Dr. Bhaskar Bhowmick is Associate Professor at the Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship, IIT Kharagpur, and associated with the Center of Excellence for Safety Engineering & Analytics. A Fellow of IIM Ahmedabad, his academic interests span strategy, techno-entrepreneurship, and leadership. He has 13 years of prior industry experience and leads several national-level innovation and entrepreneurship projects funded by the Government of India. His research—published in international journals and conferences—explores dynamic capabilities, strategic responses to environmental discontinuities, and leadership in emerging economies. He mentors through the Techno-Entrepreneurial Leadership Lab (www.tellab.in), integrating research, teaching, and innovation practice.

Dr. Arun is currently a Professor of Finance & Accounting at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. Arun holds a Ph.D from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. His research interests are “Corporate Governance, Start-up Valuation, and Development Finance.” He has co-authored a few books, viz. “Management Accounting”, “Public perception of security” which encompasses food and health security, and on social issues, “Muscle to the Mind”, and another in vernacular titled “In search of the Horizon”. He has undertaken a host of consulting and training assignments ranging from Corporate Restructuring to Economic analysis of infrastructure projects. His current focus is on ‘Evidence-Based Impact Assessment’ for various development agencies worldwide, including the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of the UK. His works extend to the assessment of field-level interventions on developmental issues. He is a certified social impact assessment practitioner.

Prof. Gourav Dwivedi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management Studies at IIT Delhi. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from HBTI Kanpur and is a Fellow (Ph.D.) of IIM Lucknow. Prior to his academic career, he had a six-year tenure with Larsen & Toubro Technology Services Limited, where he was involved in plant design and execution for Fortune 500 CPG companies. His current research expertise is in Operations and Supply Chain Management. He is also a co-author of a widely-used Supply Chain Management textbook published by Pearson India. His research is centred on innovation, sustainability, and technology in emerging economies, with key contributions in areas such as Industry 4.0 adoption, circular economy models, and mobility. In addition, he leads project initiatives that empower women entrepreneurs at the grassroots level, effectively bridging the gap between academic theory and practical, real-world impact.

Prof. Phani has had an illustrious and impactful 15-year journey at IIT Kanpur, where he currently serves as the Head of the Department and Professor. His administrative roles include Professor-in-Charge of the Syndicate Bank Entrepreneurship Research and Training Center (SBERTC), the Information and Media Outreach Cell, and Chief Investigator at the E&ICT Academy, IIT Kanpur. Over the years, he has held key leadership positions such as Dean of Resources & Alumni, Head of the SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Center, and Associate Dean of Innovation & Incubation. He has led the design and implementation of several strategic initiatives, including IIT Kanpur’s entrepreneurship and seed fund policies, and large-scale innovation ecosystems involving 11 incubators, five labs, and a 400,000 sq. ft. S&T park. With more than 3,000 hours of teaching across premier Indian and international institutions (including IITs, IIMs, Copenhagen Business School, and the University of Connecticut), his teaching interests span finance, risk management, and innovation. He has guided over 75 graduate theses and postdoctoral researchers and mentored more than 100 startups. He has delivered more than 150 invited talks globally, and his excellence in teaching has been recognized with over 15 Senate commendations. His research and policy contributions span finance, ICT-driven innovation, entrepreneurship ecosystems, and startup policy. He remains deeply engaged with industry, government, and academia in institution building and innovation leadership.

Prof. Kirankumar S. Momaya is an Institute Chair Professor at IIT Bombay specializing in Competitiveness and Technology Management. With a PhD from the University of Toronto, he is a leading voice on Japan-India industrial cooperation. He has authored over 60 research papers and currently serves on the Board of SINE and the International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT). Prof. Momaya is also the Editor-in-Chief of JGBC and an advocate for integrating sustainability into corporate strategy.

Dr. Nagesh Kini is the Co-founder of Vimano, an advanced materials startup pioneering green chemistry solutions for the global energy transition. A distinguished materials scientist, Dr. Kini holds a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, followed by prestigious post-doctoral fellowships at Sungkyunkwan University, the Max Planck Institute, and as a JSPS Fellow at Hiroshima University.

With a career spanning academia and industry, Dr. Kini served as a faculty member at JNCASR before spending 11 years heading the Centre for Excellence in Materials Science at Thermax Ltd. Today, at Vimano, he leads a multi-disciplinary team developing low-PFAS and PFAS-free membranes for flow batteries, fuel cells, and ISRO’s space missions. His work sits at the intersection of sustainable chemistry and high-performance electrochemical systems.