Ninth Leadership Conclave

Shri Harsh Bhargava President Bankworld Incorporated USA

Shri Bhargava is currently the President of Bankworld Inc, a prominent Washington DC based Management Consulting company with experience in over 75 countries including projects on competitiveness strengthening in the emerging markets, entrepreneurship and youth, and access to finance to micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Prior to that as the Vice President (International Division) of a US Corporation, he set up businesses in over 60 countries and was awarded US President's E Award for excellence in international business. Shri Bhargava is also the Founder and the President of I Create Inc, a nonprofit corporation with 20 centers in India and one in Kenya. I Create has provided its highly acclaimed and practical grassroots entrepreneurship programs for the rural and urban women and unemployed youth, numbering over 50,000. Shri Bhargava has personally taught courses in starting, expanding and managing businesses at the Iacocca Institute, Lehigh University and the Wharton School in the US, and has been invited to speak at global conferences and events and institutions including IIT. He has been written up and interviewed in a number of TV shows and newspapers including the New York Times. He has written extensively on entrepreneurship as a career option for youth, and created training manuals and books on financial literacy and entrepreneurship training. He is originally from India and worked as a Tata Administrative Service officer with Tata Motors before coming to the USA. Shri Bhargava is an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Prof. Pratim Biswas Chairman of the Department of Energy Washington University St. Louis, USA

Prof. Biswas is the Chairman of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He has won several teaching and research awards including the recipient of the 1991 Kenneth Whitby Award given for outstanding contributions by the American Association for Aerosol Research and the Neil Wandmacher Teaching Award of the College of Engineering in 1994. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Science, St. Louis in 2003, and a Fellow of the American Association for Aerosol Research in 2009. He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Bombay in 2011; and the Distinguished Faculty Award from Washington University in 2012. Prof. Biswas has played a leading role at the National and International arena in the field of Aerosol Science and Technology by serving on several National Committees. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, and an Ambassador to the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Prof. Biswas is also the Director of the McDonnell Academy Global Energy & Environment Partnership (MAGEEP) and a member of the Steering Committee for I-CARES (International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy & Sustainability). He is playing a leading role in advancing the state of art research in promoting Energy and Environmental areas, with a key role in establishing consortia such as CCCU (Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization) and SERIIUS (Solar Energy Research Institute for India and US). Prof. Biswas obtained his B. Tech from IIT Bombay, M.S from University of California and Ph. D from California Institute of Technology, USA.

Shri Ajai Chowdhry Former Chairman HCL Infosystems Ltd He is currently teaching entrepreneurship at IIT Hyderabad and has also been appointed as Chairman of IIT-Patna

Shri Ajai Chowdhry, a founder member of HCL, has been one of the key forces in leading HCL, India's original IT garage start-up founded in 1976, Rs 38,000 crores (US $6.5 bn) to a global enterprise. He led the foundation of HCL's overseas operations, starting with Singapore in 1980s and later expanded to the other South Asian Markets. Mr. Chowdhry, has also been a key force in driving the growth of HCL Infosystems, the flagship company of the group. He took over the reins of HCL Infosystems in early 90s and became the Chairman of the company in 1999. Mr. Ajai Chowdhry has constantly been driving a vision of "IT for the masses" and has been on several Government committees working towards taking PC and broadband into every village in India. He is the Chairman of the Electronics Skills Council and Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to Cabinet (SAC - C). Mr Chowdhry is also currently the Co-Chairman of the Working Group for Development of Innovation and IP in the ESDM sector. In 2011, Mr Ajai Chowdhry was conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honours, as recognition of his consistent contribution in building the IT industry of the nation. He has also received several prestigious awards including Dataquest "IT person of the year 2007", Electronics Man of the year by ELCINA-EFY for the year 2010, CNBC Asia Business Award 2010, India Innovator of the Year Award at the 6th edition of CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2010, Cybermedia Business ICT Award 2013 for Lifetime Achievement in ICT by Shri Narendra Modi in 2014, in August 2014, he has been awarded Honoris Causa (D.Sc.) by the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design & Manufacturing, Jabalpur in recognition of the significant contribution he has made to the Indian IT industry and thought leadership in the field. Presently, Mr. Chowdhry is focusing on incubating entrepreneurship by aiding start-ups. He continues to give back to the society through his in-depth experience and understanding of the industry. He is currently teaching entrepreneurship at IIT Hyderabad and has also been appointed as Chairman of IIT-Patna. Mr. Ajai Chowdhry has a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College, and attended the Executive Programme at the School of Business Administration at the University of Michigan, US.

Shri Kamalesh Dwivedi Chief Information Officer Bellsystem24, Inc., Japan Japan

Shri Kamalesh Dwivedi joined Bellsystem24, Japan's largest customer care solutions company owned by Bain Capital in September 2010 as the Chief Information officer of the company. He had been the CIO of five companies at junctures of profound changes in these companies' business model and also in their industries. Shri Dwivedi has successfully led technology organizations through all these transformational vectors and change vortices. He has led global technology organizations in more than fifteen countries in North and South Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Shri Dwivedi has served on the Boards of TeleTech India, ADC Telecommunications India and is currently a Director on the Board of Bell China. Shri Dwivedi has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in India, Master of Engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and has graduated from the Program for Management Development (PMD) from Harvard Business School in the US.

Prof Vipin Kumar Professor, Graduate Program Coordinator Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Washington USA

Prof Kumar is currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Washington, USA. He holds a BTech degree from IIT Kanpur in Mechanical Engineering, and M.S and MBA from University of Rhode Island in 1972 and 1974 respectively and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988. Prof Kumar's professional interests lie in the areas of design and manufacturing, including product and process design. His research program focuses on microcellular and nanocellular polymers, a family of novel cellular materials expected to be used in a variety of applications in the decades to come. Prof Kumar has a special interest in innovation and technology transfer.

Shri Ruyintan E Mehta Co-Director for Water Program Wheel Global Foundation USA

Shri Mehta was a licensed professional Chemical Engineer (inactive status) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1970 and Master's degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1972 and in Engineering Administration from the University of Utah in 1974. Shri Mehta was a serial entrepreneur in the plastics industry, who sold his last plastics manufacturing business in California in 2012. Over a 24 year period he started, bought, merged and sold several plastic blow molding companies in New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Canada that ranged in size from 5 million to 34 million in sales Shri Mehta is an active supporter of Clean Drinking Water Plants (CDWP) in remote impoverished villages in India. He is a co-chair of the Water initiative of WHEELS Global Foundation, a US non-profit started by IIT alumni residing in the US. Shri Mehta is an active volunteer mentor of SCORE Central Jersey, a nonprofit resource arm of the US Small Business Administration.

Shri Sunil Parekh Founder & Chairman PanIIT Gujarat Alumni Association Ahmedabad

Shri Parekh is a senior mentor and leveraged his vast networks to help young start-ups besides his corporate engagements with Zydus Group (Pharma), Jubilant Group (Oil & Gas). Shri Parekh is deeply connected with the startup entrepreneurial ecosystem and actively engaged as a board member of CIIE@ IIMA - Seed fund committee member & Mentor Edge, as well as at the NID Incubator in Ahmedabad. Shri Parekh is a Founding Curator on the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Initiative. Currently as Advisor to Zydus-Cadila Healthcare Ltd. Group, he is actively involved in their special projects. And as Strategic Advisor to Jubilant Group, he brings his network & experience to help the group in its various activities in Gujarat. He has been awarded the top 100 Eminent people of Gujarat. He has a wide domain experience gained over 30 years spanning both Manufacturing and Agriculture & Food Processing industry. In addition he has built a huge understanding of a consumer focused industry Inlaks Group & Grand Cereals Oil Mills Ltd in West Africa, which grew on the basis of consumer understanding and selling B2C. He is one of the early pioneers of building Indo-African companies with large footprints.

Shri Hasmukh P Rama Chairman and CEO JHM Hotels, Inc. Greenville, SC. USA.

Shri Rama holds a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Xavier University, USA and was awarded the degree of Hospitality Management, Honorary Doctorate Degree by the Johnson & Wales University USA. H.P. Rama has been in the lodging industry for almost four decades, beginning with a 40 Room independent property in Pomona, California. Today, JHM owns and operates 42 hotels in USA and India under Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Westin, Sheraton and Taj. Mr. Rama has been the Founding Chairman of Asian American Hotel Owners Association - with a membership of 12,000 hotel owners in USA. Many honors have been awarded to H.P. such as the Oberoi Award for Excellence, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Hospitality Leader of the Year, Industry Person of the Year, U.S. Small Business Administration Entrepreneurial Success Award, Arthur Landstreet Award - for promoting education in Hospitality and the Above & Beyond Humanitarian Award by Lodging Conference USA. Mr. Rama has served as a Board of Advisor to many hospitality schools including Johnson & Wales University - New York University, University of Houston, University of South Carolina and California Polytechnic University. Also, Executive Professor in Residence Cornell University Hotel School and Visiting Professor at Penn State University and Michigan State University. He is currently serving as a Founder and President of Auro University of Hospitality and Management in Surat, India.

Prof Mythily Ramaswamy Professor T.I.F.R. Centre for Applicable Mathematics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore

Prof Ramaswamy is a professor in the School of Mathematics at TIFR, Bangalore She was awarded the PhD from University of Paris 6 and has been visiting faculty at the University of Rome, University of Paris and Toulouse, University of Rutgers, State University of Mississippi and Virginia Tech. She was the Sofia Kowalewsky visiting Professor at University of Kaiserslautern, Germany and received the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship, 2016-17. Prof. Ramaswamy's research interest lies in Analysis of differential equations and applications to control problems. Recipient of the Karnataka State Kalpana Chawla award for women scientists, 2004, a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad. Prof Ramaswamy serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ramanujan Mathematical Society, Proceedings of Indian Academy of Sciences-Mathematical Sciences and Boundary Value Problems. Currently she is also a guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar and serves as a Board member of IIT Gandhinagar and NIT Calicut Board of Governors and is a member of the IISERs standing committee.

Shri Kushal Chand Sacheti CEO Galaxy USA Inc and Key Items Inc New York

Shri Kushal Sacheti, is the CEO of Galaxy, a diamond business company in New York. He is a philanthropist with a passion for education. He obtained his M. Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. He has set up a Centre for Desert Development Technologies at BITS Pilani, from where he obtained his B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering. He is a donor for many other educational and humanitarian causes.

Prof Supreet Saini Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Mumbai

Prof Saini is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. Prior to joining IIT Bombay, he was an Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering at IIT Gandhinagar (2010-2012), where he also headed the Faculty Recruitment Committee among other responsibilities. Prof Saini completed his PhD in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2010) and B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi (2005). He is the recipient of the Young Engineer Award 2017 (Indian National Academy of Engineering) and the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award 2011 (Department of Biotechnology). His research interests are in the area of evolutionary microbiology.

Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor IIT Kanpur IIT Kanpur

Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi is currently Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and the Dean of Academic Affairs at IIT Kanpur. From 2008 - 2010, he served as the Director, LNM Institute of Information Technology (LNMIIT), a public-private partnership University in Jaipur. His administrative experience includes running the Institute Computer Center, managing Graduate Admissions, cultural advisor to students, Student Counselling, managing UG education at IIT Kanpur (as Chairman of Senate Under Graduate Committee), design of CS curriculum, and Chairman of Health Center Users Committee. He has visited about 70 colleges in India to discuss issues related to career planning, future of IT industry, curriculum and various technical/research talks. Professor Sanghi has a B. Tech from IIT Kanpur, and M. S. and Ph. D. from University of Maryland.

Shri Piyush Shah Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt. Ltd Gandhiangar, Gujarat, India.

Shri Piyush B Shah is the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt. Ltd. Mr Shah is Bachelor of Technology (Electrical) from IIT-Mumbai (1975 Batch). Since 1983, he is the Promoter & Managing Director of Hi-Rel Electronics Pvt. Ltd (Now known as Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Pvt Ltd). Mr Shah is the Chairman of Gujarat State Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2012. Mr Shah has been a Member of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - IT Gujarat Task force, Gujarat Council and Regional Council Committee Western Region of CII. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, an Expert member in the Post Graduate Board at Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad and an Executive Council Member of Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA) in the year 2011-12. An avid Golfer and a Bridge player, a voracious reader, he enjoys travelling to discover new locales and places.

Prof Chandrima Shaha Professor of Eminence National Institute of Immunology New Delhi

Prof Shaha is currently Professor of Eminence at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, where she served as Director till late 2016. She also served for a year as the honorary executive Director of the Indian National Science Academy spanning 2016-2017. Prof Shaha received her M.Sc and Ph.D degrees from University of Calcutta followed by a stint for post doctoral work at Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas and The Population Council, New York, USA. Prof Shaha is a JC Bose Fellow and was elected as Vice-president (International Relations) of the Indian National Science Academy (2015) and is currently serving the term. She is elected Fellow of the The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) (2014), Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Delhi (2008), Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (2004), Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad, India (1999) and a Fellow of West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology (2011). She is Council Member of the Indian National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. She is recipient of the Ranbaxy Science Foundation Award for Basic Medical Research (2010), Om Prakash Bhasin Award (2014), Prof Archana Sharma Memorial Award, National Academy of Sciences (2013), Chandrakala Hora Memorial Medal from Indian National Science Academy (2013), Darshan Ranganathan Memorial award (2010), Department of Biotechnology "Special Award" (2003) and Shakuntala Amirchand Award of Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi (1992). Prof Shaha's current research interests include elucidating the regulatory processes of cell death and the associated mechanisms.

Prof. Satish K. Tripathi President State University of New York Buffalo, USA

Prof. Satish K. Tripathi serves as President of the University at Buffalo. An internationally recognized computer scientist, Prof. Tripathi joined UB as Provost - the university's chief academic officer - on July 1, 2004, after serving as Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. He was one of the creators of the UB 2020 strategic plan to achieve academic and research excellence. Prior to joining UC Riverside in 1997, he was a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, where his 19 years as a faculty member included being chair from 1988 -1995. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris-Sud in France and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany while at the University of Maryland. He has published more than 200 papers and supervised more than 30 Doctoral and Postdoctoral student. He is a fellow of the IEEE and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Urban League. Prof. Tripathi is the first international-born president in UB's history, a fitting distinction for one of the most international universities in the U.S. In addition to a doctorate in computer science earned from the University of Toronto in 1979, he holds three master's degrees, one in computer science from the University of Toronto (1976) and two in statistics from the University of Alberta (1974) and Banaras Hindu University (1970). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from IIIT Allahabad.