Arjun comes with a more than 20+ years of industry experience ranging from small niche IT companies to also working with India’s largest IT company. He has been working as an independant consultant since he 2013 and works with startups to help in their business strategy and GTM. He is a partner with Xenvis since inception and is an avid digital transformation enthusiast along with personal interest in all things motorised.

Ved Prakash is a well-recognized senior industry professional with a global experience of 29 years in a variety of leadership roles with strategic, business and operational responsibilities in the IT and Management Consulting sectors. He is passionate about Knowledge Management and Collaboration as a key pillar for business excellence and building a sustainable digital workplace. As a Chief Knowledge Officer at Trianz (current), CGI Group and Wipro, he has set up globally recognized KM programs, both internally and for clients. He is also an independent consultant to other organizations, guiding them on their digital and people-centric knowledge transformation journeys.

Amongst his other roles, Ved has led a large organization-wide transformation program at CGI and was a member of the Global Application Management Council. At Wipro, he spearheaded Healthcare & Life Sciences delivery with P&L responsibilities and incubated the Energy & Utilities vertical and helped it grow into a significant business. He has mentored startups at NSRCEL, the entrepreneurship cell of IIM Bangalore.

Ved is a member of CII National KM Committee, core member of KM Global Network, and is on the KM Advisory Board of National e-Governance Division. He has been recognized with Most Impactful KM Professional, Most Influential KM Professional, and Global KM Leadership Awards in the recent past. Under his leadership, Wipro was the proud recipient of Global, Asian and Indian MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Awards. He has been an invited speaker in many national and international forums.

Ved holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and is a B.Tech in Computer Engineering where he was a Gold Medalist.

Rudolf Dsouza is the Chief Knowledge Officer at Afcons Infrastructure. Under his leadership Afcons has made giant strides in Knowledge Management & Innovation. It is evidenced in the fact that they are recipients of the Pinnacle Awards in the KM & Innovation field- the GLOBAL Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise (MIKE) Award- for the last 6 years.  

Rudolf was till recently the Chair of the KM Global Network- an association of KM Societies from 12 nations.

He believes that the success of KM lies in delivering Business Impact. He is acknowledged as the pioneer who introduced Gamification to the discipline of Knowledge Management; he has been recognized ‘Among the 50 Most Admired Global KM Professionals’.

Nitin Seth is CEO of tech services firm Incedo, and was earlier COO at Flipkart, MD for Fidelity International in India, and Director of McKinsey’s Global Knowledge Centre. In the dotcom years, he was also founder of the startup ActiveKarma. He is the author of ‘Winning in the Digital Age: The Seven Building Blocks of Successful Digital Transformation’ (see book review here: https://yourstory.com/2021/08/digital-transformation-nitin-seth).

Dr. Shreekanth (Shreek) Mandayam has been appointed as the Chief Research Officer and Associate Vice President for Research and Federal Relations at Texas State University. Dr. Mandayam will lead the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), university-level research centers, the Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Park, and serve as the university’s liaison to The Texas State University System’s Office of Governmental Relations.

Dr. Mandayam holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Bangalore University in India and an M.S. and Ph.D. Degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Dr. Mandayam will be joining Texas State from Rowan University in New Jersey, where he has served in various leadership roles, including Vice President for Research, Executive Director of the South Jersey Technology Park, and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is a tenured Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Dr. Mandayam is an active scholar whose research expertise is in the area of advanced visualization and virtual reality. He is the founder and lead investigator in Rowan University’s Virtual Reality (VR) Center, where he has secured over $15 million in funding for research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Army, and Navy, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Energy, Elekta Corporation, Medtronic, and others. In executing projects in the VR Center, he has partnered with faculty from a variety of disciplines, including those in engineering, the humanities, social sciences, communications, medicine, fine arts, performing arts, science, and mathematics. Dr. Mandayam has authored over 90 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and has advised 30 master’s and doctoral students.

Dr. Mandayam has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Digital Image Processing, Electrical Communications Systems, and Artificial Neural Networks. He developed and successfully piloted Rowan University’s first general education course sequence, which combines a multidisciplinary team of faculty from engineering, the humanities, and fine arts.

Dr. Mandayam is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He served as the Vice President for Conferences for the IEEE Systems Council (2015 – 2016), Vice President for Publications (2011-2012), and Vice President for Finance (2009-2010) for the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society.

Raghunath Maikkara is a Principal Enterprise Architect with Adobe and a PGPMAX student at the Indian School of business. He has more than 14 years of experience transforming fortune 500 organizations’ digital landscape and customer experiences. Over his career, he has extensively worked with Education, Automotive, Fintech, Retail, high-tech, and insurance organizations.
He has been working with an NGO which helps differently-abled students to upskill and have an excellent career.
Raghu is also on the Advisory Board and an Investor of multiple startups where he helps them with Digital Transformation and AI.

Arvind Neelakantan, heads technology for Epic Games (India/ASEAN). He specializes in games and in empowering film/animation studios in using real-time tech. Prior to Epic, he was the Head of technology for Unity Technologies (Indian Subcontinent) where he drove innovation strategy and provided technology leadership. He was Disney India’s lead software architect responsible for driving innovation through R&D and oversaw games/interactive content development. Before Disney, he was a full stack game engineer at Nickelodeon in Los Angeles where he developed MMORPGs and played a key role in the company’s technology business during the major transitions to cloud based computing

Prasad leads Infosys Center for Emerging Technology Solutions (iCETS). iCETS is the key unit within Infosys, responsible for building expertise in emerging technologies and contextualizing them to create business solutions for Infosys clients.  Prasad has been instrumental in building the strategic ‘Living Labs’ program at iCETS, and through it has setup co-creation labs with key clients.

His portfolio focus includes AI and Cognitive Solutions, Blockchain, Design and Experience, AR-VR, and Cyber Security and Data Management. Under Prasad’s leadership iCETS has created products for Live Enterprise Application Management (LEAP), Cyber Security (Cyber Next), Digital Customer Service (Infosys Cortex), Conversational Interfaces, data privacy, enterprise gamification, and location based solutions among other areas. As part of global charter, he leads the creation of startup ecosystems and academia relationships.

Victor Sundararaj – Senior Business Manager, Head of Engineering and Emerging Technologies Academy – Education, Training & Assessment. Infosys Limited
Victor has more than two decades of experience in Engineering competency development at corporate and academic institutions. He heads the Engineering Academy and Emerging Technologies Competency Initiatives at Infosys Limited. He is a mentor for Infosys Springboard initiative, an Infosys CSR initiative to enable 10 Million+ learners on Digital and Life skills. He is also responsible for the Sales and Pre-Sales of Infosys Wingspan for EdTech sector and strategic clients.
Victor is the member of the Executive Governing Council of the Infosys Education Training and Assessment (ETA) team tasked with the responsibility of institutionalizing framework and strategies for Adoption of Technology in Education and Adaptive Learning.
He has led digital mastery and emerging technologies strategic initiatives across Infosys that include partnerships with Global Universities and initiatives with EdTech Companies for employees’ higher education and new age skills development, such as, Autonomous Vehicles, AR/VR/MR, Blockchain, Internet of Things and 5G.
He has been a keynote speaker and panelist in various national, international and Round Table conferences on Talent Development, Reskilling and Industry-Academy Partnerships. Also, actively participate in forums such as SAE, IUCEE, NAFEMS, ASME and NASSCOM for Engineering Education Enhancement through design of curriculum, delivery of faculty development programs and expert talks in conferences, workshops, and seminars.
Victor joined Infosys in 2007, in the Education & Research department, after a 7.5 years stint of teaching at couple of Engineering Institutions in South India. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from IIT Madras and bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Bharathidasan University, Trichy.

Dr. Chandrashekaran is the Fred H. Siller Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science, in the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he also serves as the Vice Provost International providing leadership in advancing UBC’s global engagement and implementing UBC’s new global engagement strategy, IN SERVICE.  His research is in the area of metrics and evaluation, applied to a range of market phenomena, including resilience of communities and cities.  As the Senior Research Fellow of the Global Network of Advanced Management, is leading the creation of a global Collaborative on Urban Resilience and Effectiveness (CURE), bringing together expertise across disciplines and institutions to drive urban prosperity, innovation and development

 

As a Technology Leader at Microsoft India, Sandeep Alur heads ‘Microsoft Technology Center’, an Experience Center focusing on helping Customers accelerate their digital transformation journey. Being a passionate techie, and an evangelist at heart, he loves technologies that have a profound impact on human lives. He is a ‘Thought Leader’, a ‘Trusted Adviser’ and a meticulous implementer on the ground.

From an innovation standpoint, he believes that the next big leap is in ‘Data Science’, and ‘AI’ will elevate Customer Experience to greater heights.

Sandeep holds a Bachelor’s degree in ‘Mechanical Engineering’ from RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru and a Post Graduate degree in ‘Data Science and AI’ from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

You can follow him on LinkedIn and twitter

LinkedIn-> https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeepalur/

Twitter-> https://twitter.com/saalur

Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan is the Managing Director of Kennametal India Limited (KIL) since September 2020. The company is an Indian subsidiary of Kennametal Inc., a US based multinational and industrial technology leader in materials science, tooling, and wear-resistant solutions for customers across the aerospace, earthworks, energy, general engineering, and transportation industries. He spearheads the Infrastructure business of Kennametal Inc. for the APAC region in addition to his role as the MD of KIL.

Prior to joining KIL, he has accumulated over 23 years of experience in strategic and operational leadership roles, both in India and globally across reputed organizations like Saint Gobain and 3M. To name a few, he was the Global Portfolio Leader for Disposal Respirators; APAC Business Development Manager – 3M Personal Safety Division; Executive Director – Safety and Graphics Business, 3M India; Executive Director – Strategic Planning, 3M India, and Vice President – Abrasives systems Division, 3M India. He has led several change management and organizational development initiatives to excel in the competitive business environment with strong focus on customers and promoting growth and sustainability. In his current role, he is leading efforts to drive growth for Kennametal in India and create value for its stakeholders through manufacturing excellence, financial prudence and enhancing Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) standards for the company.

Vijaykrishnan is a Graduate of Madras University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with specialization in Marketing. Apart from his leadership roles, Vijaykrishnan is an Executive Committee Member of Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA). He is also the Convener of Environment and Sustainability panel, CII Karnataka and part of the State Council.

Abhijit is the India Head for WhatsApp. With over twenty-five years of international experience in building products and scaling businesses, Abhijit was the first top-level executive to be hired by WhatsApp for India.

Formerly, the CEO and Co-Founder of Ezetap Mobile Solutions, Abhijit has also had senior leadership roles with Siebel Systems, Intuit and NGPay, one of India’s first mobile commerce companies.

Abhijit holds a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Rajesh Dhuddu leads Blockchain practice for Tech Mahindra. He was instrumental in establishing Blockchain practice at Tech Mahindra that made Blockchain real and valuable for several global customers. He is also responsible for making Blockchain relevant and valuable for common man in India by spearheading the implementation of solutions to block spam calls and text in partnership with 3 leading Telcos and also Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Lattice80 has listed Rajesh as one of the top 100 Blockchain Influencers in the world in recognition of his contributions over the last 5 years. Thinkers360 has recognized him in Top 5 Global list of Blockchain influencers.

He is a member of Blockchain Steering Committee at IIM Ahmedabad, part of World Economic Forum Expert Network (comprising only select 5000 people in the world on emerging technologies) for both Cybersecurity and Blockchain and is founding chairman of Blockchain Special Interest Group at Nasscom.

 

Derick has been in Business Intelligence for over 2 decades. He is a thought leader and has an immense grasp of Business Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Analytics space. His strong foundations in techno-business principles lead this individual to deliver the most complex solutions in the simplest forms. Prior to co-founding Flutura in 2012, Derick spent 10 years with MindTree as the VP of Knowledge Services, where he helped monetize advanced analytical services with new and existing customers. He attended Birla Institute of Technology and Science.

He has been delivering lectures at Stanford and other colleges about technology and social impact.

Is the Co-Founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, a philanthropic mission he co-founded in 2015 along with Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani, to improve basic education for 200 million children in India. He has more than 25 years of experience across corporate, entrepreneurial, nonprofit and government sectors. This allows him to bring the best of thinking from different lenses, which he has used in shaping EkStep’s mission and it’s strategic choices of achieving population scale impact for learning, using technology. Shankar is deeply passionate about data, research and leveraging technology for large scale transformation in society. He was part of the startup team at Aadhaar; he was also responsible for naming it. He also set up one of India’s first data analytics companies – Marketics. This cross-sectorial experience and interdisciplinary approach has been a driving force in pursuing scale solutions, innovations and collaborations for EkStep’s education mission.

He takes to heart the opportunities he has received as a result of the best possible higher education in India, which was subsidised by India’s tax payers. His alma mater IIT Kharagpur’s motto of ‘yogah karmasu kaushalam’ (Yoga is excellence at work) and its message of ‘Dedicated to the service of the nation’ is also his chosen path in life. He is also
an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He is a mentor to startups, social entrepreneurs and not-for-profits.

Shankar values the diversity that comes from his experience of having lived and grown up in the north, south, east and west of India. His greatest achievement is being a proud husband and a playful father.

Arjun Ranga, Partner of NR Group, the makers of ‘Cycle Pure Agarbathi’.

Arjun Ranga began his career as a business analyst at Chemical Marketing Resources in Houston, USA. He holds an Engineering Degree in Polymer Science and Technology from SJCE Mysore and an MBA in International Business and Strategy from the Thunderbird School of Business, Phoenix, USA.

He is passionate about driving, transforming and scaling the business based on ethical, collaborative and value-based growth, a belief system inspired by his grandfather and founder of NR Group, Shri N. Ranga Rao.

Arjun believes that sustainability and empowerment go hand in hand in creating a positive impact on our society and the planet as a whole.

As the world’s largest incense manufacturer, the NR Group is committed to providing hope for future generations by following ethical and sustainable business practices.

Cycle is the world’s first certified Zero Carbon Manufacturer of incense, prayer and air care products.

A successful entrepreneur and a devoted family man, Arjun is also an avid sportsman, having captained teams in eight different games/sports during his college days. He continues to pursue this passion by playing golf and tennis regularly.

Hina Dixit is a Software Engineering Leader with 12+ years of experience in Software Engineering. Hina currently drives all investments in the field of AI at SamsungNext. Hina led a team at Apple for 8 years with a focus on multiple projects varying from Security, iCloud, Artificial Intelligence, Developer Tools & Data Integrity. From managing a team of seasoned developers to being responsible for bringing up & architecting projects along with the delegation and holding status meetings, Hina was directly responsible for unblocking individuals and finding resources throughout the company to direct the team to succeed. With her experience at Apple as an expert in AI, App Development, Backend & Cloud, she has led various cross-organization projects.
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Hina holds multiple patents through her work at Apple. She is also an investor for EventTow, AI/AR-based app to book event management services, and Aryahi Inc., focusing on No-Code solutions.
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Hina’s superpowers in her own words are:
“I am good at building connections, problem-solving, architecting a feature, and driving an initiative to completion.”

Ashok Maharaj has a MS and PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. He was the Guggenheim Fellow with the National Air and Space, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (2010-2011) and also worked on a research project for NASA to write about NASA’s Global Ventures. He is currently heading the Extended Reality (XR) Lab at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India. Over the last several years he has worked extensively on Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality ecosystems for a variety of use-cases in Banking, Retail, Manufacturing, Media and Communications, Education, Life Sciences and Healthcare. Besides work, he is passionate about teaching underprivileged kids maths and sciences in rural areas. Beyond books and virtual games, he is a Super Randonneur, and a Triathlete training for the Ironman. 

Zeba is an Electrical Engineer who leads Xenvis Solutions, a start-up that offers Visualisation Solutions across various Industries including Automotive, Energy Education and Healthcare. She works extensively on developing Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) solutions for use cases such as Remote Assistance,  Digital Workflows, Training & Upskilling, Telehealth, Emergency Medical Care, Warehousing, Surveillance, Digital Marketing and many more.

Prior to this role, Zeba served as the Technology Head of Meher Advanced Materials, a company that develops and manufacturers specialised metallised dielectrics for Film Capacitors used in the Electrical and Electronics Industry. She has worked on several Research & Development projects in collaboration with multinational companies and has co-authored technical papers on next-generation extra high temperature dielectrics.

Zeba is also a member of the Rotary International Foundation and Meher Care Foundation. She plays an active role in projects that aim to provide free education, counselling and healthcare to underprivileged people.

Aravind Upadhyaya: BE, MBA: 2x Entrepreneur in the mixed reality and healthcare space. Passionate about the interactions and immersion in 3D world now known as “Metaverse”. In 2018 he pioneered the world’s first Augmented Reality based pre-op planning at Apollo Hospitals. An engineer with an MBA from Purdue and Leipzig universities passionate about the possibilities of the 3D world. Prior to 2016 he was heading TCS innovation lab in London bringing to life more than 50 concepts to market in the AR/VR, IoT, Computer vision space.

At 8chili Aravind is laser focussed on democratising access to quality education and skill-based training to anyone anywhere in the world via the metaverse. This is in line with UNSDG #3 and #4. He leads an #AWESOME team of engineers, designers, hackers, advisors, clinicians and fellow entrepreneurs at 8chili building a metaverse platform to transform the way patient engagement, medical education and skill-based training will happen.

Soha Radwan is the Innovation and Knowledge Management Specialist in Dubai Municipality (DM) – one of the largest governmental organizations in Dubai – responsible for setting and executing the strategy for Knowledge and Innovation Management in the organization. Soha has introduced the integrated model of the Knowledge and Innovation Ecosystem in Dubai Municipality. She also led the successful submission for the (MIKE) Award 2020 and (APQC) Award 2021 for DM winning at the global level.

Soha is a certified Auditor, Certified Excellence Assessor, Certified Trainer and Certified Innovation Strategist.

She is also a member of the organizational Excellence Executive Team responsible for the Innovation Criteria, and a member of the Future Team, and member of the Digital Strategy Team.

Soha has more than 20 years of experience in Research, Knowledge and Innovation Management in both governmental and private sectors. Prior joining the Dubai Government, She handled various projects in the MENA region including the UAE, KSA, Qatar and Egypt.

Soha is an MBA holder with two bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Economics.

Invact Metaversity is the world’s first 3D immersive virtual learning platform. It empowers students to interact with one another and their teachers through animated avatars without regard to where they are physically located. By enabling students to hang out together in virtual spaces it facilitates peer-to-peer learning and adds a community layer which had been missing in online learning thus far. It is a one-of-a-kind platform at the intersection of education and the metaverse built leveraging virtual reality, virtual identity and virtual assets. 

Prior to Invact Metaversity, Manish was the Head of Twitter India and during that time, Twitter’s audience in India grew threefold, making India the fastest-growing audience market for Twitter globally.

Manish was the CEO of Network18 Digital before joining Twitter, where he oversaw one of India’s largest digital media conglomerates, which included brands like Moneycontrol, Firstpost, CNN-News18, CNBC India, and Forbes India. Manish started his career with Procter & Gamble (P&G), where he was one of the youngest regional expatriate managers in the company. After P&G, his next stop was McKinsey in New York. Manish has also worked with Flipkart as head of the merchant business and seller ecosystem. 

Manish holds an MBA with honours from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he won the Shils-Zeidman Award, the highest award for entrepreneurship.

Manish credits his success to education, despite coming from an ordinary middle-class family in India’s hinterland. He aspires to be a change agent who can assist billions of people through education. He’d always wanted to create a platform that would provide students with high-quality, socially-rich virtually-immersive learning experiences, delivered to them wherever they were and at a price they could afford. And that’s how Invact Metaversity was born. With a belief in the infinite potential of education, he aspires to assist students in realising this potential through the perfect blend of education and technology.

She is a Digital Entrepreneur & Angel Investor since 2009 .A seasoned executive with in-depth understanding of P&L Management, Digital Marketing Processes
Proficient with Media/Entertainment & Brands. She has built IPs and Content Pilots over time. Also has varied Product/Platform Building Experience.

She is currently heading Metaverse and Digital for Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures Pvt Ltd. It’s a JV between Sony Pictures and Sony Movies. We are building Virtual Worlds, People and Experiences for the world. Virtual needs people and we are populating the ghost towns of today with Celebrities, IPs, Characters and more. The Make in India Web 3 story for India is very large too.

She is a non-linear thinker with understanding of Human Psychology to drive Achievement oriented behaviors. A creative self-starter, well read, trained in – Neuro Linguistic Programming, Virtual Reality, Psychometric Testing as well as Kindergarten Teaching & Reiki Practice. She regularly Mentors and Coaches Storytellers & Innovators from IRMA, XIMB for last 5 years.

She has Worked with companies like Randstad, Pinstorm, Dentsu Webchutney, Colgate and more over the years. Setup India’s First Digital Movie Marketing Company #Everymedia in 2009.Other startups like Antfort, Snapghar, Division91, Aurum and more too. She last created a Gamified Stock Exchange Nine90.

Munish is the Founder and CEO of an internationally renowned emerging tech company Gesture Research and Xealistic. Future Tech Speaker, Researcher, Mentor and a Specialist on Gesture Control, Computer Vision, AI, ML and Smart Devices, with an industry exposure of 14 years. He is well known for his contribution to the innovation and startup community. 

He is a part of many elite entrepreneur groups like Champions of Change – A group of handpicked entrepreneurs who worked with the  prime minister and the cabinet ministers of India to advise on policy making and startup initiatives. He contributes as a startup mentor and entrepreneur representative to StartUp Haryana, a prominent state startup initiative in India. Alumni of Global Entrepreneur Program, UK. IBM Smart camp, Mentor at Startupbootcamp Dubai Smart city Accelerator and more.