About Us
The people behind DecisionOpt, and why we started it.
Origin Story
DecisionOpt started with a pattern that was hard to ignore. Through years of OR work and mentoring, companies kept reaching out to Alok for guidance: how to hire OR talent, how to frame an optimization project, whether an idea was even feasible. The need was everywhere. But the large consulting firms that offer OR services are out of reach for most companies, so most of that value was going unrealized.
DecisionOpt was founded in 2024 to bridge that gap: decision intelligence made accessible to companies that could never justify a big-firm engagement, delivered by people who care that the efficiency actually shows up.
The mission goes beyond client work. We teach OR, we mentor the people entering the field, and we work to bring the OR community together.
Our Leadership
Dr. Alok Patel
Founder
Alok holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at IIT Bombay. Before founding DecisionOpt, he led the development of decision-support applications at Udaan, one of India's largest B2B e-commerce companies, and previously headed ExxonMobil's optimization team for LNG supply chain operations and production planning.
Over the past decade, Alok has led optimization initiatives across logistics, supply chain, manufacturing, e-commerce, and energy. His expertise spans network design, production planning, routing, scheduling, inventory optimization, and capacity planning, with a focus on building scalable, production-grade optimization engines that deliver measurable business impact.
Beyond his consulting work, Alok founded OR Guru to mentor the next generation of Operations Research professionals. He also conducts industry workshops on mathematical programming, solver performance, and deploying optimization solutions at scale.
Dr. Arvind Kumar
Partner & Advisor
Dr. Arvind Kumar brings unparalleled expertise and experience to DecisionOpt as our Senior Advisor and Mentor. With a Ph.D. in Operations Research and a distinguished career in the industry, Dr. Kumar has been a pivotal force in guiding our strategic vision.
His deep expertise in Operations Research, coupled with extensive knowledge of logistics and a proven track record in leading the development and deployment of advanced business solutions, empowers DecisionOpt to craft innovative strategies that address the dynamic needs of our clients. Under Dr. Kumar's mentorship, we continue to push the boundaries of research and technology, ensuring our clients receive cutting-edge, effective solutions.
Beyond his consulting work, Arvind teaches optimization at leading Indian business schools and IITs, mentors startups on applying decision science to real business problems, and has led the Operations Research India Meetup since 2014, connecting practitioners, researchers, and students through workshops and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
Sanjay Chhibber
Partner, Supply Chain Transformation & Optimization
Sanjay is a senior supply chain leader with more than three decades of experience across manufacturing, warehouse operations, supply and distribution, integrated business planning (IBP/S&OP), multimodal logistics, strategic sourcing, and B2B and B2C sales.
His operating experience is backed by an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and a recent Master's in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the MIT-Zaragoza Logistics Center in Spain. He also holds the CPSM certification in Strategic Sourcing and the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.
Sanjay is focused on turning data into measurable supply chain value through digital solutions, advanced analytics, and optimization, working fluently across operations, finance, technology, and executive stakeholders.
Akanksha Patel
Director, Decision Intelligence Solutions
Akanksha leads the design and deployment of optimization and decision intelligence solutions for supply chain, logistics, manufacturing, scheduling, and production planning. She partners with clients to translate complex operational challenges into scalable decision-support systems that improve planning quality and business performance.
Before joining DecisionOpt, Akanksha led the delivery of optimization and decision intelligence solutions for ExxonMobil across Supply Chain, Logistics, Maintenance, and Trading. Her work spanned production and distribution optimization, maintenance and vessel scheduling, portfolio optimization, computer vision-based document intelligence, and enterprise optimization applications supporting critical business decisions. Earlier in her career, she developed optimization solutions for transportation and distribution planning, bid price prediction, assignment problems, and logistics optimization across multiple industries.
Akanksha's expertise spans mathematical optimization, heuristics and metaheuristics, machine learning, and enterprise decision intelligence, covering the full lifecycle from problem scoping and solution design to deployment and adoption. She holds a Master's degree in Computer Science and Engineering and has research experience from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.
Founder-Led, Team-Delivered
Your solution is built by our team of OR scientists and engineers, with our leadership personally involved throughout: shaping the approach, reviewing the models, mentoring the team, and staying accountable for delivery.
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