Prof. Leona Chandra

Leona Chandra Kruse is a professor of Information Systems at the University of Agder in Norway. Her research focuses on how people use information systems for work and leisure and how the technologies should be designed to provide people with support, pleasure, and security. She examines legacy and emerging technologies, such as decision support systems, simulated AI persona, digital companions, non-fungible tokens, and immersive technologies. Her research has been recognized with several awards, including the Young Researcher Award 2024 from Agder Academy of Sciences and Letters and the AIS Senior Scholar’s best Information Systems publication in 2018. Leona is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Strategic Information Systems and the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). She will begin her term as Associate Editor for Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) in 2026. She is currently curating special issues for Decision Support Systems, EJIS, and the Journal of Information Technology. 

Prof. Anant Mishra

Prof. Anant Mishra is the Director of Research and Professor of Supply Chain at the College of Business & Management, VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam, bringing over more than two decades of academic experience in the US to advancing research and teaching in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Prior to this role, he was the Andrew Van de Ven Professor in Supply Chain at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. His research interests derive from contemporary issues in the areas of innovation, public sector operations, public health supply chains, and emerging markets. His research has been published in leading academic business journals such as Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production & Operations Management, and the Journal of Operations Management.

Most recently, he served as Department Editor at Journal of Operations Management, and he is currently a Senior Editor at Production and Operations Management as well as Department Editor at the Decision Sciences Journal. Beyond his editorial responsibilities, he serves as a reviewer for Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management.

He has worked with and advised companies on a range of supply chain issues (relating to sourcing, production, distribution, and analytics). These companies include Best Buy, Bühler Industries, Cafe Imports, Emerson Electric, General Mills, Heraeus, Len Busch Roses, Lutron Electronics, Medtronic, Polaris, Seeonic, Stratasys, Tokyo Electron, and Winnebago Industries.

On the teaching front, he has designed and taught custom Executive Education courses, Executive MBA courses, MBA/Masters level courses, and Undergraduate courses in Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Project Management, Technology Management, and Business Statistics.

Educational Background

• PhD, Business Administration, University of Minnesota, 2009
• MS, Statistics, University of Minnesota, 2009
• Tech, Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 2001

https://vinuni.edu.vn/people/anant-mishra/

Prof. Bharat Bhasker

Director, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Prof. Bhasker obtained his Ph.D. and master’s degree in computer science at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering from IIT Roorkee.

Prior to accepting the position of Director, IIM Ahmedabad, he served as a Professor of Information Technology and Systems at IIM Lucknow. He has also served as Director of IIM Raipur from March 2017 to March 2022, Acting-Director of IIM Lucknow during July 2015 to November 2015, as a Mentor Director/Convener (Nodal Prof.) at IIM Sirmaur in 2015. In 2018, he was honoured with ‘Best Director of Business Schools’ award for transforming IIM Raipur to a great place to work and its exponential growth. He was honoured with IIT Roorkee’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2022. In 2023, he received the ‘Kewal Nohriya Award for Academic Leadership in Management 2023’ at an event organized by the All India Management Association. In 2024, he received Dr. Pritam Singh Transformational Leader Award at an event organized by Dr. Pritam Singh Foundation. In 2025, he received Bharat Asmita (National Award) Acharya Shreshtha Award – Best Teacher in Management at an event organised by MIT World Peace University, Pune. He also received Honorary Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu in 2025.

Prof. Bhasker has held various visiting academic positions such as International Expert Advisor at the University of Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia, International Expert,  Research Grants, at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada  (NSERC), Visiting Professor at the ESSEC Business School, Paris, France,   Distinguished Professor at the Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea, Research  Professor at the University of California, USA, Visiting Professor at the University of Texas, USA and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Prof. Bhasker has acquired rich industry experience in addition to his academic experience. He has held senior positions at multiple organizations such as Connectix Corp., USA, SYBASE Inc., USA, MDL Information Systems Inc., USA, Hughes STX Inc., USA, and Tata Steel Ltd., India. He has also been associated as the Chairman at the Services Sector Development Council, Bureau of Indian Standards, President at the Indian Sub-continent Decision Science Institute, USA, Chairman at the Computer Society of India, Lucknow, Chairperson of the Governing Board of the INFLIBNET Centre. An Expert member of National Mission Authority of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) Chaired by the Minister of Education. A Member of Expert Committee to review University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations 2020. Chairperson of a Management Evaluation and Accreditation Committee (MEAC) of the National Board of Accreditation and as a Member of the Board of Governors at various organizations.

Prof. Neeraj Dwivedi

Prof. Neeraj Dwivedi assumed the role of Director at IIM Kashipur in July 2025. Prior to this, he served as a faculty member at IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, and IIM Kozhikode, and also had a short academic stint at the School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok.

He holds a Ph.D. in Management from IIM Lucknow, an M.Tech. from IIT Kharagpur, and a B.Tech. from G. B. Pant University, Pantnagar. In addition to more than 21 years of experience in management research and teaching, he spent about seven years in the corporate sector—primarily in the food processing and consulting industries—in various roles.

His current teaching and research interests include Strategic Thinking, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Corporate Governance. Throughout his career, he has also been actively engaged in consulting assignments and executive development programmes for organizations across the private, public, and government sectors.

Prof. Bhimaraya Metri

Director, Indian Institute of Management Nagpur
Chairman, Council for Logistics Infrastructure and Project Management (CLIP)
Chairman, IIMN Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development (InFED)
Plot No. 1, Sector 20, MIHAN, Nagpur – 441108, Maharashtra, India
Gmail: metriba@gmail.com Website: https://www.iimnagpur.ac.in/

Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur is a distinguished academician, renowned teacher, researcher, an astute administrator and institution builder. An outstanding leader of management education, he has performed key leadership roles at many premier management institutes and corporate in his remarkable career. He is the former Director of IIM Tiruchirappalli. Under his dynamic leadership, IIM Tiruchirappalli has catapulted among the league of top business schools in India. He has also contributed immensely as Dean at L& T Institute of Project Management Vadodara, IMI New Delhi, MDI Gurgaon and leading research programs at BITS Pilani.

A renowned expert in the area of Project Management & Infrastructure, Quality Management and Supply Chain Management, he has numerous research papers and books to his credit apart from being on the editorial advisory boards of several national and international journals.

Currently, Dr. Metri is the Governing Council member of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI, and the Advisory Council member of YASHADA, Pune; Member of the Executive Board of FORE School of Management; Chairman, WG-DEB, UGC, New Delhi; Chairman, Human Resources Management and Innovation Sectional Committee & Chairman, Management and Systems Division Council (MSDC), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi and Chairman, AIMA Board of Studies, New Delhi.

Dr. Metri is the Visitor Nominee to IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIT Jodhpur and IIM Jammu. He is also nominee of MoE, Govt of India on the Board of Governors of IIM Mumbai & NIBM Pune and Chancellor’s Nominee on Academic Council, Gondwana University. Dr. Metri is member of Board of Governors of CMDR Dharwad; NICMAR University Pune; SDMIMD Mysore; AIMA New Delhi; JSPM University Pune and MEPSC, New Delhi.

Dr. Metri serves as a member of the Appeals Committee of NAAC, Bengaluru & member AAC-National Board of Accreditation (NBA), New Delhi; Honorary Advisor to TNeGA, Ministry of IT, Govt of Tamil Nadu; Member, International Advisory Council, Chanakya University, Bengaluru; Member- National Management Committee, PMA, India; Member, Academic council, NIMSME, Hyderabad; Academic Council Member KIIT Bhubaneswar and

Dr. Metri worked as Visitor nominee & convener/member of the committee constituted for the selection of Vice Chancellors of Central Universities & other Central Govt. Universities. He worked as a member of the Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO (INCCU); he has also served earlier as a member of various national committees of higher education constituted by government and professional bodies and the AICTE-Council, AICTE Executive Committee. Dr. Metri served as a member of the expert committee for establishment of Higher Education Commission of India to carry out detailed mapping of existing manpower and functions performed by UGC, AICTE, NCTE etc. He served as Chairman, the All India Board of Management Studies (AICTE) on the panel of experts for mentoring the Institutes of Eminence (IoE), Chairman/member of several committees of AICTE, UGC, NBA, UKIERI, AIU, IGNOU, IIM Kozhikode Society, Governing Council of SACON Coimbatore under the MoEFCC, Govt. of India; UERC Uttarakhand; Principal Technical Agency (PTA) for PMGSY projects for Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; IIIC, Govt. of Kerala; member BOG of SVVV Indore; member of the committee for establishment of Online University, Govt. of Maharashtra; Member, Expert Group constituted by MoE for NEP-2020 and has also served on the board of Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), Houston, Texas, USA.

Dr. Metri was leader of the three Indian delegations to Tokyo (Japan), Bali (Indonesia) for ISO/ TC 260 and Amersfoort, Netherlands for ISO/ TC 251, for development of international standards. He was the chairman of the International Academic Review Committee for Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat Oman; Foreign expert for HEQAAC (UGC), Nepal; Member, ABMC Accreditation Panel, Osaka, Japan; Member, Eurasia-Pacific Uninet (EPU).

Dr. Metri was the first Indian elected as the Vice President, Asia Pacific Division, Decision Sciences Institute (DSI). He was the Chief Guest for the 55th Convocation of Shivaji University, Anna University and many other engineering and management institutions in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He was also invited as a key Note speaker at Pan-African PMC, Cameroon and taught GMP to Mauritian Business Leaders as a visiting faculty of ESSEC Business School Paris.

Dr. Metri has trained more than 200 Vice Chancellors of Central, State & Private Universities in the country. He also has trained more than 1000 Directors, Deans, Principals and HODs of leading Engineering Institutes including NITs under World Bank assisted project of MHRD-TEQIP to improve the quality of technical education in the country.

Dr. Metri is deeply involved with executive education at board, senior and middle management levels including international training with a wide range of organizations including leading organizations of government, public sector (Maharatna & Navaratna companies), private sector and foreign government bodies. He has conducted several board level and top management programs for the leading public sector organizations such as NLCIL, NUPPL, ONGC, HPCL, NRPC (CMD/Dy CMD/IAS Officers/CEs), etc. He has trained senior executives of several leading organizations including CIL, WCL, NTPC, NHPC, PGCIL, BHEL, HCL, RBI, ONGC, IOCL, CPCL, NLCIL, ECIL, EIL, WAPCOS, NEEPCO, SJVNL, PSEB, BEL, ATAL, NAAC, JNVs, Sona Koyo, Fortis, Jindal Stainless Steel Ltd, PNB, CIDC, ABB, L&T, Nestle, Eli Lilly, EXL, Hindustan Copper Ltd, Hindustan Zinc, Sikkim Govt. Officers, Aditya Birla Group DCM Shriram, Cairn Energy, Public Enterprise, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, DOAE (Department of Atomic Energy) Officers, Army Officers, ITEC Officers (Ministry of External Affairs) from 30 plus countries, New Holland Fiat and Ministry of health & family welfare.

Dr. Metri has provided consultancy to various premier organizations such as L&T, Bosch, Titan, FDCM, NTPC, Army Ordinance Corps (AOC) Ministry of Defense, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) etc.

Globally exposed and widely travelled across four continents and 29 countries visiting B-schools and universities for executive education and internationalization initiatives. Dr. Metri has led a successful national and international Accreditation & Re-accreditation programs led a Curriculum Review Committee that undertook a major overhaul of the PGDM programs. He has been instrumental in enhancement of physical and intellectual infrastructure and increased the strength of PGDM programs for successfully positioning MDI Gurgaon, IMI Delhi and IIM Tiruchirappalli amongst the leading Business Schools of the country.

For such illustrious contributions to the society, he has been bestowed with several prestigious awards and recognitions. Dr. Metri received the prestigious Ravi J Matthai National Fellow Award also he is the first serving IIM Director to receive the country’s prestigious AIMA-Kewal Nohria Award for Academic Leadership in Management Education. Dr. Metri also received the Distinguished Services Award by Asia Pacific Decision Sciences Institute, Top Director Award by CSR; Prerana Purshkar – Distinguished Alumnus Award, and “Top Rankers Excellence Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership”.

Dr. Metri received his Ph.D. from IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai. Currently, he is the President of ISDSI-Global and member of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) USA.

Prof. Deepak Kumar Srivastava

Dr. Deepak Kumar Srivastava is the Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi.

He has also served as officiating Director of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Ranchi. Earlier, he was Dean (Academics) and Professor of Strategy at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Tiruchirappalli, and a Professor at the Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad.

He brings over 24 years of academic experience. He has held visiting teaching and research assignments at many leading universities, notably in the USA, Finland, Mexico, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Dr. Srivastava serves on the Boards of Governors of the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), Bengaluru; the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal; the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Jabalpur; and the Indian Institute of Coal Management (IICM), Ranchi. He has also served on numerous selection committees and other committees related to higher education and NEP implementation.

He co-authored the South Asian adaptation of Global Business with Prof. Mike W. Peng and has published extensively in leading journals. Additionally, he has undertaken consulting assignments with leading organizations in the areas of strategy, policy, and institutional development. Dr. Srivastava regularly conducts training programs for senior executives, faculty, Vice Chancellors, and Board members. He has traveled widely around the world as an invited speaker, teacher, and researcher.

Prof. Mahadeo Prasad Jaiswal

Dr Mahadeo Prasad Jaiswal is currently Director of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sambalpur, India. Prior to this he was Professor of Information Systems and Dean at MDI, Gurgaon, India. His qualifications include PGPX from MIT Sloan School of Management, Bostan, USA, PhD in Computer Science from Delhi University and Sr. Fulbright Fellow from Carnegie Mellon University, USA. His area of expertise includes Innovation Strategy for Start-ups, Digital Innovation & Platform Eco Systems, Social Entrepreneurship Strategy. He has published more than 100 research papers and Cases in international journal, and He is author of  9 books in Information Systems and Digital Strategy. He has pioneered in introducing AI enabled Class Learning in Management Education in partnership with Breakout Learnings -An AI Learning Management Platform. He is also in the process of setting up “Global Case Capability (GCC) Centre” on AI platform.

He has been engaged as Management Consultant for Digital Strategy by several large organizations such as Coal India Ltd (CIL)., Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), POWERGRID, Rural Electrification Corporation, NTPC-SAIL, Asian Development Bank (ADB), SJVN Ltd., HP Power Generation/Distribution/Transmission, Cochin International Airport, FACT, etc.

Prof. Naliniprava Tripathy

Prof. Naliniprava Tripathy currently serves as the Director(I/C) of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong and is a Professor in the Finance and Control area. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Finance and Accounting at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore. She earned her D.Litt. degree in Management from Utkal University. She was awarded a UGC fellowship for full-time study and a post-doctoral research award in Management. She is a Fulbright Scholar who has visited the USA and has received advanced research training from IIM Calcutta.

With 28 years of experience in teaching, corporate training, research, and consultancy, Prof. Tripathy is a prolific researcher, having published over 100 scholarly research papers and authored nine books. She has delivered extensive corporate training programs on diverse finance and management topics for senior managers and officers from public, private, and government organizations.

Prof. Tripathy is an Advisory Member of the Management and Productivity Sectional Committee, Bureau of Indian Standards, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India. She also serves as an Advisory Member of the CMAT Committee, Ministry of Education, Government of India. Appointed by AICTE, Government of India, she is a Board Member of several management institutes. Additionally, she is a member of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Government of India, and serves on expert panels, selection committees, Boards of Governors, Academic Advisory Boards, and Boards of Studies of various esteemed business schools and universities in India.

Prof. Tripathy has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the MMSMA Award for Excellence in Commerce and Business Management from the Indian Commerce Association. She received the AIMS-TAPMI Woman Management Researcher Award and a Gold Medal for the AIMS International Outstanding Management Researcher Award from AIMS International. She was also awarded a Silver Medal for the JL Batra Best Research Paper by the Association of Indian Management Schools. In recognition of her significant contributions to research, she has been granted membership in the Global Research Institute for Business Academics, Australia.

Prof. Pawan Kumar Singh

Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh is Director of Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli. He has served as Director of Management Development Institute Gurgaon and Director In-charge of Indian Institute of Management Indore. In the role of mentoring of Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur, he served as the first Chairperson of Academic Committee and as a Nodal Officer of IIM Sambalpur. Dr. Singh is in academics for more than three decades including being Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at Indian Institute of Management Indore for about 15 years and had served as faculty at Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (earlier NITIE Mumbai), Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi, Kanpur University, and Vikram University at Ujjain. Prior to joining academics, he worked for Bank of India as Industrial Relations Officer having served at Jamshedpur and Ranchi. He has guided research, provided consultancy, and trained about 25000 personnel of all levels from almost all professions. He has published research articles and has presented academic papers in more than 75 national and international seminars. Dr. Singh has published books on Managing Interpersonal Conflict, Management Sutras from Sanskrit Scriptures, Personality Attributes: Gift of India, Dialogue with Upanishads: For a Meaningful Life, Poetic Hindi Translation of Thirukkural, Jeevan Prabandhan and Jeevan Vikaas kee Shaayaree, and a booklet on Human Resource Management for Technical Personnel. He has been member of high-profile committees of the government and various institutions. His talks and interviews have been broadcasted on national channels of television and radios. As hobbies Dr. Singh enjoys travelling, music, cricket, poetry, astronomy, and reading quotations. His one of the favourite quotes is – We are always preparing to live but never living.

Prof. Ashok Banerjee

Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Director of IIM Udaipur, is a Chartered Accountant and holds an M.Com. Degree from Calcutta University and a Ph.D. from Rajasthan University. Prof Banerjee is a seasoned academician with vast experience as a senior professor in the Finance and Accounting area. His research interests are in the areas of high-frequency finance, Fintech, and sentiment analysis. He was the Dean of New Initiatives and External Relations at IIM Calcutta from 2012 to 2015. During his stint as Dean, Prof Banerjee was credited with setting up an incubator at IIM Calcutta called IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, which the Department of Science & Technology recognises as a Technology Business Incubator. Prof. Banerjee was the founder-coordinator of the Financial Research and Trading Laboratory of IIM Calcutta. He was instrumental in starting the International Finance Conference in 2009 at IIM Calcutta. The conference is now rechristened as the India Finance Conference and is organised jointly by IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad.

Before joining IIM Calcutta, he was a professor at IIM Lucknow from 2000 to 2004.

He also serves as an independent director on the Boards of companies in the financial and technology sectors.

Since taking charge as Director of the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur (IIM Udaipur) on August 1, 2022, Ashok Banerjee has guided the institute through strategic growth anchored in research excellence, sustainability, and institutional innovation. Drawing on his deep academic and leadership credentials, he has driven the launch of the JM Financial Centre for Financial Research, amplifying IIM Udaipur’s footprint in financial markets, fintech and data-driven scholarship; and the establishment of the IIMU Behavioural Lab, Jaipur, broadening the institute’s research boundary into decision-science and behavioural inquiry. Under his leadership, the institute also pioneered its infrastructure expansion under a public-private-partnership (PPP) model, becoming the first among India’s IIMs to adopt the DBFOT framework for campus development—transforming vision into a scalable built environment. In a bold move aligned with the ethos of inclusion and access, the institute under his stewardship announced the launch of a four-year online bilingual Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programme, the first of its kind among India’s IIMs. Designed to break the language barrier, this programme offers students the option of instruction in both Hindi and English, features flexible multi-exit options and mobile-/low-bandwidth-friendly delivery, thereby opening up elite management education to first-generation learners, Hindi-medium students and underserved communities.

Ms. Isha Porwal

Isha is the Digital Transformation Lead with the Google for Education team. With over a decade of experience across India and APAC, she is a recognized leader in driving large-scale educational initiatives and the Adoption and Deployment of emerging technologies in K-12, Higher Education, and Government sectors.

Her background, which includes work with Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and Google, highlights her expertise in pedagogy, SaaS integration, Institutional Partnerships, and establishing new educational visions from the ground up.

Dr. Amit Prakash

Amit Prakash is a Professor and Head of the Department of Digital Humanities and Societal Systems (DHSS) at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB). He serves as the Convenor of IIITB’s Centre for Accessibility in the Global South (CAGS); he has also been involved in establishing and managing the Institute’s Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP) and E-Health Research Centre (EHRC). His interests lie in Information Systems and Public Policy, particularly as they intersect with development sectors such as public health & nutrition, education & skill development, and food & livelihood security. The focus of his research and consulting efforts has been equity and inclusion in matters related to technology designs and policy choices.

Prior to joining academia, Amit worked for over fifteen years on advisory assignments involving IT and Governance policies and Digital Technology designs – at Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). He has chaired and served on national, international and regional committees and working groups tasked with formulating digital governance and development policies and has anchored the design and development of large award winning e-Governance projects.

Amit serves as an advisor and resource person for the United Nations Asia-Pacific Centre for ICT and Development (UN-APCICT) and has developed training content and conducted capacity enhancement sessions for senior government executives and political representatives across countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He is a Co-Founder and Trustee of Vision Empower  http://www.visionempowertrust.org/), a not-for-profit trust working on accessible education for visually impaired and a Co-Founder and Director at Vembi Technologies (https://vembi.in/).
Amit has a doctoral degree in Information Systems from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.

Dr. Dileep Mavalankar

Dr. Dileep Mavalankar, MBBS, MPH, MD, Dr. PH – Former Director of IIPHG (Feb 2012 to 31^st May, 2023) & Vice President western region, PHFI, and currently associated as Distinguished Honorary Professor of Public Health of IIPHG.

He was Dean (Academics) of Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar from Nov 2010- Jan 2012.

He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in USA. .  He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in USA.  He has also worked as Senior Management Advisor to the Averting Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (AMDD) program of Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York. He was Faculty at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Public Systems Group from 1991-2010.  He was Chaired the Public Systems Group and the Centre for Management of Health Services.  Delivered lectures at several health, Medical and management institutes. He has published many articles in professional journals, written book chapters and working papers. He has taught courses on services management, public management and health and hospital management for masters and doctoral students at IIM.  Main area of his work was management of public health programs especially reproductive health and maternal health. He also worked on projects related to development of midwifery in India, RCH & Immunization top management capacity & HR, Capacity building of district and state level public health officers. He has also done evaluations of many health programs including training under RCH I, Chiranjeevi program of Government of Gujarat, Ankur project of Search Ghadchiroli etc.

He has been consultant to several international organizations including Columbia University, WHO, UNICEF, CARE, UNDP/World Bank and government of India and state governments. He has been a member of several programme, technical & scientific advisory committees including GAVI Switzerland, MotherCare project USA; NIHFW, New Delhi; IIPS, Mumbai; IIHMR Jaipur; IMMPAC Project University of Aberdeen UK, government of India, Planning commission of India etc. He was appointed by the Prime Minister to the Missions Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission constituted by the Government of India. He has been recently appointed as a member of the Steering Committee on Health For the 12^th Five Year Plan.

In his current capacity as Distingusihed Honorary Professor of Public Health at IIPH, Gandhinagar, he is involved in various academic and public health activities. These include teaching course on Management of EmOC and Referral to PGDHM students, guiding faculty for research and teaching etc. He is coordinating and leading various research projects.  He is the lead Principal Investigator of Heat Action Plan project done by Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar (IIPHG), National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). 

He was;

• Member Secretary of the Covid Task Force for Gujarat state appointed by CM of Gujarat.
• Member of “The State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board” Government of Gujarat.
• Expert Member of “The Medical Technology Assessment Board for the The Health Technology Assessment in India.

1. MAVALANKAR – MEMBERSHIP WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS

• Member of GAVI Switzerland
• MotherCare project USA
• NIHFW, New Delhi;
• IIPS, Mumbai;
• IIHMR Jaipur;
• IMMPAC Project University of Aberdeen UK,
• Planning commission government of India
• Appointed by the Prime Minister to the Missions Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission constituted by the Government of India.
• Appointed as a member of the Steering Committee on Health For the 12^th Five Year Plan.
• Core Committee member of Multi Disciplinary Research Units (MRUs) and Model Rural Health Research Units(MRHRUs) of Goi – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• Technical Expert Group member of National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH)
• Governig Board Member of State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) –GoG
• Core Committee Member of  National Health Research Policy (NHRP) – GoI – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
• IEC Meber of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) – GoI
• Heat Wave Action Plan Committee Member – GSDMA – GoG
• Expert Member of “The Medical Technology Assessment Board for the The Health Technology Assessment in India.

Dr. Mona Gupta

Advisor Human Resources for Health (HRH) and Health Policy and Integrated Planning (HPIP) National Health Systems Resources Centre,

MoHFW Govt. of India

Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi

Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi has completed his Bachelors and Masters from IIT-BHU (Formerly IT-BHU), Varanasi and PhD from National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. His PhD work is in the area of Extended Release Formulation of Vaccines, a project conceptualized to help reduce the number of injections required to be given for complete immunization. He has also done ISB-Kellogg Global Advanced Management Program.

After working for 7 yrs at National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, Dr Rajeev moved to join the leading Indian multination, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., where he worked for development, registration and launch of NDDS, Generics and Branded Generics in various global markets. After having spent 12 years with Ranbaxy, he moved to another Indian Multinational, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, Hyderabad. In his 11 years of stay with Dr Reddy’s Labs, 1rst eight years was in development of 505b(2) NDA products for US market. In this role, he successfully led the CMC team to get 6 products approved in 1^st review cycle by USFDA. During this tenure, he had the opportunity of multiple face to face interactions with USFDA, MHRA and agencies from South Korea, Sweden, Romania etc. Last three years at Dr Reddy’s has been in a different role of establishing an R & D Team for markets like India, China, Russia and other Emerging Markets in the space of Pharmaceutical Product Innovation / Differentiation, registration and launches. He is widely travelled throughout the world and has worked with team members and partners in countries like USA, UK, China, Russia, South Africa, Romania, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia and Japan.

More than 200 products developed by him and his teams are currently being sold in India, US Europe and Emerging Markets. Dr Raghuvanshi has 19 granted US patents along with more than 250 published PCTs and Indian Patents. He has more than 70 publications in peer reviewed journals and has co-authored 6 chapters in books.  He has been visiting faculty at NIPER – Hyderabad and IIT-BHU and has taught students of NIPER-Mohali. He is a regular speaker at different International and National conferences on Pharmaceutical Innovation. For his contribution, Dr Reddy’s Labs has twice awarded him with “Dr Reddy’s Excellence Award”.

Leadership development has been his passion and many of his team members mentored by him are holding leadership roles in Indian and global pharmaceutical companies.

After a very successful career with corporate pharma, he decided to do something completely different which is socially more impactful. Of many possibilities, he chose to work with Govt. of India and joined Govt’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as Secretary-cum-Scientific Director of Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission on 16 Feb’21. In a short stint of 2 yrs, he changed the face of IPC and bought multiple long lasting changes impacting quality standards for medicines being sold in India. Cultural shift to more open and receptive organization scaling up the Impurity Standards inventory, harmonization of quality specification with ICH and other global standards, increasing user base for IP and IPRS, PDG membership for IP, international recognitions and scaling up of Pharmacovigilane and Materiovigilance program of India are some of them.

Govt of India has now been given him the responsibility of Drugs Controller General of India. He joined the new position of 23^rd Feb 2023 and working towards changing the way Indian pharmaceutical regulation is looked in this country and beyond.

Mr. Sudarshan Jain

Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA)
Chairman, Indian Institute of Health Management and Research
(IIHMR), Jaipur
Senior Advisor, EQT Group

Sudarshan has a strong passion for business, healthcare policy and the education sector. He is currently the Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) and the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Health Management and Research (IIHMR), Jaipur. He also serves as a Board Member of Abbott India, Sunshine Holdings PLC and various educational institutions, and is a Senior Advisor with EQT (Private equity firm). Sudarshan is on the Advisory Committee of the Biotechnology Ignition Grant, Government of India, Member of Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) and a Visiting Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM A). He is a Certified Executive Coach from the Coaching Foundation of India.

Sudarshan has a rich healthcare business experience of over 45 years and has contributed to shaping healthcare policy and improving access to healthcare in India. He has held several leadership positions in Abbott, J&J, Boots and leading Indian companies and last served as the Managing Director at Abbott Healthcare Solutions. His experience spans across Pharmaceutical, OTC, Hospital, Diagnostic and Nutrition businesses. He has been associated with over 30 brands which are among the top 300 in the Indian pharmaceutical market. He also served as Chairman of the Life Sciences Skill Sector Development Council (LSSSDC) of India under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. He has been the Chair of International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA) 2021. Till recently, he was associated with APAX partners as Seniors Advisor and also the board member of Healthium.

Sudarshan is the first Indian recipient of the Global Chairman’s Award at Abbott. More recently, IPA has been recognized as “Maverick Effect Pioneer Award 2024” at the Indian Merchant Chambers’ (IMC) and honored with the “Best Association Excellence Award” at the India Association Congress 2024. Sudarshan is an alumnus of St. Stephens College, Delhi and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM A).

Dr. Shelly Sharma

Dr. Shelly Sharma is an oncoradiologist, specialising in diagnostics, population screening, and minimally invasive interventions. She is an advisory board member of the Indian College of AI in Medicine and actively works on integrating AI and digital health into breast cancer screening and care pathways, with a strong focus on real-world clinical impact and improved patient outcomes.

Dr. Meenu Singh

Prof. (Dr.) Meenu Singh is an eminent academician, clinician, and healthcare leader with over 35 years of distinguished service in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonology, Telemedicine, and Evidence-Based Medicine. She is currently serving as the Executive Director and CEO of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, since July 2022. Her visionary leadership is instrumental in transforming AIIMS Rishikesh into a hub for innovation, academic excellence, and patient-centered care.

Prof. Singh is committed to promoting a “patient-first, innovation-driven, and digitally enabled” model of healthcare. She is a strong advocate for equity in healthcare delivery, public health technology, capacity building, and evidence-based medical practice.

Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya

Secretary General at NATHEALTH- Healthcare Federation of India, Board Member & Angel Investor

Mr. Rajiv Sharma

Rajiv is the Managing Director of Sterling Accuris Wellness Pvt Limited that owns and manages one of the largest chain of Pathology labs in Western India under the brand name of Sterling Accuris.

Rajiv is a B.E.(Mechanical) with Honours from PEC Chandigarh and a postgraduate in management from IIM, Ahmedabad (PGP-1996).

He has a career spanning 30 years across various functions ranging from Sales & Marketing to Consulting and M&A. He has a diverse work experience in industries such as Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and in Healthcare in Indian and international markets.

Rajiv joined Sterling Addlife India Limited, a buyout firm of Actis PE, a leading private equity fund, in 2008 as CEO after a long stint with J&J. He has been instrumental in framing and implementing growth strategy for Sterling hospitals.

He Under his leadership, from a single hospital in Ahmedabad, Sterling hospitals emerged to be the largest and dominant chain of corporate hospitals in Gujarat with 6 operational Hospitals in major cities in Gujarat with more than 1000 beds under management. He led the successful exit process for investors in 2022 for Sterling Hospitals.

Rajiv is also a co-founder and Managing Director of Sterling Accuris Diagnostics which has emerged to be one of the largest chain of Pathology Labs in Western India with more than 70 operational labs, under his leadership and is an investee company of Morgan Stanley PE. 

Rajiv is an eminent speaker on various healthcare issues and is a member of healthcare committee of CII–Western Region. He is also a renowned guest faculty at several healthcare management courses. He was part of ‘Provider Advisory Group’ formed by Mckinsey & Co to frame recommendations to CII on way forward for healthcare industry.

Dr. Vishal Deo

Dr. Vishal Deo is a Scientist at the ICMR–National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS), New Delhi. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Delhi. His expertise spans survival analysis, statistical methods in health economics, prognostic and predictive modelling, and Bayesian hierarchical models. He is also deeply interested in applying AI and machine learning techniques to health and medical research.

Dr. Deo leads the national HIV burden estimation activity under the National AIDS Control Programme. In the field of digital health, his work focuses on developing evaluation frameworks for digital and AI-driven health solutions, as well as strengthening India’s health research data ecosystem.

Dr. Aarti Yadav

Dr. Aarti Yadav is a biochemist specializing in skeletal muscle biology, disease model development, and molecular mechanisms. At ICMR-NIRDHDS, she worked as a Project Research Scientist to the development of AI-based diagnostic tools, strengthening digital health systems, data-driven public health research, and implementation science. Her work aligns with the institute’s focus on integrating AI, digital diagnostics, and technology-enabled solutions into public health programs. She supports activities related to implementation research, digital surveillance, capacity building, and evaluation of technology-driven health interventions, contributing to evidence generation and strategic planning for national digital health initiatives.

Dr. Mittali Sethi (IAS)

The District Collector of Nandurbar,

Maharashtra

Dr. Saurabh Jain

Dr Saurabh Jain leads Global Capability Centres for Indegene, driving service excellence and business continuity. He has guided strategic expansion into Asia, LATAM, Europe, and North America with a focus on cost efficiency, advanced technology, and superior customer experience. With over 28 years in healthcare and life sciences, Dr Jain champions digital transformation and generative AI, boosting productivity and innovative sales and marketing for enhanced market reach.

Shri. Duvvuri Subbarao

Duvvuri Subbarao (Subba) served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for five years (2008-13). Prior to that, he was Finance Secretary to the Government of India (2007-08) and Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (2005-07).  

As a career civil servant in India for over three decades, Subbarao worked in various positions in the state government of Andhra Pradesh and in the central government in New Delhi. He was a Lead Economist in the World Bank (1999 – 2004) where his responsibilities involved advising developing countries on public finance management.

Subbarao studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He went to Graduate School at Ohio State University and later was a Humphrey Fellow at MIT studying Public Finance. He obtained his doctorate in public finance from Andhra University.

Subbarao’s book “Who Moved My Interest Rate” (2016) chronicling his experiences in leading the Reserve Bank of India through five turbulent year is notable for its exposition of the policy dilemmas facing an emerging economy central bank in a globalized world. His more recent book “Just a Mercenary” (2024) narrating his journey from a modest background to the top echelons of India’s civil service and then on to the helm of the country’s central bank has been acclaimed as a warm, engaging and earnest account of the leadership challenges he confronted in his career.

After stepping down from RBI, Subbarao was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the National University of Singapore and later at the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, he has been visiting faculty at Yale University School of Management.  

Mr. Somasundaram PR

P.R. Somasundaram” (often referred to as Somasundaram PR) was the Regional CEO of India for the World Gold Council (WGC), a role he stepped down from in 2024 after more than a decade of service. He was instrumental in establishing India’s first industry Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the gold market and has since been focusing on setting up this transformational body. He has also had a distinguished career spanning over 30 years, including roles within the Unilever Group.  

Key contributions and roles:

• World Gold Council: He served as the Regional CEO for India, leading the WGC’s activities and providing insights into the Indian gold market and investment trends. 
• Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO): He played a pivotal role in establishing the SRO for the Indian gold industry, aiming to enhance consumer trust and bring structural reforms. 
• Industry Leadership: Somasundaram provided commentary on the Indian gold industry’s dynamics, including the impact of market volatility and the growing trend of digital gold investments. 
• Unilever Group Experience: His early career included extensive experience across various Unilever Group companies in India and abroad. 

Mr. Sachin Jain

Sachin Jain joined the World Gold Council in March 2024. Based in Mumbai, Sachin is responsible for leading the World Gold Council’s activities across the Indian gold market. Sachin brings with him deep understanding of the Indian consumer and jewellery market, from strategic thinking to practical execution. He has over two decades of rich experience and understanding of  he Indian consumer. Sachin has joined from De Beers where he has held several senior roles for the past 13 years. As Managing Director of DeBeers India, he has led the De Beers Forevermark business in India and the Middle East.

Previously, Sachin has held senior positions for De Beers, Lladro, Swatch Group and Benetton.

About the World Gold Council
We are a membership organisation that champions the role gold plays as a strategic asset, shaping the future of a responsible and accessible gold supply chain. Our team of experts builds understanding of the use case and possibilities of gold through research, analysis, commentary and insights. We drive industry progress, shaping policy and setting the principles for a perpetual and sustainable gold market. For more information visit www.gold.org. You can follow the World Gold Council on X (Twitter) at @goldcouncil and LinkedIn.

Mr. Ajit Mauskar

Ajit Mauskar – Director, Market Infrastructure, India, Middle East and North Africa, World Gold Council,

Ajit Mauskar, joined the World Gold Council in March 2021. Based in Mumbai, Ajit is responsible for leading the Market Infrastructure initiatives of World Gold Council in the Indian, Middle Eastern and North African gold markets.

Ajit is a seasoned banker and has over 25 years’ global experience in the banking sector specialising in precious metals and commodities. Prior to joining the World Gold Council, Ajit started the commodities department and was the Global Head for Commodities for a leading regional commercial bank in the Middle East having diverse customer base in multiple countries. Earlier to that, he was one of the founding members of Scotiabank’s bullion business in India.

Mr. V.P. Nandakumar

Chairman and Managing Director, Manappuram Finance Ltd.

Shri V. P. Nandakumar is the Chairman and Managing Director of Manappuram Finance Ltd., one of India’s most prominent and diversified Non-Banking Financial Companies. Over a distinguished career spanning more than four decades, he has transformed the organisation from a modest, single-branch moneylending business—founded in 1949 by his late father, Shri V. C. Padmanabhan—into a nationwide financial institution with over 5,000 branches, a workforce of more than 50,000, and an AUM exceeding Rs 44,000 crore.

Taking charge in 1986, he pioneered India’s organised gold-loan industry and led Manappuram Finance to become the country’s first NBFC to offer gold loans. His deep understanding of the cultural and economic significance of gold in Indian households shaped the development of transparent, technology-driven, customer-centric lending practices that have since become industry benchmarks. Under his stewardship, the company has evolved into a full-spectrum NBFC, successfully diversifying into microfinance, housing finance, vehicle and SME loans, and personal finance—segments that today account for a substantial portion of its business.

Shri Nandakumar is widely recognised for his resilience, strategic foresight, and ability to steer the organisation through regulatory transitions, economic cycles, and volatile gold-price environments. His perspectives on financial inclusion, risk management, gold-backed credit, and NBFC-sector evolution make him a respected voice in industry forums and policy discussions. His insights bridge the worlds of grassroots lending and modern financial innovation, reflecting the transformative journey of India’s NBFC ecosystem.

His accomplishments have earned him repeated national recognition. Business Today named him among India’s Top 100 CEOs, while Business World profiled him as one of the country’s Most Valuable CEOs. The Economic Times ranked Manappuram Finance as the leading wealth creator in its ET500 list of 2019. His contributions also extend to promoting emerging financial institutions, having been an early promoter of Equitas Small Finance Bank, Aptus Value Housing Finance, and Five Star Business Finance Ltd.

A strong believer in community development, Shri Nandakumar established the Manappuram Foundation in 2009 to spearhead the group’s social responsibility initiatives. The Foundation today oversees schools, skill-development centres, yoga and wellness facilities, counselling services, sports infrastructure, and a fleet of advanced ambulances—offering essential services to underserved communities at subsidised rates.

His commitment to service is further reflected in his long association with Lions Clubs International. A member since 1981, he was elected International Director at the organisation’s 102nd International Convention in Milan in 2019, and has held numerous leadership roles within the association.

Born in 1954, Shri Nandakumar holds a postgraduate degree in science along with qualifications in Banking and Foreign Trade. He serves on the managing committees of leading industry bodies including FICCI, Assocham and FIDC. He has also been appointed to the Board of Governors of IIM Kozhikode and is a Distinguished Invitee to the All India Management Association’s Council of Management. He maintains a strong personal interest in agriculture and the development of farm-based food products.

A visionary business leader, institution-builder, and advocate for inclusive growth, Shri V. P. Nandakumar continues to guide Manappuram Finance Ltd. with clarity of purpose and an unwavering commitment to innovation, transparency, and social progress.

Dr. Joy Alukkas

Joy Alukkas, Chairman & Managing Director of Joyalukkas India Ltd, continues to strengthen the global footprint of one of the world’s most trusted jewellery brands. Recognised in 2025 with a Real-Time Net Worth of $5.3B and ranked #54 on India’s Richest List, Joy Alukkas’ rise is a testament to visionary leadership, relentless innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
In FY 2024-25 Joyalukkas achieved a remarkable turnover of ₹30,081 crore. For FY 2025-26, the brand is targeting ₹35,000crore, continuing its strong growth trajectory. Looking ahead, Joy Alukkas has set an ambitious five-year vision: to scale Joyalukkas into a ₹60,000 crore organisation. He emphasises that this growth must always remain rooted in the core values that built the brand — trust, quality, integrity, and joy. These principles, instilled by his father decades ago, remain the foundation of the Joyalukkas identity. Reflecting the philosophy that guides his journey, his autobiography Spreading Joy captures his mission to positively impact customers and communities around the world.
From a single jewellery showroom in Abu Dhabi, Joy Alukkas has built a multibillion-dollar global business spanning 12 countries with a 10,500-strong workforce, including the USA, UK, GCC, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. Today, the Group operates 190+ Joyalukkas jewellery showrooms worldwide and over 100 Joyalukkas Money Exchange outlets. The Group’s diversified ventures also include Jolly Silks – Fashion & Silks, Joyalukkas Money Exchange & Remittances, and Joyalukkas Lifestyle Developers.
A committed philanthropist, he leads numerous social initiatives through the Joyalukkas Foundation, to improve millions of lives across health, welfare, and community development.
Joy Alukkas is supported by his wife Mrs. Jolly Joy and is a proud father to three children — John Paul, Mary, and Elsa — all of whom contribute to the Group’s vision. John Paul spearheads international operations as Managing Director, while his sons-in-law Antony Jos and Thomas Mathew serve as Executive Directors of Joyalukkas India.
Celebrated globally and honoured with multiple awards, Joy Alukkas remains one of the jewellery industry’s most influential leaders, continuously shaping the future of the brand while staying true to a legacy built on trust and joy.

Mr. Thomas Matthew

Mr. Thomas Mathew serves as the Executive Director of Joyalukkas Jewelry, one of the pioneering companies behind the Indian jewelry retail sector. The company has an annual turnover of over 30,000 Crore and it operates 178 stores across 12 countries employing close to 10,000 personnels.

Mr. Thomas holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University, USA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from SRM University, Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Thomas has amassed over eight years of experience working with globally reputed organisations such as Apple Inc., GlobalFoundries, and Siemens Energy Inc. During his tenure at Apple, he served as Product Manager for the iPhone team, where he ensured world-class production standards, spearheaded quality initiatives, and resolved complex operational challenges.

In 2024, Mr. Thomas returned to India to lead the operations of Joyalukkas India, focusing on driving innovation, quality, and operational excellence across all facets of the business. His leadership is characterised by a deep commitment to continuous improvement, technological advancement, and sustainable organisational growth.

With a rare blend of technical mastery, strategic insight, and managerial vision, Mr. Thomas Mathew is poised to steer Joyalukkas India into its next phase of expansion and excellence.

Mr. Chandan Satyarth

Chandan Satyarth is an engineering graduate and postgraduate from IIT Kanpur and a postgraduate from IIM Udaipur. He is currently working as Assistant Manager in the Market Development and Supervision Division, Department of Metals and Commodities at the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). He has been associated with the supervision and development of the bullion ecosystem in GIFT IFSC. He has previously worked in Infosys BPM for two years.

Mr. Johnson Lewis

Johnson Lewis, Co-founder of FINMET is a seasoned banking and precious metals professional with over 30 years of expertise and a recognised leadership track record in India’s bullion industry. As a founding member of ScotiaMocatta’s India operations, he played a significant role in shaping the country’s bullion market for more than two decades. With global experience across New York, London, Hong Kong, and Dubai, His work has helped expand bullion banking solutions for industrial and corporate clients, particularly in hedging and risk management. Johnson has also influenced policy advancements through his involvement in the RBI Working Group on Hedging Commodity Price Risk (2018).

Mr. Moses Bodea

Moses Bodea is an Executive Assistant at GoldInvest, where he combines operational precision with strategic foresight to drive innovation in the precious metals and fintech industries. With a strong foundation in high-value logistics and executive operations, Moses plays a pivotal role in shaping initiatives across digital transformation, supply chain, and organizational growth.

Recognized for his integrity, cross-cultural fluency, and results-driven mindset, he serves as a trusted advisor and execution partner to senior leadership—bridging the gap between vision and implementation. His work reflects a deep commitment to operational excellence, sustainable growth, and the modernization of gold trading in an increasingly global and technology-driven landscape.

Mr. Arnav Datta

Currently working as Vice President & Head – Collaterals, Warehousing Operations & Delivery settlement at Multi Commodity Exchange Clearing Corporation Ltd., Mumbai.

Over 22 years of experience in various Business Development and Operational domains of different Products, Commodity Exchange, Clearing Corporation Operations, Repository services, electronic receipt and Mandi operations, Surveying, Inspections, Logistics, Supply Chain Management and Warehousing Operations. Well versed with all bullion, food, agricultural and non-agricultural commodities’ handling, storage, movement, quality, prices and trade. Have worked in past with NCDEX, SGS India, Bureau Veritas and CDSL. Post Graduate in Management and also in Plant Breeding & Genetics.

Mr Haresh Acharya

Mr. Haresh Acharya is a Director at Parker Precious Metals LLP, a company known for its strong presence in the Indian bullion market and expertise in refining gold and silver. With over 20 years of experience in the gold business, Mr. Acharya has built a wide network for sourcing gold dore bars worldwide and played a key role in establishing Parker Precious Metals as a trusted player in the bullion refining sector.

Mr. Achal Abhishek

AGM & Head, Bullion branch, State Bank of India, Mumbai

 More than 27 years of Experience in Banking with exposure of Treasury operations, HR matters, Credit management and also experience of working in handling branches to Head Office to Global markets in SBI. Avid reader of various topics including Technical Analysis, Astrology and Occult Science, Holistic Health related matters including NLP ( Neuro Linguistic Programming).

 His niche includes:

-Technical Analysis of Gold having Analysis with Order flow, volume profile and market profile.

-Use of minimum indicators.

– Use of Astrological Analysis for determining timing and Technical Analysis for overall direction of Gold

– Flavour for Teaching Technical and Astrological Analysis

– ⁠Firm believer of the fact that Mind is the key to the Man.

Mr. Chirag Sheth

Business Growth Strategist | Precious Metals & Commodities Market Research | Investment Solutions Leader
A proponent of advances across the precious metals industry in India, I have successful project experience in assisting clients with actionable insights to make better investment decisions and improve their investment returns. With admirable experience and solid knowledge in precious metals market research and global industry analysis, I championed in identifying and exploring the major drivers that propel new opportunities for the growth of the market.
Being a chief member of the Metals Focus India Business unit, I have provided mindful leadership to improve technical capabilities and infuse trust & loyalty among clients through strategically governing research output for South & SE Asia. Competently, led a large team of analysts dedicated to delivering reliable statistical data, fi eld research fi ndings, and trend forecasting for the precious metals markets.
Apart from mapping and monitoring research functions, I had the rare ability to generate high-value sales from high-profi le clients and represented the organization at international conferences and seminars and constantly came out with new ideas/relevant market information that grab the media’s attention.

Mr. Gernot Hinteregger

Gernot is an experienced executive and precious-metals specialist, shaping strategy and innovation at GOLDINVEST and EMAS TECHNOLOGY. He focuses on developing next-generation software systems that make physical gold and other precious metals liquid, accessible, and usable through modern communication technologies. Known for his strength in process optimization and business development, Gernot consistently opens new avenues for growth while refining operational efficiency. His leadership blends strategic clarity with an innovative mindset, contributing to a dynamic company culture and strong customer value.

Mr. Harshit Gupta

Harshit Gupta is a seasoned business leader and strategic growth architect with deep expertise in consumer businesses, alliances, and financial services. Currently serving as Head – Digital Consumer Business at MMTC‑PAMP, India, he is responsible for steering the company’s digital consumer portfolio—driving partnerships, business strategy and growth in one of India’s leading precious-metals brands.

Harshit’s professional journey spans across B2C and B2B domains in the BFSI and digital consumer landscape, underpinned by a “consumer-first” mindset and a track record of innovation and transformation, with reputed institutions such as the State Bank of India and the Aditya Birla Group. His leadership has also earned him recognition as a “40 Under 40” industry standout.

With his strong foundation in product and distribution strategy, strategic partnerships, and scaling digital ecosystems, Harshit offers the panel a unique vantage point at the intersection of financial services, consumer behaviour, and digital commerce.

Mr. Hemant Verma

Manager, IFSCA

Hemant Verma is an engineering graduate from IIT Jodhpur and a post graduate from IIM Lucknow. He is currently working as Manager in the Market Development and Supervision Division, Department of Metals and Commodities at the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). He has been associated with the regulation, supervision and development of the bullion ecosystem in GIFT IFSC and previously, has also worked in the Market Regulations Division of the Dept of Metals and Commodities and in the Department of Capital Markets at IFSCA. He is part of the team currently involved in the drafting of the IFSCA Good Delivery Guidelines.

Mr. James Jose

James Jose is the promoter and Managing director of CGR Metalloys pvt ltd ,Kochi , a BIS licensed gold refinery, operational for the past 30 years . He is the founder & past secretary of Association of gold refineries and Mints and President of  the Precious Metals Refineries Forum  -PMRF , the all India association of gold and silver refineries .

Also pioneer in gold and silver hallmarking , with India’s first BIS recognized hallmarking centre -CGR Hallmarkers pvt ltd ,Cochin  and is the  President of the  Hallmarking Federation of India , the all India association of hallmarking centres . He is also a member of the Mtd10  technical committee, that formulates the national standards for the  gold, silver and diamond industry, since 2002 .

Ms. Jennifer Difiva. E

Ms. Jennifer Difiva E is an accomplished management professional with over 18 years of diverse experience spanning government policy, SEZ Ecosystem, compliance, international trade, commodities market and business development.She is currently serving as the Deputy Development Commissioner (Gazetted Officer) under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, for the Special Economic Zones (SEZs). In this capacity, she oversees the operations of over 17 SEZs and more than 183 active companies across
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (TAP region). She also supervises the functioning of over 150 Export Oriented Units (EOUs) across the region.

Before her tenure with the Ministry of Commerce, Ms. Jennifer served with MMTC Limited, one of India’s leading Public Sector Enterprises, as Senior Manager (Commodities). During her 13 years in the bullion sector, she played a pivotal role in reviving MMTC’s bullion business in 2018, leading the company’s foray into supplying gold to export-oriented manufacturers. This strategic initiative resulted in a major business turnaround, expanding the client base by over 100 new customers and generating business worth ₹3,000 crore. She also formulated the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the disposal of gold seized by Customs, which was later institutionalised by both MMTC and the Customs Department. Her outstanding contributions earned her the Highest Importer Award from Trichy Customs (2020–21), and she consistently achieved record turnovers of ₹3,000 crore in Bullion and ₹350 crore in Fertilizers annually.

The vast expertise she has cultivated over the years has led to her appointment as the Lead for Bullion Development within the SEZs of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In this role, she is responsible for developing a robust ecosystem for bullion players, facilitating trade growth, and ensuring a policy-driven, inclusive, and sustainable industrial framework.

Mr. Mahendran K

With over three decades of unparalleled business expertise, I possess a wealth of results-driven knowledge, specializing in Commodities, particularly Precious Metals, Minerals, and Banking. My extensive career spans key business drivers, honed through successful tenures at top-tier Government organizations, leading global banks, and a century-old private bank, navigating diverse markets across India and internationally. In the arena of Precious Metals, my deep expertise spans a wide array of critical functions: Marketing, Risk Management, Compliance, Logistics, Accounting & Audit, Administration, Legal, Business Strategy, Sourcing, Retail, Derivatives, Treasury, Trading, and more. With a strong reputation in this industry, I have cultivated a distinctive brand and established a significant foothold for myself in both Indian and global markets A testament to my capabilities is the independent and successful establishment of the whole Precious Metals business desk within a bank & achieving profitability from its very first year of operations. This achievement involved securing regulatory approvals, managing International consignment agreements with top-tier global banks, implementing secure cutting-edge bullion accounting and trading systems, getting together a high-performance team and ensuring robust governance across business, client, operational, and compliance functions.

As a Domain Specialist, I have cultivated a powerful network of relationships with key stakeholders, including Clients, International Banks (notably in the US, UK, Australia, UAE), Regulators, Trade Bodies, Statutory Authorities, and Business Counterparties.

Driven by a relentless passion for delivering rapid growth and revenue generation, I possess the commercial acumen, energy, and resilience to secure market leadership positions. My expertise spans Business Development, Strategic Planning, Sourcing, Credit Risk, Hedging, Inventory Management, and Bullion Banking, providing clients with impactful solutions that fuel sustainable growth.

An open-minded, results-oriented leader with exceptional interpersonal communication skills, I thrive in collaborative environments, inspiring teams to surpass business objectives while maintaining a forward-thinking and solution-driven approach to every challenge.

Mr. Keyur Shah

CEO – Precious Metals Business, Muthoot Pappachan Group

Keyur Shah has been with the Muthoot Pappachan Group since October 2012. 

He is the CEO of Muthoot Exim Precious Metals Business, part of the Muthoot Pappachan Group, which specializes in development and marketing of precious metals related products and services. His role includes development of a new business vertical for the Group that caters to the Indian consumers via strategic initiatives and customer friendly precious metals solutions and product offerings including new age digital offerings.

Prior to his current role, Keyur was the Director (Investment Projects) at the World Gold Council where he was instrumental in development and implementation World Gold Council’s Investment Strategy in India that included the Gold Savings Retail Programmes via Banks & Post Offices, Gold linked Micro-Finance programmes, Gold Accumulation Plan, etc. 

Keyur has 29+ years of experience in Strategic Business Planning & Implementation, Product Development, Brand Management and Communication, and Business Development Activities. His career has spanned various geographies like USA, the Middle East and India in organizations like World Gold Council, Motorola, M&C Saatchi, Leo Burnett and Wipro Infotech. 

He holds a Bachelors Degree in Electronics Engineering and an MBA in Marketing. 

Mr. Kinjal Shah

Kinjal joined RJC in April 2015 and is responsible for establishing the appeal and relevance of the RJC in the Asian market, he is based in Surat -Indian a major diamond manufacturing region in the world. His role is to engage with important stakeholders within the industry to create awareness and promote the RJC’s profile to encourage and support RJC membership growth, impact and influence in Asia. Kinjal has over 2.5 decades of experience in Sustainability sector with several industries, 20 years of which is within the gem and jewellery industry. 

Mr. Kaushal Mehta

Kaushal Mehta, based in Mumbai, MH, IN, is currently a Vice President at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Kaushal Mehta brings experience from previous roles at Anand Rathi Commodities Ltd. Kaushal Mehta holds a 2003 – 2005 Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance, General from SIES. With a robust skill set that includes Commodity, Derivatives, Capital Markets, Currency, Trading and more.

Specialties: New Product / Business Development : Taking responsibility for new product development from the time of idea generation to creating a roadmap and finally implementation

Ms. Krishna Gangopadhyay

Krishna is a management professional and a business transformation practitioner with more than two decades of experience. She has played a number of leadership roles in the areas of strategy, consulting, risk management, analytics and business development. She has both industry & management consulting experience across Capital Markets, Banking & Financial services, Telecom sector.
Krishna is MD&CEO of India International Depository IFSC Ltd (IIDI). Prior to IIDI, she was MD & CEO of AFRINEX Ltd, a pan African Exchange at Mauritius and part of the core team that set up the Exchange.
Krishna was Head of Strategy, International Relations and Listing and member of the Executive Committee at India International Exchange (India INX). She managed the set up of India INX at GIFT International Financial Services Centre.
Krishna is an MBA from IIM, Calcutta and Post graduate in Economics and rank holder from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Mr. Manish Goel

Mr. Manish Goel is a seasoned banking professional, with 25 years of rich experience in the bullion industry. He is leading – the Bullion & Retail Bullion Product business desk at ICICI Bank Ltd for last 5 years. Prior to ICICI Bank Limited, he worked with ScotiaMocatta for twenty years and his last stint was as the head of the Trading & Physical.

His wide experience covers designing and introduction of various products like GDS, ETF Custody, Gold forwards in the Indian bullion market. His professional input is not only restricted to the Indian market, but he has a vivid understanding of UAE, Hong Kong, London & New York markets and has hands on experience in trading, funding and physicals across different geographies.  

He has also been a part of multiple forums for interaction & sharing his insightful views on current business dynamics and new product developments to various regulators. 

Member of:-

Founding Member of Indian Bullion Banker Association (IBBA)

Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) working group on bullion business

Expert Committee on Commodity trading – IFSCA

Precious Metals Advisory Committee – IFSCA

Mr. Muhammad Shafi Poyilan

Muhammad Shafi Poyilan is an AML/CFT Expert at the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. He is an experienced financial crime compliance professional with more than 17 years of experience in AML/CFT domain in private and public sectors. He is currently pursuing PhD from IIM Kozhikode with research interest in AML/CFT. Before joining the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Muhammad was working for various regional and local banks in the UAE in their AML/CFT Compliance functions.

Prof. Priya Narayanan

Priya Narayanan is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode. Her research focuses on consumer perception of brands and influencers in the context of generative AI. A second stream of research focuses on gold consumption in India. She has worked on multiple grant-funded and award-winning research projects. She teaches a range of doctoral, graduate, and executive courses, including the well-received ‘The CMO’s Playbook’. She also actively engages with early-stage businesses and is a member of the board of governors at IIMK LIVE, the business incubator at IIM Kozhikode.

Priya earned her PhD in Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, as a winner of the institute-wide best dissertation award. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad where she won merit scholarships awarded to the top five percent of her class each year. Priya completed her BTech (honors) degree with first rank from APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. Prior to her PhD, Priya was a strategy consultant with a global firm. Outside of work, she enjoys writing on marketing and business at her blog.

Mr. Surendra Mehta

Surendra Mehta is a qualified chartered Accountant from 1988 batch.

He has been appointed as National secretary of 106-year-old association India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) since 2012. He is also precious metal advisory committee member at IFSCA, Government of India.

He has in-depth knowledge of Gold eco system and has delivered more than 500 lecture on gold policy, Hallmarking, Bullion exchanges etc and gold related regulation.

He is one of key person for giving idea about Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) and sovereign gold bond (SGB). He is on product advisory committee of all the commodity exchange. He represents Government on behalf of IBJA for all national issue related to Gold. He was key person to get IBJA gold benchmark rates approved with Reserve Bank of India and Ministry of Finance. He regularly features on various media channel to give his candid views on gold. His quotes and write ups in print media are most awaited in jewellery industry. He is said to be master in interpretation of law related to Gold industry. He is also on steering committee of world gold council for setting up of bullion exchange and bullion bank. IBJA has set up its offices in 31 states under his able leadership. He is key person in implementing OECD guidelines for gold industry.

He regularly features on Zee business and CNBC related to gold views.

Thank you.

Dr Aurelien Kruse

Aurélien is currently the Lead Economist of the Economic Policy team in India. Before starting this position on April 1, 2023, Aurélien worked as an economist in Ghana, Kazakhstan, Nepal, and Kenya. His work spanned Decentralization and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations, Debt Management and Debt Restructuring, and Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategies. He has led and contributed to numerous flagship reports, including country strategies, economic updates, and memoranda.

Aurélien joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2007. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Dr Pravakar Sahoo

Dr. Pravakar Sahoo is a Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi, and currently serves as a Senior Lead at NITI Aayog. With more than two decades of experience in research, teaching, and policy advisory work, he specialises in macroeconomics, international trade and investment, development economics, public finance, infrastructure, and regional economic cooperation.

Dr. Sahoo has previously worked as a Senior Fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and has been associated with globally renowned research institutions, including Bruegel (Belgium), the East-West Center (USA), Asian Development Bank Institute (Japan), University of Antwerp (Belgium), University of Saitama (Japan), PRI – Ministry of Finance (Japan), Institute of Developing Economies (Japan), and several others. He has served as a consultant to various national and international organisations and has worked extensively on India, South Asia, Japan, Korea, China, and the United States.

He teaches Macroeconomics and International Economics to Indian Economic Service (IES) probationers and has contributed significantly to capacity building within government. Dr. Sahoo has authored books and published over 60 research papers in leading national and international journals, along with numerous book chapters, policy studies, and columns in mainstream media on contemporary economic and policy issues.

He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru.

Mr Rishi Agrawal

Rishi Agrawal is the Co-Founder and CEO of TeamLease RegTech, one of India’s leading regulatory technology (RegTech) enterprises transforming how organisations manage compliance in a complex legal environment. Under his leadership, TeamLease RegTech (formerly Avantis RegTech) has built a cloud-based, multi-tenant SaaS platform that significantly reduces non-compliance risks for businesses, enabling a future that is cashless, paperless, presence-less and digitally enabled.

Rishi is recognised as a thought leader in regulatory reform and digital governance. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business, contributing to policy dialogues aimed at creating a more enabling and transparent business ecosystem. His work has been instrumental in advancing the idea that technology can play a decisive role in simplifying India’s regulatory landscape.

Prof. Sudipta Sarangi

Department Head and Professor of Economics at Virginia Tech

Pamplin Hall, Virginia Tech Fax: (540) 231-9288

Blacksburg, VA 24061-0316

E-mail: ssarangi@vt.edu

Tel: (540) 231-7981 3016

Prof. Sudipta Sarangi is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at Virginia Tech. He was a Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at Louisiana State University and a Program Director at the National Science Foundation. He spent the 2023-24 academic year at the Collegium de Lyon as a Fellow of the French Institutes for Advanced Study. His research spans network theory, experimental and behavioral economics, and development economics. Prof. Sarangi received his Ph.D. in Economics from Virginia Tech after obtaining his B.A. in Economics from the University of Delhi and his M.A. in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. 

Prof. Sarangi has consulted for major international organizations, including the World Bank and FAO, and serves on various editorial boards, including journals like Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Public Economic Theory, Oxford Open Economics, and Economic Modelling. One of his most important works is his 2020 Kuznets Prize-winning paper on “ancestral ecological endowments and missing women,” which explores how ecological factors from the past affect current gender differences. He is also the author of The Economics of Small Things, a book written for non-economists that uses commonplace phenomena to explain economics. 

Prof. Sarangi currently serves as a member of the Infosys Prize 2025 in Economics jury, which honors economists who are revolutionizing our understanding of networks, behavior, and development.

Amit Sharma

Amit Shama is the Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Gokaldas Exports. He has more than two and half decades of rich experience across various HR roles of which past more than a decade has been in Leadership positions with top-of-the-line organizations, in a diverse set of industries such as Indian Oil, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, TE Connectivity and Volvo Group.

With a high focus on Business HR, his experience spans on Workforce Strategy, HR Business Partnering, Organization Development, Change Management, Post Merger Integrations, Capability Building, Leadership Development, Employee Relations, Employee Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity at workplace, thus fueling business growth through high-performance Culture. He is a proponent of bringing technology to HR processes while retaining the human connections in the organization.

 Amit has received various internal and external recognitions for his work in HR such as “Impactful HR Leader 2025” by ET Edge; “HR Leader of the Year 2023 – Large Scale Organisations” by The Economic Times; India’s Top 23 HR Influencers for 2023 by HR Association of India; Asia’s 100 Power Leaders in HR 2022 by Whitepage International; India’s 50 Best HR Leaders 2021 by Whitepage International; India’s Most Agile HR Leaders 2021 by Sapphire Connect; Top Indian CHROs to follow on LinkedIn 2020; Top Influential Voices Aug 2020 by SpeakIn and many more such recognitions.

He has been Vice President of the National HRD Network, Bangalore Chapter for the year 2019-21 and also a member of CII’s National Committee on Industrial Relations. Amit and has been speaking on HR topics in various external forums and has been sharing his thoughts through various interviews, articles and perspectives published in HR journals and magazines such as People Matters, Business Today, Human Capital, NHRDN Journal, SightsIn Plus, Business Manager, HR Katha, Economic Times, NIPM Journal etc.

Apart from being MBA(HR), he is certified OD Practitioner from ISABS New Delhi and a certified Coach from International Coaching Federation, USA.

Sohini Sinha

With over two decades of experience, Sohini has covered the spectrum of People functions – from people partnering, employee engagement and organizational development to culture building, leadership development, talent management, coaching and DEI. She has been with the Tata Group for more than ten years, contributing to Titan, TMTC and Tata Electronics where she built multiple teams in green-field projects. She presently leads the people chapter for JLR in India. Prior to her time at Tata, she worked across Microsoft, Accenture and Wipro.

Outside of work, Sohini lives in Bangalore with her family and two beautiful dogs. She enjoys traveling and exploring new places and cultures, is a marine enthusiast, and a certified scuba diver. Giving back to the community is also close to her heart; she’s been an active volunteer with organizations like Bosco.

Sagar Khichade

Sagar Khichade is working with Infosys Limited as a Senior Unit Manager- BPHR with over 18 years of experience in driving impactful people strategies across the entire employee lifecycle. His global experience of working as Geo HR in the USA and in Germany has shaped his ability to blend cultural insights with business priorities. Passionate about Compensation and Benefits, he currently leads a business sub-unit as HR partner, fostering growth and engagement. Beyond his core responsibilities, he also leads the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives for a large unit, with a strong commitment to advancing women into leadership roles. Sagar holds a B.Tech. degree in computer Science and an MBA in HR.

Prof. Karan Babbar

Karan Babbar is an Assistant Professor at Plaksha University, and his research focuses on social and economic inequalities in India, with emphasis on health, education, gender equality, and development.

Prof. Priyoma Mustafi

Priyoma Mustafi is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Ahmedabad University. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. Priyoma’s research interests lie in the fields of development economics and behavioral economics. For much of her work, she uses a combination of lab, field, and online experiments, as well as secondary data, to address questions about gender, households, and incentives.

Prof. Kalyani Chaudhuri

Dr. Kalyani Chaudhuri is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Ashoka University. She completed a PhD in Economics at the University of California, Davis, earlier this year. Kalyani’s research interests lie in behavioral economics and labor economics, with a focus on experimental methods. Her recent work studies the role of stereotypes and beliefs in driving gender disparities in the labor market.

Prof. Amar Sapra

Amar Sapra is Professor in the Production and Operations Management area at IIM Bangalore.  He completed PhD at Cornell University and BE at IIT Roorkee. Prior to joining IIM Bangalore, he taught at the University of Florida and Cornell University in the United States.  Outside of IIMB, he was an independent director on the board of Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd from 2017-23. 

His research interests include Supply Chain Management, Pricing, and Inventory Management. His research has been published in top-tier journals such as Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Productions and Operations Management, and Information Systems Research. One of the chapters from his PhD dissertation received the prestigious Best PhD Student Paper Award in Operations Management in 2003, given annually by the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society. He serves on the editorial review board of the journal, Production and Operations Management. He has also co-authored a book titled, Principles of Inventory Management: When You Are Down to Four, Order More (published by Springer in 2010). He received an Honorable Mention for Best Published Paper in Scheduling and Logistics Track in IIE Transactions (Journal) during 2013 to 2014 for ‘A Continuous Time Analog to the Martingale Model of Forecast Evolution’.  He regularly contributes to popular media on articles related to operations and supply chain management.

His teaching experience, spanning nearly two decades, includes teaching high-rated courses on Supply Chain Management, Inventory Control, Operations Management, Spreadsheet Analytics, Simulation, and Optimization.

Prof. Anant Mishra

Prof. Anant Mishra is the Director of Research and Professor of Supply Chain at the College of Business & Management, VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam, bringing over more than two decades of academic experience in the US to advancing research and teaching in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Prior to this role, he was the Andrew Van de Ven Professor in Supply Chain at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. His research interests derive from contemporary issues in the areas of innovation, public sector operations, public health supply chains, and emerging markets. His research has been published in leading academic business journals such as Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production & Operations Management, and the Journal of Operations Management.

Most recently, he served as Department Editor at Journal of Operations Management, and he is currently a Senior Editor at Production and Operations Management as well as Department Editor at the Decision Sciences Journal. Beyond his editorial responsibilities, he serves as a reviewer for Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management.

He has worked with and advised companies on a range of supply chain issues (relating to sourcing, production, distribution, and analytics). These companies include Best Buy, Bühler Industries, Cafe Imports, Emerson Electric, General Mills, Heraeus, Len Busch Roses, Lutron Electronics, Medtronic, Polaris, Seeonic, Stratasys, Tokyo Electron, and Winnebago Industries.

On the teaching front, he has designed and taught custom Executive Education courses, Executive MBA courses, MBA/Masters level courses, and Undergraduate courses in Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Project Management, Technology Management, and Business Statistics.

Educational Background

• PhD, Business Administration, University of Minnesota, 2009
• MS, Statistics, University of Minnesota, 2009
• Tech, Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 2001

https://vinuni.edu.vn/people/anant-mishra/

Prof. Saravanan Kesavan

Saravanan Kesavan is Professor of Operations and Dean of the BITS School of Management (BITSoM) in Mumbai, India.

His research examines retail operations with a focus on responsible business practices, labor management, and automation, and has been published in top journals and featured in leading outlets including the New York Times and The Economist. He is the associate editor at Management Science, M&SOM, and POM. He has received numerous teaching awards, including fourteen MBA Teaching All Star awards at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Dr. Kesavan earned his doctorate in Technology and Operations Management from Harvard Business School.

Prof. Shashank Rao

Dr. Shashank Rao is the Jim W. Thompson Professor of Supply Chain Management at Auburn University. He previously held a faculty appointment at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He holds a BS in Environmental Engineering (VTU- India), an MBA in Marketing (TAPMI, India), an MS in Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Operations and Supply Chain Management (University of Kentucky). Prior to entering the academy, Rao was a relationship manager at Citigroup and also spent time in the construction sector. His research interests focus on Internet Retailing, Logistics, and the broad intersection of Development Economics and Supply Chain Management. He has published several articles in every empirical journal in the SCMList including the Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Production & Operations Management, Decision Sciences Journal, and Journal of Supply Chain Management. He also serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Business Logistics in addition to serving on the editorial board of several other leading Logistics & SCM journals. Dr. Rao serves as a frequent speaker at academic conferences, executive education seminars, and professional meetings. Recent consulting assignments include work with Target, Aptar Pharma, MercuryGate, Tempur-Sealy International, and the US Department of Labor. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology—Bombay, one of the leading business schools in India.

Prof. Vinod Singhal

Charles W. Brady Chair

Professor of Operations Management

Georgia Institute of Technology

Scheller College of Business

e-mail:  vinod.singhal@scheller.gatech.edu

http://scheller.gatech.edu/directory/faculty/singhal/index.html

Vinod Singhal is the Charles W. Brady Chair Professor of Operations Management at the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. He has a Ph.D. from University of Rochester, Rochester, USA. Prior to joining Georgia Tech., he worked as a Senior Research Scientist at General Motors Research Labs.

Vinod’s research has focused on the impact of operating decisions on accounting and stock market-based performance measures. His research has been supported through grants from the US Department of Labor, National Science Foundation, the American Society of Quality, and the Sloan Foundation. He has published extensively in academic journals and has made more than 200 presentations at different universities. His research has been recognized in the practitioner community through his many articles in industry-practitioner journals and frequent invited presentations as keynote speaker at practitioner conferences. His research has been cited over 200 times in practitioner publications such as Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, Smart Money, CFO Europe, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, and Daily Telegraph.  His research has been extensively cited in academic publications, with over 14,500 citations. His paper “An empirical analysis of the effect of supply chain disruptions on long‐run stock price performance and equity risk of the firm” was voted by the POMS members in 2024 as one of the top-ten papers published in Production and Operations Management in the last 30 years.

Vinod is a Departmental Editor of Production and Operations Management, and Associate Editor of Management Science. He is a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society.  He is a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society.  He served on the Academic Advisory Board of the European School of Management and Technology, Germany.

Vinod’s teaching interests include operations strategy and supply chain management. He has contributed to teaching at an international level, as well, by offering research workshops in countries including Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

Prof. Anant Mishra

Prof. Anant Mishra is the Director of Research and Professor of Supply Chain at the College of Business & Management, VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam, bringing over more than two decades of academic experience in the US to advancing research and teaching in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Prior to this role, he was the Andrew Van de Ven Professor in Supply Chain at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. His research interests derive from contemporary issues in the areas of innovation, public sector operations, public health supply chains, and emerging markets. His research has been published in leading academic business journals such as Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Production & Operations Management, and the Journal of Operations Management.

Most recently, he served as Department Editor at Journal of Operations Management, and he is currently a Senior Editor at Production and Operations Management as well as Department Editor at the Decision Sciences Journal. Beyond his editorial responsibilities, he serves as a reviewer for Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management.

He has worked with and advised companies on a range of supply chain issues (relating to sourcing, production, distribution, and analytics). These companies include Best Buy, Bühler Industries, Cafe Imports, Emerson Electric, General Mills, Heraeus, Len Busch Roses, Lutron Electronics, Medtronic, Polaris, Seeonic, Stratasys, Tokyo Electron, and Winnebago Industries.

On the teaching front, he has designed and taught custom Executive Education courses, Executive MBA courses, MBA/Masters level courses, and Undergraduate courses in Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Project Management, Technology Management, and Business Statistics.

Educational Background

• PhD, Business Administration, University of Minnesota, 2009
• MS, Statistics, University of Minnesota, 2009
• Tech, Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 2001

https://vinuni.edu.vn/people/anant-mishra/

Prof. Gireesh Shrimali

Head of Transition Finance Research
Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, University of Oxford

Prof. Gireesh Shrimali is the Head of Transition Finance Research at the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, University of Oxford, where he leads work on advancing the role of finance in enabling a credible and equitable transition to a net-zero economy. He also serves as the Technical Lead in the Secretariat for the UK Transition Plan Taskforce, established by HM Treasury in 2022.

In addition, Prof. Shrimali is a Visiting Scholar at both the Center for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College London and the Singapore Green Finance Center at Singapore Management University. He previously served as Director of the India Program at the Climate Policy Initiative, and as a Research Fellow with the Sustainable Finance Initiative and the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University. His academic experience includes teaching at Johns Hopkins University, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, the Indian School of Business, and the Indian Institute of Management.

Prof. Shrimali’s research explores renewable-energy finance and policy, the catalytic role of capital in achieving net zero, and pathways for mobilizing long-term, low-cost finance for clean-energy transitions. His work also covers ESG and climate-finance issues, including climate-risk measurement and management, net-zero transition strategies, transition bonds, and Scope 3 emissions. His research has provided policy-relevant insights into areas such as India’s renewable-energy policies, U.S. federal and state-level policy impacts on clean-energy deployment, and sustainable business models for off-grid energy in developing economies.

Prof. Shrimali holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, an M.S. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Before his academic career, he spent over nine years in the technology industry, designing high-speed networking and computing systems.

Shri Manu Srivastava

IAS

Additional Chief Secretary, New & Renewable Energy Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh

Shri Manu Srivastava, an accomplished Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1991 batch, is widely regarded for his leadership in designing and delivering pioneering renewable energy initiatives in India. With B.Tech. and M.Tech. degrees in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi and over three decades in public service—including 15 years dedicated to the energy sector—he has been at the forefront of India’s clean energy transformation.

He is best known as the principal architect of the 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Project, a defining milestone in India’s solar journey. As the first project in the country to break grid-parity, Rewa set new benchmarks for tariff reduction and sectoral innovation. It remains the only solar project in India supplying power to an institutional customer, enabling the Delhi Metro to run on clean energy. Rewa’s impact has been recognized globally, earning the World Bank Group’s President’s Award for Innovation and Excellence and inclusion as a case study at Harvard University and Singapore Management University.

Shri Srivastava has also introduced a groundbreaking zero-investment model for rooftop solar, enabling public institutions to adopt solar power with no upfront cost and benefiting from long-term savings. This model, along with the Rewa project, was recognized by the Capacity Building Commission, Government of India, as one of the top 15 “Innovations in Public Administration.” His rooftop solar initiatives have consistently achieved some of the lowest tariffs in the country, and he is presently collaborating with NITI Aayog to expand these solutions across health institutions nationwide.

Before his contributions to renewable energy, he played a key role in enabling 24×7 power supply in Madhya Pradesh and previously served in the Government of India, overseeing the natural gas sector. Through his visionary approach and technical grounding, Shri Manu Srivastava continues to shape India’s renewable energy landscape and drive transformative change at scale.

Mr. Avnish Kumar

Mr. Avnish Kumar is the Founder and CEO of LivNSense GreenOps Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based climate-tech company enabling heavy industries to transition toward low-carbon, energy-efficient operations through advanced AI, IoT, and digital-twin technologies. With over 25 years of experience across engineering, IT, advanced analytics, and industrial transformation, Avnish blends deep technical expertise with strategic leadership to address one of the most urgent global challenges: industrial decarbonization. A graduate of NIT Durgapur with an MBA from the University of Melbourne, he has built LivNSense around a clear mission — to help “hard-to-abate” sectors such as cement, metals, petrochemicals, and infrastructure drastically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while improving process efficiencies and operational profitability. His flagship platform, GreenOps, uses real-time data, soft sensors, and AI-driven predictive analytics to optimize energy use, monitor emissions, and guide industrial clients along a measurable, science-based path to sustainability.

Under Avnish’s leadership, LivNSense has developed more than 165 proprietary AI models and secured USD 2.75 million in pre-Series A funding to accelerate its impact in global markets. The company has been recognized by leading sustainability, manufacturing, and climate-tech forums for its innovative approach to real-time emission monitoring, energy optimization, and ESG-compliant industrial performance. Avnish’s work offers a compelling demonstration that decarbonization and profitability are not competing priorities but mutually reinforcing outcomes when supported by intelligent data-driven systems. As a speaker, he brings a powerful perspective on the future of sustainable industrial transformation, showcasing how India can lead the Green Transition by modernizing legacy industries through AI-enabled innovation, digital twins, and next-generation climate-tech solutions. His vision positions LivNSense as a key enabler of cleaner, smarter, and more resilient industrial ecosystems for a low-carbon future.

Mr. Tanmay Pandya

Tanmay Pandya is the Founder and Director of Brisil Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Gujarat-based cleantech enterprise that has emerged as a national leader in sustainable materials innovation. A Chemical Engineer from IIT-BHU, Tanmay has dedicated his career to converting India’s environmental challenges into pathways for green industrial transformation. At Brisil, he pioneered a patented process that transforms rice husk ash—one of the country’s most abundant agricultural wastes—into high-performance precipitated silica, a key raw material used in tyres, rubber, paints, plastics, FMCG and oral care products. By replacing traditional mining and energy-intensive chemical production with a low-carbon, waste-to-value technology, Tanmay’s work reduces emissions, prevents open-field waste burning and establishes a circular, resource-efficient supply chain. His innovation exemplifies how deep-tech entrepreneurship can drive the green transition in core industrial sectors, connecting rural waste ecosystems with high-tech manufacturing and demonstrating how sustainability and commercial scalability can coexist.

Under Tanmay’s leadership, Brisil has achieved significant milestones, including the successful commercialisation of its patented technology, recognition by leading incubators and sustainability platforms, and partnerships with major industrial consumers seeking greener alternatives. The company has also secured competitive funding for its technology development, expanded its production capacity, and positioned itself as India’s first and only manufacturer of eco-friendly precipitated silica from rice husk ash. Tanmay’s work has been featured in national innovation and cleantech forums, reinforcing his reputation as a pioneering voice in sustainable materials, circular economy strategies and next-generation green manufacturing. His journey stands as a powerful example of how science-driven innovation can accelerate India’s shift toward a low-carbon economy, making him an impactful speaker on the theme of ‘Innovations for Green Transition.’

Dr. Akshay Jain

Dr. Akshay Jain is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cancrie, a pioneering cleantech company transforming agricultural waste into advanced carbon nanomaterials for next-generation energy storage. With a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he specialised in material innovation and sustainable chemical processes, Dr Jain has spent more than a decade developing technologies that lie at the intersection of circular economy, nanotechnology, and clean energy. His work is guided by a central belief that the waste streams of today can become the high-performance materials of tomorrow — an idea he has successfully turned into a commercially viable reality through Cancrie.

Founded in 2020, Cancrie uses a patented process to convert coconut shells — one of India’s most abundant and underutilised agricultural byproducts — into ultra-pure nanocarbon that enhances the performance of lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and other energy-storage devices. Traditionally, the energy-storage industry relies heavily on carbon blacks and synthetic graphites derived from fossil fuels, both carbon-intensive and environmentally damaging materials. Dr Jain’s innovation replaces these with bio-derived carbon that not only reduces greenhouse-gas emissions but also improves energy efficiency, charge acceptance, and battery lifespan. Studies and industry pilots have shown that Cancrie’s nanocarbon can increase energy-storage capacity by up to 125%, significantly extend battery cycle life, and reduce overall material cost — a breakthrough that has attracted global attention from battery manufacturers, EV-ecosystem developers, and sustainability leaders.

Under Dr Jain’s leadership, Cancrie is rapidly becoming a frontrunner in India’s green-materials revolution. The startup has been featured by YourStory, Inc42, The Better India, and multiple energy-tech platforms and has collaborated with leading industrial partners to test and integrate its material into commercial battery systems. His work directly supports national and global goals for clean energy, particularly in the context of electric mobility, grid storage, renewable integration, and decarbonisation of industrial supply chains. By delivering a high-value material derived entirely from waste, Dr Jain demonstrates how indigenous innovation can contribute to the world’s growing demand for sustainable, high-performance energy solutions.

Beyond his entrepreneurial role, Dr Akshay Jain is a passionate advocate for responsible innovation and materials that enable the Green Transition. His insights span sustainable material design, circular manufacturing, waste-valorisation, nanotechnology, and the future of energy storage in a low-carbon world. He is known for his ability to translate deep technical research into accessible, strategic, and impactful conversations — making him a powerful voice in discussions on how India can lead the next era of climate-driven industrial transformation.

Prof. Leona Chandra

Leona Chandra Kruse is a professor of Information Systems at the University of Agder in Norway. Her research focuses on how people use information systems for work and leisure and how the technologies should be designed to provide people with support, pleasure, and security. She examines legacy and emerging technologies, such as decision support systems, simulated AI persona, digital companions, non-fungible tokens, and immersive technologies. Her research has been recognized with several awards, including the Young Researcher Award 2024 from Agder Academy of Sciences and Letters and the AIS Senior Scholar’s best Information Systems publication in 2018. Leona is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Strategic Information Systems and the European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). She will begin her term as Associate Editor for Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) in 2026. She is currently curating special issues for Decision Support Systems, EJIS, and the Journal of Information Technology. 

Prof. Elizabeth George

Elizabeth George (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is the KPMG Professor of Management Studies at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on how relations at work are shaped by the different types of work contracts held by individuals (short-term versus open-ended contracts), and how these affect workgroup relationships, trust in the management, performance, and the nature of work. A second stream of work examines how differences in demographic characteristics (for example gender/ethnicity) affect individuals in work groups. Her work has found that the effects of differences are asymmetrical depending on the status hierarchies within which individuals work. She has served on the Board of Governors and the executive committee of the Managerial and Organizational Cognition and the Organizational Behavior Divisions of the Academy of Management. She is co-editor-in-chief the Academy of Management Annals and has previously been co-editor in chief of Organizational Psychology Review and associate editor on the Academy of Management Annals, Australian Journal of Management, and Organization Studies. She serves on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Academy of Management Discoveries.

Prof. Prithviraj Chattopadhyay

Prithviraj Chattopadhyay is a professor of management at the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD in Management from the University of Texas at Austin. His research on relational demography and diversity, managerial cognition, and employment externalization has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science and Strategic Management Journal. He is currently Editor, Academy of Management Discoveries. He was an Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Journal (2016-2019) and is currently a member of the editorial boards of Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Strategy and Management and Organizational Psychology Review.

Professor Tazeeb Rajwani

Tazeeb Rajwani is a Chaired Professor in International Business and Strategy and Former Head of the Department of Strategy and International Business at Surrey Business School (2019-2024).  He is also Visiting Professor at University of Michigan, Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management, Visiting Professor at The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at University of Pretoria, Fellow at University of Edinburgh and Board Member of the University of St Andrews Executive Education Advisory Group. He was previously Professor of International Business and Strategy, Head of Executive Education and member of the Advisory Board at University of Essex.  Prior to joining Essex, he was an Associate Professor (Reader) in Strategic Management & Director of Executive MBA at Cranfield School of Management. He has held visiting faculty positions at University of Oxford, London Business School, Kings College London, University of Warwick, University of Notre Dame, University of Peking, Imperial College London, ESMT, Queens University and Hult International Business School.  He has been a Director of Strategy at a high-tech start-up. Prior to these roles he held a management position at KPMG in Corporate Finance, where he was an Innovation Champion and member of the Thought Leadership group at KPMG. His unique role at KPMG also included managing large complex projects globally with a particular focus on Corporate Finance.

An awarding winning researcher and leading global authority on geopolitics and business-government relations. He has written over 60 academic papers, 2 books, 5 book chapters, several reports and white papers on topics of strategic management, political risk, nonmarket strategy, corporate political activity, corporate social responsibility and business model innovation. His work appears in Organization Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Perspectives, Global Strategy Journal, Strategic Organization, Long Range Planning, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Groups & Organizations Management, British Journal of Management, International Business Review, Management International Review, Journal of International Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, and Journal of Business Research, to name a few outlets. His research has been reported in prominent media outlets, including the The Times, BBC, Financial Times, Irish Times, Forbes, Al Jazeera, and more. He has published a highly acclaimed book contracted by Oxford University Press on ‘Aligning for Advantage: Competitive Strategies for the Political and Social Arenas’ and a ‘Routledge Companion to Non-Market Strategy‘. He is the Associate Editor at Academy of Management Perspectives (ABS 4), Consulting Editor at Journal of International Management (ABS 3*), Co-Editor-in-Chief at Multinational Business Review (ABS 3*), editorial board member of Journal of International Business Studies (ABS 4*), Journal of Management Studies (ABS 4),  Global Strategy Journal (ABS 4), Journal of World Business (ABS 4), British Journal of Management (ABS 4), Long Range Planning (ABS 4), International Business Review (ABS 3*), Journal of Business Research (2021-2023) and reviews regularly for Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, Journal of World Business, Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Organization, Business and Society, Journal of International Management, Long Range Planning, British Journal of Management, and other leading world class journals. He has also been involved in a £1.2M ESRC grant focused on AI and economic growth. His work also has some policy implications and he has given over 200 keynotes/seminars/workshops in over 30 countries. 

As a recipient of various teaching awards from highly respected universities, he has gained a broad range of executive teaching experience, e.g. IT, energy, casinos, consumer goods, insurance, automotives, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, banking, hospitality and several government bodies. He has taught and facilitated many discussions with executives from major organisations such as Oracle, KPMG, PwC, IBM, BNP Paribas, EDF Energy, Royal Sun Alliance, Philips, Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum, HSBC, Coca Cola, Henkel, Jaguar Land Rover, Willis Tower Watson, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), EY, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), HP, Gulf bank, Co-operative Retail Bank, Telekom Malaysia, South African Airways, Adani Group, Ministry of Defence (MOD), Central Bank of Nigeria, Aditya Birla Group (ABG), Avon and Somerset Probation Trust, Actavis, Stanbic Bank, China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, Rank Group, United Nations (UN), Quadrangle, Cisco Systems, Oxford Nanopore Technologies and others. He has facilitated senior management/board level workshops and has run executive programs on corporate strategy, strategic leadership and international business in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. 

He has previously studied at the University of Surrey, University of Nottingham, University of Cambridge (Visiting PhD scholar) and has a PhD from Imperial College London. He is also an active member of Strategic Management Society, Academy of International Business and Academy of Management. He is Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), Member of World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert Network and Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA). When not knee deep in research papers, he enjoys running, watching football and a good cup of coffee. In all of the above, his passion is way ahead of his talents.

Prof. Kanti V. Mardia

Professor Kanti V. Mardia, OBE, Senior Research Professor  at the University of Leeds, is a pioneer in multivariate analysis, directional statistics, and shape analysis. His contributions have advanced statistical science and interdisciplinary research worldwide. His honours include the Guy Medal in Silver (RSS), the Wilks Memorial Award (ASA), and the OBE in His Majesty’s New Year Honours List 2023. The Royal Statistical Society  established the annual Mardia Prize in 2016, and the University of Leeds inaugurated the Mardia Triennial Lecture Series in 2024 in recognition of his lasting influence.

Dr. Manas Gaur

Dr. Manas Gaur is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in the Department of Computer Science, where he directs the Knowledge-infused AI and Inference Lab (KAI²-Lab). Recognized as an AAAI New Faculty Award recipient in 2023, Dr. Gaur has established himself as a pioneering researcher in Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Gaur is also authoring an upcoming book on “Knowledge-Infused Learning” with Cambridge University Press, further solidifying his position as a leading voice in trustworthy and explainable artificial intelligence. Before joining academia, Dr. Gaur gained valuable industry experience as a Senior AI Research Scientist at Samsung Research America’s AI Center and served as a Visiting Researcher at the prestigious Alan Turing Institute in the UK. He earned his PhD from the Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of South Carolina in 2022, where Dr. Amit Sheth advised him after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Delhi Technological University in India. Dr. Gaur’s research excellence has been supported by multiple prestigious fellowships, including the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Data Science Fellowship and Dataminr AI for Social Good Fellowship, and his work has earned best paper awards from IEEE Internet Computing and IEEE Intelligent Systems. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC), Associate Editor of ACM Transactions on Computing for Health, Organizer of Workshop on Knowledge-infused Learning, and Advisor to multiple startups in India and the US.

Ms. Akshaya Ayyangar

Akshaya Ayyangar is a Senior Research Associate at Okapi Research and Advisory, an IIT Madras incubated company and at the Chennai Resilience Centre, an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation. She has more than 10 yrs of research experience in urban governance and resilience specifically around water systems, solid waste management, disasters and urban agriculture. At both organisations she co-leads research and implementation of various projects. Akshaya is interested in understanding the linkages between climate change, urbanisation and the society from an equity and justice perspective especially through applied research and implementing projects on the ground. She has co-authored several articles and reports in these topics and has a master’s degree in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Bristol.

Dr. Arabinda Padhee

Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer (1996 batch), currently serving as the Principal Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, and as the Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri. He holds a Ph.D. from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Birmingham, with additional public policy training from leading institutions in India and abroad. Over a distinguished career, he has held key leadership roles in the Governments of Odisha and India, including a tenure as Country Director with a CGIAR institution. Dr. Padhee has received multiple national honors, including the Indian Red Cross Society’s National Award for Humanitarian Services and the AIASA National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Agriculture. A respected voice in agriculture policy, he has served on the World Bank’s India Agriculture Policy Advisory Group and the National Advisory Panel on Agriculture–Nutrition under Poshan Abhiyaan, and has represented India at major international forums, including the UNFCCC COP.

Dr. Arabinda Mishra

Dr. Arabinda Mishra is a trained economist with over 25 years of experience in interdisciplinary research, capacity building, and policy engagement on sustainable development, livelihoods, climate adaptation, and resilience building. He has held senior leadership roles at institutions such as ICIMOD, TERI, TERI University, and CMDR, and most recently led multi-country initiatives on adaptation solutions for mountain communities across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. He currently serves as the Trustee and Chairperson of the Development & Environment Futures Trust (DEFT), alongside his roles as Senior Policy Advisor to the Population Council and Senior Consultant to the Asian Development Bank, where he supports climate action and regional cooperation among SAARC nations.

Mr. Ashish Khanna

Mr. Ashish Khanna is a veteran energy executive with over three decades of experience spanning renewable energy, infrastructure development, and project and contract management across India and internationally. Before taking over as CEO of Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL), he led the Adani Group’s International Energy Business and previously served as President of Generation at Tata Power, following his early career with Bharat Petroleum. Under his leadership, AGEL has expanded rapidly, surpassing 15,000 MW of renewable capacity by mid-2025 and advancing an ambitious plan to reach 50 GW by 2030, driven by disciplined capital strategy and a strong commitment to long-term green growth.

Mr. Jagan Shah

Jagan Shah is the Chief Executive Officer of The Infravision Foundation, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank driving infrastructure-led economic development. He is an architect and urbanist with a strong interest in the future of cities. Currently a senior expert in urban development policy and practice at Artha Global, he has been engaged with the urban sector in India for more than twenty years, through consultancy, teaching, writing, and public speaking.

From 2013 to 2019, he served as Director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, a leading urban think tank in India. Under his leadership, the organisation provided evidence-based policy and planning support to urban local bodies, state governments, and the central Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This support covered a diverse range of subjects, including smart city development, e-governance, integrated spatial and physical planning, water and sanitation, municipal finance, transit-oriented development, land value capture, resilience, and sustainability. He is a member of the Board of Trustees, Clean Air Asia India. He has also served as a consultant with the World Bank and a Resident Senior Fellow at the IDFC Institute. Mr. Shah received his education and training at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; the University of Cincinnati; and Columbia University, New York.

Mr. Jayraman Chillayill

Dr. Jayaraman is the Co-Founder and MD of EQUINOCT Community Sourced Modelling Solutions. He holds a Ph.D. in Energy Management from the Amrita School of Business, a Bachelor of Technology from NIT Calicut, and an MBA from IGNOU. Dr. Jayaraman is a two-time Fulbright Scholar (Fulbright Nehru Environmental Leadership program, 2010 and Fulbright Kalam Climate Fellow, 2018-19). He has over 28 years of industrial and research expertise, serving in various leadership positions at BPCL Kochi Refinery, the Albertian Institute of Science and Technology, and other organizations. He was the first Kerala State Coordinator of Petroleum Conservation Research Association, an organisation under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. His research expertise includes the development of large-scale survey instruments to study energy and fuel consumption, as well as the consumption and adoption of energy-efficient household consumer goods and renewable energy adoption, with a particular focus on developing behaviorally informed policy tools. He is currently involved in developing community-owned management solutions to enhance the acceptance and accessibility of renewable energy.

Ms. Kavery Ganguly

Ms. Kavery Ganguly is Principal Lead at the CII Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence (FACE), where she drives strategy, programs, and policy engagement across India’s agriculture and food systems. With over 18 years of professional experience in agriculture and food-policy research and advocacy, she has worked with leading global and national institutions including IFPRI, ICRIER, NCAER, and as a short-term consultant for ADB, UNU-WIDER, and Cornell University. Her work spans agricultural markets, food and nutrition policy, innovation systems, and value-chain development, and she has co-created multi-stakeholder platforms focused on agri-innovation and nutrition. Ms. Ganguly has deep experience in analytics, stakeholder engagement, and fund mobilization, and has authored several peer-reviewed publications, reports, and media articles. She also co-edited a Springer volume on agricultural value chains in 2022, and continues to serve as a key bridge between government, industry, academia, and grassroots actors through her role at CII-FACE.

Dr. Radhika Hedaoo

Dr. Radhika Hedaoo is an Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts and Nutritional Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune. Her work focuses on food and nutrition science, sustainable dietary practices, and the intersection of nutrition, public health, and community well-being. With academic and research experience spanning clinical nutrition, diet planning, and food systems, she contributes to curriculum development, applied research, and capacity building for future food and nutrition professionals. Dr. Hedaoo’s expertise adds an important perspective on integrating nutrition outcomes with sustainable food and agricultural systems, particularly in the context of India’s evolving climate-resilient development pathways.

Mr. Ravishankar Natarajan

Mr. Ravishankar Natarajan is the Founder of the FPO Market Linkages Foundation, Bengaluru, and brings over four decades of experience in agricultural market systems, agribusiness leadership, and institution-building for farmer business collectives. An alumnus of TNAU, UAS Bangalore, and IIM Ahmedabad, he has worked in senior roles across the fertilizer, hybrid seed, electronic spot exchange, and international agri-trade sectors in India and abroad. Since 2015, he has consulted with global institutions – including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Ernst & Young, and the African Development Bank – on agriculture e-markets, market reforms, warehouse receipt financing, and value-chain development. His work centres on modernizing marketing systems, strengthening farmer-producer organisations, and advancing fair and transparent agri-trade practices. Through the FPO Market Linkages Foundation, he continues to champion a “Farmer First” vision focused on integrating farmer collectives into mainstream markets and improving rural agribusiness ecosystems.

Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr

Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr is Executive Director of Grow Indigo, a pioneering joint venture between Mahyco and Indigo Ag dedicated to advancing regenerative and climate-smart agriculture in India. With deep expertise in plant biotechnology, crop systems and sustainable agriculture, she has led efforts to integrate biological inputs, digital agronomy and carbon-farming into scalable solutions for smallholder farmers. Under her leadership, Grow Indigo has expanded initiatives in biological crop care, soil health, carbon markets and farm-digital services, placing farmers at the centre of low-emission agricultural transformation.

Dr. Vinod Thomas

Dr. Vinod Thomas is a distinguished economist and development expert who has held senior roles at both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He has served as Director-General Evaluation, Independent Evaluation Department, at Asian Development Bank and as Director-General Evaluation, Independent Evaluation Group and Senior Vice President at the World Bank Group. Vinod was formerly Country Director for Brazil and Vice President of the World Bank, and during his tenure, environmental sustainability was introduced as one of the three pillars of the country strategy. He has also served as Chief Economist, World Bank, and wrote various reports and books at the world bank, including ‘Quality of Growth’ in 2000 and the 1991 World Development Report, ‘The Challenge of Development’. His most recent book, ‘Risk and Resilience in the Era of Climate Change, ’ draws on decades of experience working on climate change, natural hazards, and the environment. Dr. Thomas holds a PhD and a Masters in Economics from the University of Chicago and a bachelors in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Prof. Julien Cayla

Julien Cayla is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Nanyang Business School. Professor Cayla is passionate about bringing anthropological theories and methods to study market phenomena. His work has been published in outlets such as the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing, Organization Studies and Sloan Management Review. His research has been featured in a range of media outlets such The Atlantic, the BBC and Channel News Asia. Professor Cayla is also the founder of the Consumer Culture Lab (https://cclab.iimu.ac.in/). He is currently serving his second term as Associate Editor of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Dr. Kushagra Bhatnagar

Dr. Kushagra Bhatnagar , Assistant Professor of Marketing at Aalto University School of Business. Kushagra’s research examines marketplace frictions – how consumers and organizations navigate social, cultural, and emotional complexity and vulnerability. He draws on concepts from sociology and anthropology to make sense of these frictions in contexts such as AI-fication of care, the construction of luxury hospitality, and smart self-tracking wearables. He has been recognized as Aalto University School of Business’ Researcher of the Year 2023-24. He has taught in Aalto’s Executive MBA programs in Korea and Taiwan and has been a visiting scholar at leading business schools in Europe and Asia. Before joining academia, he worked as a brand strategist and consultant, leveraging cultural anthropology approaches to solve marketing and business challenges.

Dr. Minu Kumar

Minu Kumar is a Professor of Marketing at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and is the Co-editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Product Innovation Management (ABS 4, A* ABDC Journal). JPIM is owned by the Product Development Management Association (PDMA). He has served the JPIM-PDMA community in various roles such as Associate Editor and Academic Vice-President among others. At SFSU he is also the Founder-Director of the Responsible Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI&E) Research Initiatives . He earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a Masters in Business Administration (Concentration in Pharmaceutical Marketing, 2002) and a Ph.D. in Marketing. Professor Kumar has published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Product Innovation Management among others in the areas of Innovation, New Product Design & Development, and Entrepreneurship. His academic entrepreneurship work has directly helped the university raise several millions of dollars for I&E programs (See news article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SFSU-says-25M-crypto-gift-is…). He has also worked for or consulted with firms such as Barilla, SAP, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals, Medtronic, Glaxo Smithkline, among others on product design & development, sales, and marketing projects.

Sankar Sen

Sankar Sen is the Lawrence and Carol Zicklin Chair in Corporate Integrity and Governance, and professor of Marketing at Baruch College/City University of New York.  Sen received his PhD from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and has held full time or visiting positions at Temple University, New York University, Boston University, and the Sasin School of Management at Chulalongkorn University.

Sen’s primary research interest lie at the intersection of CSR/sustainability and consumer behavior. In particular, he investigates when, how and why consumers and employees respond to companies’ sustainability/ corporate social responsibility endeavors. Sen is also interested, more generally, in prosocial behaviors, social marketing, and moral perspectives on consumption behavior. Sen’s research has appeared in both academic and practitioner journals. He has consulted with numerous companies and his research has been cited in various media outlets. He has presented his research in academic, company and industry forums all over the world, and his book, Leveraging Corporate Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Maximizing Business and Social Value, was published by Cambridge University Press.  

Sen is an associate editor at the Journal of Consumer Psychology, and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and Academy of Marketing Science Review. Sen teaches at the undergraduate, MBA/MS, Executive MBA/MS and PhD levels.

Dr. Shilpa Madan

Shilpa Madan is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University. Prior to this, she was a faculty member at Virginia Tech, USA, and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Columbia Business School, New York. Shilpa aspires to use consumer behavior research to help people live better, more fulfilling, and more sustainable lives.

Shilpa’s work has implications for sustainable living, consumer well-being, and public policy. Her research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Psychological Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, among others.

Shilpa enjoys writing for a wide audience and her articles have appeared in various practitioner oriented and popular press outlets such as the MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, WARC, Behavioral Scientist, and others.

Before her PhD, she has a decade of corporate experience in consumer products organizations (Unilever and Castrol/BP), in which she held both national-level and global-level marketing roles across multiple developing and developed markets.

Please visit her website, www.shilpamadan.com, to know more.