Rajabhanu Kolanukonda

K. Raja Bhanu is a pharmaceutical regulatory professional with three decades of service in drugs control administration, vigilance, and public health governance. An M. Pharm graduate from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India.

He began his career as Drugs Inspector in 1993 and served across multiple districts, overseeing licensing, compliance, and enforcement under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Drugs Prices Control Order, Narcotics Drugs, Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules and related statutes. His contributions in detecting violations, launching prosecutions, and safeguarding public health established him as a key figure in strengthening the state's drug regulatory system.

He rose to senior roles including Assistant Director (Vigilance), Assistant Director (Manufacturing), Deputy Director and Joint Director where he led several landmark initiatives such as drafting the Good Distribution Practices guidance for CDSCO, implementing online licensing systems, geo-tagging pharmacies, manufacturing units, and blood banks, and creating the Comprehensive Drug Monitoring System (CDMS). As Nodal Officer during the COVID-19 pandemic, he successfully monitored essential drug and oxygen supply chains. 

His expertise is further strengthened by WHO-GMP and advanced vaccine training, and participation in regulatory workshops organized by CDSCO, WHO, USFDA, UKMHRA, PDA, and global benchmarking initiatives.

Appointed as Executive Director of PHARMEXCIL in 2023 and elevated to Director General in July 2024, continues to champion India’s pharmaceutical exports and global regulatory collaborations. He is a sought-after speaker for training programs for Drugs Inspectors and Public Prosecutors and an active member of IPA, IPGA, and AIDCOC since 1995. His outstanding service has earned him the Best Drugs Control Officer Award (2016), Director General’s Best Performer Awards (2015-16 & 2018-19). 

Representing India globally, he has visited Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Italy, UAE, Turkey, Philippines, Malaysia, USA and Germany on professional delegations, furthering international collaboration in the pharmaceutical sector.

Sunil S. Nair

Mr. Sunil Nair is a highly accomplished and visionary leader with nearly 30 years of experience in the EPC, infrastructure, water, waste-water, energy, and O&G sectors. He has worked extensively across India, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, building a reputation for driving sustainable growth, operational excellence, and successful business transformations 

Mr. Suni Nair is a Chemical Engineering graduate from Calicut university, also holds a CFA certification and has completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD, combining technical expertise, strategic vision, and strong commercial acumen. 

Mr. Sunil Nair brings a wealth of leadership experience, having held Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) roles in multiple organizations, including Utico FZC, Litwin PEL, CAE, and Galfar Engineering. At Utico FZC, he currently leads the growth of the water business from a small local portfolio to a fully integrated developer with in-house EPC capabilities. He oversees a $200 million P&L, manages multi million in assets, and executes large-scale projects ranging from $25 million to $400 million, including BOO, EPC, and O&M contracts. Previously, as CEO (UAE, Oman, and Africa), he successfully turned around the company from near bankruptcy, growing revenue from $10 million to $250 million while maintaining healthy profit margins. He has also led strategic acquisitions, organizational restructuring, and business development initiatives across multiple geographies. 

Sunil has board-level experience, serving as a Director at SBM Offshore. India, where he helped establish a 500-member global engineering and project management centre in India. He began his career with GEA Group Germany based company in design and engineering and further strengthened his foundation in India with Larsen & Toubro, focusing on energy and hydrocarbon EPC projects. 

His diverse experience across EPC and developer models, combined with his global exposure and proven leadership, positions him exceptionally well to lead Ramky Infrastructure into its next phase of growth and innovation. 

N. Balasubramanian

Mr. N Balasubramanian (Bala) is the CEO & Director of Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt Ltd, the  company behind India’s leading organic brand 24 Mantra Organic. The mantra that Leadership is the  capacity to translate vision into reality; has always been Bala’s strength and work philosophy. A  visionary and an exemplary leader, Bala has been instrumental in setting up more than four iconic  brands in this country.  

A graduate from the Institute of Rural Management, Bala has worked extensively in the Food and Agri  space for the last 30 plus years. In these years of creating categories where none existed, Bala has  played a pivotal role in the launch and growth of brands like Safal Frozen Peas, Mother Diary Fruits &  Vegetable Stores, Real Good Chicken (Godrej), Tropicana (Pepsico) and Pedigree (Mars) & of course  24 Mantra Organic.  

Bala is known amongst his colleagues and friends for his entrepreneurial style of work. Using  Consumer insights to convert them to new categories is one of the key strengths. Building and training  a team of professionals to achieve these seemingly impossible changes has made him successful. 

Inspiration while visiting organic stores in the UK and US brought Bala to collaborate with Mr. Raj  Seelam the founder & Managing Director of Sresta now owned by ITC. Bala believes that Organic  Farming can benefit Small and Marginal farmers earn better livelihood and at the same time offer  good quality, Pesticide free food to millions of consumers. Over the last decade, Sresta has helped  create awareness for Organic Food in India and has helped more than 35,000 farmers earn better  livelihood. Bala believes that the task has just started and there is a long way to go for an Organic  revolution in India.
 

Brahmani Nara

Brahmani Nara is the Executive Director of Heritage Foods, one of India’s leading and most trusted dairy brands. With a deep commitment to clean-label nutrition, innovation, and sustainability, she has been instrumental in modernizing the legacy business while retaining its core values.

Brahmani holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, USA, where she graduated summa cum laude. She went on to earn her MBA from the prestigious Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was actively involved in the marketing and food & agriculture clubs.

Before pursuing her Masters program, she gained valuable experience as an Investment Associate with Vertex Venture Management (a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings) in Singapore 

She joined Heritage Foods in 2013 and has since played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic vision, focusing on expanding its value-added dairy portfolio, investing in sustainability, leveraging digital technologies to enhance operations and customer engagement, and corporate restructuring. 

Brahmani is also deeply committed to social impact. Under her leadership, Heritage has scaled up farmer engagement programs - benefiting over 300,000 farmers, majority of whom are women. She is also a Trustee on the Board of Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute, an acclaimed not-for-profit cancer hospital based in Hyderabad. 

A forward-looking leader with a strong sense of purpose, Brahmani Nara continues to build on the company’s legacy while preparing it for the future.

Harshavardhana Gourineni

Mr. Harshavardhana Gourineni (age 37 years) is the Executive Director of Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd., (Formerly Known as Amara Raja Batteries Limited) part of the Amara Raja group of companies and one of the largest manufacturers of lead-acid batteries for both industrial and automotive applications in the Indian storage battery industry. He has demonstrated a proven track record of managing different business verticals and steering the business on a path of profitability and consistent growth. He started his career as an Operations Supervisor and later handled the Demand planning function at Johnson Controls, Milwaukee, the largest battery manufacturer in the world.

He has worked in different positions at Mangal Industries Ltd., RN Galla Family Pvt. Ltd., Amara Raja Infra Pvt. Ltd., and  Amara Raja Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, in alignment with his passion for technology and organizational behaviour. Until recently, he was the Managing Director & CEO of Mangal Industries Ltd. (MIL), a leading manufacturer of auto and battery components in the Amara Raja Group. Under his leadership, MIL has executed many mission-critical projects in a time-bound manner, thereby earning him accolades from key clientele as well as the industry. 

He is fluent in conversational Spanish and has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Organization Psychology from Purdue University, USA. A firm believer in the stakeholder theory of corporate governance, he believes that organizations owe a duty towards the stakeholders and must leverage their strength at its best for the betterment of society. Embedding this motto into the DNA of the firm’s strategy, his current focus area is green energy, sustainability and innovating new technologies that will transform the energy sector and reduce the carbon footprint in the near future. 

With a razor-sharp focus on reducing overheads and productive inefficiency, Mr. Harshavardhana achieved economies of scale at MIL by breaking operational silos within the company and creating Special Business Units to achieve agility in decision-making and execution. This strategy achieved a two-fold return –the storage solutions business turned profitable and transformed MIL into a design led company. He also played an instrumental role behind the establishment of two new business segments in the company– Toolworks and Trading House.  

MIL continued its momentum during the pandemic by demonstrating strong organic growth on all fronts during Mr. Harshavardhana’s tenure. The company achieved a 53% revenue growth from Rs 605 crores to Rs 925 crores, while sales to new customers grew by 189% from Rs 77 crores to 223 crores. MIL started a state-of-the-art operations facility in Chennai and added well-known business groups like Samsung and IKEA as its clients.  

Mr. Harshavardhana believes that the intersection of technology into manufacturing and challenging the status quo can open up new avenues for business organizations. Pursuant to this, he has successfully implemented Blockchain technology for the tool life maintenance function at MIL and established a design hub at its Chennai regional office to deliver an enhanced service to its customers. 

He recently helmed a team that won the prestigious Prize for Leadership in HR Excellence, awarded at the 10th National HR Excellence Awards.

Masood Mallick

Masood is the Managing Director & Group CEO of Re Sustainability Limited. Over the last three decades, he has worked with leading global corporations, governments, institutions and investors on circular economy, climate change and sustainability issues, across four continents. Before joining Re Sustainability, he served as Managing Director at ERM and was a part of ERM's Global Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Masood has also advised the Government of India on environmental policy and legislation, including several regulatory standards and the country's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He has led several national and international industry forums in the sustainability and circular economy space and is a recognised thought leader in these areas. He is also a recognized subject matter expert in management of hazardous materials, waste management and rehabilitation of contaminated sites.

He currently serves as the Chairman of CII National Committee on Circular Economy (Waste to Worth Transformation) and recently also served as the Chairman of ASSOCHAM’s National Council on Environment and Climate Change.

Mahesh Godi

A Computer Science Engineer by training, he spent nearly 17 years in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, contributing to some of the world’s most advanced technology and financial institutions. His career includes impactful roles at Apple, PayPal, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, as well as multiple high-growth startups across the Bay Area.

With deep expertise in large-scale systems engineering, digital infrastructure, and technology-driven innovation, Mr. Mahesh returned to India in 2019. He established GODI NOVA India Pvt. Ltd., a next-generation AI-based lean-tech and smart-energy company that pioneers the design, deployment, and management of AI-driven, self-optimizing, and scalable energy systems.

Mr. Mahesh’s vision is to accelerate India’s journey toward energy independence, electrification, and deep-tech manufacturing—positioning the nation as a global leader in next-generation energy technologies.

Sidharrth Shankar

Sidharrth (Sid) is a seasoned corporate lawyer with a core focus on Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Investments/Venture Capital. Sid has substantial experience advising global private equity funds, multinational corporations, and strategic investors on complex cross-border transactions across a broad spectrum of industries over the last two and a half decades, with two decades in JSA itself.

Sid’s practice encompasses structuring and executing inbound and outbound investments, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and portfolio company management. Sid routinely advises clients on foreign direct investment regimes, commercial arrangements, technology transfers, and regulatory compliance in sectors including consumer products, insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, fintech, e-commerce, financial services, and IT/ITeS. Sid has been involved in some of the most interesting deals in life sciences, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, financial services, consumer products, manufacturing and green investments, and has played a key role in some of the largest – and award-winning – transactions in such sectors in India.

Sid has provided sophisticated transactional counsel to diverse clients, including some of the most prominent global financial sponsors and strategics. He specialises in private equity investments (both domestic and cross-border), joint ventures and foreign investment. His deep sectoral insight and commercial acumen make him a trusted advisor for investors and corporates navigating high-stakes transactions, and he is consistently recognised as a leading private equity and M&A practitioner in prominent legal directories.

Madhivanan Balakrishnan

Madhivanan Balakrishnan is the Chief Executive Officer of Apollo 24|7 and the Chief Digital  and Technology Officer of the Apollo Hospitals Group. In this role, he spearheads the growth  of India’s largest digital health platform, Apollo 24|7, providing a comprehensive solution for  users' healthcare needs. His leadership ensures the development of robust technology and  digital capabilities, delivering a seamless omnichannel experience for Apollo's customers. 

In an illustrious career spanning over three decades, Madhivanan has worked across various  industries, including FMCG, consumer durables, technology, insurance, and banking. His  expertise lies in building and scaling businesses on a global scale. Since 2012, he has led  significant technological and digital transformations, serving as the ED & COO of ICICI  Prudential Life Insurance, Group Executive and Chief Technology & Digital Officer of ICICI  Bank, and ED & Chief Operating Officer of IDFC First Bank. 

Madhivanan is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta (class of 1992) and holds a Bachelor's degree in  Chemistry from Mumbai University.

Irfan Khan

Dr. Irfan Khan is a visionary entrepreneur and thought leader shaping the future of sustainable industries through innovation, technology, and purpose-driven growth. As the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of EBG Group, he leads one of India’s fastest-growing multi-sector conglomerates with diversified interests across Mobility, Health, Realty, Lifestyle, Food, Services, Technology, and Education.

With a deep-rooted belief in “the power of ideas backed by action,” Dr. Irfan has built EBG Group into a catalyst for transformation — driving initiatives that blend sustainability with scalability. Under his leadership, the Group has launched groundbreaking ventures in electric mobility, physiotherapy-led wellness, real estate innovation, and traditional F&B experiences, all unified by a common goal: to create brands that are both aspirational and accessible.

An advocate of responsible entrepreneurship, Dr. Irfan’s philosophy — People, Planet, and Profit — guides EBG’s mission to create long-term value while fostering innovation that benefits communities and the environment. Through partnerships, technology integration, and human-centered design, he continues to steer EBG Group toward a future where business growth and positive social impact go hand in hand.

Beyond his corporate role, Dr. Irfan is a mentor and changemaker, empowering emerging entrepreneurs and startups in the fields of EV-tech, green mobility, and sustainability-led innovation. His journey exemplifies how vision, empathy, and execution can converge to build organizations that redefine industries and inspire change.