Arjun Malhotra

A pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Mr. Malhotra served as Chairman of Headstrong’s Board of Directors before its acquisition by Genpact in May 2011. Prior to Headstrong he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of TechSpan, which merged with Headstrong in October 2003. Mr. Malhotra has a long string of entrepreneurial successes. He co-founded the HCL group in 1975, taking it from a six-person “garage operation” to one of India’s largest Information Technology corporations. The first leading Indian entrepreneur to relocate to USA, Mr Malhotra took over HCL’s US operation in 1989 and grew it to nearly $100 million annual revenues. In 1992 he ran the HCL-HP joint venture in India, and in 1996 he set up and ran the joint venture with Deluxe Corporation. Mr Malhotra is on the Board of Governors of ISB, Hyderabad and IIT (Kharagpur) Foundation. He is a past Co-Chair of the Global Pan-IIT Alumni Association. He is also a Member of IPSS and was on the Board of Governors of The Doon School. A Life Fellow of IIT Kharagpur, he has been awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in September 2012. Punjab Technical University conferred an Honorary PhD on him in 2013. He is a Charter Member of TiE, having previously served as the Chairman of their Global Board. Mr. Malhotra studied at The Doon School, Dehradun, graduated from IIT Kharagpur with B.Tech. (Hons.) in Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering and received the Dr. B.C. Roy Gold Medal. In 1985, he attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He was awarded the Albert Einstein Technology Medal for 2001. The Institution of Engineers (India) has named Mr. Malhotra an Eminent Engineering Personality. For his contributions to the Indian IT Industry, he got the DQ LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Award. He is presently an Advisor in a number of start-ups in Education and healthcare space..

Badri Agarwal

Badri Agarwal has been passionate about improving the quality of education, especially in rural India. He quit his job as the President at Airtel (Infotel business) in 2006 and joined Bharti Foundation as its honorary President & CEO.

It was with his unique approach that Bharti Foundation set up 250+ schools during 2006-09. He has also volunteered at Pardada Pardadi Education Society, TAP India, The Gyan Prakash Foundation, all focused on education for the underprivileged and skill-building at the grassroots level.

Deepak Gupta

Deepak Gupta belongs to Jharkhand Cadre 1974 batch of the Indian Administrative Service. He did his BA from Allahabad University where he stood first class first. He was also declared Best Undergraduate student and won Chancellor’s Bronze Medal and the prestigious Dunn Medal for English Literature. He represented his University in Tennis and Squash. He did his Post Graduate in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University and stood second. He earned his M Phil degree in International Relations from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

He has also obtained Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1992 as a Mason Fellow. He was declared the best IAS probationer of the 1974 batch. After doing several District level assignments in Bihar, he spent several years in different departments covering almost all areas of work in both the State Government and the Government of India. While District Magistrate, Rohtas, he was awarded shields for best performances in the State for the various Rural Development programmes, a year after it had stood last.

In the State Government, he worked in the Departments of Health, Industry, Drinking Water, Rural Development and Water Resources. In the Government of India, he worked in the Departments of Industrial Development, Education, Women & Child Development and Health and Family Welfare. His assignments included a stint as Adviser (Jute & Coir) at India Trade Centre, Brussels during 1983-85 as well as a year with the World Health Organization in Delhi as Adviser in 2003-04. He was Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy from July, 2008 - Sept. 2011. He had initiated India’s ambitious National Solar Mission. He was Chairman, Union Public Service Commission from November, 2014 to September 2016.

After retirement he has attended International Conferences as expert called by International Agencies in the areas of Renewable Energy and Energy Access. He continues to speak and write about issues related to health and energy. He has published two documentary studies: First, A documentary study of Participatory Imagination Management published by Institute of Social Sciences, Delhi. Second, covering a billion with DOTs published by Central TB Division of Ministry of Health. SAGE has also published in 2015 his jointly authored book “Achieving Universal Energy Access in India: Challenges and Way Forward”. Roli published in 2019 his book ‘The Steel Frame: A history of the IAS’. He is currently Hony’ Director General of the National Solar Energy Federation of India and a member of the Independent Commission on Health.

He is an avid golf and bridge player and a keen traveller.

Neelima Khetan

Neelima Khetan is a senior CSR and Social Sector expert. She has over 3 decades of experience in this space, having worked with leading for-profit and non-profit organizations in the country. Her current affiliations include Visiting Fellow with Centre for Social and Economic Progress (earlier called Brookings India) and Partner, Nous Consultants.

Earlier, Neelima has been the Group CSR Head for Vedanta Group, where she provided oversight and guidance to the CSR efforts of 11 business units of the Group, located across India and Africa. She was also (concurrently) Vice President, CSR at Hindustan Zinc. Prior to joining Vedanta, Neelima was the Director, CSR and Sustainability for Coca Cola India and South West Asia – where she led the company’s CSR/Sustainability programs across 6 countries in South Asia.

Neelima has long experience of the social sector, having held leadership positions like – India Country Director of the American India Foundation and Chief Executive of Seva Mandir in Udaipur. In between, she was also the Acting Director of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). Neelima has served on the Boards of many NGOs and Academic Institutions. She has also served on many Central and State Government Committees, including the Land Reforms Committee of the Government of India and the Task Force to suggest Decentralized Funding Mechanisms to the Planning Commission. Neelima holds a Master’s in Rural Management from IRMA and a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.

Pankaj Ballabh

A seasoned professional with 30 years of experience, Mr. Ballabh has a distinguished background in Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Rural Development. His diverse experience encompasses collaboration with both grassroots development organizations and multinational corporations.

Mr. Ballabh holds a Master's Degree in Rural Management from the esteemed Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat. He has a proven track record of leadership, having served as Director of Ashoka University's Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy. Additionally, Mr. Ballabh spearheaded the Sustainable Development function at BP India, led the Social Performance function at BG (formerly British Gas, now part of Shell), and established the CSR team at the Bajaj Group. His impactful work includes designing and leading the Hazira Mangrove Project with Shell India, and collaborating with grassroots NGOs in Rajasthan to empower tribal communities through education, ecological initiatives, and sustainable livelihood programs.

Shravani Dang

Shravani Dang is an Independent Board Director and an experienced business, public affairs and CSR leader with over two decades of quantifiable achievements. Her expertise in marketing, especially digital marketing, branding communications and CSR has made her an A lister by Campaign India and named as among the top Indian communications professionals by Reputation magazine. Shravani’s experience base is in multinational companies across Technology, Financial, Not-for-profit and Industrial sectors, in both complex and large organizations with staff strength ranging from 10 to 100,000 and includes stints in HCL, CARE, CSC, Fidelity and the Avantha Group. Till March 2019, she was Vice President –Marketing & Communications at the Avantha Group. Currently, she serves as Advisor to the Avantha Group, a broad-based industrial conglomerate. She is also senior Advisor to Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology –TIET, (previously Thapar University). TIET is a globally ranked private varsity and ranked among the top higher education institutes in India. Additionally, she is co-founder and board member of the Asia Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD) and its elected Treasurer. Well networked and reputed, Shravani is a frequent contributor to publications and speaks on multiple forums. She holds a Masters in Mass communications, an undergraduate degree in Sociology and has specialized in Marketing in a Digital World from UIUC, USA.

Vasvi Bharat Ram

Vasvi Bharat Ram is the Joint Vice Chairperson of The Shri Ram Schools, which have been consistently rated as one of the top schools in India. Under the aegis of Shri Educare Limited, she has been instrumental in setting up The Shri Ram Millennium Schools and The Shri Ram Early Years play schools in the National Capital Region. Vasvi is on the Governing Board of Lady Shri Ram College, one of the first and most prestigious women’s Colleges of India and Welham Girls School, a prestigious boarding school for girls in Dehradun. She is also on the Boards of the SRF Foundation, Charities Aid Foundation India and SAVE the Children India, all of which work towards providing a better quality of life to the under privileged of our country.

She is a member of various Education Forums including the FICCI Arise School Education Committee and the Forum of Progressive Schools.

Vasvi was the National President of Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO) 2017-18, the women’s wing of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). FLO is the premier women’s business organization in the country and implements a number of National Initiatives to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women at all levels and works on policy and advocacy with the Government to strengthen the position of women in society.

Vasvi has been working towards the cause of women empowerment and is a strong advocate of equal participation of women in economic activities across all strata. In the past, she has also held the office of the Chairperson of the Young FICCI Ladies Organization (YFLO), Delhi, in the year 2010-11.

She has held the post of and ‘Spouse Forum Chair’ in the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO), Delhi and has won International awards for the same. She is currently the Social Impact Chair of YPO for the South Asia region.

Vasvi earned a degree in Bachelors of Arts from Delhi University and did her post-graduation in Business of Fashion Management from the London College of Fashion in London. She has also completed a number of executive education programs from globally renowned universities, including one from the Harvard Business School in Boston. She started her career as an entrepreneur making wrought iron furniture, home accessories and artefacts working with and providing a livelihood to local women artisans.

Outside of work, Vasvi enjoys reading, travelling, music and theatre. She and her husband live in New Delhi with their two daughters.

Dr. Pratyush Kumar Panda

With over two decades of leadership experience at esteemed organizations like LTIMindtree, ACC, and CARE, Pratyush is a seasoned professional in ESG, CSR, and public policy. He has catalyzed change across a variety of thematic areas, with a special focus on climate action. An ardent advocate for philanthropy, Pratyush is an ASPIRE Circle Fellow and the 88th philanthropist to join the "LivingMyPromise" movement in India, committing 50% of his wealth to environmental and social causes. He also serves on national committees with CII, BCCI, ICSI, and the Net Zero Coalition in India.

Pratyush holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration and is a distinguished alumnus of XIMB, with a Master's in Sociology and an MBA in Rural Management. In 2024, he has been recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Corporate Sustainability and CSR. On a personal note, he is also a passionate marathon runner.