Meet our participants

Abby Joseph has over 35 years of experience in the welding world and has worked with companies like Esab, Nucor, Ador and Bohler. He currently serves as Managing Director at voestalpine Bohler Welding India and voestalpine Bohler Welding India Technology. Abby is skilled at formulating and implementing business strategies in manufacturing, local and global sales, product technology and development with sound experience in the Indian sub-continent. His current responsibilities include sales, strategic planning, brand management, finance and controlling, human resources and supply chain. Abby holds a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT- Bombay and a bachelor’s degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He is also qualified as an International Welding Engineer.

Abhishek Agarwal, President – Judge India & Global Delivery at The Judge Group, is a dynamic and exceptional leader. He has over 22 years of extensive cross-functional experience with distinguished global brands such as The Judge Group, L&T Infotech, Capgemini Invent, Birlasoft and Genpact. Abhishek is responsible for launching and overseeing Judge India Solutions, a key component of The Judge Group’s global delivery strategy. He has made unimpeachable efforts in the last 6 years to increase Judge India Solutions’ employee footprint and introduced and implemented a revolutionary hybrid work model due to which the productivity of Judge India Solutions’ workforce increased considerably. Abhishek’s vision, conviction and leadership have helped Judge India Solutions win multiple prestigious awards. In addition to being an alumnus of Wharton, Abhishek holds an MBA from ENPC, Paris and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Marathawada University.

Abhishek is a stellar example of academic excellence and hard work combined. During his 22-year career Abhishek has built impeccable delivery centres across the Americas, Europe, India and APAC. With his inspiring leadership and managerial skills in global staffing, strategic IT outsourcing, talent acquisition, recruitment, sourcing, and strategic resource management and delivery, Abhishek has contributed immensely to the growth and success of numerous organisations and people. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Abhishek is also an active member of various professional organisations in the US. He is a renowned speaker at several industry forums for global recruitment, talent acquisition, and workforce planning. Abhishek has a marvellous track record of setting up global delivery strategies and international offices. He instils trust, confidence and excellence in his colleagues and has proven himself as a role model for the upcoming generation.

Adwait is a happy-go-lucky person who worships all things mechanical. After college, he started out as someone primarily interested in technology, with no real liking for management studies or managerial roles. However, things changed with time and Adwait now proudly leads AROL APAC team after receiving a diploma in management He is an avid traveller who loves nature, driving, Indian classical music, animals and most importantly, his family of 4.

Alok Kumar is Head of Global Analytical Services and a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Moody’s RMS, a California-based risk management company. He is a global professional with over 20 years of multicultural and multi-functional experience in the insurance industry and brings a deep understanding of clients and their businesses to his role at RMS. Prior to RMS, Alok was Managing Director and Head of Group Risks and Analytics at Swiss Re, where he was responsible for internal capital model, risk governance framework and risk reporting. During his 20-year tenure at Swiss Re, Alok worked as a Natural Catastrophe modeler and Property Treaty Underwriter in the US, Switzerland and South Korean offices. He also led the growth and transformation of Swiss Re’s Bangalore office as an Analytics Centre of Excellence with nearly 1200 employees, providing access to an unparalleled analytics talent pool. Alok is a Civil Engineer and holds a bachelor’s degree from IIT-Roorkee and a master’s from Texas Tech University. He has also completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

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 Narayan is a Partner at Control Risks and geo-market lead for South Asia. He manages the firm’s client, partner and associate relationships across this sub-region and holds a seat on the Asia Pacific Regional Executive Committee. Based in Mumbai, Amit has over 20 years of experience with assessing and mitigating operational risk issues for clients.

Anish Bafna took over as CEO and Managing Director of Healthium Medtech in August 2018, when he returned to India with the dream of creating India’s most trusted Medtech company. Under his leadership, Healthium has undergone a transformational journey and emerged as India’s foremost Medtech company, with a presence in 80 countries across the globe and 500 districts in India. Healthium has built a strong team of 3,300 employees. Anish, along with the Healthium team, has pursued the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ agenda by promoting indigenous technology and innovation. Under his aegis, Healthium owns 64 patents in India and the United States, including those applied for. The eight manufacturing facilities of Healthium have also continued the thrust on high quality with 510K (USFDA), CE and ISO approvals.

Anish’s career spans 27 years, with a strong focus on the healthcare and devices sector and stints in multiple countries. In his last assignment, he was President, Japan for Baxter International. In his earlier stints, he served as the Regional Head, Emerging Asia at Baxter in Singapore, overseeing the operations of India and Southeast Asia from 2015 to 2017. Anish has over 27 years of operational and general management experience in the healthcare industry. He and his family have lived in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Japan before relocating to India. He has a proven track record of building sustainable and profitable businesses, with a strong focus on continuous business improvement. Anish plays tennis, is an avid reader, and likes to delve into history.

An academic at heart and a serial entrepreneur by profession, Ankit Gupta is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, IIM-A and UCLA. He is a computer engineer and an MBA from UCLA where he won the prestigious Larry Wolfen Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit in 2006. During his 15-year professional journey, he has founded three companies and successfully sold one hospitality business.

Today he heads Holostik Group which is into diverse businesses like anti-counterfeiting technologies, packaging, chemicals, real estate, warehousing, bio-degradable products and digital technology with the core objective of ‘Creating a Better Tomorrow’. The group’s flagship company, Holostik, helps control the problem of counterfeiting across the world (it caters to 90+ countries and helps 10,000+ brands) and in the process, has saved close to over 200 million lives since its inception. Driven by the group’s objectives, his new ventures include NaturTrust, a compostable packaging company and Utopia Digitech, a digital solutions provider. With partners like Microsoft, Ashoka University and Indian School of Business (ISB), Ankit is among the Board of Patrons for AIM Smart City Accelerator Programme, where he supports and mentors multiple start-ups.

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.

Apurva Gandhi belongs to the promoter family of the Mutual Group of Companies and is the primary owner and director of the recently demerged group, Mutual Industries. As the leader of a new entity, Apurva is focused on building a future-ready organisation based on strong ethos and value systems, and one that is ready to migrate to becoming a brand with 10x growth in the next decade. Apurva joined the family business in 1996 as a trainee in its Finance function and gradually worked his way up to the position of CFO over 20 years. During his tenure, he gained exposure by forming multiple joint ventures and JV separation, as well as family, legal and Finance-related work. Due to his developed experience, he is now responsible for business strategy, organisational development and finance portfolio. Within finance, he supervises the controller, treasury, shareholder relations, accounting, tax, legal, audit and IT functions to pursue the company’s aggressive growth strategy and meet its clients’ and investors’ expectations.

Apurva was in charge of leading the transition from a family-owned and managed business to a family-owned and professionally-managed business as a key member of the management team. This included culture change initiatives and leadership development for the professional and family team. During this period, the organisation grew tenfold in revenue and workforce due to his hands-on approach to setting up manufacturing plants, building organisations from the ground up, implementing ERP and other operational experiences. Apurva holds a master’s degree in commerce from Mumbai University. He resides in Mumbai with his spouse, mother and two daughters.

Dr Hingorani has over 28 years of experience in the asset management business. In her formative years, she was part of the initial team that founded a company focused on oil exploration, a first for India. This laid the foundation for understanding private markets. Dr Hingorani has rich experience in fundraising, investing, nurturing investments through four different economic cycles, carving exit paths and spearheading ESG programmes. Over the last twenty-odd years, she has been involved with 14 funds, 160 plus investments with an aggregate capitalisation value in excess of USD 15 billion, 109 liquidity events and 70 fully exited investments.

Currently, Dr Hingorani runs Siana Capital, an asset management business focused on technology and impact investments. She also serves on the University of Pittsburgh’s Chancellor’s Global Advisory Council and Global Impact Initiative, an Australian firm focused on impact investments. In the recent past, Dr Hingorani has also served on the Investment Commissions of the United Nations Environment Programme and has been recognised for leadership by Business World, Fortune India, and Asian Investor. She is a Visiting Distinguished Professor at the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, for Private Equity and Alternative Assets. Dr Hingorani has served on more than twenty boards in the past, including their Corporate Governance, Compensation and Audit Committees. She currently serves on the Boards of Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Grindwell Norton, DEN Networks and 5Paisa.

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.

Balaji Viswanathan is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Expleo Solutions. He has industry experience in several domains, such as consumer and market research, branch banking and sales, product management, operations, information technology and overall P&L ownership. In a career spanning 27 years (30 years including market research and field sales while enrolled in evening college), Balaji has been with the banking and payment card industry for over 16 years and with technology and process outsourcing for over a decade. For over 12 years he played a pivotal role in developing two start-up banks (HDFC Bank and YES Bank) and three years with a global payment franchise (MasterCard), supporting their operations and technology for the South Asia market. In the tech and process outsourcing industry, Balaji was associated with IBM Daksh (later acquired by Concentrix) for nine years across solutions, pre-sales and global delivery for the BFSI sector. Balaji has held global and regional leadership positions responsible for setting up systems and processes for retail banking, commercial banking, cards, risk management, customer relationship management, technology and process outsourcing. In a nutshell, he is a technology enthusiast and is always keen to understand the business application of technology.

Balasubramanian (Bala) Sankaranarayanan is the President and CEO of Thryve Digital Health.Currently based out of Chennai, he has held a series of global executive positions during his professional tenure spanning three decades. A certified consultant on USFDA Regulatory Affairs, Bala is a healthcare and digital thought leader, and has held board-level positions at industry bodies (including the Drug Information Association). Bala has degrees in chemistry, business administration and software engineering from institutions including Manipal and IIM-Bangalore. He is also a Harvard Business School alum. Bala actively supports the Indian start-up ecosystem via personal seed and angel investments through Spoonfeed Solutions, a private venture investment firm.

Bharat Dhawan is a Managing Partner at Mazars India. He is a part of the firm’s management Board and is responsible for driving Mazar’s growth in India. Bharat specialises in devising strategies and plans to better position and advance enterprises for better results today and to establish a sustainable future. With over 20 years of professional experience, he also leads the firm’s corporate finance function by bringing in his expertise in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, in addition to acquisition integration and financing strategies.

Bharath is currently the Managing Director of Ultramarine & Pigments. UPL manufactures pigments, surfactants and specialty chemicals in addition to providing IT-enabled services. Bharath oversees the pigment and ITeS businesses. UPL is one of the largest inorganic pigment manufacturers in India, with three operational plants in the South.

Bimal Desai is the Co-Founder of GrydSense, a globally celebrated AI-driven integrated PropTech solutions company in the real estate domain. He practises his passion for technology and data science in real estate by driving the firm’s aggressively growing B2B business relationships, B2C engagements, go-to-market strategies, and partnerships. Bimal has continued to lead DSP Design Associates, an internationally acclaimed 360° A&D practise catering to an array of verticals within architecture, interior design, and smart building solutions across domains for Fortune 500–1000 companies, for over three decades. As its Founder and Principal, he has been an active member of the global real estate fraternity, embracing resilience in the form of digital transformation of spaces by means of design as well as integrated technology through his businesses.

As a thought leader in the domain, Bimal has spearheaded design and tech consulting for multinational firms and carved an unparalleled niche for GrydSense and DSP Design in their respective playing fields, mastering the art of spatial dynamism. With a passion for technology and a vision to revolutionise spaces in terms of experience, optimisation, and efficiency, Bimal’s directorships and professional attachments spell the future of real estate, strengthened by the legacy of DSP Design and the future-forward, industry-first intelligence from GrydSense.

Captain Anubhav Jain is the MD of IndianOil Adani Ventures. He has over 11 years of experience in the field of port operations at Adani Ports and has held diversified portfolios. He was a Master Mariner and Marine Pilot with over 11 years of sailing experience on different kinds of ships serving in positions ranging from Cadet to Master. Anubhav’s interests include reading, music, trekking and travel.

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.

Dinesh Mirchandani is Managing Partner at Boyden. He has been a prominent member of Boyden and served as Regional Director for Asia-Pacific on Boyden World Corporations Global Board of Directors (2000-08) and as a Member of its Strategy Committee. He also served on the Board of the AESC the global search body. Dinesh has been named on Business Week’s ‘Top 50 World’s Most Influential Head-hunters’ list. He gained over a decade’s experience in software engineering working for DEC in the United States, making critical contributions in distributed computing and software quality, and infusing some of the best practices 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’s Leading Professional Services Firms course.

Dr Deepa Desai is the Senior Vice President and Country Head of Labcorp Drug Development India. Prior to joining Labcorp, Dr Desai founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of D Cube Consultancy, which focused on people and business transformation in healthcare. As a business leader, she is focused on fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion and is committed to mentoring colleagues within and outside the industry via various programmes. Prior to establishing her consulting firm, Dr Desai spent nearly two decades serving in various capacities at a global contract research organisation (CRO). These positions included Global Head of Quality Management Systems, Vice President, and Global Lead for the company’s clinical delivery network, as well as Global Head of Cardiac Safety Services. Dr Desai also acted as a diversity and inclusion champion at the CRO, making her a key advocate and mentor within the company and across the broader health care community. An alumnus of INSEAD, Dr Desai was recognised in 2020 as one of PharmaVoice’s 100 Most Inspiring Leaders, and in 2019 she received a prestigious Luminary Award from the Healthcare Businesswomen Association. She earned her degree in homoeopathic medicine and surgery from Mumbai University. She volunteers for the Healthcare Businesswomen Association as their Lead for the HBA India Chapter and formerly acted as their Senior Global Director for the Ambassador Programme. She also serves as an Advisor with Loyal VC.

Gautam Chopra is a seasoned finance professional who currently serves as Senior Executive Vice President at Nuvama Wealth. With 20 years of experience, Gautam has dedicated a significant portion of his career to Nuvama (formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management), having joined the organisation in 2009 as Branch Head. Throughout his 14-year journey at Edelweiss, he has showcased exceptional leadership skills and contributed to the company's growth and success. Gautam's expertise extends beyond sales. He has successfully led and guided the business towards achieving its strategic objectives in his additional role as Head of Corporate Strategy. His ability to develop and implement effective business strategies has been instrumental in driving the organisation forward. His primary focus is to provide personalised and customised product solutions to clients, aiming to create a holistic wealth management experience. To achieve this, Gautam is actively building a team of specialists who can offer comprehensive wealth.

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 is the Managing Director and CEO at Tata Medical and Diagnostics (Tata MD). He is a high-growth CEO who has steered several companies as an advisor, mentor and director on their Boards. Girish holds over three decades of rich multi-domain and entrepreneurial experience across key sectors such as healthcare, software products, retail, IT services, skill development, education, manufacturing and airlines. He has successfully led multiple transformational initiatives globally. A large-scale operation and execution specialist, he holds in-depth experience of managing business with high growth. Over the last 12 years, Girish has played a key role in many of the Tata Group’s initiatives across several businesses. He is one of the go-to-persons roped in to conceive new ideas and solve complex problems to create high-growth businesses. He has conceptualised and executed innovative solutions to complex problems in the areas of healthcare, medical and diagnostics and skill development. He has also successfully implemented large healthcare experiments in primary, secondary, tertiary and cancer care using Bridgital Model and is considered a thought leader in healthcare globally.

During the pandemic, Girish was brought in to helm Tata’s first medical and diagnostics business. Under his leadership, he launched the world’s first commercial CRISPR platform from license to launch in 100 days for Covid diagnostics. Under his leadership, the team subsequently developed unique products to meet Indian demand for Covid diagnostics. Led by his vision and accompanied by a few scientists, he fostered a revolutionary Deep-Science-Design (DSD) platform to create molecular diagnostics products quickly. Using this platform, Tata MD has developed seven molecular diagnostics platforms within 6 months. Girish has been recognised for his transformative thinking, felicitated with several awards and been a member of several national government committees. He has authored multiple papers on technology and business strategies. An enthusiastic speaker at various industry forums, Girish also mentors several start-up businesses. He holds an MBA from the University of Texas, Dallas, and a graduate degree in electrical engineering and mathematics from the University of Madras.

Harjot Singh has sizable global experience across the length and breadth of business and financial operations. His exposure includes areas such as strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital restructuring, statutory and legal compliances, and of late, business and operations management. Harjot joined Future Focus Infotech (FFI) in 2019 as Deputy Chief Financial Officer and has been the Chief Operating Officer since July 2022. Prior to this, he worked with ManpowerGroup for nearly seven years managing acquisition and post-merger integration of diverse companies across IT and engineering domains. Harjot has more than 16 years of experience across Convergys, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, EXL Service, ManpowerGroup and now Future Focus Infotech. He holds a CMA from IMA US, a PGDM (finance) and a bachelor’s degree in commerce.

Harold D’Souza has worked in the executive search industry since 1998, when it was still developing into an important part of the corporate world. He has been part of the evolution of the executive search industry in India and has contributed to its current stature and positioning. Before co-founding WalkWater, he was responsible for building the technology industry practice in India for Accord Group India and DHR International. He has previously worked with E&Y and PSS. His key expertise is building revenue and profit-generating search businesses from scratch and developing long-standing relationships with leaders across industry sectors with a special focus on Indian business houses and entrepreneur-driven companies. Mr D’Souza also leads CEO and leadership searches, especially in technology and related sectors. He also works closely with many start-ups and their founders. Mr D’Souza is a firm believer in the power of instinct in both one’s personal and professional life. He is an avid foodie, loves to cook and travel, and is a keen squash player. He is also a non-fiction book lover and owns a diverse collection of books at his home in Bangalore.

With over 20 years of professional experience, Henning Figge took over the European sector leadership of Haworth Inc. in 2012. Today, as President of Haworth International, Henning is responsible for the EMEA and APAC regions. He served as President of FEMB (the European Association of Office Furniture Manufacturers) in 2012-13 and as Deputy Chairman of IBA (The German Office Furniture Association) from 2010-19. Prior to Haworth, Henning was employed as the Chairman of Steelcase AG, Germany. Before this, he was a Project Manager at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, a consultancy headquartered in Germany. He also worked for Deutsche Bank and Allianz. A skilled banker, Henning graduated with a degree in business studies (marketing, statistics and psychology) from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. He is fluent in English, German and Spanish.

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.

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.

K Srinivas is the Executive Director of Pranav Vikas. He has over 28 years of experience in the automotive industry and has worked on several new joint ventures to introduce technology in the industry in areas of emissions, fuel efficiency and vehicle thermal management. He transformed the company product portfolio, curating a portfolio catering to 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers, passenger cars, commercial vehicles and off-road/stationary engines. He also leads the company’s foray into the defence business, having established a relationship with an Israeli company and secured a multi-crore business from the Indian Army. As a key member of the VIKAS Group Management team, Srinivas initiated several technical partnerships and Joint Ventures with leading companies in Italy, Spain, Finland, Korea, Japan, Israel & China. All of them have been translated into successful JVs. He started his career in 1994, with Motherson Sumi Systems, a JV with Sumitomo Japan. Srinivas also founded 'Rise for Tails', an animal welfare initiative of RISE. RISE has successfully done over 3,000 rescues and over 2,000 sterilisations. The eventual goal is to work towards a stray-free society and reduce human-animal conflicts.

Kiron Shah is the founder and the Managing Director of the Velankani Group, a diversified company. He conceptualised and built a technology park in Electronic City, Bangalore, with a land area of 22 acres and a built-up area of about 1 million square feet, which has received the award for India’s first IGBC Platinum-rated landscape Project. He has also set-up an advanced ‘State-of-the-Art’ 4.0 electronics manufacturing facility in Electronic City, Bangalore with high levels of robotic automation and process control under the Indian Government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme.

Under his leadership, Velankani group made its foray into the hospitality business and owns and operates a five-star hotel and resto-bar in Bangalore, in addition to operating four-star hotels in Bangalore and Goa. Kiron was the first Chairman of Electronic City Industries Township Authority (ELCITA) which is responsible for all municipal services in the Electronic City township, including maintenance, safety, traffic management and regulation, granting buildings related approvals, trade licences, and other services. He now continues as a member of the executive committee of ELCITA. Kiron serves as the Honorary Consul of Lithuania and has served in various positions on the YPO, WPO in the South Asian 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.

In his first job as a project manager, KL Nataraj anchored the start-up and operations of Nilaks Nova, a bicycle dynamo manufacturing company in Chennai, for a period of three years from 2001-04. In 2004, Nataraj became a full-time Director of Clarion Group. During his stint at Lotus Beauty Care, a flagship cosmetics manufacturing unit of the group in Haridwar, Nataraj led the way in streamlining shop floor operations and improving line efficiencies. He also led a major expansion of the group’s manufacturing operations in Haridwar in 2016 and 2017, adding about 200,000 square feet of space and about 30 filling and packing lines, producing a wide range of personal care products for various customers. An ambitious expansion in 2020, amid the pandemic, led to Lotus Beauty Care becoming the first contract manufacturing location globally to set up a modern and state-of-art Nano factory, delivering 124 new launches for customers in the very first year. Nataraj places a lot of importance on sustainability, innovation, automation, R&D and investing in best-in-class systems to improve quality and safety at Clarion’s facilities across India.

Today, Clarion is India’s leading private label manufacturer and produces about 90,000 tonnes of personal care products annually. Clarion’s JV with France’s Fiabila is the biggest nail enamel manufacturer in India and serves most leading brands. Nikita Containers is a Clarion group company and a leading player in the decorative tin container industry. Clarion has recently acquired two leading brands in the food space in South India, Mambalam Iyers and Thaayar. Nataraj holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Navi Mumbai and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Central England, Birmingham (Birmingham City University).

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.

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.

Maneesh Johari is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Services at the Buzan Centre in Pune, India. An industry veteran with more than three decades of experience, Maneesh has deep insight into the educational sector in India. He, along with his wife Jas, was the first in India to receive a licence to teach mind maps and techniques of speed reading and memory systems. They also developed an app for the same in order to reach out to as well as make learning affordable and scalable for as many people as possible.

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 Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and MMI Holdings of South Africa. Mayank has been with the Aditya Birla Group for 29+ years, and has leadership experience across insurance, financial services, manufacturing, energy and power. Mayank was the founding team member of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance and in his last role, he was the Deputy CEO of ABSLI and had held multiple roles in the business in India and Indonesia. Mayank set up Aditya Birla Health Insurance in 2015, and under his leadership, within a short span of time, ABHI has grown into one of the recognized and fastest growing health insurance company in India. Mr. Bathwal spearheaded a very well diversified strategy of entering the health insurance market with a differentiated ‘health-first’ business model and developed an efficient multi-channel distribution system by leveraging digital opportunities. Mayank is a fellow Chartered Accountant and a member of the ICWA and ICSI. He is the co-chair of FICCI Health Insurance Committee and actively leads insurance industry forum of Nathealth. Mayank is an avid reader, a fitness enthusiast, and passionate about every Indian having an access to good health ecosystem and lead a healthier life.

Mihir Bhadkamkar is currently involved in the logistics and cosmetics secors. On the logistics front, his company is involved in international air and ocean logistics with a pan-India presence. His other business, Kafi Cosmetics, rose out of a passion to serve the underserved colour cosmetics market. Mihir loves playing cricket and enjoys discussing philosophy and spirituality.

Milan Ashokbhai Sanghvi started his career in the field of finance immediately after graduating with a degree in chemical engineering. He has in-depth knowledge in the field of finance and vast experience in training and mentoring young graduates and professionals in financial markets, technical analysis, risk management and various financial products. Starting as an analyst in 2005, he has since worked for companies like MOSL, Angel Broking, Glovista Investments (Global Hedge Fund) and Citibank. Prior to this role, he worked at Citibank for 8 years, 6 years in India and 2 years in Citibank Dubai. He quit the corporate world in 2017 to pursue his passion in algo trading and pistol shooting. He currently manages his own funds and is also a national-level pistol shooter.

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.

Mukund Vasudevan is Managing Directo at Moglix, a B2B supply chain solutions company. 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 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.

Mr Shekhar Narayanaswami currently works as President at Times Innovative Media (a Times Group Company). He is also 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 35 years of experience in business growth, 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.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Neeraj has a keen interest in sports, reading and music. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Hansraj College, University of Delhi; chartered accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountancy in India; CMA and CFM from the Institute of Management Accountants, US, and an Executive MBA from ISB, Hyderabad. Though a finance specialist by training, he discovered his interest in reading and education once he joined Scholastic. As the Managing Director for Scholastic in India, he has been involved in taking the organisation forward through organic growth in established segments and leading inorganic initiatives in the edtech and education domains over the last decade. He has been actively involved in industry bodies and engages well with colleagues in industry, government bodies and other ancillary partners by representing the industry as Chair for the FICCI Publishing Committee along with his position as the previous president of the Association of Publishers in India.

Nikhil Sharma is the Market Managing Director, Eurasia Region for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and has authored the book, Rumi and Kabir Consulting. In his current role, Nikhil holds a full management remit encompassing franchise operations support, regional sales and revenue management services, while also steering the development strategy for the region. He is also instrumental in further nurturing the relationships with owners and franchise partners to drive system contribution, revenue, performance, quality, operational excellence and brand engagement.

Nikhil is currently a Board Member at FHRAI (Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Association of India) and HRANI (Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India). He is an elected member of the Delhi State Council at CII Delhi. He brings over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked for major players in the region across strategy and planning, business development, revenue management and distribution. Prior to WH&R, Nikhil was the Chief Operating Officer at Ginger Hotels, a Tata enterprise, where he led the company’s operations, growth portfolio, as well as its digital and loyalty strategy. He was also one of the founding members of the Lemon Tree Hotel Company, building India’s fastest-growing upscale hotel brand. As COO East, Central & West, he reported to the CMD and fully owned the P&L/ROI.

Nikhil holds a diploma in hotel management from the Institute of Hotel Management, New Delhi and a certification from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. He has collaborated with many high-profile industry organisations, serving as Chair and Convener for Skills and Entrepreneurship, Confederation of Indian Industry, Delhi State Council, and the Steering committee of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Orville Jameson D'souza is a member of the Boards of XLHealth India and Optum Health & Technology, both 100% subsidiaries of UnitedHealth Group. As VP & MD, he leads its Optum Insight and Optum Health 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 holds degrees in management, HR, and law from reputed institutes such as IIM – Bangalore, SSW Roshni Nilaya and SDM Law, as well as 23 years of cumulative industry experience. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious IMPM.

Pankaj Garg has more than three decades of experience across various industry sectors and has been in the pharmaceutical industry for about 15 years. During his career span, he has worked extensively on strategic finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, fundraising, business strategies, business development and supply chain operations. He successfully conducted the 100% strategic sale and post-merger integration of Medreich with Meiji Holdings, Japan, a USD 14 billion corporation listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in 2015. This was the first 100% acquisition by any Japanese pharmaceutical company in India. After the acquisition, Mr Garg has been spearheading the Medreich Group as Group CEO and Managing Director and has grown the business substantially in the past 7 years. Medreich is a CMO/CDMO organisation that sells pharmaceutical formulations in more than 60 countries including, India and works globally with top MNCs apart from key regional players.

Parind Prabhudesai is Managing Director of STIHL India, a subsidiary of the German headquartered-Andreas STIHL Group. STIHL is a leading brand in outdoor power tools used in forestry, landscaping, agriculture and construction. Parind has headed STIHL, South Asia for over 9 years. His astute approach to driving results, achieving goals and delivering sustainable growth comes from his rich and exemplary career spanning over 30 years in varied organisations. Parind holds a degree in mechanical engineering from GCOE, Amravati and a PGDBA from Symbiosis, Pune. STIHL India, with its highly motivated team, has scaled new heights under his leadership and has become a brand to reckon with. Parind firmly believes that ‘transformation is the way forward,’ and has been instrumental in walking the talk.

Prakash Chandrekar is the Managing Director and CEO of C&S Electric. He has more than 35 years of versatile leadership experience in the power industry, where he successfully held various leadership positions. He has diverse experience in creating business value through mergers and integration. He has gone through three mergers and acquisitions in the previous organisation and led the restructuring and realignment of business and HR processes with the parent company very successfully. Prakash holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from NIT, Raipur and an executive MBA from IIM, Bangalore. Prior to joining C&S Electric, Prakash worked at Schneider Electric (for 23 years) and TATA Group-VOLTAS (for 10 years).

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. 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.

Prashant More is the Managing Director of Husco Hydraulics. He has been with the company since its inception as a greenfield project. Prashant initially spearheaded the finance function as CFO and then moved to leading the company as Managing Director. He likes to travel, explore the world and understand its cultural and historical aspects. He is an amateur photographer with an interest in the arts.

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.

Praveen Rawal is Vice President for the APAC region at Haworth, based in Singapore. Haworth is a major company designing office landscapes with products that meet the needs of varied industries. Haworth is based in Holland, Michigan and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Praveen leads sales and design teams at Haworth across APAC. He is helping build the brand into a design and ideation leader in the industry. He has 30 years of diversified experience and has worked at ESPN Star Sports, Shell and Steelcase before making the transition to Haworth 7 months ago.

Praveen has been a part of leadership teams in the APAC region and has led many initiatives in building brand bulwark towards hybrid ways of working and transitioning staid spaces into looking more inspirational. He is a start-up specialist and has worked with many brands as part of their start up teams. Praveen is also a speaker at NASSCOM, CoreNet, SHRM and other design events.

Praveen Vashishta has worked for the insurance, financial services, and risk management industries for over 38 years. He co-founded Howden India, the insurance Broking arm of the UK based Howden Group Holdings and now serves as the Executive chairman of the company. Praveen has served on the Boards of several companies, including the international Board of the Howden Broking Group in the UK. He worked as the CEO of Zurich Insurance Group in India before joining Howden in 2003. He was a management trainee of the General Insurance Corporation of India’s 1983 class. Praveen is a member of the managing committee of the Bombay Chambers of Commerce & Industry, the oldest industry chamber in India. He is an alumnus of the University of Delhi and the Wharton Business School.

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 6,500 people. Pulin holds an MBA in marketing. He loves to read, play the guitar and travel to different destinations (with a backpack).

Punit Garg is the Managing Director of Clarke Energy India and Bangladesh. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 29 years of experience. At Clarke Energy, he is responsible for the smooth and efficient day-to-day operations 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 across the Indian sub-continent. Prior to that, he served as Area Manager at JCB India, where he was responsible for sales and customer support in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Rahul Bhasin is Managing Partner at Baring Private Equity Partners India and a Senior Partner and Global Board Member of Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP) International. He is and has been a member of investment committees and advisory boards internationally, including for Baring and ING group entities. Rahul was part of the group of three executive global board members that led the MBO of Barings globally. He has chaired the Boards of several listed and unlisted companies in India and abroad. Rahul previously served as the Chairman of Mphasis Limited and oversaw its transformation from a loss-making start-up to a fast-growing, profitable company. He was responsible for introducing several managerial, hygiene, productivity and growth drivers, followed by a roll-up strategy. The company now enjoys a market cap of over USD 6 billion. Rahul has been on multiple government advisory bodies and forums. Prior to Baring, he managed propriety and third-party capital as part of the Global Asset Allocation Committee at Citibank, overseeing a portfolio of USD 83 billion. He was the youngest independent treasurer in the history of Citibank worldwide. Rahul holds an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. He has been a guest lecturer/visiting faculty at Harvard Business School, Wharton, ISB, IIM Ahmedabad and Ashoka University.

Rahul Jain is the President and Head of Nuvama Wealth (formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management). He joined Edelweiss in 2008 and now heads the business unit that he helped establish. He is credited with transforming the retail advisory business into a full-fledged wealth management outfit. Rahul has over 15 years of experience in capital markets and wealth management. His single goal at Nuvama Wealth is to provide unbiased advice, innovative products and a positive client experience. Rahul holds a post-graduate degree in business administration from IMT Ghaziabad with a specialisation in Finance. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and travelling to new places

Rahul is a part of the management team at Blupine Energy, backed by Actis, a global energy fund. He leads Blupine in establishing grid-scale open-access businesses and selling energy solutions to industrial and commercial (C&I) establishments. Rahul has extensive experience in the energy sector, managing and running overall businesses across Asia with a primary focus on the Indian renewable energy sector. He has developed cross-functional expertise in handling overall business and teams by managing complex businesses including project development and execution, contract structuring, equity or structured equity investments and debt financing and company operations.

Rajesh Mishra is the Managing Director of Vulkan Technologies’ (Vulkan India) Pune, a wholly owned subsidiary of the globally operating Vulkan Group, Germany. He is a mechanical engineer as well as an MBA in Finance and has rich industry experience spanning over 40 years. Prior to Vulkan, Mr Rajesh worked as a General Manager at Greaves Cotton in New Delhi. Vulkan India started its operations in August 2001 and Mr Rajesh was one of the first employees to join the organisation. He was instrumental in arranging the necessary approvals from various government authorities to set up the plant in India. Based on his recommendation, Vulkan Group chose to start their India operations in Pune.

Vulkan India now has three plants equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, in-house aluminium and steel foundry, machine shop, rubber vulcanisation and lokring manufacturing unit. The company employs over 600 employees, aiming for increased production and productivity year-over-year in line with market requirements. The expansion activity of the third plant was completed recently and doubled the capacity of the aluminium foundry, rubber vulcanisation and machine shop. In the coming years, the company intends to enhance the capacity of steel foundry for which expansion activities are already underway. With extensive in-house manufacturing facilities and technical expertise Vulkan India has now become a global manufacturing hub.

Rajit Mehta is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Antara Senior Living, a subsidiary of Max India that pioneers the concept of ‘Age in Place’ by developing senior living communities. He is also the Managing Director of Max India and provides oversight and advisory services for the HR function across the Max Group. Rajit is the Chairman of the CII task force for seniors, Co-chair of NatHealth Senior Care vertical and a board member of ASLI (Association of Senior Living Organisations in India). He has been recently appointed as the founding board member of Dementia India Alliance (DIA), a non-profit organisation. He is also a director on the Boards of Sheares Healthcare India Holdings (a Temasek company) and Medica Synergie (a hospital chain in East India).

As Antara’s MD and CEO, Rajit spearheads Antara 2.0, a rejuvenation strategy that aims to propel the premier senior living organisation towards a new scale of growth and operations. Under his leadership, Antara has launched Antara Assisted Care Services comprising care homes, memory care homes, care at home and medicare products thereby creating an integrated eco-system for seniors. Previously, Rajit served as the MD & CEO for Max Healthcare, where he led a transformation journey for Max Healthcare through a 5C framework comprising of care, clinical excellence, cohesion, commitment and compliance. He also successfully helped Max Healthcare achieve its vision of being the most admired healthcare company in India renowned for clinical and service excellence.

Prior to Max Life Insurance, he was the Director – Personnel at Bank of America and also worked with HCL. His total work experience spans three decades. Rajit holds a graduate degree in commerce, a post-graduate degree in human resources and also attended an Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD, France. He is the recipient of the Chairman’s Award at Max Life Insurance.

Rajiv Gupta is currently the CEO of Tricolite Electrical Industries, which is among India’s leading manufacturer of custom-built switchboards. Prior to this, he was Vice President and National Head of Sales & Marketing at Honda Cars for 5 years. Before that, he was based in Mumbai as VP and National Head of Channel Management of the petroleum-retail business of Reliance Industries. He is passionate about field of education and has also had a stint as CEO of an education start up called EGE Global Education. He holds a degree in electrical and electronics engineering from BITS Pilani and an MBA from FMS Delhi. He also completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme and is a published author

Rakesh Singh is the Managing Director of India for Cloud Software Group. He is responsible for leading innovation and operations in a critical region for the company. Cloud Software Group’s centres in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad span engineering, product management, technical support, partner engagements, and operations. More than 100 million users around the globe rely on Cloud Software Group’s products like Citrix, NetScaler, and TIBCO to help them adapt, transform and meet the challenges facing every modern enterprise across private, public, managed and sovereign cloud environments. Rakesh was previously the VP of Technology and Managing Director of India for Citrix. He also led product management for the API Platform and Developer Ecosystem initiatives. Prior to Citrix, Rakesh was on the executive leadership team of the then-start-up NetScaler, at iPlanet (a Sun and Netscape alliance), and at Sun Microsystems. An alumnus of the Stanford Executive Program, Rakesh holds an MBA from UC Berkeley, a master’s in sciences from UC Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s in technology from IIT-Varanasi. As an avid runner, Rakesh has run several full marathons. He also likes to spend his free time travelling to offbeat locations.

Ravin Mirchandani is a traveller, both professionally and spiritually. He has spent his life on the road on many continents, and his passion has led him to work in the domain of sustainable carbon-free mobility and road safety. Ravin believes he is fortunate that his job provides him with the opportunity to work on both of his passions through a focus on lithium and hydrogen mobility for vehicles and technology to change and influence driver behaviour on the roads. Since 2018 he has been a jury member for the annual Charge Energy Awards held in Iceland, which focuses on identifying the best legacy and emerging brands in the energy, clean energy, and e-mobility space globally. Ravin also has a private pilot’s licence and believes that if one works in sectors that fire one’s passion, eventually one is bound to find the success that we all aspire towards

Dr Ravi Bhatkal serves as Managing Director, India, Element Solutions Inc. and Cookson India Private Limited. He is responsible for the India businesses of Element Solutions, including MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions and MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions. Cookson India Private Limited is a unit of Element Solutions, an NYSE-listed USD 2.5 billion specialty materials and chemicals company. Ravi is also responsible for the South East Asia business of the semiconductor and assembly solutions unit of MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions.

Dr Bhatkal currently serves as a Member of the Global Board of Directors of iNEMI, the global electronics industry consortium with over 85 global electronics systems, sub-systems, components, PCB and materials manufacturers with cumulative member revenues in excess of USD 750 billion, as well as universities and research institutes. He also serves as a National Executive Board member and member of the Electronics Manufacturing Committee of American Chamber of Commerce, India, and as a Research Advisory Board Member at the Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bengaluru. Previously, Dr Bhatkal was 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 (Alent).

Dr Bhatkal has previously served on the Industrial Advisory Board of the Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications NSF Engineering Research Centre at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and the Technology Commercialisation Advisory Board for Physical Sciences at Rutgers University. His early experience included roles in R&D in India, and management consulting, as well as building an advanced materials start-up, in the US. Dr Bhatkal earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering and M.B

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 last nine years. He is the General Manager of Tenneco’s Ride Control business in the India region and has served as a Managing Director on the Board for the last four 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 Snack Foods. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science, is a fellow member of the Institute of Cost Accountants, and has an MBA from IIT – Bombay and an Executive MBA from Washington University in St Louis.

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 and a 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.

Rajendra Prasad Khaitan is the Joint Managing Director of Indo National, the second-largest battery and torch company in India. He was awarded the ‘Electronics - Man of the Year Award’ for 2002 by the Consumer Electronics and Television Manufacturers Association (CETMA) for his exemplary efforts. Mr Khaitan has been the President of CETMA for 8 years. He is also the Founder and Chairman of RAL Consumer Products, a company with diverse interests ranging from portable energy, solar and LED lighting to baby-care and FMCG products. Mr Khtaitan has been instrumental in forming partnerships with The Princeton Review, Luv n Care (both US-based) and Pigeon Corporation (Japan), among others. A progressive thinker, he is an industrialist, passionate philanthropist and avid social worker, and is actively involved in the betterment of the rural poor, which is vital to ensuring the country’s future growth. Mr Khaitan is Vice President of Vidya Bharti, which has 3.4 million students across 12,600 schools; a Patron of the Friends of Tribals Society, which has 2.6 million students in 95,000 informal schools; and an Executive Committee Member/Trustee of the Rama Krishna Mission and Chinmaya Mission.

RP Khaitan is an industrialist, philanthropist, progressive thinker and changemaker. He is a humble man and considers himself a Bhartiya who would like to continue contributing to ‘Bharat Nirmaan’ activities. He is a Joint Managing Director of Indo National, the second-largest battery and torch company in India. Mr Khaitan is the founder and chairman of RAL Consumer Products, a diversified company. He is renowned and respected in the business community as a man of principles, discipline, and a strong value system.

Mr Khaitan has been instrumental in forming partnerships with The Princeton Review (USA), Luv n Care (USA) and Pigeon Corporation (Japan). He was awarded the 'Electronics - Man of the Year Award’ for the year 2002, by the Consumer Electronics and Television Manufacturers Association (CETMA) for his exemplary efforts. He has been the President of CETMA for 8 years. In addition to financially supporting many NGOs, Mr Khaitan brings a wealth of experience, astute professionalism, progressive thinking, and a spiritual dimension to the organisations he is associated with. He is the Vice President of Vidya Bharti Rama Krishna Mission and Executive Committee Member/Trustee of Chinmaya Mission.

Sambit Sahu has been Managing Director for Sodexo India since October 2022. He joined Sodexo in 2004 as a Chef Manager and assumed different responsibilities, including key accounts management, strategy and region head. For the past seven years, he has been the Segment Director for the healthcare business and played a pivotal role in expanding the healthcare footprint, including entering white spaces like clinical technology management and building a strong team.

His career has spanned 24 years in industries ranging from healthcare, facility management and aviation, to food retail and hotels. He has worked in organisations such as Accenture, Café Coffee Day, ITDC and Lalit Hotels. He specialises in business transformation by leading change management through people in the organisation and industry differentiated innovation. A hotel management graduate, he pursued his postgraduate diploma in management from IIM-Bangalore.

Sameer is Managing Director & CEO at Multiplier Brand Solutions, which specialises in managed services (field force marketing services), 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 is Managing Director of NNE’s India operations. NNE is an engineering consulting company specialising in the pharma domain. It is a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sameer has been with NNE for 14 years and has been Managing Director for the past 8 years. He is a mechanical engineer by qualification and has also studied general management at CEDEP, Fontainebleau. He lives in Bangalore with his wife and two college-going kids. He likes to read in his leisure time and is a sports enthusiast.

Sandeep Asthana is the India Country Head of Sun Life Financial, a leading global financial services company headquartered in Canada that helps its clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. In his role Sandeep manages Sun Life Financial’s interest in its two joint ventures in India: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance and Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management.
Sandeep has over 28 years of diverse experience in financial services. He started his career with Unit Trust of India and was closely involved with its plans for entry into life insurance and pensions. He headed the team at Zurich Financial Services that was building its plans for entry into the financial services sector. At RGA Re, a leading US-based life and health reinsurer, Sandeep built up their business in India to make it a leading life reinsurance player in India. Prior to joining Sun Life in 2011, he was Managing Director of RGA Services India. Sandeep holds a degree in chemical engineering from IIT-Mumbai and a master’s in business administration from IIM-Lucknow.

Sanjay began his career in 1989 as a management trainee with Escorts and has been with Bausch & Lomb since 2006. He has held a series of leadership positions in the company, most recently as Managing Director – India & SAARC of Bausch & Lomb, India since 2013. Prior to this role, Sanjay was Regional Director (Finance), Asia Pacific. He is currently leading initiatives to transform the brand Bausch & Lomb to its full growth potential in the country. Sanjay has over 33 years of post-qualification work experience and his previous stints include Brightpoint India and Schlumberger India as Controller and Company Secretary to name a few.

Sanjay completed his PGDM from IIM - Calcutta. He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has also completed an LLB from Delhi University. Sanjay is a Board member of the Medical Technology of India. He is an avid cricket enthusiast, writes on various topics related to medical devices and in his free time likes to read on diverse topics relating to management and organisation performance. He is married with two children.

Sanjay Kulkarni, with over 25 years of experience, holds the position of President at Fleetguard Filters Private Limited (FFPL). He is focused and ambitious while maintaining an amiable persona. His enterprising and extroverted personality has played a key role in building, guiding and retaining high-performance teams to develop and implement strategies for accelerated growth. He is an expert at managing multi-disciplined teams and resolving any conflicting priorities.

Sanjay has backed and imbibed the Theory of Constraints (TOC) among the workforce, which has helped nurture the business. He is known for developing innovative programmes for the expansion of new technologies and processes. His keen business acumen identifies and capitalises on emerging business ventures to propel the organisation to the top tier of the filtration industry. He is a people-focused leader and firmly believes in providing a stress-free and safe working environment for everyone in the organisation. He is keenly interested in CSR activities focused on the education of underprivileged children and other noble causes. Sanjay is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and holds a bachelor’s degree in law. He also has a master’s degree in HRM from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

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.

Satya Vankamamidi Prabhakar is from Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He graduated with a degree in engineering from NIT, Trichy, and holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA in international finance from the University of Florida, Gainesville. He was recognised as a Distinguished Alumnus by NIT, Trichy and won the AT&T Cabinet Award and Honeywell Spirit for Business and Technical Excellence. Satya previouusly worked at Honeywell and AT&T in the US as well as with Philips and TCS in India. He founded Sulekha with his wife, Sangeeta Kshettry, and serves as its CEO. He has been featured in 500+ media stories and was invited to speak at Wharton, Goldman Sachs, Nanyang University, the NITs, IITs, IIMs and ISB. He has published more than 50 technical, business and general interest articles.

Satya's book ‘Alfaaz ki Mehfil’ is a curation of his translations of more than 200 select Urdu couplets. His work was also published by Penguin in its anthology, ‘Black, White and Various Shades of Brown’. Satya serves on the Board of United Way Chennai and is a charter member of TiE. He leads Group e4, a non-profit that supports Indian chess prodigies. His interests include tennis, chess, investing, philosophy, writing and drumming. Sangeeta and Satya live in Chennai and have two daughters: Divya, who is married to Joe Silvestro, and Priya.

Saurabh Agarwal is Vice President and General Manager, LPM, Avery Dennison. He is responsible for driving strategic and operational business initiatives to achieve growth, productivity, and profitability for the ‘Label and Packaging Materials’ business in India and other SAARC countries. Mr Agarwal has two decades of extensive experience during which he has been involved in several transformational initiatives involving business model changes, margin expansion, prioritising investments and enhancing cash flows in multiple markets. Prior to joining Avery Dennison, Saurabh worked at Whirlpool Corporation, where he handled diverse, responsibilities in multiple finance and senior management positions in India and overseas. He is a chartered accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. An avid reader and traveller, Mr Agarwal loves discovering different kinds of vegetarian cuisine.

Shalini is an Independent Director on the Boards of Abbott India, Borosil Glassworks, Johnsons Control-Hitachi and Ambit Finvest. She is also on the Advisory Board of TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India) and the Global Board of CSCGA. Her consultancy, SKA helps organisations through their transformation journey to enhance productivity, efficiency, processes, systems and organisational culture. Shalini is a certified and practising CEO and Leadership Coach, having completed numerous assignments across financial services, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing and consumer industries. She also works in the area of leadership development and diversity initiatives across organisations. Her human resources career spans close to a decade and a half with Group HR Head positions for Chevron Texaco India (oil and gas), Star India (media and entertainment), KPMG India (consulting, audit and taxation) and Ambit Holdings (financial services and investment banking).

Prior to her roles in HR, Shalini was the Deputy Marketing Director at Raytheon India. She was responsible for business development as well as the management of large multi-million-dollar programmes in the areas of defence and commercial electronics. Shalini began her working career in Zambia and Botswana in Southern Africa. She worked with the governments of both countries on several educational and social and community development projects for over a decade and acquired extensive experience in tripartite partnership projects related to community-oriented income-generation programmes.

Dr Sharmila H. Amin was born and raised in a meritocratic family of professionals. She completed her college education in the field of commerce and economics from Mumbai University. She holds professional certifications in Shipping Management from IIM - Ahmedabad in addition to being a Customs Rule 9 License Holder. She recently completed her PhD in Operations Management.

Dr Amin has over 25 years of experience in global freight forwarding, with a focus on projects in the oil-and-gas logistics businesses. She is an experienced industry veteran with a proven track record in expanding and consolidating logistics operations in emerging markets. She has executed multiple projects in 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 its nuances. She has been Managing Director (South Asia and India) at Bertling Logistics since 2013. Dr Amin previously held similar positions with global MNCs, where she restructured businesses and transformed them into profitable entities, enforcing compliance protocols, implementing new processes and mentoring teams to attain 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 project 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 Germany-based Bertling Logistics, Dr Amin has taken the company to greater heights. Today, Bertling is one of the top-ranking companies within its category in the South Asia-India region. She also serves on the boards of 8 companies including India’s first Oil and Gas Company – HOEC (Hindustan Oil Exploration Corporation).

Shashi is a business professional with over 30 years of experience in the industrial, government, and consumer sectors. He 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. At Camfil, he has taken on the crucial role of leading the clean air revolution in India. Shashi has been instrumental in leading educational programmes for clean air across all industry segments, from oil and gas to pharmaceuticals. Under his leadership, Camfil India has been able to drive the air filtration market standards closer to global levels by continuously working with various government bodies to upgrade the air filtration market. He is also a resource leader at the ISHA Leadership Academy.

Sashi currently serves as the Managing Director of Camfil India and is responsible for leading the air filter and clean air solution business in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Since WHO’s announcement about the short-range aerosol transmission of coronavirus in indoor spaces, Shashi and his team at Camfil have been working round-the-clock to help organisations understand the risks of and possible mitigation strategies for the airborne virus. Shashi, along with his team at Camfil, has been working relentlessly with major industry segments, including oil and gas, pharma, hospitals, airports, railways and manufacturing, driven by the ideology: ‘Clean Air: A Human Right’. A strong promoter of sustainable development, he is also associated with the India Green Building Council as an industry expert. Sashi’s long professional experience has helped him develop the most energy-efficient air filtration solutions in the market. Because of his significant work in Indian air filtration, Shashi is invited to CII's 'India CEO Forum for Clean Air'.

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 26-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 an exceptional leader who has been at the forefront of driving positive change in the healthcare industry. As the CEO and full-time director of Cipla Health (the wellness subsidiary of Cipla), Shivam has been instrumental in spearheading the company’s wellness mission globally to make healthcare accessible, affordable and sustainable for all. Under his leadership, Cipla Health has witnessed dramatic growth and success in expanding its portfolio of products to cater to the diverse healthcare needs of its consumers. Prior to his current role, he held key leadership positions in reputed organisations like Unilever, where he spent over a decade creating and transforming diverse businesses such as the Pureit water purifier business, modern trade business and salon professional products. During his stint at Jubilant food works, he helped turn around restaurant chains like Dunkin Donuts and created Chinese restaurant chains like Hong’s Kitchen. At Cipla Health, his strategic vision and ability to identify emerging trends have propelled this set-up to the forefront of the industry. By nurturing a culture of continuous learning and development, he has built a team of dedicated professionals who share his passion for creating a healthier world.

Shruthi is an experienced entrepreneur and investment professional with a proven ability to transform ideas into successful ventures across multiple sectors and geographies. She is the Founder and Managing Director of CaHa Capital, a global investment advisory firm based in Bangalore. Shruthi is an active angel investor and currently oversees the expansion strategies of two early-stage companies. She also manages Wharton Alumni Angels, as the South Asia Managing Director. Prior to this, Shruthi ran an e-Commerce start-up for three years in Boston. Since moving to Bangalore, she has been actively involved in the health, wellness and fin-tech sectors. Shruthi was previously a commodities trader based in Indonesia and Hong Kong and ran that business for six years before moving to North America. While running her e-Commerce business, Shruthi was simultaneously at the Harvard Kennedy School pursuing her MPA on a John F Kennedy Fellowship. Prior to HKS, Shruthi graduated with an MBA with a major in finance, from Wharton Business School on a Forté Fellowship. She majored in environmental engineering and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Visveswaraya Technological University, Karnataka.

Shyam Visamsetty is Managing Director at Navtech, a tech consulting company with a focus on the media and entertainment, fintech and automotive sectors. He loves providing solutions to society’s core problems using technology. Shyam is a member of CNCF/Linux Foundation and loves connecting with innovative entrepreneurs. Apart from work, he loves spending time with his daughter, music, running and spreading health awareness.

Sridhar Dharmarajan has over 30 years of experience in successfully creating, growing, transforming and dramatically improving P&Ls and businesses. He successfully started, built and established multiple MNCs and start-ups in India over three decades in the technology domain. Sridhar excels at integrating insights towards a purposeful future of the business and provides a platform for people to accomplish their goals. He is known for taking on challenging assignments and utilising deep experience in the automotive, aerospace, defence and machinery sectors to drive innovative customer solutions and outperform the competition.

Sri has over 25 years of experience, including over a decade at Dell International, where he served 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 he managed Finance and Procurement. On the academic front, Sri is a Chartered Accountant and a Cost and Management Accountant.

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.

Sudhir holds a degree in mechanical engineering from VNIT, Nagpur and an MMS from SPJIMR, Mumbai. He has over 39 years of professional experience. Sudhir has served as CEO and Executive Director of Brembo India since 2011. Brembo Brake India is part of the Italy-headquartered Brembo Group, a € 3.6 billion company. He is passionate about the environment and drives many projects in the area of sustainability. Sudhir is a practitioner of yoga and loves playing table tennis, badminton and swimming.

Designing innovative and disruptive products, charting transformation roadmaps and growing winning partnerships with ambitious customers, is a short summary of Sudhir’s passions as a technology leader. As the Managing Director of ThoughtWorks India, he is responsible for the company’s operations, business strategy, new capability development, customer relationships, balancing sustainable growth and building high-performance teams in the region. A ThoughtWorker for over thirteen years, Sudhir has a proven track record of leading global transformational initiatives. In his previous role at the company, Sudhir was the co-founder and VP of Global Operations at Studios, the company’s product arm. His team helped take the unit from 0 products and customers to 3 products and 400+ customers, across 30 countries over 3 years. Prior to ThoughtWorks, Sudhir worked at i-flex Solutions, now Oracle Financial Services Software. During his 10-year stint there, Sudhir conceptualised and developed multiple products, while also managing their development and implementation. He was key to the inception of the flagship product, Flexcube. Sudhir holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Trichy and a master’s in advanced management from IIM - Bangalore.

Sumeet joined Louis Dreyfus Company’s Cotton Platform (Allenberg Cotton Company) as a Trader in Memphis, Tennessee in 2008 and moved to India in 2011 to strengthen the cotton business. He headed LDC’s cotton business in India from 2018 to 2023. Since 2023, Sumeet has served as the India CEO of Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the largest agricultural commodities merchant and processor in the world. He enjoys traveling, playing tennis and swimming.

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 in the world 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, MD and CEO of Yotta Data Services, 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 Navi Mumbai, and Great Noida (NCR) and its upcoming data centre parks in Mumbai City, Chennai, Bengaluru, Gift City, Kolkata, Dhaka and other regions in India.

Besides creating India’s largest data centre parks, Sunil has also chalked out disruptive technology portfolio solutions including open source based public cloud services, multi cloud services, cyber security services and many more 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.

Sunjae Sharma is Managing Director – India & South-West Asia at Hyatt and has been at the helm of executing the company’s operational and growth strategy in India and South-West Asia. He has been associated with Hyatt for over two decades and has held several leadership positions within the company. A member of the hospitality industry for over three decades, Sunjae can well be called an industry veteran, and has been a part of the evolution of the hospitality sector in India in several advisory roles. He has also contributed to several other leading hospitality brands prior to his association with Hyatt in 2001 and brings with him a wealth of experience.

Suvajit Karmakar is the Country Managing Director, India & Sub-regional Director, Asia of ALD Automotive. He has been working with the company since 2005, starting as Country Head – Sales & Marketing, and was elevated to the position of Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director in 2013. Prior to ALD Automotive, Mr Karmakar worked with organisations like ICICI Bank, Whirlpool India and the consumer electronics division of Phillips India. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pune University and a master's in business administration.

Tirthankar Basu has been the Managing Director- India and SAARC at Steelcase since July 2022 and is based in Bangalore. Throughout his career, Tirthankar has earned a strong reputation as a results-focused leader who has driven transformation and enhanced customer experiences. He has been a key leader in the success of the company in the critical markets of Bangalore and Southern India since he joined in 2007. Tirthankar has a keen interest in understanding the macro forces around technology and consumption patterns that define the trend of work, the workforce and the workspace. An ardent fan and student of the design thinking approach, he believes that co-creating with stakeholders is the only way a brand can create value and be relevant

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.

Uday Punj’s 40 years of rich experience span industries (construction, broadband, manufacturing, and technology services) and countries (including extensive work in the Middle East). His leadership skills focus on execution capabilities with varied market knowledge, clear and focused strategic and operational expertise, and a practical and efficient approach towards running projects, resulting in successful execution and value creation in his businesses. Uday has many successful turnkey projects and new business initiatives to his credit. An alumnus of Modern School, New Delhi, and Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, he has attended several executive education programmes at The Wharton School, the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, and Harvard Business School. The Chimes Group is a multi-industry venture set up in 2006 to identify and establish niche investments in growing industries, or "verticals," with the aim of creating serious value for stakeholders. Uday plays the role of Managing Director at Chimes on a full-time basis. The Chimes Aviation Academy is India's largest "best-in-class pilot training academy," offering comprehensive training for professional pilots. Launched in June 2008, it has achieved many milestones: it has the largest private-sector operating fleet, 100+ resident students, an experienced faculty, ISO 9001:2008 certification, and is an Indian DGCA CAR 145 approved establishment. Incorporated in 2004, Petro IT offers asset life-cycle management solutions for the energy sector, providing best-in-class software solutions. It creates value by supporting the buildout, maintenance, and operations of assets in oil, gas, and power projects. Petro IT has its SDC in Gurgaon, supported by regional offices in the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, and America. The company has a reputable client list, comprising leading O&G owners, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, the ADNOC Group, Pertamina Indonesia, Petronas Malaysia, GAIL, and CAIRN India.

Vinod Hayagriv started his career in 1975 and is currently the Managing Director and Director 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 the last 45 years. With his creative mind and strong focus on ethical practises, Vinod desires to serve a larger purpose in the society.

Vivek Venkatachalam, CEO of Raychem RPG, (a 50:50 joint venture between RPG Enterprises and US group TE Connectivity), is leading the future-proofing of the company and thereby making it sustainably profitable. In this journey, Vivek is mentoring Raychem RPG’s leadership team to achieve business goals. Prior to Raychem RPG, he had a successful stint as a Regional Director for ME and India Operations for Oil Tanking GmbH and as the Managing Director of their Indian JV, Indian Oil Tanking. Vivek has held several leadership roles in GE across various businesses and has a history of turning around and growing businesses, thereby making them sustainably profitable. He joined GE in 2000 as a Business Development Manager and advanced through his career, handling multiple roles to become the President and CEO of GE O&G in 2008 and GE Power Conversion in 2011. Drawing on over 25 years of multi-faceted leadership experience in infrastructure and the oil and energy industry, Vivek is a strong growth-minded business leader skilled in partnerships, P&L, business development and strategic alliances with a demonstrated track record of future-proofing businesses, accomplishing sustained profitability and solving complex challenges.

Anand is a Chemical Engineer with a postgraduate diploma in management from MDI Gurgaon. Anand has nearly 25 years of chemical industry experience in the areas of business management, sales and marketing, strategy, and operations. He started his career at BASF India as a Management Trainee in June 1997 and worked for multiple divisions of BASF within and outside India. His last role prior to joining NOCIL was that of Managing Director at Chemetall India (part of BASF). Anand joined NOCIL in March 2022 as Deputy Managing Director.

Vivek Bhatia is the MD and CEO of thyssenkrupp Industries India, a diversified industrial business covering a portfolio of capital goods businesses spanning mining, cement, power plants and boilers, sugar plants and 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 and CEO of tkII since 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 that, he was the Head of Strategy, Markets and Development for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore.

Prior to thyssenkrupp, Vivek was with 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. Apart from his full-time role at tkII, Vivek is the Chairman of Mining, Construction and Equipment Division (MCED) of CII, a member of the FICCI Power Committee, member of the FICCI Bio Energy Committee, a member of the National Executive Committee of Indian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the National Executive Committee of MCCIA. He is Chairman of the Risk Management Committee and 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/diversification, joint ventures, PMI, carve-outs, technology licensing/transfers, business turnaround/ transformation, working capital management, operations design and re-engineering, organisation design and performance management systems. Vivek holds an MBA from IIM - Calcutta, a master’s degree in technology as a gold medallist from IIT - Delhi and a bachelor’s degree with honours from the University of Delhi.

Shantanu is currently the Senior Vice President of Global Engineering at Perforce and the Managing Director of its Pune entity. He is currently helping steer Perforce on its rapid growth trajectory while continuing to deliver outstanding experiences for its customers. He 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 of building organisations, leading transformation and delivering innovative software products, he 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.2

Piyush has over 20 years of work experience. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from NIT Silchar and commenced his career with industrial selling. Piyush later entered a business management role and worked in varied roles in different locations. He has worked with reputed companies including Shell, Caltex, Fairfield, HIL and currently works as Director-India with Signode India, the world leader in transit packaging. He loves reading books and his favourite is ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’.

Srikanth has over 27 years of experience working for and with various organisations. 19 of these years have been in the fields of occupational health, industrial, environmental safety and pandemic preparedness. He has held senior positions in organisations such as 3M and Honeywell. Srikanth has spearheaded several awareness building campaigns across India. He is currently an Advisor, responsible for building sales and distributor management excellence at Camfil India. His responsibilities include expanding reach through appointing of the distributors across regions where Camfil India needs a presence. In addition to this, Srikanth also acts as a Sales Management Advisor to the sales team in managing their respective territories, the periodic reporting cadence to ensure optimal productivity. He holds a post-graduate degree in business management and is an industrial and production engineer by education.

Kalyan works for Camfil as National Manager, Project Sales, where he handles major business accounts for large project-related requirements. He comes with 23 years of industrial sales experience across all industrial verticals with an expertise in channel management. Kalyan previously worked at organisations such as Honeywell, 3M and ESAB India. He specialises in key account management, setting up new businesses and handling government accounts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from NIT, Trichy and completed the Executive Programme in Business Management from IIM-Kolkata.

With over four decades of experience in the business of building brands, Madhukar is also the Chairman Emeritus of the DDB Mudra Group and the Mentor for Interbrand India. He has been the Chair of Industry bodies like the AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India), the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) and the Audit Bureau of Circulations. As a Chair of the Mudra Foundation and the Governing Council of MICA for over a decade, he helped shape its journey to become India’s premier Strategic Marketing and Communication Management Business School. Madhukar is a distinguished alumnus of the Loyola College Chennai and XLRI Jamshedpur. He is also the recipient of the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award. Apart from serving on the Board of Plan India for the last 10 years, Madhukar is currently the Vice-Chair of the International Board of Plan International, the global children’s rights NGO (working across 85 countries) with a focus on impacting the lives of over 100 million girls.

Saurabh Jain is an experienced professional currently serving as Executive Vice President at Nuvama Wealth. A Nuvama Wealth employee for over 16 years, Saurabh joined as a Branch Manager in 2007, specialising in B2C and B2B. Throughout his journey, he has demonstrated strong leadership skills, particularly in leading and co-heading the Partner Business. With a total of 18 years of experience, Saurabh brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. At Nuvama, Saurabh's goal is to build the largest network of partners across India, utilising technology to provide exceptional service to clients. With his deep understanding of the industry and leadership capabilities, he is well-positioned to achieve this objective and drive the company's growth and success. Saurabh holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance. Outside of his professional pursuits, he is an enthusiastic cricket fan and enjoys watching Bollywood movies in his spare time.

Devindra is currently working as Director of Sales and Customer Service with Camfil India. In his present role, Devindra is responsible for managing the sales and overall customer experience across South Asia for the organisation. He specialises in building winning teams and sales strategies, with over two decades of experience in B2B sales. A mechanical engineering graduate from the Army Institute of Technology, Pune, with various certification courses from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, Harvard Business Online, and SAMA (Strategic Accounts Management Association), to name a few.

Archana Jahagirdar, the founding and managing partner of Rukam Capital, has been an active participant in the startup ecosystem, contributing not just as an angel investor but also through numerous ecosystem-building initiatives. She has been a speaker at various forums, sharing her insights and experiences, and has been recognised for her contributions, including being honoured by Inc42 as one of the 35 Women Torchbearers Of India’s Startup Investment Space. Rukam Capital is an extension of Archana’s learnings and experience as an angel investor, with the firm embodying her commitment to fostering growth and innovation in India’s startup ecosystem. Prior to founding Rukam Capital, Archana had an extensive career as a journalist and writer, working with prestigious media houses like The Times of India, Outlook, and India Today. Archana holds a Master's degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. Her diverse professional experience and strong educational background have equipped her with a unique perspective and skill set, enabling her to effectively lead Rukam Capital and contribute to the growth of the startup ecosystem.

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 strategic initiatives to provide highly efficient, reliable and cleaner power solutions to areas that need them the most. At the Asia level, Deepesh Nanda is the President & Chief Executive Officer for GE’s Aero derivative Gas Turbine business segment in Asia. He is responsible for driving growth in both the Aero new unit 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. The Aero team, as part of a separate P&L stream within GE Gas Power, works closely with GE Research, FieldCore, Aviation, Heavy Duty Gas Turbine and Services to drive seamless aero experience for the 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 usher in the next phase of energy transformation for the region.

Karan Yadav is a Partner at Nuvama Wealth and Investements, a niche private wealth management company providing research and insights on achieving customers’ investment goals. Karan has over 13 years of experience in capital markets and wealth management. He has in-depth knowledge of financial markets and managing private wealth. Karan’s single goal is to provide unbiased advice, innovative ideas and a positive client experience. He is a certified financial planner and a registered professional with National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). In his spare time, Karan loves reading, cricket and swimming.