Prof. Ashok Misra is a Distinguished Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and former Director of IIT Bombay. He previously served as Dean and Professor at IIT Delhi, and Chairman (India) of Intellectual Ventures. He holds a BTech from IIT Kanpur, an MS from Tufts University, and a PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Massachusetts. He is a renowned scientist with over 70 research publications and six patents in polymer blends, composites, rheology, and processing. He co-authored a notable book on polymer properties and is working on a second. Prof. Misra is affiliated with several global scientific societies and has received numerous honors, including the Prof M Santappa Award and Fellowship of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. His leadership at IIT Bombay significantly strengthened its research profile. He has also been a Visiting Fellow Commoner at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

Prof. B. Gurumoorthy is a leading Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Digital Manufacturing academic. His research spans computer-aided design, computational metrology, digital manufacturing, and product design. He teaches various engineering courses, including Geometric Modelling for CAD, CAD, Solid and Fluid Mechanics, and Computer-Aided Product Design.

Prof. Gurumoorthy has published extensively in top-tier journals. Notable works include research on heterogeneous object modeling, document analysis for design knowledge, and STL mesh editing for rapid prototyping. His projects, such as the “Intelligent Design Engineering System” funded by Faurecia, highlight his practical impact on industry.

He holds significant editorial and leadership roles: vice chair (Asia-Pacific) of IFIP WG 5.1, Regional Editor of the International Journal of Product Life Cycle Management, and Editor for journals such as the Journal of Computational Design and Engineering and the ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering. His work bridges academic research and real-world engineering innovation.

Prof. B.S. Murty is an Institute Professor and Girija & R. Muralidharan Chair Professor in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at IIT Madras. He began his academic journey with a Diploma in Metallurgy in 1983, followed by a BE from VRCE Nagpur (1986), an ME from IISc Bangalore (1988), and a PhD from IISc in 1992. After 12 years at IIT Kharagpur, he joined IIT Madras in 2004.

He also holds international academic affiliations as Adjunct Professor at Ryerson University, Toronto (since 2011) and Associate Faculty at the University of British Columbia, Canada (since 2016).

His research spans nanocrystalline materials, high entropy alloys, bulk metallic glasses, phase transformation thermodynamics and kinetics, and advanced characterization techniques like transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. Prof. Murty is recognized globally for his pioneering work in materials science and engineering.

Prof. Bharat Bhasker, Director of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), is a renowned academic leader known for his strategic vision and contributions to management education and digital innovation. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s in Computer Science from Virginia Tech, USA, and a B.E. from IIT Roorkee.

Before IIMA, he led the Indian Institute of Management Raipur as Director (2017–2022), driving institutional growth and earning the Best Director award at ISDSI 2019. He also served as Acting Director and Mentor Director at IIM Lucknow and IIM Sirmaur. His transformative leadership at IIMA includes launching the Blended PGP, a game-changing Executive MBA format.

Prof. Bhasker has held visiting positions at ESSEC Business School, France, and Chung-Ang University, Korea, and advised institutions globally. His corporate experience spans Connectix Corp., SYBASE Inc., and Tata Steel. An acclaimed author, his books on e-commerce and recommender systems highlight his thought leadership in information systems.

Dr. Charan Singh is the CEO and Founder Director, EGROW Foundation. He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Punjab & Sind Bank. He continues to pursue his academic interests by regularly teaching courses on Macro, Monetary Policy, Global Economics (International Finance) and contemporary issues on Indian Economy at IIM Visakhapatnam and IIM Rohtak.

Earlier, he was the RBI Chair Professor of Economics at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India; Senior Economist at the IMF, Washington DC (August 2009-December 2012); and Research Director (Economic Policy, Debt Management; 1997-2009) at the RBI where he joined as Research Officer in the economics department in 1984. He started his career in 1983 as management trainee in Punjab National Bank. Among other positions, Dr Singh served on the Board of NHB and NABFINS.

His expertise is on Fiscal Policy (especially Market Borrowings, Debt Management); Monetary Policy (especially Public Sector Banks, Interest Rates, Inflation Targetting); Financial Markets (especially Money Market, Financial Inclusion) and he has worked extensively on issues like External Trade, International Reserves, Global Hunger Index, Old Age Pension, other development issues related to India's Growth and Public Policy.

Dr Singh has published extensively and has two academic books to his credit, on published by Springer and the other by Cambridge. He has also contributed significantly in public domain through writings in professional journals. He also contributes in discussions on current affairs in leading newspapers and important TV channels.

Dr Singh completed M.Phil in Applied Economics from JNU, Delhi and PhD in Economics from the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1997. He followed it up with post-doctoral studies at Department of Economics, Harvard University from Aug 2003 to Aug 2004 and Stanford University from August 2004 to Jan 2006.

Professor M.P. Gupta is the Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, bringing decades of expertise in management education, digital governance, and institutional leadership. Before this, he was the Modi Foundation Chair Professor at the Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi, where he also served as Head of Department and Dean of Planning.

Prof. Gupta holds a B.Tech from HBTU Kanpur and an M.Tech and Ph.D. from IIT Delhi. He began his academic career at IIT Roorkee before joining IIT Delhi in 1997 and becoming a full professor in 2008.

A leading voice in digital public policy, he has contributed extensively to initiatives like Digital India and Smart Cities. His academic portfolio includes over 260 publications, several books, and guidance to 38 doctoral scholars. He was instrumental in establishing the School of Management & Entrepreneurship at IIT Jodhpur and led India’s adoption of the FIWARE platform in innovative city projects.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, is an internationally acclaimed computer scientist best known for his groundbreaking work in Complexity Theory and Cryptography. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, he earned his BTech and PhD in Computer Science and Engineering in 1986 and 1991, respectively.

Before becoming Director in April 2024, Prof. Agrawal held key leadership roles at IIT Kanpur, including Head of the Computer Science Department, Dean of Faculty Affairs, Dean of Resource Planning, Deputy Director, and Project Director at C3iHub, a central cybersecurity innovation hub.

He is renowned for co-developing the AKS Primality Test, the first unconditional deterministic polynomial-time test for primality. His honors include the Padma Shri, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, Gödel Prize, Fulkerson Prize, and Infosys Prize for Mathematics. He is a fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences, TWAS, and all central Indian science and engineering academies.

Prof. Nagesh Kumar is the Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID). In 2024, he was appointed as an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India. He also holds fellowships with UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, and the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre.

Previously, he held key leadership roles at the United Nations ESCAP, including Chief Economist and Director of Macroeconomic Policy, and founded its South and South-West Asia Office. From 2002 to 2009, he served as Director-General of RIS, a think tank under India’s Ministry of External Affairs. He has been a consultant to organizations like the World Bank, ADB, and UN agencies.

A PhD from the Delhi School of Economics, he has authored 18 books and over 120 scholarly papers. He is a recipient of the World Bank-GDN Research Medal and the DSE Distinguished Alumnus Award (2023).

Prof. Rangan Banerjee is currently the Director, IIT Delhi. From February 2022 he is on lien from IIT Bombay where he served as the Forbes Marshall Chair Professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering - a Department that he helped start in 2007. His areas of interest include energy management, modelling of energy systems, energy planning and policy, hydrogen energy and fuel cells.

Prof. Rangan Banerjee currently serves on the editorial board of International Journal of Sustainable Energy, International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, International Journal of Thermodynamics, Solar Energy Advances, Global Transitions (Energy Transitions). He has been involved in setting up a megawatt scale Solar Thermal Power Testing, Simulation, Research Facility sponsored by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and is the faculty advisor of Team Shunya- India’s first student team in the Solar Decathlon Europe finals. He has been involved in advising the city, state regulatory commission and energy agency, Niti Aayog, MNRE on energy issues and worked with several Indian and international industries.

Prof. Banerjee has been the Dean (R&D) and received the Excellence in Teaching Award from IIT Bombay and is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. Prof. Banerjee is also an Adjunct faculty (Honorary) in the Department of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University.

Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan is a leading thinker in Strategy and Innovation, and has been consistently featured in the Thinkers50 India list since 2013, receiving the Innovation Award the same year. He was Director of IIM Indore (2014–18) and Mentor Director of IIM Sambalpur (2015–17).

He has authored two acclaimed books: 8 Steps to Innovation (Best Book Award 2013–14, ISTD) and From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation. His research has been published in top journals, including MIT Sloan Management Review and Global Strategy Journal, and his cases are part of collections at Harvard, IMD, and IIMs.

Prof. Krishnan served on the Government of India’s Data Protection Committee and sits on NPCI, Wheels India, and HEFA boards. A former visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and ISB, he also mentors startups and is on the advisory board of YourNest Investment Advisors.

Professor Suman Chakraborty is a globally recognized micro/nanoscale fluid dynamics researcher. He focuses on sustainable technologies for health and well-being, especially for underserved populations. His fundamental discoveries, such as slippery flow enhanced by surface roughness and ionic pumping in confined water, defied conventional scientific understanding. He has also developed programmable droplet control, spinning-disc bubble generators, and nanodroplet thermomigration reversal.

He is the inventor of “Paper and Pencil Microfluidics,” a frugal technology enabling low-cost medical diagnostics, desalination, and energy harvesting on paper. His innovations include electricity generation from wet textiles and blood-flow analysis tools using bio-inspired fabrication techniques.

A pioneer in point-of-care diagnostics, Prof. Chakraborty has developed portable CBC analyzers, perfusion imaging devices for oral cancer, and isothermal nucleic acid tests. He heads a national hub for affordable healthcare technology, where his innovations support rural employment, empower women, and deliver last-mile health services through sustainable micro-enterprises.

Professor Shireesh B. Kedare currently serves as the director of IIT Bombay and is a professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. A two-time alumnus of IIT Bombay, Prof. Kedare earned his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 1985 and Ph.D. in 1992, establishing a career rooted in sustainability, renewable energy, and system-integrated development.

His research spans concentrating solar technologies with thermal energy storage, renewable energy for industrial decarbonization, energy transition strategies, and participatory development tailored to specific contexts. He has guided numerous M.Tech., Dual Degree, and Ph.D. students. He has offered various foundational and advanced courses at IIT Bombay, including Nonconventional Energy Sources, Solar Energy for Industrial Process Heat, Wind Energy Conversion Systems, and Appropriate Technology.

He has also actively promoted grassroots sustainability, mentoring farmers in organic practices, advocating for waste recycling, and minimizing personal carbon emissions through daily lifestyle choices.

Prof. Kedare exemplifies a unique combination of technical depth, real-world implementation, policy advisory experience, and societal outreach firmly aligned with a vision for a sustainable and equitable future.

Dr. Sunil Shukla possesses more than three decades of experience in entrepreneurship development. Alongside pioneering development models targeting corporate executives, Start-ups, and MSMEs, Dr. Shukla has also introduced entrepreneurship courses at EDII and premier institutions nationwide. He receives several notable awards for his contributions to policy advocacy, training, entrepreneurship education, and livelihood development, as well as for extending the frontiers of entrepreneurship, nationally and globally. He is the editor of the prestigious ‘Journal of Entrepreneurship,’ and since 2012, has been leading the Indian Chapter of the world’s most extensive Annual Study on entrepreneurship (GEM). His extensive work in several global regions, including South Asia, South East Asia, CIS, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the USA, has been noteworthy.

Professor V. Chandru is a renowned academic and entrepreneur whose work spans mathematics, operations research, and biotechnology. He earned his PhD from MIT in 1982. He held faculty positions at Purdue University and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), publishing over 70 peer-reviewed papers and co-authoring a book on computational logic. He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1996 and was President of the Operations Research Society of India (2017–2018).

Prof. Chandru founded Strand Life Sciences, a pioneering Indian company in genomics-based precision medicine, and is a founding member of the Association of Biotech Led Enterprises (ABLE). His innovations earned him accolades such as the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2007) and the INFORMS President’s Medal (2006).

He continues to teach at IISc and contribute to national science and healthcare through academic, entrepreneurial, and policy leadership roles that impact science and society.

Venkat Raju is a seasoned corporate executive, serial entrepreneur, and active investor, currently serving as the Global CEO of Turbostart. With deep business, technology, and general management expertise, he began his career on Wall Street before transitioning into entrepreneurship. Over the years, he has founded and scaled multiple ventures, blending strategic vision with hands-on leadership.

At Turbostart, he drives innovation by supporting Indian startups with global potential, providing founders with high-level mentorship and strategic guidance. He is passionate about nurturing local talent and fostering international collaboration, helping bridge gaps between emerging ecosystems and global markets.

Mr. Venkat is an influential thought leader who contributes to the Turbostart blog, sharing insights from his vast experience. His commitment to innovation, mentorship, and cross-border growth continues to shape the future of entrepreneurship both in India and beyond.