Our speakers

Rajesh Sehgal, CFA, Managing Partner, Equanimity Investments

Rajesh is a long-term investor with tremendous breadth and   depth   of   experience   managing   early   stage investments, private equity and public equity funds for over 2 decades. He has on-the-ground experience across emerging market countries, analysing various industries and businesses spanning different stages of their lifecycle. Rajesh has the distinction of being the Founding Chair of the India chapter of CRUF, a global body set up in 2005 by users of financial reports for users of financial reports to be an open forum for learning about and responding to the many accounting and regulatory changes that affect corporate reporting. He is a Board Member of the Mumbai chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur), a global non-profit community that works to help entrepreneurs in all ways. At TiE, Rajesh is co-Chair of the FinTech focused special interest group that spearheads TiE Mumbai’s focussed effort to help the FinTech community. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Apar Industries Limited.

Rajesh started his career as Deputy Manager -Corporate Finance at SBI Capital Markets Limited in 1996 and swiftly moved into the Treasury & Investments Group where he was involved with investing in equity and fixed income securities. In 1999, he was hired by Dr. Mark Mobius to join the Emerging Markets Group (EMG) at Franklin Templeton in their Mumbai office. He spent the next 17 years working with Dr. Mobius, helping the EMG invest in equity markets across Asia, Africa, East Europe and Latin America.

Rajesh managed investments in equities and equity related instruments of companies, large and small, listed and unlisted, across emerging market countries through public and private equity funds. His investment experience ranges all across the deal spectrum from deal sourcing, screening, financial modelling, evaluation, diligence, closing,  post-investment  monitoring  including  board  representations,  providing  value-add  to  the  investee company, working on exit and ensuring exits from such investments. He has also been instrumental in fund raising for all Franklin Templeton Private Equity funds and completely involved in related LP (Limited Partner) interactions globally.

Rajesh has been active in the Indian startupecosystem since 2007 when he made his first startup investment. Since then he has been a prolific angel investors having invested in over 20 startups, worked closely with the management teams in most cases and successfully secured exits in a handful of these startup investments.

Rajesh is a Wharton alumnus in addition to being an XLRI management graduate specialising in finance and marketing. He is a CFA charter holder and has earned a post-graduate diploma in Securities Law from Mumbai University.

Rajesh Uppal, MEB(HR, IT, SAFETY, DE), Maruti Suzuki India

Mr. Rajesh Uppal is a visionary and a thought leader with an impressive career of more than 38 years. Mr. Uppal is currently serving as the Chief Information Officer of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., and as a Member Executive Board (MEB) he looks after HR, IT, Digital Enterprise, Education & Training and Safety at Maruti Suzuki.

Mr. Uppal’s association with Maruti Suzuki began in 1985 when he joined the IT team. He has successfully established IT as a critical business function in initial years of Maruti Suzuki. Realizing the importance of trained and motivated human resource, Mr. Uppal had conceived and successfully established a dedicated Training Academy in Maruti Suzuki which has garnered prestigious awards and accolades. Under his leadership the Company also started Digital Enterprise with only 5 people which today is a full-fledged function accelerating MSIL’s digital transformation journey.

Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, RBI

Rajiv Bharathan, Sr. VP- Sales, Ozonetel

Rajiv has over four decades of experience in IT and telecom. He has handled roles in sales and product management.

Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO, Tata Capital

Rajkamal Vempati, President & Head Human Resources, Axis Bank

Rajkamal Vempati is the President & Head of Human Resources at Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks. Rajkamal is a member of the Management Committee and a passionate advocate of sustaining a human workplace & creating an inclusive culture geared for the future.

Her team of HR professionals at Axis Group is focused on nurturing distinctive career experiences that matter to the people and wherein they thrive. Axis Bank has been recognized externally as an employer of choice for its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts and its Giga Opportunities program has been widely lauded.

Rajkamal is a member of the Board of NHRD. She is also a member of FICCI HR Committee and member of the CII National Committee for HR and Leadership. She has been honored with Honoris Causa, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). by Manav Rachna International Institute Of Research and Studies. Prior to Axis Bank, she was heading Human Resources for ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company. Earlier in her career after passing out of XLRI, Rajkamal was a consultant with Hewitt Associates, part of the HR Leadership Program at GE Capital and has worked with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance across diverse roles.

Personally, having experienced the drop out from career due to long distance marriage and re-entering the workforce subsequently with a young daughter, she is super passionate about mentoring and coaching female executives so that they remain in motion in careers of their choice. Her favourite pastime is planning for holidays and itineraries with ChatGPT.

Rajkiran Rai G, CEO, Union Bank of India

Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI

Rajrishi Singhal, Senior Journalist & Former Executive Editor, Mint (Moderator)

Rama Vedashree, Former CEO, Data Security Council of India; Advisor, Dallas Venture Capital and IIT Bombay Trust Lab