Mr Lakshmi Narayanan
Chancellor Chairperson
Governing Council, KREA University
Lakshmi Narayanan is the Co-Founder of Cognizant and Director, ICT Academy, Chennai Mathematical Institute. He is a Technology industry professional, who has spent over 40 years in the IT industry, with the last few years in a leadership and governance role in Cognizant’s Board. He is passionate about encouraging young minds to seek a larger purpose in life and encourages them to realise their potential through higher education and entrepreneurship. He plays an active role in ICT education and promotes research in Math and Computer Science.
His association with ICT Academy, Chennai Mathematical Institute, and Thiagarajar School of Management is aimed at promoting excellence in higher education. He is also actively involved in nonprofits, such as United Way, CHILDS Trust Medical Research Foundation, and others, to advance the cause of disadvantaged people and create meaningful livelihood opportunities in areas of technology and healthcare. He supports young entrepreneurs through angel investments as part of The Chennai Angels and the TiE Organisation. His recent investments include deep tech startups, space startups and energy ideas.
Dr Prasad Modak
Managing Director – Environmental Management Centre Pvt Ltd & Director – Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation
Dr Prasad Modak is a B.Tech in Civil Engg & M.Tech in Environmental Science and Engg from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He had done Doctor of Environmental Engg from Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Later he joined Centre for Environmental Science and Engg at IIT Bombay in 1984. He set up Environmental Management Centre in 1996 and established Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation - a Not for Profit Company in 2012.
Worked with almost all key UN, multi-lateral and bi-lateral developmental institutions in the world. Prominent amongst these include UNEP Geneva, Paris and Osaka; UNDP and UNDESA, New York, UNIDO, Vienna; DFID, London; GIZ and CDG, Germany; APO, Tokyo; SIDA, Embassy of the Netherlands, New Delhi; FAO, the World Bank, IFC, New Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Apart from Government of India and various State Governments, advised Governments of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Mauritius, Thailand and Vietnam. Member of Task Force on Sustainable Public Procurement, Ministry of Finance, Earlier member of Indian Resources Panel at MoEFCC, National Committee on Circular Economy, FICCI, Advisory member of Circular Economy Club
Published books with UN University (translations in Chinese, Japanese), Tokyo; Oxford University Press; UNEP, CRC Press, Centre for Environmental Education. Served as Hon Editor of the Journal of Indian Water Works between 1998 and 2004 Contributed to UNEP's Green Economy Report, Global and Asia Waste Management Outlooks. Latest book is on "Practicing Circular Economy" at CRC Press released in June 2021
Recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award of AITAA in 2010 for Significant Contribution to International Affairs. Elected as Board Certified Member at American Association of Environmental Engg .Adjunct Professor at Centre for Technology Alternatives in Rural Areas at IIT, Bombay between 2009-2017.
Specialties: Environmental Policy, Environmental Assessment, ESG at Financing Institutions, Business and Sustainability, Circular Economy, Capacity Building in Environmental Management, Modelling and Data.
Ms Nalini Shekar
Executive Director, Hasiru Dala Innovations
Ashoka Fellow, Nalini has trained several hundred waste pickers, officials and policy makers on the inclusive, sustainable solid waste management. Worked with many ULBs, GPs States on policy on solid and plastic waste management.
Innovation includes demonstration of scalable solutions to waste segregation, collection, decentralised processing with citizen engagement.
Co-authored training manuals, books including Valuing Urban Waste, that maps, informal waste sector in Bengaluru and Leave no Trace documents best practices of inclusive, sustainable waste management in India, Indonesia and Brazil.
Lived in the United States for a decade and worked on violence against women and children. Was part of a group that facilitated passage of a legislation to support victims of Human trafficking in California
Ms Anjali Bansal
Founding Partner, Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund & Independent Board Director, Tata Power, Nestle, ONDC
Anjali Bansal is the Founding Partner of Avaana Capital which manages Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund, investing in technology and innovation-led start-ups catalysing climate solutions and sustainability and delivering exponential returns. Previously, Anjali has been the NonExecutive Chairperson of Dena Bank, appointed by the Government of India to steer the resolution of the stressed bank, eventually leading to a merger with the Bank of Baroda. Prior to that, Anjali was a Global Partner and Managing Director with TPG Growth PE, responsible for India, SE Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She started her career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey and Co. in New York.
Anjali has invested in and mentored various successful start-ups including Delhivery, Urban Company, Darwinbox, Nykaa, Lenskart and Coverstack. She also serves as an independent non-executive director on several leading boards including Tata Power (Chair, Sustainability Committee), Nestle (Member, CSR and Sustainability Committee), and Piramal Enterprises, and chairs the “Climate Special Interest Group” within Indian Venture Capital Association. She has previously chaired the India board of Women’s World Banking, a leading global livelihoodpromoting institution, been a board member at GSK Pharma, Siemens, Voltas and Bata.
Anjali is a Member of the Niti Aayog Evolution Review Committee, India’s premier policy think tank chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister She has been appointed on the Expert Advisory Committee for the Start Up India Seed Fund Scheme announced by the Honourable Prime Minister. She is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the world’s first open access infrastructure for digital commerce and serves on the CII National Committee on Corporate Governance. She has previously served as President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, and has co-founded and chaired the FICCI Center for Corporate Governance program for Women on Corporate Boards. She is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and a charter member of TiE. She has been listed as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Indian Business” by India’s leading publications, Business Today, and by Fortune India.
Dr R Vasudevan Professor, Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE), Madurai
Padma Shri Dr. Rajagopalan Vasudevan is an Indian scientist working mainly in waste management. Currently a professor in Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Dr. Vasudevan has developed an innovative method to reuse plastic waste to construct better, more durable and very cost-effective roads. The roads also show greater resistance to damages caused by heavy rains and ‘Plastic roads’ constructed since 2002 have not developed blisters or potholes. His road construction method is now widely used to construct roads in rural India. For his contribution he is often referred to as “Plastic Man of India” and was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri in 2018. He developed an innovative method to reuse plastic waste to construct roads. His process, patented in 2006, involves mixing shredded plastic with hot gravel and adding it to molten asphalt. Plastic and bitumen bond well together because both are petroleum products. This combination enhances the road’s ability to carry weight, as well as its life.
Mr Shekar Prabhakar
Managing Director, Hasiru Dala Innovations
Shekar Prabhakar with over 22 years of industry experience in IT products, solutions, and consulting services, he developed a diverse and versatile skill set in marketing, strategy, business development, and sales. He worked with Indian and MNC organizations across India, Middle East, UK, and US, launching products and channels, managing P&L operations, and selling solutions and services in competitive and undifferentiated markets.
Teaching is a passion that he pursued throughout his career, facilitating workshops, corporate training programs, and MBA courses. In 2008, he pivoted his career to become a full-time faculty teaching marketing at Welingkar, Bangalore. In 2015, he pivoted again to become a social entrepreneur and co-founded Hasiru Dala Innovations, a social enterprise committed to creating entrepreneurship opportunities and predictable livelihoods for waste pickers through providing innovative circular economy solutions. As the co-founder and CEO, he is responsible for leading the strategy, operations, and growth of the organization, which impacts the lives and environment of thousands of people. He is passionate about waste picker inclusion, circular economy, and social innovation. He is a graduate of IIT, Madras and IIM, Calcutta.
Mr Som Narayan CEO, Carbon Masters
Som has been working in the area of climate change for last 6 years. In 2008 he moved to Scotland for his Masters in Carbon Management at the University of Edinburgh. While doing his Masters he worked on feasibility of low carbon technologies for energy sector and an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) as a credible policy for coal power generating plants with Friends of the Earth and World Development Movement Scotland. As a part of his Masters in Carbon Management his research was on the economic impacts of the UK Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment legislation. Som also holds an Environmental Engineering degree and Postgraduate diploma in Environmental law from National Law School of India University. In January 2012, Som set up the Carbon Masters India office in Bangalore and has since been working to establish Carbon Masters as leading carbon management experts in India. He has evaluated several low carbon technology solutions that will help Indian companies to reduce their carbon emissions and save costs. Som is currently working with a major Telecom Infrastructure provider to reduce their diesel consumption & carbon footprint from their 500 Telecom towers in India.
Mr Sushil Vaishnav Founder & CEO
KNP Arises Green Energy Pvt Ltd
The dynamic career of 15 years that reflects rich UAE & Indian experience and year-on-year success in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Vendor Development, Warehousing, Inventory & Logistics:
Conceptualizing & implementing purchase plans aimed at delivering significant cost-savings for the company through interdepartmental coordination for material requirement & vendor negotiation for delivery of material as per requirements
Establishing & managing vendors to procure suitable products; developing alternate vendors & negotiating with them to ensure cost savings & quality improvement
Leading the creation of business case for transformation of supply chain into a more value creating function by redesigning organization, processes & interfaces
Developing demand forecasts (operational forecasts) at multiple levels of aggregation for multiple time horizons as part of a demand planning function
Hands-on experience in ERP projects like JD Edwards, Salesforce Management, SKU Rationalization, WMS, DEMANTRA & ASCP.
Directed cross-functional & cultural teams using interactive & motivational leadership; acknowledged for leading & mentoring team members to achieve resource wise productivity & optimization.
A forward thinking person with strong communication, analytical & negotiation skills; well organized with a track record that demonstrates self-motivation & creativity to achieve corporate goals.
Ms Mridula Ramesh Founder, Sundaram Climate Institute & Executive Director, Sundaram Textiles Ltd
Mridula Ramesh is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed The Climate Solution and Watershed, and the founder of Sundaram Climate Institute, which focuses on waste and water solutions. She is an active cleantech angel investor with a portfolio of over twenty start-ups, and is involved with several initiatives to spur climatetech entrepreneurship. A graduate with distinction from Cornell University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Mridula worked at McKinsey in Silicon Valley and is the executive director of Sundaram Textiles – the company was amongst the first textile companies globally to win the coveted TPM Excellence Award. She is part of the board of trustees of World Wildlife Fund, India, and chairperson of the board of governors at National Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh.
Dr Ashwin Mahalingam
Faculty - Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Madras
Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam joined the faculty in the Building Technology and Construction Management division of the Civil engineering department at IIT-Madras in 2006. Ashwin received his B.Tech in Civil engineering from IIT-Madras and then proceeded to Stanford University for a Masters in Construction Engineering and Management. He then helped start up an internet based company in the USA called All Star Fleet, aimed at providing asset management services for construction companies. Following this he returned to Stanford University to pursue a PhD in the area of Infrastructure Project Management. Ashwin's research interests are in the areas of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Infrastructure planning and management, the management and governance of large engineering projects and the use of technology in infrastructure development. Ashwin is also a cofounder of Okapi Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd and serves as a Director on the Board. He is the Editor of the Engineering Project Organization Journal (EPOJ) and has served on many national committees.