After completing his BA in English and Economics at Kerala University, Raj moved to the UK where he joined Alexa Group, a precious metals trader, in a sales role. He was promoted to Business Development Manager in early 2001 and then grew his sales team to nine across Europe. After completing an MBA at Hertfordshire University he joined Bridgewater, a Hong Kong financial firm. His remit here was building a portfolio of clients in the commodities and energy sector.He left Bridgewater to co-found Sinoafrique in 2002. The company did well through the commodity boom of the early 200’s, and both exited in 2006.Raj went on to fill operational roles at Sacvinam Global and Poly Resources (part of the Chinese conglomerate) before joining Upbest Precious Metals. At this listed company he managed two teams, one operational in the bullion supply chain, and the other in developing structured investment vehicles.In 2011 Raj was invited to join the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in the role of director of private banking.