Mahek Chheda

Abbey MRED+D Student, Class of 2023

EDUCATION

Sir J.J. College of Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture; IIM Calcutta, PGDM; University of Cologne, CEMS Masters in International Management

Hometown

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Role Before MRED+D

Associate VP, Xander Group

Bio

Mahek Chheda is an MRED+D candidate at UC Berkeley from India. Prior to joining Berkeley, he was Associate VP with Xander Group, a leading Singapore-based REPE firm with primary operations in India. During his one-year stint at Xander, he worked as Development Manager on multiple development and asset enhancement initiatives, including the group’s largest development assets. Prior to this, he worked as a management consultant with Bain & Co. India on multiple projects across various sectors, including real estate and private equity, trying to understand their business models and key drivers. He is an architect graduate from Asia’s first and leading architecture school, Sir J. J. College of Architecture (2014) and has worked as an Architect for a couple of years primarily in hospitality, institutional and public sectors. He then joined India’s first IIM and leading B-school, IIM Calcutta to complete a PDGM (MBA equivalent). Apart from this, he also holds CEMS-MIM degree (Masters in International Management), which he completed as the dual degree course while at IIM Calcutta.

Mahek’s experience as an architect, management consultant and finally as a real estate professional has led him to think about the new business models that can attract individual investment in the sector, as well as innovative mixed-use building typologies and ownership models that can offer affordable, habitable spaces in the age of the shared economy, specifically to drive the development of smart cities of the future. He is pursuing MRED+D to enhance his understanding of real estate markets, real estate finance and urban economics specifically from the point-of-view of urban design and planning in developed countries before he deep-dives further into the space.

Mahek is a licensed Architect in India and is a sports enthusiast and avid traveler. He likes to skate, play badminton, volleyball and tennis, and recently picked up Ultimate Frisbee. He is looking forward to trying skiing while at Berkeley.