Category: Leaders

With a Ph.D. in Geographic Information Systems from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Dr. Sukanta has also obtained an Executive Management degree from the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia, USA. The spirited leader has over two and a half decades of professional experience and has held a variety of challenging managerial responsibilities in IT, OT, and consulting in various large projects and programs in Electricity, Telecommunication, Transportation and various other engineering fields around the world. What’s more, he has worked for numerous multinational IT giants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Owing to his earnest and determined efforts, Inovaantage is continually charting new trajectories of success. “The company began as a utility software solution company and has since expanded to include two other verticals: telecommunications and transportation. The healthcare solution is the next vertical we want to focus on”, says the future-focused leader.

Dr. Sukanta is noted for his brilliant strategic thinking skills, which aid in his long-term planning. Inovaantage has successfully expanded its global reach under his charismatic leadership. In just a few years since its inception, the IT solutions company has established a presence in multiple countries, including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe, Africa, India, and the Philippines. The company is currently preparing to establish a presence in the United Kingdom.

EYEING OPPORTUNITY IN ADVERSITY

Dr. Sukanta is a forward-looking visionary leader who is always prepared to deal with any crisis. Even a global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dampened the spirits of many industrial bigwigs, could not stop him from achieving his goal of global business expansion. “Even during the outbreak of the coronavirus-induced pandemic, we have successfully made good progress in Australia. Also, we managed to build a strong client base wherever we launched the business during the pandemic.” The ambitious leader adds, “With all of our previous achievements, we have now upped our ambition of becoming a global leader, something we never imagined when we first started.” Dr. Sukanta is a goal-oriented leader whose unwavering efforts have helped Inovaantage earn the boundless trust of hundreds of consumers around the world. “I view consumer trust as my accomplishments and career highpoint,” he says. The confident leader adds, “Every year, we set a goal for ourselves and successfully achieve it. With that confidence, we have raised our goal proportionately more than the previous years and achieved success once again despite the pandemic. We have gained the trust of hundreds of customers worldwide and the number is getting bigger with time. We now believe we can be global leaders and are in discussions with potential investors to take that dream forward.”

AN ACTION-ORIENTED LEADER

Dr. Sukanta believes in leading by example and promotes an action-oriented leadership culture. He is motivated by a strong sense of urgency, concentrating on the task at hand and ensuring its timely completion. The proactive leader holds daily meetings with his team for better communication and workflow. He also enthusiastically leads his team in moving a vision forward to achieve goals and make impressive progress. Under his motivating leadership, his team has been creating products and services that are innovative and ahead of the competition. “Being a good leader entails many distinctive aspects. Leading by example and at the same time encouraging individuals to make decisions and accept ownership of the roles assigned to them are both important for the growth of an organization, and I ensure that I do my best to keep my team motivated,” he says.

PRIORITIZING EMPLOYEES

Dr. Sukanta considers his workforce as the company’s first stakeholder, followed by customers. Like a true leader, Dr. Sukanta emphasizes the growth and involvement of his team. “Most significantly, I have kept my focus on being very people-oriented, since people are the heart and soul of Inovaantage,” says the CEO. He continues, “We’ve come a long way since investors launched Inovaantage in 2017 to being one of Southeast Asia’s most recognized brands. Our people have played a critical role in the development of a company from its inception to the present day, and we attribute our success to their unwavering efforts.” The empathetic leader also ensures his company gives adequate space to each employee so that they can manage their workload and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Even during the Covid-19 outbreak, the leader encouraged everyone to work from home. He affirms, “Even though the coronavirus outbreak triggered pay cuts, and layoffs across industries, we have been sensitive to our workforce and have not laid off a single employee. There haven’t been any salary cuts either.”

DEDICATED TO SOCIAL WELFARE

In addition to being an astute businessman, Dr. Sukanta is also a good samaritan taking care of society. The compassionate leader says, “CSR is in our DNA. It is an important aspect of providing our customers with sustainable value. By keeping CSR at the forefront of our minds, we can ensure that we are always thinking about our company’s place in and influence on a rapidly evolving world. We are also focusing Tier II cities as outsourcing hub to generate more employment for less privileged.” On a local and national level, we at Inovaantage are constantly striving to strengthen our focus on social responsibility, whether it’s championing women’s rights, preserving the environment, conserving wildlife, or eradicating poverty,” he adds.

WELL-DESERVED RECOGNITION

Dr. Sukanta’s sincerity and unmatched capabilities have earned Inovaantage, a lot of recognition in the form of awards. In April 2021, the company was awarded the SBR (Singapore Business Review Technology) Excellence Award for software – Energy Category for Volt Var Optimisation (VVO). The Technology Excellence Awards, presented by SBR, was held via studio award presentations and video conferencing sessions throughout the second and third week of April 2021.

Talal was born and brought up in Kuwait. Hailing from a simple, middleclass family; he always had big dreams. He wanted to start his own business and reach great heights. However, his family was not very supportive of the idea since trading was seen as a risky business back then and not something to be pursued as a career. After doing a few jobs here and there, Talal realised his lifelong dream of owning a business. From being an employee to donning the hat of an employer, he has made quite a journey. A journey that should be shared and celebrated!

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Even though Talal graduated from Philadelphia University with a degree in Information Technology, his interest was always in the finance sector. To gain knowledge about the financial industry, he worked with a few financial companies. This allowed him to gain some knowledge about the investment business and the experience needed to take that plunge into his entrepreneurial journey.

He founded VI Markets in 2010 and his company went on to become the most recognized and leading Trading platforms in the Middle East. In the past 11 years, VI Markets has achieved great success. It was the first Kuwaiti company to get the licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Talal worked hard to get that. Today, VI Markets is one of the few companies that is regulated by the FCA and offers a global presence as a tailored online trading company. Vi Markets has also won the best partner in the World for five consecutive years with One Financial Market based in the UK. “I’m proud of my company VI Markets and what it had achieved in the past 11 years,” says Talal.

SKY IS THE LIMIT

Talal is a believer of this saying – ‘sky is the limit.’ In his words, “I always aspire to achieve greater things. I do achieve goals and set millions after it.” Achieving goals is what motivates him to go beyond. This is the reason he didn’t stop even after VI Markets was well-established. He started another initiative called Yasmeen. A forum exclusively for women, designed specifically to support women empowerment in business and the world of financial investment, through structured training and education on commerce and the world’s financial markets. It is a program in which presenters, workers, and the target audience are all women.

Although the primary focus of the program is on financial management and broking it is not solely focused on it because the research showed Talal that many women who entered the financial sector usually got into loans or banks without any basic foundation. This program thereby focuses on laying a strong foundation of the financial industry and educating women to choose the right path most suited for them.

It is a program dedicated to providing women in the Arabic world with services tailored specifically to their individual needs. Created for women, by women, Yasmeen focuses on the increasing number of financially active women in the Middle East who run their own businesses or manage their own investments. Yasmeen has social networks that allow women to share their experience in business with other women and that leads to more women getting inspired to pursue their career ambitions. It makes for an open, safe space to discuss challenges faced by the women.

EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

Educating and promoting awareness in people has been one of the main goals of Talal. Education has been important to him because when he entered the financial sector he also learnt by educating himself through whatever channel he could. He believes in educating not only those people who want to enter the financial sector as professionals but also masses who want to start trading and manage their portfolios.

At VI Markets, there is a huge array of educational resources that Talal offers in a bid to help aspiring people who want to enter this industry. “We strive to provide all those interested in online trading to join our free seminars and workshops held every week,” he shares. Due to the pandemic, most of the courses are now available online to accommodate the demand.

To further his reach and aid his awareness mission, social media has also been his ally. He has a follower base of over 64,000 followers on the social media platform Instagram, which mainly comprises Kuwaiti and Middle Eastern traders. He shares his daily trades and educates them on portfolio management through his account. “I believe in leading through educating. Educating my staff, my clients and all those interested in the financial markets was and will always be my main motto in life. Through education, you are empowering people and that is the main trait any leader should possess,” he asserts.

Mr. Talal believes in giving back to the society and helping the underserved get access to quality education. To further his cause of educating masses, he has built schools in Indonesia and even helped building schools and compounds to serve hundreds of children in India.

VALUING VALUES

VI Markets is a name to reckon with and it can all be credited to the business ethics of Talal. He believes in his team and they work together to provide the best-in-class services to all their clients. Talal swears by a few values that he has also ingrained in all his team members. These are transparency in carrying out deliverables, accountability in handling projects and fairness through the evaluation process.

Talal is a family man at heart. He credits his brother for wherever he has reached today. “My elder brother Mohammad is my biggest inspiration in life. He was my main supporter when I began this journey and I owe most of my success to him. He supported me by all means.”

GLORY ALL THE WAY

Talal has won many honours owing to his charismatic personality and his business ethics. He was chosen the ‘Most Inspiring Man’ by CP Magazine in 2018. He also earned a place in ‘The Arab Power List 2021’ among others. The future looks quite promising for him as he looks to build on his work and grow his business globally. He has a well established name in Kuwait and the Middle East and now would like to expand all across the globe.

Veena completed Bachelor of Commerce from BMCC Pune in 2015 and Chartered Accountancy in 2019. She has been associated with Dahotre & Dahotre Chartered Accountants as Associate Partner since 2019. Her life inspiration has always been her family and maternal grandfather who encouraged her to read books, pick up good qualities and skills, and keep evolving as a person and a true professional day-by-day.

BRINGING HER COMPANY’S VISION TO REALITY

Veena believes that a true leader inspires others to follow the right path and guides them to emerge as new leaders. She has always worked hard towards earning the leadership role that she proudly fulfils today. She is appreciative and empathetic towards her team, and also believes in creating a healthy and disciplined yet competitive work environment for maximum results. She is an inspiring leader who nurtures team spirit and supervises the overall operations of the company.

The high point in her career has been to remotely manage the entire team operating from different parts of the country successfully during the pandemic. Under her synchronized efforts, the company proactively supported the new ways of working and the IT team also lends a helping hand in familiarizing everyone with the new processes. Under her guidance, the company was able to grow even during the COVID-19 crisis.

SPEARHEADING A DEDICATED TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS

Veena believes that the company’s guiding principles – Innovation, Teamwork, Integrity, Respect and Achievement – have been the keys to achieving the company’s vision and developing a safe, satisfying and fun work culture that they’re proud of. She values her team’s contributions and rewards their efforts from time-to-time.

She ensures that the highest-quality service is delivered to her clients through goal-setting sessions, understanding their requirements, raising finances and timely complying with various laws to align them with the market. Besides, a special CRM is used for team management and research purposes.

VALUING VALUES

Veena emphasizes that inculcating good values in the youth through education and awareness can make a huge difference. She is of the view that strong education support can help turn the youth of India into responsible citizens who truly understand the meaning of social responsibilities and don’t shy away from fulfilling them. Under her exemplary leadership, the firm has adopted technology-friendly practices, and the tech teams have devised specific procedures, practices and systems for faster approvals and controls, Segregation of Duties (SoDs) coupled with strong review mechanisms to avoid potential frauds within the company, and to improve accuracy. These are just a few among the many steps taken by the company to maintain good corporate governance and improve customer satisfaction.

For the short-term and long-term growth of the company, Veena wishes to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people by making financial issues and financial compliances stress-free and easier to deal with. Under her able guidance, the company is already on the road towards rapid growth, and envisions expanding its network both domestically and internationally.

DILIGENT & DEDICATED

Born in Kushtia, Mr. Shadi began his journey as a contractor for various projects for the government and non-government institutions. He attributes his knowledge and expertise to the time he devoted to learn the nitty-gritty of the real estate sector. All his hardwork through the years finally helped him establish his own enterprise in 2007 — the Assure Group. Mr. Shadi has been a commendable leader who flexes his leadership style for his team members to motivate and inspire them. Owing to his able leadership, the company has experienced a visible growth and expansion in the last decade. He has led the way to make the business successful in various other fields through ventures such as Assure Builders Ltd., Assure Properties Ltd., Assure Tourism Ltd. & Assure General Hospital to name a few. His customers get to select from the company’s various projects which are far-stretched to residential, commercial and integrated types in the realty sector.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY

A leader who strongly believes in social welfare, Mr. Shadi has planned programs to develop his home-town of Kustia. Along with social service, he has also overseen a funding program for the education of the underprivileged children. Mr. Shadi believes in helping and providing for the less fortunate. He has been conducting multiple day-long medical campaigns for the poor including eye checkups. His programs have motivated people from all walks of life and it is such a delight to see the doctors participating and providing medical facilities to the underprivileged. Mr. Shadi’s honesty, passion, and respect for one another are his greatest assets.

It is a well known fact that over the last few years, the mobile phone industry has witnessed a huge spike in demand due to smart phones. Today, consumers are more inclined towards smart phones. This transformation occurred with the change in the lifestyles and requirements of the consumers. The fast paced life demanded remote calling service. Alongside, there was a rise of the telecom industry supporting the need for the smart phone market. Several telecom operators also entered the market with their unique range of services and offerings. However, the payment mode or the payment method was not particularly secure while the transaction was taking place. It needed companies like CELLPAY to provide a fast and secure mode of payment.

Furthermore, the digital landscape has widened its reach to suffice its benefits to customers at large. Additionally, it has leveraged numerous companies to connect with its customers to provide its services and offerings. Today, customers are relying heavily on branded payments to control their budgets. “Digital payments have become a substantial category within the alternative payment methods space, chances are you’ve probably used a form of digital payment at some point in your life, either for yourself or someone else — you’ll recognize them in the likes of gift cards, mobile top-up or prepaid payment cards,” states Parvez Jasani (President of CELLPAY).

ADDRESSING THE CUSTOMERS’ ISSUES

An experienced leader, Parvez saw digital transformation as an opportunity to transform a top cell phone company to DDS (DIGITAL DELIVERY SERVICE) firm. While the transformation was happening around, he motivated himself to learn more about telecommunication. As he went further, his passion made him realize that using Prepaid Platforms and Mobile Telephones in the U.S. does not offer a one-stop-shop to make payment online. Also, the services were inconvenient for making payments. This was soon countered by CELLPAY through its customer-centric and problem solving approach. CELLPAY not only offers convenience and top-ups but is also the finest payment platform including unbanked/ underbanked, underserved wireless customers by providing a convenient, secure, instant, and one-stop solution for all their needs 24×7. Parvez understands that secure payment is one of the crucial issues for any customer. Addressing the issue, CELLPAY has developed unique no-pin top-up delivery which converts every PIN to a direct top-up and makes recharge convenient.

ENHANCING THE SECURITY

Under his able leadership, CELLPAY has introduced three different ways for payment which include online payment, IVR, and text 2 pay in order to further enhance the security. It has also developed a number validation to protect the consumer from choosing the wrong carrier, an added protection against double loading. The distinct features of CELLPAY are as follows:

1. Protection from online hackers: CELLPAY’s Unique Cellphone Number Validator (Patent process to be initiated)
2. Protection against double-loading (single payment and multiple recharges): restricting double loading for a pre-defined period
3. Fraud protection: 160-point verification (the type of card, POP/POS device, IP address tracking, Country of origin for the request, etc.)

HIS SECRET RECIPE TO SUCCESS

Owing to Parvez’s dedicated and focused efforts, CELLPAY has been recently ranked #5 on Inc. 500 list. Sharing his success mantra, he says, “Have a Great Idea. All businesses start as an idea, whether they end up as successful businesses or not. Some businesses are successful as soon as they launch based solely on the strength of the ideas behind them.”

He is of the view that the sole purpose of any entrepreneur or business is to create a customer and hold the customer with unique solutions and services. The majority of the time, energy, and money should be applied to creating customers for the business.

Further, he advises, “Your strategy should Be Continuous Improvement: The business world is rapidly changing, and competition is both aggressive and plentiful. Focus on ways to improve yourself and your business. If a day goes by when your business is not getting better, then you can be sure it’s getting worse.”

INEVITABLE TRANSFORMATION

For the entire world, 2020 was the year of many startling changes. We all have witnessed businesses shutting down and also a few businesses changing their strategies to adapt and keep the ball rolling. Another major transformation that took place was forced digitalization. Every company was pushed towards online and remote working. This also meant that there was a huge surge in digital payment methods. Conversing about these changes and their aftermath, Parvez asserts, “The first is, we had no choice. We all were quarantined in our homes. We needed to buy things, and everybody had to buy things online. Eventually, this necessity turned out to be convenience. Soon people realized the benefits of digital payments which ensure that they no longer have to wait in long lines at a cashier; the products can be delivered whenever and wherever they want.”

A PIONEER IN DIGITAL PAYMENTS

Transformation is a part of the business world. Those who understand business understand how transformation helps the business to push beyond its limits. Parvez is one such leader who has been efficiently enabling CELLPAY to emerge as a pioneer in digital payments sector. Furthermore, he is also thriving to make it a one-stop-shop for all your digital payment needs including top-up, international top-up, gift card, sim card, crypto payment, bill payment, lotto, and anything and everything can be digitally delivered. CELLPAY understands that there is a constant change in the demands of the customers. The company is in the process to make its own POS serve B2B store (convince store).

Currently, 80 million people in the US are underbanked and 20 million undocumented and most of them pay by cash. CELLPAY is developing a platform, which will be deployed in convenience stores where they can make cash payment for phone bill, utility bill, & buy a gift card. It is also adding bitcoin so that the customers can also buy bitcoin with cash.

A dedicated professional, Mr. Venkatachalam has been efficiently driving NLG towards new horizons of growth. He took over the reins of the company in 2003 and facilitated its growth into the largest insurance company in Oman and a major insurance player in the region with business operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, in addition to Oman. From a pure Life insurance company, he diversified its product portfolio to General and Medical Insurance; today NLG offers a wide range of insurance solutions, customized as per market needs. He also ensured the expansion of its business operations into other countries in the GCC region.

Owing to his dedicated efforts, today NLG is listed in the Muscat Securities Market and has grown into one of the largest insurers with a market share of around 65% in health insurance in Oman and is amongst the top players in the UAE. NLG also has a large personal lines portfolio, especially motor insurance where it is one of the top 2 insurers in the country. With its more than 190 sales/service touch points and over 500 dedicated insurance professionals, it touches the lives of about 1 Mn customers.

INNOVATING FOR SUCCESS

A leader who continually encourages innovation, Mr. Venkatachalam personally reviews all the innovative ideas and concepts put forth by the employees and devises varied strategies and interventions for the growth and expansion of the organization. By virtue of his sheer dedication, NLG has emerged as a pioneer in Digital Transformation in insurance sector and provides a comprehensive online sales and service platform through website, mobile app and web-based General Insurance Management systems. He also established bidding process for motor insurance claims to provide transparent, fast and best price claims management.

Under his leadership, NLG has acquired TPA company ‘Inayah’ in the UAE to further strengthen claims management. He also ensured the establishment of back office support in India to provide faster and economical business operations.

He has also been actively involved in the conceptualisation of ALFA – an online training platform that offers a wide range of knowledge and skill enhancement program for employees.

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

A socially-responsible leader, Mr. Venkatachalam leaves no stone unturned in making the world a better place. He asserts, “As leaders in the insurance industry, we understand that it is our moral duty and responsibility to give back to society. Every year we mark a part of our earnings for CSR. We make various efforts especially in the field of health, education, environment and cultural heritage. Be it distribution of school kits, books or conducting health camps, blood donation camps or constructing facilities and providing aids for differently-abled. We also participate strongly in various cultural activities of the local markets/countries that we operate in and be a part of the developing society.”

Talking about some of the measures he had undertaken to cope with the challenges faced in the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation, he says, “We have done a good job so far in terms of managing the crisis due to the prevailing COVID 19 pandemic situation and could very well run our business operations smoothly in all the markets that we operate, which includes Oman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. We have done well in terms of navigating through the challenges from the start as we were business ready for any such eventualities through our well-structured Business Continuity Plan. Not just the company’s management, but the employees at all levels and across departments responded well and responsibly as a large part of our operations was being done online and virtual with the lockdown that was put in place.”

He further elaborates, “We could manage to do business as usual even while keeping in line with Government directives of lock down and social distancing to keep our customers as well as our business partners and employees safe. It was a challenge, but every-one in the company rose to the occasion and we could achieve good results which is evident from our first half financial results. Another positive thing is that we did not have to reduce our operating staff by even one and we have retained all our employees. Some of the innovations/initiatives that we undertook were promoting online/digital sales through multiple channels – website, social media, online GIMS, mobile app, encouraging the use of digital Medical card instead of the usual plastic card in order to maintain social distance and reduce contact, providing VPN based Work From Home facilities for our employees, formation of COVID 19 committee to ensure the safety and health of all our employees which included Doctors, teams from Infra/admin and HR. We also reached out to our customers and business partners through digital media and informed and updated them regarding the situation and the measures we were taking to cope with it. We also facilitated claims management digitally, with least personal contact so that customers do not face any difficulty and are able to benefit from the insurance cover they have taken from us.

He adds, “All in all we have contributed $455,000 towards endowment fund supporting government initiatives to overcome the threat of COVID 19.”

A LONG SAGA OF ACHIEVEMENTS

For two consecutive years – 2018 and 2019, Mr. Venkatachalam was recognised as The Best CEO of the Year and NLG was adjudged the best company in large cap segment at AIWA Awards. Under his able leadership, NLG has won various awards and accolades for its outstanding growth and business achievements namely ‘Best Life Insurance Company’ at Insurance Awards by World Finance, and ‘Bizz Awards’ by World Confederation of Business for three consecutive years – 2015, 2016, 2017. NLG also received ‘Innovative Digital Services-Insurance’ Award at The New Age Banking and Finance Awards 2019 and was recognised as the ‘Most Trusted Brand in Oman – 2019.’

For its outstanding contribution towards the growth of Oman, the company was recognized by Forbes Middle East. It received the title of ‘Best Insurance Company – Oman 2020’ under the category of ‘Digital Transformation’ from Global Banking & Finance Review 2020.

Established in 1981 in Surendranagar, Gujarat, Indiana Ophthalmics is one of the leading companies in the eye-care sector. Nirav has taken forward the legacy of the business started by his grandfather, the Late Mr. H. D. Bhatt. Along with his brother, Mr. Tarang, the CTO of the company, Nirav adeptly takes care of the organisation by ensuring smooth operations and efficient execution of decisions taken by the management. His vast experience and extensive knowledge enable him to efficiently oversee the diverse levels of functioning of the firm.

VISION FOR GROWTH

Under his headship, Indiana Ophthalmics has achieved many feats, which include receiving quality approval from the nations such as Ethiopia and Uganda. Owing to his outstanding vision, the firm has achieved 25% growth rate for 3 financial years. Moreover, their hopes and ambitions have not dampened despite the pandemic and they are optimistic about becoming stronger in the coming years. Besides, he is also aiming to achieve impeccable quality standards to match the international benchmarks and accomplish higher levels of accreditations such as the European GMP.

Under his guidance, the company also aspires to make groundbreaking developments in ophthalmology and introduce better eye-care solutions and products, which could be made available to common people at affordable prices.

RESPONSIBLE TOWARDS EMPLOYEES AND SOCIETY

Nirav considers each employee of his firm as a family member and therefore has compassionately stood by them in the times of pandemic. While most of the other organizations validated paycuts, Indiana group ensured that their employees were paid double the actual amount, considering the declining incomes within their families.

Apart from this, he is a well-known wildlife photographer, which again enables him to reinforce the ‘Go Green’ initiative within his company’s premises. Avoiding plastic and encouraging extensive planting are some of the activities, which he educates the local people about. Under his guidance, the company has also been helping the underprivileged in the times of natural calamities by making regular contributions.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Nirav ascertains an atmosphere that is conducive to productivity. He ensures this by making it easy for the employees to directly converse with the management, when required. Conducting training programs, persuading them to come forward and speak their minds, imparting language skills are some of the other ways adopted for a productive environment. A dedicated team has been deployed to visit seminars and exhibitions, and learn the new-age techniques in the eye care segment.

PAVING WAY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Being a charter president of the Rotary Club of Wadhwan City, Nirav has been an active participant in bringing about a change through blood donation camps, personality development courses, and by educating the public on various socially relevant topics.

With sincere efforts to bridge the skill gap, Nirav and Tarang have set up a public laboratory for testing the quality and efficacy of pharmaceuticals and food products. The idea is to provide the new graduates with a platform for unmediated training and create better opportunities for them. As responsible healthcare experts, they undertake many such humanitarian initiatives for making a substantial difference to the society.

Coming from a distinguished background of leading lawyers, industrialists and educationists, Mr. Khaitan represents the best of knowledge, entrepreneurship & dynamism. The Khaitan family runs numerous schools, each of which is a beacon of excellence in the field of education. The Khaitan School (Noida), Khaitan Public School (Ghaziabad), Khaitan Preschool (Noida), BDM International School (Kolkata), Indus Valley World School (Kolkata) and Sunny Preparatory School (Kolkata) are some of them which are operated by his family. Mr. Khaitan is an alumnus of the Modern School, Vasant Vihar. He is a Mechanical Engineer from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Inducted into the management of The Khaitan School in 2008, he has played key roles in several of the institution’s milestones including founding the Khaitan Preschool in 2013. The school has since received numerous awards for quality education and is widely recognized as a leading educational institution in Noida. Mr. Khaitan has also played an important role in seting up the Gautam Budh Nagar Chapter of the Independent School Federation of India. He co-founded The K12 education chapter of FICCI ARISE, a policy advocacy body for education. He is presently the Chair of its North Committee and the Membership Committee. He has also completed a large number of certifications, including the Business Mastery Programme & an intensive course on Digital Marketing offered by Business Coaching India run by Mr. Rahul Jain.

A MAN OF MANY SKILLS

Apart from his educational acumen, he has interests spanning sports, music and aero modelling. A technology enthusiast and an avid golf player, he is also an accomplished western classical pianist, photographer, singer and sportsman. He believes that a focused approach always leads to excellence. He has chosen his path and wants to be a leader in his field. He feels this is the secret of success of great entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as well as great companies like Apple and Sony. In his journey towards excellence, he has created a process-driven school system. The schools have mapped out all the processes in their functioning, down to the last detail in both academic and non-academic aspects. A task-level tracking system is also in place.

TRADITION MEETS MODERNITY

Mr. Khaitan’s planning and vision helps him take decisions related to finance, hiring, marketing, digital adoption, & growth in a very prudent & holistic manner. He associates actively with leaders in the field of educational infrastructure and educationists to gain insights into the best practices in the field. Mr. Khaitan’s vision helps him to see beyond the mass production-style system of education and rote learning. He emphasizes upon the importance of education in catering and preparing children for careers that don’t even exist today. The children of today need to be able to learn, unlearn, relearn and adapt to the fast-changing world scenario. Through staff training along with leadership development programmes, he is creating a unified vision for the institution. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has thrown an unprecedented challenge at the educational system. Students along with schools are adapting to the new normal. Visionaries like Mr. Khaitan have risen to the occasion to creatively combat the crisis. Technology is now playing a major role in how education is imparted, a move that has special significance for him as he is a visionary in the field. The Khaitan School has already prepared a roadmap to deal with the rapidly changing times. Under his guidance, the institutions are well-prepared to impart world-class education to the future citizens.

Ravinder or Ravi, as he is fondly called, is a C-level Leader and Award winning Technologist with over 2 decades of global assignments in 5 continents with his base in the USA, Europe and Asia. His achievements in the professional sphere diverge into different spheres; ranging from Airlines, Aviation MROs, Aerospace organizations, Management consulting practices, award winning E-commerce ventures and brands, Robotics and AI-driven factories in the area of Forest Products, Retail, Semiconductor manufacturing, Aluminum smelting and Sports Marketing. Ravi has built trillion dollar information networks for governments and his technology frameworks have transformed domains ranging from microfinance to the largest postal services in the world.

A Harvard alumnus, Ravi is a celebrity Innovator with several patents, and is a Non-Executive Advisor to the board to several enterprises where incubation & differentiation is core necessity and challenge. He brings in technology sanity, brutal honesty and no-nonsense management thinking to facilitate rapid profitable business growth and transformation via digitization. He sits on the advisory council of many global research firms where he contributes in predicting practical future automation use cases and respective technologies.

INNOVATING EXCELLENCE

An inventor par excellence, Ravi has recently created 4 types of respiratory systems ranging from Ventilators to Oxygen Concentrators; 7 types of affordable Robots for healthcare, hospitality, aviation, automotive and citizen services; and a multipurpose Drone for security & civil services. In the year 2020, he created algorithms and products for direct democracy, future airports, business value of customer emotions, and others based on Blockchain, IoT and Artificial Intelligence. He has invented several systems ranging from cross-compilers to encoders to machines to modern software in diverse domains namely Aviation, ITeS, Manufacturing (Forest products, Semiconductor, Automobile), Mining, Public Services (Postal, Citizen, Finance), Retail, Sports & Fitness and Technology.

INCUBATING STARTUPS

Quite recently, Ravi has incubated 2 startups, 1 global institution and has helped in maturing 3 startups to profitability. He actively contributes through advisory, & co-creation services, Hackathons and innovation funding to create massentrepreneurship at grassroots across rural, towns and cities in India, USA, Singapore, Scotland, Mexico and Africa. As an angel investor, he has mentored and managed more than 60 start ups over the last decade.

A LEADER IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD

True leaders motivate and inspire others to do the right thing by charting a visionary course and, in turn, create something new out of the familiar. Ravi is one such leader who believes that leadership is the ability to map out the best route to success and is always dynamic, inspiring and designed to excite others into action. Describing himself as a leader and sharing some of the unique aspects about his leadership style, he elaborates, “I have always been associated with an organization or institution where incubation or change is the core necessity and challenge. This has enhanced my natural ability to apply art and science to solve today’s problems and build a sustainable foundation for tomorrow. Hence, my professional persona is focused on creation, influencing my social style, management philosophy and leadership virtues.”

He further adds, “Change has been constant in my professional life. My management philosophy has evolved over the years and leadership style as per the situational practicality and environmental context of time and space. But if it has to be classified into conventional buckets, I would say that my management philosophy has been in the range of autocratic to democratic, but always leading and never controlling. There are nine commonly defined leadership styles, mine oscillates and varies from transformational to servant and laissez-faire to democratic.”

Ravi takes failure in his stride and believes that “Failure is critical to Creative Leadership.” He is of the view that “Depiction of Future is essential for Meaningful Leadership” and vehemently believes that “Compassion and Courage are mandatory to bring change.” He aptly concludes, “Overall as an inventor and a rescue pilot, life has provided me with ample opportunities to see life and death both from close quarters; hence wisdom to focus on good Karma is central to my existence.”

DEDICATED TO SERVING HUMANITY

As a leader who believes in leading from the front, Ravi feels that “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” He rightly asserts, “Loud speech, profusion of words, and possessing skillfulness in expounding scriptures are merely for the enjoyment of the learned. They do not lead to liberation. Among the contributory factors of liberation, devotion stands supreme, and it is the search for one’s own true nature that is meant by devotion.”

In his bid to connect with his true self, Ravi has been inventing products and services to serve humanity, save lives and enhance the civilization. As a rescue pilot, he has saved lives across the globe. He has served various international agencies by flying several hundred hours as emergency response expeditions ranging from COVID to floods to earthquakes.

Owing to his ground zero experience as a frontline leader, he has some useful tips for the industry. He stresses, “COVID lockdown has exposed several flaws especially great versus good i.e. great government, great domains, great companies, etc. versus the good. Good is not good enough. Everyone needs to learn. Irrespective of the status of the lockdown, the speed of change will continue. Companies will have to use this momentum and fully embrace agile strategy and the resultant operating shift.”

In this regard, he vehemently asserts that companies must “learn fast and reflect continuously.” Alluding to the changed business scenario in the post COVID-19 world, he strongly feels that “leveraging technology is the key to smooth sailing through the troubled waters.”

Shilpa began her career with a jewelry manufacturing company in Bangkok after completing her degree in jewellery designing from SNDT in Mumbai. She was very clear about the fact that she wanted to pursue jewellery designing over fashion designing because she adores the detailed, delicate, and meticulous handwork that goes into creating jewellery pieces.

She relied on her instincts and judgment to put her business ideas into action. She also worked tirelessly to foray into the jewellery design industry, eventually developing her brand and establishing a thriving company based on her passion and knowledge in the field. All the struggles have helped her evolve into a motivated, confident and humble person.

INNOVATING EXCELLENCE

Shilpa claims that fear is the greatest impediment to success; thus, she never lets it get the better of her. The bold entrepreneur is never afraid of trying new things or experimenting with new ideas. She never sets limits for herself and is always looking for new opportunities to challenge herself. It is her courage and self-confidence that motivate her to stand strong even in the face of adversity.

She has always been optimistic about her aesthetic jewellery collections. She believes in her ability to innovate and create something truly extraordinary for her clients. A lot of thinking, planning, and hard work goes into each of her creations which does not cause her to question her ability or choices. Her collection “Aakriti’ is an example of a unique collection that grew out of sheer curiosity.

Shilpa places a high value on quality and honesty in her work, ensuring that each piece she produces becomes a priceless possession for its owner. At the same time, she ensures that her eye-catching creations make her clients feel exhilarated.

As a business owner, Shilpa is always looking for new ways to provide value to her customers. In response to the current pandemic situation and rising gold prices, she created the affordable “Shagun” collection wherein lightweight gold pieces in gorgeous geometrical patterns highlight the contemporary trends welded with India’s vibrant culture. She also emphasizes exceptional customer service to provide her customers with a one-of-a-kind purchasing experience.

The exquisite and delicate craftsmanship shown by Indian artisans never fails to fascinate her. Her collections – TARAASH” and “AAKRITI” – feature designs that reflect her unwavering commitment to ethnicity, values, and tradition. Her designs never fail to represent India’s diverse cultures and art forms admirably. Additionally, she looks for beauty and inspiration in everything, even the tiniest detail of nature.

A compassionate entrepreneur, she supports some of the highly skilled artisans of the nation. Since many of them are falling behind in terms of technology and innovation, she works to empower them and provide them with more work and opportunity for growth.

GARNERING GLORY

Shilpa’s designs have not only made an indelible impression on her clients, but also have helped her win multiple awards. Her first jewellery exhibition, which took place in Delhi, was a big hit. Many prestigious awards were bestowed upon her for her innovative designs, including the Best Jewellery Designer and Businesswoman award by India leadership awards. What’s more, her endeavors have also earned her the prestigious “Women Entrepreneur of the Year” by National Excellence Award.