Mr Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakrishnan is the Chairman of Axilor Ventures, an accelerator that helps start-ups during the early stage of their business journey. Kris served as the vice chairman of Infosys from 2011 to 2014 and the chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys from 2007 to 2011. Kris is one of the co-founders of Infosys. Recognized as a global business and technology thought leader, he was voted the top CEO (IT Services category) in Institutional Investor’s inaugural ranking of Asia’s Top Executives and selected as one of the winners of the second Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia in 2011. He was elected president of India’s apex industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2013-14 and served as one of the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014.

In January 2011, the Government of India awarded Mr. Gopalakrishnan the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian honor.

Mr Gopalakrishnan serves on the Board of Governors of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), is the Chairman, The Council, IISc Bangalore, and is the Chairman, Board of Governors of IIIT, Bangalore. He is the Chairman of the Vision Group on Information Technology of Karnataka Government, the Chairman of RBIH (Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub) and the Chairman of CII Centre of Excellence in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-ups (CIES).

Mr Gopalakrishnan is the chairman of Itihaasa Research and Digital which publishes history of Indian IT industry as “itihaasa” (http://www.itihaasa.com/) microsite as well as reports on industrial and academic research in India. He is the Co-author of “Against All Odds – The IT Story of India”.

Mr Gopalakrishnan invests in promoting research on Brain sciences, aging related disorders as well as investing in start-ups and start-up ecosystem. His family philanthropy is Pratiksha Trust and investment arm is Pratithi.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan holds master’s degrees in physics and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Kris is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) and an Honorary Fellow of Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) of India.

Naushad is Co-Chairman of Forbes Marshall, India’s leading process and energy efficiency company. He is Chairman, Ananta Aspen Centre, and Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research (CTIER).

Forbes Marshall helps Industry build and sustain highly efficient plants by reducing waste, optimising process and energy efficiency, and complying with regulatory requirements. Forbes Marshall has consistently ranked as a Great Place to Work, and is a multinational with Indian roots.

Naushad was an occasional teacher at Stanford University from 1987 to 2004 where he developed courses on Technology in Newly Industrializing Countries. He received his Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD Degrees from Stanford.

Naushad is on the board of several educational institutions and public companies. Naushad has long been an active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and currently chairs the CII National Committee on Technology, Innovation, & Research, CII National Committee on Intellectual Property and the CII National Higher Education Committee. He was the president of CII for 2016 – 17. He is a founding member of Nayanta University.

Naushad’s book, The Struggle and the Promise: Restoring India’s Potential, was published by HarperCollins in 2022.

Prof Ashok Misra is Distinguished Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Previously, he was Director, IIT Bombay; Chairman (India), Intellectual Ventures; and Faculty & Dean, IIT Delhi.

A distinguished engineer and scientist, Prof Misra has for more than three decades served in the field of education as a teacher and a researcher. Prof Misra obtained his BTech (Chemical Engineering) from IIT Kanpur in 1968, an MS (Chemical Engineering) from Tufts University in 1969 and PhD in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 1974. He also completed the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in 1999.

Prof Misra has been at IIT Delhi since 1977, most recently as Dean, Alumni Affairs & International Programmes. Previously, he was the Head of the Centre for Polymer Science & Engineering from 1991 to 1994, and a Professor since 1986. He has also been a Visiting Scientist at the Monsanto Chemical Company in Springfield, Massachusetts, for many years. He previously worked at Monsanto as a Senior Research Polymer Scientist from 1974 to 1977.

During his tenure as director, IIT-B was made into a leading R&D institute while maintaining its leadership in quality engineering education in India. A distinguished and well-reputed research scientist, Prof Misra has 70 research papers published in international journals, and has been awarded six patents.

His research interests include engineering polymers, polymer blends/alloys, fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites, liquid crystal polymers & their blends, structure-property correlations, polymer rheology & processing and incremental drawing of synthetic fibres and polymer product design.

Prof Misra is professionally affiliated to a number of reputed organisations in the field of science. He is a Senior Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers; Member and International Representative of the Polymer Processing Society; Member, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society of North America; and a Fellow and Life Member of the Society of Polymer Science, India. Prof Misra has also co-authored a book titled “Relationship of Material Properties to Structure and Estimation of Polymer Properties” with Don J. David in 1999. A second book, titled “Polymer Processing Analysis” is under preparation.

Banmali Agrawala is currently the Senior Advisor at Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd, since June 2023. He joined Tata Sons Private Limited as President, Infrastructure, Defence & Aerospace in October 2017, in his second tenure with the Tata Group. In his earlier role, at GE, he was a GE Officer and President & CEO GE – South Asia, where he was responsible for the American multinational corporation’s operations in the South Asia region.

Prior to GE, he was Executive Director (Business Development & Strategy) and a member of the Board of Tata Power. A veteran in the Energy domain, Banmali has over 30 years of global experience. He started his career with the Wartsila Group, a Finnish manufacturing and services company, where he spent over 20 years, both in India and in Finland. At the time of leaving the Wartsila Group, he was the Managing Director of Wartsila India Ltd, the Global head of the Bio Power business and a member of the Global Power Plant Management Board. In the Tata Group, Banmali is currently the Chairman of Tata Advanced Systems Pvt. Ltd. He is also a Board Director of Tata Medical & Diagnostics Limited and Tata Electronics Pvt. Limited.

Outside the Tata Group he is a member of the Board of Directors of KONE Corporation, Finland and Pratham Education Foundation, a Not For Profit organisation in India. Banmali is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Mangalore University and an alumnus of the Advanced Management Programme of the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Bharat Puri is the Ex-Managing Director of Pidilite Industries Limited since April 2015, having first joined the Board of Pidilite Industries Ltd as an Independent Director in 2008. With a proven track record as a successful global business leader, he has effectively built, motivated, and directed diverse teams across various regions in both developed and developing markets. He is graduate in Commerce from Punjab University and holds post-graduate diploma in Management (MBA) from IIM, Ahmedabad

Mr.Puri’s professional journey began at Asian Paints in 1982, where he started as a Sales & Marketing executive and eventually rose to the position of Head of Sales & Marketing. In 1998, he transitioned to Cadbury India, serving as
Director of Sales & Marketing before being appointed as its Managing Director in 2002. Throughout his career, he has held several senior leadership positions in Sales, Marketing, and General Management at both regional and global levels. His last appointment was as the Global President of Chocolates, Gum, and Candy for Mondelez International.

Qualification: Bachelor’s and Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University Master’s in Management from the Sloan Master’s Programme at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

About : Farhad Forbes is Co – Chairman of Forbes Marshall, India’s leading process and energy efficiency company. Forbes Marshall helps industry build and sustain highly efficient plants by reducing waste, optimising process and energy efficiency, and complying with regulatory requirements. Forbes Marshall has consistently ranked as a Great Place to Work.

Farhad was the global Chair of the Family Business International (FBN) board from 2018 to 2024 and is the first person from outside the Western hemisphere to Chair the association. FBN is an international association of 4000 family owned businesses in 65 countries.

Farhad has long been an active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and chairs the CII-FBN India Chapter Council, he is also a member of the National Committee on Corporate Governance. He has previously been the Chairman of the CII National Task Force on Affirmative Action.

farhad has long been an active member of the confederation of indian industry (cii) and chairs the cii-fbn india chapter council, he is also a member of the national committee on corporate governance. he has previously been the chairman of the cii national task force on affirmative action.netFarhad received his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He also received a Master’s in Management from the Sloan Master’s Programme at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Farhad is a former member of the Advisory Council at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and the Advisory Board of the MSx Program (formerly the Sloan Master’s Programme) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Meher Pudumjee is a philanthropist, loves Western classical music, sings in a choir,enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, exercises regularly and has a zest for life!! She also Chairs the Board of her family business Thermax Ltd – an innovative engineering manufacturing company in clean air, clean energy and clean water, based out of Pune, India.

A Masters in Chemical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, Meher joined the business as a trainee engineer in 1990. Two years into the role, she and her husband Pheroz were sent to the UK, to turn around a fledgling subsidiary of the company. After successfully turning it around, they had to return to India in 1996 when Meher’s father Rohinton Aga suddenly passed away. She was elevated to the board of the company and worked in the Finance division for a couple of years after which she looked after the Air Pollution Control business and a JV in water. Both Meher and Pheroz helped and supported Anu Aga (Meher’s mother who chaired the company) to turn around Thermax in the late nineties. In restructuring the organisation and the Board, the family decided to take a non-executive role.

In 2004, when Anu decided to step down, the Board appointed Meher as Chair. She has worked alongside 3 professional CEO’s over the past 18 years (with 2 of them retiring from the company). She is passionate about conserving resources, greening the business and helping customers do the same.

She is presently on the board of Teach For India and Chairs the board of Akanksha Foundation – both NGO’s involved in education. Meher is also a director on the board of Pidilite Industries.

Mr. Nadir B. Godrej is the Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej Industries Ltd. and Chairman of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. He is also the Co-Chair of Godrej Good & Green Governing Council. He holds a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a MBA from Harvard Business School. He has been a Director of several Godrej companies since 1977 and has developed the animal feed, agricultural inputs and chemicals businesses of Godrej Industries and other associate companies, and has been very active in research. Mr. Godrej is deeply committed to the GOOD and GREEN strategies and achievement of set targets for the Godrej Group. He encourages and supports a shared vision value for all programs of Good and Green. Mr. Godrej is a recipient of many prestigious awards in the country and overseas including the Hurun award for most respected Indian Industrialist of the Year. He also received a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management from XIM University, Bhubaneswar in recognition of his contribution to Industry and Society. He was recently felicitated with ‘Green Business Titan’ Award for his commitment towards driving sustainability at the Godrej Group, by the JSW The Times of India Earth Care Awards. PERSONAL Science, linguistics, swimming and poetry; author of “Life and Other Poems” & “Nadir Godrej The Poet”, a collection of English and French poems. Mr Godrej is known to make speeches in verse!

Professor Pankaj Chandra was the Director of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIIMB) and a professor of Operations and Technology Management at IIM Ahmedabad and IIMB. He was a tenured professor at McGill University and he has taught at several reputed universities in India and abroad. He was a member of two high powered committees – the Government of India Committee on Rejuvenation of Higher Education (Yashpal Committee) that re-looked at the Indian Higher Education system, as well as the Committee on the Autonomy of Central Institutions. He was also a member of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. He serves on the Boards of several institutions and companies.

Professor Chandra’s research is on manufacturing policy, building technological capabilities, and higher education policy.

As a senior partner emeritus with McKinsey & Company, Ramesh has had~ 30 years of experience in strategy, management consulting, and start-ups. Currently, based in Chennai, he was a founding partner of McKinsey’s locations in Chennai and Bangalore, co-leader of the firm’s Industrials Practice in India and Asia, and was a founding member of the firms Social Responsibility Committee.

Ramesh also contributes to non-profit organisations in the fields of education and economic development; mentors entrepreneurs, particularly in the deep tech space; and is an Adjunct Professor at IIT Bombay.

He serves on several boards, including the Foundation of Economic Development(FED), Nayanta Education Foundation, Pratham Education Foundation, IIM Ahmedabad Endowment Fund & IIMA Governing Council, IIT Bombay DRF among others.

Satish Reddy is the Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. He joined the company in 1993 as Executive Director and since then has held positions of increasing responsibility as Managing Director in 1997 and Vice-Chairman & Managing Director in 2013. Satish led the organisation’s transition from a uni-focused manufacturer of APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) to a company that moved up the value chain with a diverse product portfolio of Finished Dosage Formulations. He oversaw the expansion and establishment of a strong footprint for Dr Reddy’s finished dosage products in Russia, CIS countries and other emerging markets.

As an active member of major industry associations and governmental panels, Satish played a key role in shaping policies concerning the pharmaceutical sector as well as the economy, such as policy formulation on India’s patent law, drug pricing and important amendments to the Drugs & Cosmetics Act. He was a member of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board of India, the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and head of its National Committee on Pharmaceuticals. He was the President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, a premier industry association of leading research-based Indian companies. Satish also Chairs the Life Sciences Skill Development Council under the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), an organization, working in partnership with various stakeholders groups, to serve and address the skill shortfalls in the Life Sciences sector across India. In May 2015, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, nominated Satish as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Safety Council.

Keeping true to the legacy of the founder of the company, Dr Anji Reddy, Satish drives the organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The Dr Reddy’s Foundation, of which he is Chairman, works to help the less privileged create sustainable livelihoods through appropriate vocational education. He is a Trustee of the Naandi Foundation, which works in the areas of child rights and education, safe drinking water, agriculture export marketing support and other much-needed empowerment initiatives that India needs. Satish is also one of the Directors of Dr Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences, the not-for-profit institute engaged in pioneering and innovative research in unifying areas of chemistry, biology and chemical biology.

Satish was identified as a “Young Global Leader for 2007” by the World Economic Forum and was presented with the “IBLA – India Corporate Citizen of the Year” award by CNBC in 2005 for his contributions to Corporate Social Responsibility. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University, India, and an M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry from Purdue University, USA, where he received the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Naushad is Co-Chairman of Forbes Marshall, India’s leading process and energy efficiency company. He is Chairman, Ananta Aspen Centre, and Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research (CTIER).

Forbes Marshall helps Industry build and sustain highly efficient plants by reducing waste, optimising process and energy efficiency, and complying with regulatory requirements. Forbes Marshall has consistently ranked as a Great Place to Work, and is a multinational with Indian roots.

Naushad was an occasional teacher at Stanford University from 1987 to 2004 where he developed courses on Technology in Newly Industrializing Countries. He received his Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD Degrees from Stanford.

Naushad is on the board of several educational institutions and public companies. Naushad has long been an active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and currently chairs the CII National Committee on Technology, Innovation, &
Research, CII National Committee on Intellectual Property and the CII National Higher Education Committee. He was the president of CII for 2016 – 17. He is a founding member of Nayanta University.

Naushad’s book, The Struggle and the Promise: Restoring India’s Potential, was published by HarperCollins in 2022.

Ranjan Banerjee is the Interim Vice Chancellor and Professor at Nayanta University. He was previously dean of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) and BITS School of Management (BITSoM). Prior to joining SPJIMR, he was the Founder-CEO of Renaissance Strategic Consultants and has also worked with leading FMCG companies like Asian Paints, Vadilal, and Hindustan Unilever.

Ranjan has co-authored a best-selling book with R Gopalakrishnan, titled The Made in India Manager (2018). His research has been presented at Harvard Business School, University of Michigan, HEC Paris, and Macquarie University, among others. His work has been published in leading journals such as Harvard Business Review, Psychology and Marketing, Economic and Political Weekly.

He was awarded the IAC Award for the ‘Change Maestro and Institution Builder of the Year’. He has also been nominated on the global boards of the Graduate Management Council and the Principles of Responsible Management Education (an initiative that is supported by the UN). He is the only nominee from Indian academia on both these boards.

Ranjan holds a PhD from the Carlson School of Management.

He is the Dean of the School of Public Policy and Interim Registrar. He comes with extensive experience in higher education, research, and consulting. Prior to this role, he was at IIT Bombay, where he served as a Professor and Head in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. He was also a founding member of the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, and the Centre for Climate Studies, which he also served as the Convener.

Professor Parthasarathy’s teaching and research specializations include development studies, policy studies, climate change, disaster governance, gender, and urban studies.

He has supervised around 25 PhD dissertations and over 40 Masters theses. He has authored or co-edited four books, over a 100 articles in leading journals, and presented around 150 conference papers. He has worked with national and state governments, think tanks, research agencies and NGOs on projects, with multidisciplinary teams from South Asia, Europe, North America and Australia on problems related to sustainability, climate change, gender and development, disaster governance, malnutrition, and transdisciplinarity.

Ms. Brar has over 25 years of experience in education, communications, and media. She was part of the founding team of the Young India Fellowship and played a central role in shaping Ashoka University.

Currently, she serves as the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Programme at Nayanta University. Prior to joining Nayanta she was the Dean of the Young India Fellowship and Vice Chancellor’s Office at Ashoka, where she oversaw strategic initiatives, student affairs, and academic governance. She also helped shape the Writing programme at the Young India Fellowship and has taught Critical Writing.

Aniha has previously worked as a television producer, during which she produced award-winning content for channels such as ESPN and Sony Entertainment. She has also edited and written for publications.