Meet our participants

A happy go lucky person who worships all things mechanical. Started out of college as someone interested in technology and no real liking for management studies or role. But things change and so did I, did a diploma from management school and proudly lead the Arol team in Asia-Pacific region today. Avid traveller, love nature, love driving, love Indian classical music, love animals and love my family of 4.

Amit Goenka is MD & CEO at Nisus Finance (NiFCO), which manages two AIF RE funds with an AUM of Rs 8 billion. At NiFCO, he also helms the NBFC and Investments arms. Under his leadership, NiFCO has established itself as a premier investment manager with 100% exits and superior returns in time. Over the last 21 years, Amit has created a niche for himself as a leading expert on Indian RE, infrastructure and financial services, covering all asset classes across India. Prior to this, he was the Founder MD & CEO of Essel Finance (Zee Group), managing AIF RE funds, PMSs and offshore funds. At Knight Frank India, Amit led the Capital Transactions, Investments and other verticals, managing nearly USD 700 million of transactions across land, residential, office and hotels. He set up and led India’s first focused USD 50 million office yield fund (REIT). Amit has previously worked with Ernst & Young, Aditya Birla Group and Investment Dar (Kuwait/Dubai). He holds a BE, MBA, MFM and MRICS.

Amit Jain is the Managing Director of L’Oréal India. With a career spanning over three decades, he has made a mark across sectors like FMCG, retail, entertainment, media and beauty. He started as a Management Trainee at ICI India (now AkzoNobel India) and went on to serve as its Managing Director for four years before being appointed Managing Director for the AkzoNobel Decorative Business for North & West Europe and Non-Executive Director on the Board of AkzoNobel India consequently. In between these two tenures, he served in leadership roles with Coca-Cola and Viacom & MTV across Asia. Amit joined L’Oréal India in August 2018 as its Managing Director. He is responsible for driving the company’s growth, operations and people strategy across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. He is also the Chairperson of the Modern Marketing Association (MMA) India Board of Directors. Amit holds an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies and has completed an Advanced Management Programme from the Wharton Business School.

Anil Valluri is the Regional Vice President for the India and SAARC region at Palo Alto Networks. He is responsible for driving profitable growth and accelerating the technology footprint across customer segments, creating strategic go-to-market alliances and scaling the partner ecosystems, while building talent within the organisation’s ranks in the region.

Before joining Palo Alto Networks, Anil worked at Google India. He led the Google cloud business in India, helping to accelerate enterprises’ cloud transformation. He also spent eight years at NetApp as President for the India and SAARC regions and played an instrumental role in driving the company's business growth. Having held leadership positions in leading technology companies like NetApp, Sun Microsystems, etc., Valluri brings with him more than 36 years of extensive experience across diverse portfolios, from sales to services business to consulting and product management. Anil is an alumnus of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and is an avid single-digit golfer, analogue audiophile and DIYer.

Anila Ahuja is the Market Head – North & East at Sanctum Wealth, and a part of the Founding Management Team. Based in New Delhi, Anila heads a team of wealth managers and associates who manage clients in Delhi and other parts of the Northern Region, in addition to Kolkata. Anila has over 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry in India. She was part of the RBS Group for over 12 years. Prior to joining RBS, Anila worked with Standard Chartered Bank and Mashreq Bank. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lady Shriram College, Delhi University and completed her master’s in management studies (MMS) from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai University. Anila is a strong advocate of continuous learning. She says, ‘Always be learning – even the experts will tell you that the more you know, the more there is to learn.’

Antony is an alumnus of NLS Bangalore and the Founder and CEO of Rainmaker. Antony has always been passionate about training, particularly with respect to business integrity and ethical conduct. His areas of expertise include prevention of sexual harassment, anti-corruption practices, corporate governance, data privacy and protection, and codes of conduct. It is this passion for learning, training and ethical practices that led him to set up Rainmaker.

Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Groupe South Asia, is an eminent media and advertising professional with 27 years of experience across India and Singapore. In this role, she oversees all of Publicis Groupe’s agencies in the South Asia region across creative, media, PR, digital and tech, including agencies like Leo Burnett, L&K Saatchi and Saatchi, BBH, Starcom, Zenith, MSL, Performics and Digitas. With more than 4,800 employees, Publicis Groupe ranks prominently in new business rankings and is the true transformation partner for brands in the connected age. The company works with over 700 of the country’s top advertisers, including Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, HDFC Bank, Meta, Airtel, Renault, Stellantis, Hero MotoCorp, Loreal, etc. It is amongst LinkedIn’s top 20 companies for 2022. Anupriya is actively involved in the industry and is President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India – the apex trade body for advertising agencies, for 2020-2022. She is also on the Boards of BARC and DB Corp. Anupriya has been featured in Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business List for three consecutive years and is also a Forbes W-Power Trailblazer.

An alumnus of the Asian Institute of Management and St Stephen’s College, Aparajito Mukherjee started his career in advertising with McCann-Erickson India. However, he has spent his last 17 years in the healthcare devices segment, starting with Johnson & Johnson Medical. In his 9 years at Johnson & Johnson, he held multiple roles cutting across functions, franchises and geographies. Subsequently he spent over 7 years as the Country Manager for ResMed India. Mr Mukherjee has been Country Manager for Coloplast India since January 2019.

Arun Bewoor began his career as a management trainee at WIMCO (Swedish Match) and later worked as an advertising manager. He was Regional Sales Manager at Richardson Hindustan, acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1985. He served as General Sales Manager and Vice President. He was Marketing Manager in Hong Kong from 1987-88. Between 1989 and his retirement in 2007, he was Managing Director and Vice President-South Asia at International Flavours and Fragrances (formerly Bush Boake Allen). Arun was President of the Tamil Nadu Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Madras Management Association and the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was also Chairman of the CII (South) Environment and Education Committees. He currently serves as independent director on several Boards, including the IMA India Advisory Board.

As the co-founder and Managing Director of Velocis Systems, Atul Bansal leads the effort to scale Velocis into beoming the top IT solutions and services provider in the Indian mid-market segment. Atul has more than 27 years of experience in the IT services sector. He graduated in electrical engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and completed his MBA in marketing and finance from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi.

Badrinath Krishnaraj Asodu is the Managing Director of Azuga. He is a seasoned professional with extensive experience and a successful track record in the IT and ITeS industries who thinks outside the box. Mr Asodu has over 25 years of experience in the areas of management, business development, customer support, administration, hiring, training, project management, account management, CRM and employee retention. He is an expert in setting up the infrastructure for IT and ITeS facilities and has experience in hiring and scaling. His other strengths include project planning and execution. Mr Asodu is highly passionate about his work and has achieved and maintained high standards of service in customer support. He is currently responsible for HR, G&A, IT, Finance, and Customer Support, with dotted lines to other departments.

Balfour Manuel is the Managing Director of Blue Dart and has been instrumental in the company success since its inception. Before this, he was the company’s CEO. Balfour carries with him three decades of rich experience and a wealth of knowledge about the express industry. He is a Committee Member of the Express Industry Council of India (EICI) and the Indian Merchants’ Chambers (IMC). Under his leadership, Blue Dart remains one of India’s most innovative and awarded express logistics companies.

Bhanu Patel is presently the Chairman of Oerlikon Textile India (OTIPL). Previously, he was the company’s Managing Director and before that, its CFO. Mr Patel has been with the Swiss-based Oerlikon Group for 29 years. OTIL is part of the Group’s polymer-procession solution segment. With its Barmag, Neumag and Nonwoven product brands, Oerlikon is the world leader in product categories ranging from melt to yarn. Prior to this, Mr Patel worked for 11 years with the Modi Xerox Group in its finance and accounting functions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and general law. Mr Patel is a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a few independent directorships in private and listed companies.

Bimal Desai serves on the Board of DSP Design Associates as Founder and Principal, spearheading the organisation to achieve a global positioning that reflects volumes of design par excellence. As an international, 360-degree A&D practise, DSP Design caters to an array of verticals within architecture, interior design and smart building solutions across domains such as high-density residential, hospitality, industrial, retail, education and corporate and commercial spaces for Fortune 500-1000 companies. DSP Design also stands as an exclusive Asia-led Architecture Representation Practice on the ONE Global Design Network headquartered in the United States, mapping DSP Design’s presence across the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe in addition to its existing foothold in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

Before joining Minda Corporation as CEO for their Business Vertical II, Biranchi was the Managing Director of Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors India and served on the board. Biranchi has held leadership positions in the industry across organisations like The Varroc Group, Continental Engines, SRF, Parekh Platinum and Ashok Leyland. He is the recipient of the ‘Excellence in Leadership’ award by the Governor of Maharashtra for his extraordinary work in the industry.

Biranchi is a graduate of the the National Institute of Technology. He is an entrepreneurial leader with more than 20 years of hands-on leadership experience in areas such as strategy, technology and operations. Over the last 15 years, he has successfully led large and complex multi-location businesses, spearheaded the successful turnaround of businesses in Asia and Europe, all the while increasing sales, profits, and free cash flow.

He has provided P&L and balance-sheet oversight as he has an excellent understanding of all areas of the business through hands-on experience in every function of the company, including strategy, technology, sales & business development, operations, programme management, supply chain, and M&A. Biranchi has successfully led several mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, including post-merger integration and turnaround. He has expertise in areas such as digital transformation, strategic and business planning and growth, P&L, change management, sales and marketing, , M&A, JV's & Partnerships, operations, setting up green field businesses, product development, building winning organisations, channel development, lean manufacturing, cost reduction strategy and key account management.

BN Thammaiah has over 26 years of experience, including over 16 years in the HR/staffing industry. He is the Country Head for Persolkelly India and oversees its entire operations, which focus on providing workforce solutions, with a key focus on permanent recruitment, leadership hiring and temporary/contract staffing solutions. Mr Thammaiah started his career in the pharma industry with Eli Lilly and later chose to explore the recruitment industry. He was part of Randstad’s outsourcing and consulting business and later moved to their recruitment business. Mr Thammaiah has been in the workforce solutions industry since 2004. He has steered teams across staffing solutions, client acquisitions, HR consulting and pay-rolling before taking the reins and heading Persolkelly India’s business operations. He was previously the head of Kelly India's Tech and Science hiring division, which focused on specialised hiring in the professional and technical space. While overseeing the growth of Persolkelly’s India business, Mr Thammaiah is also passionate about devising innovative workforce solutions, and has been instrumental in introducing and implementing this solution that has helped Persolkelly remain an employer of choice. He has deep strengths in strategy and execution and has demonstrated turnarounds in the pharma and recruitment industries. Mr Thammaiah has previously been a Board member at the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF). The federation aims to make staffing a viable option for both businesses and candidates seeking a career within the staffing industry. He is a PGCBM from XLRI Jamshedpur in Business Management and with deep interest in staffing and job creation for the country.

Chandradip Dass (CD) is the SVP, R&D and MD of NextGen Healthcare India. A healthcare-product veteran, he has held leadership roles with Philips, Allscripts, Misys and GE. CD takes great pride in the product development ecosystem in India and enthusiastically contributes to its growth. His current focus is to accelerate the global ownership of product and services from India.

Chirag Baijal is the Managing Director of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Airconditioning), India Region and Chairman of the Board of Carrier in India, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carrier Global Corporation. In his role at Carrier Corporation, Chirag is responsible for managing, growing and providing strategic direction to the business’ brands, such as Carrier and Toshiba, in India and other SAARC countries. He has over 21 years of diverse experience in the HVACR, tools and automotive equipment, financial services and building industries. Chirag has worked with Carrier for over 15 years and has worked in leadership roles over the last 7 years.

A believer in and advocate of sustainability, Chirag is actively involved with CII - Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in promoting the Green Building movement in India. He is currently a member of the IGBC Executive Board in India and Chairperson of the Executive Council of AEEE (Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy). He is also Co-Chair of AMCHAM's Energy Council for Promoting Sustainability in India and Co-Chair of ASSOCHAM's National Council on Manufacturing & Capital Goods.

Chirag is involved in public policy advocacy for regulations and standards in the field of energy efficiency with BEE and standards with BIS and the MoEF. He espouses the causes of ethical leadership and profit with purpose.

Chitranjan Jain, Managing Director of Mack Valves India, is a leader in the corporate space with a career spanning over 20 years. Chitranjan is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and holds a master’s degree in commerce. He previously worked as Company Secretary at Ador Powertron, and has also headed the Finance, HR, Admin, Procurement, Commercial and Risk functions. Having led several crucial business deals resulting in JVs and subsidiaries globally, he took over as Managing Director at Mack Valves India in 2018. A straightforward individual and an avid reader, Chitranjan enjoys cooking and travelling in his spare time.

Colonel Chandhoke is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Victorinox India. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Colonel Chandhoke has been associated with Victorinox India since the inception of the subsidiary in 2006. Equipped with a robust background of over 15 years across diverse sectors such as education, banking and retail, he has been instrumental in growing brands and setting up base for diversified channels and product categories. He has played a key role in establishing and growing the Victorinox India team, from just 10 team members at the outset to over 200 today. With a definitive goal of attaining revenues of Rs 200 crores for the organisation by 2023, Colonel Chandhoke aims to create and sustain a stronghold position for the brand, which has enjoyed global visibility in the last several decades across all its diversified product categories. ‘Gute Reise’ – a one stop ‘premium travel solution’ store that caters to business and adventure travellers – is Colonel Chandhoke’s brainchild, with an aggressive expansion plan of 30 stores by 2023. Under his leadership Victorinox will also launch its first flagship brand store at Palladium in Mumbai in 2022, which will mark a new beginning for the brand in its aggressive India roadmap.

In an illustrious career spanning over 30 years, Deepak Garg has emerged as a renowned name in the world of construction equipment and infrastructure. His strong business acumen has ushered in a new era of tremendous growth at Sany India. In the past, he has led multiple functions including Sales and Marketing strategy, M&A & SCM operations at TATA Group Company. He had earned Crane Owners Association Award, ET Most Promising Business Leader of Asia Award and CEO Award at India China Forum.

Deepesh Nanda is the Chief Executive Officer for GE Gas Power in South Asia, responsible for GE’s business in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Nepal. Deepesh has been driving all the strategic initiatives to provide highly efficient, reliable, and cleaner power solutions to the areas that need them the most. At the Asia level, Deepesh Nanda is the President and Chief Executive Officer for GE’s Aeroderivative Gas Turbine business segment in Asia. He is responsible for driving growth in both the Aero new units and services portfolio across more than 22 countries in the region, including key markets like China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India and Bangladesh. As part of a separate P&L stream within GE Gas Power, the Aero team collaborates closely with GE Research, FieldCore, Aviation, HeavyDuty Gas Turbine, and Services to provide a seamless aero experience for GE customers in Asia. With the above roles, Deepesh plays a significant role in developing growth strategies and finding solutions to bring electricity to the far-flung geographies of Asia. His experience in building infrastructure projects impacts the everyday lives of people and helps in the next phase of energy transformation for the region. Deepesh holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and production engineering from Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India, and an M.B.A from the OUBS, Milton Keynes, UK.

Dilip Bhatia is CEO at Roadstar Investment Managers. He is responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the company and its subsidiaries, in India and overseas. He also oversees the operations, P&L management as well as the overall conduct of the business.

Dinesh Mirchandani is Managing Partner at Boyden. He has been a prominent member of the Boyden organisation and served as Regional Director for Asia-Pacific on Boyden World Corporation’s Global Board of Directors (2000-2008) and as a Member of its Strategy Committee. He is a member of the Global Industrial, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Technology Practices. Dinesh has been named on BusinessWeek’s ‘Top 50 World’s Most Influential Headhunters’ list. He gained over a decade’s experience in software engineering with DEC in the United States, making critical contributions in distributed computing and software quality, and infusing some of the best practises in software quality assurance into the India search practice. He holds an MBA in general management from Boston University, a master’s in computer science from North Carolina State University, and a bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering from BITS, Pilani. He has also attended Harvard Business School’ Leading Professional Services Firms course.

Dr Rajeev Gautam is President at HORIBA India and a Corporate Officer and a Board Member at HORIBA Ltd, Japan. Dr Gautam holds a PhD from IIT – Roorkee and has over 30 years of rich experience in leadership roles in the diagnostics, pharmaceutical, automotive, environment and scientific industries. He has been conferred several honours, including at the 2017 Great Managers Awards (‘Senior Leaders’ category), conducted by The Economic Times; the ‘Leadership Icon of the Year 2018,’ conducted by USB Forums; ‘Strategy Visionary Leader 2019,’ conducted by Transformance; ‘Best Changemaker of the Year – Healthcare’ at the 12th MT India Healthcare Awards 2022; and ‘Visionary Leader Award’ at the 20th Global Edition and 5th National Edition of The Original Business Leader of the Year Award, 2022.

Raghavan is a seasoned multi-sector and global corporate executive with over 40 years’ experience across Indian and global organisations such as Voltas, Madras Cements, Carrier Corporation, Ingram Micro, NIIT and Bhartiya Urban. He is currently the India MD of Kaer, a Singapore based ‘Cooling as a Service’ company. Prior to this, he has held Chief Executive roles for the past 20 years, including as President & Executive Director of Carrier Aircon, Managing Director of Ingram Micro, Chief Executive of NIIT’s global career building training business and CEO of Bhartiya Urban. Raghavan holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Aside from IIM-A, he has undergone programmes with Darden Business School, National University of Singapore and Berkeley, and the Digital Marketing Institute of Ireland. Apart from many cities in India, Raghavan has lived and worked out of Singapore, with an Asia Pacific role, and in the US, where he held a global responsibility. Raghavan is the co-founder of a management consulting firm, NxtPractice Growth Partners. He is a Certified Independent Director and serves on the Boards of Amrutanjan Healthcare and Blue Circle, a sector-focused networking platform for senior leaders. He also serves as an advisory board member of a few companies. He actively supports Sparsha, a Bangalore-based NGO engaged in caring for helpless children across Karnataka. Besides being a golfer, Raghavan has been an active marathoner for the past 7 years and considers running thrice a week as a route to fun and fitness.

G Venkatraman is a 56-year-young financial services guru with over 34 years of experience in the domain. He is the CEO of TVS Credit, one of India’s leading NBFCs, and has been instrumental in taking the company to new heights over the last 11 years. Starting off with Standard Chartered Bank, his career took him across the who’s who in the world of finance, having completed stints with IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and Fullerton, before taking over as CEO of TVS Credit. Married for over 31 years with two sons, 30 and 26, Venkat is an aspiring Broadway star, participating in amateur theatre productions whenever he gets the chance. When he is not at the theatre enthralling audiences, he strums a guitar (which he is still learning) and loves spending time watching stand-up comedy and live sport. A budding author, he is in the process of writing his first book. He believes in living for the day and is yet to write his bucket list.

Gaurav Maheshwari, Managing Director of Signode in India and Group President of Signode Asia Pacific, has over 25 years of experience across several functions. He has established a track record of success as well as organisational best practices across change management, brand positioning, cost optimisation, supply chain efficiencies, mergers and acquisitions, and enabling the organisation through technology, simplification and restructuring.His leadership approach is based on trust, and he instils confidence in his people.

Gauri Kirloskar has been Managing Director of Kirloskar Oil Engines since May 2022. Kirloskar Oil Engines makes power generating sets and engines for industrial OEMs and is also in the business of water management solutions, farm mechanisation equipment and electric motors. Gauri Kirloskar attended Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, where she received a BSc in business administration with a concentration in finance in 2006. Previously, she attended Phillips Academy, Andover, near Boston.

After graduation, Gauri worked as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch in New York in their Mergers and Acquisitions group. She analysed the impact of proposed mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and various restructuring alternatives on earnings, credit profiles and value creation of various clients across the technology, real estate and retail industries. She then moved on to Pearson’s Corporate Finance and Strategy Group where she looked at bolt-on acquisitions for their education business. Since moving back to India in 2010, Gauri has focused her efforts on strategic initiatives for the Kirloskar Group in infrastructure and investments, as well as functioning as a director and observer at several Kirloskar Group companies. As a board member of Kirloskar Oil Engines since 2014, she has been involved in regular compliance and performance reviews. She is a member of the boards of Kirloskar Oil Engines’ subsidiaries, La-Gajjar Machineries, a pump manufacturing company and Arka Fincap, the group’s foray into the financial services business. At Arka Fincap, she is involved in team hiring and business planning. She was an active participant in filing for the RBI licencse for the business. Prior to being appointed Managing Director of Kirloskar Oil Engines, her primary role was the establishment of the group’s real estate business in Pune. This involved strategic alternative analysis of value creation opportunities around the sale and development of the group’s land banks. She was involved in title clearance and land approvals, building up the design brief, working closely with the IPCs and engaging with potential clients.

At a group level, she also leads efforts in HR, branding, corporate communications, and shared services. She led the recent brand refresh of the group under the banner Kirloskar Limitless and was responsible for the entire project. She is currently building out a new brand and communications team for the group. She leads the group’s CSR efforts in the environmental area under Kirloskar Vasundhara. She has served as an Independent Director and member of the Audit Committees on the boards of Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company Limited and Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited since early 2019. She is a member of the core advisory team for Ekagrid University, an initiative to build a multidisciplinary research university that aims to be in the top 25 of global rankings by 2050.

Gauri is 38 years old. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, running, windsurfing and diving. She looks forward to holidays to spend with her family, including her two young daughters, aged 8 and 6.

Gautam Khanna is the CEO of PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC and the Head of Hinduja College of Nursing. He is an experienced business leader, having spent over 32 years successfully managing business internationally, at Hinduja Hospital and before that, at 3M, where he was Executive Director and Country Business Leader of 3M Healthcare – South Asia. Currently, he is the Chairman of FICCI Health Services Committee, President of AOH-Mumba. He is the recipient of various prestigious awards and has been featured as a leader in various books. Gautam is an alumnus of IIT – Kanpur and IIM – Calcutta.

G Giridhara Gopal is the Director and Chief Executive of Addison & Co and the Director of LM Vanmoppes Diamond Tools India. He has been with Addison since 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the College of Engineering, Chennai and a CMA from the Institute of Cost Accounts, India.

Girish Krishnamurthy, best known for being a transformational leader, is the CEO and the Managing Director of Tata Medical and Diagnostics (Tata MD). He is also a Director at Tata Indian Institute of Skills and Tata 1 MG. Girish has over three decades of vast and rich entrepreneurial and enterprise leadership experience in technology, healthcare, education and skills. Before moving to India in 2004, he worked across geographies, as a technologist and entrepreneur, successfully launching several products and businesses. Among other healthcare disruptions, Girish is the Chief Architect of a patented, innovative healthcare transformative model – the Digital Nerve Centre. He envisioned and delivered high impact healthcare services from primary to tertiary care, including specialties like oncology through this model. He has used this replicable and scalable model to drive change to improve the lives of the common man and to transform India. This innovative model has been deployed to manage healthcare services for over 1.6 million citizens in rural Karnataka. The transformation led by Girish at the All-India Institute Medical Science (AIIMS) – the world’s largest OPD – was lauded by the Prime Minister of India as the most successful 'Digital India Initiative' of 2016. Girish holds an MBA from the University of Texas, Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and mathematics from the University of Madras. Over the years, Girish has been recognised for his out-of-the-box thinking and has been felicitated with several awards. He has also authored papers on technology and business strategies. A passionate speaker at various industry forums, Girish also mentors several start-up businesses.

Gurpal Singh Dhingra is an accomplished business leader, adept at identifying new market opportunities. His expertise in sales & marketing and zeal to undertake new business initiatives has made Prudent what it is today. His keen understanding of international business and immense experience in the industry helped him become well versed with the ethos, philosophy, and members of the WBN network. Prior to being a leader in the industry, he gained experience in service-oriented industries during his early career. Today, he continues to drive various market-leading initiatives to compete with big players, partner with some of the largest clients, and become a leader in commercial lines broking in the country.

Huzefa Motiwala is Director of Systems Engineering for the India and SAARC region at Palo Alto Networks. In this role, Motiwala is responsible for spearheading technical sales engagement – from strategy to execution, for customers and partners across the India and SAARC region. Having spent more than two decades in the technology industry, Motiwala is passionate about the impact of disruptive technologies on businesses, especially around cybersecurity and data management. In his varied roles, Motiwala has been instrumental in customer's digital transformation journey, turning challenges into opportunities, helping them achieve immediate and long-term successes from their IT deployments.

Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, Motiwala has held multiple leadership roles with Commvault, Symantec, Veritas and Wipro, contributing in various capacities to sales engineering, sales enablement and partner ecosystem success. Motiwala has completed his executive management in leadership, strategy and innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management, USA and BSc in Electronics and Telecommunications from University of Mumbai.

Jay Desai has 33 years of management consulting experience in India and has built UC into an established Indian strategy consulting firm, having conducted 1025+ cases. Prior to founding UC more than 28 years ago, Jay worked with Arthur Andersen & Co (Andersen Consulting) in Mumbai from 1989 to 1994. He holds an AMP degree from Harvard Business School, an MBA from Willamette University, a master’s degree in biology from Purdue University, and a bachelor’s degree in life sciences from the University of Mumbai. He has also attended several executive education programmes over the years at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School, The Wharton School and INSEAD. Jay also conducts case study-based ‘Adaptive Leadership Strategy Workshops’ for corporate clients as a Facilitator for his organisation, Lead Adaptive (www.jaydesai.com). Jay is also the Founder of Strat Lancer, India’s first digital platform for strategy consulting with over 2,400+ independent consultants registered on the platform since 2018. Triggered by the terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, Jay authored a book, ‘Accountability: Angst, Awareness, Action,’ which focuses on India's complex governance systems using a systems-thinking lens. As a result, Harvard University’s South Asia Initiative organised a ‘Best of Harvard in India’ roundtable series on ‘Accountability & Governance in 2012.’ He has conducted guest lectures at The Wharton School, at the Judge School (University of Cambridge), the Owen School (Vanderbilt University) and at Ashoka University. He has also spoken at many international conferences and at a TEDx conference in Mumbai. He is empanelled as a Facilitator at Harvard Business Publishing, a subsidiary of Harvard Business School. The 175-year-old Willamette University, Oregon, USA, conferred upon Jay, the Distinguished Alumni Citation Award for 2017. Jay is a student of Indian Classical Music and has been playing the Sarod for 30 years, and regularly performs at private concerts.

A veteran of India’s automobile industry with over two decades of experience, Jyoti Malhotra joined Volvo Auto India in 2016. In 2021, he became the first Indian to head the company in India. In his illustrious career, Jyoti has held national, regional and local positions in various automotive companies like Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Fiat Auto India. He holds a bachelor's degree in Production Engineering from the University of Pune and an MBA in Marketing from Bharati Vidyapeeth. He has also completed the Global Programme for Management Development from the Stephen M Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Kavita oversees all aspects of Dell’s India CoE operations and works closely with the leadership council, India leadership team and other functional leaders in developing strategy and executing on the India site vision. Kavita comes with over 22 years of experience and has been with Dell for the last 18 years, working across imaging sales, ANZ small and medium business, India commercial and consumer sales, APJC customer care and, most recently, as a CSG India Consumer Services India leader. A business management graduate from Delhi, Kavita is driven by continuous learning and is passionate about building more diverse, equitable and inclusive teams. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, rifle shooting and spending quality time with her daughter Sara, who recently turned 16.

Kiron D Shah is the Founder and the Managing Director of the Velankani Group, which has interests in diverse businesses. He conceptualised and built a technology park in Electronics City, Bangalore, with a land area of 22 acres and a built-up area of about 1 million square feet, which received an award for being India’s first IGBC Platinum-Rated landscape project. Under the Indian government's ambitious 'Make in India' programme, he has also established an advanced 4.0 electronics manufacturing facility in Electronics City, with highs level of robotic automation and process control. Under Mr Sha’s leadership, the Velankani Group has made a foray into hospitality business and owns and operates a 5-star hotel and a resto-bar in Bangalore, besides operating 4-star hotels in Bangalore and Goa. Mr Shah was the first Chairman of the Electronics City Industries Township Authority (ELCITA), which is responsible for municipal services in the Electronics City township, including maintenance, safety, traffic management and regulation, granting buildings related approvals, trade licenses and other services. He continues to serve as a Member of the Executive Committee of ELCITA. He also serves as the Honorary Consul of Lithuania and has served in various positions on the YPO and WPO in the South Asia region.

Born to a humble family from Gorakhpur, MP, Kishorilal Ramraika holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He received a gold medal for his diligence and academic achievement. A visionary entrepreneur, he dreamt of being a world leader in the field of automotive electronic components manufacturing and established Star Engineers in 1988. Mr Ramraika is the company’s Founder Chairman and thrives on the constant impetus he receives from his loving and most supportive better-half. Starting with only 4 employees, Star now has more than 1,200. Mr Ramraika is an inspiring leader with sterling qualities. His success story fired the imagination of many entrepreneurs, business leaders and progressive companies that are part of the Star ecosystem. He has been instrumental in forging new alliances and global joint ventures.

Madhav Thapar is the Vice President leading South Asia, Middle East and Africa for CH Robinson Global Forwarding. He joined CH Robinson in 2018, and prior to that had over three decades of senior management experience in C-level positions with leading multinationals in the field of global logistics across the Indian Subcontinent, Asia Pacific and Africa. Madhav is currently responsible for driving growth and continued alignment across the region. An avid reader himself who loves sports and travel, he is also a published author.

Manoj Soni is the Managing Director of Mirka Asia Pacific & Regional Director for Asia Pacific (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mirka Finland). He is seasoned engineering management professional with over two decades of industry experience. Manoj is a highly skilled entrepreneur with expertise in managing diverse businesses and deep industry insight in finance, production, logistics, sales and marketing. He is a certified ACC coach and is a strong believer in a culture of employee and customer centricity as the cornerstone of a sustainable and profitable organisation.

Manu is the Founder and CEO at NuTaste, a taste and nutrition solutions provider. He has 25 years of experience in the food business, including agricultural commodities. Manu holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hindu College, University of Delhi and an MBA degree in international business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. Trekking in the mountains is a passion and a hobby for him, besides spending time over the weekends with non-profits in the space of education, development, nutrition and poverty alleviation. Manu lives in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, with his wife and two daughters.

Mayank Bathwal is the Chief Executive Officer at Aditya Birla Health Insurance. Mayank has been with the Aditya Birla Group for more than 27 years and has leadership experience across insurance, financial services, manufacturing, energy and power. He is a fellow Chartered Accountant and a member of the ICWA and ICSI. Co-chair of FICCI’s Health Insurance Committee, he is actively involved with a number of industry forums, including Nathealth and CII. Mayank is an avid reader, a fitness enthusiast, and passionate about every Indian having easy access to health insurance.

Mayur Pabari is an Entrepreneur having 8+ years of experience in building digital products and tech startups. Also a Blockchain Evangelist and a firm believer that decentralisation systems can help define a new path for the progress of humanity.

He has founded smartSense solutions and Foster. smartSense solutions is a product design and engineering company, offering services in Blockchain, Data Science, IoT & Cloud technology. decentralisation systems can help define a new path for the progress of humanity.

Foster is an early talent engagement and ecosystem platform of Schools, Students, and Employers.

Mayur joined Fristam Pumps in Hamburg, Germany in 2009 as a Sales and Business Development Manager for India. He is now the Managing Director of Fristam Pumps India (100% subsidiary of Fristam Pumpen GmbH, Germany). Fristam Pumps is a hygienic pump manufacturing company and has the most comprehensive product range under the EHEDG and 3A certification. The factory in Pune produces pumps for PAN India and SEA countries. Some of the prominent customers are Amul, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle, Dabur, Sun Pharma, Reliance Life Science, Pfizer, Lupin,t to name a few. Prior to joining Fristam Pumps, Mayur was the Supply Chain Manager at Siemens AG in Munich for 4 years. During his 9-year span in Germany, he assisted Fristam in forming a 100% subsidiary in India and establishing a new state-of-the-art manufacturing setup, which is now helping the company to achieve its goal of being a market leader in hygienic pumping solutions in India and SEA. Mayur has an MSc (majoring in operations management) from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, for which he was awarded a scholarship from Siemens AG. He did his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Pune University. Mayur currently lives in Pune with my wife and an 8-year-old daughter. He enjoys travelling, playing badminton and has a keen interest in motorsports.

MJ Abraham is a mechanical engineering graduate from BITS, Pilani, with 34 years of experience in the Indian engineering industry. For the first 17 years of his career, he was associated with SKF Bearing. For the past 17 years, he has been working as Managing Director of SEW Eurodrive India, a 100% subsidiary of SEW Eurodrive GmbH, a 4-billion-euro, family-owned, world leader in industrial automation and drive technology. In India, SEW is a Rs 550 crore company with factories in Vadodara, Chennai, Pune and the NCR, and sales and service offices in 30 cities, offering complete solutions in machine automation and mobile material handling for plant and warehouse logistics.

Mohammed Asif is the Vice President and Site Leader at TSYS Noida. He has around two decades of experience working in diverse roles in the technology industry, both in India and abroad. He worked in Europe and the UAE for 10 years before moving back to India in 2010. Asif has a thorough and deep understanding of the payment ecosystem, from both a business and a technology perspective. For the past 10 years, he has been working in senior technology leadership roles and is currently heads TSYS’ application development and delivery centres in Noida, Mumbai and Hyderabad, with more than 1,200 IT professionals on board. He is in charge of driving the engineering culture and creating an ecosystem of learning, performance, empowerment and accountability. Asif is responsible for creating an environment of operational excellence that can deliver state-of-the-art software and services to internal customer team in the US and EU. In 2004, Asif relocated from Cyprus to Dubai, with the responsibility of setting up an application development and support centre to serve more than 40 regional clients in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He helped the region attain 70% growth in 6 years of operations, and to achieve the highest client satisfaction scores. In 2016, he won TSYS’ President’s Circle award for outstanding performance. This is the company’ highest recognition for modelling corporate values and outstanding performance in service to customers and fellow team members. Asif was also awarded membership of the International Who's Who Historical Society for the years 2006-2007 for his contribution to the business community during his role at CTL in Dubai Internet City. He holds a BSc in mathematics and multiple certifications in Leadership Experience Training and Enterprise Leadership, as well as in the areas of computer science and technology. Besides his dedication to technology and a keen interest in the fintech industry, Asif is passionate about photography, travelling (preferably road-tripping) and giving back to society.

Monish has over 32 years of international work experience—both in the profession (where he has worked with Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Grant Thornton and Mazars); and also, in the industry (where he has worked with Schlumberger, Barista Coffee & Exl Services and was nominated for the prestigious CFO of the Year Award in 2001, while he was working with Barista Coffee in India). He is a qualified Data Protection Officer (‘DPO’) and a certified practitioner for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with both the accreditations having been reviewed and endorsed by the European Risk Policy Institute (ERPI).

Monish is currently the Managing Partner of MGC Global Risk Advisory LLP, which is a member firm of Allinial Global. In this role, he is spearheading the growth and delivery of all assignments for governance and risk advisory services. His role envisages imparting technical expertise and overseeing the delivery of management assurance reviews; the assessment of governance frameworks; and control assessments, risk assessment and fraud investigations. Before starting the firm in September 2015, he was associated with Mazars, where Monish was responsible for starting and developing their consulting practise (which included governance and risk advisory services) in India. Prior to that, he was on the national management board and the national leader of their business risk services at Grant Thornton in India (where he worked for over seven years), KPMG and Arthur Andersen (where he was amongst the first few to qualify as a chartered accountant from their office in New Delhi).

Monish has served as a member of the global strategic consulting core group of Mazars, where he was involved in key initiatives relating to the effective integration, change management and growth of the consulting practise and certain industries of Mazars on the global platform. He played a role in Mazars' achieving a strategic global objective for India—where he established a merged (i.e. integrated with both member firms in India—both of whom were fairly diversified in their culture, thought process and outlook) national consulting practise and market function. He has served on two strategic advisory committees of Grant Thornton International—one which advised the global leadership board of Grant Thornton International on matters relating to privately held businesses and the other which advised this board on matters relating to human resources and change management.

Monish has worked in the industry in various senior management positions (including several leadership roles in the Finance department) in India, Far East Asia and Middle East Asia. He has significant experience in setting up controls, processes, financial dashboards and governance frameworks and in these roles, he was also a key player while structuring a strategic investment at Barista Coffee (where Monish was the CFO) at a landmark valuation. In the profession, Monish has served clients across several industries and these include companies in the areas of oilfield services (Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Limited, Sara Sae Pvt. Ltd, GAIL (India) Limited, Jubilant Energy, GeoPetrol, GeoEnpro, etc), life sciences and pharma sector, Telecom, ITES, hospitality, real-estate, construction, biotechnology & life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, retail and the United Nations (UNOPS & UNDP). In addition, Monish has been an office bearer on the Board of Governors of the Institute of Internal Auditors of India (Delhi Chapter) in 2005 and he was also on the Board of Governors of the Doha Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 1998. He is Paul Harris Fellow and a past member of the Delhi Premier Rotary Club as well as of the Delhi Mid Town Rotary Club, where he has served as the co-chairperson of their committee overseeing CSR initiatives. Monish is currently the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Council of the CMAI and an active position holder on the prestigious EMEIA Membership Committee of Allinial Global.

Mukund Vasudevan is Managing Director, Enterprise Solutions at Moglix. He leads large transformation initiatives for Moglix customers and vendors globally. A recognised leader with a proven track record in driving strategy, operations, and organisational effectiveness, Mukund brings over 28 years of global leadership experience in the manufacturing and chemical sectors to the company. Prior to joining Moglix, he has held leadership positions at Ecolab, Pentair, Schlumberger and McKinsey, leading enterprise customer collaborations in the US, Middle East, Brazilian and Indian markets. Mukund is an alumnus of IIT – Bombay and the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago

A consumer-electronics veteran, Neeraj Bahl has over 25 years of experience leading teams at leading global organisations like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Electrolux India. Under his leadership, since 2019, BSH Household Appliances has witnessed significant double-digit growth and a Great Place to Work certification. He has been titled ‘CEO of the Year’ and ‘Most Daring CEO’ by leading publications.

OrvilleJameson D'souza is on the Board of XLHealth India, a 100% subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, and leads its Optum Insight Payer and Home and Community Care businesses. Managing a distinct entity, Orville provides leadership for the risk and quality segments, along with technology and enabled services supporting the HouseCalls Programme, which is one of its flagship offerings. He has management, HR and law degrees from reputed institutes such as IIM – Bangalore, SSW Roshni Nilaya and SDM Law, and 22 years of cumulative industry experience. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious IMPM.

Pankaj Garg has more than 3 decades of experience across various industry sectors and has been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 15 years. During his career span, he has extensively worked on strategic finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, fund-raising, business strategies, business development and supply chain operations. In 2015, Pankaj successfully conducted the 100% strategic sale and post-merger integration of Medreich with Meiji Holding, Japan, a USD 14 billion corporation listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange. This was the first 100% acquisition by a Japanese pharmaceutical company in India. He has since spearheaded the Medreich Group as Group CEO and Managing Director and has grown the business substantially in the past 6 years. Medreich is a CMO/CDMO organisation selling pharmaceutical formulations in more than 60 countries, including India, and works with top MNCs as well as key regional players.

Pradeep Lala has been the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Embassy Services (ESPL) since 2013. ESPL was established in 1995 as the facility management arm of the Embassy Group, one of the largest realtors in the country. He brings wih him over three decades of experience in various fields of business. Pradeep began his career at Ingersoll Rand – one of the world’s largest industrial manufacturing companies, where he worked for over 14 years. In early 2000, he founded the Horizon Group to become their distribution partner for the Indian region. Pradeep continues to par excellence with both firms, who are renowned in their field. Pradeep is also a golfer and an ardent cricket fan. He often credits sports for the many skills he has garnered in leadership. He also has a passion for thoroughbred horses and is a collector of watches, with Patek Philippe being his favourite.

Prakash Raman is Managing Director of Silox India (formerly Transpek Silox), a global Leader in Sodium Formaldehyde Sulphoxylate (under the registered trademark Safolite) and Zinc Formaldehyde Sulphoxylate (Safolin), serving 65 countries across 5 continents. He has 30 years of experience across various leadership roles with global multinationals like Solvay, DuPont and Asian Paints. He has extensive international experience, having worked in Asia, North America and Europe and has managed multicultural teams. Mr Raman has held P&L responsibilities for large global businesses, handling such products as sulfone polymers, hydrogen peroxide, specialty polymers and lithium-ion batteries. Previously, he was a member of the Board and Chairman of the JV Board of Companies. [KV1][SS2]There, he handled country management, business development, sales and marketing, strategic HR, integration, mergers and acquisition, project management, new business incubation, M&A and plant operations. He has also previously led the formation and development of Solvay’s alternative energy lithium-ion battery business. Mr Raman is certified in Six Sigma (black belt) and is an environment auditor. He served as the Co-Chairman of the National Chemical Committee, Chairman of FICCI’s Chemical Innovation Committee, as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Indian Chemical Council and as a Member of CII’s Executive Committee of Chemicals. A chemical engineer, he holds an MBA in marketing and finance.

Pranav Bhanage is the Managing Director/CEO – South Asia at Petronas Lubricants International. Pranav is an experienced MD/CEO who has helmed oil and gas downstream businesses in Asia and has successfully delivered complex turnaround initiatives. He started his career in the technology space about 20 years ago and worked in management consulting for about 10 years (with The Boston Consulting Group and Frost & Sullivan) and for over 6 years in oil and gas Pranav brings in a strong blend of strategy consulting, implementation, digital enablement and hands-on business management experience across key APAC markets. Besides his professional achievements, Pranav takes pride in being able to make tangible difference to the lives of employees and business partners by creating profitable enterprises. Moreover, he has taken an active role in mentoring and coaching junior staff across the world and seen some of them progress rapidly in their careers. He has spent the last 20 years living in various countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, China, the US and Indonesia. Praanav has continuously adapted to different work cultures. While at work, he has acquired a palette for global foods and a taste for global music and movies. Having lived out of a suitcase for many years, he is an absolute junkie for airlines and hotel loyalty miles!

Prashant Gokhale has over 29 years of rich experience in various fields, from R&D to sales. He is an engineering graduate from Pune University and completed his management education from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland. Prashant possesses a strong business and leadership record as Managing Director and has a deep understanding of the consumers and business landscape in South Asia. His strengths include innovation and foresight to induce positive changes in an evolving corporate Asia.

Prashanth Kumar is a seasoned hotelier with over 23 years of global experience across the United States, India, New Zealand, Switzerland and Dubai. Prashanth's top Gallup strengths are futuristic, ideation, activator, connectedness and realtor. He has experience in brand creation, concept and schematic design, and hospitality expertise in luxury, midscale, economy as well as multi-unit operations. His international experience makes it easy for him to take on brand building and make it relevant to emerging markets. He is an alumni of prestigious hotel schools such as Cornell University, Glion Graduate School, Swiss Hotel Management School and IHM. Accor Plus is Accor's subscription-based loyalty programme across 20 countries and over 1,000 hotels. Accor Plus is the Asia-Pacific loyalty subscription programme of Accor, a world-leading augmented hospitality group. Today, Accor Plus is Asia-Pacific's most expansive travel, dining and lifestyle programme. Prashanth has recently forayed into the digital space with an all-digital pilot of the subscription-based loyalty programme. The aim is to improve ESG outcomes for the organisation and add tremendous value to its members. His interests include travel, motorcycle riding and meditation.

Praveen Rawal is the Vice President-APAC- Global Client Collaboration (GCC) of Steelcase Asia Pacific Holdings India, where he is responsible for overseeing the APAC business with leading global organisations. He holds an MBA in marketing and possesses over 30 years of sales and management experience in the Asia Pacific region. Praveen began his journey with Steelcase in Delhi in 2004. He helped develop the Steelcase India business, which led to its rapid growth in market share and its success in the country. He managed sales and project teams across India, including key cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, for over 10 years. Due to his immense success in India, Praveen was promoted to lead the market and sales teams in Southeast Asia and India in 2015. A strategic thinker and visionary behind Steelcase’s imposing success in the region, Praveen and his entire team at Steelcase India and Southeast Asia have fortified the presence and sales of the brand in the Asia-Pacific market.

Pravin Goel joined BlackRock in 2012 and is currently its Managing Director. In the past, he was responsible for risk-management and capital-markets trading systems on the sell-side. He has worked across the UK, US and India. Pravin started his career building mobile apps and device drivers for the Windows CE platform. He has been part of the core engineering teams at a few California-based start-ups and has also done technology consulting across various domains, including consumer finance, education and healthcare. Pravin earned a computer engineering degree from the Delhi Institute of Technology in 1998.

Preeti Bajaj is the newly-appointed CEO & MD at Luminous Power Technologies and is responsible for all company operations. Founded in 1988, Luminous has over the last 33 years, grown into one of India’s most trusted in the power back-up and residential solar space. With nearly two decades of experience in the Australian and global business environments, Preeti has expertise in developing and executing strategies to set the pace for sustainable growth across a range of enterprises (multinationals, ASX listed corporates and start-ups). Over the years, Preeti has built a career at the intersect of technology and transformation. In her last stint, Preeti headed the Adecco Group as the Australia & New Zealand CEO and MD for Modis Australia. She was the start-up CEO of Clipsal Solar (a venture by Schneider Electric), with the sole mission of using renewable technologies to enable customers to achieve purposeful living. Preeti has worked for various firms, including Brookfield Multiplex, Metcash, Intuit Real Estate Solutions, Vision Software and Schneider Electric, in business development, general management, operations, strategy, and transformation. Driven to stay relevant in a fast-changing world, Preeti has forged a path in commercial leadership through her tenacity, raw drive, and a highly strategic mindset that is comfortable and confident in defining future business visions. In 2011, Preeti won the AFR's Young Executive of the Year award. Never afraid to push a boundary, she has also championed many firsts during her career as a young and successful professional. She was awarded a Scholarship for the Authentic Leadership Programme at Harvard by Chief Executive Women in 2017. Preeti completed her MBA from Swinburne University and a master’s of applied finance from Macquarie University, Australia. She is passionate about diversity and actively supports emerging leaders through her contribution as an advisory member of Chief Executive Women.

Priyaranjan (‘Ranjan’) Jha is Head of Global Operations at PepsiCo, overseeing operations in all of PepsiCo’s global delivery hubs in Mexico, Egypt, Poland, Russia, China and India. Ranjan joined PepsiCo in 2019 as Managing Director for GBS in India. Before that, he spent 22 years with Genpact, Reliance Infocom, IBM and Tata Motors. Ranjan trained as a mechanical engineer at the National Institute of Technology, Silchar and earned his MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

Pulin Shroff owns the Janpro franchise in India. Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, Janpro is a leading provider of facility management services in 16 countries worldwide and has been expanding rapidly in India over the last 7 years. Being an avid trekker, marathoner and IronMan gives Pulin the drive to grow the Janpro business in India and develop its franchise network. Looking at the ongoing macroeconomic changes in India and the government’s thrust on Swachh Bharat, Janpro’s process-based cleaning will be the business of the future.In a span of 7 years, Janpro has spread its network to 32 cities in India with a manpower strength of over 6,500e. Pulin holds an MBA in marketing. He loves to read, play the guitar and travel to different destinations (with a backpack).

Puneet is the President of Amazon Web Services in India and South Asia. He leads the entire portfolio of AWS services and helps organisations innovate and transform using AWS. AWS is India's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, which works with customers to help retire their technical debt and drive innovation through advanced services like data and analytics, AI/ML, IoT, etc. Prior to joining AWS, Puneet held leadership roles with McKinsey & Co. and IBM Global Services. As a partner at McKinsey, Puneet built and led several practices, digital and technology capabilities across India and Asia. Puneet holds an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C).

Puneet Periwal is the Market Head – West at Sanctum Wealth and a part of the Founding Management Team. Puneet heads a team of wealth managers and associates who manage clients in Mumbai and other parts of the Western Region. He comes with over 15 years of experience in the wealth management industry in India. He has previously worked with Kotak Mahindra Bank and Citibank. Puneet was with RBS Private Bank for four years prior to its buyout by Sanctum Wealth. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from NM College and a master’s degree in management studies from Mumbai University, with a specialisation in Finance. Puneet believes that a product or price advantage can always be easily duplicated. But a strong customer partnership culture, driven by customer value-creation, cannot easily be replicated.

Punit Garg is the Managing Director of Clarke Energy. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and comes with 28 years of experience. At Clarke, he is responsible for the smooth and efficient operation of the company. His previous experiences include assignments as General Manager, Marketing and Sales at MAN B&W Diesel, where he was responsible for sales and marketing activities in Indian sub-continent; and before that, as Area Manager at JCB India, where he was responsible for sales and customer support in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Rajesh is the Managing Director of Indian Oiltanking. Prior to joining the company in 2016, he worked with Shell for 20 years. He has an MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Rajesh has extensive experience in the downstream oil industry, and across business functions such as sales, marketing, strategy, operations and business development, in India, Europe, Singapore and Indonesia. His role at Indian Oiltanking is currently focused on turning around the company to ensure sustained and profitable future growth. Rajesh’s interests include golf, running, reading and travel.

Rajesh Mittal is President of the Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India, Deputy President of Isuzu Motors India, and an executive Board member on both companies. Isuzu Motors has a global presence in more than 150 countries and has a world-class manufacturing setup for light-duty pick-up cars and commercial vehicles in Sri City near Chennai. Rajesh has 37 years of work experience in the automotive industry. He began his career with Hindustan Motors and subsequently moved to Eicher Motors. He joined the Volvo Group’ VE Commercial Vehicles in 2008 as SVP-Operations and in 2014, moved to Dong Feng Commercial Vehicles, China as SVP Manufacturing and Quality. He became SVP Purchasing at Volvo Group Trucks Asia and in 2021 became a part of UD Trucks Japan as SVP Logistics. Rajesh is an active sports person, an avid traveller, a voracious reader and ardent lover of music.

Rajesh Rege was appointed President, Honeywell India, in February 2022. In this role, Rajesh is responsible for the continued growth of India operations across Honeywell’s four strategic business groups: aerospace, Honeywell Building Technologies (HBT), Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT) and Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS). Rajesh partners with businesses to explore new opportunities, while focusing on market trends and adjacencies to strengthen Honeywell’s position in the country. He spearheads Honeywell’s India strategy that focuses on the company’s growth pillars of shaping a diversified portfolio of products and solutions tailored to the India market, while driving key customer and government engagements, and helping build the talent and leadership pipeline in the country. With his experience in the India market, Rajesh adds value to Honeywell’s initiatives in sustainability, digitisation, safety, industrial automation, and its foray into the mass mid-segment initiative through the Impact by Honeywell brand. Rajesh has over 32 years of rich corporate experience. His last assignment was with Microsoft, where he was executive director, leading the Technology and Cloud Solutions business for India. He has a strong track record of driving impressive business results and managing transformation across companies like Microsoft, Red Hat, Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems and Wipro. Rajesh holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal. He lives in Bengaluru, India, with his wife Seetal. Rajesh is an avid traveller, a motorcycle enthusiast and a passionate environmentalist. He has an impressive collection of biographies and books on management, which he enjoys reading.

Rajiv Mishra is responsible for running Apraava Energy’s business in India. He joined the company in 2002 and has over 20 years of experience in the power industry, both in India and internationally. Rajiv is mostly involved in project financing, investment appraisal, finance and accounting and general management. Before assuming the role of Managing Director at Apraava, Rajiv held a variety of senior positions in the power industry, including as Deputy Managing Director/Chief Financial Officer of BLCP Power in Thailand, Finance Director of PowerGen India and Finance Director of LG Energy in Seoul, South Korea. Rajiv has successfully transformed Apraava Energy from a single-asset and project management company to a fully grown organisation with a presence across conventional and renewable sources of energy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from BIT, Sindri, an MBA degree from IIM – Lucknow and is an Advanced Management Programme graduate from Harvard Business School. Rajiv is the Chairman of Association of Power Producers (APP) and the Co-Chairman of the CII National Committee on Power. Through these, he plays an active role in making representations on issues concerning companies in the power sector in India.

Ravin Mirchandani is a business leader with significant international experience, having directly lived and worked in 6 countries across Europe and Asia. His experience spans the cryogenic, defence, energy and traffic-infrastructure industries. Ravin holds an MBA (International Business) from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane and a bachelor’s degree in commerce (Accounting) from the University of Poona. He previously worked with Origin Energy – Australia’s largest energy company, responsible for the gas business for one part of Australia. He later was Head of Origin for South-East Asia, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Presently, Ravin manages a business that spans Australia and India, focusing on the road and energy sectors, i.e. carbon-free mobility as well as road-safety solutions, EV fast-charging and small-scale, off-grid hydrogen energy solutions. Ravin is a member of the Board of directors of Ador Powertron and Ador Digatron (India), as well as Acusensus, Mack Valves, (all based in Melbourne, Australia). He spends his time between Australia and India.

Dr Ravi Bhatkal serves as Managing Director, India at Cookson India, and is responsible for the India businesses of Element Solutions Inc, including MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions and MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions. Cookson India is a unit of Element Solutions Inc, a USD 2.4 billion, an NYSE-listed specialty materials and chemicals company. Dr Bhatkal currently serves as a member of the Global Board of Directors of iNEMI, the global electronics industry consortium. iNEMI brings together over 85 global electronics systems, sub-systems, components, PCB and materials manufacturers with cumulative revenues in excess of USD 750 billion, as well as universities and research institutes. Dr Bhatkal also serves as a National Executive Board member and member of the Electronics Manufacturing Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce, India. Previously, he served as VP, Energy Technologies, at Alpha Assembly Solutions, an Element Solutions business, where he built and scaled a new business in the alternative energy and energy efficiency value chains. Prior to this, he served as VP and General Manager of the global Engineered Products business at Alpha and led Global Strategic OEM Marketing, Strategic Planning, and the corporate New Business Development initiatives at Cookson Electronics, a global billion-dollar specialty and electronic materials company. Dr Bhatkal has previously served on the Industrial Advisory Board of the Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications NSF Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and the Technology Commercialization Advisory Board for Physical Sciences at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. His earlier experiences included roles in R&D in India, management consulting, and building an advanced materials start-up in the US. Dr Bhatkal earned a PhD in materials science and engineering, an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MS in materials science and engineering from Vanderbilt University and a BE in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, where he won the Savley Gold Medal. He is widely published and is a co-inventor on four granted and four pending patents.

RC Subramaniam joined Tenneco in 2009 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in finance and general management during his tenure. He has been a Director on the Board of Tenneco Automotive India for the past 9 years. Currently, he is the General Manager for Tenneco’s Ride Control business in the India region and has served as a Managing Director on the Board for the past 3 years. For over two decades, Mr Subramaniam has demonstrated leadership in positions of increasing responsibility in finance across various industries of varying cultures, structures and sizes. Some of the prominent companies he has served include General Motors, Saint Gobain Glass and PepsiCo Snacks Foods. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science, is a fellow member of Institute of Cost Accountants and has an MBA from IIT – Bombay and an Executive MBA from Washington University in St Louis, USA.

Rohit Sawhney is Chairman and Managing Director of India Ratings & Research, overseeing the credit ratings and research business of this Fitch Group company. He has over 33 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining the Group in 2017, he worked at RBS, and in its previous avatar, the ABN AMRO Bank NV Group, for 16 years. At RBS he held various positions, including Head of Corporate and Institutional Clients, India; Head of Financial Institutions GTS, Asia Pacific and most recently, Regional Head of Global Transaction Services, Asia Pacific. He was a member of RBS Asia Pacific Management Committee and of the Global Leadership Team of the GTS business. He earlier worked for 10 years at ANZ Grindlays Bank, where he began his career in 1989 as a management trainee. Rohit is also a Board member of Fitch (China) Bohua Credit Ratings Ltd anda member of CII’s National Committee on Financial Markets and TCM. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Delhi. His interests include reading, traveling and playing golf.

RSSN Raju is the Regional Director South Asia Region & Managing Director and CEO of Snap-on Tools. He has been with Snap-on Tools for the past 18 years and established its Tools, Under Car Equipment and Saws businesses in India and the South Asia region. Mr Raju has 42 years of experience. He has worked in various multinationals, including Carrier and Voltas, in senior positions. He holds a master’s degree in business administration.

S Krishnakumar (‘KK’) is currently the MD & CEO of Shriram Pistons & Rings. In the past, he has managed leadership roles with Bharat Forge, Eaton Corporation and Schaeffler, primarily in the automotive space. KK is a resilient, seasoned, customer-oriented professional with over three decades of outcome-driven headship roles in diverse industries. For over 15 years, he has handled the full P&L for multinational companies in India and overseas. Prior to this, he handled the overseas operations of Bharat Forge in Europe and US, apart from serving as President of its strategic business. He was also previously the Asia Pacific President for Eaton, based out of Shanghai. KK has an excellent blend of technical, commercial and financial acumen. He is a strong team leader and an ‘out of box’ thinker with profound exposure in the automotive and CV industries. KK is an active member of ACMA, CII and IMA and is involved in various social activities, especially those focused on educating the girl child. He holds an MBA, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a diploma in exports management. KK is Co-Chairperson, National Council on Auto & Auto Ancillaries at ASSOCHAM; a Member of the National Council on Making Manufacturing Future Ready, CII; and a Special Invitee- Northern Regional Council, at CII.

Sunil Kumar was appointed President of Henkel in India in October 2020. In this role, he is responsible for steering the company through its next growth phase. In addition, he is the Regional Business Director – Packaging SBU for India, Middle East & Africa, Henkel Adhesive Technologies. This is a role he has been essaying since January 2020. In a career spanning well over 25 years, Sunil has had rich industrial B2B experience across sales and marketing functions, in organisations such as BP and Carborundum Universal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore. He has also completed an Executive Certificate Programme in Business Management from IIM – Kolkata.

"Sahil Dharia is the Founder & Chief Executive of Soothe Healthcare, India's fastest-growing personal hygiene company. A driving force behind Soothe, he is focused on product innovation, customer centricity, and driving for results and integrity – core values that make the brand a thoroughbred, professionally-managed FMCG company. Soothe is engaged in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the feminine hygiene brand, Paree. In the short span of 5 years, the company has expanded its portfolio to include baby and adult hygiene products, which are now available across 350,000 general trade stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and e-Commerce marketplaces across India. With over 18 years of global experience in setting-up scaling, and leading multinational businesses in financial services & FMCG, Sahil worked on the buy-side at UBS Investment Bank in New York and led the high-visibility derivatives desk at Reuters, New York. Sahil was one of the youngest Global Heads of Operations at Thomson Reuters, where he was awarded the Global CEO's Award of Excellence for successfully leading strategic change management (M&A) programmes. He also serves on various national committees at FICCI and CII and is a Charter member of the TiE Start-up Community. In addition, Sahil is passionate about building thought leaders and is a visiting faculty at various educational institutions. He studied economics at the Zicklin School of Business in New York and launched his first business at the age of 19."

Sameer is Managing Director & CEO at Multiplier Brand Solutions, which specialises in managed services (field force marketing services[SS1]), enterprise technology solutions and retail solutions. Multiplier is made up of a young team of professionals in the space of HR services, technology and data solutions, sales and marketing. Founded in 2016, Multiplier has grown by 200% since its inception. Under Sameer's leadership, it has been awarded several marketing and HR awards.

Sameer Taneja has had a career spanning 28 years, with the last 13 years at NNE, including 8 years as Managing Director. Prior to being appointed Managing Director, he was in project execution and line management positions. His professional interests are strategy planning and execution, decision science and leadership. Sunil has been married for the last 22 years and has a daughter and a son – both currently in college. He likes to read and play some sports in his leisure time.

Having moved from the US to become EVP, India Country Head and Managing Director at Parexel, Sanjay Vyas is responsible for developing the strategic direction and providing the leadership and vision necessary to grow this 6,000+ person India organisation. He also heads Parexel’s Global Clinical Supplies & Logistics business, which includes its global distribution centres and infrastructure. Sanjay has more than 23 years of experience in global P&L management, logistics and supply chain management, sales and marketing, mergers and acquisitions, operations, and people management. He was previously at DHL as its VP for Life Sciences and Healthcare in APAC. Based in Singapore, he was responsible for managing the global logistics and supply Chain business for the top life-science and healthcare customers across all of DHL’s business units within APAC. He was also a member of the DHL Life Sciences and Healthcare Board. Sanjay holds a master’s degree in marketing management and a bachelor’s degree in commerce and economics. He also has a professional diploma in software technology and systems management.

Sanjay is a foundry veteran with leadership roles in major aluminium foundries in India and abroad. The tremendous growth of the automotive industry has been well supported by the highly complex engine and power train components manufactured by Nemak and other aluminium foundries. Sanjay’s aim to continue contributing in the domain of conventional powertrains while developing technology and products for e-Mobility, which is the future of the automotive industry.

Mr Sanjiv Kanwar has been the Country Manager of Yara India since 2011. Yara India is a 100% subsidiary of Yara International ASA, Oslo. Yara India was set up in 2011 in Pune, Maharashtra and has since then expanded its operations to over 15 states in India.

In his current role, Sanjiv is responsible for providing strategic leadership for all aspects of Yara’s business in India. Sanjiv works with his team to ensure continuous growth through innovation as well as operational excellence and building organisational capability. He was part of the Yara team that was set up to acquire Tata Chemicals’ 1.20 MN MT annual capacity urea plant located in Babrala, UP, for USD 421 million, becoming the first foreign multinational company to invest in the Indian fertiliser sector.

Before joining Yara, Sanjiv had worked in various capacities at Norsk Hydro, Sabic, Indo Gulf Fertilisers and PT Indo Bharat Rayon, Jakarta. He has over 35 years of professional experience in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors. Sanjiv works closely with the various industry associations and is on the Board of Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). Sanjiv is also a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), National Council on Agriculture.

In his spare time, Sanjiv likes to read books, preferably historical fiction, and is also an avid runner, which is on hold currently due to the pandemic.

Sanjiv Navangul has led a host of global pharmaceutical companies to operational success. His mentorship and contribution towards a values-based culture is widely acknowledged by business leaders. Mr Navangul has served on the Boards of Johnson & Johnson India and Fulford India. He has held several leadership roles throughout his 30-year career, including as Managing Director for Janssen in India and South Asia; Managing Director for MSD Pharmaceuticals, Philippines; and Commercial Director for MSD India and South Asia. A recipient of several industry awards on public health, marketing and diversity, Sanjiv has also served as the Vice President of OPPI (Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India) from 2014 to 2019, Chairman of AMCHAM Pharma committee (American Chamber of Commerce) from 2016 to 2019, and Chairman of the Medical and Regulatory Committee from 2016 to 2019. He has been on the Academic Board of NMMIS Pharma Management, IES Management School and IIHMR, Jaipur.

Santhosh Kumar is the President & MD of TI India, a position he has held since 2013. Previously, Santhosh was a Business Manager, responsible for growing TI's embedded business in ADAS (Autonomous Driver Assistance Systems) and Video, based out of Dallas, Texas. He has over 20 years of product development and general management expertise across multiple roles in TI. TI in India does end-to-end product development, including conceptualisation, architecture, design and development for WW markets in various domains including industrial, automotive, communication and personal electronics.

Satish Rao is the Chairman and Managing Director of Firmenich India, which is a key strategic country for Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, headquartered in Geneva. He joined Firmenich in 2016. Spearheading the India business, he has taken Firmenich to a leadership position, supporting and growing the business with consumer goods companies as valued customers. Satish is a proven business leader in both consumer-facing and B2B industries, with a solid background in sales, marketing and general management. He also serves as Vice President of the Swiss Indian Chamber of Commerce - West chapter. Satish devotes his time to social and philanthropic causes. He is also an avid golfer and has recently authored a best-selling book on leadership virtues, ‘Can I Fly?’

As President of Apollo Tyres, Satish Sharma oversees strategy and operations for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. A member of the company’s Management and Supervisory Board, he is credited with Apollo’s steady sales growth in the last 5 years. An avid sportsperson, Satish is extremely passionate about fitness, and is a regular participant in marathons around the world. Currently, he is also the Chairman of the industry body, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA).

Sean is Vice President and Regional Chief Security Officer for Asia Pacific and Japan at Palo Alto Networks. In this role, he spearheads the development of thought leadership, threat intelligence and best security practices for the cybersecurity community and business executives. With more than 20 years of experience in the IT security industry, he acts as a trusted advisor to organisations across the region, helping them improve their security postures and align security strategically with business initiatives. Before joining Palo Alto Networks, Sean spent 15 years in a variety of roles at Intel Security, most recently as Chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific. Before this, Sean was involved in software development, technical support and consulting services for a range of Internet security solutions. Sean actively discusses security issues in the mainstream media, including television, radio, print and security related broadcasts. He regularly participates in forums, conferences and panels, and provides intelligence on cybersecurity matters to the public and private sector.

Shantanu is currently Vice President of Global R&D and Managing Director of Perforce Software in India. He helps steer Perforce on its rapid growth trajectory while continuing to deliver outstanding experiences for its customers. Shantanu recently established a brand-new R&D centre in India and took charge of a portfolio of products and teams distributed across India, Estonia and the United States. During his distinguished career, during which he has built organisations, lead transformations and delivered innovative software products, Shanthanu has overseen the development of products in the areas of enterprise software, information security, consumer tech and wireless communications. Shantanu has a long track record of building and scaling globally distributed transformational teams.

Dr Sharmila Amin has over 25 years of experience in global freight forwarding, with a focus on projects and the oil and gas logistics business. A seasoned industry veteran, she has a proven track record in expanding and consolidating logistics operations in emerging markets. She has executed multiple projects in the power generation, petrochemical, fertiliser, automobile, oil and gas and other core industry sectors. Dr Amin began her career in 1986 with the then-famous firm AFL and has since grown in stature by leaps and bounds. Over the years, she has gained a firm foothold in the industry, understanding all of its nuances. She has been Managing Director (South Asia and India) with Bertling Logistics since 2013. Prior to taking up this assignment with Bertling, Dr Amin held similar positions with global MNCs, where she has restructured the business and transformed them into profitable entities, enforcing compliance protocols, implementing new processes and mentoring teams to attain their business objectives. In an industry that is largely male dominated, she has risen to this level by virtue of her commitment and dedication. Dr Amin is the only woman in the projects logistics business, as well as one of the most successful businesswomen in the Indian logistics industry. She also serves on the Boards of several listed companies, including India’s first private oil and gas company, HOEC (Hindustan Oil Exploration). After, assuming charge of Bertling Logistics, a Germany-headquartered specialist project logistics company, she has taken it to greater heights. Today Bertling is a one of the top ranking companies within this category in the South Asia-India region.

Shashi is currently serving as the Managing Director of Camfil India and is responsible for leading the air filter and clean air solutions business for India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Shashi is a business professional with around 30 years of experience in the fields of industrial, government and consumer sectors. Shashi has always been passionate about working for the betterment of people and the environment. In his professional capacity, Shashi has been associated with companies like Sandvik, 3M and DuPont. In his current role at Camfil, he has taken a very crucial role in leading the Clean Air Revolution in India. Shashi has been instrumental in leading the educational programmes for clean air for all the industry segments, ranging from oil and gas to the pharmaceutical industry.

One expects the air to be clean but does not question the quality of the air one breathes. This has been the ideology behind envisioning ‘Clean Air-A Human Right’. Camfil works with all major segments of the industry, including oil and gas, pharma, hospitals, airports, railways and manufacturing. The company is a strong promoter of sustainable development and has also been associated with the India Green Building Council as an industry expert. Under his leadership, Camfil India has been able to drive the air filtration standards market towards the global level and is continuously working with various government bodies to upgrade the air filtration market. He is also a resource leader at ISHA Leadership Academy. Shashi's professional experience has helped him develop the most energy-efficient air filtration solutions in the market. Under his leadership, Camfil has been able to upgrade the air filtration conglomeration. In just 2 years, Camfil has worked with industry peers and BIS panel members to raise this industry to global standards. Because of the significant work in Indian air filtration, Shashi has been invited to CII's 'India CEO Forum for Clean Air'.

Shekhar currently works as President at Times Innovative Media (a Times Group Company). He also sits as a Member on the Boards of TIM Delhi Airport Advertising (a subsidiary that operates the marketing rights of Delhi Airport) and TIM Global (a wholly-owned subsidiary in Mauritius).

Shekhar joined the Times Group in May 2008 and has over 30 years of experience in business growth and strategy, corporate finance, investor relations, advisory services, M&A and supply chain management. Prior to this, Shekhar has worked with Alghanim Industries, Bharti Group, Coca-Cola, Timex Watches, Sundaram Fasteners and Tata Motors. Apart from being a qualified Chartered Accountant and an MBA (Marketing & Finance) from FMS, Delhi, Shekhar is an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Shine Sahadevan is the Head of Organisation Markets at PMI South Asia. He is responsible for engaging with business and HR leaders in building and improving their team capabilities by leveraging PMI’s products and resources. He works with executive leaders across industries in creating thought leadership engagements on topics like transformation, agility and collaboration. Shine has over 26 years of work experience in client relationships and account management, with a bachelor’s degree in electronics and an MBA in marketing. Prior to joining PMI, he worked for companies like Naukri.com and Global Tele Systems.

Shiv Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Sanctum Wealth, which was created through the acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Indian Private Banking business in 2016. Over a 25-year career, Shiv has held several leadership positions in wealth management across Asia and the Middle East. Immediately prior to founding Sanctum Wealth, he was Head of India and Co-Head of the Middle East (Coutts) for the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Private Banking Division. Shiv holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Hindu College, Delhi University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme (GMP).

Shivam Puri is the CEO of Cipla Healthcare. He brings the edge and discipline of 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the diverse Indian FMCG sector to the world of healthcare. An alumnus of IIT-BHU and IIM-Lucknow, he has had successful stints across leading companies like Jubilant FoodWorks, Hindustan Unilever and ITC. Under his able leadership as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cipla Health Limited aims to rapidly scale up and transform healthcare in India by pushing the boundaries to consistently innovate and offer world-class wellness products to make a difference to the lives of consumers every day. In his spare time, Shivam runs marathons and plays the drums. As a doting dad, he loves spending time with his two boys.

SN Ahmed has over four decades of rich experience in product design, manufacturing, process and plant operation, engaging with some of the leading automobile manufacturing companies in India, including Kelvinator, Escorts, Sachs India and Rambal. Since 2012, he has worked with Sabo Hema Automotive, an Indo-Italian project, as its Managing Director and CEO. Sabo Hema is engaged in the design, manufacture and supply of automotive suspension parts (shock absorbers, air bellows, gas springs etc) for heavy commercial vehicles such as trucks, trailers and buses. The company exports 70% of its products.

Sourav Sen is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eirich. He isa multicultural leader and an ambitious business manager. He earned his engineering degree from NIT Durgapur, business management degree from IBMR Kolkata, an MDP from IIM – Ahmedabad and a specialisation in international management from IFL Stockholm School of Economics. Sourav believes in empathetic leadership and empowerment. He has held senior positions in several multinational companies before taking on the current leadership position at Eirich. His strong penchant for employee development has helped him lead several businesses and organisations to superlative performance year after year. He takes every opportunity to share his learnings and perspectives at various leadership forums.

With nearly four decades of professional services experience, Srikant leads global operations for Nexdigm. He is responsible for overseeing and ensuring sustainable growth for all service verticals. He focuses on increasing quality throughout the company and building the Nexdigm brand in the marketplace. Srikant also works on major firm-wide strategic objectives. He continues to play a crucial role in Nexdigm’s global expansion and has helped the company transition from a single office to where it is today, providing integrated solutions spanning business services and professional services to multinational companies and start-ups alike. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant and completed his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.

As the Regional Managing Director of PMI South Asia, Dr Srini Srinivasan oversees business development and represents the chapters in the region (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). He also leads the PMI IT Systems Working Group. Dr Srini has over 30 years of global experience as a CEO, business leader and an entrepreneur at the intersection of professional services and technology. He is a subject matter expert in strategy, organisational transformation, operations improvement and analytics-based digital solutions.

Before joining PMI, he was the Managing Director of Arthur D Little India, based in New Delhi, re-establishing the firm in India while growing the business and setting up three offices for the company in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. He has also served in senior leadership roles at Altran Technologies and the Hay Group India. Dr Srini holds a doctoral degree in the field of education (EdD) conferred by University of Northern Colorado, along with a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Madras in India and a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico.

Srinivas is the Regional Managing Director for South Asia operations of Crown Worldwide Group, a privately owned, global logistics company founded in 1965 and headquartered in Hong Kong. The Group is committed to making it simpler to live, work and do business anywhere in the world, and manages a broad portfolio of complementary brands, including Crown Workspace, Crown World Mobility, Crown Relocations, Crown Records Management, Crown Fine Art, Crown Logistics and Crown Wine Cellars. Associated with Crown Worldwide Group for over 25 years, Srinivas has donned multiple hats and has worked across geographies leading strategic initiatives, internal audit assignments as a consultant to the APAC CEO and also as a corporate trainer for strategy mapping in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Vietnam, India, Thailand. He has worked as advisor on various strategic initiatives in several APAC offices within the Group. As Regional Managing Director – South Asia, he was awarded the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Individual Excellence in April 2016, recognising his stupendous contribution and inspirational leadership in steering India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to greater heights. He is also an accomplished speaker and has been a part of several business conferences, seminars and panel discussions over the years. He has also been a speaker at top management institutes, where he shares his leadership mantras with the next generation of budding managers. Srinivas holds a master’s degree in commerce, is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Chartered Management Accountant from India, a Chartered Management Accountant from the UK, a Chartered Global Management Accountant from the US and has an MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago. Moreover, he is an active cricketer, having represented the Indonesian state of Java from 2004 to 2007 and played for Indonesia in ICC matches in the 2005 and 2007.

Sri has over 25 years of experience, including over a decade at Dell International, where he serves as COO, CFO, CHRO and Chief of Shared Services. Prior to joining Natsoft, Sri was VP and CFO at ADP (a 12,000+ people back-office), where she managed Finance and Procurement. On the academic front, Sri is a Chartered Accountant and a Cost and Management Accountant.

Sriram Kanan joined Claas India in 2014. He was the CFO for a short period of time and is now its Managing Director. Claas is a German multinational company with a world-class manufacturing facility in Morinda, manufacturing harvester combines. Sriram is an Associate Member of the Chartered Governance Institute, UK & Ireland; a Fellow Member of the Chartered Secretaries, India; and a Fellow Member of the Cost and Management Accountants, India. He holds a degree in Law and Commerce. Sriram is a performance-oriented Finance professional with over 22 years of experience in several large German multinationals. He is an active member of various industry bodies, including VDMA, CII, FICCI and Invest Punjab, and has made valuable contributions to the industry, particularly in the Punjab region. Born and bought up in South India, Sriram spent the formative years of his career in Bangalore.

Subhakar heads the Wissen group as its Executive Chairman and is responsible for the overall profitability and growth of Wissen. Subhakar is always on top of things, guiding Wissen in the right direction, whether it’s new business development, cultivating partnerships with potential partners, or embarking on a journey into emerging technologies. A big proponent of quality across all areas of the company, Subhakar was instrumental in obtaining CMMI and ISO certifications for Wissen. He holds a master’s degree from IIT, Roorkee and brings more than 25 years of diverse experience in the IT industry.

Sudhir Dasamantharao is the Director & Head for Global Business Services, APAC at Boston Scientific. He is a global executive with over 20 years of professional experience in global operations, transformation, quality, project management, change management, client engagement, business strategy and innovation, in such varied industries as banking, financial services, insurance, IT, consulting and manufacturing. In the past, Sudhir worked in senior leadership roles at EY, HSBC, Max life Insurance, Capital One Bank and American Express. Driving complex transformation projects and setting up large scale operations is his forte. He has set up many shared service centres and lead teams across locations globally, in North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC. Sudhir is passionate about innovation, analytics and digital transformation.

Dr Sujatha Narayan is the Senior Vice President and Regional Leader for Wabtec Corporation in India[SS1]. During her tenure at Wabtec, she has led the company through a period of unprecedented, profitable growth. Prior to this, she worked at 3M in multiple roles spanning P&L, R&D management and new product introduction. Dr. Narayan previously worked in the US for Rogers Corporation, managing R&D and Commercialisation. She holds a master’s degree and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, USA and a BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Sukesh Jain is a business leader with over 25 years of experience, adept at running large businesses, managing cross-functional teams and driving change management by remodelling business processes. He is currently CEO of BI Worldwide India, the leading global employee engagement and recognition services provider, headquartered in the US. BI is also a leading provider of loyalty marketing and channel incentives services, with offices in Australia, Canada, China, India, Latin America, Singapore, the US and the UK.Sukesh and his team at BI Worldwide work with clients to create meaningful and sustainable engagement programmes geared at employees, channel partners and consumers. The team utilises the principles of behavioural economics to understand human behaviour and the psychology of decision-making, channelling it into business strategies to drive the desired behaviour in the target audiences.In the past, Sukesh has worked with companies like Airtel, a Motorola JV and Samsung Electronics, right from their start-up days until they became market leaders. Sukesh’s focus and learning in both the B2C and the B2B segment have made him adaptable to different business environments, helping companies transform and significantly grow their revenue and margins. Prior to joining BI, Sukesh wasthe Senior Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Southwest Asia for Samsung Electronics. Before Samsung, hewas with Airtel for 14 years in leadership positions across the mobility, enterprise and broadband businesses. Sukesh has also been a regular speaker at leadership forums like Gartner, CIO100 and Govt Tech Sabha on Digital Transformation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in marketing.

Sunil Gupta holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from NIT Kurukshetra and an MBA from Columbia University. Known as ‘India’s Data Centre Man,’ he has unmatched experience in the data centre, cloud and managed IT services industries. He is best known as the person who has built and operated the greatest number (more than 20) of third-party data centres in India. Sunil has been featured in the illustrious Data Economy’s APAC 50 list and is one of the ‘100 personalities to watch out for in the next decade who are posed to heavily influence the direction and transformation of the global data centre and cloud markets.’ Sunil is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Yotta Infrastructure, a Hiranandani Group company. Under his vision, Yotta was formed to power India’s digital economy, driven by data. Yotta has been powering the digital eco-system with data storage and compute capacity via India’s largest uptime certified Tier IV hyper-scale data centre park in Maharashtra and its upcoming data centre parks in Tamil Nadu, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal and other regions in India. Besides creating India’s largest data centre parks, Sunil has also chalked out disruptive technology portfolio solutions for varied industries at economical prices under Yotta Tech. For the first time in India, Yotta offers data centre build services on the colocation model, which hyper-scalers and cloud players can utilise without blocking their capex and still get the same dedicated, tailor-made infrastructure. As part of the CIO Angel Network (CAN), Sunil is an angel investor. Heloves to invest in and promote start-ups operating in new technology areas like AI/ML, IoT, big data and Analytics. Sunil has also authored Financial Model for Understanding Data Centre Investments, an in-depth mathematical model that helps the C-Suite make informed data centre investment decisions.

Sunil Kondala is the MD of Samriddhi, a company specialising in the provision of clean fuels. Under his leadership, Samriddhi has become one of the largest private ALPG players in India and a symbol of the highest level of standards/benchmarks in the industry. He is also the Founder & CEO of NetZero Energies, specialising in the provision of clean, effective and efficient industrial energy solutions. Earlier, Mr Kondala was an Investor and Director at Enlightiks, a firm specialising in advanced clinical care analytics, which was later acquired by Practo. His stint with MIT’s JPAL (Jamal Abdul Lateef Poverty Action Lab) laid the foundations for his goals of providing a comprehensive Energy-As-A-Service (EaaS) platform for customers, and of develop energy benchmarks across industries with the singular objective of helping reduce emissions at the least possible price. His experience of working with government agencies and the industry to establish an Emissions Trading Platform at JPAL gave him a ring-side view of the various problems facing those seeking to reduce emissions in the most economical manner. His major goal today is to provide the right energy platforms and solutions to help India achieve its net-zero goals in the least amount of time.

Sunil Muralidharan is the Managing Director of Höganäs India, a 100% subsidiary of Höganäs AB, Sweden, which is the world’s leading metal powder producer. Sunil has over 23 years of diverse professional experience across business management, corporate strategy, process design and improvement and supply chain, across equally diverse industries ranging from consumer goods to retail branding and industrial products. After having worked in organisations like Samsung and 3M, Sunil was part of launching and scaling up a technology-based start-up in the e-Procurement space in India before joining Höganäs India. Together with its customers, Höganäs develops tomorrow’s solutions for automotive components, surface coating, electrical motors and additive manufacturing.

Suresh Sugavanam is Vice President and General Manager for South Asia, UL India. UL is a privately-owned, 128-year-old independent safety-science company that helps clients bring new products to global markets. Under Suresh’s leadership in the region, UL has grown its existing businesses in safety and expanded into security and sustainability. Its growth has included adding labs, acquiring/augmenting capabilities, establishing a geographical footprint, multiplying the employee base, and extensive customer and stakeholder engagements. Suresh joined UL in 2013 from the Suzlon Group, where he led several strategic and operational assignments for over five years. He started his career in consulting with Ernst & Young and The Boston Consulting Group. He has lived and worked in several countries, including Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the US, the UK and India. Suresh is a thought leader in the conformity assessment and quality ecosystem. He serves on the Boards of NABL and NABCB under the Quality Council of India. He is also the Founding Chairman of the industry association TIC Council (Testing Inspection & Certification Council of India). He has written articles and given keynote speeches in a variety of industry forums and has represented UL and TIC Council on a number of government/regulatory committees. Suresh is an equity investor in early, mid and late-stage private companies in India. He sees continued opportunities in the areas of energy transition, new mobility, digital security, traditional manufacturing, digital/consumer, and health/wellbeing. Suresh is a chemical engineer from IIT Delhi and has an MBA from the University of Chicago-Booth School of Business. He is based in Bengaluru, India with his wife (a national-level women’s tennis player), 12 year-old son (an aspiring footballer) and 4-year-old dog.

Tarun is the Chairman and Founder of Universal Business School, India’s first Green B-School. He has previously served as Managing Director of Thomson Reuters, South Asia. He was Global Head of Treasury, leading a USD 2 billion business across 136 countries in New York, and served on the Reuters Innovation & Venture Board, London. He is a TEDx speaker and was awarded the Education Evangelist of India by Great Places to Study. Tarun holds an MBA from SPJIMR and has completed programmes in executive education at the Michigan, Tuck and IE business schools.

Tushar Sighat is an industry veteran with three decades of rich experience spanning the ICT sector. As Managing Director and CEO, he plays a strategic role in driving D-Link’s growth while strengthening its position as a leader in the networking industry. Under his dynamic leadership, D-Link has continued to soar to new heights of success and grow manifold. Tushar joined D-Link as the CEO in 2011 and played a crucial role in overcoming the turbulent phase following its demerger. Under his leadership, the company was successful in winning back the confidence of customers, partners, and employees. He is also the Chairman of D-Link’s subsidiary, TeamF1 Networks. Industry bodies across the globe have taken note of his exemplary leadership capabilities and he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious ‘CEO of the Year’ award at the CMO-Asia-World Brand Congress. His immense understanding of business across various industry segments, along with his effective leadership, superb management skills, a consultative approach and strategic planning, makes him an excellent strategist. He holds a bachelor’s in engineering, specialising in electronics and telecom.

Vidur Bhogilal, Chairman of CIGNEX has over 25 years of professional experience in strategic restructuring, M&A, corporate governance, finance, administration and legal. He plays a critical role in creating sustainable value for the organization through successful mergers, acquisitions, and joint venture partnerships.

Vidur has managed several successful acquisitions, mergers, and restructuring in India, the US and the UK and played a key role in tax recoveries, forex management, financial planning and control and fund raising. Before Datamatics, Vidur worked for organizations such as JP Morgan Stanley and Arthur Anderson, amongst others. Vidur is a gold medallist and a rank holder Chartered Accountant (CA) and Cost Accountant (ICWA) from India. Along with being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from the US, he is also a law graduate.

Vikas Kulkarni is the Managing Director of Bostik India. Bostik, part of the Arkema group, is a leading adhesives and sealant company offering sealing and bonding solutions to construction, hygiene, packaging, automotive and electronic markets, with a presence in 50 countries. Vikas is a pragmatic business leader with a flair for strategic thinking, adept at organisational restructuring, driving change and running start-ups. He is passionate about talent and people. Vikas has over 25 years of experience working in both large Indian companies and global MNCs, in the fields of advanced materials, specialty chemicals, building materials and polymers. He has served such diverse industries as automobiles, infrastructure, construction, energy and packaging. Apart from running P&L, he is a growth accelerator and has led business transformations and turnarounds. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA in marketing. His leisure activities include Indian classical music, travelling, reading and sports.

Vikram is a Managing Director and leader with the Transaction Advisory Group in Mumbai. He brings over 26 years of experience in Indian M&A and his primary areas of focus is on financial due-diligence services. Vikram has worked with multiple clients, led numerous engagements across a range of industries, and has provided services for more than 300 transactions. He has assisted more than 50 private equity clients, including Blackstone, Temasek, Warburg Pincus, Bain Capital, Apax Partners, Actis, TPG, Goldman Sachs, Apollo, Ares SSG, Affirma Capital and Capital International. He has also served global companies on their India transactions including the Tata Group, JSW Group, Alibaba, BP, Emerson Electric, Lincoln Electric, McCormick, Siemens, Delphi, Dana Corporation and others. Vikram’s primary areas of expertise include analysing the quality of earnings, evaluating cash flows, analysing strengths and weaknesses of balance sheets, identifying related-party and unusual transactions, accounting for mergers and acquisitions, reviewing purchase and sale agreements, and assessing compliance with Indian GAAP, Ind-AS & IFRS. Prior to joining A&M, he spent 15 years with KPMG India, where he held several leadership positions. He established and led the Transactions Due Diligence practice from 2004 to 2009 and the M&A Strategy practice from 2007 to 2009. Most recently between 2011 and 2013 he served as the Head of Transactions and Restructuring. Some of his key accomplishments include achieving a leadership position in M&A transactions in the PE industry, and a turnaround of the corporate finance business into a leadership position, where KPMG ranked second in 2012 in the Indian M&A league tables. Vikram has co-authored several publications, including the 2011 Assessment of Returns from Indian Private Equity and the 2013 Lessons from the Dealmakers on Successful Indian Transactions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and accounting from Sydenham College of Commerce & Economics and is a dual Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors in the UK.

Vinod Hayagriv started his career in 1975 and is currently the Managing Director and Director [SS1]of the C Krishniah Chetty Group. A gemologist by profession, he holds qualifications from the Gemological Institute of America, Santa Monica and Hong Kong. He is a commerce graduate from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore, and has also studied at the Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad. Vindo is a well-known personality in the world of gems and jewellery, both in India and internationally. A holistic thinker and an industry thought leader, he been invited to several strategy and policy discussions, including with the Central government. In 2009, Vinod was unanimously elected Chairman of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation in 2009 (now the All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Trade Council). He served as a Director on the Board of the World Diamond Council, representing the retail diamond sector in India. He has also previously been a Director on The Gems and Jewellery Sector Skills Council, Chairman of the Legal Committee of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation, and a Member of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. He was also one of the founding members of the Young Presidents Organisation, Bangalore Chapter. Vinod is a Permanent Trustee on the Board of Rashtreeya Sikshana Samiti Trust, which runs educational institutions enrolling over 20,000 students. Earlier, he served as a Rotractor, a Round Tabler and a member of several niche groups, including ones focused on book collecting, book reading, art collecting, history and vintage cars. Vinod travels extensively for business and public service. He has been a golfer for last 40 years. With his creative mind and strong focus on ethical practises, Vinod desires to serve a larger purpose in the society.

Viraj Kadam has been the Managing Director-South Asia of Donaldson India Filter Systems for six years now. Donaldson India is a subsidiary of Donaldson Corporation USA Global and is a leader in filtration technology. Viraj is also the APAC leader for Donaldson’s Industrial Air Filtration Business.

Viraj has done his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad. Prior to joining Donaldson, Viraj worked with companies like Henkel and Bajaj Auto. Viraj has worked with Henkel Group in various positions in business and general management. He worked as Chief Operating Officer at Henkel Anand India and also had an opportunity to work in China as the Business Director in an APAC role. Viraj has experience in turning around businesses to drive profitable growth by bringing in cultural transformation and developing a high-performance culture. Currently, he leads successful transformations in Donaldson India.

Vivek Bhatia is the MD and CEO of thyssenkrupp Industries India (tkII), a diversified industrial business covering a portfolio of capital goods businesses spanning mining, cement, power plants and boilers and sugar plants, along with a large service business that includes asset management and O&M. tkII has been in existence for over 75 years in the country and is also the largest Thyssenkrupp entity in India. Vivek has been Managing Director & CEO of TKII since January 1, 2019. Passionate about innovation and the application of new technologies in industry, Vivek has driven digitalisation and sustainability topics aggressively at tkII. Prior to this role, he was CEO Asia Pacific at thyssenkrupp, based in Singapore, driving group activities for all thyssenkrupp companies in the region. Prior to this, he was the Head of Strategy, Markets and Development for the Asia-Pacific region, based in Singapore. Prior to joining thyssenkrupp, Vivek was with The Boston Consulting Group. In 2013, he was awarded a BCG Olympics Gold Medal for the most insightful and impactful client work in the region. Prior to BCG, he worked as a design engineer for refineries and pipelines at Engineers India Limited. Apart from his full-time role at tkII, Vivek is the Chairman of the Mining, Construction and Equipment Division (MCED) of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), member of the FICCI Power Committee, member of the FICCI Bio Energy Committee, member of the National Executive Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and member of the National Executive Committee of MCCIA. He is Chairman of the Risk Management Committee and a Non-Executive Independent Director on the board of GMM Pfaudler. Vivek has extensive business experience across multiple sectors, including mining, metals and mineral processing, oil and gas, renewable energy equipment, power equipment (production as well as T&D), engineered/capital goods, sugar, cement and building materials. He has worked extensively on a range of business topics spanning strategy, operations improvement, organisation growth and diversification, joint ventures, PMI, carve-outs, technology licencing and transfers, business turnaround and transformation, working capital management, operations design and re-engineering, organisation design and performance management systems. Vivek holds an MBA from IIM Calcutta, MTech from IIT Delhi (gold medallist) and a BE (honours) from University of Delhi.

Vivek Venkatachalam is CEO of Raychem RPG (RRL), a JV between TE and RPG Group that has a global footprint. Prior to joining RRL, he led Oiltanking GmbH’s operations in the Middle East and India, and before that, he was a member of GE India's senior leadership team. Vivek likes outdoor activities and has interests in trekking, biking and running.

Anand joined NOCIL in March 2022 as Deputy Managing Director. His last role prior to joining NOCIL was as the Managing Director of Chemetall India (part of BASF). Anand is a chemical engineer with a post-graduate diploma in management from MDI, Gurgaon. Anand has close to 25 years of experience in the chemical industry in the areas of business management, sales and marketing, strategy and operations. He started his career with BASF India as a management trainee in June 1997 and worked across multiple divisions of BASF within and outside India.

Yogesh Sodhani is the Market Head – South at Sanctum Wealth, and a part of the Management Team. Based in Bengaluru, Yogesh heads a team of wealth managers and associates who manage clients in Bengaluru, Chennai and other parts of the Southern Region. His over 20 years of work experience span the financial services sector, including wealth management, treasury management and corporate finance. During this time, he has held leadership positions across firms such as Axis Bank, Morgan Stanley and HDFC Bank. Prior to joining Sanctum, Yogesh was Head of Advisory in the South for Edelweiss Private Wealth Management. He is a CFA charter-holder and has an MBA. Yogesh believes that ‘Knowledge is Power.’ In a rapidly evolving and highly dynamic environment, everyone must strive to constantly enhance their knowledge and keep reinventing themselves. As Steve Jobs aptly put it, ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.’