Category: Leaders

A well-versed leader, Dr. Ujwala has an MD and Post-Graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration. She earned her medical degree from the Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Kolar (Karnataka). Following her MD degree in Physiology at the University of Bangalore, she pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration. She began her entrepreneurial journey at a young age. Initially, she worked in her family-run pharmaceutical company and introduced several pharmaceutical and Ayurvedic products that led to the company’s steady growth. She spent almost 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry before joining RDPL (Raj Disle Private Limited), a company with diversified divisions under its wing.

A MULTI-FACETED PERSONALITY

Besides being a doctor, industrialist, sportswoman, and pioneering philanthropist, Dr. Ujwala has also made a mark in the education sector. A visionary and a dreamer, she established Marigold International School (the education division of RDPL) in 2020 to offer students quality and holistic education. In just two years, the determined leader expanded the school from 56 students to over 900 students, which is indeed a commendable achievement.

Dr. Ujwala is also the Managing Director of Marigold Hospital, the healthcare division of RDPL, established in 2017. The hospital began with a few employees and a skeletal infrastructure. Under her stewardship and unwavering commitment, it has now grown to be a 50-bed NABH accredited hospital handling a broad range of specialities. Within five years, the hospital has carved its name as a leading provider of comprehensive diabetes, metabolic, neurologic, cardiovascular, dental and metabolic diseases associated with diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

With her visionary and astute leadership skills, Dr. Ujwala Jagdale has pioneered a variety of enterprises, including Marigold Clinics & Diagnostics, Nagi Farms, Chikmagalur Coffee Estates, and Sri Sabarimala Temple Trust, among others.

A COMPASSIONATE INDIVIDUAL

Dr. Ujwala is widely respected and admired by her staff and community for her generous nature, clear insight and humility. Over the years, she has made commendable contributions to the community and served as an inspiration to others. She actively participates in CSR activities under the RNR Foundation, a charitable institution started in the name of her late father, Sri Nagaraja Rao. The charity runs various community development programmes to assist marginalised sections of society. Her work ranges from organising rural healthcare camps for the poor to providing scholarships to aid underprivileged children in advancing their education and careers.

Additionally, Marigold Hospital was turned into a Covid-19 centre under her leadership so that coronavirus patients could obtain prompt treatment. In addition, 400 construction workers and their families received food and shelter during the pandemic. Furthermore, about 150 plantation workers infected with the lethal coronavirus were offered medical assistance.

BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENTS

In recognition of her entrepreneurial brilliance and selfless service to society, Dr. Ujwala has been honoured with several prestigious awards, including the International ICONS 2022 award, K12 Leadership award, and Women Achiever award from Kotak Mahindra, to name a few. The versatile leader has also won state and national awards for rifle shooting.

A multitalented leader, she enjoys reading and writing poetry. She has written several poetry books. She is also a trained pianist and a talented cook.

With extensive experience in formulating marketing and branding strategies for numerous national and global brands, Mandhira has been efficiently spearheading SMPL as Chairman & Managing Director. The company, located in Gurugram (Haryana), is one of the leading automobile spare parts brand in India. Her adept leadership has spurred 100% growth for SMPL, which is indeed a remarkable achievement. She is currently driving the organization’s transformational initiatives to make the brand shine bright in the aftermarket segment by creating unparalleled value for the consumers.

Mandhira is known for her dynamic skills and charismatic persona. Despite the fact that the Indian automotive market suffered a severe blow due to the onset of the pandemic in 2020, she never lost hope and stayed strong. When even the most powerful leaders in the country struggled to deal with the ongoing pandemic, she was able to guide SMPL to expand beyond its current geographic scope and cater to a broader audience during lockdown 2.0.

ENCOURAGING TEAM SPIRIT

As a leader, Mandhira exemplifies incredible team spirit. Growth in SMPL was stagnant when she took reins of the company. To combat this situation, the determined leader rallied her enthusiastic team and got SMPL back on track, eventually achieving the highest sales figure in the company.

Moreover, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, her primary concern was her team’s well-being. In addition to implementing standard operating procedures to secure employee safety, she ensured that employees attending duty adhered to all safety protocols, social distancing norms, and hygiene requirements. Similarly, vaccination campaigns were also conducted in collaboration with local health authorities.

Mandhira believes that people, processes, and values are the foundation of an organization’s success. She believes that, in order for any organization to succeed, all employees must feel empowered and motivated to assume ownership of the tasks assigned to them. SMPL has open door policy where every employee is free to provide their inputs. The company treats them equally and considers them as a family, “Sona Mandhira Parivaar.” She regularly engages with her employees and guides them and they also put their trust in her leadership and direction.

HER ROLE MODEL

Mandhira credits most of her accomplishments to her father, the Late Dr. Surinder Kapur, who instilled in her the spirit of integrity, commitment, and hard work in life.

He propounded that success is not a coincidence, but the result of striving and hard work. He believed that success only favors those who are true to their dreams. As a daughter, Mandhira seeks to uphold her father’s glorious legacy by following his priceless ideologies.

TRANSPARENT AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE

Mandhira believes in promoting employees of her organization which has added a lot of confidence within the “SMPL Parivaar.” Each employee is treated as the owner of his respective function and is rewarded to improve the same.

Similarly, the heads of each function are directly involved with the decision making processes. The proactive leader is hands on with various processes and her involvement leads to faster decision making and turnaround.

Mr. Mustafa started his professional journey after graduating from the University of Southern California where he was a Rotary International Scholar in Engineering and Computer Science. As soon as he graduated, he landed his first job at Symantec Corporation. He was working at the global headquarters located in California and was in a lead position fronting the product lines. It is here that the very foundation of his entire career in Cyber Security was laid. This was just the beginning for a zealous guy who wanted to make it big in the techie world.

In the next two decades or so, Mr. Mustafa would go on to work in various leadership positions, spearheading many teams to build Cyber Security systems and products from the ground up. Several of those products will also go on to win industry recognition as the leading Cyber Security products. But, none of the accomplishments would dim the burning passion to keep on doing more for Mr. Mustafa. He didn’t stop at just building immensely robust and trustworthy products, he also went on to invent several key patents and algorithms which are recognized as significant breakthrough technologies in Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security.

His latest venture, GhangorCloud’s Fourth Generation Data Leak and Exfiltration Prevention (DLEP) Cyber Security Paradigm is based on his vision of the future. He believes that the cyber warfare will forever keep evolving into a complicated and increasingly sophisticated challenge. The industry now recognizes the challenge and with the help of leaders such as Mr. Mustafa, there has been a whole paradigm shift in the industry and how Data Security products have been traditionally built. Mr. Mustafa started GhangorCloud in 2014. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, GhangorCloud is a leading provider of next-generation Information Security & Compliance solutions. The company is backed by a team, board, and advisors that include leading authorities from companies like Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, VeriSign, Cisco, Juniper, Alteon & Array Networks. Under Mr. Mustafa’s leadership, GhangorCloud has become one of the most powerful and best in-class providers of Information Security and Compliance solutions. Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, he has worked with companies like nexTier Networks, Artiman Ventures, Nevis Networks, Andes Networks, Network Utilities, DHL IT Services, Symantec, and others.

A PROFESSIONAL PAR EXCELLENCE

Mr. Mustafa who is currently the CEO and founder at GhangorCloud, Inc., is an industry-renowned Cybersecurity expert with demonstrated extraordinary innovative abilities in the areas of information security.

Mr. Mustafa is a serial entrepreneur with 2 more companies under his belt that he started, scaled, and successfully exited. He likes to keep up to date with all technological trends and possesses deep knowledge and understanding of a broad range of areas, especially security and database design. It is his passion to keep up with the ever-changing technology and provide the best possible, dynamic solutions. His technical expertise has been deemed incredible by his peers as he has often become the go-to person for technical know-how. In his entire career, he has worked in leadership roles where he has built Cyber Security systems and products from the ground up. Several of those products have won industry recognition as the leading Cyber Security products. He also has multiple patents (approved and pending) with USPTO and has published many research publications in the areas of Information & Data Security, Computer & Network Security, Software Architecture, Database Technologies, and Artificial Intelligence. Apart from being awarded the prestigious Rotary International Scholarship for his Doctoral Studies University of Southern California (USC), Mr. Mustafa also holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering and Computer Science from University of Southern California (USC), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from NED University of Engineering & Technology.

Mr. Mustafa is someone who enjoys his work well beyond the realm of office or just the professional space. “To me, my work is my life and I enjoy every moment of it. The thrill and excitement of creating truly “cutting, bleeding-edge technology” are exciting like nothing else.” He also has a very unique hobby – amateur competitive ballroom dancing. While he likes to indulge in different hobbies to unwind and recoup, ballroom dancing is his favourite hobby. As per him, it gives him the opportunity to keep physically active and emotionally creative. “It is a great “art form” and a highly competitive sport,” he shares.

THE “SECURE” ROAD AHEAD

Mr. Mustafa is deeply passionate about building Cyber Security solutions that address Data Leak and Exfiltration Cyber Attacks in a holistic and conclusive fashion. His sole objective is to address the Cyber Security challenge effectively and create new technologies that in fact address this lingering perpetual problem. As Cyber Attacks are getting progressively more sophisticated, it is becoming imperative to tackle the cyber attackers with advanced technologies such as Artifcial Intelligence and Military Style Stealth. Mr. Mustafa with his highly capable team at GhangorCloud wants to address these cyber threats with a complete overhaul of the Cyber Defence Strategy.

“Cyber Insecurity poses existential crisis and must be addressed holistically from the ground up – that will require a paradigm shift based on Classical AI and System Theoretic Design,” he shared. Under his mentorship, GhangorCloud’s product has been recognized as the “Best of the Breed” solution in the data leak and exfiltration prevention (DLEP) category. The company has earned a well-deserved customer base in multiple verticals. It has been delivering solutions to IT organizations, pharmaceuticals, government agencies, national security agencies, and hi-tech companies for intellectual property protection. In the future, he just wants to constantly keep creating newer and better technologies that will not only increase his company’s footprint but benefit the whole industry.

VISION TO OFFER INVALUABLE SERVICES

Known for his charismatic personality, Amit is a prominent name in the logistics industry. A graduate from the University of Delhi, Amit earned his Master’s degree in Business Management in 2004. He has worked for well-established and reputable companies which have helped him gain a wealth of experience and exposure in the field of logistics.

Asia Shipping was established by Amit in 2012 in New Delhi with branch offices in major export centres in India. As part of its efforts to provide its customers with the best services at the most competitive rates, it offers advanced shipping services, customs clearance, warehouse management, and other logistics support products.

DEMONSTRATES AN INNOVATION-DRIVEN MINDSET

Amit’s dynamic leadership approach and innovative business development policies have helped Asia Shipping achieve and surpass all its targets over the years. In a short span of nine years, the organisation has grown from a simple start in freight forwarding services from India to Latin America, to one offering a wide array of logistics services from the Indian sub-continent to the rest of the world.

In addition to being registered with the Federal Maritime Commission, USA and CBSA, Canada, the organisation has membership in several international associations, including IATA, WCA, EAN, and FIATA.

The AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) and GDP(Good Distribution Practices) certified company was launched in collaboration with M/s Asia Shipping, Brazil [Asia Shipping Transportes Internacionais Ltda], a multinational logistics provider, which has been ranked the number one logistics organisation in Brazil for over 17 years, and operates through its 40 branches in 12 countries. Currently, it is rated among the top 30 logistics companies in the world.

ON AN EXPANSION SPREE

Under Amit’s stewardship, Asia Shipping, India has expanded its footprint across several cities in India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Gandhidham, Ludhiana, Jamshedpur, and in the India sub-continent, Bangladesh and Dubai . Besides developing its own international network of agents and correspondents around the globe, the organisation, under his leadership, has been active in exporting and importing across all major trade lanes worldwide.

The ambitious leader also plans to continue expanding his organisation by strengthening the existing branches as well as opening new ones. Additionally, he is already involved in expanding the organisation’s international network to strengthen its global presence.

Also, he plans on adding new products and verticals to his organisation’s inventory in the coming years. Moreover, he hopes to be able to capitalize on the newly emerging opportunities that are arising from the change in the international trading environment resulting from the opening up of world markets following the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A FUTURE-FOCUSED LEADER

Amit is a visionary leader who is always ready to face the uncertainties of the future. International cargo movement has been adversely affected by the COVID-19-induced pandemic in a variety of ways, including decline in production, inland transport constraints, storage capacity constraints and limited loading/unloading capacity at ports as well as airports.

His creative strategies and out-of-the-box thinking and proactive approach have helped his organisation to persevere and progress through the COVID-19 crisis also.

The water technology leader started his career with Dorr Oliver. He then worked for John Brown Engineering, Glasgow, before joining WABAG in the UK. In 1996, the firm deputed him to India to create a Strategic Business Unit. His stellar leadership has transformed WABAG from a subsidiary into a true Indian multinational with operations in over 25 countries across 4 continents, as well as R&D centres in India, Switzerland, and Austria, and more than 100 IP Rights. In 2005, he led the first management buyout in the history of the water industry. He then orchestrated WABAG Group’s historic reverse takeover from Siemens in 2007.

DRIVEN BY GOALS

Rajiv is a goal-oriented individual focused on reaching a planned outcome. With the motto “Sustainable solutions for a better life”, he reiterates his commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and environmental, social and corporate governance. In his current role, he is working towards increased overseas orders and diversify the company’s global footprint and revenue streams. His priority is to acquire more industrial orders. He is also focusing on service businesses (operations & maintenance) to eventually contribute over 20% to the company’s top line. His main emphasis is on high-technology projects that can benefit from WABAG’s process integration and optimization capabilities. Rajiv’s future strategy is to adopt groundbreaking enterprise technology for seamless water management. In the long run, he desires to make WABAG one of the world’s top 3 water technology companies, ensuring clean water and sanitation for people all over the world. He also believes in generating wealth and sharing it with all his stakeholders. His goal driven leadership enables him to strategize in advance, which in turn helps him face even the toughest situations smoothly. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he had surefire strategies in place to keep his site employees safe with measures such as mass vaccination, safety accessories and protocols to enable them to serve millions across the globe.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Rajiv believes that a company’s strongest asset is its workforce. As a result, he continually concentrates on mentoring and directing them toward a sustainable organisational vision. Also, he is accessible to all of his coworkers and offers advice on a variety of management topics. Moreover, he believes that the best governance should be implemented with the least amount of intervention. A proponent of workplace diversity, the leader believes it is more important to emphasize principles rather than rules to create a positive work culture.

CAREER MILESTONES

When asked about his career milestones, Rajiv says his journey with WABAG has been adventurous and astonishing simultaneously. Under his leadership, the company has achieved several historic milestones over the past two and a half decades. Several of them were rare events in the world of global corporations, and he is proud to have led his crew during those times. The management buyout of WABAG India, the reverse acquisition of erstwhile parent WABAG Group, and the dream listing in stock exchanges are just a few of the many things he will always cherish. He was a young man and hardly had any entrepreneurial skills when he got involved in these opportunities, but he dared to seize those opportunities with his total belief and the support of his colleagues.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY

Rajiv considers CSR an integral part of his business. He is consistently focused on producing clean and safe drinking water, preventing pollution, and preserving the environment around us. As an advocate of sustainability, he encourages people to harness alternative sources of water, such as seawater, and used water as a sustainable alternative to purified water. In addition, he strongly supports efficient wastewater treatment, as well as water recovery and reutilization. Furthermore, he has been proactively advocating advanced technologies for water treatment solutions at an affordable price for municipal and industrial applications. Under his guidance, WABAG implements CSR programmes for water augmentation, water conservation, water use efficiency, water reuse, restoration of water bodies, watershed development and provision of potable water through building water treatment plants. In addition to reviving 88 open wells, Rajiv led WABAG restored more than 285 acres of rain-fed lands owned by 131 small and marginal farmers in 14 villages. Under his direction, WABAG had also created and dedicated an STP to help Adyar Cancer Institute reach its pollution control standards. Additionally, the company has developed a decentralized STP with a recycling facility at Warangal, Telangana, to benefit around 5000 urban poor. WABAG and BRLF are currently collaborating to develop watersheds in six West Bengal districts, which will benefit about 5 lakh households. WABAG also regularly participates in children’s welfare programs. For instance, in 2008, WABAG headed the Children Health Project in Cherthala, Kerala, by setting up mobile clinics for 40000 children suffering from chikungunya in 60 villages. What’s more, under his guidance, WABAG recently aided Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in restoring normalcy to the city, which had been ravaged by floods caused by heavy rain. WABAG is also actively involved in the GCC announced Chennai Sanitation Plan.

ACCOLADES

Rajiv’s unique leadership skills and unwavering commitment have earned him myriad plaudits and accolades. He was recognized amongst World’s Top 20 Most Transformative Leaders in Water Sector by the Global Water Intelligence in 2021. He was ranked among the top three most influential global water leaders by WWI, UK for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. He was also ranked among the top 100 CEOs of India, and 4th in the Infra and Engineering Sector by BT-PWC, in 2018.

Santhoshi has carved out a niche in the personal care industry with her dedication and enthusiasm. She strives to create brands that blend beauty and technology in the best way. Her passion for beauty led her to create BeautyKart as an evolving e-commerce destination for personal care, beauty, and lifestyle products. She has some revolutionary plans in store for the future of BeautyKart.

A TECH-SAVVY ENTREPRENEUR

Through BeautyKart, Santhoshi had brought customization and technology to commerce modules and established a global retail atmosphere for beauty products. With the addition of technology to supply chains, she has revolutionised the beauty industry to be more responsible and sustainable. With an integrated physical and digital commerce experience, the company offers online consultations, speed in delivering new products to market, and even voice-based purchases. She also uses Artificial Intelligence to enhance ease of use, allowing people to enjoy customisation based on their skin dynamics. With BeautyKart, the beauty connoisseur-turned entrepreneur pioneered a first-of-its kind digital community hotspot to unite educators, enthusiasts, and learners to strengthen the perception of beauty so as to harmonise inclusivity, authenticity, and empowerment. Additionally, she revolutionised the art of retail by introducing Omni channel commerce chains to meet the growing demands from all corners of the nation.

A keen fashion enthusiast, Santhoshi has been a part of several fashion weeks all over the world. With her strong ethic, charismatic nature and graceful demeanour, she has established herself as one of beauty and fashion’s most sought-after and influential faces. It has been her goal to promote inclusivity and skin positivity throughout the cosmetics industry. She is also a gifted public speaker with a flair for delivering powerful ideas and inspiring thoughts with her charming demeanour.

PRIORITIZING QUALITY

The company’s mission is to alert consumers about counterfeit beauty products in the personal grooming industry – a mission that Santhoshi has played a key role in fulfilling. A seasoned industry expert, she has curated and acquired brands under the Beauty accelerator programme, as well as catalysed other brands under the programme.

Her vibrant vision of creating a global retail atmosphere in India has created a market for innovative and diverse offerings in the personal care industry for many professionals.

PURPOSE-DRIVEN BEAUTY

Beyond the beauty industry, the benevolent entrepreneur regularly participates in many social welfare programs. In addition, she had initiated a mental health awareness campaign called ‘Virtual Virtue,’ which stands for virtuous behaviour in a virtual world. She is also involved with sustainable initiatives with the United Nations. Furthermore, through her massive social media presence, she strives to create a community where everyone can share knowledge and become inspired by each other. What’s more, the forward-thinking business leader is also a published author. What is more than businesswoman who is an established author and beauty enthusiast.

Born to a humble middle class family in a small town in Thrissur, Kerala, Shareef Muhammed’s entrepreneurial saga exemplifies that hard work and success go hand in hand. Beginning his career in 2008 as just another employee, he soon realized he was made for bigger ventures. While working for a Qatar based construction company in 2011, he invested a major part of his salary into business. His young shoulders took big responsibilities with explicit understanding of every task he undertook. Patience and perseverance were the two pillars that became a foundation for turning his dreams turn into a reality.

THE RISE OF A STAR

The leader in him began to take wings while he was working for a Turkey-based company providing vehicles for construction. He managed to provide 300 drivers to the company, which revealed the budding entrepreneur in him. Soon, he was invited to become a sub-contractor and that was the turning point in his career. The counts for the contract went up from 300 to 1300 in no time. His dedication led him to set up a business venture in his motherland Kerala. The foundation and groundwork for Cubes International Logistics started in 2017 and the firm saw the light of day in the year 2018, with business in full swing.

Having inherited his mother’s grit, Shareef Muhammed knew that hurdles can be crossed if fought with resilience. He was brought up by a single parent since he lost his father in his early years of childhood. He learnt life lessons early because of the hardships faced by his mother and how she overcame them during those days.

He has always believed that India is a land of opportunities and often invested in indigenous projects. His exemplary leadership qualities and focused approach have helped him to build a dream team which facilitated huge rise of the firm in a short span. In just a year he saw phenomenal growth of the parent company, Cubes International Group. Today, he oversees and manages the perations of Cubes International Developers, Cubes International Logistics, Cubes International Facility Management, Cubes International Management Services, Cubes Trading and Contracting, Cubevo International Trading, Psycho Designs, and Cascade Foodstuff Trading. Leading on all fronts and continuously exploring different verticals such as construction, consulting, management, and FMCG, Shareef Muhammed operates his businesses in the UAE, Qatar, India and the USA.

CALCULATED RISK

Having risen to such great heights within couple of years Shareef Muhammed has the brain of a mastermind. He takes calculated risks, brainstorming with an idea, understanding the market feasibility, sticking to his principles, and executing it articulately and drawing profit from it. It’s his well formed team that forms his backbone supporting him wholeheartedly while knowing well that their charismatic leader is no ordinary man. He has the ability to pull through the most trying times with his humbleness and a strong mind.

A CHARISMATIC LEADER

Known for his charming personality and enigmatic smile, Shareef Muhammed believes in the concept of learning and growing with each passing day. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to remember that hard work always pays off, and one should never forget that patience and perseverance are the keys to success.

Shashank is an MBA from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (India) and specializes in marketing. He has been in the lending business since 2000. He served as Location Manager of Consumer Loans for GE Money from 2000 to 2004 and served as Director of Mortgage Origination Business for Parsec Interact, Inc. from 2004 until 2007. As a former writer for TheBalance.com and Homes.com, America’s leading websites on personal finance topics, Shashank covered homebuying topics.

His company Arcus Lending Inc. was rebranded as InstaMortgage in 2021 because the meaning of the term “Insta” has expanded to refer to an immediate delivery standard, which has become popular among today’s tech-savvy consumers. Despite founding InstaMortgage during the 2008 mortgage crisis, he took his tech-driven mortgage company to new heights of success with his hard work and relentless passion. InstaMortgage, licensed in 26 States across the USA, currently employs more than 110 people.

The dramatic growth of the company has been driven by his unrelenting focus on education and legendary customer service. Every decision he makes as an entrepreneur revolves around his customers. Moreover, his customer-centric growth mindset drives him to embrace various cutting-edge technologies with open arms in order to make lending experiences better for borrowers. InstaMortgage supports diversity, inclusion, and minority homeownership. A majority of their mortgages close within 20-70% faster than the industry average, he claims. Shashank believes in empowering consumers through financial literacy. “We are in the customer service and education business, and mortgages just happen to be part of the mix,” he says.

His mission is to make InstaMortgage synonymous with the quickest and most reliable mortgage service available today. InstaMortgage is loved both by its employees and customers.

The 4.9 rating on Google reflects the company’s stellar service. The top three mortgage media publications – National Mortgage News, Mortgage Professionals America, and National Mortgage Professionals Magazine; all named the company one of the best employers to work with.

ACHIEVING BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS

Shashank is known for his bold spirit and disruptive ideas. After starting his business in 2008 during the Great Recession, which was one of the worst years for the American economy, his grit and optimism led the company to become one of the fastest growing mortgage companies in America by helping thousands of families secure better mortgages for their homes. Shashank is primarily concerned with the security of his customers.

In February 2022, he led the company to adopt Finicity Technology, which enables lenders to verify a borrower’s assets, earnings, & employment credentials in real-time during the loan application process seamlessly. Finicity, which is a MasterCard Company, was chosen for its transparency and capacity to assist consumers in improving their financial health and purchasing power. From searching for the best provider, negotiating and signing a deal, and settling the contract, InstaMortgage’s adoption of Finicity’s cloud based technology took InstaMortgage about six months to integrate. InstaMortgage’s already fast mortgage lending process has been made even faster by Finicity’s MVS technology.

A TECH-SAVVY ENTREPRENEUR

Shashank’s technological innovations have enabled InstaMortgage to reach breathtaking growth levels. A highlight of his career is the creation of MLO Master Class, a leading platform for loan officers.

Apart from automating the mortgage process and streamlining things such as income verification and providing accurate estimates to consumers, he developed Rachel, a conversational artificially intelligent digital human, which is capable of listening to and answering borrowers’ questions.

Rachel is an upgrade on the experience the conversation AI platforms like Siri and Alexa, since Rachel looks and behaves like a human thus providing a more engaging experience for the users. It is also created specifically for the mortgage industry and can answer dozens of frequently asked mortgage questions. Rachel also helps the borrowers get rates quotes or pre-approvals. The Rachel 2.0 version promises to pre-qualify the borrowers instantly in less than 3 minutes.

GARNERING ACCOLADES

In recognition of his excellence and brilliance and his innovative leadership, he was featured on the cover of National Mortgage Professionals Magazine that also named him “Top 40 Under 40 most influential mortgage professionals in the country” for three years in a row. He was also listed among the “Top 25 most connected mortgage professionals in the country.” by the magazine.

Additionally, he was named one of the “Hot 100” by Mortgage Professional America Magazine. Moreover, under his sterling leadership, InstaMortgage has made it onto the Deloitte Fast Tech 500 rankings for 2021, ranking #110 (above Zoom, Pinterest, and Square) and is the only mortgage company on the list.

The company has also been named as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America (also known as “Most Exclusive Club in Business”) in 2017 and 2021 by Inc. Magazine.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY

Shashank is a benevolent leader who is always willing to go above and beyond to promote societal welfare. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of GiveIndia.org, the largest and most trusted giving platform in India that allows individuals and organizations to raise and donate funds conveniently to the causes they care about.

https://instamortgage.com/

POSSESSING A FAR-REACHING VISION

Prof. Sasmita has undertaken several initiatives and business innovations in congruence with her belief that ‘Leadership is the responsibility to contribute for the success of others.’ She launched the ‘Education for All’ programme that supported one million students to participate in higher education. Recognising the psychological impact of socio-economic disadvantages, she organised the ‘Lead For Life’ confidence-building exercise for underprivileged children. She strives to maintain a student centric ambiance in the campus. Her vision is to create an ecosystem that supports researches for finding effective solutions to social issues. She is working dedicatedly towards making KIIT rank amongst the top 100 universities in the world. She is gearing up to introduce online certification courses to expand the horizon of KIIT.

UPHOLDING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

She has been vehemently advocating social welfare through education. A voracious public speaker, Prof. Sasmita has participated in various conferences, and even organised an international webinar on National Education Policy 2020. It was presided by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ the former Minister of Education, and had more than 25000 participants globally. Under her counsel, KIIT has been taking active part in outreach activities. They conduct programmes for holistic development, provide free medical services, hold awareness camps and occupational safety and health workshops for agricultural and construction workers at Kandhamal and other rural areas. Moreover, they facilitate Rural Capacity Building by conducting skill set training programmes on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India.

EFFICIENTLY BATTLING THE PANDEMIC

Under her guidance, KIIT managed its academic calendar without any disruption by conducting virtual lessons and COVID-19 awareness programs on TV and other mass media channels to reach remote parts of the state. They aided the healthcare infrastructure by distributing 50,000 PPE kits amongst healthcare workers and, setting up 4 specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Bhubaneswar, and in the districts of Balangir, Mayurbhanj and Kandhamal. Along with 1250 hospital beds in total, they have also built quarantine centres, isolation and post COVID care facilities. Under her leadership, KIIT distributed dry and essential food items, groceries, sanitizers, masks and sanitary napkins to 3 lakh + people, and set up a tele-counseling cell to provide support for stress management and emotional wellness during the pandemic. Their tele-medicine facility also made online healthcare consultancy available to the public. KIIT has also started the initiative to provide free education to children who lost their guardians to COVID-19 in Odisha. For all their contribution, KIIT was awarded the Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award-2020 by the AICTE, Ministry of Human Resource Development, for post COVID-19 redevelopment and rehabilitation plan and ‘Leadership and Management Team of the Year’ by THE Awards Asia 2021.

A DYNAMIC CAREER

She is the ambassador of UGC Paramarsh Scheme, KIIT-DU, which helps many institutes to get NAAC accreditation and good ranking nationally. She is the Assessor and Committee Member, NAAC. She is the Founder-President of World Leadership Academy, which serves as a platform for global leaders to address issues from diverse domains. She has immensely contributed to professional bodies such as the Indian Science Congress, Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Indian Commerce Association, Odisha Commerce Association, and others.

Nitin is a civil engineer, who strives to make the society a better place. Under the esteemed guidance of his father, His Holiness Gurumauli, and Sadguru Moredada, Nitin went on to expanding the social reforms for betterment of society.

RESHAPING THE FUTURE

Nitin relentlessly imparts the value-based education to youth and children through Balsanskar. As the Head of the Publications Department of Gurupeeth, Nitin takes a step forward, implementing modern technology in the printing set-up for better efficiency. The trust presently brings out over 70 books in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Sanskrit, English and other languages as well as in Braille. Engaged in grassroot reforms for the past six decades, Gurupeeth encountered further advancement when Nitin established an IT cell and ‘Desh Videsh Vibhag.

REVOLUTION FOR A BETTER SOCIETY

Under the supervision of Nitin, many of activities have been outspread in Maharashtra, and across the other states. Meeting the global demands, Balsanskar and counselling campaigns have been conducted in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore, Nepal, UAE, and Australia. These activities, interestingly, are executed by the dedicated and selfless voluntary activists, who themselves benefitted from such initiatives, and are now giving back to the society, across caste, creed or ethnicity. Even during the pandemic, young Sevakari volunteers organised blood donation camps, food shelters for the needy and quarantined people, and organised counselling sessions to provide the psychological support to those who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The sessions continue even today at the thousands of centres in and outside India. Nitin’s value-based education and training have helped people overcome alcoholism and live productively. Women have been guided to live independently and moral values have been imparted among children. The impact of his initiatives has been far-reaching.

WORLD RECORDS AND GLOBAL RECOGNITION

The eight world records set by the Value Education Cell of Gurupeeth under his guidance certainly deserve applause. From one lakh twenty thousand students together chanting of Stotra-Mantras and the group recitation of Shree Ganapati Atharvashirsha Stotra 1 Crore 20 Lakhs 56 Thousand times by students during the Ganesh Festival in September 2020 to more than fifty-one thousand students making eco-friendly Diwali lanterns, the records indeed illustrate changing lives of many. In addition to this, 7500+ students made prototypes of 758+ different forts showcasing India’s rich legacy.

AN INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE

Nitin is truly an inspirational leader for numerous young volunteers, who have been serving selflessly. He works with all his will to create awareness against social evils like superstitions. The research team, under his valuable guidance, is actively engaged in bringing science and spirituality together for the benefit of mankind. Leadership is a duty, not a position – Nitin proves it time and again with his constant efforts to create a better future. It is solely because of the successful and esteemed execution of the programmes by Nitin and Shree Gurupeeth that millions of lives have been enriched.