No Shortcuts To Success: Kunal Rishi On Leadership, Learning And Staying Relevant

Mr. Kunal Rishi is the Chief Operating Officer of Krisumi Corporation, bringing over 30 years of extensive experience in the real estate and construction industry. A Civil Engineering graduate, he has expertise in project execution, construction management, and operational leadership, having held key positions across reputed real estate organisations. At Krisumi, he leads operational excellence and project delivery, ensuring developments reflect the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship.

For Kunal Rishi, real estate was never a career plan. It was a calling that found him early, at a family construction site. Helping his mother complete their home grew into a career in engineering, project execution and leadership, and shaped his belief that success rests on technical expertise, adaptability and continuous learning.

The story begins in Class IX, when Rishi lost his father. The family home was still at plinth level. Rather than leaning on relatives, his mother chose to complete it and make it financially sustainable, reworking the plan into multiple residential units.

For a schoolboy, it was an education no classroom could match. Each morning, Rishi drove his mother to the site, went to school, then returned to help her oversee the work. Along the way, he learnt what construction costs, how labour is managed and why approvals matter, long before he saw any of it as a career.

Learning Business from the Ground Up

Engineering was the natural next step. As a student, Rishi worked part-time at an architectural firm, picking up bills of quantities, site inspections and documentation. After graduating, he joined a contracting company’s research centre, where he mastered non-destructive testing, design mix and dynamic compaction.

His later assignments widened that foundation. At the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, he worked on intricate finishes. On a housing expansion associated with the American Embassy School, he took charge of quality and safety. Clean-room facilities taught him the value of strict environmental controls, while commercial projects introduced him to retail planning and circulation. Together, these experiences showed him how engineering, execution, quality and coordination combine to decide a project’s success.

A Setback That Became a Turning Point

In 2005, Rishi found himself without a job for the first time. Years of moving between organisations had taught him that growth also calls for staying long enough to build something lasting.

That lesson shaped his next move. Paras Buildtech offered him a two-month evaluation, unsure whether his profile would translate into performance. Rishi accepted, and the trial grew into a tenure of 19 years and four months. He joined as a project manager, but his remit soon widened to land acquisition, legal matters and problem-solving across the organisation. He went on to become Chief Operating Officer (COO), a position he held for more than three and a half years.

As COO, Rishi contributed to 15 projects, from land acquisition to completion, with four more generating revenue by the time he left. A project execution professional had become a leader who understood development, operations and people.

Bridging Two Business Cultures

In April 2025, Rishi joined Krisumi Corporation, an equal joint venture between India’s Krishna Group and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, which gave him a close view of two business cultures.

As he sees it, Indian businesses are entrepreneurial, agile and comfortable with risk, while Japanese organisations favour detailed planning, documentation, collaborative decisions and systems that do not hinge on one person. The advantage lies in pairing Indian speed with Japanese discipline; a blend suited to long development cycles with many stakeholders.

The industry itself has changed, too. Indian real estate is far more transparent, with easier access to information and more formal processes. Buyers have evolved with it. Affordability still matters, but quality, planning, amenities, design and long-term value now weigh heavily. They want a differentiated way of living, not just an address.

For developers, that means backing positioning with substance. At Krisumi, Rishi points to Japanese architectural expertise, detailed specifications and highly rated contractors. His principle is that a premium product must deliver value buyers can experience. He also sees openings in Noida and along Dwarka Expressway.

A Visionary Leader Shaping the Future of Real Estate

Looking ahead, Rishi sees technology as the next frontier. Digital tools are already streamlining everything from customer relationship and facility management to construction updates and reporting, but he distinguishes between digitising existing work and using AI to improve decisions. The real opportunity, he says, is predictive intelligence: systems that learn across projects, flag delays and cost overruns early, and answer the industry’s two biggest questions of when a project will be delivered and what it will cost.

His own ambition is equally forward-looking. He wants to build a platform that can develop multiple integrated projects across India, and he is candid about the price: consistent execution, timely delivery, strong teams and a repeatable operating model.

His advice to his younger self sums up the thinking behind his career: there are no shortcuts. Keep learning, stay current, bring steady energy to work and meet setbacks with a positive outlook.

From an unfinished family home to leading large-scale development, Rishi’s road has been shaped by persistence and a deepening grasp of the business. His story also holds a lesson for the industry: lasting growth comes not from building more, but from building better, learning continuously and creating organisations that deliver what they promise.