Inner Circle
Ajay Srinivasan
Chief Executive — Financial Services, Aditya Birla GrAjay Srinivasan
Chief Executive — Financial Services, Aditya Birla GrPrior to joining the Aditya Birla Group, Ajay was Chief Executive, Fund Management, Prudential Corporation Asia, based in Hong Kong. Under Ajay’s leadership, Prudential’s fund management operations grew rapidly, both organically and through acquisition. Ajay oversaw a business that spanned ten markets, including Japan, with total funds under management of about USD 70 billion, which made it at the time the second largest retail fund manager in Asia. As a member of Prudential Corporation Asia’s Board of Directors, Ajay also oversaw the development of Prudential’s retirement business in Asia.
Ajay joined Prudential in 1998 as Managing Director of Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company, Prudential’s Indian fund management joint venture with ICICI Bank. Within two years of operation, Prudential ICICI AMC had grown to become the largest private sector asset management company in India.
Prior to joining Prudential, Ajay was the deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the Indian operations of Threadneedle Asset Management.
With a proven track record for building successful businesses, his experience in the financial services industry spans over two and a half decades.
Ajay has been engaged with several bodies, including the Financial Planning Standards Board, the CII Committee on Financial Sector Reforms, the CII Committee on Financial Inclusion, the CII Committee on Insurance and Pensions, and the FICCI Committee on Insurance. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the City of London and a Director on PRIDE, an NGO.
Ajay holds a BA with Honours in Economics from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Amit Singhal
Google FellowAmit Singhal
Google FellowI am a search geek. – Amit Singhal is a Google Fellow. According to the New York Times, Amit is the master of what Google calls its “ranking algorithm” — the formulas that decide which Web pages best answer each user’s question. Amit got his Bachelors degree in Computer Science from IIT Roorkee in 1989. Amit holds a MS in Computer Science from University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Amit runs a team in Google’s Search Quality group. He and his team are responsible for the Google search algorithms.
Anil Godhwani
General Partner, Green Era CapitalAnil Godhwani
General Partner, Green Era CapitalAnil Godhwani, a serial entrepreneur and investor with 25 years of experience in technology and telecommunications industries. He is the co-founder of several companies, inlcuding Simply Hired, Habitera and AtWeb, which was sold to Netscape/AOL. He also co-founded India Community Center, the largest Indian community organization in the U.S. serving the community with 500+ programs and events annually. Anil has been an active angel investor, with investments in 50+ startups. Previously, he worked at AT&T and Sprint. During his free time, his passions include playing table tennis, urban farming and gardening and living a healthy lifestyle.
Anil is currently a general partner of Green Era Cpaital. Green Era Capital invests in public and private markets in the United States and India.
Read more here – http://www.greeneracapital.com/about.html
Anu Aga
Bussinesswoman and Social workerAnu Aga
Bussinesswoman and Social workerAnu Aga is on the Board of Thermax Limited, the leading Indian player in energy and environment management. She retired as Chairperson of the company in October, 2004. The Government of India conferred her with the Padma Shri Award for her distinguished service in the field of social work in 2010.
Aga has been very active in various national and local associations like Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and had served as the Chairperson of CII’s Western Region. She has written extensively and given talks on the subjects of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, role of women and education.
Aga is the Chairperson of the Thermax Social Initiative Foundation (TSIF) which runs the CSR activities of Thermax. Along with Akanksha, TSIF has signed a MOU to support three municipal schools in Pune. She is also closely associated with the Teach for India Initiative which attempts bridging the inequity gap in education. She is keenly involved in the causes of communal harmony and human rights, especially women and children.
Anuradha Gunupati
Founder Trustee, Dr. Reddy's FoundationAnuradha Gunupati
Founder Trustee, Dr. Reddy's FoundationAnuradha Gunupati has been the Founder Trustee of Dr. Reddy’s Foundation since 1996 along with Dr. K.Anji Reddy, Founder-Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. She assumed responsibility for the activities of the Foundation as Managing Trustee from July 2005. She is currently providing leadership for the various initiatives at the Foundation. The focus of the Foundation is in creating sustainable livelihoods for under privileged youth and education for underserved areas. Till date over 200,000 youth have been trained and placed in jobs. Over 10,000 students study in the various schools established and run by the Foundation at various locations in and around Hyderabad.
She also established Saptaparni, an organization dedicated to promoting Indian performing arts, culture and heritage.
Anuradha is a Trustee of Jiddu Krishnamurti Trust and has played a key role in establishing its centres and activities in Hyderabad. She is also an active volunteer for Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY), Hyderabad Chapter, in promoting the arts amongst the schools and colleges at Hyderabad.
Anushka Singh
Anushka Singh
A graduate of the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, Anushka Singh double majored in real estate and management with an interest in the retail program. She currently works with DLF Limited in luxury residential real estate. Anushka has a keen interest in wildlife, psychology and photography.
Asha Jadeja
Founder, Dot Edu VenturesAsha Jadeja
Founder, Dot Edu VenturesAfter investing in about 75 technology companies as a venture capitalist, Asha is currently a top Silicon Valley angel investor, social entrepreneur, global philanthropist, speaker, a mentor to Stanford entrepreneurs, and mom to her two daughters. She lives in Palo Alto and New York.
Her current mission is to free up learners of all ages to pursue learning that is relevant to their local contexts, their personal hopes, dreams and relationships. She is creating a vibrant network of “Makers” in India and CA through Fablabs and Maker Faire. Both enable students of all ages to transform their ideas and imagination into products using a simple combination of software and digital fabrication tool. Asha and her partners in India are also launching 6 School in the Cloud pilots with help from Prof Sugata Mitra and his team.
Ben Gomes
Distinguished Engineer at GoogleBen Gomes
Distinguished Engineer at Google
Cali Tran
Investor with North Bridge Venture PartnersCali Tran
Investor with North Bridge Venture PartnersPrior to North Bridge, Cali was the Co-founder and Vice President of Corporate Development at Agilix Labs, an award winning venture-backed mobile learning company providing solutions to firms such as Blackboard [NASDAQ: BBBB] and FranklinCovey [NYSE:FC]. “Entrepreneurship is a path to empowerment, the ability to create something meaningful out of nothing,” says Cali. “I’ve witnessed what it can do for people, their families and community.” Born in a Vietnamese refugee camp – Camp Pendleton, CA – Cali grew up the youngest of six children and spent much of his youth in the family-owned restaurant: “Whether a small family business or a Fortune 100 market leader, all businesses started with a dedicated entrepreneur and a courageous idea.” Cali likes to help entrepreneurs in the seed or Series A stages but will sometimes get involved in more mature companies. Before Agilix, Cali was at Ancestry.com [NASDAQ: ACOM], a subscription-based genealogy company, where he helped lead the firm’s early corporate development efforts and raised the first three rounds of capital. Cali started his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston. Cali received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is also a graduate of Bowdoin College (cum laude) where he serves as a Fund Director and Class Agent. He recently completed a term on the Alumni Council. He is also on the Board of OneVietnamNetwork, a non-profit organization focused on bridging the digital divide between the diaspora of Vietnamese communities worldwide.
Deepak Ravindran
Founder & CEO of LookupDeepak Ravindran
Founder & CEO of LookupDeepak Ravindran is the Founder and CEO of Lookup, a free and secure messaging app that connects shoppers with local businesses. A serial entrepreneur, Deepak has founded three mobile messaging companies in a decade: Innoz, Quest and Lookup. A 2011 INK Fellow, he has been recognized as one of the outstanding innovators under 35 by the MIT Technology Review and one of Asia’s 21 emerging leaders under 40 by the Asia Society. Recently, Business Insider described Deepak as the “Mark Zuckerberg of India”.
Gautam Godhwani
Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder at Simply Hired Inc.Gautam Godhwani
Serial Entrepreneur, Co-Founder at Simply Hired Inc.Gautam Godhwani has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He was most recently Co-Founder & CEO of Simply Hired, a job search engine, which has raised $22M in funding and receives 30 million monthly unique visitors. Previously, he was Co-Founder & CEO of AtWeb, a web site tools company, which was acquired by Netscape/AOL. He also co-founded India Community Center, the largest Indian community organization in the U.S. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Simply Hired, Intuary (‘Netflix for children’s stories’ on the iPad) and Habitera (a health and wellness company). Gautam has previously held positions at Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft.
Gopal Srinivasan
Chairman & MD of TVS Capital Funds ltdGopal Srinivasan
Chairman & MD of TVS Capital Funds ltdGopal Srinivasan is the Chairman & MD of TVS Capital Funds Limited, that has launched an India focused growth private equity fund. The vision is to develop and nurture India’s mid-cap businesses into world class companies.
Gopal, a member of the TVS family, is the founder and Chairman of TVS Electronics Limited, Director in Sundaram-Clayton Ltd., TVS & Sons Ltd. Sundaram Industries Ltd. and several other TVS Group businesses. Gopal was the Chairman of the CII Tamil Nadu State Council for the fiscal year ‘07-‘08. He chaired the ‘India@75’ Mission (www.indiaat75.in) and is currently chairing CII National Committee for Private Equity & Venture Capital. He has also served as the President of Manufacturers’ Association for Info. Technology (MAIT).
Gopal earned a B.Com degree from Loyola College, Chennai, and an MBA from University of Michigan, USA. A passionate entrepreneur, he is also actively involved in the promotion of entrepreneurship as an angel investor as well as through organizations, including TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Great Lakes Institute of Management.
Jose Thomas
Managing Director, Choice Group of ComapniesJose Thomas
Managing Director, Choice Group of ComapniesJose Thomas (J.T) is a 2nd generation entrepreneur with over 44 years of extensive experience in the world of business. He owns and is the Managing Director of the Choice Group of Companies and serves as the President of the Choice Foundation. His businesses include ventures into fields of frozen food and seafood, farming, shipping, construction and IT. The Choice Foundation, a non-profit initiative of the Choice group, includes the running of a school (The Choice School) & a center for performing arts (JTPAC). The Choice Group has a total global turnover of $250,000,000 USD.
More about Jose Thomas’ thoughts, ideologies and outlook can be found in his blog, www.josethomas.in
K Nanda Kumar
President & CEO, SUNTEC Business SolutionsK Nanda Kumar
President & CEO, SUNTEC Business SolutionsK Nanda Kumar is the Founder President and CEO of SunTec Business Solutions, the Revenue Management and Business Assurance company, trusted by professionals across the globe, with a suite of innovative products that empowers Financial Services Firms and Communication Service Providers to create real time personalized offerings through datadriven decision making, ensuring a proactively managed customer experience. He has been active in the software realm for over 26 years as a technology evangelist for customer-centric software platforms and solutions, specifically for transaction-intensive verticals.
Relationship-based Pricing, a concept pioneered by him, has been endorsed by leading industry analysts and thought leaders as a principal enabler for balanced pricing dynamics in the agile world. Under his leadership, SunTec has grown to a 600+ employee company, with its geographical footprint spanning across four continents. He has also led SunTec to win several prestigious global awards, including the Red Herring Global 100, Deloitte Technology Fast India – 50 and Deloitte Technology Fast Asia-Pacific – 500, and to secure its position among the top contenders in the Operational Excellence category at Billing & OSS World.
He holds Master’s degrees in Management and Physics.
Neil Mehta
Co-chairman, Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd.Neil Mehta
Co-chairman, Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd.Neil Mehta’s got your back when comes to business and investing. Neil is the co-chairman of Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd. and the founder of Greenoaks Capital. Prior to Greenoaks Capital, Neil was responsible for real estate and special situations investments in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia for Orient Property Group. Neil has previously invested in private businesses at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in Los Angeles.
Neil serves as a board member to Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd, Coupang, Sol Republic, Lolli & Pops, and other Greenoaks portfolio companies. He serves on the Harvard Business School Alumni Advisory Board. Neil holds a BSc in Government and Economics from The London School of Economics
Nikhil Kumar
Founder & Chief Executive of TD Power systemNikhil Kumar
Founder & Chief Executive of TD Power systemNikhil Kumar is the founder and chief executive of TD Power Systems (TDPS), manufacturers of large electric generators for turbine driven power plants. TDPS currently has an 80% Indian market share and exports to 35 countries worldwide. TDPS supplies hydro-electric, solar thermal, bio mass or coal fired power plants, and also builds thermal power plants on an EPC basis up to a size of 150 MW.
Nikhil enjoys a competitive game of badminton; in his teens he was in the Asian Games squad for India as well as State Champion of Karnataka. He loves outdoor sports – scuba diving, trekking, skiing are his favorites. Another hobby is to import and sell gourmet beer from all over the world in Bangalore. Beer brewed by Trappist monks from Belgium, or from small artisanal microbreweries in America and the Netherlands – Bangalore now has a choice of the finest brews.
His wife, Lavanya Sankaran, is an accomplished literary fiction writer. They have one daughter, Aarya, and live in Bangalore.
Pramod Bhasin
Founder of GenpactPramod Bhasin
Founder of GenpactPramod established Genpact (formerly GE Capital International Services) in 1997. Under his leadership, Genpact pioneered the Business Process Outsourcing industry in India. Genpact has also been the pioneer in this industry in China and Eastern Europe. Today, it is acknowledged as a leader in the globalization of services and technology and manages business processes for companies around the world. Genpact serves its customers from over 35 operations centers in 13 countries, with over 42,500 employees across a wide range of business processes, technologies and industries. Genpact is now a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘G’.
Pramod was earlier an Officer of General Electric (GE). His career with GE and RCA spanned 25 years across the US, Europe and Asia. He was most recently the head of GE Capital in India and in Asia, having earlier worked with GE Capital’s Corporate and Finance Group in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Pramod is a Chartered Accountant from Thomson McLintock & Co., London, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University. He was the past Chairman of India’s National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM), and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of NASSCOM Foundation. Pramod is the current Chairman of the CII Services Council. He serves on the boards of NDTV and SKS Microfinance. He is also Chairman of the Junior Achievement India Founders Board, and is on the governing boards of several educational institutions, including IIM Lucknow, Lady Shri Ram College, and Shri Ram School.
Radha Kantipudi
Chief Trustee & CEO, The Taara CollectiveRadha Kantipudi
Chief Trustee & CEO, The Taara CollectiveRadha Kantipudi is the chief trustee and CEO of the The Taara Collective a non-profit Social Enterprise that identifies and enables entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for women and girls in developing nations by offering skills development and incubation support to gain economic independence. She also serves on the board of 2 educational institutions in rural Andhra Pradesh in india. These institutions offer undegraduate programs in science, business management, liberal arts and engineering (EE, CSE, IT, Civil, Automobile). She was the key promoter in setting up an institute for paramedical sciences offering diploma courses in nurses and medical diagnostics to economically backward women.
Prior to this Radha worked for over 14 years at INTEL in the US, Asia Pacific Region(including China), Japan and India covering various business functions in strategic planning, business development, deal making, program management and operational management. As Director of Business Development for Intel’s New Business Initiatives she was responsible for identifying, structuring deals and raising capital for new ventures in the areas of High Frequency Retail and Online Advertising, Rural Data Services (Affordable WiFi to rural areas to enable businesses) and Consumer Infotainment/Kiosk Based Content Distribution. In her role as Business Development Manager for Intel’s Digital Home Group she developed the business strategy, gives/gets, contract negotiation/support and relationships for enabling Fellow Travelers on Viiv platforms with broadcast companies (DIRECTV), Content Companies, Gaming Solution Providers,technology providers for content management and Carrier Companies. Prior to that Radha was the Head of the Customer Business Solutions for the APAC/Japan and her team was responsible for re-engineering and implementing solutions related to Order Fulfillment, Demand Creation, Logistics, Finance and DistributioniSupply Line in Asia for Intel products delivering over $100M in business value. She influenced the industry to implement various eCommerce standards and developed the strategy and vision for the Channel and Marketing areas in support of the channel growth goals of the Sales and Marketing Group with no increase in supply chain and distribution costs.
Radha has a masters degree from Arizona State University in Finance/Accounting and Information Systems and a commerce degree from Osmania University.
Raghava KK
ArtistRaghava KK
ArtistRaghava KK is a renowned Indian artist and a tech entrepreneur, named by CNN as one of 10 most remarkable people in 2010.
He was inducted into the National Geographic Society as an Emerging Explorer for bringing together science, art, and technology in the field of exploration in 2013 and he recently wrote the foreword for Mass General Hospital’s textbook on psychiatry, in which he discusses the importance of cultural sensitivity, perspectives, and empathy in psychiatry
A four time TED speaker, his iPad art book Pop-it, launched at TED, shakes up the concept of the ideal family and presents children with multiple perspectives at the earliest stage. The book won several awards, including a Best of 2011 award from Kirkus.
Currently, he is the CEO and co-founder of Flipsicle, a tech startup out of New York and Sweden, which brings together creativity, technology, and empathy.
UNTOLD STORY: As a school kid, Raghava used to perform magic shows at children’s birthday parties to earn pocket money.
Raju Reddy
Founder & CEO of Sierra AtlanticRaju Reddy
Founder & CEO of Sierra AtlanticRaju is the Founder and CEO of Sierra Atlantic, a company that grew to be a best-in-class global services company over a period of 17 years. Under his leadership, Sierra Atlantic grew from a startup to over 2400 employees with operations in several countries and was consistently ranked amongst the best managed companies including the top 75 most admired companies in Silicon Valley, Top 25 great places to work in India and Top 10 best employers in South China.
Sierra Atlantic was acquired by Hitachi Consulting in December 2010 and it is the largest ever acquisition by Hitachi Consulting to date. Prior to founding Sierra Atlantic in 1993, Raju spent 10 years at Intel in software development, marketing, and general management. Raju currently serves on the board of Hitachi Consulting and GharPay, a fast growing consumer internet company based in India.
Raju is active in not-for-profit initiatives and is currently Chairman of BITSAA Intl, the alumni body of BITS Pilani, India’s #1 private university. He enjoys working with young entrepreneurs in a mentorship role and was instrumental in starting the TiE Chapter in Hyderabad. Raju also serves on the Board of India community center in Milpitas, CA. He previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Puente, a Wharton School non-profit program which helped under privileged communities worldwide gain access to technology. He also co-founded SIPA (Silicon Valley Indian Professional Association) in 1987.
Raju holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and electronics engineering from BITS Pilani and a Master of Science degree in computer science from Virginia Tech.
Ravi Mantha
Angel Investor and Wellness CoachRavi Mantha
Angel Investor and Wellness CoachRavi Mantha is one of India’s more prolific Angel Investors, with investments in several startups that he also actively helps with capital raising and business strategy. Ravi also has a very high-end and niche wellness advisory practice based in London and Mumbai. He is highly recommended as one of India’s leading nutritional and wellness experts, and is author of two best-selling books on these topics.
Sanjay Parthasarathy
Startups InvestorSanjay Parthasarathy
Startups InvestorAfter 23 years in the US, Sanjay Parthsarathy moved back to Chennai, India, with his family in 2009. He is now a very early stage startups investor in India while working on starting up a consumer Internet business. Of his 23 years in the US, 19 were at Microsoft and four at MIT. Sanjay’s last role at Microsoft was as corporate Vice President of the Startup Business Accelerator, a new division he created to focus on building startup businesses within Microsoft. He was corporate Vice President of the Developer and Platform Evangelism Group from 2000 to 2007. He built the D&PE division from 0 to over 1,500 people worldwide and grew Microsoft’s software development tools business from $500 million to $1 billion. Sanjay was the regional director of Microsoft’s South Asia Region from 1996 to 1998 and directed Bill Gates’ first ever visit to India in 1997. This hugely successful visit led to a massive expansion of Microsoft’s activities and investments in India. It also had a catalytic effect on the Indian software industry. Sanjay ran www.microsoft.com and the Internet security product unit, and started out at Microsoft on Windows multimedia and then the Interactive TV effort.
Sanjay is on the Executive Board of the MIT Sloan School for the Europe, Middle East, South Asia and Africa Region. He has a master’s degree in engineering from MIT, a master’s degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Anna University in Chennai, India.
Sanjay captained the Anna University cricket team in 1985 and have represented Tamil Nadu state and the South Zone in under-19 cricket (1982) and under-15 cricket (1980). He has also represented Tamil Nadu in under-22 cricket. He was the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) junior school cricketer of the year in 1980 and a recipient of the S.W. de Allwis Trophy (L. Sivaramakrishnan won this in 1979 and 1981). Sanjay has played for the Madras Cricket Club and Young Men’s Association in TNCA first division cricket. Sanjay loves photography and carries a camera where ever he goes.
Scott Cook
Financial Software MavenScott Cook
Financial Software MavenScott Cook’s was born and raised in an LA suburb after his parents emigrated from Wisconsin. Scott was ‘nerdy’ as a kid and even programmed his school district’s one computer. Scott attended USC and later went to Harvard Business School.
Scott Cook started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he learned about product development, market research and marketing. With personal computers just coming out at the time, Scott thought there might be a market for basic software that would help people pay their bills. He launched Intuit in 1983, which today offers software and online products to help individuals and small companies manage their finances. Scott, a founder of Intuit and current Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board, has served as Director, Chairman of the Board, and President and CEO at Intuit. He also serves on the boards of directors of eBay Inc., and The Procter & Gamble Company.
He holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics from USC and a MBA from Harvard Business School, where he serves on the dean’s advisory board. He currently serves on the boards of P&G, eBay, Intuit, and HBS. Cook funds social entrepreneurs who catalyze global leaps in education and medical research.
In 2002, Scott and his wife Signe Ostby, established the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Business; it’s the US’s first university-based center focused exclusively on training MBAs in brand and product management. In 2005, Scott was #320 on the Forbes 400, with a net worth of $1.1 billion.
“All that matters is systematically amping up human contribution.”
Sunita Devadas
EducatorSunita Devadas
EducatorA teacher by profession, and a mentor at heart. Sunita Devadas has worked at Yokohama International School (YIS), Japan, for the past 13 years. As an English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher at YIS, where the language of instruction is English, she considers it a privilege to have worked with students from various language backgrounds from around the world, and to have guided them in their journey of acquiring proficiency in academic English.
A valuable learning for her from this journey has been the ability to look for strengths, as a starting point in any teaching/learning situation, and to realise that mentorship is at the heart of teaching. After over two decades of living in Japan, Sunita has recently moved to Hong Kong.
Sunny Singh
Serial Entrepreneur; Founder, RoundglassSunny Singh
Serial Entrepreneur; Founder, RoundglassGurpreet ‘Sunny’ Singh is a serial entrepreneur devoted to healthcare accessibility and wellbeing. In 1996 he founded Edifecs, an industry leader delivering innovative, integrated solutions for the healthcare ecosystem. It is now one of the fastest-growing health-care technology companies in the United States. He established SabTera, a philanthropic foundation that works with under-resourced communities to provide wholistic schooling for children and sustainable employment for women.
In 2014 Sunny founded RoundGlass, a socially-conscious global organization, to spur innovation in digital health and wellness. The company mentors disruptive entrepreneurs and facilitates collaboration to create a vibrant ecosystem of innovation in the healthcare field.
Sunny is an avid golfer and photographer. He enjoys travelling to new places and learning about different cultures.
Susan Wojcicki
Senior Vice President, YoutubeSusan Wojcicki
Senior Vice President, YoutubeSusan Wojcicki is Vice President of product management at Google responsible for the design and innovation of all of Google’s advertising and measurement platform products, including AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick and Google Analytics. She has managed AdSense product management since inception in 2002, and has led all advertising programs on Google.com and its advertising network since 2006.
Susan joined Google in 1999 as the company’s first marketing manager and worked on the initial viral marketing programs as well as the first Google homepage doodles. She also led the initial development of several key successful consumer products, including Google Images, Google Books and Google Video.
Before joining Google, Susan worked at Intel and was a management consultant at Bain & Company and R.B. Webber & Company. She graduated with honors from Harvard University, holds a master’s in economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and an MBA from UCLA.
Thomas John Muthoot
Chairman, Muthoot Pappachan GroupThomas John Muthoot
Chairman, Muthoot Pappachan GroupThe Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG) is one of the leading family promoted corporate houses in South India with a total business turnover of Rs. 20,000 crores and a loyal business base of over one million. The multifarious economic activities of the MPG include Retail Banking & Financial Services, Power Generation, Hospitality, Real Estate and Health Care. Thomas John Muthoot was awarded the “Business Man of the Year” title by the Chamber of Commerce in 2009
Trishla Jain
ArtistTrishla Jain
ArtistTrishla grew up in India and attended the American Embassy School – her worlds mixed the east and the west together to enrich her worldview. She majored in English literature at Stanford and learned how to teach English to high school students at Teachers College, Columbia. She is also a self-taught artist and makes huge, textured paintings inspired by the impressionist masters Van Gogh, Klimpt and Monet. She is a spiritual enthusiast – the path of self-realization has always compelled her. Yaoga, pranayama and meditation are constant companions in her life.
Vani Kola
Managing Director, Kalaari CapitalVani Kola
Managing Director, Kalaari CapitalVani Kola is a Managing Director at Kalaari Capital, based in Bangalore, India. Her leadership at Kalaari centers around her commitment to the development of entrepreneurs and her conviction that Indian companies are poised to become global players. Vani brings 22 years of Silicon Valley experience as a founder of successful companies to her role as a mentor and enabler of startup companies in India. She serves on several company boards and speaks widely on entrepreneurship and leadership
Vidya Shah
Banker, PhilanthropistVidya Shah
Banker, PhilanthropistVidya Shah is the CEO of EdelGive Foundation, which is the philanthropy arm of the Edelweiss group. Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Edelweiss Group, she is now part of the board for various prominent organisations like Agastya International Foundation, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, Common Purpose, Women on Wings, Toolbox India Foundation and Masoom in addition to Edelweiss. In each of these organisations, her role enables her to contribute strategically which helps them build a stronger presence by implementing useful plans in an efficient manner.
She attained an MBA degree from IIM, Ahmadabad and spent the first 11 years of her career in the field of investment banking with companies like ICICI, Peregrine and NM Rothschild wherein, her role was to advise the corporate in Capital Raising and M&A transactions. Later, she worked in the capacity of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Edelweiss Group while also heading the Human Resources and Administration functions for the firm.
Apart from being an active member of the CSR and business fraternity, Vidya is a connoisseur of art and spearheads Edelweiss’s art event called Palette. Her love for the field of art is not limited to collecting artefacts and paintings, it extends to appreciate music and the same is visible in the efforts she is putting into learning this skill.
After having gained a diverse experience, she set up the EdelGive Foundation and has been its CEO since its inception. Under her leadership, over the last seven years, EdelGive has become a catalyst of change, dedicated to collaborative philanthropy in the fields of education, livelihoods and women empowerment.
Vineet Agarwal
Joint Managing Director, TCIVineet Agarwal
Joint Managing Director, TCIVineet Agarwal started his career in 1996 and is currently the Joint Managing Director of TCI, India’s largest logistics company. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and the Owner President Management program from Harvard Business School. He is currently serving as a Member, Governing Council of All India ManagementAssociation (AIMA) and is a Member of the CII National Logistics Committee and CII National Retail committee. He is also serving as the Chairman, Urban Infrastructure Committee in Assocham and as the Regional (South Asia) Education chair for Young Presidents Organziation. He is involved in various social work through his family’s foundation and is an avid reader & a marathon runner.
Vishal Gondal
Founder & CEO, GOQII Inc.Vishal Gondal
Founder & CEO, GOQII Inc.While most kids were grappling with the realities of growing up, Vishal took a head start and started his first company – FACT, soon after finishing school at the ripe young age of 16.
In 1999, he founded Indiagames, then a five member team and today a global operation with over 300 employees and offices in Mumbai, Beijing, London and Los Angeles making Indiagames one of the leading mobile game companies globally. He is recognized as being instrumental in starting and growing the Gaming Industry in India. He sold Indiagames to Disney and headed the Digital business for Walt Disney in India before starting his new venture GOQii Inc. that integrates wearable technology with personalized coaching.