[7][9] From 1992 to 1993, Dhawan worked on Wall Street at boutique investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co., where he was the only Indian analyst.

[8][11] In 2012, Dhawan left his career as a private equity investor to found Central Square Foundation (CSF), a grant-making organization and policy think tank focused on transforming the quality of school education in India.

[9][15] Other organisations launched by Dhawan include the India Leaders for the Social Sector (ILSS), which he set up with Anu Prasad in 2017; the Air Pollution Action Group (APAG) in 2019; and the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS).

[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhawan and CSF set up the ACT EdTech Ambition Fund, an organisation dedicated to helping deliver education to underprivileged children.

[1] He and his wife Manisha set up the Convergence Foundation as an umbrella organisation and grant-making incubator dedicated to promoting growth in India by solving complex socioeconomic problems.