Communion Alumni
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of financial technology company Paytm. Within five years of its inception, Vijay Shekhar Sharma turned-around a startup into a billion-dollar company. A celebrated Indian billionaire businessman, Sharma was ranked as India’s youngest billionaire in 2017 by Forbes with a net worth of $1.2 billion. He has been featured in Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People 2017 List and is the recipient of Yash Bharati, the highest civilian honor of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. In 2021, he was ranked as the #62nd richest person in India, according to Forbes. In January 2022, the ICANN-supported Universal Acceptance Steering Group appointed him as UA Ambassador in India.
Sunil Banthia
Sunil Banthia is the CEO of Banthia Consultancy, the only organised pan India consultant in the field of TUFs subsidies, governed by Ministry of Textiles and State Incentives of Gujarat and Maharashtra state. Banthia Consultancy is an organisation committed to provide superior, competent and personalized service at a level that is unmatched in the field of project finance and government subsidy. He has acquired a great reputation as a reliable Subsidy Consultant in India.
Shishir Goel
Shishir Goel is a Founding Partner of GoGroup, an independent venture studio with a focus on creating diverse companies across various industries. GoGroup has not only launched successful companies like GoParts, Trustspace, Eduneon, Evolut, and Wandel but has also forged strategic partnerships with prestigious organizations such as HHLA, ZF, Maxsolar, Terazo, GoPuls, and Warehousing1.
These collaborations are aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of their ventures, marking significant progress in the European market. Since 2019, Shishir has been dedicated to three primary objectives: nurturing long-term collaborations, ensuring profitability from the very beginning, and embarking on multiple ‘zero to one’ product development journeys.
Before the inception of GoGroup, Shishir built and scaled several tech-product companies and engineering teams across various international organizations. Active in the Indo-German sector for over a decade, he firmly believes that exporting goods and services from India and importing innovation and technology into India is crucial for the nation’s advancement.
Saurabh Nigam
Saurabh Nigam is the Vice President of Human Capital at Omidyar Network, which is one of the world’s ing impact investing organizations. Saurabh supports ON’s portfolio of entrepreneurs in India, with a focus on organization design, change management, talent management and executive coaching. Saurabh has been recognized as one of the Top 25 future HR ers of the country by People Matters & DDI International. He is also the recipient of HR 40 Under 40 award by Jombay for the year 2018. A Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in Electronics and Telecommunications Saurabh holds Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (PM&IR) and SPHR, GPHR and HRMP certifications from SHRM, USA – being the only Indian and one among the first 10 professionals globally to hold these three certifications simultaneously.
Dr Ravindra Singh Shekhawat
Dr Ravindra Singh Shekhawat is a neurologist practicing at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Singapore. He has a special interest in stroke and post stroke neuro-recovery. Dr Ravi has completed his medical training from Madras Medical College, Chennai, India, and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. He later became a member of the Royal College of Physicians, London (MRCP, UK), before moving on to pursue his senior residency training in Neurology at Singapore General Hospital. This was followed by fellowships at the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS) and the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP, Edinburgh). He was working as a Neurology consultant under the National Neuroscience institute and has been providing neurology services at Singapore General Hospital and Changi General Hospital.
Pooja Surana
Pooja Surana is a sports enthusiast and holds a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Karate. Professionally, she is a CA, CS, and CFA, currently serving as an Associate Partner at RADS & Co. Chartered Accountants. In this role, she oversees financial consultancy and leads a team specializing in trading and investment across equities, derivatives, and commodities. Additionally, she serves as an Advisor to the issue for SME IPOs
Pratik Kulkarni
Pratik Kulkarni is an Engineer and Entrepreneur. He co-founded a service company in the IoT and Machine Learning domain and did it for 5 years. Currently he is working as a Cloud Consultant while working on his next business idea. He has diverse interests and likes to talk about business, tech, art and culture.
Kausshal Duggar
Kaushal is the Founder/CEO of Teabox, the world’s first vertically integrated premium tea brand that is disrupting a $50 billion industry with its innovations in technology/supply chain. It has been widely chronicled as a disruptive idea in a 200-year old industry and has raised funds from global marquee investors such as Accel Partners & Mr. Ratan Tata among others.
Started in 2013, Teabox has shipped over 5bn+ cups of tea to customers in 150+ countries. Kaushal has also been recognised as Reuter’s Change Maker, Fortune 40 Under 40, Entrepreneur Magazine’s 35 Under 35, Fortune Magazine’s Top 5 Creative People (2016), CNBC’s Young Turk (2016), an INK Fellow (2015) and AACSB Influential Leader (2015). Kaushal has also been featured in publications such as New York Times, CNN International, Forbes, Discovery and The Economic Times.
Kaushal graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Business Management from the Singapore Management University (SMU).
Deepa C Dave
Deepa C Dave has been a corporate executive for 25 yrs now. She is a fitness enthusiast and is passionate about healthy eating and nutrition. She loves going to gym and practices numerology, bach medicine, colour therapy and angel card reading for friends and family.
Brijraj Bhuptani
Brijraj Bhuptani is the Co-Founder and CEO of Spry, India’s first management, communication and assessment SaaS based platform for the movement health industry. He is a seasoned serial entrepreneur and a veteran techpreneur with extensive experience in the technology domain. In 2012, Brij created Ridlr, an app providing traffic information and accurate train and bus schedules in metro and tier-1 cities. Ridlr was the largest mass transit company in India handling 3 million trips per day on its platform. Later in 2018, it was acquired by ANI Technologies (Ola Cabs). After the acquisition, Brijraj moved on to Ola Cabs where he was offered the position of Chief Product and Technology Officer. He was also heading Ridlr.
Ashish Padiyar
Ashish Padiyar holds a PG degree in finance and is a NSE certified professional. He has 17 year experience in the Personal Financial Management space with Institutions like Dawnaday and Way2wealth. He is the co-founder of Bellwether Associates LLP and is a proponent of Goal based Investment approach and speaks actively about it in various seminars and workshops. Moreover, Ashish is also the co-founder of Auxano – an early stage start-up fund (SEBI registered CAT 1 Angel Fund) where they focus on empowering technology driven new age enterprises.
Abhishek Asthana
A B school graduate Abhishek Asthana, has worked extensively in India and Korea. His experiences include ing the Durex India creative team which won him some coveted awards in India & abroad. Currently Asthanais a team er at GingerMonkey and is the co-founder at Zorro- a pseudonymous social network platform.
He is wellknown on twitter as @Gabbbarsingh.
Damodar Mall
Damodar Mall is the President and CEO at Reliance Retail, SupermarketWala. A pioneer professional in Modern Retail in India, Mall is also winner of prestigious‘Retail Icon’ and ‘Most Admired Grocery Retailer’ awards. His career-scape includes stints at Hindustan Unilever, IIM, Bangalore and IIT Bombay. Mall has also authored two books including ‘SupermarketWala: Secrets of Wining Consumer India’ and ‘Be A SupermarketWala : Step-by-step guide to Supermarket success’
He can be found on twitter as @supermarketwala.
Manish Pandey
Manish is a driven professional, started working from the tender age of 11, teaching tuitions, working on daily wages to sitting in the PCOs and working in the factories during school breaks. After completing 12th in 2007, he started working in a call centre and McDonald’s in Pune, shuffling two jobs for a period of nine-months before entering an international call centre that paid a need-based sizeable income.
He moved to digital marketing after four years in the call centre industry, and started doing pre-sales, appointment settings, and social media marketing. Manish kept working on all opportunities, moved up to managerial roles and then to leadership over the years.
Now he works with content creators across the Nation helping them with content strategy, working with early-stage startups, helping them set up their teams, branding and marketing units and much more. He also works with many entrepreneurs helping them elevate their personal brands using video content and social media platforms.
Manish has worked with several digital and social media agencies, projects like TEDxGateway, and Wikipedia, and is a part of the leadership team of India’s best social impact organization – Josh Talks. Over the years he has now built a profile as a Generalist.
Recently, he co-authored a book ‘Booming Digital Stars’ – covering the aspects of the creator economy and stories of 11 most inspiring content creators of India. The book has gone to become a best-seller within a month of its launch.
Nandita Iyer
Doctor, nutritionist, wellbeing advocate and columnist, Nandita Iyer is also author of three bestselling books. Her fourth book, The Great Indian Thali: Seasonal Vegetarian Wholesomeness will be out in October 2022. She has been writing on nutrition, health and food for over 15 years and since 2006, her popular blog Saffron Trail has been a major resource for healthy food and vegetarian recipes.
You can follow her @saffrontrail.
Pramila Mundra
Pramila Mundra is a Nutritionist & a Metabolic health coach based in Bangalore with over 20 years of experience. With a Post graduate Degree in Food science & Nutrition, she looks at holistic health approach & tailors interventions to meet each client”s unique needs.
She believes in customised recommendations & incremental lifestyle changes which are sustainable & impactful.
Priti Rathi Gupta
Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder of LXME, has led and inspired over 200,000 women towards building their financial acumen and financialization of their small savings.
An Alumni of Harvard Business School, she had held leadership positions as M. D. of Anand Rathi, one of India’s largest Financial Services Conglomerate, at YPO, and Founder of Ishka films. She is a reputed expert awarded for setting up the Commodities desk, Currency, and Forex Advisory business with two decades of experience in the BFSI industry & is now focused on bridging the gap between women & wealth.
Amongst many recognitions, Priti & LXME were featured in Her Majesty the Queen: The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative Album. This album features a range of outstanding individuals and organizations selected for their transformational contribution around the world.
LXME was awarded The “Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021” (ICA2021) as the “Warrior of Change” under the Fintech Innovation category, an initiative by Billennium Divas. Being LXME Facebook Community was one amongst 130 communities globally, to be part of Facebook’s Community Accelerator Program that helps leaders harness the power of their community to turn impactful ideas into action.
LXME is one of the 20 women-founded or co-founded startups selected by the Google for Startups Accelerator Program out of nearly 400 applications.
Rakesh Sheth
Rakesh Sheth is a multi-faceted management professional with over 20 years of experience leading businesses across multiple domains and managing cross-functional teams and operations. A passionate entrepreneur at heart, he has a strong finance background, and built successful ventures from the ground up and grown them to leadership stages in their domain. He also has significant experience in helping family-owned businesses aiding in asset restructuring and family wealth & estate management with a focus on reducing risk to family wealth exposure to business uncertainties.
Sangeeta Mall
Sangeeta is a twice published novelist and editor. Her short story ‘Twenty Gun Salute’ has been adapted into a short film for Netflix.
Apart from working on her new book, Sangeeta also mentors new authors, as a consulting editor with Popular Prakashan. She believes everyone has a story worth telling.
S. Sivakumar
Sivakumar’s Twitter profile (@S_Sivakumar) reads: Urban Farmer (#HomeGarden #GreenHouse), Science Simplified (#SundayScience), Business Model Innovation (#Mentor #Angel), Creative Photography (actually, creative captions for routine photographs).
He heads the Agri and IT Businesses of ITC Limited, a three billion dollar portfolio out of the group’s ten.
Sivakumar also oversees ITC’s Social Investments Programme and Corporate Sustainability Initiatives, which helped ITC achieve the distinction of being water positive, carbon positive and solid waste recycling positive for nearly two decades in a row – the only enterprise in the world to do so.
ITC’s trailblazing ‘e-Choupal’ initiative was developed and executed under his leadership. Operating in 21 crop value chains across 220 districts, the initiative reaches over four million farmers with customised agri extension services, while securing identity-preserved agri produce for ITC’s Branded Foods business and other customers around the world.
Sivakumar serves on the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Rural Development, the Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee of SEBI, and on the Management Committee of National Agricultural Higher Education Project of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. He chairs the National Agricultural Council of the CII.
Sivakumar has also been on the boards of NABARD and IRMA (Institute of Rural Management – also his alma mater, where he topped the Class of 1983). He has been the Vice Chairman of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Social Innovation and UN Global Compact’s Core Advisory Group to develop Sustainable Agriculture Business Principles.
Sivakumar blogs at shivsthirdeye.in.
Shubho Sengupta
Shubho Sengupta: a veteran ad guru, Subho Sengupta has worked in traditional/brand advertising working with brands like O&M, Leo Burnett, JWT and Contract Advertising. Senguptahas experience across a spectrum of brands, from multinational to start-ups, including Amex, NIIT, GSK, Gillette, Pepsi, Coke, Motorola, Star-ESPN,DeBeers, etc.Since 2007 he has been involved indigital/integrated advertising and marketing and joined Interactive Avenues in 2007, a digital advertising agency, as National CreativeDirector. Over the years he has worked with brands like NIIT, ICICI, ESPN, Colgate, Travelocity, Rediffusion Y&R Delhi, Airtel, LG, and Xerox.2011-2011. Eventually he moved to Coca-Cola as a digital consultant. From 2013 onwards he has been working as a creative consultant with India’s biggest brands like ABP Group,Tata Tea, Airtel, Nokia, Lava Mobiles, Times Group, and Outlook. Currently he is a consult with IT Ministry (Government of India) functioning as a Director, MyGov.
Vipul Gupta
Vipul Gupta is the Executive Director of Earth Focus, which has a vision to shape a landscape where people and nature thrive together.
Prior to Earth Focus, Vipul spent three decades building teams and organisations in the corporate sector, in the realm of manufacturing and distribution. His last venture, Excel Controlinkage, has over 800 employees and exports to 70 countries. He is as comfortable working with tribal communities as he is in board rooms.
In parallel, Vipul’s philanthropic journey spans over three decades on girl child education across the country. Bringing his business expertise to a new life in the non-profit sector, Vipul works to solve development challenges through a community-driven approach that creates resilient, long-lasting solutions. Through extensive engagement with local communities, civil society organisations, government agencies, and businesses, he realised the need to connect the gaps between funding, data and research, and local practitioners – which led to the birth of Earth Focus Foundation’s bottom-up, in-depth approach.Outside of Earth Focus, he also mentors small businesses and individuals on management and strategy.
He is also leading a mission to bring millets into the mainstream collaborating with researchers, agriculture machines, farmers and CSO’s and retailers. He plays a strategic advisor role at Nature in Focus, a portal on nature, wildlife and conservation.
A passionate and awarded nature photographer, Vipul also dabbles in spatial design and process design.Vipul has a BE degree in Mechanical Engineering from Manipal University.
Amit Agarwal
A simple, laidback, not very ambitious 3rd generation entrepreneur from Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
Jagannath has been kind to have blessed me with a beautiful life.
I am sure I shall manage an A if not A+ both as a father and son and a decent B / B+ as a husband.
About Two third of life has gone by..Have now taken responsibility of my health. Have become little Mindful ..of what I eat…of my physical training..and yes Quit Smoking too!!
All thanks to a wonderful human whom I discovered on Twitter.
I am a Dreamer..i dream of great careers ahead for my kids.
I am a seeker..I seek Love.
I am a Human..I believe in Humanity.
Brijesh Damodaran
Brijesh is an entrepreneur in the financial services industry . A CA post a decade long corporate experience transformed into an enterprenuer over 15 years ago .
Along with Ashish , leads BellWether Associates ( a wealth management arm) & Auxano Capital ( Sebi registered AIF ) .
Loves to play and watch cricket & sports ( in general ), food ( anything from south of india & mumbai street food), movies ( especially Malayalam ones ) .
Irfan Sayed
Irfan, 53 years old, resides in Pune and boasts over 30 years of work and entrepreneurship.
Specializing in advising small enterprises and startups, he guides them on establishing operations and provides insights on pitfalls to avoid.
Currently, he is passionately pursuing a venture aimed at transforming how individuals experience their retired lives.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Irfan is an audiophile, deeply appreciating music across all genres.
Kiran Puranik
Kiran Puranik is Mobile Apps and startup specialist who spent 20 years building mobile centric solutions for startups. He has played a major role in building tech at MangoApps (where he spent 12 years) and currently heading Tessellation Software’s India development Center.
When he’s not working, Kiran likes to explore western ghats of Maharashtra, learning organic farming and off-roading on hills. He is currently discovering Deep Health and wants to spread it to people around him.
Nikunj Bagdia
Born in Mumbai and schooled in Panchgani, he was always highly academically inclined. During his school days, he was a state-level basketball player.After completing his Textile Engineering from DKTE, Ichalkaranji in the year 1998, he took up a job in project consultancy based in Mumbai.He joined the family business in 2000. Later, in the year 2009, He took over the reins of the business after the demise of his Father.
He heads a manufacturing business in textiles with over 1200 employees & exports fabrics and apparel to over 20 countries and works with reputed Indian brands like Arrow, Van Heusen amongst others.
He has been awarded numerous times by Texprocil for the export of fabrics.
He is a voracious reader and draws inspiration from leaders like Shivaji Maharaj, Dhirubhai Ambani, Honorable PM Shri Narendra Modi, Elon Musk amongst many others. He is also a guest lecturer at DKTE’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji & is actively involved in voluntarily mentoring second-generation entrepreneurs from the textile industry. Presently he is also the Chairman of the Fabric sub-committee at TEXPROCIL.
He is an avid cyclist and an adventure sports enthusiast. His adventurous spirit has bagged him a place in the most prestigious “Guinness World Records” in a group event held at Koh Tao, Thailand in 2016 for “The Longest Underwater Human Chain”.
He is happily married to Rachana, who is an educationist and runs a successful state-level franchisee in kids’ vocational education. They are blessed with 2 kids- an elder daughter, Anvita, 12 years old, who is creatively inclined and writes well & a younger son, Shaurya, 8 years old, who is a national-level chess player. They stay with their Mother in Ichalkaranji, in western Maharashtra.
Nikhil Shewakramani
I am Nikhil Shewakramani, I nap for 60 minutes in afternoon every day and I love it .
Father of a 9-year-old boy (Neev) and married to my childhood best friend (Parul) for 16 years and counting. Born and brought up in Delhi – worked in 10+ cities and now in Hyderabad for almost a decade. I aspire to become a “Event Organizer” when I grow up. For the time being to make the ends meet, I run a software services company and a “startup”. Part time investor – full time “Panchayati” – Loves travelling and meeting people. I play Box cricket on weekends, walk 8-10 Kms a day (Thanks to Sandeep sir) – and watch Instagram reels. Working on establishing a software/technical training school for the school dropouts and economically weaker section.
Rakesh Sheth
Rakesh Sheth is a multi-faceted management professional with over 20 years of experience leading businesses across multiple domains and managing cross-functional teams and operations. A passionate entrepreneur at heart, he has a strong finance background, and built successful ventures from the ground up and grown them to leadership stages in their domain. He also has significant experience in helping family-owned businesses aiding in asset restructuring and family wealth & estate management with a focus on reducing risk to family wealth exposure to business uncertainties.
Ruchit G Garg
Ruchit G Garg is Founder & CEO of Harvesting Farmer Network (HFN), where his mission is to help 120 million farmers make more profitable.
Ruchit has worked for global giants like Microsoft, helping build XBOX, Operating system, sold a technology company in USA, and then later moved to India to work with small-holder farmers of India. Ruchit was also instrumental in creating the world’s first commercial text-to-speech system in Hindi. Over the years Ruchit has been invited to many national/international conferences and his work has been covered on likes of New York Times, DW, NPR, DW, CNN, CNBC, Mint and lot more across the world.
He can be found on twitter as @ruchitgarg
Swapnil Prakash Bagul
With over a decade of professional experience, Swapnil Prakash Bagul is a seasoned expert in taxation, including both direct and indirect taxes. He has been practicing since 2012 and has extensive involvement in statutory audits of government banks and internal audits of co-operative banks. His proficiency extends to accounting system implementation, with a solid background in the banking industry.
In addition to his expertise in finance and auditing, Swapnil has been actively engaged in algorithmic (algo) trading for the past six years, guiding individuals in mastering this cutting-edge trading approach. Over the last five years, he has delved deeply into backtesting strategies, producing his own research papers and materials to refine and optimize trading methods.
Recognizing the evolving dynamics of the Indian share market, Swapnil began exploring Index Futures and Options trading seven years ago. Following rigorous study and research, he has been successfully trading in this domain for over six years, leveraging his comprehensive understanding of market trends to achieve consistent results.
S. Sivakumar
Sivakumar’s Twitter profile (@S_Sivakumar) reads: Urban Farmer (#HomeGarden #GreenHouse), Science Simplified (#SundayScience), Business Model Innovation (#Mentor #Angel), Creative Photography (actually, creative captions for routine photographs).
He heads the Agri and IT Businesses of ITC Limited, a three billion dollar portfolio out of the group’s ten.
Sivakumar also oversees ITC’s Social Investments Programme and Corporate Sustainability Initiatives, which helped ITC achieve the distinction of being water positive, carbon positive and solid waste recycling positive for nearly two decades in a row – the only enterprise in the world to do so.
ITC’s trailblazing ‘e-Choupal’ initiative was developed and executed under his leadership. Operating in 21 crop value chains across 220 districts, the initiative reaches over four million farmers with customised agri extension services, while securing identity-preserved agri produce for ITC’s Branded Foods business and other customers around the world.
Sivakumar serves on the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Rural Development, the Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee of SEBI, and on the Management Committee of National Agricultural Higher Education Project of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. He chairs the National Agricultural Council of the CII.
Sivakumar has also been on the boards of NABARD and IRMA (Institute of Rural Management – also his alma mater, where he topped the Class of 1983). He has been the Vice Chairman of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council on Social Innovation and UN Global Compact’s Core Advisory Group to develop Sustainable Agriculture Business Principles.
Sivakumar blogs at shivsthirdeye.in.
Saurabh Joshi
Saurabh Joshi currently works as Director of Sales for Asia Pacific for Janes. Janes is a 125-year-old brand in the domain of defence intelligence and national security. Saurabh has led various research and analysis teams in Janes in the domain of open source intelligence (OSINT) and has helped customers in understanding risks and market opportunities through OSINT. He has advised national security and defence industry customers on changing landscape of technology, aspects of war & conflicts, and applications of AI in defence. Saurabh retired as a Squadron Leader from the Indian Airforce after a decade of service in the domain of radars and military communications. Saurabh likes to cycle, run and do strength training to keep himself fit and healthy.
Krish Ashok
Krish Ashok is the author of Masala Lab: The Science of Indian cooking, published by Penguin Random House, and an Amazon best-seller that explores the science of Indian cooking with the aim of making the reader a better cook and turning the kitchen into a joyful, creative playground for culinary experimentation. The book uses simple, first-principles, middle-school level science explanations and hand-drawn illustrations to break down what happens in the Indian kitchen and recommends algorithms and metamodels for common dish types and regional Indian sub-cuisines.
In his day job, Ashok is the Global Head – Advisory & Consulting, AI.Cloud for Tata Consultancy Services (one of the world’s largest technology companies) and helps Fortune 1000 companies implement and adopt AI, a role that is at the intersection of technology, design and culture.
He also makes simple explainer videos debunking popular misconceptions about food and diet on Instagram and YouTube, and is a regular columnist on food, science, and culture for publications such as Mint, The Hindu, Conde Nast Traveler and Scroll.
He is a trained Indian classical violinist who also plays the Cello and electric guitar and composes and produces music that you can listen to on all major streaming platforms. A particularly popular playlist is Sanskrit Rock, where he translates and adapts popular heavy metal and classic rock songs into Sanskrit. His music was featured on NPR – https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-03/classical-indian-musician-transforming-hit-songs-pop-parodies.
He is on
@krishashok on Twitter
@_masalalab on Instagram
@krishashok on YouTube
Recent media appearances
1.A Scientist in the Kitchen – The Seen and the Unseen podcast with Amit Varma https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/12/20/episode-204-a-scientist-in-the-kitchen/
2.The 2.7 Billion Year Story of Chicken Curry (Google Talk) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXAKuKJ0AAQ
3.The Science of Indian Cooking – Keynote talk at Manthan https://scroll.in/magazine/981286/how-all-indians-including-teetotallers-end-up-consuming-a-lot-of-alcohol-without-knowing-it
Music
1.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tNJmxQOh8PxU1OUdqwS9E
2.Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/artist/krish-ashok/1570432658
3.Jio Saavn: https://www.jiosaavn.com/artist/krish-ashok-/o-xRVYsPzZ0_
4.Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.in/artists/B00R1ABMVS/krish-ashok
5.YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mZvACFLKhrQC4Jh6dSp-O7g0N5-w5sGlU
6.Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/krishashok
Blog
https://krishashok.me
Mudar Patherya
Mudar Patherya is a garbage picker, heritage building photographer, Urdu lover, butterfly-chaser, bylane walker, stock picker, social activist and writer. He also happens to find time to work behind a desk and make a living.
Mudar runs Trisys, India’s oldest (and among the largest) agency dedicated to producing annual reports. He started this segment within India and over the last 30 years, 11 agencies have emerged out of Trisys to become his competitors!
Mudar is an activist in Kolkata (urban, environmental and social). He has been responsible for cleaning urban water bodies including the famed Santragacchi Jheel twice over and the turnaround of Rabindra Sarobar. With much of Kolkata getting cleaned in the last decade, he is temporarily out of work.
He inspired the creation of a philanthropic NGO called Kolkata Gives that mobilized nearly Rs 100 mn during the pandemic.
He initiated the painting of electricity boxes around eminent Kolkata personalities. Co-conceived the popular Live in Lakes musical event inside Rabindra Sarobar. Initiated the clean-up of Vivekananda Park, Lily Pool, Avenue Sammilani lighting, water sprinklers inside Rabindra Sarobar and the open-air gallery inside Rabindra Sarobar. Helped replant 149 fallen trees in Rabindra/Subhas Sarobar in 2020.
He keeps threatening his family that he will close down his office and create an NGO dedicated to teaching children the ability to speak and write good English.
Rohit Varma
Rohit quit his corporate job to follow his passion for wildlife. His photographs are published in many national and international media. He decided to keep his photographs under creative commons so that these images can be used by a larger community for awareness purposes. He is also a filmmaker, and has recently co-produced “Project Tiger” a feature length documentary on the greatest conservation success story. Other films in Which he has played a critical role are “The Real Jungle Book”, “Destination Wild India”, “The Last Frontier”, “Forgotten People” to name a few.
He co-founded Nature inFocus, a visual storytelling platform for all things wild. Nature inFocus has successfully brought the larger wildlife community onto a single platform through its portal, calendar festival and annual photography and film awards. The Nature inFocus Festival is arguably the largest event of its kind in the world.
He also founded narrative – branding and communication firm to take his passion forward of design and strategy. Narrative today has created a niche in the design industry with its approach of storytelling that transforms businesses. Narrative work was showcased in the World Economic Forum for the campaign “ Innovation Now, Growth forever” for Govt of Karnataka also they handled communication for Karnataka’s Global Investors Meet in 2022. It has also created campaigns for AMD, Vestas, Wildcraft, Toyota Financial Services, Dell and many more.
Rohit is a fitness enthusiast. He took fitness training seriously 2 years ago and made sure It becomes his priority.
Saurabh Joshi
I am currently Director Sales Asia Pacific for a company called Janes. I lead the sales team for the region and my customer base is mainly national security customers (armed forces, intelligence organisations etc) and defence industries in Asia Pacific region. We support these organisations by providing data and analysis pertaining to the domain of aerospace defence and security.
Prior to this role, I was leading various research and analysis teams within the same company in the areas of geopolitical, technical and market research in the same domain. I was the first person to be hired in India for the organisation and then went on to head the India office for the company. Before Janes, I worked briefly for Amazon when it was launching its ecommerce operations in India in 2012-13.
This was after I had retired as a Squadron Leader from the Indian Airforce after serving 10 years as an engineering officer in the domain of radars, military communication, and electronic warfare. I have enjoyed working in both the domains with a sort of even split of 10 years in armed forces and 11 years in corporate domain.
I am married, my wife is working in financial sector, and we are settled in Bangalore. I have a son who is in his first year of engineering from BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus.
I like to cycle, run and do strength training to keep myself fit and healthy.
Udit Agrawal
Udit Agrawal is the 3rd generation entrepreneur managing Narmada Group which is 55 year old group into heavy Engineering equipment for Power Sector Railways etc. He has been instrumental in taking Group to new heights from loss making when he joined. When he is not working, Udit likes to travel, read and spending time with kids and family.
Vijay Kumar Goel
I coach and mentor mid and senior level corporate leaders to become better leaders. I also support business growth in smaller business.
During my 25 years of corporate life I had led large and multiple business in the areas of broking, investment products distribution, wealth management and affordable home finance.
I enjoy my daily meditation sessions. I love making large Lego sets. I am also learning to play acoustic guitar and electronic keyboard. And, I have started the journey to get fitter and stronger now.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of financial technology company Paytm. Within five years of its inception, Vijay Shekhar Sharma turned-around a startup into a billion-dollar company. A celebrated Indian billionaire businessman, Sharma was ranked as India’s youngest billionaire in 2017 by Forbes with a net worth of $1.2 billion. He has been featured in Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People 2017 List and is the recipient of Yash Bharati, the highest civilian honor of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. In 2021, he was ranked as the #62nd richest person in India, according to Forbes. In January 2022, the ICANN-supported Universal Acceptance Steering Group appointed him as UA Ambassador in India.
Sukumar Ranganathan
Sukumar Ranganathan is the Editor-In-Chief of Hindustan Times. He was previously editor of Mint, of which he was one of the founding editors in 2006, and which he edited between 2008 and 2017. He has previously worked in editorial leadership roles at The Hindu Businessline and Business Today.
Sukumar, who has degrees in chemical engineering, math, and business administration is interested in mathematics, science and technology, the history of business, new media, and data-based political journalism. He reads and collects comic books and is an amateur birder. He tweets under the ID @HT_ed
Nishtha Yogesh
Nishtha is a Chartered Accountant by profession, and holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College, Boston. She started work full-time at the age of 18, and has founded 3 start-ups.
She currently runs Hunar Online Courses – a skilling platform for women to learn creative courses from home with the end goal to re-skill and become financially independent. In the last 4 years, Hunar has built a community of 20L+ women and has educated 45,000+ homemakers and young students.
For her work with Hunar, she was recently named on the Business World 30 under 30 list.
Nishtha lives in Hyderabad with her family & enjoys reading, adventure sports & anything that involved water!
Mr. Arun Lal
The renaissance man of Bengal cricket, who brought the winning mentality to the team as a player in the 1980s, has been ceaselessly working his magic as a coach, a mentor and a guide. A thorough gentleman and a gritty player, Arun, an alumnus of St. Stephen’s College (Economics) played for India as a right-handed batsman between 1982 and 1989. Lal was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Moreover, as a young player, the former India captain and BCCI president, Saurav Ganguly, looked up to the fighter in Lal as his ‘role model’. Unsurprisingly, when a man of this caliber walks into a dressing-room, players place unwavering trust in him.
In addition to his prowess as a sportsperson, Lal is an inveterate philanthropist and animal lover. Supported by him, hundreds of underprivileged youth have been able to not only continue with their education but the likes of – Dr Anup Sarkar, a super specialty gastroenterologist at the PG Hospital in Kolkata, Ashwini, a doctor at AIIMS in Delhi, Sanjit, an IT professional in Sweden and Bikash, now a top honcho at JSW Steel – have made it really big in life. As someone who wears many hats, Lal also has a green thumb and spends his leisure planting and nurturing plants and trees.
Archit Hora
Am a learner who is learning skills of parenthood, entrepreneurship & life.
Born & brought up in a place called Modinagar ,currently settled in Ghaziabad with my parents, sister, wife & son.
I run a company called Uvento Genix which deals in supply of engineering goods to Metal Cutting Industry.
As a hobby I learn to play Tabla.
I aspire to put India on the global frame by manufacturing & supplying engineering goods to the world.
Ashish Shanker
Ashish Shanker is Managing Director and heads the Private Wealth arm of Motilal Oswal Group. His current responsibilities encompass managing family office mandates, products & research, financial planning, and investment strategy for the wealth management business. This involves running the investment and product committee to formulate views across asset classes as well as evaluate products suitable for clients. He has been instrumental in evolving the proprietary 4C framework for selecting equity and fixed income managers in India. He is the author of the monthly research publication “Alpha Strategist”. He appears regularly on leading business media channels to give his views on markets and investments. He has also authored several articles on investments, capital markets, and economic outlook in several leading dailies and financial publications.
He has completed the Senior Leadership Program at Harvard Business School and is an HBS alumni. A business management graduate of the University of Bangalore in India, he began his capital markets career as a Research Executive for a leading regional brokerage firm. Subsequently, he worked in the asset management industry for over six years and the last 12 years in advisory, research, and product roles across wealth management platforms, including Head of the investment advisory at Standard Chartered Private Bank and Senior Director at Sarasin Alpen, India. He has won several accolades during his stint at these organizations. Ashish Shanker enjoys reading, playing table tennis, and listening to music outside of his professional duties. He has represented Maharashtra and Bangalore University in table tennis at the country`s highest level and won several championships.
Manish Agarwal
Myself Manish Om Prakash Agarwal . 43 yrs. I’m based in Kolkata and run a garments manufacturing unit specializing in women’s wear. Married and blessed with two daughters.
Currently prioritizing health and overall well being. I’m fortunate to have come across Sandeep Ji and gain from his deep and comprehensive knowledge in this domain.
I simply love travelling and especially the adventurous ones. Amongst many, I feel blessed to have completed the ardous PANCH KEDAR track and also a month long KANWAR YATRA covering 3600 kms mostly on foot from GANGOTRI to RAMESHWARAM.
I’m fond of singing as well.
Sumit Ramani
Sumit Ramani is an engineer turned actuary. He has worked with insurers and reinsurers in the past and is currently focused on advising Insurtechs as an independent consulting actuary.
Fueled by a passion for Personal Finance, he co-founded ProtectMeWell.com, an API-first, unbiased financial planning engine, which has helped over 100K individuals plan their finances better.
He can be found on Twitter @RamaniSumit
Manik Mohan Jolly
A twice decorated military veteran from the Indian Army, and an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune and MDI, Gurgaon, Manik Mohan Jolly is a devout advocate for clean energy. Founder of G.R.I.D. Pvt Ltd, Jolly has been recognized as one of the ‘50 Most Influential Global Solar Leaders ’ for his continued work in the field of energy access, Micro grids and clean drinking water access in the rural areas. He is also the National Champion under Mission Innovation India and was awarded ‘Platinum Innovative Startup 2019’ and is part of 3 startups from India to take part in exclusive India-Israel Mass Challenge Incubator in Jerusalem. Moreover, he was awarded ‘Delhi Solar Energy Leadership Award’ in 2017 for creating sustainable models and viable solutions in affordable parameters for holistic growth of the rural ecosystem, the prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship in the United States in 2016, REX fellowship in 2015 and was recognized as WWF (UK) Global Green Game Changer in 2013.
As a subject matter expert on Solar Innovation, and Energy Access Initiatives for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP) at Johns Hopkins University, Manik is actively engaged in working on policy, finance and project development for global energy access plans. He was also the regional co-author for ‘Global Status report on Renewable 2015 –REN 21, Paris’ and has been associated with United Nations, International Finance Corporation, World Bank, Ministries of Power and Renewable Energy in India, Asian Development Bank, Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), ISEA, CII etc. Manik handled Regulatory Affairs for Pernod Ricard India, and has worked with Indian Army, SunEdison, World Bank, Deloitte and Pernod Ricard, before starting G.R.I.D.
Vivek Bajaj
Vivek brings over 19 years of experience in the financial markets as both an active participant and a successful entrepreneur. A Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, and an MBA from IIM Indore, he has co-founded several ventures with a combined team of more than 700 associates.
With a social media following of over 1 million, Vivek is on a mission to empower India’s retail investors through financial education and data-driven insights. His platforms, elearnmarkets.com, with over 3 million learners, and StockEdge, with over 5 million downloads and a 4.5-star rating, are revolutionizing how investors learn and engage with the markets. Esteemed investors like Shri Ramesh Damani of D-Mart, Shri Dinesh Agarwal of IndiaMART, and Kotak have placed their trust in his ventures, underscoring their impact and credibility.
Roopali Sood
Roopali is a founding member and CDO at Spry Therapeutics, a PT Practice Management SaaS solution in the US healthcare sector. She is also the founder of Design Bytes, a boutique digital design agency established over a decade ago, dedicated to aligning user needs with business objectives.
With over 14 years of expertise, Roopali has previously worked as a Design Advisor with McKinsey & Co., specialising in Experience Design. An alumna of the College of Art, Delhi and the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, she thrives on the challenge that end-to-end service design (from ideation to execution) presents.
Riyaaz Rehman
Riyaz is the Co-founder and CPO at Spry Therapeutics, an end-to-end SaaS platform transforming PT Practice Management in the US healthcare space. Founded in 2021, Spry has quickly established itself as a game-changing solution and a pioneering product from India.
Previously, Riyaz led business operations at Ridlr, contributing to its successful exit, and later served as one of the youngest directors in Ola’s transit business, where he managed global partnerships and client outreach.
An alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad (Class of 2011), Riyaz combines over a decade of expertise in building and scaling innovative solutions across industries.
Sandeep Mall
Sandeep Mall is a multifaceted individual who has made significant strides in various domains of life. He is not just an accomplished entrepreneur, but also a renowned wildlife photographer, a dedicated health coach, a respected mentor, and a devoted family man. His journey is a testament to his diverse talents and unwavering commitment to excellence.
Sandeep is the founder of LNM Auto Industries Pvt Ltd, a 100% Export oriented company that specialises in producing precision engineering components for a wide range of industries, including agriculture, mining, construction, and automobiles. His dedication to innovation and quality has earned LNM Auto recognition on a national scale. The Government of India honoured it twice as one of the Top 100 MSMEs in the country, in both 2016 and 2019.
Beyond the boardroom, Sandeep has a deep passion for wildlife photography. His talent in capturing the beauty of the natural world has been acknowledged through numerous accolades. He received the prestigious DJMPC India’s Best Wildlife Photographer award in 2014 and was named the ICICI Camaraderie National Winner in 2015. These honours underscore his ability to communicate the wonders of nature through his lens.
Sandeep Mall is not only a successful entrepreneur and photographer but also a Level 2 Health coach. He holds certifications in various aspects of health, including sleep, nutrition, stress management, and recovery. His commitment to holistic well-being is reflected in his role as a health coach, where he guides individuals towards healthier, more balanced lives.
His influence extends beyond his professional and creative pursuits. He serves as a mentor and coach to some of India’s prominent entrepreneurs and professionals, sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience. He is the author of “Finding the Oasis,” a comprehensive book on deep health that covers all aspects of well-being. His commitment to empowering others shines through his mentorship and written work.
Sandeep’s life journey has taken him to 42 countries, providing him with a wealth of experiences and perspectives. His extensive travel has undoubtedly enriched his understanding of the world and its diverse cultures.
Sandeep remains a devoted family man. He lives with five generations under one roof, from his grandmother to his granddaughter. This strong family bond serves as a foundation for his life’s endeavours and underscores the importance of family values in his life.
Sangeet Kothari
Sangeet Kothari, is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Echo Connect (www.ieecho.com), a boutique digital communication company. Additionally, she is a Market Outreach Consultant to individuals and organisations. Sangeet holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Post Graduate Associate Degree in Corporate Communication & Marketing from the USA. Her professional journey in India began at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where she managed PR, advertising, corporate events and more, as a Corporate Communications Manager and went on become an entrepreneur at the age of 27 – first woman to start a web design company in the East.
Sangeet also coordinates Communion and the Growth Retreats. Mother of a teenager, she enjoys street photography, cooking, networking, built heritage and upcycling. She also takes keen interest in art, music and spirituality.
Sudipta Bhattacharya
Sudipta Bhattacharya is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Adani Group and CEO for its North American operations. As CTO, he leads the Group’s digital transformation across IT, Analytics, Cybersecurity, and next-generation data centers, driving innovation with initiatives like the world’s largest industry cloud platform and an AI Lab.
As CEO for North America, Sudipta manages global business development and partnerships with leading technology companies. Previously, he served as CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Chief Strategy Officer for the Group.
Before joining Adani, Sudipta held leadership roles at Invensys and SAP, and began his career managing operations and engineering projects with the Tata Group. His strategic vision continues to shape the Adani Group’s growth and technological leadership globally.
Romil Kapadia
Romil Kapadia is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in asset management. He currently serves as the Managing Partner at Motilal Oswal Private Wealth Management, where he has been instrumental in guiding the firm’s strategic direction and fostering investor relationships. In recognition of his leadership and expertise, Romil was honored with the ’40 Under Forty 2022′ title by Equalifi and Edelweiss. His extensive experience and commitment to excellence continue to drive success in the financial sector.
Atul Suri
Marathon Trends Advisory, led by CEO Atul, offers professional and proven investment services. With almost three decades of experience, Atul excels as a portfolio manager, having begun as a fundamental analyst at Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services in 1991, gaining expertise in identifying high-quality stocks. Furthering his skills, Atul pursued a Masters in Banking and Finance in Sydney, delving into quant and technical analysis.
Returning to India in the late 90s, Atul joined Birla Sun Life Securities, leading the Private Client Group business. In 2003, he founded Marathon Capital, focusing on trading Index derivatives, enriching his understanding of financial markets. Atul later joined RARE Enterprises in 2008 as an Analyst, gaining invaluable experience, laying the foundation for his own Portfolio Management Services (PMS) fund.
Leveraging his vast experience, Atul manages Trend Following, PMS offering of Marathon Trends Advisory. His approach combines fundamental and technical analysis, with a deep understanding of market trends. This expertise enables our team to navigate financial complexities, delivering superior investment outcomes.
Beyond finance, Atul’s passions – marathon running and scuba diving – shape his portfolio management skills. These pursuits instill discipline, perseverance, and adaptability, evident in his focused and disciplined strategy, adept at evolving market conditions.
At Marathon Trends Advisory, we recognize Atul’s personal interests contribute to his holistic perspective as a portfolio manager. His love for marathon running emphasizes long-term goal-setting and commitment. Likewise, scuba diving fosters exploration, uncovering hidden opportunities translated into his investment strategies. Fuelled by a passion for the Indian markets, vast experience, and a well-rounded approach to investing.
Atul and our team dedicate ourselves to helping investors capitalize on emerging trends, achieving long- term financial success. Trust in our commitment to transforming your financial goals into reality.
Suparna Mitra
Suparna is the CEO of the Watches and Wearables Division of Titan Company Limited. She is an electrical engineer from Jadavpur University and an MBA from IIM, Calcutta. She has business experience of 3 decades in the consumer lifestyle and retail sectors.
She has worked in several companies before becoming the Global Marketing Head – Titan in 2006. After this stint, she was the Regional Business Head- South for Titan Company Ltd where she was heading all businesses of Titan Company Ltd including watches, jewellery, and eyewear for the South region. Her last assignment was as the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for the Watches and Wearables division.
Suparna currently serves on the Board of Governors for IIM Kozhikode and is an independent director of Swiggy Limited. She has previously served on the board of Tata Power Solar.
She is currently leading the transformation and growth agenda of the watches and wearables business in Titan Company after the Pandemic era.
She has been recognized on many platforms including Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business in 2021, Business Today Most Powerful Women 2021, 2023 and 2024, BW Businessworld Most Influential Women 2022, ET Femina Most Promising Women Leaders Award in 2022 and Most Impactful CEO 2023 by ET Edge
Sumant Kothari
Sumant Kothari is Co-founder of Echo Connect, a dynamic marketing outfit dedicated to delivering innovative marketing & branding solutions, market outreach consulting, and result-driven digital communication & tech services to entrepreneurs & SMEs, world over. With a combination of technology acumen and a strategic mindset, Sumant has been instrumental in helping businesses, across different domains, amplify their digital footprint and achieve measurable success.
Having spent 12 years in the US for higher education (MBA in Marketing and Finance, MS in Software Development & Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems with a Minor in Finance) and working in large Fortune 500 global corporations, he is able to spearhead the organisation to serve businesses in different geographies. He is an alumnus of La Martiniere, Kolkata.
In addition to his life partner, his other loves include tennis, music & nature, and doting on his son.
Prachi Dugar
Prachi is the Co-Founder/Brand Director at Teabox, the world’s first vertically integrated premium tea brand that is disrupting a $50 billion industry with its innovations in technology/supply chain. It has been widely chronicled as a disruptive idea in a 200-year-old industry and has raised funds from global marquee investors such as Accel Partners & Mr. Ratan Tata among others. Started in 2015, Teabox has shipped over 5bn+ cups of tea to customers in 150+ countries.
Through innovative design & storytelling under her leadership, the brand has been able to meaningfully communicate the story of the Indian Tea industry and has positioned itself as India’s first homegrown premium brand known for delivering incredible quality teas within days of production. That has garnered incredible coverage across The New York Times, CNN International, Discovery, Reuters, Sydney Morning Herald and Fortune India ranked Teabox as one of the five luxury brands to watch out for.
In addition to Teabox, Prachi also runs her personal Instagram page (3amwithprachi) through which she advocates the importance & benefits of using the early morning time to bring meaningful changes in one’s life with her community of 75k+ followers.
Prachi graduated with High Honours and by winning the Most Creative Student award with a Bachelor’s in Fashion Technology from the National Institute of Fashion Technology.
Srinivas Kamath
Srinivas Kamath is the Director of Kamath Ourtimes Ice Cream Pvt Ltd, where he has played a key role in retail and franchise development for over 15 years. Under his leadership, the company has continued to grow and thrive in the competitive ice cream industry.
An alumnus of the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, where he completed his F.M.B program (2007–2009), Srinivas also holds a B.L.S L.L.B degree in Law from Government Law College (2002–2007). His educational background, combined with his extensive industry experience, has equipped him with a deep understanding of business management and strategic growth.
With a passion for innovation and quality, Srinivas continues to steer Kamath Ourtimes Ice Cream Pvt Ltd toward success, solidifying its reputation as a trusted name in the market.
Roshini Sheth
Roshini Sheth, an impassioned architect with a blend of creativity and technical expertise, brings her deep understanding of architectural principles to every project she undertakes.
It’s been a significant 18 years since the Chennai-based Architect and Interior Designer rolled out her first creative blueprint. Graduating from the School of Architecture & Planning, Anna University, Chennai, Roshini has cemented lasting relationships with her projects and clients through her innate qualities and innovative ideas. Trust and deep-rooted professional values have been the strong foundation on which, her company’s image has been built slowly and steadily over the last two decades.
Her ability to seamlessly blend aesthetics with functionality has created spaces that not only look stunning but also enhance the daily lives of those who inhabit them. Being the first Certified Mahavastu Consultant from Chennai, the designer over the years has studied and applied the various principles of this ancient science in several projects and cases. Roshini thrives on the challenge of transforming ideas into architectural designs that meet and exceed client’s expectations. Her portfolio includes a diverse array of projects ranging from high-end residences to innovative commercial spaces, all designed with the inherent belief that each space has a unique story waiting to be told.
A passionate artist, she creates bespoke fluid art in various compositions based on a moment of inspiration. Her art, as interpretative art is, always exudes a gentleness in sweep and texture…a medley of good thoughts, joy and celebration of life!
Abhishek Sawant
Abhishek has more than 18 years of experience in developing inorganic India entry strategies for Western European companies who want to come to India. His work focuses on strategy formulation, pre-transaction research, transaction management and post-transaction relationship and governance.
Abhishek co-founded Jivam Pharmaceuticals that exported pharmaceuticals products to Angola where the company built a marketing and distribution front-end, selling proprietary brands as well as exclusive distribution for generic as well as complex molecules and injectables from Mcleods Pharma, Serum Institute and seven others. The front-end got acquired in mid-2024.
Abhishek has studied MSc Economics at the University of St. Andrews UK, MSc Finance and Chartered Financial Analyst from ICFAI India and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Mumbai.
Abhishek is always up to go on a hike. Live performances of any kind, is more attracted to live cultural performances. He always tends to seek them out even if it means traveling more for them. He likes to find interesting food – a clean, healthy but different meal is always sought after.
Anshul Punjabi
Anshul Punjabi is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of expertise in the fashion jewellery and raw materials industry. As a wholesaler, exporter, and importer, he has built a stellar reputation for delivering high-quality products to a diverse range of clients, including fashion houses and global brands.
With his vast experience and deep understanding of the industry, Anshul has the unique capability to cater to the specific needs of any client, offering tailored solutions that align with their creative vision and market demands. His commitment to quality and customer satisfaction has made him a trusted name in the fashion jewellery business, contributing significantly to its growth and innovation.
Shaina Shah
A Chartered Accountant and an Accounting Major, Shaina Shah is the Director of ICECD, a United Nations-recognized foundation driving impactful CSR projects in health, education, entrepreneurship, skill development and environmental change. Shaina co-founded Limelight Pictures, a production house responsible for feature films, documentaries, and ad films along with producing, directing, editing and acting in various feature films, ads, short format films and podcasts. She further founded Limelight Pictures Film School, which has trained over 300 students and conducted numerous workshops in association with Vancouver Film School. Shaina also leads Satyameva Jayate International School as the Creative Director and Trustee. SJIS is a one of a kind school which provides a validated curriculum for entrepreneurship from grade 1 through 10. As a contemporary artist, Shaina’s portraits, murals and abstract paintings have been exhibited in prestigious galleries across India and form part of collections in countries like the USA, UK, Panama, China, UAE, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. She is also the founder of The WOW Women Project, an initiative celebrating inspiring women from every country to amplify their voices and spark global change. Her accolades include the “Gem of the Profession” award from ICAI, “Woman of Change” from HCG Hospitals, and recognition as one of Gujarat’s 50 inspiring women. She was also awarded the Best Editor, Best film and other awards for her Feature Films from the Government of Gujarat, Film and Broadcast Division. Shaina is also a trained classical dancer in Kathak and Odissi, an avid marathon runner, and an aspiring triathlete.
Abhishek Raj Agarwal
Business interest in sectors such as Logistics , Real Estate, Plastic & Steel Passionate about Biomass, Green Energy & Startups
Business profile :
Mangalam Infratech Pvt Ltd(Director)
HTC logistics & Properties Pvt Ltd (Director)
Kerry Polymers LLP (Designated Partner)
Education & Affiliations :
Alumnus (St.Xaviers College, Kolkata 2009-12)
E&Y Bangalore (2014-15)
Rourkela Chamber of Commerce & Industries (Commitee for promotion of Startups )
Arun Bothar
IPS 1996 batch
Odisha cadre.
Present posting
Additional DGP, CID-Crime and
MD, Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), Odisha.
Have served in various capacities in police and non police departments for last 24 years including a five years tenure in CBI.
He is credited with establishing popular city bus service Mo Bus in Bhubaneswar and nearby cities in his role as MD, Capital Region Urban Transport, Odisha. The city bus service has been recently awarded with UN Award for Public Service.
Cracked many important cases. A movie Mind Game has been made on one of his cases – parcel bomb blast case. Renowned actor Atul Kulkarni has played his character as IG, Crime Branch, Odisha.
Awarded with Kathin Sewa Medal for working in Naxal Affected areas in year 2007. DGPs Commendation Disc, Governor’s Medal for Police Service and Presidents Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
He is known for using social media for public service and has more than 2.6 lakhs followers on Twitter. He has been very active in helping the people during Covid pandemic through his online initiative India Cares.
Dhritiman Mukherjee
One of India’s most accomplished nature, wildlife and conservation photographers, Dhritiman Mukherjee is an explorer and wanderer. In the last 25 years, he has pushed his limits as a photographer to do work that is compelling as well as scientifically essential. He is purely a field guy and he spends 300 days a year in the wild. Dhritiman has worked on vast species and habitats in 40 countries, specially he worked extensively in India. He has trekked the highest reaches of the Himalayas in search of the elusive snow leopard, spent years tracking down the brown bear. He has climbed an active volcano in Congo to shoot active lava lakes and paraglided in the Himalayas to photograph vultures in flight. His work has taken him from the Arctic to Antarctica to photograph underwater ice formations and polar life and to the depths of frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia to photograph Baikal Seals. He has dived in the underwater caves in Mexico, swum through the streams of Brazil to shoot the anaconda and photographed the American crocodile up close. He has spent months crouched on wet rainforest floors in search of the tiniest creatures and explored deep inside vertical caves in search of world largest troglobitic blind fish.
He has won innumerable awards for his vibrant images including NHM WPY, NaturesBest, DGMPC . But the accolades that he holds most dear are the Carl Zeiss award, the RBS Earth Hero award and the Kirloskar Vasundhara Mitra as got these for using his images for conservation. He was a jury member of wildlife photographer of the year by Natural History Museum London 2022 and 6th National award for photography by Government of India.
He has co-authored the book Magical Biodiversity of India and The Land of Mosaic. Now he is an ambassador of RoundGlass Sustain and he is Sony Explorer.
Joy Bhattacharjya
Joy Bhattacharjya is the Director General of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports. He also runs the Prime Volleyball League and is a cricket analyst with Cricbuzz, the world’s largest online cricket platform.
His previous stint was as the Project Director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which in October 2017 became the most attended and successful junior tournament in the history of FIFA. Other engagements include being Team Director for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Head of programming for both History Channel and National Geographic channel for South Asia and ESPN Star Sports’ first Indian Head of Production.
Joy has written on sport for the likes of TOI, India Today, BBC, The Telegraph and the Hindustan Times, has regular quiz columns with the Times of India and also writes on sport for the Economic Times.
Deepa C Dave
Deepa C Dave has been a corporate executive for 25 yrs now. She is a fitness enthusiast and is passionate about healthy eating and nutrition. She loves going to gym and practices numerology, bach medicine, colour therapy and angel card reading for friends and family.
Lloyd Mathias
Lloyd Mathias is a Business Strategist and Investor. He invests, partners and collaborates with founders of early-stage companies in the areas of AI, EdTech, data analytics and digital technology.
Lloyd is on the Boards of numerous listed companies as an Independent Director.
He was the marketing head of HP Inc’s Asia business. In previous corporate roles he was President & CMO of Tata Teleservices, Country Director for Motorola, Executive VP Marketing and Category Director for PepsiCo India and South Asia.
An acknowledged thought leader, Lloyd has written op-eds, columns, and has been quoted on business and policy issues in local and international media.
Manish Pandey
Manish is a driven professional, started working from the tender age of 11, teaching tuitions, working on daily wages to sitting in the PCOs and working in the factories during school breaks. After completing 12th in 2007, he started working in a call centre and McDonald’s in Pune, shuffling two jobs for a period of nine-months before entering an international call centre that paid a need-based sizeable income.
He moved to digital marketing after four years in the call centre industry, and started doing pre-sales, appointment settings, and social media marketing. Manish kept working on all opportunities, moved up to managerial roles and then to leadership over the years.
Now he works with content creators across the Nation helping them with content strategy, working with early-stage startups, helping them set up their teams, branding and marketing units and much more. He also works with many entrepreneurs helping them elevate their personal brands using video content and social media platforms.
Manish has worked with several digital and social media agencies, projects like TEDxGateway, and Wikipedia, and is a part of the leadership team of India’s best social impact organization – Josh Talks. Over the years he has now built a profile as a Generalist.
Recently, he co-authored a book ‘Booming Digital Stars’ – covering the aspects of the creator economy and stories of 11 most inspiring content creators of India. The book has gone to become a best-seller within a month of its launch.
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit is an Engineer who did an MBA before joining a foreign bank (parallel with Suhas of 3 Idiots fame thankfully ends here) and has been working in Financial services industry for over 16 years now. By virtue of his domain, he has been a close-quarter observer and participant of the digital revolution that the country is undergoing.
He is currently assuming the role of Regional head of Transaction Banking with BNP Paribas India and with his team, works closely with corporates to identify and address efficiency items in their operating flows viz Cash Management, Trade Finance, Supply Chain and Transaction-Digitalization.
He is an ardent believer of growth mentality and is constantly in pursuit of avenues where the quest is further quenched or nurtured. He likes to read and has resolved to connect as many people as possible to the books that are destined to be read by them. A vehement critic of inaction (not boredom) he pursues holistic fitness, writing prose and Twitter read-alongs.
Meghdoot Roy Choudhary
Meghdut Roy Chowdhury is a serial entrepreneur, community builder and social-change maker from Calcutta, India. He started his first company at the age of 19, a music recording studio by the name of BlooperHouse Studios, which has till date produced more than 3000 albums and artists from across the world. Meghdut has a Masters’ in Management with a specialisation in International Business from HEC Paris, Stanford University and Tel Aviv University. He is currently the Chief Innovation Officer at Techno India Group, one of the largest educational conglomerates in India with 100k+ students and has been driving a new wave of experiential inter-disciplinary learning for adults through the Offbeat CCU, a school of the future. He also runs West Bengal’s only Atal Incubation Center for Startups, a campaign to “Make Calcutta Relevant Again” and has recently co-founded Bengal Business Council to promote Entrepreneurship and change the narrative around doing business in the East. He advises HNIs and Family Offices on global cross-border transactions.
Priti Rathi Gupta
Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder of LXME, has led and inspired over 200,000 women towards building their financial acumen and financialization of their small savings.
An Alumni of Harvard Business School, she had held leadership positions as M. D. of Anand Rathi, one of India’s largest Financial Services Conglomerate, at YPO, and Founder of Ishka films. She is a reputed expert awarded for setting up the Commodities desk, Currency, and Forex Advisory business with two decades of experience in the BFSI industry & is now focused on bridging the gap between women & wealth.
Amongst many recognitions, Priti & LXME were featured in Her Majesty the Queen: The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative Album. This album features a range of outstanding individuals and organizations selected for their transformational contribution around the world.
LXME was awarded The “Annual Impact Creator Awards 2021” (ICA2021) as the “Warrior of Change” under the Fintech Innovation category, an initiative by Billennium Divas. Being LXME Facebook Community was one amongst 130 communities globally, to be part of Facebook’s Community Accelerator Program that helps leaders harness the power of their community to turn impactful ideas into action.
LXME is one of the 20 women-founded or co-founded startups selected by the Google for Startups Accelerator Program out of nearly 400 applications.
Pratik Kulkarni
Pratik Kulkarni is an Engineer and Entrepreneur. He co-founded a service company in the IoT and Machine Learning domain and did it for 5 years. Currently he is working as a Cloud Consultant while working on his next business idea. He has diverse interests and likes to talk about business, tech, art and culture.
Prashant Basanagoudar
I am a Managing Partner at Suvarna Capital Advisors LLP, a renewable energy transition advisor to global corporations having production operations across India. I hold a postgraduate, Master’s in Finance degree from the Henley Business School, United Kingdom. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI) in London and also an Associate Member of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers, a livery company with a Royal Charter, based in the City of London.
I am passionate about deal making in the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) deals and renewable energy transition space. I thrive on transactions involving divestiture and acquisition of operating wind power & solar power assets having executed mandates on the Buy-Side & Sell-Side. I advise industrial clients on a multitude of green power procurement options to achieve their sustainability goals. I enjoy Cricket, Poker, Movies and Snooker.
Prashant Basanagoudar
I am a Managing Partner at Suvarna Capital Advisors LLP, a renewable energy transition advisor to global corporations having production operations across India. I hold a postgraduate, Master’s in Finance degree from the Henley Business School, United Kingdom. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI) in London and also an Associate Member of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers, a livery company with a Royal Charter, based in the City of London.
I am passionate about deal making in the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) deals and renewable energy transition space. I thrive on transactions involving divestiture and acquisition of operating wind power & solar power assets having executed mandates on the Buy-Side & Sell-Side. I advise industrial clients on a multitude of green power procurement options to achieve their sustainability goals. I enjoy Cricket, Poker, Movies and Snooker.
Rakhi Thirani
I’m Rakhi Thirani, a seasoned video editor with over 20 years of global freelance experience. I seek joy in exploring new cinematic experiences and immersing myself in the ever-evolving world of visual storytelling. My journey reflects dedication to my craft and a commitment to a fulfilling life with unwavering support from my family.
Sneha Singhi
Meet Sneha, a renowned pastry chef who hails from Le Cordon Bleu Paris. With extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, she has established herself as a reputable name in the culinary world.
After completing her cuisine diploma from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Sneha went on to open up her own Paris Cafe and ran it successfully for nine years. During this time, she honed her skills as a pastry chef and gained invaluable knowledge in managing a business.
Today, Sneha is an influencer with over 800k followers on social media platforms. Her expertise and knowledge in the culinary world have helped her garner a massive following, and her creative flair in crafting delicious and visually appealing dishes have caught the attention of food enthusiasts worldwide.
Sneha is not just a social media influencer; she is also an F&B consultant who has worked with numerous restaurants and cafes across the country. Her hands-on experience in the industry has allowed her to offer invaluable insights and advice on how to improve the quality of their food and services.
Overall, Sneha’s passion and dedication for the culinary arts have brought her a long way in her career. With her extensive knowledge and experience, she continues to inspire and influence aspiring chefs and food enthusiasts everywhere.
Shubho Sengupta
Shubho Sengupta: a veteran ad guru, Subho Sengupta has worked in traditional/brand advertising working with brands like O&M, Leo Burnett, JWT and Contract Advertising. Senguptahas experience across a spectrum of brands, from multinational to start-ups, including Amex, NIIT, GSK, Gillette, Pepsi, Coke, Motorola, Star-ESPN,DeBeers, etc.Since 2007 he has been involved indigital/integrated advertising and marketing and joined Interactive Avenues in 2007, a digital advertising agency, as National CreativeDirector. Over the years he has worked with brands like NIIT, ICICI, ESPN, Colgate, Travelocity, Rediffusion Y&R Delhi, Airtel, LG, and Xerox.2011-2011. Eventually he moved to Coca-Cola as a digital consultant. From 2013 onwards he has been working as a creative consultant with India’s biggest brands like ABP Group,Tata Tea, Airtel, Nokia, Lava Mobiles, Times Group, and Outlook. Currently he is a consult with IT Ministry (Government of India) functioning as a Director, MyGov.
Shishir Goel
Shishir Goel is a Founding Partner of GoGroup, an independent venture studio with a focus on creating diverse companies across various industries. GoGroup has not only launched successful companies like GoParts, Trustspace, Eduneon, Evolut, and Wandel but has also forged strategic partnerships with prestigious organizations such as HHLA, ZF, Maxsolar, Terazo, GoPuls, and Warehousing1.
These collaborations are aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of their ventures, marking significant progress in the European market. Since 2019, Shishir has been dedicated to three primary objectives: nurturing long-term collaborations, ensuring profitability from the very beginning, and embarking on multiple ‘zero to one’ product development journeys.
Before the inception of GoGroup, Shishir built and scaled several tech-product companies and engineering teams across various international organizations. Active in the Indo-German sector for over a decade, he firmly believes that exporting goods and services from India and importing innovation and technology into India is crucial for the nation’s advancement.
Sachin Mehta
Sachin is a seasoned business professional with over 20 years of experience, specializing in the area of market entry strategy, customer relationship management, product management, strategic business alliances and partnerships across startups, turnarounds, and businesses in an exponential growth phase. He currently is the Chief Business Officer at Autovert Technologies which he co-founded and is now a fully owned subsidiary of Ecofy – promoted by Eversource Capital, India’s leading climate impact investor.
Sachin has served a variety of industries ranging from BPO and Banking to Printing Solutions and Integrated FM & Food Solutions in different functions through his career.
Vijay Sheth
Viraj runs Monk-E, a new media company that represents digital creators and builds digital IPs for top brands globally. They boast a roster of exclusively representing 120+ creators across various categories of fashion, music, comedy, food, podcasting, lifestyle, entrepreneurship, and more. Cumulatively, their roster has amassed over 85 billion+ lifetime views. Monk-E actively builds path-breaking digital shows with brands like OnePlus, IKEA, Pepsico, Tata Group, Reliance Group, and others to strengthen their digital brand recall and drive sales.
Irfan Sayed
Irfan, 53 years old, resides in Pune and boasts over 30 years of work and entrepreneurship.
Specializing in advising small enterprises and startups, he guides them on establishing operations and provides insights on pitfalls to avoid.
Currently, he is passionately pursuing a venture aimed at transforming how individuals experience their retired lives.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Irfan is an audiophile, deeply appreciating music across all genres.
Vishal Gondal
Vishal Gondal, celebrated not only as the trailblazer of the Indian gaming industry but also as a stalwart in the realm of Web3 and cutting-edge digital innovation, has made his mark across multiple domains. With strategic foresight, he founded India Games, a venture that captured global attention and subsequently led to its notable acquisition by the entertainment behemoth, Walt Disney.
Transitioning from this success, Vishal’s current endeavour, GOQii, represents an avant-garde blend of health and the burgeoning Health Metaverse. By leveraging the Metaverse, he seeks to gamify wellness, presenting it within a decentralized and engaging framework. Vishal firmly believes in the Metaverse’s capacity to revolutionize how we perceive and integrate the digital and real worlds.
His international acclaim and recognition have placed him in the esteemed company of luminaries, notably Steve Jobs. Beyond his entrepreneurial feats, Vishal has showcased his prowess as an astute angel investor, channelling resources and support towards nascent WEB3 ventures.
His podcast, a platform where he engages with and amplifies the voices of those at the helm of digital transformation, is a testament to his unwavering commitment to innovation and the propagation of knowledge in the ever-evolving WEB3 landscape.
Saurabh Nigam
Saurabh Nigam is the Vice President of Human Capital at Omidyar Network, which is one of the world’s ing impact investing organizations. Saurabh supports ON’s portfolio of entrepreneurs in India, with a focus on organization design, change management, talent management and executive coaching. Saurabh has been recognized as one of the Top 25 future HR ers of the country by People Matters & DDI International. He is also the recipient of HR 40 Under 40 award by Jombay for the year 2018. A Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in Electronics and Telecommunications Saurabh holds Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (PM&IR) and SPHR, GPHR and HRMP certifications from SHRM, USA – being the only Indian and one among the first 10 professionals globally to hold these three certifications simultaneously.
Sunil Banthia
Sunil Banthia is the CEO of Banthia Consultancy, the only organised pan India consultant in the field of TUFs subsidies, governed by Ministry of Textiles and State Incentives of Gujarat and Maharashtra state. Banthia Consultancy is an organisation committed to provide superior, competent and personalized service at a level that is unmatched in the field of project finance and government subsidy. He has acquired a great reputation as a reliable Subsidy Consultant in India.