Astrum, India’s first research-based strategic communications consulting firm, today announced the appointment of Dr. K. N. Raghavan as Senior Advisor. A decorated former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer with more than three decades of distinguished service across customs, taxation, trade, and diplomacy, Dr. Raghavan will strengthen Astrum’s counsel to clients operating in a complex policy environment that invite intense regulatory scrutiny.Dr. Raghavan joins Astrum’s distinguished roster of Senior Advisors to deepens Astrum’s policy and regulatory governance practice at a moment when boards, CEOs, and leadership teams are navigating an increasingly complex risk, regulation, and reputation landscape, from trade and tax policy to ESG and stakeholder governance.Ashwani Singla, Founding Managing Partner, Astrum, said, “Dr. Raghavan brings a rare combination of frontline policy and governance experience, regulatory sophistication, and cross-sector insight. Having operated at the highest levels of customs, taxation, trade, and diplomacy, he meaningfully deepens our ability to help clients communicate with clarity and credibility in today’s risk, regulation, and reputation landscape.”Dr. K. N. Raghavan said “I am pleased to be associated with Astrum, a recognised thought leader in research-based strategic communications. Its disciplined and ethical approach in helping clients articulate their narratives in a complex regulatory and governance environment is particularly relevant for organisations today. I look forward to working with Astrum’s dynamic team.”About Dr Raghavan: A career at the frontline of policy, trade, and governanceDr. Raghavan superannuated from the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Indirect Taxes) in 2024 after a 34-year career, spanning anti-smuggling operations, GST enforcement, commodity board leadership, and diplomatic representation. As Executive Director of the Rubber Board, he simultaneously held charge of the Tea Board, the Tobacco Board, and the Marine Products Export Development Authority.As Director General of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN), he oversaw the completion and inauguration of a new national training campus by the Prime Minister in January 2024. His diplomatic and stakeholder-engagement experience includes serving as First Secretary (Commerce) at the High Commission of India in Singapore, and as CEO of NORKA-Roots, the Government of Kerala’s agency for non-resident Keralite welfare. He currently serves as Secretary General of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), leading the industry’s policy, regulatory, and stakeholder engagement.An MBBS graduate from Calicut Medical College, Kerala, Dr. Raghavan combines an unusual breadth of disciplinary training with frontline regulatory and diplomatic experience.