Kisshan Sankar is a joint degree MBA/MPP candidate at the Jackson School of Global Affairs, where he is focused on international development and impact investing.
Kisshan graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2015 with a BS in quantitative economics. At USNA, he first explored the intersection of policy and finance while serving as president of the Economics Honors Society (ODE) and leading a roundtable for the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference as the subject matter expert on terrorist financing. Before coming to Yale, he spent six years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer, most recently overseeing seven cross-functional teams in the Operations Department of the USS Gladiator, an Avenger-class ship stationed in Manama, Bahrain, where he led sailors in planning and conducting mine countermeasure operations throughout the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Additionally, Kisshan served as an engineering division officer on the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer based in Rota, Spain, where he led sailors on multiple deployments and international exercises to strengthen the NATO alliance throughout the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Baltic Sea.
During his transition from active duty, Kisshan gained experience working in the banking industry, completing programs with Goldman Sachs and UBS, shaping his long-term desire to catalyze private sector resources to create positive impacts in development. Wanting to make the most of his time at Yale, Kisshan has pursued various interests, including advising an AI-based infection diagnosis startup and completing his summer internship at an investment bank in India focusing on impact investments and the healthcare sector. Post–Yale, he is exploring careers in investment banking and impact venture capital.