Kiran Jadhav, Associate Director of Kaizen Institute South Asia, has been honoured with the Global Consultant of the Year (COTY) Award at the recent 22nd Global Business Meeting and Annual Awards Event held in Tokyo, Japan. This recognition, announced on Day 5 of the week‑long gathering, coincided with the Kaizen Institute’s 40th Anniversary celebration in the birthplace of KAIZEN™, which also reflected the global impact of Kiran Jadhav’s contributions to continuous improvement and operational excellence.
With nine years of service at Kaizen Institute South Asia, Kiran Jadhav has led high-impact projects in people and change management, strategy development and deployment, project management, supply-chain optimisation, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Under his guidance, client organisations across the manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and banking sectors have achieved significant reductions in lead times, inventory costs, and operational waste. In his current role as Associate Director, which he has held since February 2024, he has also driven internal process enhancements within Kaizen Institute South Asia, ensuring that his team embodies the very principles of continuous learning and improvement that he champions externally.
Reflecting on this achievement, Jayanth Murthy, Joint Managing Director – South Asia & Africa at Kaizen Institute, remarked, “What an honour to be awarded the prestigious Kaizen Institute’s global COTY – Consultant Of The Year award. In a global consulting company, being selected for this TOP recognition is just amazing. You are part of a select group of consultants; welcome to this club.”
Kiran Jadhav attributes his success to the collaborative culture nurtured by the leadership of the Kaizen Institute, as well as to his mentors, Vinod Grover, Managing Director of Kaizen Institute South Asia, and Jayanth Murthy. “Receiving the Global COTY award on our 40th Anniversary is profoundly meaningful and an honour for me,” he said. “It validates the collective effort of my colleagues and partner organisations who embrace daily kaizen as both a mindset and a practice.”
Kiran Jadhav combines a robust academic foundation with nearly a decade of hands‑on consulting experience. He holds a General Management Programme credential from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (2023–2024), an MBA in Operations from Savitribai Phule Pune University (2014–2016), and a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (2010–2013).
Since joining Kaizen Institute South Asia in 2016, he has progressed through various roles, including Associate Management Consultant, Management Consultant, Senior Management Consultant, Kaizen Manager, Lead Management Consultant, Partner and Leader for India Operations, Lead Consultant, and, as of February 2024, Associate Director. A recognised expert in Continuous Improvement, Kiran holds top‑tier professional certifications: he earned his Six Sigma Master Black Belt from the Indian Statistical Institute in September 2024 and is an ASQ‑certified Six Sigma Black Belt (valid through June 2026). He has also been credentialed as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI) from 2019 to 2025.
Founded in 1985 and operating in over 60 countries, Kaizen Institute is the world’s premier consulting firm dedicated to implementing Continuous Improvement. Through hands‑on implementation, Kaizen Institute empowers organisations to achieve sustainable performance gains, enhance customer satisfaction, and build resilient operational cultures. Kaizen Institute South Asia, headquartered in Pune and Ahmedabad, has partnered with numerous companies to deliver measurable business results and cultivate an enduring culture of excellence.
