Rashmi is a highly experienced infrastructure specialist with a strong global background in engineering project leadership and management. She is a civil engineer specializing in water resource management with 25 years of experience in the industry. She has contributed to the successful implementation of a large number of water and wastewater projects that has improved access to clean water for millions of people.

She has a proven track record of building and scaling successful teams. As a Technical Director at Mott MacDonald, she leads a large global team delivering water infrastructure projects globally. She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and has led many initiatives to foster a more equitable and inclusive workplace. Her expertise in water and environment sector is further enhanced by her academic achievements, including a prestigious national award on waste management for her thesis in Environmental Planning.

Sharath Bulusu leads product management for Google Pay. He is focused on products that can contribute to the growing digital economy. Having started his career at Google in 2005 in Mountain View and London, he led the development of consumer products in advertising, media and commerce. He left Google in 2011 to play a key role in The Guardian’s digital transformation. Before his Google return, he led product management at HouseTrip and Myntra.

Anil Bhansali is a results-oriented transformational leader with deep technical knowledge and proven business acumen. He is the Vice President for Engineering and Head of the India Development Center, Google Cloud India. In his role, Anil is responsible for scaling the Google Cloud India Engineering teams and building a diverse organization leading with people and culture; he also leads strategic site operations that supports rapid continued growth and workplace experience for Google Cloud India. Anil has a successful track record of designing and delivering market-leading products and building organizations by recruiting and growing world-class talent.

Anil is deeply committed to using technology as a means to leapfrog sectoral transformation. He has been instrumental in bringing the power of Google’s transformation prowess in AI in India across multiple areas including Open Digital Network and Healthcare.

Prior to joining Google in 2020, Anil was Corporate Vice President, Azure Cloud division at Microsoft. During this time, he led product development efforts to bring the power of cloud computing for Education whereby millions of frontline workers and Non-Profits could have access to learning. Digital transformation of Agriculture provided both farmers and administrators access to key information necessary for successful agricultural operations. He was also at the helm of pioneering efforts in the use of AI/ML tools to help doctors in clinical assessments especially in eyecare.

Anil was also the site leader for Microsoft’s India Development Center in India where he led engineering efforts across Azure, Windows, Search and Office. With over 30 years’ experience in product development, Anil has lived and worked in both the United States and India and worked on a range of Microsoft’s products and services. Anil is based in Google’s Hyderabad office in India.

Anil along with his wife is associated with several non-profit initiatives including a mobile library to help children improve their reading and language skills. Anil has served on the board for HEI (Hyderabad Eye Institute) for a period of three years.

Anil is a regular keynote speaker at industry events and considered a thought leader in enterprise software by customers, press, and analysts.

He also holds a master’s degree in computer science from The Stony Brook University, New York

Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi is currently working with Springer Nature India Limited as Managing Director, leading the overall India business operations, driving advocacy and strengthening the Open Science / Open Access and overall Science Research & Technology ecosystem in India.

Earlier he was with National Skills Development Corporation heading the Digital Skills, Innovation, Industry Partnerships & CSR engagements in building the policy & framework for Skilling motion in India.

Prior to NSDC, he was working with Deloitte as Director Innovation leading the Deloitte Skill Academy which focused in bridging the gap between Industry & Academia.

He also worked with Microsoft for 10 years leading various roles centric around Developer Ecosystem, Academic Programs, Startup Ecosystem & Microsoft Innovation Centers.

He holds Electrical Engineering from the Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Master of Science holder from BITS Pilani, Management holder from IIM Calcutta, Executive Marketing Program holder from Kellogg School of Management (USA) & Chevening Gurukul fellow of Kings College London, prestigious commonwealth fellowship in the area of Education & Technology.

He was also featured as one of the Frontrunners and the Youngest AVP of Corporate India at the age of 27, by Business India 23rd March 2008 edition. He was also featured as CNBC Young Turk in 2017 for his contribution in Academic Ecosystem & Setting up Innovation Centers to foster latest skills & driving entrepreneurship in India.

He is also recipient of several National & International awards like Yuva Unstoppable award for the year 2015, World Education Award for the year 2012, Mobby Award for the year 2010, Xavier’s Business Leaders Award for the year 2009, Young Gun Award by IIT Kanpur for the year 2008, e-Governance award for 2005 by IIT Delhi, INDIRA Award for the year 2000 by Govt of India in the area of Disaster management and Young Parliamentarian Award by Govt of India for the year 2001.

Tarun Nazare, an entrepreneurial luminary and Co-Founder and Managing Director of Neokred, hailed as a trailblazer in fintech innovation.

Recognized as one of the “Entrepreneurs 35 Under 35,” his visionary leadership has propelled Neokred to prominence, with the company being on “Forbes India and DGEMS 200 Select Companies with Global Business Potential”.

At Neokred, Tarun pioneers’ data-driven narratives, leveraging cutting-edge technology at the intersection of payments and innovation. With a vision to democratize customer data, Tarun and Neokred are transforming the landscape of payment and data narratives.

Tapan Bhatt is the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ascendas Firstspace effective 1st October 2024. In this role, he spearheads strategic growth initiatives, operational excellence, and business expansion, reinforcing the company’s leadership in India’s logistics and industrial real estate sector.

Prior to his appointment as COO, Tapan was the Head of Investments at Ascendas Firstspace, where he played a pivotal role in scaling the business and driving market expansion. His leadership was instrumental in navigating complex transactions, securing high-value deals, and fostering strategic partnerships. With a keen understanding of investments and a strong acumen for people management, he successfully led the investment team to achieve significant milestones.

With over 18 years of global investment experience across the United States, United Kingdom, and India, Tapan brings deep expertise in private equity, hedge funds, and investment banking. Before joining Ascendas Firstspace, he co-founded Toro Finserve LLP, where he served as a Managing Partner, overseeing investment strategies and financial structuring. His professional journey also includes leadership roles at ICICI Venture Fund and a consulting role with Etonhurst Capital Partners, a real estate-focused startup fund.

Tapan holds an MBA in Finance from London Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA. His diverse international experience, combined with his strong financial expertise, positions him as a key leader driving growth and innovation in India’s logistics and real estate sector.

Surya Khurana, the Managing Director at FlixBus India, is at the forefront of revolutionizing the global mobility platform in one of the largest and most dynamic bus markets in the world. As a young and influential leader, Surya combines his Indian heritage with extensive international experience to drive significant growth and innovation in the transportation sector.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and an Executive Education certificate in Strategy and Leadership from Harvard Business School, Surya is well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to lead in the competitive mobility landscape.

During his nearly decade-long tenure at Uber, Surya demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic vision. As the Product Management Lead for Uber’s Global Advertisement team, and previously as the head of strategy and global expansion for Uber’s High-Capacity Vehicle (Uber Bus) offering, he played a pivotal role in expanding Uber’s footprint across multiple markets in India.

Since joining FlixBus India, Surya has been instrumental in scaling the business, achieving an exponential growth and expanding the service network to cover over 200+ cities within one year. His strategic initiatives have not only boosted FlixBus’s presence in India but also set new standards for the industry in terms of service quality and customer satisfaction.

Surya’s expertise spans product launches, market expansion, business strategy, public policy, strategic partnerships, and both B2B and B2C sales. His leadership is characterized by a commitment to innovation, efficiency, and sustainability.

Passionate about health and fitness, Surya believes that a healthy mind and body has helped him to achieve sustainable success in his career so far
Surya is currently based in the Delhi-NCR region, where he continues to drive transformative change in the mobility sector, making a global business big in India.

Siddharth is the co-founder and CEO of TurboML, a real-time AI platform built on top of his groundbreaking Ph.D. research published at top conferences such as NeurIPS and AAAI. His work has been deployed by industry leaders such as Mastercard, Capital One Bank, Vodafone, Amazon, and others.

Before founding TurboML, Siddharth worked at Google and Amazon and collaborated with researchers at Stanford University and MIT. His visionary work in real-time AI is bringing about a paradigm shift in the field—a contribution recognized with the ACM Young Researcher Award from the Heidelberg Laureate Forum.

Sanjeev’s 33-year career spans diverse industries and enterprise software, witnessing Nitor Infotech’s evolution from a two-person startup in 2006 to an AI-first company following its 2023 acquisition by Ascendion.

He is a driving force behind the adoption of emerging technologies, creating innovative solutions for global clients. His combined domain expertise, management acumen, and deep understanding of market dynamics have fuelled Nitor Infotech’s organic growth and international expansion.

Sanjeev’s commitment to modern technology including AI (Finite Element Analysis & Computer Vision), beginning in the 1990s, has reached new heights at Nitor Infotech, an Ascendion company.  He has spearheaded numerous projects leveraging AI to enhance customer satisfaction.

Forbes India Marquee recognized him as a “Top Leader” and “Vocal for Local” champion for two innovative product engineering concepts: Research as a Service (RaaS) and Peer Product Management (PPM).

He has transformed product engineering by integrating the power of AI, fostering an AI-driven culture throughout the organization.  Since the Ascendion acquisition, he has led the strategy of infusing AI into product engineering through an “Agentic AI” approach.

He has instilled “Product Engineering to the power of AI” (PEAI) framework influences every facet of product development, resting on four pillars. This strategy is aligned with Ascendion’s global strategy of Engineering to the Power AI

1. AI-based Product Engineering Mindset:  Equipping every software engineer with an AI-driven approach to product development.
2. Agentic AI Platform: Leveraging Ascendion’s AVA+ platform to enhance the product engineering process, providing clients with unprecedented scalability and efficiency.
3. Research-as-a-Service (RaaS): This award-winning concept identifies potential obstacles during product development, providing organizations with a crucial early-mover advantage.
4. Peer Product Management (PPM):  Experts act as “peers” to clients’ product managers, anticipating customer needs and developing strategies to maintain a competitive edge. This collaborative approach enables the creation of customer-centric software products.

Sanjeev’s dedication to AI has resulted in approximately 25% cost reduction and 30% accelerated time-to-market for clients.

His strategic shift from MVP (minimum viable product) to MVSP (minimum viable and sellable product) without compromising core product engineering principles has positioned Nitor Infotech, an Ascendion company, as a preferred product engineering partner.