risks while enabling enterprise adoption
  • Evaluated technology vendors and regulatory requirements, identifying $1.4M in annual savings across HIPAA/GDPR

The Daily Illini — Opinions & Food Writer

Sep 2026 - Present
  • Write biweekly articles on topics including UIUC’s culture, social media misinformation, and American exceptionalism
  • Research developments in technology, finance, and global politics to build evidence-based reports for a wide audience
  • Cover vegetarian dining, Indian culinary traditions, and campus food culture for Chambana Eats

Illinois Equity Research Association — Co-President

Aug 2024 - Present
  • Led tech and industrials sector research teams, mentoring 30+ members in financial modeling and investment theses
  • Developed a 10-week equity research curriculum covering valuation, 3-statement modeling, and investment memos
  • Increased member retention by 30% via hands-on workshops, structured mentorship, and project-team engagement

Skills & interests

Technical Financial Modeling in Excel; Microsoft Office 365; AI/Python (Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn); Prompt Engineering

Certifications Adventis Financial Modeling Level I & II; Illinois Data Science Discovery; Goldman Sachs Possibilities Summit

Publications The Young Investor’s Club (Amazon); The Mind of Suhas (Substack); The Daily Illini (Articles)

Languages English (Native); Spanish (Conversational/Reading); Tamil (Conversational/Reading); Telugu (Conversational)

Interests Technology; Startups; Creative Writing; Photography; Formula 1; Cars; Soccer; Basketball; Cricket; Poker; Sitcoms