Didi Krishna is a Spritual Leader and working Chariperson of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission. She grew up as a devotee and disciple of the masters, Sadhu Vaswani and Dada J. P. Vaswani. She was mentored by Dada himself and was brought up in the spiritual environment of the Mission. She has compiled and edited several books and lectures by Dada J. P. Vaswani.

Sanjeev Joshipura serves as Indiaspora’s Executive Director since January 2018, and served as Director since July 2016. Immediately prior to that, he was active in the US-India corridor in a public policy and business capacity, via his own consulting firm.

A naturalized American citizen, he was born and raised in India and migrated to North America in 2000. In the corporate realm, Sanjeev has worked at Fortune 500 multinational organizations in different industries, in the areas of strategy, finance and project management.

Since 2008, he has been actively engaged in public policy, American politics and global government relations. He has managed a US Senate election campaign, worked as a staff member on Capitol Hill advising congressmen and senators on economics and international affairs, and been the Executive Director of an international financial services industry association.

Sanjeev has a Bachelors in Computer Engineering from Pune University, India, an MBA from the University of Toronto, Canada, and a Certificate in Financial Risk Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA.

A passionate cricket fan, he is involved in cricket administration as a member of Cricket Ireland’s Commercial Advisory Group. He lives in the suburbs of Washington, DC with his wife and twin children.

Dr. Somdutta Singh is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, best-selling author and philanthropist. She is a 1st Generation entrepreneur. Assiduus Global is her 3rd venture. In 2021 she was bestowed with the coveted Times 40 Under 40. In 2022, She was named the Women Entrepreneur of the Year award by Indian Achievers Forum and featured among Fortune India’s 50 most powerful business women.

She has served as the youngest and only elected woman Vice-Chairperson of NASSCOM Product Council and has been the first woman of Indian origin on the Board of Philip Kotler’s Kotler Impact. She authored two best-sellers – Decoding Digital: Unlocking Digital Barriers and Stories from New India: Policies, Hope and Change.

Dr Som has been bestowed with several prestigious awards that include the Impact Entrepreneur Award for Social Innovation by IEEE & UN Women, London, the 2019 Mentor of the Year by the Government of India, the 2017 Digital Leadership Award for Social Innovation by Times of India and the 2017 Women Leadership Award by Economic Times.

Arun is a Managing Partner at Celesta Capital, a leading deep technology venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Bangalore. Celesta leverages synergies between the main centers of innovation in the US, India and Israel to create globally impactful enterprises. He most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India, an organization consisting of several thousand professionals engaged in providing assurance, tax, and advisory services. He was a member of the global board of directors of KPMG.

He previously served in President Obama’s Administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS). As the Administration’s lead official to promote U.S. exports, foreign direct investment, and enhanced market access around the world, he led a team of 1,700 professionals in 78 countries and all 50 United States. Prior to his stint in Washington, DC, Arun was a partner and a member of the board of KPMG LLP in the US. Based in Silicon Valley, he led KPMG’s Management Consulting practice in the West for many years. He has also been a company mentor and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Sunjay Sudhir joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1993. Besides being India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Mr.  Sudhir is also India’s Permanent Representative to IRENA.

In a diplomatic career spanning about three decades, Mr.  Sudhir has done seven overseas postings. He served as High Commissioner of India to the Maldives from 2019 to 2021. Prior to this, he headed the International Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas headingin New Delhi (2015-19). He was Consul General of India in Sydney (2014-15); Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India to the World Trade Organisation, Geneva (2007-11) where he dealt with IPRs, RTAs and Trade and Development. He also served in various capacities at the Indian High Commission, Colombo (2004-07), Indian Embassy, Damascus (1997-2000) and Indian Embassy, Cairo (1995-97).His postings at Head Quarters include Chief of Staff to External Affairs Minister (2012-14).

Mr. Sudhir holds degree of Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology – New Delhi and has pursued Diplomatic Studiesat Oxford University (UK). In International Trade, Mr.  Sudhir has studied TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, WTO Law and Jurisprudence, and WTO Dispute Settlement.In the field of Energy, he has been Director on the Boards of ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India Ltd and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. He is currently an Associate Editor on the Editorial Board of OPEC Energy Review.

Mr. Sudhir is married and is blessed with two daughters.

Isabella-Sreyashii is an experienced Asian media and social development professional with 15 years of intense work in content distribution and production. She has been extensively involved in social projects, working in disaster zones like the Asian Tsunami (Sri Lanka, India) and the Amphan cyclone (India), focusing on gender, discrimination, women, and violence across territories. As a trained advocate of Service Learning and a gender specialist, Isabella has dedicated herself to addressing and advocating for gender-related issues through impactful storytelling and projects.

Isabella-Sreyashii has been instrumental in opening doors to independent South Asian content in Southeast Asia. She initiated the first Bengali and Indian International Film Festivals in Singapore under the Darpan brand. Currently, she develops co-productions of content across Asia, creating stories that are locally rooted with global voices under Hazelnut Media which also has Darpan under its umbrella. The company is developing content in the features, series and reality TV space. Impact Productions holds a special place in her heart, where she works as a producer to create content that raises awareness and drives social change.

As a sessional lecturer, she teaches courses and modules in Media, Business, and Cultural Identities in Singapore educational institutions. Isabella-Sreyashii initiated an MOU at Cannes (2018) to form a consortium in Southeast Asia to prevent sexual harassment in the industry. She serves as Jury/Ambassador for the Asian Academy Creative Awards, supported by the Infocomm and Media Development Authority (IMDA) Singapore.

She holds advisory and committee member positions for various nonprofits and NGOs in Singapore and the region, having been a member of the Publications Consultative Panel (2009-2014) for IMDA Singapore.

Isabella-Sreyashii grew up in Kolkata, India, in a family closely associated with cinema for 75 years and academia, and moved to Singapore 23 years ago. She holds Singapore citizenship.

She holds a Masters in English and a Masters in Social Work, loves to travel, cooks to de-stress and try food that soothes the soul!

Pritha is a partner and co-head, Asia and Africa, at Bridgespan. She also serves as the head of Bridgespan's India office. She has advised philanthropies and donors, governments, nonprofits, and the private sector across about 25 countries in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa on strategy, business plans, results delivery, and operating models. Pritha also has extensive experience in public health.

At Bridgespan, Pritha has led and co-authored several reports such as:

• The Growing Momentum Behind Philanthropic Collaboratives in India
• Bridging the Gap on Funding the True Costs of NGOs in India
• Building Strong, Resilient NGOs in India: Time for New Funding Practices
• Building the Bench at Indian NGOs: Investing to Fill the Leadership Development Gap
• Bold Philanthropy in India; Philanthropic Collaboratives in India: The Power of Many
• Community Engagement to Tackle COVID-19 in the Slums of Mumbai
• When Urban Informal Settlement Communities Drive Their Own Change
• Philanthropy and the COVID-19 Response in India.

Pritha has also written extensively on social issues and philanthropy in mainstream and online media, including Stanford Social Innovation Review, IDR, The Hindu, Indian Express, Forbes, Mint, Scroll, among others.

Prior to Bridgespan, Pritha established and led the New Delhi office of Dalberg Global Development Advisors, where she co-led the Global Health and Nutrition practice. Previously, she served as a director and India office head at Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, UK, and earlier as a financial specialist at the World Bank.

Pritha holds a Master’s in Development Management from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, including an exchange program at Melbourne Business School. She is a recipient of the Citibank Leadership Award and the V-WA Award for Women Leaders in the Social Sector in India. Pritha serves on the board of AVPN and the advisory boards of Bahaar Foundation, India Leaders for Social Sector, and Social Alpha.

Cherie Blair CBE KC is a leading King’s Counsel, committed campaigner for women’s rights and wife of the former British Prime Minister. Cherie set up the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in 2008 to support women in low and middle income countries to start, sustain and grow successful businesses so that they can be financially independent, have a stronger voice in their societies, and contribute to their communities and economies. She is also founder of Omnia Strategy, a pioneering international law firm that provides strategic counsel to governments, corporates and private clients.

Cherie is an advocate and ambassador for women entrepreneurs globally, working tirelessly to encourage the private sector, governments and civil society to do more to support women business owners. She generously gives her time, expertise and resources to advance women's economic empowerment through the Foundation, travelling to visit our projects and partners, building collaborations, inspiring change and mobilising what's needed to close the gender gap in business ownership.

Cherie was awarded a CBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours List for services to women’s issues and to charities in both the UK and overseas.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan has served as the Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence since October 2017. He joined the Federal Government in 1992, holding several key roles, including Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Education, and Minister of Culture. Additionally, he was Chancellor of the UAE University, Higher Colleges of Technology and President of Zayed University from 1983 to 2013. Sheikh Nahayan received his secondary education at Millfield School in the UK and attended Magdalen College, Oxford

Shalini Govil-Pai is currently VP & GM of TV at Google. Her leadership has led to winning strategies for distribution of streaming media including Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max across TV and mobile device form factors.

She previously served as Senior Director at YouTube, where her work enabled creators, storytellers and citizen journalists to expand their reach and increase monetization by >10x.

Prior to Google, Shalini was Technical Director at Pixar Animation, where she led efforts for the first entirely CG animated block-buster ‘Toy Story’ and  the highly-acclaimed ‘A Bug’s Life.’

Shalini is an industry thought leader and a frequent speaker on digital transformation. She was the keynote speaker at Google’s annual hardware event, IBC 2019 and at CES 2021. She was featured on NextTVs executive watchlist,  Forbes, Vogue and Economic Times and writes frequently on leadership including for FastCompany: Remote work, Launching products in a pandemic and NextWeb: Intrapreneurship.  Devoted to education, she is a board member of Pratham, an educational non-profit, and TechLab, an educational lab for children.

She is the author of two internationally-published books in Computer Graphics – Principles of Computer Graphics and Learning Computer Graphics.

Shalini holds a BS in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay from where she holds a Distinguished Alumni award, and a MS in Computer Science from Penn State.

Manu Chopra is working on tackling extreme poverty by providing dignified digital work to rural Indians. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Karya, a transformative AI collective that is enabling dignified livelihoods by bringing supplementary income to vulnerable rural populations at scale.

He graduated from Stanford University in 2017, where he co-founded CS+Social Good — Stanford’s first student group focused on technology and impact. He has also taught several tech for good courses in Stanford’s computer science department.

Raj Subramaniam is President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of FedEx Corporation, one of the world’s largest transportation companies with an annual revenue of $94 billion. As President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, Subramaniam is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies. Subramaniam is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities. He is also chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company’s top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.
Before being named President and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies.
Subramaniam has more than 30 years of industry experience at FedEx. His international leadership experience, keen business insights, and focus on globalization have contributed to the success of FedEx and provide a blueprint as the company revolutionizes the transportation and logistics industry. Subramaniam is responsible for several recent transformational initiatives, including revitalizing the company’s operating strategy, profitably growing the e-commerce business, and harnessing the power of global supply chain data to drive the company’s digital transformation.
Originally from Trivandrum, India, Subramaniam lives in Memphis, Tennessee – the company’s global headquarters. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University, and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin. Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the U.S.-China Business Council. He is a member of the U.S.-India CEO Forum

MR Rangaswami is an entrepreneur, investor, corporate eco-strategy expert, community builder and philanthropist. Recognized as a software business expert, he participated in the rapid expansion of the Silicon Valley software industry during his tenure as an executive at both large and small software companies. In 1997, he co-founded  Sand Hill Group, one of the earliest “angel” investment firms, and was profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He was named to the Forbes “Midas” list of investors and also recognized by CRN as one of the Top 25 Technology Executives. He also hosts the Enterprise Retreat for the top 100 leaders in technology.

In 2007, MR founded the Corporate Eco Forum (CEF), an invitation-only membership organization for Global 500 companies that demonstrate a serious commitment to the environment as a business strategy.

In 2012, he founded Indiaspora, a nonprofit community of powerful global Indian leaders from diverse backgrounds and professions who are committed to inspiring the diaspora to be a force for good by providing a platform to collaborate, engage, and catalyze social change. Indiaspora hosts an annual Leadership Forum, Philanthropy Summit and the Global Connect initiative for the Indian diaspora worldwide. Indiaspora also engages in community issues, including an initiative that led to a USPS postal stamp in 2016.

MR is a board member of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, WISH Foundation.

He is the recipient of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) “Influential Leaders” award in 2015 and the US-China Educational Trust (USCET) inaugural “Asians in America” award in 2016. In 2020, he was the recipient of the “Global Service Award” from the Canada-India Business Council.

MR is also profiled in two books: Those Immigrants by Scott Haas and The $8 Man by Brenda Christensen. He has also contributed a chapter on Silicon Valley in the book, Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans, released in July 2021.

Vinay is an expert partner based in Dubai who specializes in delivering advanced analytics-led business transformations. As co-leader of McKinsey Analytics in the Middle East, he is building our capacity to transform business processes for clients by applying sophisticated data and analytical techniques, shifting to an agile operating model, and building new digital capabilities.

Vinay has more than 15 years’ experience serving institutions from a variety of sectors including telecommunications, technology, oil and gas, metals manufacturing, and consumer retail.

Themes in his recent client work include the following:

• strategy formulation: advising on defining the full potential institutions can realize through the application of data and analytics, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data
• Industry 4.0 enabled operation transformations: delivering EBITDA improvement through Industry 4.0 enabled operations transformations for variety of sectors (e.g., food manufacturing and packaging, pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemicals, Oil & Gas refineries)
• revenue growth through personalization: building sophisticated Customer Lifecycle Management capabilities to accelerate top-line growth for leading consumer-facing industries through application of AI and Big Data capabilities
• agile operating model design: creating agile operating models for conglomerates that enable the delivery of analytics-led business transformations through Centers of Excellence in data and analytics
• technology transformations: capturing cost optimization opportunities in technology functions of telecommunication operators

Radha Ramaswami Basu is the Founder and CEO of iMerit, and the co-founder of Anudip Foundation - iMerit's sister foundation - a leading tech entrepreneur, and a pioneer in the Indian software business.

Through iMerit and Anudip, Radha is committed to using her wealth of experience in technology management to holistically address one of the worlds most pressing challenges: youth unemployment. To date, iMerit has employed and skilled hundreds of marginalized women and youth in digital and data services. iMerit employees contribute to growing industries ranging from virtual/augmented reality, to the sharing economy, to e-commerce and financial services.

Before founding iMerit and Anudip, Radha served as the Chairman & CEO of SupportSoft. She led the company through initial and secondary public offerings in 2000 and 2003, and built it into a worldwide market leader in support automation software.

Prior to SupportSoft, Basu spent 20 years at Hewlett Packard.  Her most recent position at HP was Senior General Manager of the Electronic Business Software Organization, which she grew to a global $1.2 billion business. Radha's career at HP had begun as she founded the company's operations in India and set up the first software center of any multinational in Bangalore.

Radha currently sits on the boards of NetHope, Jhumki Basu Foundation, and Santa Clara CSTS.

Nickson Dicson is an accomplished Senior IT Professional, specializing in IT transformation and Data modernization projects across Large Enterprise, SMB and Startups specializing in Cloud Data platforms like Database, Analytics and Big Data. Educated with a Dual Master’s Degree in Computer Application and IT Management, achieved multiple technology certifications on Amazon Cloud, Microsoft Cloud (Azure) like O365, Azure, MCITP, MCDBA, MCSD, MCAD, MCTS and ITIL standards. 

Industry experience of over 18+ years’ which includes delivering complex technical transformational and growth oriented implementations for major corporate clients across MENA, South Africa, Turkey, CEE, India, US & UK. Working experience with Customers and Business leaders across industry verticals like Finance, Retail, Hospitality and Media, building cloud migration, Data & Artificial intelligence strategy to help grow and realize value of technology & cloud services. 

Vishal Gondal, hailed as the father of the Indian gaming industry, is now a trailblazer in the Health Metaverse space. His relentless passion for technology, fitness, and gaming led him to establish GOQii, a revolutionary company focused on preventive healthcare. A strong advocate for innovation and preventive healthcare, Vishal’s work with GOQii is focused on leveraging technology to promote a healthier lifestyle. GOQii seamlessly blends preventive healthcare with gaming and the Metaverse in a 3D environment. Vishal believes that the Metaverse will merge the digital and physical worlds, making healthy living in the real world enjoyable and enriching.

He sold his first entrepreneurial venture, Indiagames, to Walt Disney. His accomplishments have earned him a spot among the top 50 executives in the mobile content space by the UK-based-Mobile Entertainment Magazine, where he was listed alongside luminaries like Steve Jobs. Beyond his business ventures, Vishal serves on the General Council of the Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai (TEAM), a non-profit body established to advance the tech startup ecosystem in Mumbai. TEAM represents the city's leading technology companies and fosters innovation, collaboration, and policy advocacy. 

Vishal is also a member of the Academic Advisory Board at the Somaiya School of Design. This institution is dedicated to nurturing creativity and innovation in design education in various design disciplines. Vishal's involvement with the Somaiya School of Design highlights his commitment to fostering the next generation of designers and innovators.

His influence extends into the investment world as a notable angel investor. Vishal ventured into podcasting with his series, ‘Beneath the Force: The Vishal Gondal Show’. Through this platform, he engages in conversations with personalities from various walks of life, offering listeners a glimpse into their intriguing journeys. An avid fitness enthusiast, Vishal runs marathons, goes trekking, and enjoys skydiving. His commitment to fitness and innovation continues to inspire and shape the future of health and technology. 

Vishal Gondal’s multifaceted career and visionary approach continue to inspire and pave the way for integrating health, technology, and gaming, setting new benchmarks for holistic well-being.

Dr. S.V. Mahadevan is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He was the ED Medical Director and Associate Chief from 2000-2012 and served as the founding department chair in emergency medicine from 2015-2017. Dr. Mahadevan currently serves as Director of Global Affairs and Strategy for Stanford Medicine and Stanford Health Care, and the Director of South Asia Outreach, Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE). He has written, traveled, and taught widely, presenting over 500 invited lectures worldwide and authoring over 150 journal articles, book chapters, and multimedia publications. He is lead editor of the textbook, An Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine, which was awarded the 2006 American Medical Writer’s Association Award: Physician’s Category as the top medical textbook in the United States for all specialties. Dr. Mahadevan founded Stanford Emergency Medicine International (SEMI) in 2000, and has been instrumental in setting up India's first international paramedic training institute, Nepal's first EMS system, India's first guidelines for prehospital care, Cambodia's first emergency medicine strengthening program and Myanmar’s first emergency medicine training program.

List of positions  from LinkedIn:

Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Fold Health

Co-founder, Prisalis

Advisor, RxCap

Advisor, Lana Health

Advisor, LifePlus AI

Advisor, FemtoDx

Advisor, Communa

Senior Technical Advisor, Skill Lync

Member, Iron Pillar Network

Director of South Asia Outreach, Center for Asian Health Research and Education (2019-2023)

Director of Global Affairs and Strategy, Stanford Medicine/Stanford Healthcare (2018-2023)

Founding Chair (2015-2017), Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University

Founding Director (2000-2015), Stanford Emergency Medicine International

Editor, An Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine, 2nd ed (Cambridge University Press)

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, recently resumed his chairmanship of Pahle India Foundation, a not-for-profit policy think tank, established by him in 2013. Dr. Kumar’s career has spanned academics to government to corporate chambers and multilateral institutions. The wide range of experience, combined with his intellectual depth, as reflected in his substantial publication record, gives him a unique multi-dimensional perspective on the Indian economy.

He served in the government as Economic Advisor with the Department of Economic Affairs (Ministry of Finance) during 1991-1995 and took over as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog in September 2017, with the rank of Cabinet Minister and served until April 2022.

His stints with the corporate sector include serving as Chief Economist of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) from 2004-2006 and later as Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), 2011-2013.

Dr. Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Lucknow University (1978) and a D.Phil. from Oxford University (1982). Several universities have honored him with an honorary D.Litt. degree. On April 29, 2023, Dr. Kumar was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star of Japan during the 2023 Spring Conferment of Decorations. This prestigious honor was bestowed in recognition of his significant contributions to enhancing economic ties between Japan and India.

Acharya leads Equal Innovation, which advises some of the world’s leading universities, governments, foundations and companies to assist them with innovation, entrepreneurship and globalization strategies.

Nish previously served in the Obama Administration, where he was appointed by President Obama as the Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, and led the President’s efforts to nurture economic growth through innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization. As part of his work, Nish managed the President’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship – a group of nationally known investors, entrepreneurs and university presidents that inspired the America JOBS Act that legalized crowdfunding.

Nish also served as Executive Director of the Deshpande Foundation, a prominent American philanthropy focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and scalability around the world.

Nish was previously a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bretton Woods Committee, The Indus Entrepreneurs, and the Clinton Global Initiative, and a Board member of Akshaya Patra USA and the United Way Worldwide Leadership Global Advisory Council. Nish also served five years as a Presidential Appointee in the Clinton Administration.

Nish has been quoted in many major publications, including Forbes, the Economist, Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Asian Week, the Times of India, the Economic Times, the Financial Times, Newsweek, BCC and NPR.

Specialties: innovation; entrepreneurship, social development, venture philanthropy, microfinance, education.

Vivek Kopparthi is an empathy-driven entrepreneur focused on advancing innovations/solving problems that are life-changing. His hunger, drive and humility enable him to rhinoceros through complex techno-managerial interdisciplinary endeavors. In his journey from being a smart to a wise leader, he has traversed several projects, learning pathways, visions and people thereby developing several mature mental models at a young age. Vivek's key skillsets are technology commercialization, fundraising, M&A, growth strategy, risk optimization and execution.

He founded NeoLight, a medical device company focused on advancing empathy-driven best-in-class solutions for the neonatal and fetal markets. Today, NeoLight markets over 90+ countries, vertically manufacturing integrated, holds 53 patents and has raised $30M+ capital from strategic investors including and beyond Dignity Health, Arizona State, Catholic Health and Honor Health. NeoLight carries THE best products in the world and history, for infant Jaundice, ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity), SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome) and ROP telemedicine.

He also founded PriZm Therapeutics now a Phase III company focused on solving for MCT8 Deficiency, a rare endocrine condition that occurs in male newborns and carries to their lifetime where they are severely challenged mentally and physically. MCT8 Deficiency (AHDS) does not have an FDA approved treatment till date.

He is a contributing author on entrepreneur.com and tech.co, very focused on healthcare and innovation advancement. He sits on several advisory panels/boards with an intent to give back and make a difference. He has won numerous awards including the Forbes 30 under 30 for healthcare, Times Now NRI of the year and the top 20 influential AZ millennials.

Ashok Jacob has over 40 years investment experience and has served as a Director of Ellerston since inception. Ashok has managed the Global Equity Managers (GEMS) strategy that now forms part of Ellerston’s range of funds since 2002. Ashok has held prominent positions including Chief Executive Officer of the Consolidated Press Holdings group and Managing Director of Thorney Holdings, the investment arm for the Pratt Group.

Ashok is an experienced board member and is currently appointed to MRF Ltd. Previous directorships include Crown Ltd, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, Challenger Financial Group Ltd, Fleetwood Holdings Ltd, Ecorp Ltd, CPH Investment Group Ltd, Folkestone Ltd, Snack Foods Ltd and Thorney Opportunities Ltd. Ashok was also the Chairman of Hoyts Cinemas from 1999 until 2004.

Ashok holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1984).

Seema has over 20 years of capital markets and financial management experience. As an entrepreneur, investor & investment banker, she brings a unique perspective to the strategic planning process to enhance stakeholder value. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of AWE Funds, a platform for investing early stage capital in women owned, led and influenced businesses.

Seema is extremely passionate about promoting entrepreneurship. She co-founded and is past president of the Detroit chapter of TiE, an organization to foster entrepreneurship in 2002. She was later elected to the Global Board of Trustees of TiE Inc. She founded and leads as chairwoman TiE Global’s marquee women’s entrepreneurship program: Project All India Roadshow for Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship (AIRSWEEE), for which she obtained funding from the US Department of State. AIRSWEEE 1.0 mentored 125 women from 27 Tier 2 and 3 cities in India. AIRSWEEE 2.0 will seek to mentor 450 women entrepreneurs from 30 cities in Tier 2 & 3 cities in India.

Seema has received several honors including Crain’s Detroit Business “40 under 40”, Crain’s Detroit Business “Detroit’s Most Influential Business Women,” Detroit Historical Society’s Detroit’s Enterprising Women, Asian Indian Women’s Association’s Women of Distinction, inducted to Michigan Hall of Fame for Enterprising Women, Certificate of Recognition from the US House of Representatives, named Crain’s Detroit Influential Women in Tech, and the Special Recognition Award for promoting Women Entrepreneurship by TiE Global.

As a prolific speaker, Seema was invited to US Department of State’s International Speakers Program in 2017. Additionally, she has participated in several international conferences as a speaker and panelist including Mackinac Leadership Conference, IFC Healthcare Conference, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, TiE Summit and Private Equity in India conferences. To support economic development, Seema has been a founding member of the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council, and has served on several boards including co-chairing Michigan IT Summit, Marygrove College in Michigan, International Business Council at Automation Alley. She currently serves on the boards of TiE Detroit and the Miami-Dade Urban Debate League.

Seema holds a Masters degree in Finance from Boston College and an undergraduate degree with honors in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College of the Delhi University in India.

Mr. Srinivasa Raju Chintalapati founded iLabs Group in 2000. iLabs Group was one of the pioneers of the investment ecosystem in India. Over the years, it has grown its scope in terms of both investment and industry. Originally started as an Angel Investor, iLabs has expanded into Seed-Stage, Early-Stage and Growth-Stage Investments, as well as Re-Structures and Buy-Outs. Initially focused on Technology and Technology enabled Ventures, iLabs has extended into Consumer Products and Services; Health and Wellness; Education and Skills-Development; Media and Entertainment; Corporate and Industrial Parks. Today, iLabs Group is one of the front-runners of the investment landscape in India. And, Mr. Srinivasa Raju Chintalapati, continues to help build successful companies in his role of Investment Advisor. 

Srini has a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering Degree from Utah State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors from REC (NIT), Kurukshetra. 

Srini has over 25 years of experience in Information Technology, Venture Capital and Private Equity. Prior to iLabs Group, Mr. Raju worked at Cognizant Technology Services as General Manager, Satyam Enterprise Solutions as CEO and Satyam Computer Services as COO. 

Srini is a truly revolutionary Entrepreneur. He founded TV9, which was the first-of-its-kind ‘Regional News Channel’ in India. He also founded Sri City, which was the first-of-its-kind ‘Integrated Smart City’ in India. Today, TV9 is South India’s leading News Channel and Sri City is home to over 150 MNC’s from 25 Countries.

Srini is passionate about Educations and Skills Development. He is the member and sponsor of International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sri City. He is also a member of the Governing Board of Indian School of Business.

Leader in multinational public companies with expertise in creating value in the digital economy, having operated businesses now valued over $100Bn and invested in companies now valued over $10Bn. Past President at Reliance Jio (BSE:RIL), India’s largest conglomerate in digital platforms and commerce. Prior CEO India and Global Leadership of Aimia Inc (TSX:AIM), world’s largest data-driven marketing company. Led SaaS and managed services in emerging markets (India, Indonesia, Portugal) and built & sold businesses in e-commerce (Nectar to Jio), and analytics (Fractal as strategic PE to Apax). Previously, a successful entrepreneur, having run businesses in luxury retail, investment banking, business intelligence, digital mapping, and high-tech security across US and Asia. One of India’s earliest investors in venture capital and founder of family office fund, Pivot Ventures. Investor in 60+ companies with 10+ unicorns / IPOs / exits. Alumnus, Harvard Business School and MBA, University of Pittsburgh and University of Bombay. Also Co-President, Harvard Alumni Club of Mumbai and a National Award winning photographer.

An academic turned science writer turned newsroom leader. Sandhya started off as a graduate student interested in evolution, and then decided to shift track to science writing. She co-founded a science communication startup, Research Matters, whose main thrust is to help academic institutes connect with the media better and thus reach out to the public. Sandhya has also been a freelance science writer, writing for Indian and international publications.

She is the  Programme Manager at the India bureau of the environment and conservation news website, Mongabay.com. 

Utkarsh Saxena is the founder and CEO of Adalat AI. In 2012, he clerked for a Justice of the Supreme Court of India and has a decade of legal practice across various courts in India.

He collaborated with the Ministry of Law and Justice in 2013 and the Ministry of Finance in 2017 to address court delays. Recognising the systemic challenges, Utkarsh pivoted to building technological innovations for justice systems in India and the global south. He holds a BA/LLB from the University of Delhi, an LLM from Harvard Law School as an Inlaks scholar, and an MPA/ID from Harvard Kennedy School as a John M Olin fellow.

His award-winning Kennedy School thesis laid the groundwork for his PhD at Oxford, research visit at MIT, and establishment of Adalat AI. Additionally, Utkarsh has experience with the Boston Consulting Group and the World Bank.

Animikh Roy is an Astrophysicist at the University of Sussex, in England and an independent AI Consultant for Tech-Enterprises, with passion & expertise in STEM oriented interdisciplinary applications of Physics, Mathematics  & Computer Science leveraging advances in  Astrophysics, Topological Data Analytics, Deep Learning and Data Science. He is the Founder & Chairman of wishtales.ai a multi-modal Generative AI start-up based in USA, with operations in Bangalore, India. Roy is a Transhumanist thinker and an avid multi-tasker with  Kinesthetic Synesthesia & a Mensa IQ score of 149. He aims to pursue research in Gravitational Wave Astronomy with LIGO while contributing towards the understanding of “Dark Matter” & making humankind an Interplanetary-Species!

Ashwin Ramaswami has built a career in software engineering, election security, and technology law and policy research. Ashwin Run is Ashwin's freelance consulting company around full-stack software development, cloud architecture, and technology law and policy.

Ashwin has worked on projects across all three major clouds: AWS, Azure, and GCP. Ashwin also holds a TS/SCI clearance and an AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate certification.

Previously, Ashwin has worked at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Sequoia Capital, and Schmidt Futures. He holds a B.S. in computer science from Stanford University and J.D. from Georgetown Law.

Leyya’s is no ordinary story. Coming from a single-parent, 2nd-generation immigrant, working-class upbringing in northern England, she has defied all odds, building Other Box from a grassroots community to a successful, independent business, making a name for herself on the global DEI stage and winning prestigious awards along the way.  

With a background in design, Leyya has advised and educated global leaders across various industries for over a decade on how to avoid the pitfalls of placing style over substance, especially when creating long-lasting change for justice and equity. She is an astute cultural commentator with a highly tuned radar for surface-level action versus genuine cultural transformation.

Community and connection are at the heart of her work. She’s the kind of person who, after speaking with her for 10 minutes, you’ll hear her say ‘You need to meet my friend…’. Her motivation is watching others succeed, especially those from underrepresented and marginalised backgrounds. 

Sree Sreenivasan is an expert and scholar in digital communications based in New York City. He is CEO and co-founder of Digimentors, a digital, social and virtual & hybrid events consulting company.He has served as Chief Digital Officer of New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University (where he was a full-time professor of journalism for 20+ years). He was the inaugural Marshall Loeb Visiting Professor of Digital Innovation and Audience Engagement at Stony Brook School of Communication and Journalism.

Since 2022, he has served on the board of Nobel Prize Foundation Outreach. In 1994, he co-founded SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, and in 1999, ONA, the Online Journalists Association.

In 2015, Fast Company named him one of the 100 most creative people in business and in 2010, he was named one of the 35 most influential people in social media by the Poynter Institute. In 2014, he was named the world’s most influential CDO by CDO Club and, in 2004, one of the 20 most influential South Asians in America by Newsweek.

He has an MS in Journalism from Columbia University; a BA in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University; a high school diploma from Suva, Fiji; and a birth certificate from Tokyo. Sree lives in Manhattan with his wife, strategy executive Roopa Unnikrishnan, a fellow Indiaspora fan and winner of the Arjuna Award for rifle shooting, India’s equivalent of the sports hall of fame.

Ramola Ramesh Motwani is the Chairwoman of Merrimac Ventures, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based real estate management, investment, and development company that she runs alongside her sons, Nitin and Dev. Merrimac concentrates on hospitality and mixed-use development with an emphasis on prime land, as well as multifamily residential, condominiums, retail, and office sectors. Motwani oversees the company’s business strategy and advises new projects through the development process. 

While Merrimac Ventures began its journey in South Florida, through Motwani’s tenacious leadership, the Firm has substantially expanded its holdings into a national footprint. Today, Merrimac is leading or co-developing 18 hospitality, residential and retail projects valued above $3 billion. Current and recent developments include the Miami Worldcenter, the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Fort Lauderdale, The Gale Boutique Hotel and Residences, Paramount Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Conrad Hilton Fort Lauderdale, the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences, Telluride, Colorado, and the Waldorf Astoria Pompano Beach, among others. The Firm’s current pipeline of future development totals more than $3.7 billion in value. 

The Merrimac Ventures’ story is one of triumph over adversity, and is a testament to how the vision and hard work of the Motwani family helped transform a city.   

In the 1980’s, Ramola Motwani first visited Fort Lauderdale with her husband, Ramesh “Bob” Motwani, and their two young sons Nitin and Dev, on vacation from their home in St. Charles, Missouri, where the family, originally from India, ran a wholesale and retail import business and managed multiple apartment rentals. The Motwanis were lured by Fort Lauderdale’s tropical climate and saw the business potential to invest in the area, piggybacking on the steady revenue from the rowdy yet reliable Spring Break crowd that promised such high returns.   

Together, Ramola and Bob shored up finances to acquire the Gold Coast, Tropic Cay, and Merrimac motels, expanding their rental business into Fort Lauderdale Beach. The couple owned and operated them all until Bob suddenly passed away in 1994 at the height of their momentum,  not long after  the city had cracked down on the seasonal debauchery of the Spring Break crowds, forcing many moteliers to slip into bankruptcy. Through perseverance, Ramola Motwani was able to hold onto the portfolio and expand it significantly by acquiring additional properties and she single handedly secured the unanimous city approval for the first luxury hotel on Ft Lauderdale Beach,  Nitin joined Ramola in 2004, followed by Dev in 2006.  Today Ramola has operated several hotels in Broward County, predominantly on Fort Lauderdale Beach, and has become one of the most pioneering and active local community leaders, profoundly passionate about South Florida’s real estate  and hospitality industries.  

Motwani’s philanthropic focus centers around education. She  serves as a State Board Member of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Education Committee as well as the Broward Chapter, where she implemented and now spearheads the first Hospitality Management Program for High Schools in Broward County. In 2019, Ramola established The Motwani Family Academy for Hospitality and Tourism Management. In partnership with Broward College and inspired in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Bob Motwani’s passing, The Academy supports  education initiatives through an initial endowment and the creation of scholarships, internships, and mentorships for deserving students. The Motwani Academy at Broward College, as it’s officially named, brings an array of experiential learning opportunities that result in graduates who are ready to hit the ground running in pursuit of a career in hospitality. The program is focused on developing the knowledge and skills that underpin an array of professions ranging from hotel management and food service to hospitality law and financial management.  In 2024 she sponsored three of the Academy students to attend the Les Roches summer program abroad, where they learned about first class hospitality service. 

“Hospitality is an industry I want to redefine,“ says Motwani. “I share my husband’s dream and continue to be committed to growing, shaping and enhancing our industry, and we’re thrilled to partner with Broward College who will develop future leaders who will contribute to this burgeoning industry, which is one path to accomplishing this goal. When you educate one person, you change generations.”

Engaged in the Fort Lauderdale community, Mrs. Motwani has been a major force in beach development and redevelopment, transforming the beach from small hotels and motels to an upscale luxury market. She planned the Centennial Beach Fest celebration with the City Commission. She was also the founding chairwoman for the Holiday Lights on the Beach and a founding chairwoman of the annual Jeb Bush Classic Beach Bash fundraiser benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis foundation. Furthermore, she was instrumental in successfully organizing the efforts to bring back the Ft Lauderdale Air Show in 2012.     

Ramola Motwani is an active member of the Broward Workshop, and a member of the United Way of Broward County, serving as their chairwoman for the annual Mayor’s Gala in 2015. She is a member of the Tourist Development Council (an advisory board to the Broward county commission). She serves as a member of the Cleveland Clinic Weston Board of Trustees.. Mrs. Motwani has served as commissioner on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and has served on the Beach Redevelopment Board, an advisory board to the city of Fort Lauderdale. Additionally, she is a past Chairwoman of the Beach Council, a Chamber of Commerce Member, and Trustee for many years.    

Mrs. Motwani’s civic-minded affiliations include being the Past President of the Alliance of Global Sindhi Associations and is a current Board of Directors member. She is also Treasurer of the Global Sindhi Foundation. She is a Life member of Association of Indians in America and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association. She has represented Sindhi Adhikar Manch at the United Nations and served on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County. She has been involved in many other charities, such as, being a volunteer with the Citizens Volunteer Corps, a Trustee of the South Florida Hindu Temple, past Vice President of the India – US Chamber of Commerce Inc., South Florida, and past President of the Sindhi Association of South Florida, as well as a Founding Member of the International Chamber of GOPIO.    

Ramola was inducted into the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, the Nova Southeast University Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, and the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. Other awards she has received are the March of Dimes Woman of Distinction Award, the Salute to Business Award, the Woman’s Council Award and the AGSA Sindhi Association Award, the Sun Sentinel Excalibur Small Business Leader for Broward County, Cleveland Clinic Sapphire Award, Women of Excellence, City of Fort Lauderdale Beach Visionaries Award, Sant Nirankari Mission Outstanding Contribution Towards Betterment of the Community, Desh-Videsh Media Group Community Leader Award, South Florida Business Journal Ultimate CEO Award, Individual Fundraiser of the Year for Scleroderma Foundation, Largest Team Fundraiser for Scleroderma, Alliance of Sindhi Associations of America, Inc. Leadership Award, and the Chamber Women’s Circle of Excellence Award for Hospitality. She is a 2023 History Fort Lauderdale Woman Trailblazer, Champion of Change and was named a 2023 Florida 500 Legend and 2024 Icon by  Florida Trend Magazine.   She has also been honored by the United States House of Representatives for excellence in developing the City of Fort Lauderdale, received the Founder’s Award from the City of Fort Lauderdale, and received a tribute from the Florida House of Representatives for her extensive community involvement and business success.   She received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award in April 2024 and became a member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. Most recently, she was honored by Forbes Magazine in 2024 as one of their “50 over 50”.

Ajay Piramal, a distinguished Indian industrialist, and philanthropist has led the transformation of the Piramal Group into a $10 billion global business conglomerate. His enterprises span financial services, pharmaceuticals, and real estate, marked by pioneering acquisitions and strategic partnerships, including the landmark resolution of Dewan Housing Finance Limited in 2021. A firm believer in the tenets of the Bhagavad Gita, Mr. Piramal champions trusteeship and responsible business practices. He is deeply committed to unlocking India’s socio-economic potential and is a strong proponent of social entrepreneurship.

Under his leadership, the Piramal Foundation has been at the forefront of

transforming India's health, education, water, and social sector ecosystems. By collaborating with governments and national and international organizations, the Foundation has enhanced the delivery of public services across 27 states. Over the past 15 years, with a dedicated team of 5,000, it has positively impacted the lives of over 113 million Indians.

To drive large-scale transformation, Mr. Piramal has reimagined the

Foundation’s approach, embracing bold, high-impact initiatives—what he calls ‘Big Bets.’ These initiatives represent Bold Philanthropy in Action, transitioning to “platforms for public good” that address India’s most complex challenges. His vision is to accelerate India’s progress and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Mr. Piramal serves on several prestigious boards, including as a Non-Executive Director of Tata Sons and Co-Chair of the UK-India CEO Forum. He has significantly contributed to India’s education sector as President of Anant National University and Chairman of Pratham Education Foundation. Having served on Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors until 2024, he continues to shape global and national discourse on leadership, business, and philanthropy. His contributions have been recognized globally, including being

awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and induction into the Deal Maker Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement.

Currently, Mr. Piramal is spearheading a Global Alliance led by Indians—a

visionary $500 million initiative over five years, in line with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. This ambitious effort aims to accelerate development across five vulnerable eastern states of India, lifting 20 million people out of poverty.

With a firm belief in trusteeship and responsible business, Mr. Piramal is now fully dedicated to the Viksit Bharat Collaborative, aligning with India’s aspiration to become a developed nation by 2047.

Sunil Wadhwani is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He co-founded, and was Chairman and CEO of IGATE Corporation, which provides a broad range of Information Technology services. With over 34,000 employees on four continents, IGATE has been ranked among the world’s leading consulting firms. In 2015, IGATE was sold to Cap Gemini of France for $5 billion. Sunil is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Mastech Corporation, a provider of digital transformation solutions. Mastech is a publicly-traded company with over $250 million dollars in revenues. Sunil is an active angel investor. He has funded the start-up of over 40 early-stage technology companies and has helped guide their growth strategies and mentored their leadership teams. Sunil established the non-profit WISH Foundation in India in 2014. WISH transforms primary health systems in low-income areas using innovation and technology. WISH manages over 1,000 health clinics which have provided free healthcare to over 30 million patients to date. WISH Foundation also provides strategic advisory services to the National Government as well as several state governments in India on how to incorporate the WISH Innovation Model into the large primary health systems run by these governments. www.wishfoundationindia.org. In 2018 Sunil and his brother Romesh launched the non-profit Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence with the goal of using AI to accelerate social development in the most vulnerable communities in India and other emerging economies. The Institute develops and deploys AI-based solutions in domains such as maternal and child health, tuberculosis, improving farmers’ incomes, and education and skills training. AI for Social Impact – Wadhwani AI Sunil serves or has served as a Trustee or Director of Carnegie-Mellon University, George Washington University, The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (Pittsburgh Branch), United Way Worldwide, and UPMC Health System. Sunil is a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and has a Master’s Degree from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Bharat co-founded Syntel with his wife, Neerja Sethi from their apartment in Troy, Michigan, in 1980 with $2,000, bringing in $30,000 in revenue in the first year. Thirty-eight years later, the tech consulting and outsourcing company has nearly 24,000 employees across the globe and generated nearly $1 billion in revenue in 2016. In October 2018, French IT firm Atos SE acquired Syntel for $3.4 billion in cash. Among other services, Syntel provides Software as a service (SaaS), delivering applications over the Internet.

Bharat was born in Kenya, lived in Mombasa and Ahmedabad, and came to the U.S. in 1976 as a programmer for Tata. He received his engineering degree from IIT-Bombay, and his MBA from Ross School of Business in Michigan. Bharat is director of ExpenseAdvisor and Cyberstate.org and a Member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) of Detroit. He has received the award for IIT Alumnus of the Year and been recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a “Minority Business All-star.” He is a board member of several educational institutions, including the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He currently resides with his wife and two children in Fisher Island, Florida.

Warsha Sardjoe is an accomplished business leader and driving force behind the Rudisa Group of Companies, one of the Caribbean’s most prominent conglomerates. As the CEO, Warsha oversees a portfolio of 29 companies in different sectors across seven countries, steering the organization toward sustained growth, innovation, and regional impact.

She is committed to putting people first and an inclusive mindset to her entrepreneurship, collaborating with companies and Governments in the region to bring the best together.

With an impressive academic background, Warsha earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration, with specializations in Finance and Political Science, from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her commitment to continuous learning is evident in her additional certifications in strategy, banking, and international business.

Warsha’s leadership journey spans over 17 years, during which she has played a pivotal role in expanding Rudisa’s operations while promoting strategic planning, financial reform, and organizational growth. She is an executive member of the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) and has served as the Honorary Consul of Finland to Suriname, fostering education, sustainable forestry, and trade between the two regions.

Passionate about giving back, Warsha is actively involved in initiatives that empower youth, support education, and champion environmental sustainability. She believes in leveraging business as a tool for societal transformation, emphasizing the importance of self-reliance, innovation, and community engagement.

In addition to her corporate achievements, Warsha is a devoted Mother, avid reader, and creative soul who enjoys baking, fishing, and painting. A polyglot fluent in five languages, she bridges cultures and inspires global collaboration.

Warsha’s guiding philosophy, “Non Ducor, Duco”–“I am not led, I lead”– reflects her unwavering commitment to excellence, resilience, and transformative leadership. Her journey exemplifies how strategic vision, academic rigor, and a passion for community can redefine success in the modern business world.

Shanthini is the CEO of St Vincent’s Curran Foundation, one of Australia’s most successful healthcare philanthropy and fundraising organisations.  She is also the Company Secretary of the St Vincent’s Curran Trustee Ltd which acts as Trustee for the JW & M Cunningham Foundation and Alan & Lynne Rydge Foundation. Shanthini is one of Australia’s most experienced and accomplished leaders in the not-for-profit sector and has previously worked in senior leadership roles at the National Gallery of Australia, Taronga Conservation Society Australia and Sydney Opera House.  In her roles she has actively promoted these iconic Australian institutions in the development of the arts, culture and health around the world through international partnerships and as a keynote speaker in the US, India, Rome and the UK. Shanthini is actively involved with Indiaspora in Australia. 

Nadir is a senior strategic advisor at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, specializing in regulatory affairs, global government relations, and ESG-related matters. He is the managing director of Fairfax Consulting Services and serves as a strategic advisor to the president of Huron University. Additionally, Nadir holds board positions with Canadian Tire Corporation, Jumpstart Charities, and the Ottawa Hospital Foundation. His distinguished career in Canada’s public service includes serving as Canada’s high commissioner to India, where he managed the largest embassy abroad and enhanced commercial relations. He has also held roles such as senior assistant deputy minister and CFO for the Department of Foreign Affairs, consul general in Shanghai, and chief air negotiator, where he successfully negotiated numerous international treaties. Nadir began as a tax auditor with Revenue Canada and has held progressively senior roles in the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. His extensive expertise spans both the public and private sectors.

CEO of Aether Biomedical, Forbes 30U30 Europe, Sigma Squared Fellow & StartX Founder

Dhruv Agrawal is the CEO and President of the management board of Aether Biomedical SP.z o.o.. He studied Medicine at Vardhmann Mahavir Medical college and Safdarjung hospital, New Delhi before dropping out to pursue a bachelors in business management. He also has a post graduate diploma in medical device development regulatory affairs from University of California, Irvine, and a masters in data science from the University of london.

Under his leadership, Aether Biomedical has achieved CE certification and FDA registration for the Zeus V1 bionic limb and established distribution across 9 European countries, the US, and India. Additionally, Aether has raised over 12 million USD in private capital from leading VCs and has been part of multiple European grants and research programs for an additional 2.5M USD in nondilutive capital. Aether now is already a team of over 50 people and has deployed over 500 bionic hands over the globe. Aether continues to go from strength to strength as it scales across multiple geographies.

Moira became the Executive Director of Zócalo in January 2020. Previously, she was an executive at MTV Networks International, beginning as the first music programmer at MTV India. She was part of the startup team that launched Outlook, among India’s most widely read news magazines, and she worked at India Today‘s classical record label Music Today. She is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, Emerson College, Boston, and a Sulzberger Fellow at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Moira is a board member at New America.

Growing up in a business family in Mumbai, KS Shah honed his business skills at a young age. In college he would often accompany his father to his Dalal Street office, where he got his first taste of investing.

He received an MBA from University of Notre Dame and worked in the US for 20, first at Deloitte in hedge fund advisory practice in New York, and then for 9 years at Man Group, formerly Pine Grove, as finance managing director and head of operational due diligence.

In 2015 he joined WestBridge, where he was excited about building world-class operations, but even more excited to reconnect with his roots and be part of the India investing story. In his free time, KS enjoys spending time with family and friends watching sports, grilling in his backyard or exploring new hiking trails.

Himanshu H. Shah is the Founder & Executive Chairman of Marius Pharmaceuticals. He is also the President and Chief Investment Officer of Shah Capital and Managing Member of Shah Capital Opportunity Fund. With over thirty years of experience in global capital markets, he has shown both pragmatic and insightful approach in advising and helping numerous public and private companies in his role as CIO of Shah Capital which he founded in January 2005. He is also the Chairman of Emeren Group Ltd., a global renewable company. He has served on the Board of Directors for Vitamin Shoppe and was Chairman of UT Starcom. Having fully recognized the philanthropic needs of the community both in the US and abroad, he supports many non-profit organizations including uplifting rural communities especially in India.

The Alliance is led by Alex Counts, who was deeply involved in the founding of the Alliance back when he was CEO of the American India Foundation.  He continues to guide the growth and development of IPA, in consultation with the board of directors, by designing strategies and annual plans that grow and shape the Alliance for the fulfillment of its mission and vision for the future.

Alex has been published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and The Chronicle of Philanthropy among other leading publications. He is also the author of four books which include Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind.

Swetha Totapally is the Regional Director for Dalberg Asia Pacific. Over her 13-year career at Dalberg, Swetha has led the firm’s global gender practice and developed a portfolio focused on addressing issues such as violence against women and girls, sexual exploitation, and unpaid care work. Her work illuminates the social, economic, and political dimensions of these issues, driving decision-makers to recognize the need for transformative change within institutions and systems.

Swetha has led multiple large-scale research-to-action efforts which are designed to bring the experiences and perspectives of people to decision-makers. This includes the world’s largest and most comprehensive effort to understand users’ experience with Aadhaar—India’s national ID system; a series of studies during the Covid pandemic that captured how women were impacted, how well government entitlements were reaching people, and the effects of the pandemic on early childhood development. Her work on The State of Digitization in Kenya, and the Next Half Billion in India, explore how people are engaging digitally today with an eye to how they can better participate in digital economies. Clients include the United Nations, Omidyar Network, the Freedom Fund, and the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. 

An advocate for building professional diversity within consulting, Swetha has shaped initiatives like the Dalberg Asia-Pacific Residency Program. She has helmed the region’s recruitment efforts and upheld Dalberg’s commitment to gender diversity within teams including senior management.  

Prior to Dalberg, Swetha worked at JP Morgan Chase, where she served as an advisor to financial institutions. She graduated from Yale University with a degree in Economics and Mathematics. She speaks English, Hindi, and Telugu. Swetha lives in Mumbai with her husband and three young children.

Anurag Jain is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and venture capitalist dedicated to solving complex global issues. As Chairman and CEO of Access Healthcare, he has led the company from 100 employees in 2012 to over 25,000 today, utilizing AI and robotic process automation in revenue cycle management. Under his leadership, Access Healthcare was recognized as a Leader and Star Performer in the 2021 Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment.

As Managing Partner of Perot Jain, a Dallas-based venture capital firm, Jain focuses on investing in disruptive technologies like AI and robotics, impacting mobility, human longevity, and quality of life. He also co-owns the US Major League Cricket's Texas team and holds a leadership role at Hillwood Development Corporation, along with ownership of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity and Hyatt Regency Mumbai.

Jain co-founded Brigade Corporation and was an early pioneer in the India IT outsourcing sector. He received the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2016. Committed to philanthropy, he serves on the Board of Directors for the US India Chamber of Commerce and as Chairman-Emeritus of the North Texas Food Bank. He launched the COVID-19 food relief program, Get Shift Done, which has provided over 60 million meals and employed 28,000 displaced workers.

An alumnus of the University of Michigan (MBA) and BITS Pilani (B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering), Jain has been honored with the BITS Distinguished Alumnus Award for his significant contributions to society and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Prahalad brings over eighteen years of executive and entrepreneurial experience in the life sciences industry. Prior to joining Iridia, he served as President and CEO of Epic Sciences, Inc. (EPIC), a venture backed company that builds predictive, blood-based tests of drug response in cancer. While at Epic, Dr. Prahalad helped advance the company’s functional cell profiling technology platform, develop, launch and obtain Medicare reimbursement for its leading test in metastatic prostate cancer and raise over $128M in venture financing. 

Prior to Epic, Dr. Prahalad also held various roles at Life Technologies Corporation, a global leader in reagents and instruments for biomedical research. His final role at Life Technologies was VP, Corporate Strategy which culminated in the strategic sale of Life Technologies to ThermoFisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) in 2013 for $15.5B – the largest non-pharmaceutical acquisition in the biotechnology space. Prior to Life Technologies, Dr. Prahalad was VP of Business Development for Sequenom, Inc., a pioneer in blood-based, pre-natal diagnostics. Dr. Prahalad received his B.Sc. with Honors from the University of Michigan and Doctorate in Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard University.

Swami Atmapriyananda is the Vice Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, a multi-campus university trying to actualize Swami Vivekananda’s educational vision and devoted to teaching and research in a variety of unique faculties.

On account of its unique features, particularly its emphasis on ‘gap areas’ (areas scarcely addressed by conventional Universities in India), this new University has been awarded full membership of ‘Global University Network for Innovation’ (GUNI), a Europe-based global organization networking Universities with social commitment.

Swami Atmapriyananda received his Ph.D. from the University of Madras, India, in Theoretical Physics for his work in particle theory and has a number of research publications in reputed international journals. Inspired by Ramakrishna-Vivekananda ideology, he joined the Ramakrishna Order of monks in 1978 and was posted at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, a premier college of Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math, where he taught Physics for nearly 25 years besides serving as Vice-Principal and Principal for 19 years before taking charge as Vice Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University in July 2005.

Dr. Tanuja Ajotikar is trained both traditionally in Sanskrit and Pāṇinian grammar and technically in digital humanities.  She is passionate about bringing Sanskrit traditional knowledge into the digital medium. Her ambition is to teach every Sanskrit student essential technical skills, thereby empowering them to transition traditional Indian knowledge into the digital medium.  Such cross functional training will significantly help in disseminating the wisdom recorded in Sanskrit and expand Sanskrit’s global influence.

Arun Subramanian is a passionate advocate for preserving India's cultural heritage, with a specific focus on ancient arts, craftsmanship, and sustainable living practices. He integrates spiritual principles into daily life, drawing from India’s rich traditions to create a balanced, meaningful existence. Currently, Arun is involved in a significant project at the Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Vishva Mahavidyalaya (SCSVMV) a deemed to be University, working on preserving and digitizing ancient palm leaf manuscripts to ensure their accessibility for future research and reference.

A connoisseur of Indian classical music, Arun is trained in Carnatic percussion and works actively with local organizations to promote traditional arts across generations. He is also in the process of authoring a book designed to introduce the fundamentals of both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music in an accessible format for readers of all backgrounds. In addition to his cultural work, Arun is deeply committed to sustainability. As an urban farmer and advocate for environmental causes, he pursues a zero-waste lifestyle and practices off-the-grid living.

Arun is also dedicated to education and mentorship. He has mentored young innovators through the Atal Innovation Mission of the Government of India, and collaborates with universities to develop holistic management education. With the blessings of His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamiji, Arun has been appointed honorary Professor of Practice at SCSVMV. He works with rural youth to help them develop sustainable career skills in emerging industries.

With over 22 years of experience in building enterprise software, Arun has led global teams, driven digital transformation for enterprises of all sizes, and advised them on business strategy. His broad expertise in global leadership and strategy is complemented by a deep  commitment to fostering a sustainable, culturally enriched, and socially responsible future.

Priya Ramachandran is the Founder and Managing Partner of Foster Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with a focus on B2B Enterprise SaaS. As an Operator and a GTM expert, Priya works with cross-border companies, entrepreneurs with product market fit, international market entry advice and introductions.

Prior to this role, Priya was with BoldCap, BetterCloud, Coupa, Intel Security and LogiGear Corporation leading various strategic operational roles with a focus on Product Strategy, Customer Strategy & Adoption and Customer Success. She is also an active mentor at SaaSBOOMi with a focus on enabling and empowering cross-border founders.

Priya holds a Global Executive M.B.A degree from INSEAD and a B.S degree from Bangalore University.

She is a business operations leader at Glassdoor. She has worked in strategy and analytical roles at Marketsandmarkets, Accenture, and Merilytics. Jyotika holds an MBA from Indian School of Business and an BArch from IIT Kharagpur.

Anurag Jain is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and venture capitalist dedicated to solving complex global issues. As Chairman and CEO of Access Healthcare, he has led the company from 100 employees in 2012 to over 25,000 today, utilizing AI and robotic process automation in revenue cycle management. Under his leadership, Access Healthcare was recognized as a Leader and Star Performer in the 2021 Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment.

As Managing Partner of Perot Jain, a Dallas-based venture capital firm, Jain focuses on investing in disruptive technologies like AI and robotics, impacting mobility, human longevity, and quality of life. He also co-owns the US Major League Cricket's Texas team and holds a leadership role at Hillwood Development Corporation, along with ownership of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity and Hyatt Regency Mumbai.

Jain co-founded Brigade Corporation and was an early pioneer in the India IT outsourcing sector. He received the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2016. Committed to philanthropy, he serves on the Board of Directors for the US India Chamber of Commerce and as Chairman-Emeritus of the North Texas Food Bank. He launched the COVID-19 food relief program, Get Shift Done, which has provided over 60 million meals and employed 28,000 displaced workers.

An alumnus of the University of Michigan (MBA) and BITS Pilani (B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering), Jain has been honored with the BITS Distinguished Alumnus Award for his significant contributions to society and entrepreneurship.

Ashu works with startups across the enterprise stack. He has invested in companies in AI-enabled business applications (such as Marketing Technology and HR Technology), Data Platforms, Data Center Infrastructure, Online Video, and Cyber Security. He has led seed investments in Radiance Labs, Testim, Robin Systems, Next Force Technology, Oliv.ai, HipDot and has personally invested in Databricks, Falcon Computing, G2 Esports and VPS.

Before joining Foundation Capital in 2008, Ashu was the General Manager for Microsoft’s online advertising business, and led Field Marketing for the software businesses. Previously, Ashu worked at McKinsey & Company, helping technology companies scale their go-to-market efforts. Earlier in his career, Ashu founded TringTring.com, one of the first search engines in Asia, set up Unilever’s Nepal operations, and led the marketing and pre-sales teams at Cadence Design Systems.

Ashu has a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore, where he received the President’s Gold Medal.

Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Mentor, Idea Accelerator, Writer, Commentator, Twestival Champ, TiE Global Trustee, TiE President, TEDSter & TED Champion, Documentary Film buff, Techophile - Always seeking New Ideas, Technologies & Teams.

International citizen, lives in Dubai and spends time in India, Middle East and the US, besides creative detours worldwide.

Interested in Innovation, Startups, Entrepreneurship, Technology, Mobility, Wireless, Intelligent Buildings, Online Media....

Associated with - UGC, University of Jodhpur, Govt. of India, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Indian Documentary Foundation, ProKraft Technologies/Retail, PairGain Technologies, adAPPt Technologies, ADC Inc., Bond Commn., GulfCom, Optimistix Ventures, Communicate2, Dubai Internet City, IBPC Dubai, DCCI, Jodhpur City... at different stops of his professional life.

Founding Partner, The Smart Start Fund (www.smartstartfund.com)

Founder and Chief Maker at The Assembly, the first of its kind lab for all things Smart, an IoT think tank and workspace (theassembly.ae)

CEO, Optimistix Ventures, Dubai * Chairman, GulfCom Group, UAE-India * Chairman, ProKraft Group, India.

Ex-Trustee, Global Board of Trustees, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Global (www.tie.org) * Founding CM & President, TiE Middle East Chapter, Dubai (dubai.tie.org)

Member, Founding Board of Directors, Indian Documentary Foundation, Mumbai.

Happy to contribute to a variety of initiatives and startups like the Global Entrepreneurship Program, Museum of the Future, UAE Drones For Good, UAE AI & Robotics for Good, ThingsThatTalk, Excelerate.it!, NewIdeas.ae, TheInternationalIndian.com, CloudAppers, Communicate2, YouPlus, Shifu, PEXT, Wand Labs, GOQii, EdCast, Zophop ...

Ex-Secretary General, Indian Business & Professional Council (Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dubai)

As CEO, Gaurav spearheads Avendus Group and is focused on building and scaling the franchise. He co-founded Avendus in 1999 at the age of 25 and has spent the last two and a half decades harnessing the potential of India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

He has been instrumental in building Avendus Capital into India’s #1 investment bank and is deeply passionate about the value creation potential of digital and tech innovation.

Gaurav holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, and a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.

Manas Tandon is Head of the Private Equity Goods and Products business unit. He is a member of the Private Equity Direct Lead Investment Committee. He has 27 years of industry experience, also serving on the Board of Directors of the firm's portfolio companies Ecom Express and Vishal Mega Mart. Prior to joining Partners Group, Manas co-led TPG's growth investments in India, having started his investing career with Matrix Partners, where he was responsible for investments in mobility and financial services. Before that, Manas was engaged in designing and selling cutting-edge telecom solutions for start-ups such as MaxComm Technologies (acquired by Cisco Systems) and Camiant Inc (now part of Oracle). He holds an MBA in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, where he was a Palmer Scholar, and a bachelor's degree in Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, where he was awarded the Silver Medal for outstanding academic performance. Manas holds eight US patents and is a member of the Mumbai chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO).

Nishant is the Founder, CIO and Managing Partner of Kedaara Capital, a private equity firm focused on India. Nishant has over 17 years of industry experience primarily encompassing the full life-cycle of private equity in India across a variety of industries and across private and public markets. He has led investments, managed the portfolio and successfully divested investments over this period. Before founding Kedaara, Nishant served as one of the core leaders of the India investment team at General Atlantic (GA), a leading growth-oriented global private equity firm. He co-led GA’s investments across financial services, healthcare, business services and technology, including investments in IndusInd Bank, Jubilant Lifesciences and IBS Software, among others. Prior to GA, Nishant worked at McKinsey and focused on the technology services, financial services, healthcare and government sectors. In addition, he worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, helping set up Avahan, the largest HIV/AIDS prevention program in India. Nishant serves on the board of directors of Aavas Financiers, Ami Lifesciences, Veritas Finance, Vishal Mega Mart, Universal Nutriscience, ASG Eye Hospitals, Oasis Fertility, Oliva and served on the Board of Au Small Finance Bank and Vijaya Diagnostics having led these investments for Kedaara. Nishant is a member of the Mumbai chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Nishant has been profiled as one of India’s hottest business leaders by Economic Times under the 40 under forty awards. Nishant received an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Dual Degree (B.Tech & M.Tech) in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 

Gopal Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds (TCF). TCF — a growth private equity platform set up in 2007, is the largest Indian rupee capital Fund in India, with a corpus of ₹2,000 Crores. Under the leadership of Gopal, the platform has invested in more than 30 businesses that include companies like Nykaa, RBL, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), GoDigit, Yubi and Five Star Business Finance.

Gopal is a third-generation member of the illustrious TVS Family; his entrepreneurial career spanning well over three decades, in which he has founded, steered and scaled up over 10 new ventures across diverse verticals.

Gopal also believes that the key for building the new India is to energize educational institutions. He has contributed significantly to his alma mater. Gopal is a member of University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Gopal was also associated as a Governing Board member of Great Lakes Institute of Management-Chennai, IFMR- Chennai and Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.

Gopal has played an extensive role in VC/PE industry bodies as well as regulatory policy landscape. He is a board member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Gopal has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC), since 2016 and he is also a board member of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), since its inception in Dec’20.

He actively involves in promoting start-ups and Founding member of The Chennai Angels, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai and Non-official member of National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT.

Gopal’s pursuit of excellence in creating an environment of intellectual and creative engagement in his hometown of Chennai led him to yet another initiative to bring together diverse groups of people under the auspices of the Chennai International Center (CIC). As its chairman, he has sought to develop CIC into a think tank that brings together a cornucopia of thought leaders from business, economy, policy, science, art, culture, and governing bodies.

Asad Lalljee is SVP, Essar Group, CEO of Avid Learning, a public programming initiative and creative platform under the Essar Group, and Curator of the Royal Opera House, Mumbai. Asad brings several years of advertising, publishing, marketing, and business development experience, both in international and domestic markets. Prior to relocating to India, Asad worked for 14 years as one of the ‘Mad Men’ advertising executives on New York's Madison Avenue. He was with McCann-Erickson, and earlier with Hill Holiday, a subsidiary of advertising giant IPG. Under Asad’s leadership, Avid Learning has distinguished itself with a wide variety of arts and cultural programming and is currently India’s leading cultural hub. AVID has grown its curatorial practice by leveraging international cultural collaborations through the diplomatic core and partnering with the existing ecosystem by creating opportunities at some of the country’s largest cultural platforms including Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), The Serendipity Arts Festival and The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. In 2022, Asad was co-opted as a member of the Kala Ghoda Association’s Executive Committee. He has been appointed as a member of the advisory board of the Mumbai Urban Art Festival for the year 2022-2023. In 2016, Asad was appointed curator of the newly restored Royal Opera House, Mumbai for which he has successfully designed an avant-garde series of programs. With Asad’s guidance, the Royal Opera House, Mumbai has re-established itself as a performance space of international quality, a cultural venue par excellence, and a prime example of restored and renewed city heritage. In 2018, Asad was inducted into the prestigious FICCI Art and Culture Committee as a distinguished member. FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organization in Indian business with a glorious history of nine decades. Asad has co-convened foray conferences for FICCI’s Smart Cities, Art Cities IP in Mumbai, and Bengaluru. In April 2020, he launched AVID ONLINE as a response to the pandemic and successfully presented 240 programs by March 2021. His curatorial choices demonstrate his passion for technology and new media. After introducing the Mumbai audience to the world of NFTs, Asad took Avid Learning to New York, where he kicked off Engendered, New York’s three-week-long exhibition by moderating a panel discussion on ‘State of the Contemporary: NFTs and the Global South.’ It was followed by moderating the opening session of Jaipur Literature Festival’s, New York edition: ‘Digital Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and the Cyber Future.’ Asad’s creative strategy has led to AVID developing a robust social media presence transforming it into an integral channel for learning. Asad holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Xavier's College (Mumbai) and an M.A. in Global Marketing Communications from Emerson College (Boston).

Debottam T. Bose is India’s first art lawyer. He is also a senior legal advisor to the Oxford India Center, Somerville College, Oxford University and on the legal committee of J N Tata Endowment Fund.

Debottam has worked in international law firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP (London) and White & Case LLP (London). He further studied art history in London and then went on to develop a niche consultancy, with a focus on international art, finance and philanthropy. Interconnections of art, philanthropy and advocacy has allowed his practice, along with independent teams of diverse professionals, to be involved in advising a cross section of clients from private collectors, family offices, artists, charitable hospitals, museums and universities.

Debottam guest lectures frequently, and has taught at Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Jindal University, Ashoka University, and National University of Singapore. He divides his time between New York, London, Oxford, Paris, New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Singapore.

Madhu Ruia has been integrally involved in the Essar Group's CSR initiatives which include educational and environmental projects. Being a trained sitarist, and an exponent of Sanskrit literature she is an advocate of the Arts and Culture and a believer in continuous learning. To bring both these passions together, she started Avid Learning, a unique initiative which not only serves as the cultural philanthropy arm of the Essar Group but has grown into a premium cultural platform.

Minal founded Saffronart in 2000, and has been instrumental in growing its operations from startup to its current position. She has provided leadership in every area of the company, ranging from strategy and business development to technology and finance. She was instrumental in establishing and expanding Saffronart's presence in Mumbai, New York and London, and has driven the company's foray into new businesses, including jewellery, textiles and other collectibles. In addition, Minal has curated, planned and organised exhibitions of Indian art in India and internationally.

Minal is a regular panelist and guest speaker at Indian contemporary art events as an industry expert, and has served several industry organisations. She has been on the board of advisors to the Friends of Sir JJ School of Art Trust and Time Out magazine India, and has co-chaired the FICCI committee on Arts and Business. Minal has been featured in Art + Auction magazine's global power issue, and been a fellow at the Aspen Institute's India leadership programme. She was also invited to contribute to the 2009 Art Asia Pacific Almanac to represent the trajectory of Indian art over the year. In 2005, Minal led a review of Saffronart’s business when the Harvard Business School published a case study on the company. It continues to be studied by MBA students across business schools.

Prior to founding Saffronart, Minal was a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in Mumbai where she worked across several industries in the US, South East Asia and India. Minal received her MBA from INSEAD in France, where she received the Sasakawa Fellowship, and a BS in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering with a minor in Art History and Indian History from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Minal has been an active collector of Indian contemporary art over the last twenty years.

For Owais Husain, the phrase ‘No one story to tell’ characterizes not only his varied experiences and influences, but also the multi-disciplinary artist he has become. The idea that the artist is a sort of cartographer, a storyteller charting the visual lexicons of their time for the next generation, is a core theme of Husain’s work. Using film, photography, painting, sculpture, installation and poetry - in various combinations or on their own - Husain creates visually textured works that both reference his roots in a traditional Indian figurative style and embody his constant pursuit to evolve and contemporize that iconography.

Husain’s work explores identity, iconography and urban mythology and it’s evolution from one generation to the next, illustrating his relationship with and abstraction of a more traditional Indian aesthetic. Whimsical references can be seen in his series To Speak is to Disappear, 2009, a set of delicate ink drawings on handmade Khadi paper of figures trying to communicate and connect to each other to no avail. In the painting, Sympathy vs. Empathy, 2014, a young boy and a Bengal tiger confront each other face to face, the boy appropriates the identity of the tiger with a mask while the tiger’s own face is hidden from the viewer. More complex and abstract are Husain’s Heart of Silence, 2015, a multi-media installation comprised of video, large suspended paper houses, light and reflection, and My Body, A Fleet of Ships, 2014, in which acrylic panels densely layered with photographic images and paintings surround fragments of terracotta figures. Both installations also incorporate poetry into the mixture of visual elements.

In addition to drawing and painting, Husain also practiced lithography and print-making at the Kanoria Centre for Arts. With apprenticeships under influential Indian artist Jagdish Swaminathan in Bhopal, and Robert Blackburn at the Printmaking Workshop in New York, Husain developed a rich mixed-media practice early into his career. While his practice is primarily based in painting, influences of Italian black and white cinema and the vibrant cinema culture of southern India led to Husain’s experimentation with film and sound in the 90’s. He has since directed and produced several feature length Hindi films, 2000-2007, and an experimental music track for the Abu Dhabi Festival of Thinkers in 2009.

Husain was born in 1967 in Mumbai and graduated with his Fine Arts degree from Sir J.J School of Art in 1990. He has exhibited in numerous group and solo shows throughout galleries and museums in India; including the National Museum of Art and Tao Gallery, Mumbai (1995 – 2010), Vadehra Gallery, New Delhi (1995 -1998), Gallery 88 Calcutta (2000), and Sakshi Gallery Bangalore (1994); and internationally at the Tate Modern, London (2001), Aicon Gallery New York (2006), the W Foundation, Seoul (2014), and the Burj Khalifa and Capsule Arts, Dubai (2013, 2015). His films have been screened at the London International Film Festival (2000), the Berlin Film Biennale (2001), the Cannes Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival (2004), the Tribeca International Film Festival, Doha (2010), and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (2014).

Owais Husain currently lives and works in Dubai and Mumbai.

Dr. Vibha Chhabra Bakshi is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning film Director/Producer. Vibha is the winner of four National Film Awards, awarded by the President of India. This is the highest recognition in Indian cinema. Vibha has been conferred the Honorary Doctorate by her alma mater, Boston University, for her outstanding contribution as a filmmaker and journalist.

Vijay Amritraj is a former tennis player, commentator, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. He was a top player in the 1970s, reaching the Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinals and leading India to two Davis Cup finals. As a commentator, he has covered major events for ESPN Star Sports.
In 2001, he became the only tennis player to be appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace, focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness and organizing charitable events. He established the Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006 to support victims of disease and tragedy and has been involved with various Indian-American charities.
Amritraj received the Padma Shri from the Government of India for enhancing the country’s image, served as President of the ATP Tour Player Council, and was honored with the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Golden Achievement Award in 2021. He is married to Shymala and has two sons, Prakash and Vikram, who are also professional tennis players.

Anisha is the Chief Executive Officer of LiveLoveLaugh, a charitable trust founded in 2015 by actor Deepika Padukone. LiveLoveLaugh aims to give hope to every person experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression.

Since joining LiveLoveLaugh in 2016, Anisha has played an instrumental role in the foundation's programs and landmark campaigns. As CEO, she is responsible for implementing strategic recommendations outlined by the organization's Board of Trustees and exploring channels for collaborations/partnerships. She is also responsible for overall operations, including legal and financial compliance of the foundation, fundraising, donor relations, and various other administrative functions.

Anisha has a graduate degree in psychology, sociology, and economics. Having experienced the ill effects of mental illness as a caregiver, she hopes to make a substantive difference in mental health. She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for Mental Health and has completed a program in Strategic Non-Profit Management from Harvard Business School and Ashoka University.

Anisha has a keen interest in sports and has played golf for India.

Robin Venu Uthappa is a former Indian cricketer who represented the Indian national team in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). 

Uthappa made his ODI debut in the seventh and final match of the English tour of India in April 2006. He had an impressive debut, scoring 86 runs as an opening batsman before being run out. This score was the highest achieved by an Indian debutant in a limited-overs match. Uthappa played a crucial role in India's victory at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

In the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy season, he finished as the highest run-scorer, and he also topped the runs chart in that year's Indian Premier League (IPL). Uthappa announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on September 14, 2022.

Arun is a Managing Partner at Celesta Capital, a leading deep technology venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Bangalore. Celesta leverages synergies between the main centers of innovation in the US, India and Israel to create globally impactful enterprises. He most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India, an organization consisting of several thousand professionals engaged in providing assurance, tax, and advisory services. He was a member of the global board of directors of KPMG.

He previously served in President Obama’s Administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS). As the Administration’s lead official to promote U.S. exports, foreign direct investment, and enhanced market access around the world, he led a team of 1,700 professionals in 78 countries and all 50 United States. Prior to his stint in Washington, DC, Arun was a partner and a member of the board of KPMG LLP in the US. Based in Silicon Valley, he led KPMG’s Management Consulting practice in the West for many years. He has also been a company mentor and entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

With decades of experience in content creation, Shoba is an author of six books, a journalist and columnist for many global publications including Condenast Traveler, Hindustan Times, Mint, and the New York Times. At Zapigo, she combines her lifelong passion for psychology with products to create a great gifting experience.

Manu S Pillai is the author of the award-winning The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore (HarperCollins India, 2015), Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji (Juggernaut, 2018), The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History (Context, 2019), False Allies: India’s Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma (Juggernaut, 2021), and most recently, Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity (Penguin Allen Lane, 2024).

Formerly Chief of Staff to Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, he has in the past worked at the House of Lords in Britain, with Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, and with the BBC on their Incarnations history series, assisting Dr Sunil Khilnani. Written over six years and researched in three continents, Manu’s first book, The Ivory Throne won the 2016 Tata Lit Live Prize for best first work of non-fiction and the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. For three years, Manu also wrote a weekly column for Mint Lounge. His other writings have appeared in The Hindu, Open Magazine, the Times of India, Hindustan Times, The New Statesman, and other publications.

Manu is an alumnus of Fergusson College, Pune, and holds a PhD in history from King’s College London. He is represented by David Godwin Associates.

Arundhathi Subramaniam is a poet and a writer on the sacred. 

She has been active over the years as poetry editor, anthologist, literary and performing arts critic and curator.

Author of fourteen books of poetry and prose, her recent work includes the acclaimed sacred poetry anthology, Wild Women: Seekers, Protagonists and Goddesses in Sacred Indian Poetry; a book of essays on contemporary women on sacred journeys, Women Who Wear Only Themselves; and a poetry collection, Love Without a Story.

Dr. Amit Anand specializes in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at a Boston based academic Medical Center. He has spent many years practicing and teaching meditation and pranayama. He strives to integrate the best of modern medicine with the essences of Yogic wisdom. This integration led to the creation of PranayamaRx.

Innovator of the Cal-Indian culinary genre and the most decorated Indian chef cooking in the United States today, Chef Sri has helmed the kitchen at Taj Campton Place in San Francisco since 2008 where he has continually earned two Michelin stars and 3.5 stars from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A native of Kerala, India (where he learned to cook in his grandmother's kitchen), Chef received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and via "staging" at the Michelin two-star Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in England where he honed his repertoire in classical European techniques. A culinary master, his highly personal blend of East and West sensibilities allows him to present the flavors of the east with a western flair that is both unique and faithful to his Indian roots.

Anurag Banerjee is the co-founder and CEO of Quilt.AI – a mission based “AI for Good” technology firm aimed at enabling scale, understanding and empathy between organizations/ institutions and the billions of people on the planet. Companies including Amazon, Target, and Coca-Cola along with non-profits including the World Bank, UNICEF, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation leverage Quilt to better connect with their customers. His entrepreneurial journey started in 2012 and now includes scaling multiple startups to double-digit millions in revenue, supporting taking companies public and raising almost $500MM. This came after almost a decade at American Express in New York, in various global leadership positions across the business. Anurag is also a Member of the Technology Advisory Board at Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. He has a Master’s in Organizational Development from Bowling Green State University and is a Harvard Business School alumnus.

Clint Valladeras is Senior Managing Director of Global Engagement at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, where he oversees collaborations with talent from the Middle East and South East Asia.

Currently, he is working closely as a music advisor with the Oscar & Grammy winning icon A R Rahman to assemble a 50 piece ensemble "Firdaus Orchestra" for the Dubai Expo 2020. This is the first orchestra of its kind in the Middle East - with the aspiration and potential to be a world class symphony orchestra.

In 2015, he co-founded the Berklee India Exchange, a wildly successful initiative that celebrates the rich musical heritage of his home country and has grown Berklee’s reach in the subcontinent through workshops, cultural exchange events, mentorship and scholarship programs. He also played a key role in establishing the Berklee Abu Dhabi Center, to discover, develop and distribute talent in the MENA region. Clint has years of fundraising experience and has built strategic alliances with leading brands like Facebook, Google, Intel, Shure and Yamaha.

With an MBA from Hult International Business School and a Certificate in Executive Management and Leadership from the MIT Sloan School of Management, he takes a dynamic, hands-on approach to every project he works on and has brought music to diverse communities over the years. He has also liaised with renowned international artists, including Grammy and Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and record producer Quincy Jones. The strong network of connections he has built through years of work in the international musical circuit make him especially adept at connecting creative minds to devise momentous musical collaborations and powerful live concerts. Under the leadership of Valladares, Berklee India Exchange has created content with over 180 million views on youtube and developed the Institute into a sustainable enterprise.

Prior to joining Berklee, Valladares was a key player in the launch of Music Talent of Boston, booking agency for the American Federation of Musicians. As the organisation’s director, he recruited and negotiated contracts with celebrated domestic and international artists. Valladares has performed, recorded, and worked in the Bollywood space for more than a decade. Valladares holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Xavier’s College and an MBA from Hult International Business School. He also attended Trinity College and holds a bachelor’s degree from Berklee.

Ram Gyan "Ricky" Kej (born 5 August 1981) is an Indian music composer and environmentalist and a three-time Grammy Award winner.[1] Kej has been nominated a fourth time at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for his album 'Break of Dawn'. He has performed at venues in over 35 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva.[2] In October 2023, Kej was announced as a UN "Goodwill Ambassador" (UNCCD) at the United Nations General Assembly by then President, Csaba Körösi .[1]

Kej was also named a UNCCD Land Ambassador[3] at the COP14 to raise public awareness about the challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought. Kej serves as a "High-Profile Supporter" of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNESCO - MGIEP "Global Ambassador for Kindness",[4] UNICEF Celebrity Supporter,[5] and is an ambassador for the Earth Day Network.[6] In 2020, Kej was named as a GQ Hero 2020 by GQ magazine[7] and in 2023, Kej was declared as GQ "Man of the Year".

In 2015, he won a Grammy at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for his album "Winds of Samsara" in the Best New Age Album category.[8] The project, his 14th studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard New Age Albums Chart in August 2014,[9][10] a first for a person of Indian origin.[11] The album also peaked at No. 1 on the Zone Music Reporter Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart in the month of July 2014.[12]

In 2022, Ricky Kej won his second Grammy at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for his album "Divine Tides" in collaboration with Rock & Roll legend Stewart Copeland in the Best New Age Album category. This album was critically acclaimed by numerous news agencies such as Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, The Sunday Guardian, India Today among others.

In 2023, Ricky Kej won his third Grammy for his album "Divine Tides" at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in the Best Immersive Audio Album category, which took place in Los Angeles in February.[13]

Kej also performed keyboards on the 2016 Grammy-winning album Grace, produced and composed a song on the 2016 Grammy-nominated album Love Language and arranged and performed keyboards on the 2015 Grammy-nominated album Ayahuasca Dreams. His album Shanti Samsara – World Music for Environmental Consciousness was launched on 30 November 2015 at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French president, Francois Hollande.[14] In the months since its launch, Kej has traveled widely speaking about conservation and the environment, including a visit to the Republic of Kiribati, where he interviewed and created music with three-term ex-president, Anote Tong.[15] Kej is credited with over 3,500 placements for radio and television jingles.[16] He composed the music for the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony, held at Dhaka on 17 February 2011.[17] On 18 July 2016, he was awarded the Excellence and Leadership award as a global humanitarian artist at the United Nations Headquarters, New York and performed excerpts from Shanti Samsara live in the United Nations General Assembly Hall. Kej concluded his performance at the United Nations General Assembly by saying, "To end, I want to state the obvious ... Climate change is real ... Climate change is human induced. Climate change is affecting us all ... and our actions affect countries on the other side of the world."[18][19]

In 2018, Kej was named in the "Real Leaders 100 List". Real Leaders (a signatory to the United Nations) curates this list of leaders who 'Inspire the Future'.[20] He was the only representative from India. In May 2018, Kej was honoured by the House of Commons of Canada for "Outstanding Musical and Humanitarian Achievement".[21] In his endeavour to familiarise children with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he created My Earth Songs – 27 children's rhymes based on the 17 SDGs. These songs launched by UNICEF are published in over five million textbooks (English, Hindi and Kannada languages).[22]

Kej's life and journey as a musician are now taught to 7th-grade children in India as part of the ICSE syllabus English textbooks.[23] Kej is notably also a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (at the Indian Institute of Science).[24]

Children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “focusing attention on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.” Another important reason was that he followed the non-violent tradition of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
Satyarthi founded the Save the Childhood Movement (BBA) and the GoodWeave organisation, which certifies carpet manufacturers who do not use child labour in their production. As of 2014, Satyarthi and his colleagues had freed 83,000 children from slavery.
In 1998, Satyarthi led a global march against child labour. This protest helped spur the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO) to adopt a convention protecting children against exploitation and hazardous work. The life and work of Kailash Satyarthi has been the subject of a number of films, documentaries, television series, talk shows, advocacy and awareness films, magazines and news items of all leading print and electronic media worldwide. Mr. Satyarthi's contribution has been recognized through several prestigious national and international awards.

Sudhir is Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. Chiratae Ventures is a leading VC firm advising AUM of $ 1B, invested in 120 plus companies, exited 40 plus, has taken 3 companies public, funded 8 Unicorns and backed 25+ market leaders. The firm is based out of Bangalore with an office in Mumbai.

Since 1998 Sudhir and his team have advised on investments across Deep Tech, Agri Tech, Digital Consumer, SAAS, Fintech and Healthcare Sectors. Key investments include Myntra, Flipkart, FirstCry, Lenskart, Policy Bazaar, Curefit, Agrostar, Emotix, Uniphore and PlaySimple amongst others.

Today Chiratae Ventures is a leading tech VC in India with Mr Ratan Tata, Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Mr Bruno Raschle and Mr Manish Choksi as well as Dr Ferzaan Engineer on its Global Advisory Board and India Advisory Board.

Sudhir, serves on the EC of NASSCOM and is part of the Advisory Group on Tech and Internet Economy, Minister of State (Meity).

In 2001, Sudhir was recognized by Red Herring as one of the leading venture capitalists in the country. He has been named among the Top Ten IT Professionals by Dataquest and by Bloomberg UTV as ‘’Visionary Venture Capitalist” in 2011. Sudhir has been featured in Subroto Bagchi’s book ‘’Zen Garden – Conversations with Pathmakers’’, in 2014.

In addition to leading Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, Sudhir has served on EMPEA Venture Capital Council (Emerging Markets Private Equity Association). He has served as Advisor on the Technology Innovation and Productivity Council of the GMR Group. He also served on the Executive Committee of Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Investment Committee of UTI Ventures, on the Board of Ascent Capital and on the Board of Advisors at N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore. With over 30 years of experience Sudhir has served at various leadership positions at HCL, Wipro and Cyient, as well as Country Head of Walden International India.

Sudhir holds a B.Tech in Engineering and an MBA Degree from FMS, Delhi. His interests include wild life photography.

MR Rangaswami is an entrepreneur, investor, corporate eco-strategy expert, community builder and philanthropist. Recognized as a software business expert, he participated in the rapid expansion of the Silicon Valley software industry during his tenure as an executive at both large and small software companies. In 1997, he co-founded  Sand Hill Group, one of the earliest “angel” investment firms, and was profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He was named to the Forbes “Midas” list of investors and also recognized by CRN as one of the Top 25 Technology Executives. He also hosts the Enterprise Retreat for the top 100 leaders in technology.

In 2007, MR founded the Corporate Eco Forum (CEF), an invitation-only membership organization for Global 500 companies that demonstrate a serious commitment to the environment as a business strategy.

In 2012, he founded Indiaspora, a nonprofit community of powerful global Indian leaders from diverse backgrounds and professions who are committed to inspiring the diaspora to be a force for good by providing a platform to collaborate, engage, and catalyze social change. Indiaspora hosts an annual Leadership Forum, Philanthropy Summit and the Global Connect initiative for the Indian diaspora worldwide. Indiaspora also engages in community issues, including an initiative that led to a USPS postal stamp in 2016.

MR is a board member of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, WISH Foundation.

He is the recipient of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) “Influential Leaders” award in 2015 and the US-China Educational Trust (USCET) inaugural “Asians in America” award in 2016. In 2020, he was the recipient of the “Global Service Award” from the Canada-India Business Council.

MR is also profiled in two books: Those Immigrants by Scott Haas and The $8 Man by Brenda Christensen. He has also contributed a chapter on Silicon Valley in the book, Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans, released in July 2021.

Tony Nader, MD, PhD is a medical doctor trained at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. in neuroscience) and a globally recognized expert in the science of Consciousness and human development. Dr. Nader, whose training includes internal medicine, psychiatry, and neurology, is the author of the NYT bestselling book, Consciousness Is All There Is. He is the successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the head of the Transcendental Meditation organizations globally and the president of Maharishi International University.

Dr. Nader has had recent discussions with some of the great thinkers, scientists, medical doctors in the world today. He has been featured on WIRED magazine, BBC, Gaia, How to Academy, and on many of the world’s most prominent shows and magazines discussing our full potential, and answering the deepest questions about life and living.

Dr. Nader has discussed his expertise at academic institutions such as Harvard Business School on The Neuroscience of Transcendence, Stanford University, where he gave talks in a series entitled "Hacking Consciousness" as well as the keynote speaker for a number of conferences at the House of Commons, British Parliament. His research has been published in Neurology, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Journal of Gerontology, Progress in Brain Research, and many other journals. During the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, during the Better World Fund gathering, Dr. Nader was awarded the "humanitarian award" for his outstanding contribution in human development, environment, education, and health.

Mina Al-Oraibi is the editor-in-chief of The National. An Iraqi-Briton, Mina has over 15 years of experience covering Middle Eastern, European and American affairs. She has conducted several high profile interviews, including with former US President Barack Obama, former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, former US Climate Envoy John Kerry, Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Prior to assuming her current role, Mina was a senior fellow at the Institute for State Effectiveness and a Yale World Fellow.

Richard Verma serves as the 25th United States Ambassador to India. He was nominated by President Obama in September 2014 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2014. Ambassador Verma oversees one of the largest U.S. Missions in the world, including four consulates across India and nearly every agency of the U.S. government.

Ambassador Verma was previously the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, where he led the State Department’s efforts on Capitol Hill. He worked in the Senate for many years, serving as Senior National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader and he also worked in the House of Representatives. He is veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he served on active duty as a Judge Advocate. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

The Ambassador also has a distinguished career in the private sector, serving as partner at the global law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and as Senior Counselor to the Albright Stonebridge Group.  He served as a commissioner on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Commission and is a co-author of their landmark report, “World at Risk.”  He was also a National Security Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a DC-based think tank.

Ambassador Verma is the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and was ranked by India Abroad as one of the 50 most influential Indian Americans. Ambassador Verma holds degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), American University’s Washington College of Law (JD), and Lehigh University (BS).

As Miko’s CEO, Sneh steers Miko’s vision for transforming the technology and learning landscapes. In addition to leading a global team of engineers, psychologists, designers and mathematicians from the U.S and India, he oversees a thriving global sales footprint in over 140 countries with a channel of more than 350+ partners. Sneh’s past experience includes developing path-breaking healthcare innovation for a leading multinational corporation.  

Prior to Miko, Sneh had also lead multidisciplinary teams to victory at robotics competitions around the globe. The B.Tech and M.Tech graduate from IIT Bombay draws this passion from robotics as he focusses on Miko’s next growth phase, and has been recipient of several awards/recognitions. 

Harsh Vardhan Shringla is a career diplomat and a member of the Indian Foreign Service since 1984. 

In the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years, Ambassador Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad. He has served as High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand.  He has also served in France (UNESCO); USA (UN, New York); Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City); Israel and South Africa (Durban). 

Ambassador Shringla has served in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi as Joint Secretary (Director General) responsible for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives. He has also headed the United Nations Political and SAARC Divisions in the Ministry. Earlier, he served as Director of the Northern Division dealing with Nepal and Bhutan and as Deputy Secretary of the Europe West Division.

Ambassador Shringla has graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University and has worked in the Corporate and Public Sectors in India prior to joining the Indian Foreign Service. He has pursued courses and published papers on conflict prevention, economic diplomacy, the Indian diaspora and India-Bangladesh relations.

Ambassador Shringla speaks French, Vietnamese and Nepalese apart from English and Indian languages. He is married to Mrs. Hemal Shringla and has one son.

Ambassador Shringla assumed charge as Ambassador to the United States on January 9, 2019. He presented his credentials to the President of United States H.E. Donald J. Trump on January 11, 2019.

Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, a household brand in the UK and one of the most awarded beers in the world.

Lord Bilimoria is the Founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council, a Lieutenant to His Majesty’s Commission of Lieutenancy for the City of London, and a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Greater London. He served as a Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group, now TESCO PLC, from 2007 to 2016. He is one of the first two visiting entrepreneurs at the University of Cambridge and a founding member of the Prime Minister of India’s Global Advisory Council. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed as the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, becoming the first-ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords. He is a former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London) and was the youngest university chancellor at the time of his appointment. From July 2014 to July 2024, he served as the seventh Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, becoming the first Indian-born Chancellor of a Russell Group University in Great Britain. Additionally, he is the President of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). He is an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, and served as Chair of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, from 2015 to 2020, after which he was appointed an Honorary Ambassador. Since 2017, Lord Bilimoria has been a Bynum Tudor Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and is a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford, based at the Centre for Corporate Reputation at the Saïd Business School. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and a Patron of the Small Business Charter. Additionally, Lord Bilimoria is an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. He served as President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from 2020 to 2022. In November 2022, Karan joined the board of the International Chamber of Commerce UK (ICC) and was appointed Chairman of the Board for a term commencing in January 2025.

In 2008, Lord Bilimoria was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young (EY) through the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and graduated in law from Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. He is also an alumnus of the Cranfield School of Management, the London Business School, and Harvard Business School through their executive education programmes. Currently, he is pursuing a business doctorate at the Judge Business School. Karan has been awarded 12 Honorary Doctorates, with the most recent being an Honorary Fellowship from the London Business School (LBS) and an Honorary Doctorate from UPES (University of Petroleum and Energy Studies), India. He is also Co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students. In June 2022, Karan became a non-remunerative Trustee of Policy Exchange, a non-profit educational charity.

Ashish Dhawan is the founder and CEO of the Convergence Foundation (TCF), which is focused on accelerating India’s economic growth and development. He is also the chairperson of Ashoka University, a leading liberal arts university in India, and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to improve the quality of education for all children in India.

TCF incubates nonprofits focused on creating system-wide impact in the areas of economic growth, equality of opportunity, and sustainability. Its current portfolio includes organizations working on jobs and investment, rule of law, governance and state capacity, economic empowerment of women, science and technology, air pollution, unlocking philanthropic capital, and improving the effectiveness of nonprofits.

Before his second career as a philanthropist, Ashish was among India’s most successful private equity investors. He founded and ran ChrysCapital, the country’s leading private equity firm. Ashish graduated from Yale University and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is also on the India Advisory Board of Harvard and a member of Yale’s Development Council.

Gopal Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds (TCF). TCF — a growth private equity platform set up in 2007, is the largest Indian rupee capital Fund in India, with a corpus of ₹2,000 Crores. Under the leadership of Gopal, the platform has invested in more than 30 businesses that include companies like Nykaa, RBL, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), GoDigit, Yubi and Five Star Business Finance.

Gopal is a third-generation member of the illustrious TVS Family; his entrepreneurial career spanning well over three decades, in which he has founded, steered and scaled up over 10 new ventures across diverse verticals.

Gopal also believes that the key for building the new India is to energize educational institutions. He has contributed significantly to his alma mater. Gopal is a member of University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Gopal was also associated as a Governing Board member of Great Lakes Institute of Management-Chennai, IFMR- Chennai and Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.

Gopal has played an extensive role in VC/PE industry bodies as well as regulatory policy landscape. He is a board member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Gopal has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC), since 2016 and he is also a board member of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), since its inception in Dec’20.

He actively involves in promoting start-ups and Founding member of The Chennai Angels, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai and Non-official member of National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT.

Gopal’s pursuit of excellence in creating an environment of intellectual and creative engagement in his hometown of Chennai led him to yet another initiative to bring together diverse groups of people under the auspices of the Chennai International Center (CIC). As its chairman, he has sought to develop CIC into a think tank that brings together a cornucopia of thought leaders from business, economy, policy, science, art, culture, and governing bodies.

An Indian businessman and the chairman of Hero Enterprise. He is the founder of India's Serendipity Arts Festival, and chairman of the board of governors of The Doon School. He is the youngest son of Brijmohan Lall Munjal. In 2014, Munjal founded the BML Munjal University and is its chancellor.

Sudhir is Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. Chiratae Ventures is a leading VC firm advising AUM of $ 1B, invested in 120 plus companies, exited 40 plus, has taken 3 companies public, funded 8 Unicorns and backed 25+ market leaders. The firm is based out of Bangalore with an office in Mumbai.

Since 1998 Sudhir and his team have advised on investments across Deep Tech, Agri Tech, Digital Consumer, SAAS, Fintech and Healthcare Sectors. Key investments include Myntra, Flipkart, FirstCry, Lenskart, Policy Bazaar, Curefit, Agrostar, Emotix, Uniphore and PlaySimple amongst others.

Today Chiratae Ventures is a leading tech VC in India with Mr Ratan Tata, Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Mr Bruno Raschle and Mr Manish Choksi as well as Dr Ferzaan Engineer on its Global Advisory Board and India Advisory Board.

Sudhir, serves on the EC of NASSCOM and is part of the Advisory Group on Tech and Internet Economy, Minister of State (Meity).

In 2001, Sudhir was recognized by Red Herring as one of the leading venture capitalists in the country. He has been named among the Top Ten IT Professionals by Dataquest and by Bloomberg UTV as ‘’Visionary Venture Capitalist” in 2011. Sudhir has been featured in Subroto Bagchi’s book ‘’Zen Garden – Conversations with Pathmakers’’, in 2014.

In addition to leading Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, Sudhir has served on EMPEA Venture Capital Council (Emerging Markets Private Equity Association). He has served as Advisor on the Technology Innovation and Productivity Council of the GMR Group. He also served on the Executive Committee of Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Investment Committee of UTI Ventures, on the Board of Ascent Capital and on the Board of Advisors at N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore. With over 30 years of experience Sudhir has served at various leadership positions at HCL, Wipro and Cyient, as well as Country Head of Walden International India.

Sudhir holds a B.Tech in Engineering and an MBA Degree from FMS, Delhi. His interests include wild life photography.

Shereen Bhan has an experience of 15 years, 14 of which were spent in tracking corporate, policy news and events that defined the business landscape in India. A graduate from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi and a Masters in Communication Studies from the Department of Communication, Pune University, Shereen has been producing and anchoring flagships news shows like 'India Business Hour' and 'What's Hot' for over a decade. She has been responsible for breaking a range of news stories that have redefined the Indian economic landscape in recent times and has also interviewed some of the biggest names in business and politics, both domestic and global. Shereen is also the Anchor & Editor of 'Young Turks', one of India's longest running shows on entrepreneurs –a section that over the last 13 years has successfully built a niche category in business news programming. She hosts 'Overdrive', which won the News Television Award for the 'Best Auto Show' for three consecutive years. She heads the channel's special feature programming that carries several pioneering shows such as 'Ministers of Change' and 'What Women Want'. Over the course of her 14-year tryst with business journalism, Shereen has been the recipient of the 'Best Business Talk Show' award at the News Television awards for two years consecutively. She also won the 'FICCI Woman of the Year' award for her contribution to the Media in 2005, and was named a 'Young Global Leader' by the World Economic Forum. She won the ‘Best Business Anchor Award’ at the ‘News Television Awards’ in 2013.

Dr. Anand Deshpande is the Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Persistent Systems, leading the company since its inception in 1990. He holds a B.Tech. in Computer Science from IIT Kharagpur and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Indiana University. Recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by IIT Kharagpur and awarded the Career Achievement Award by Indiana University, Anand has been a pivotal figure in growing Persistent into a global company. In 2023, he received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award in the Services Category for his innovative contributions to business and the economy.

Before founding Persistent, Anand worked at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. He has held various leadership roles in professional organizations, including NASSCOM and ACM India, and serves on multiple boards, including those of IIT Patna and IIIT Allahabad. Anand is also involved in creating data platforms for Indian patients and is committed to fostering entrepreneurship through the DeAsra Foundation, which he established with his family to promote self-employment. He is married to Sonali and has two children.

Rajan Navani is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Jetline Group of Companies, which is focused on packaging manufacturing, IT services, and digital media. He is responsible for developing and implementing the India strategy for all the group companies. Rajan plays a key role in shaping the digital lives of 1.2 billion Indians. His group company, Jetsynthesys, has recently made significant investments in consumer-facing digital platforms, products, and services, focusing on digital marketing and data analytics. In addition to his role at Jetline, Rajan served as the Chairman of the National Committee on India@75, and he has previously served as the National Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Young Indians. He is also a member of CII’s National Council, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a BMW Herbert Quandt Foundation Young World Leader, a CNBC India Young Turk, and part of the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum. 

Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, known as Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founded Infosys in 1981, and has served in various positions, including CEO and Managing Director from June 2007 until August 2011, as well as vice-chairman. Since his retirement from Infosys in 2014, he has been serving as non Executive Vice Chairman. He also has personally invested in 65 startups through his business incubator Axilor Ventures and 10 venture funds. He serves as a Director on the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation. He also has been the President of CII since 2013. He has funded and created Itihaasa, a digital app that chronicles the evolution of India’s IT industry.

Vijay Amritraj is a former tennis player, commentator, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. He was a top player in the 1970s, reaching the Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinals and leading India to two Davis Cup finals. As a commentator, he has covered major events for ESPN Star Sports.
In 2001, he became the only tennis player to be appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace, focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness and organizing charitable events. He established the Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006 to support victims of disease and tragedy and has been involved with various Indian-American charities.
Amritraj received the Padma Shri from the Government of India for enhancing the country’s image, served as President of the ATP Tour Player Council, and was honored with the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Golden Achievement Award in 2021. He is married to Shymala and has two sons, Prakash and Vikram, who are also professional tennis players.

PV Bóccasam joined Cota in 2021 as a Partner on the investment team. Prior to Cota, PV was a General Partner in a $600M Mid-Atlantic early-stage fund investing in industry shaping companies focused on enterprise software. He started his career at Microsoft in the early 1990s and worked on Windows, Exchange and other enterprise platform technologies. PV has been a serial-entrepreneur founding Entevo in 1997, a leader in Enterprise Directory Management exited to BindView/Symantec, Approva in 2002 a leader in GRC, exited to Infor, and ClearStandards in 2007, a leader in Carbon management, exited to SAP.

PV has held various roles such as operator, board of directors and turnaround CEO for many portfolio companies since 2012. He was the lead investor and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) and on its compensation committee.

PV served a 3-year term on the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland, Department of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (CMNS) from 2017-2020. He has been a two-time finalist and served as judge of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award Program in Washington DC. He has also served on the Board and as a President of TIE-DC Chapter. He is active in philanthropy in the areas of early childhood education, mentorship, and rural entrepreneurship.

PV received a B.S. in Computer Engineering, from University of Pune in India.

Dr. Rajashree ‘Raji’ Baskaran is the Founder and CEO of Manifolds Lab. She is a technology and product executive who is recognized as an industry expert in sensor-enabled systems and IoT solutions.

Raji has 15+ years of leadership experience at Intel Corporation spanning a diverse set of technologies (including silicon R&D, supply chain management and engineering, wearable technologies, and AI/NLP enterprise products). She has authored dozens of research publications, has 35+ patents under her name, and is frequently a speaker and panelist at a host of industry events. In 2017, Raji was elected into the “Hall of Fame” by SEMI, MEMS and Sensors Industry Groups.

Beyond this, Raji is also an affiliate Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara, a Masters from Cornell and Bachelors from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Raji is currently a Venture Partner with a NY-based seed fund (Social Impact), and advisor at Silicon Catalyst, an SF-based hardware accelerator. She is a technology and strategy consultant to international IoT and AI chip design companies, and regularly performs venture capital/investor due diligence and advisory services in IoT, MEMS, and Semiconductor markets.

Raji co-founded Superbloom Studios, a consulting studio anchored on inclusivity with two of her best friends from IIT. Superbloom studios is based in 3 continents and global and virtual from day0 by design. Superbloom provides data science, product marketing and go-to-market and communication/storytelling services.

Adjunct Professor Manjula Datta O’Connor is an Indian-born award-winning psychiatrist in private practice. She is an author, researcher, reviewer of journals, educator, community leader, advocate, and changemaker. Manjula is a published author of the highly acclaimed book Daughters of Durga.

Her clinical and research interests include women’s mental health, including culturally and linguistically diverse women, anxiety, depression, complex trauma, and family violence. Her research is published 

She is an Hon Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and an Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales. Manjula is an invited examiner of psychiatrists.

She co-founded the NGO AustralAsian Centre for Human Rights and Health in 2012 and led the Victorian dowry abuse campaign, with numerous media interviews and publications.  It led to the inclusion of dowry abuse in the Family Violence Protection Act of Victoria, and more recently in the AG's National Paper on Coercive Control. Manjula is a community leader and received the coveted Australian Indian Business and Community Award.

She is invited expert to the 2017 Federal Senate Hearing into dowry abuse, advisor to a number of Government Committees, and invited expert to Coroners' Inquests. Manjula was awarded the distinguished psychiatrists Meritorious Award by the Australian NZ College of Psychiatrists, the Victorian Government’s Multicultural Award of Excellence in Mental Health Care of women. She served on the judging panel of Victorian Honour Roll. Her work has been cited in the Victorian and Federal Australian Parliament a number of times.  Manjula is Ambassador to Full Stop Australia. Manjula features regularly in the media.

Milind Pant is a global business leader with a career centered on driving transformational growth and strategic shifts in multi-billion-dollar organizations across industries.

As Chief Executive Officer of Amway, the world’s largest direct selling company, Milind spearheaded a transformation over nearly six years. Under his leadership, Amway, a private and family-owned company with $7.7B in revenue, transitioned its business model to focus on empowering over a million micro-entrepreneurs, fostering the growth of global health and wellness communities. Milind was responsible for setting Amway’s strategic vision, overseeing global operations, and driving enterprise performance, while serving on and reporting directly to the Board of Directors.

Before his tenure at Amway, Milind was President of Pizza Hut International (NYSE: YUM; $7.1B revenue), where he led a strategic overhaul, successfully transitioning the brand from a traditional dine-in restaurant to a fast-casual delivery model. Pizza Hut accelerated growth through strategic partnerships and significant investments in digital transformation. Prior to this role, Milind served as President and COO of YUM! China (NYSE: YUMC; $11.6B revenue), where he orchestrated a comprehensive business turnaround, reigniting customer engagement and driving market-leading growth in one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive environments.

Milind’s leadership journey began at Unilever, where he held several senior roles that honed his expertise in marketing, business development, consumer behavior, and P&L management across diverse geographies and categories. His global perspective has been shaped by living and leading businesses in five countries across three continents, making him a seasoned leader with unparalleled insights into the diversity and complexities of a global business. He has served on the boards of several industry forums, including the US-China Business Council and the US-India Business Council.

Milind’s journey, from growing up in the foothills of the Himalayas in India to leading global enterprises, is a testament to his belief in the power of opportunity and potential. A passionate advocate for personal growth, Milind is committed to helping others pursue their aspirations with resilience and purpose. A lifelong learner, he fosters a culture of innovation and growth mindset in every organization he leads, inspiring teams to challenge boundaries and embrace change.

Neetisha is Deputy Director for the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute at Johns Hopkins University, based out of New Delhi, India. She is responsible for developing strategy and managing operations for GKII, including external partnerships, internal liaisons, and program development. She brings her experience of working in public sector consulting and private sector operations management. As a Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow working for the Government of India, Neetisha has worked in various community development and citizen service delivery programs. She holds an MPA/ID degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MDP degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and a Bachelor in Technology degree from IIT Kanpur.

Strategic advisor and seasoned leader with 30+ years of expertise across academia and multinational FMCG giants (Kellogg, Nestlé, PepsiCo), Mallika Janakiraman brings a robust blend of strategic insight, consumer-centric innovation, and regulatory proficiency to the food, nutrition, and nutraceutical sectors. Her career is marked by transformative initiatives that integrate scientific rigor with actionable business strategies, significantly enhancing market penetration and brand reputation.

As a consultant in food, functional nutrition, and nutraceuticals, Mallika combines scientific acumen with strategic foresight to deliver innovative solutions. Her reputation for developing community-oriented marketing and social impact initiatives underscores her unique approach to business growth. A trusted mentor to startups, Mallika also champions the Indo-Kiwi trade and commerce, reflecting her commitment to sustainable, community-driven economic development

Dr. Varun Sivaram is a senior fellow for energy and climate at the Council on Foreign Relations, with a background in clean energy as a C-suite executive and U.S. diplomat. He was chief strategy and innovation officer at Ørsted, the largest producer of offshore wind energy, where he oversaw significant clean energy investments and launched Ørsted Ventures. Previously, he served as chief technology officer at ReNew Power, India's largest renewable energy producer, and was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. In the Biden administration, Dr. Sivaram was managing director for clean energy and senior advisor to Secretary John Kerry, leading the First Movers Coalition. He has advised mayors and governors and taught at Columbia and Georgetown universities. An accomplished author, his works include *Taming the Sun* and *Digital Decarbonization*. Recognized on various influential lists, including TIME 100 Next, he has delivered a widely viewed TED Talk on India's clean energy transition. Dr. Sivaram holds a PhD from Oxford and degrees from Stanford University.

Prachi Shevgaonkar is a Climate Entrepreneur and the founder of Cool The Globe - An app and a movement for climate action with users from 150+ countries. Prachi has been awarded by the finance minister of India as the 'Young Change-maker of the year.'

Prachi is the first Indian citizen to be appointed on the advisory board of Climate Leadership Coalition, alongside the former Prime Minister of Finland. She was selected by the Ministry of Environment, UNICEF & UNDP to represent India at COP27 climate summit in Egypt, where she received COP27 Young Scholar Award from the Hon. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. Recently, Prachi featured in Google India's campaign inspired by her story of building Cool The Globe App.

Prachi spent months covering stories of youth, farmers, and waste-picker communities, to understand the impact of climate change in day-to-day lives of people. She has been mobilising citizens to tackle climate change through technology, advocacy and grass-root action.

She firmly believes that when ordinary citizens come together, miracles can happen.

Mirik Gogri is the Sustainability Collaborator, Climate-Tech Investor and Corporate Strategist . He has experience in overseeing corporate strategies, sustainable technologies, and commercial execution. Technological innovation remains at the core of his vision of shaping Aarti Industries’ future in a sustainable manner.

Mirik is also associated with Spectrum Impact which is working with companies and organizations across the world to find solutions for Global Climate Goals. To achieve this, he has collaborated with companies operating in various sectors such as energy-efficient appliances, enhanced weathering for carbon capture, hydroponic farming, and aneutronic nuclear fusion, among others.

Currently, Mirik is also leading the establishment of a world-class Research and Development Center with 300 scientists and researchers.

Mirik is an IIT Bombay alumni with a dual degree in Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science. He has also pursued courses in Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies from Stanford University.

Ajay Royan founded Mithril and is the firm’s managing general partner.

Ajay developed Mithril’s focus on investing for durable growth, leading the firm to become an early investor and partner of choice for technology pioneers such as Adimab, Adagio, AppDirect, Auris (Johnson & Johnson acq.), BlackSky, Fractyl, Glance, GreyOrange, Helion, Neocis, and Nuvia (Qualcomm acq.). Ajay and Mithril are long-term stewards of growth, helping these hidden champions build dominant franchises by working with founders on competitive and organizational strategy. 

Prior to founding Mithril, Ajay was a macro and growth equity investor at Clarium. Ajay serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Board of Directors of Fulbright Canada. He was elected to the Presidents’ Circle of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, is a charter member of The C100, and was a participant in the Hoover Institution’s Working Group on Global Markets. Ajay frequently advocates for entrepreneurship and innovation, and has been featured in CNBC, the Financial Times, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal. He was educated at Yale University.

Sunder Ramaswamy is a professional economist, an educator, and an academic administrator with extensive experience both in India and the United States. He has been a faculty & administrator at Middlebury since 1990, and has had sabbaticals at the World Bank, Vanderbilt University, IFMR, & the Madras School of Economics in India (including 2 stints as Director). He was the founding Vice Chancellor of Krea University, an exciting new liberal arts and sciences university initiative, set up in Sri City, India (2017-2021). From 2009 – 2015, he was the President of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California (MIIS); He has co- authored and co-edited 4 books, written scores of articles, and delivered over 175 lectures all over the world on Globalization, Economic Development, Indian Economic Reforms and Economic Literacy; His research has been supported by Ford Foundation, SW Davis Foundation and USAID. He has also been a consultant to UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNU and the World Bank. He has had extensive Board service at a number of non-profit organizations and most recently was appointed Chairman Emeritus of The Asia Foundation.  He was also recently appointed as an Ambassador for Indiaspora (www.indiaspora.org, the largest US based global nonprofit that aims to improve the success and impact of the Indian diaspora).

He has been featured in over 60 international media stories.  His passion for teaching, his academic work, and his administrative accomplishments have been recognized with numerous honors and awards both in India and in the United States.

He is currently the Program Director of the International & Global Studies at Middlebury College and also serves on the President’s Task Force on “Middlebury’s approach to AI”.  He is also currently working on a co-authored book manuscript on “Data Democracy and Development in India”.

Nishant Pandey is the New York based CEO of the American India Foundation, providing strategic leadership to its operations globally. He is an economist by training, anthropologist by heart and entrepreneur by mind-set. He began his career as a banker but soon realized that development sector was his calling. He joined Oxfam as its Programme Officer for South India where he designed and developed multi-state, multi-stakeholder, value-chain programmes on the theme of ‘power in markets’. Subsequently, he moved Oxfam’s global HQ in Oxford (UK) to lead on programme development and management in 12 countries in Middle East, Eastern Europe and the CIS. Before moving back to India as AIF’s Country Director, Nishant was based in Jerusalem where he led one of the most complex and challenging operations as Oxfam’s Country Director for the Occupied Palestinian Territory & Israel.

Nishant firmly believes in the power of win-win partnerships. In his career spanning 24 years, he has forged several multi-stakeholder initiatives involving civil society, governments and corporate partners, big and small, global and local. Nishant speaks and writes routinely on development issues, corporate social responsibility and public-private partnerships (PPP). He appears regularly on media outlets such as NDTV, CNN News18, Republic World and TV Asia. He has authored Op-eds for reputed outlets such as The Economic Times and The Hill and has been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and NPR. He has been invited as a speaker at events and conferences organized by Harvard University, Georgetown University, CGI-New York, Asia House (London), European Commission, UNDP, Unicef, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), NASSCOM and many others. Nishant is a founding-member and Vice-Chair of the India Philanthropy Alliance and a member of the Advisory Council of the Indian School of Leadership.

Nishant acquired his Master’s in International Development & Finance as a British Chevening scholar. He also holds M.A. in Economics, B.A. in Anthropology and Advanced Management Programme from the Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK.

Akhtar Badshah is an expert on social impact, philanthropy, CSR and international development, an author and artist. He is the co-founder of Purpose Mindset, founder and Chief Catalyst of Catalytic Innovators Group, a consulting practice focused on accelerating social impact through catalytic innovation. He is a Distinguished Practitioner and at the University of Washington, School of Business (Bothell Campus) and Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He also is a faculty lead at START Center at the Department of Public Health.

CIG offers consulting services around social impact and has launched Accelerating Social Transformation, a professional development course for those working in the social impact space.

Formerly, he was the Senior Director of Microsoft Citizenship and Public Affairs, where he administered the company’s global community investment and employee programs. Through monetary grants, software and curriculum donations, technology solutions, and employee giving, Microsoft supports programs and organizations that address the needs of communities worldwide. Since 1983, Microsoft and its employees have provided around $5 billion in cash, services and software to nonprofits around the world through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns. Among his responsibilities, Badshah managed the philanthropic elements of Microsoft’s YouthSpark, a global initiative that is designed to help youth into opportunities through training, employment and help starting their own ventures.

His new book Purpose Mindset: How Microsoft Inspires its Employees and Alumni to Change the World is available at https://lnkd.in/gJZWb6W. The book is published by #HarperCollinsLeadership and is also a @MicrosoftAlumniNetwork imprint.

He is the co-author of the book “Technology at the Margins – How IT Meets the Needs of the Emerging Markets”, published by Wiley and Sons and the author of "Our Urban Future", published by Zed Books.

Badshah also serves on the Board of several organizations including, Altruist Partners, Chair of the Board - CROP Organization, Global Washington, Microsoft Alumni Network, National Museum and Center for Service and The Indus Entrepreneur, Seattle Chapter.

Specialties: Purpose Mindset, Corporate Social Responsibility, Non-profit development, Information and Communication Technology for Development, Opportunities for Youth, and Sustainable Development.

Rukmini Banerji is the Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation.

Rukmini Banerji was trained as an economist at St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) and the Delhi School of Economics.

She was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University (1981-83) and completed her PhD at the University of Chicago in 1991.Rukmini returned to India in 1996 and joined Pratham. Over the years, she has worked extensively in Pratham’s education programs in rural and urban areas. Along with her teams, she has played a major role in designing and supporting large scale partnerships with state governments in India, for improving children’s learning outcomes. Rukmini led Pratham’s research and assessment efforts including the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) exercise from 2005 to 2014. Since 2015, she has been the CEO of Pratham.

In 2008, Rukmini received the Maulana Abul Kalam Shiksha Puraskar by the Government of Bihar, India. She was the first recipient of this award. In 2021, Rukmini was awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Development.

Originally from Bihar, she is now based between New Delhi and Pune. Rukmini writes frequently on education in both Hindi and English dailies in India and enjoys writing books and stories for children.

Sudhir is Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. Chiratae Ventures is a leading VC firm advising AUM of $ 1B, invested in 120 plus companies, exited 40 plus, has taken 3 companies public, funded 8 Unicorns and backed 25+ market leaders. The firm is based out of Bangalore with an office in Mumbai.

Since 1998 Sudhir and his team have advised on investments across Deep Tech, Agri Tech, Digital Consumer, SAAS, Fintech and Healthcare Sectors. Key investments include Myntra, Flipkart, FirstCry, Lenskart, Policy Bazaar, Curefit, Agrostar, Emotix, Uniphore and PlaySimple amongst others.

Today Chiratae Ventures is a leading tech VC in India with Mr Ratan Tata, Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Mr Bruno Raschle and Mr Manish Choksi as well as Dr Ferzaan Engineer on its Global Advisory Board and India Advisory Board.

Sudhir, serves on the EC of NASSCOM and is part of the Advisory Group on Tech and Internet Economy, Minister of State (Meity).

In 2001, Sudhir was recognized by Red Herring as one of the leading venture capitalists in the country. He has been named among the Top Ten IT Professionals by Dataquest and by Bloomberg UTV as ‘’Visionary Venture Capitalist” in 2011. Sudhir has been featured in Subroto Bagchi’s book ‘’Zen Garden – Conversations with Pathmakers’’, in 2014.

In addition to leading Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, Sudhir has served on EMPEA Venture Capital Council (Emerging Markets Private Equity Association). He has served as Advisor on the Technology Innovation and Productivity Council of the GMR Group. He also served on the Executive Committee of Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Investment Committee of UTI Ventures, on the Board of Ascent Capital and on the Board of Advisors at N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore. With over 30 years of experience Sudhir has served at various leadership positions at HCL, Wipro and Cyient, as well as Country Head of Walden International India.

Sudhir holds a B.Tech in Engineering and an MBA Degree from FMS, Delhi. His interests include wild life photography.

CEO of Aether Biomedical, Forbes 30U30 Europe, Sigma Squared Fellow & StartX Founder

Dhruv Agrawal is the CEO and President of the management board of Aether Biomedical SP.z o.o.. He studied Medicine at Vardhmann Mahavir Medical college and Safdarjung hospital, New Delhi before dropping out to pursue a bachelors in business management. He also has a post graduate diploma in medical device development regulatory affairs from University of California, Irvine, and a masters in data science from the University of london.

Under his leadership, Aether Biomedical has achieved CE certification and FDA registration for the Zeus V1 bionic limb and established distribution across 9 European countries, the US, and India. Additionally, Aether has raised over 12 million USD in private capital from leading VCs and has been part of multiple European grants and research programs for an additional 2.5M USD in nondilutive capital. Aether now is already a team of over 50 people and has deployed over 500 bionic hands over the globe. Aether continues to go from strength to strength as it scales across multiple geographies.

As Miko’s CEO, Sneh steers Miko’s vision for transforming the technology and learning landscapes. In addition to leading a global team of engineers, psychologists, designers and mathematicians from the U.S and India, he oversees a thriving global sales footprint in over 140 countries with a channel of more than 350+ partners. Sneh’s past experience includes developing path-breaking healthcare innovation for a leading multinational corporation.  

Prior to Miko, Sneh had also lead multidisciplinary teams to victory at robotics competitions around the globe. The B.Tech and M.Tech graduate from IIT Bombay draws this passion from robotics as he focusses on Miko’s next growth phase, and has been recipient of several awards/recognitions. 

Shardul Sheth, Co-Founder & CEO AgroStar started his entrepreneurial journey in 2010 after spending eight years in the US where he gained experience across marketing and operations with the world's largest consumer electronics retail chain Best Buy. Upon his return, he and his brother Sitanshu Sheth dedicated their career to solving for the challenges of smallholder farmers in India. Today, AgroStar is the foremost AgriTech platform in India, serving millions of farmers across the length and breadth of the country.

Shardul was recognized as a Fortune 40 under 40 Entrepreneur in 2016 and 2017. AgroStar was named as Forbes Asia’s Top 100 to Watch 2022, AgriTech Startup of the Year 2022, Top 10 Most Innovative Food Companies by Fast Company and Best Tech for Agriculture at Idea Awards 2023.

Having recently graduated from SRCC, Gursimran Kalra has always been driven by a desire to make a lasting impact on society. He recognizes the imperative for traditionaldustriesundergo disruptive technological transformations to address the pressing needs of huComing from a small town, he always made sure to explore every opportunity that could propel him towards his goal - becoming two-time district topper in high school boards and securing a coveted place at one of the country's premier institutions. But he wasn’t satisfied - the real world complexities didn’t closely match the text-book problem statements, leading him to co-founding Minus Zero.

Outside Minus Zero, Gursimran loves exploring diverse cultures, relishing their cuisine, music, and cinema.

Richard Rossow is a senior adviser and holds the Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In this role, he helps frame and shape policies to promote greater business and economic engagement between the two countries, with a unique focus on tracking and engaging Indian states. He has been working on U.S.-India relations for over 25 years. He joined CSIS in 2014 after a long career in a range of private sector roles focused on India. Prior to CSIS, he served as director for South Asia at McLarty Associates, leading the firm’s work for clients in India and the neighboring region, and he retains his affiliation with the firm. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Rossow was with New York Life Insurance company, most recently as head of international governmental affairs, where he developed strategic plans for the company’s public policy and global mergers and acquisitions work and helped manage the firm’s policy issues in India. From 1998 to 2008, Mr. Rossow served as deputy director of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), the world’s leading advocacy group on behalf of strengthening economic ties between the United States and India. While at USIBC, he managed the council’s policy groups in the energy, information technology, insurance, media and entertainment, and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Rossow received his BA from Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Pramod Varma has been the chief architect of most of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) efforts starting with Aadhaar - India’s unique ID system that covers 1.4 Billion people; eSign - an interoperable digital signature protocol; DigiLocker - digital credentialing and wallet system in India which is currently used by 280 million people having nearly 6.5 billion credentials; and UPI - the unified real time payment system that was launched in 2016 currently doing over 14 Billion transactions a month.

He also played a key role in designing and architecting India’s indirect tax (GST) system, digital health infrastructure, digital agri infrastructure, and digital education infrastructure.

In addition, he co-founded and created Beckn Protocol (https://becknprotocol.io/), an open source protocol effort that helps create decentralized, peer-peer transaction networks. Beckn protocol is the basis for India’s new efforts such as ONDC (decentralized commerce), Namma Yatri (decentralized mobility), and the newly live decentralized energy network (UEI). Beckn Protocol is also being adopted for various efforts in Europe, Brazil, Africa, US, and other parts of the world.

He contributed to the recently launched Finternet vision and co-authored the Finternet architecture paper (https://finternetlab.io/). This vision imagines a user centric, universal, and unified infrastructure for any real world or digital asset tokenization that will enable billions of people to participate in the global financial system.

He is also the co-chair at the global Center for DPI (https://cdpi.dev/)), and an advisor to many entities and initiatives in India and globally.

He holds a Master’s and Ph.D. degree in Computer Science along with a second Master’s in Applied Mathematics. He is passionate about technology, science, society, and teaching.

Dr. Reuben Abraham is the CEO of Artha Global. Prior to this, he founded and led the IDFC Institute, a Mumbai based think/do tank. Dr Abraham’s expertise lies in understanding the underlying processes of economic development, with a specific focus on state and institutional capacity, the political economy of implementation, and on well-managed urbanization as a key cause/consequence of economic growth and development. For this reason, he focuses on bridging the gaps between the intent and the execution of policy. He is a firm believer in interdisciplinary approaches as critical to solving wicked, real-world problems, which are rarely contained within the silos of a single discipline.

He is a Senior Fellow at New York University’s Marron Institute, and a member of the International Advisory Board for the New Economy of the Govt of the United Arab Emirates. He is an Asia Fellow at the Milken Institute in Singapore, a Senior Advisor to Swiss Re in Zurich, and an Honorary Advisor to the New Zealand Asia Foundation in Wellington. Before IDFC Institute, he was on the faculty and Executive Director of the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions (CEMS), initially set up in partnership with Cornell University, at the top-ranked Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad.

In 2021, he won the ‘Think-Tanker of the Year’ award by Prospect Magazine in recognition of his efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis in India. In 2018, he made it to the ‘Open Minds of 2018’ list run by India’S Open Magazine. In 2012, he was named to Wired Magazine’s Smart List 2012: 50 people who will change the world. In 2013 and 2016, he was a Fellow at the Legatum Institute in London. He was selected as a Young Global Leader for 2009 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), where he currently serves a member of the South Asia Regional Action Group. Previously, he was vice-chair of the WEF’s  Global Agenda Council on Emerging Market Multinationals, vice-chair of the South Asia regional board, and on the Global Futures Council on Cities and Urbanization.

He is a member of the advisory board of e-Gov Foundation in Bangalore, responsible for issuing over a billion vaccination credentials in India. He is a trustee of the Commons Project in New York and the New Cities Foundation in Montreal. He is an advisor to the Sweden-India Business Council in Stockholm, India’s Centre for Civil Society, the China-India Visiting Scholars (CIVS) Fellowship, THNK: The Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership, and Intrinsic Labs in London. He also serves on the investment committee of Endiya Partners, an Indian deep-tech venture capital fund.

For a decade, he served as an independent director at the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) in New York, a global impact investing pioneer. In 2008, under the aegis of SEDF, he helped set up SONG, one of the earliest impact investment funds, with Soros, Omidyar Network and Google as co-investors. He was a long-serving member of the International Advisory Board of Unicredit Bank, Italy’s largest bank, and briefly on the TED Fellows Advisory Board. He has also delivered public lectures/been a panelist at conferences ranging from WEF in Davos, the New Cities Forum in Jakarta, TED Global India, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Trilateral Forum in London & Stockholm, and has offered expert testimony at the UK’s House of Commons. His opinion pieces have been published in outlets ranging from Hindustan Times in India to Bloomberg.

He completed his interdisciplinary M.A, M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees at Columbia University in New York, focusing on the impact of mobile phones and technology on economic development, specifically on reducing information asymmetries in markets. While at Columbia, he was an Associate Fellow in Geo-Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Public Policy Consortium Fellow, and a CITI-Sloan Telecommunications Fellow. Before Columbia, he was a freelance writer and entrepreneur.

Vani is the Managing Director at Kalaari Capital, an early stage venture capital firm based in Bangalore. She is a renowned investor and a visionary known for identifying emerging markets. Her leadership at Kalaari centers around her commitment to the development of entrepreneurs and her conviction that Indian companies are poised to become global players.

Having been a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley for 22 years, Vani now works with first-time entrepreneurs to build strong global companies. She focuses on technology companies, leveraging India’s domestic growth to create high growth enterprises. She has successfully led investments in e-commerce, mobile services, education and healthcare. Many of her investments have now become very successful, validating her aptitude for picking the best young minds and mentoring them to build successful enterprises. She serves on several company boards and speaks widely on entrepreneurship and leadership.

Vani is profiled in numerous books and has been identified as one of the Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business. Outside of enjoying building high growth companies her interests focus on raising her two daughters and musing about finding the perfect balance between work and family. She is involved in various organizations focused on fostering entrepreneurship and women leadership.

Atul Satija is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a diverse background in technology and philanthropy. Currently serving as the founder of The/Nudge Institute and founder 2.0 & CEO of Give, Satija also holds positions as a board member at Heifer International and advisory board member at the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP). Satija's previous experience includes significant roles at InMobi, Google, Adobe, SAMSUNG SDS, Infosys, and Flowserve Corporation, with responsibilities spanning business development, mobile business leadership, and global alliances management. Educational qualifications include an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a B.Tech from the National Institute of Technology.

Dr. Geetha Murali is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Room to Read, a leading international education organization that believes World Change Starts with Educated Children.® Room to Read transforms the lives of millions of children through education, creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. As CEO, Geetha has been a driving force behind the exponential scale of Room to Read’s quality programs – achieving presence in 24 countries and benefiting more than 45 million children to date.  

Geetha joined Room to Read in 2009 and has more than 25 years of diverse experience across the corporate and non-profit sectors. She has worked with large pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Chiron as well as on an array of educational technology programs like the Digital Equalizer Program (American India Foundation) and Adobe Youth Voices (Adobe Systems Incorporated).

Geetha’s compelling personal history as the daughter of a potential child bride coupled with her corporate experience, academic background in the quantitative and social sciences, and community-based work give her a unique perspective on the socio-economic landscapes in which Room to Read operates, as well as the quantitative rigor and business acumen needed to lead this transformative movement.

Geetha oversees the resourcing of approximately 60 Room to Read offices and their implementation of high-quality literacy and gender equality programs, in partnership with various levels of government, through public school systems and community organizations. Geetha is also responsible for a worldwide staff of 1,600 employees, and a global network of boards, investors and volunteer chapters.

Geetha’s commitment to ensuring measurable and scalable impact through robust technical design and operational excellence has been recognized by former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama, with both the first lady’s girls’ education initiatives, Let Girls Learn and Girls Opportunity Alliance, promoting Room to Read’s gender equality program as a role model for the sector. Geetha’s efforts to scale literacy instruction, school library and private book publishing programs have also resulted in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation naming Room to Read as a Goalkeepers Accelerator in education. Geetha writes extensively and is regularly invited to speak on global stages about social justice, large-scale implementation of quality education programs and leadership.

She has been featured in international media outlets such as BBC, Bloomberg, ABC, CNBC and Times of India to comment on the state of literacy and gender equality around the world. During her career she has revolutionized the sphere of public-private partnerships as a thought leader in international fundraising, marketing, public relations and communications for the social sector.

Geetha is a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO), has been recognized by WIRED as a leader who will shape the next 25 years and has been named as a CNBC Changemaker to their inaugural list of women transforming business. She serves on the board of directors for the Global Press Institute and is a Founding Circle member and Social Impact Advisor for Neythri, a global community of South Asian professional women. Geetha received her master’s degree in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master’s and doctorate degrees in South Asian politics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Neera’s first grassroots experience of rural India was with the day school for Adivasi children her mother set up near Kharagpur, West Bengal. That was also how she began to empathise with the lives of others, eventually transitioning from her investment banking job in the US to co-found Dasra in 1999, to accelerate social change by driving collaborative action among a trust-based network of stakeholders.

Neera leads Dasra’s ecosystem-building initiatives in the areas of Adolescents, Urban Sanitation, and Democracy & Governance and facilitates collaborative platforms by engaging donors, non-profits, government and other stakeholders. In 2016, she initiated the Dasra Adolescents Collaborative, an impact-driven platform that has united institutional funders, technical experts, government stakeholders from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and several social organizations to focus on four key outcomes for adolescent empowerment.

She initiated and led the launch of the Dasra Social Impact Leadership Program with Harvard Business Publishing, a first-of-its-kind executive education program for social sector leaders in India. Internally, she has supported the analysis of over 70 Dasra sector reports on education, health and livelihoods, enabling over USD 44 million in funding for hundreds of social enterprises.

She has been critical in establishing partnerships with global leaders such as Harvard University, Stanford University, USAID, Omidyar Network and the Gates Foundation to push the boundaries of social impact in India. Closer to the ground, she has worked with Dasra's portfolio organizations such as Educate Girls, SNEHA, Sarathi and Aangan to refine their strategies and accelerate their growth by 10-20x.

Neera holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and is an Indian Leadership Fellow with Anantha-Aspen Institute. She is a recipient of the Canadian Governor General's Medallion for her dedication to addressing India’s critical development challenges, and the Forbes Philanthropy Award in the Crossover Leaders.

Deepak Raj is founder and managing director of the New Jersey-based private investment firm Raj Associates with investments in real estate and public and private securities. He is also CFA and, with his wife Neera, the founder of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at Columbia University. Deepak has extensive experience as an equity analyst and an investment banker. His leadership positions during 24 years with Merrill Lynch include senior analyst in research (and member of the Institutional Investor All-America Research Team); head of their Global Consumer Products Investment Banking practice; and senior vice president and member of the firm’s executive management committee.

As director of Global Equity Research, he managed a staff of approximately 700 investment professionals located throughout the world. A chartered financial analyst (CFA), Deepak graduated from IIT Kanpur with a BTech in electrical engineering and earned an MBA from Northeastern University. He has served on the investment committee of Spring Mountain Capital. Deepak is executive chairman of Pratham USA. He and his wife, Neera, have two grown children and live in Princeton, New Jersey.

Victor Thomas is the President and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council, an organization dedicated to fostering bi-national trade and investment between Canada and India for over 40 years. In addition, he holds the position of Chair at Precision AI, an AgTech company striving for sustainable farming practices in the autonomous farming revolution, and Chair of Marval Capital Ltd.’s Investment Advisory Counsel which invests in India’s leading small and mid-cap publicly listed companies. Prior, he was the Executive Director of Aspen Medical Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Australia’s Aspen Medical. With more than two decades of leadership experience, Victor has worked with high-growth private sector companies in Canada and Australia with reach to India, USA, China, Southeast Asia, and the UAE.

Victor is a National Executive Member for the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference, the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region – North American Advisory Council, and Canada’s Energy for a Secure Future Advisory. He currently sits on Canada’s Banff Forum’s Advisory Council and served as Chair. He is a director emeritus of the Rideau Hall Foundation Board of Directors and sits on its Program Committee.

Having served with CARE for a decade, Victor chaired CARE Canada's Board of Directors, the CARE International in Kenya Board, as well as chaired CARE International’s Governance Review. He also contributed to Canada’s Future Skills Centre Advisory Board.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Victor made significant community contributions in his career. He served as Chair of the Canadian Red Cross SK Executive Cabinet, and Regina Co-Chair for the Ronald McDonald House SK Building Expansion Campaign. In 2011, Victor became Chair of the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce, overseeing 1,100 member businesses. Notably, he was the youngest and first visible minority in this role in the Chamber's 130-plus year history.

He also held governance roles including Vice-Chair of SaskEnergy, Saskatchewan’s natural gas distribution utility. In 2019, he took on the role of Chair of Innovation Place where he oversaw the promotion of tech growth in 1.7 million square feet of real estate.

Victor’s formal education includes a Master of Administration in Leadership from the University of Regina, the Director’s College Program at McMaster University, and the Advanced Management Program at Wharton.

He has received several accolades acknowledging his leadership, including the Public Policy Forum's Emerging Leaders Award for Canada (2011), the Order of the Red Cross (2014), a top Indo-Canadian Award at a celebration for India’s 75th anniversary (2022), and most recently, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2023).

Zach is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Launch Africa Ventures - Africa's most prominent and active early-stage VC Fund with a portfolio of 150+ tech ventures across 25+ countries. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Startupbootcamp AfriTech – the leading multi-corporate backed venture accelerator program in Africa.

Zach is a prominent Angel investor in 50+ leading tech startups in Africa including Flutterwave, KudaBank, Mono, Yoco and several others. He was featured on the cover of Fast Company (May 2018), Destiny Man (Nov 2019), Forbes (Aug 2023), and on several occasions on CNBC Africa. In 2020, he was recognized as one of the Top 4 Most Influential Persons in Technology in Africa by Les Echos (the French equivalent of the Financial Times).

Zach was formerly the head of Africa Investments for U-Start – the largest network of private Multi-Family offices in Europe. Prior to moving to South Africa, he was an investment banker on Wall Street covering mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance strategy and risk management at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital, New York.

Zach has a Master’s degree in Finance & Management from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Outside of his professional life, Zach is an acoustic guitarist, pianist and vocalist with cover albums ‘Give A Little’ (2010) and ‘Humans with Hearts’ (2018) on iTunes and Spotify. He is an avid lover of theater and the performing arts, likes hiking and a good game of tennis and squash. He enjoys creative writing and is currently busy finishing a work of non-fiction.

Background in economic analysis and leading global market entry strategies, including government liaison and public affairs. Pratik is the Founder of think tank Bridge India. He was additionally, until August 2017, UK Director for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He is the co-founder of a charity advisory initiative, working with HNI donors give better. Earlier, he was Chairman for a not-for-profit membership organisation with several thousand members for three years.

Previously he worked in Economic Consulting at FTI Consulting and Deloitte in London and Abu Dhabi. He studied Economics at Warwick University, where he was awarded the Prize for Excellence, and LMU University of Munich. His dissertation won a prize at an international economics conference at Georgetown University. He has published academic research on behavioural economics and social impact, and contributed to various books, particularly on India. He is a regular commentator on public policy and India in the media, having appeared in The Economist, Financial Times, Times of India, BBC and other leading publications over the last year. He occasionally lectures at King’s College London.

Bunty Chand currently serves as Global Consultant for Indiaspora. Founded in 2012, Indiaspora is a non-profit organization headquartered in the US. Founded by MR Rangaswami, a tech entrepreneur from the Bay Area, Indiaspora is a convening platform to build community engagement, share new and creative ideas around critical global issues and inspire the Indian diaspora to be a Force for Good.

Prior to this, she was Chief Executive Officer of Asia Society India from 2006-2020. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Asia Society India was launched in 2006 under the leadership of Ms. Chand.  As CEO, Ms. Chand played a pivotal role in shaping and implementing Asia Society’s strategy in India and building a sustainable funding model for the organization. Asia Society India convened over 700 programmes in Mumbai and Delhi. She developed an extensive network of relationships with corporates, educational organizations, think tanks, NGO’s, museums, cultural organizations and key bureaucrats and public intellectuals in India, Asia and the US, to further the Asia Society’s mission.

She spent ten years with AT&T in USA and Hong Kong in the areas of Strategy & Business Development, Human Resources, Sales and Training & Development. She worked as a teacher with the International Catholic Migration Commission at a refugee camp in the Philippines.

She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from George Washington University, USA, Master’s in Special Education from Florida Atlantic University, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Education and History from Jamia Millia & Delhi University. She has lived and worked in USA, Philippines, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.

Kinesh has extensive experience in the trade union investment arena – he was previously the CEO of the Chemical and Petroleum Union Investment Company. In this role in 2001, he concluded the first significant BEE transaction in the PharmaCo sector through a substantial equity acquisition into Aspen Pharmacare (SA’s largest generic pharmaceutical manufacturer). This has led to enormous benefits for the Union and its members over the last 8 years. He gained immense insight into the sector and the value proposition to the partners.

Kinesh played a key role in the transformation of the Petroleum sector in SA over the last three years and has access, through direct relationships, with Major Oil Companies and Financiers in this sector. He assisted Total South Africa in formulating its empowerment strategy and approach and is also currently a shareholder in Total SA.

Kinesh was instrumental in the deal structuring of Impala Platinum’s Marula Platinum Mine and lead the consortium to acquire 27% of Marula Platinum in 2005. Kinesh acts as Advisor to Tubatse Platinum and the Marula Community Trust, two of the empowerment partners in the 27% stake of Marula. Kinesh is still retained as advisor on all matters relating to the empowerment stake. The total value of the acquisition was R800million.

Kinesh holds the position of Managing Director of the Bataung Group of companies and through Bataung Oil and Gas played a significant role in the formulation and implementation of acquiring a 26% equity stake in each of 9 companies formed to house the individual concessions granted by the Department of Minerals and Energy for the exploration and extraction of Coal Bed Methane in South Africa. Bataung’s partners in this transaction are NT Energy Africa and the Central Energy Fund

Kinesh also has extensive relationships in both the business and political arena of SA and in various parts of the Globe.

Aarti Ramaswami is the Executive Vice President, Dean of Pre-Experience Programs, and a professor in the Management Department. Her work focuses on systems used to identify, select, and develop managerial and executive talent. Aarti’s work has appeared in top management journals including Personnel Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Relations, Human Resource Management, to name a few. She teaches leadership and management topics in the MBA, Executive Masters, Executive Education, and Doctoral programs, and has consulted for companies on managing organizational performance and retention of talent through people development. Having lived and worked in India, USA, France, UAE, and now Singapore, Aarti brings a highly international perspective on organizational topics.

Milind Pant is a global business leader with a career centered on driving transformational growth and strategic shifts in multi-billion-dollar organizations across industries.

As Chief Executive Officer of Amway, the world’s largest direct selling company, Milind spearheaded a transformation over nearly six years. Under his leadership, Amway, a private and family-owned company with $7.7B in revenue, transitioned its business model to focus on empowering over a million micro-entrepreneurs, fostering the growth of global health and wellness communities. Milind was responsible for setting Amway’s strategic vision, overseeing global operations, and driving enterprise performance, while serving on and reporting directly to the Board of Directors.

Before his tenure at Amway, Milind was President of Pizza Hut International (NYSE: YUM; $7.1B revenue), where he led a strategic overhaul, successfully transitioning the brand from a traditional dine-in restaurant to a fast-casual delivery model. Pizza Hut accelerated growth through strategic partnerships and significant investments in digital transformation. Prior to this role, Milind served as President and COO of YUM! China (NYSE: YUMC; $11.6B revenue), where he orchestrated a comprehensive business turnaround, reigniting customer engagement and driving market-leading growth in one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive environments.

Milind’s leadership journey began at Unilever, where he held several senior roles that honed his expertise in marketing, business development, consumer behavior, and P&L management across diverse geographies and categories. His global perspective has been shaped by living and leading businesses in five countries across three continents, making him a seasoned leader with unparalleled insights into the diversity and complexities of a global business. He has served on the boards of several industry forums, including the US-China Business Council and the US-India Business Council.

Milind’s journey, from growing up in the foothills of the Himalayas in India to leading global enterprises, is a testament to his belief in the power of opportunity and potential. A passionate advocate for personal growth, Milind is committed to helping others pursue their aspirations with resilience and purpose. A lifelong learner, he fosters a culture of innovation and growth mindset in every organization he leads, inspiring teams to challenge boundaries and embrace change.

Innovator of the Cal-Indian culinary genre and the most decorated Indian chef cooking in the United States today, Chef Sri has helmed the kitchen at Taj Campton Place in San Francisco since 2008 where he has continually earned two Michelin stars and 3.5 stars from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A native of Kerala, India (where he learned to cook in his grandmother's kitchen), Chef received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and via "staging" at the Michelin two-star Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in England where he honed his repertoire in classical European techniques. A culinary master, his highly personal blend of East and West sensibilities allows him to present the flavors of the east with a western flair that is both unique and faithful to his Indian roots.

Geeta leads the Corporate Finance, Business Controlling and Tax compliance for renewable energy projects in the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partner portfolio across Australia and New Zealand. In this role, Geeta is responsible for the financial management of funds invested across diverse and innovative renewable energy technologies including off shore wind, onshore wind,  hydrogen, hydro power, solar and batteries.

Geeta has a track record in developing teams and functions across Finance and Corporate disciplines including Legal, Human Resources, Corporate Secretarial, Corporate policies, Procurement & Contracts. AS CFO of a small cap ASX listed business, Geeta applied an integrated business performance improvement approach to invest in targeted supply chain and operations initiatives to turnaround the financial performance and deliver greater value to the key stakeholders.

She has worked across a diverse range of industries. In addition to renewable energy infrastructure development and fund management, Geeta has experience in automotive, packaging, education and laboratory technology sectors.

Outside of her professional role, Geeta is passionate about making a difference by bringing her financial leadership & governance skills to the Not-for-Profit sector. She is a Non Executive Director and Treasurer at JUNO and at Blue Light Victoria. These organizations pursue the mission of empowering women and youth in creating a life they choose to ultimately build a fulfilling pathway to success.

She is a qualified Chartered Accountant (India), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

With a Master’s degree in history, Aman Nath has a heightened sense of time against the backdrop of the cosmic clock. Personally, he feels that long bio-datas begin to sound like obituaries. If he is here with us, someone must have thought him worthy of his craft!

Paintbrushes, poems, prizes at school and college. At 14, first among 88 nations in the Shankar’s International Painting. The annual literary prize at St. Stephen’s college for 3 out of his 5 years there.

Copywriting / graphics / design for the Times of India golden stamp, the Indira Gandhi Trophy, The mace for Miss World awards in advertising for a host of campaigns. Then writing contemporary art columns with India Today followed by curating their Art Today gallery for seven years.

Aman Nath was the first to see the immense tourism potential of restoring unlisted ruins to make Neemrana India’s largest private sector initiative in the heritage tourism sector.

He has won trade, state, national and international recognition including Lifetime Achievement awards from the Indian Government, Conde Nast Traveller, an Aga Khan nomination as also the Legion d’Honneur from the French President.

His travels have taken him on a 400 km pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash and other daunting Himalayan treks as well as the sub-Antarctic in an ice breaker just after seeing the Titanic. That is when Kate Winslet was hiding at Neemrana! Aman Nath loves to lay gardens.

But beyond medals and accolades he loves interacting with the people of Indian. He believes that his best lessons have come from the simplest people because their intuitive wisdom quotient is very high. Poetry, he believes can capture such images and ideas both by suggestion and with precision, framing images that last.

Sanjoy K Roy established Teamwork in 1989, a highly versatile production house with wide ranging interests in the performing and visual arts, social sector and films and television.

He is the Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and has directed and produced over 1000 hours of a wide range of films and television shows, including drama series, game shows, newsmagazines, and lifestyle programmes. He has received the National Award for Excellence and Best Director, for the film `Shahjahanabad The Twilight Years’.

He is currently the festival director for Shared History Festival in Johannesburg and Durban, Eye on India – Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, India on the Nile in Egypt, India on the Bosporus, India by the Bay, and is the Producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, META – The Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, Kala Utsavam – Singapore, Kahani Festival, India and The Ishara International Puppet Festival

He has produced or directed over 50 theatre productions, which have toured across the world and has won a number of awards including the Herald Angel Award and the Spirit of the Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival. His current productions include, Bollywood Love Story – A musical, The Music and the Magic, Don, & `Guide’ based on RK Narayan’s novel.

Teamwork designs and produces 33 annual Arts Festivals across 42 cities in 17 countries including Adelaide, Boulder, Cairo, Cape Town, Doha, Durban, Chicago, Edinburgh, Florida, Hong Kong, Houston, Jaipur, Jerusalem, Maldives, Mumbai, New York, London, New Delhi, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Toronto, among others. Teamwork has also produced several feature films and documentaries.

A founder trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust which provides support services for street and working children in the inner city of Delhi, the White House presented SBT the US President’s Committee of Arts and Humanities Award for an International Organisation. He is a founder Trustee of the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, advisor at Head Held High Foundation & for numerous Governmental and Non Governmental organisations across the world including Earth Day! Currently Co Chair of the committee on Creative Industries Ficci and Global Advisor of the Earth Day platform. He is currently the Co Chair of Catalyst Change Week, Catalyst 2030 and former President of EEMA.

He continues to lecture widely across the world on Creative Industries, Cultural Sector and Festivals. Awards include the CF Andrews, Tagore Award for social innovation apart from many others.

Tony Nader, MD, PhD is a medical doctor trained at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. in neuroscience) and a globally recognized expert in the science of Consciousness and human development. Dr. Nader, whose training includes internal medicine, psychiatry, and neurology, is the author of the NYT bestselling book, Consciousness Is All There Is. He is the successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the head of the Transcendental Meditation organizations globally and the president of Maharishi International University.

Dr. Nader has had recent discussions with some of the great thinkers, scientists, medical doctors in the world today. He has been featured on WIRED magazine, BBC, Gaia, How to Academy, and on many of the world’s most prominent shows and magazines discussing our full potential, and answering the deepest questions about life and living.

Dr. Nader has discussed his expertise at academic institutions such as Harvard Business School on The Neuroscience of Transcendence, Stanford University, where he gave talks in a series entitled "Hacking Consciousness" as well as the keynote speaker for a number of conferences at the House of Commons, British Parliament. His research has been published in Neurology, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Journal of Gerontology, Progress in Brain Research, and many other journals. During the Venice Film Festival in September 2022, during the Better World Fund gathering, Dr. Nader was awarded the "humanitarian award" for his outstanding contribution in human development, environment, education, and health.

His Excellency Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi is the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention. As Minister, he is responsible for leading the development and expansion of the country’s non-oil foreign trade, enhancing national polices and measures to enable increased inflows of foreign direct investment to the UAE, and implementing initiatives to attract and retain strategic global talent in the UAE.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi is also the former Minister of Climate Change and Environment for the UAE, where he was instrumental in elevating the UAE’s global presence and contributions in climate mitigation and adaptation. Over the course of Dr. Al Zeyoudi’s career, he has led and contributed to shaping international policy and legal frameworks in areas including energy, environment, and sustainable development. Dr. Al Zeyoudi’s considerable expertise, dynamic leadership, and track record for driving the formation of global alliances have been fundamental to his success in delivering on his various mandates and in furthering the UAE’s efforts on economic growth and diversification.

Dr. Al Zeyoudi was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2020.

Dr. Kamali currently serves as the Director General for Education Training Development at the UAE Ministry of Interior, where he led efforts to restructure policing and security education and training. Based on international benchmarking with institutions in the US, UK, Europe, and Australia, the new program was designed to prepare the next generation of police officers to effectively deal with the extremely complex and ever evolving challenges of the 21st century.  As a result, the program was accredited nationally and internationally respectively by the Commission for Academic  Accreditation (CAA) of the Ministry of Education, UAE, and the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) in the U.S. Further, the Police College also won IADLEST’s Award of Excellence for scoring above and beyond on several of its 54 sub-standards.

Dr. Kamali is the  Chairman of the  Board of the  Abu  Dhabi  School of Management, and also a board member at a number of institutions including the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), Italian International School, Gulf Islamic Investments, Vision Bank, and Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).

Further, he chairs the Academic Committee at MBRSG, as well as the Selection Committee for ECB, the United Arab Emirate’s national cricket authority.

Dr. Kamali is a founding member of the Cleveland Clinic International Leadership Board, where he works closely with other distinguished members from around the world in support of the Cleveland Clinic’s vision to provide compassionate, highest quality healthcare in a setting of education and research.

Dr. Kamali was part of the founding group of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) where he also served as the Vice Chancellor. Under his leadership, HCT grew to be the United Arab Emirates’ largest higher education institution with 17 campuses across the UAE serving over 20,000 students.

He established the region’s first technology park that brought together industry and academia in a unique partnership to promote applied research and commercialization of innovative and sustainable solutions to urban challenges. He established the CERT Technology Park that was the first and only commercial entity of its kind, within a higher education institution, with a portfolio of engagements valued over US$ 275 million with annual revenues of over US$ 95 million.

As the founding CEO of the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (CERT), Dr. Kamali was tasked with establishing Emirates Driving Company (EDC), Abu Dhabi’s first driver

training and road safety academy.  Set up as a private-public partnership  (PPP)  initiative,    this premier institute was formed in partnership with Swedish Road Authority. He served over 15 years as its chairman during which time EDC became and continues to be a profitable public joint stock company that exclusively provides driver training and road safety education based on international best practices.

Robin Venu Uthappa is a former Indian cricketer who represented the Indian national team in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). 

Uthappa made his ODI debut in the seventh and final match of the English tour of India in April 2006. He had an impressive debut, scoring 86 runs as an opening batsman before being run out. This score was the highest achieved by an Indian debutant in a limited-overs match. Uthappa played a crucial role in India's victory at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.

In the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy season, he finished as the highest run-scorer, and he also topped the runs chart in that year's Indian Premier League (IPL). Uthappa announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on September 14, 2022.

Anisha is the Chief Executive Officer of LiveLoveLaugh, a charitable trust founded in 2015 by actor Deepika Padukone. LiveLoveLaugh aims to give hope to every person experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression.

Since joining LiveLoveLaugh in 2016, Anisha has played an instrumental role in the foundation's programs and landmark campaigns. As CEO, she is responsible for implementing strategic recommendations outlined by the organization's Board of Trustees and exploring channels for collaborations/partnerships. She is also responsible for overall operations, including legal and financial compliance of the foundation, fundraising, donor relations, and various other administrative functions.

Anisha has a graduate degree in psychology, sociology, and economics. Having experienced the ill effects of mental illness as a caregiver, she hopes to make a substantive difference in mental health. She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council for Mental Health and has completed a program in Strategic Non-Profit Management from Harvard Business School and Ashoka University.

Anisha has a keen interest in sports and has played golf for India.

Didi Krishna is a Spritual Leader and working Chariperson of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission. She grew up as a devotee and disciple of the masters, Sadhu Vaswani and Dada J. P. Vaswani. She was mentored by Dada himself and was brought up in the spiritual environment of the Mission. She has compiled and edited several books and lectures by Dada J. P. Vaswani.

Children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “focusing attention on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.” Another important reason was that he followed the non-violent tradition of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
Satyarthi founded the Save the Childhood Movement (BBA) and the GoodWeave organisation, which certifies carpet manufacturers who do not use child labour in their production. As of 2014, Satyarthi and his colleagues had freed 83,000 children from slavery.
In 1998, Satyarthi led a global march against child labour. This protest helped spur the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO) to adopt a convention protecting children against exploitation and hazardous work. The life and work of Kailash Satyarthi has been the subject of a number of films, documentaries, television series, talk shows, advocacy and awareness films, magazines and news items of all leading print and electronic media worldwide. Mr. Satyarthi's contribution has been recognized through several prestigious national and international awards.

Director of The Franke Program in Science and the Humanities at Yale

Priyamvada Natarajan is an astrophysicist and Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University. Her research focus lies in understanding the dark side of the universe: dark matter, dark energy and black holes and the role they play in structuring their universe. In addition to her academic position at Yale, she also currently holds the Sophie and Tycho Brahe Professorship of the Dark Cosmology Center, Niels Bohr Institute, at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark as well as an Honorary Professorship for life at the University of Delhi, India. She is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships, in recognition of her seminal research contributions.

Priya was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in India to academic parents and grew up in Delhi, India. She has undergraduate degrees in Physics and Mathematics from M.I.T. and did her graduate work in theoretical astrophysics at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge in England, where she was the first woman to be elected a fellow in Astrophysics at Trinity College, Cambridge. She also holds a Master’s degree in the history and philosophy of science from M.I.T. She is the author of a critically acclaimed book, Mapping the Heavens: Radical Scientific Ideas that Reveal the Cosmos and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. Deeply invested in interdisciplinary scholarship, she serves as the current Director of the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities at Yale.

Sanjeev Joshipura serves as Indiaspora’s Executive Director since January 2018, and served as Director since July 2016. Immediately prior to that, he was active in the US-India corridor in a public policy and business capacity, via his own consulting firm.

A naturalized American citizen, he was born and raised in India and migrated to North America in 2000. In the corporate realm, Sanjeev has worked at Fortune 500 multinational organizations in different industries, in the areas of strategy, finance and project management.

Since 2008, he has been actively engaged in public policy, American politics and global government relations. He has managed a US Senate election campaign, worked as a staff member on Capitol Hill advising congressmen and senators on economics and international affairs, and been the Executive Director of an international financial services industry association.

Sanjeev has a Bachelors in Computer Engineering from Pune University, India, an MBA from the University of Toronto, Canada, and a Certificate in Financial Risk Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA.

A passionate cricket fan, he is involved in cricket administration as a member of Cricket Ireland’s Commercial Advisory Group. He lives in the suburbs of Washington, DC with his wife and twin children.

MR Rangaswami is an entrepreneur, investor, corporate eco-strategy expert, community builder and philanthropist. Recognized as a software business expert, he participated in the rapid expansion of the Silicon Valley software industry during his tenure as an executive at both large and small software companies. In 1997, he co-founded  Sand Hill Group, one of the earliest “angel” investment firms, and was profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. He was named to the Forbes “Midas” list of investors and also recognized by CRN as one of the Top 25 Technology Executives. He also hosts the Enterprise Retreat for the top 100 leaders in technology.

In 2007, MR founded the Corporate Eco Forum (CEF), an invitation-only membership organization for Global 500 companies that demonstrate a serious commitment to the environment as a business strategy.

In 2012, he founded Indiaspora, a nonprofit community of powerful global Indian leaders from diverse backgrounds and professions who are committed to inspiring the diaspora to be a force for good by providing a platform to collaborate, engage, and catalyze social change. Indiaspora hosts an annual Leadership Forum, Philanthropy Summit and the Global Connect initiative for the Indian diaspora worldwide. Indiaspora also engages in community issues, including an initiative that led to a USPS postal stamp in 2016.

MR is a board member of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, WISH Foundation.

He is the recipient of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) “Influential Leaders” award in 2015 and the US-China Educational Trust (USCET) inaugural “Asians in America” award in 2016. In 2020, he was the recipient of the “Global Service Award” from the Canada-India Business Council.

MR is also profiled in two books: Those Immigrants by Scott Haas and The $8 Man by Brenda Christensen. He has also contributed a chapter on Silicon Valley in the book, Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans, released in July 2021.

Dr. Amit Anand specializes in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at a Boston based academic Medical Center. He has spent many years practicing and teaching meditation and pranayama. He strives to integrate the best of modern medicine with the essences of Yogic wisdom. This integration led to the creation of PranayamaRx.