Abhay is currently the CEO of Manipal Technologies Ltd, one of the largest print, technology and digital solutions provider in India. He was also the Managing Director of Logica, India. A Post-graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, he has over 33 years of IT industry experience. His proven leadership skills and in-depth understanding of the industry complement his vision and foresight. In his current portfolio, his significant contributions in establishing a strong and rigorous corporate governance process, operational excellence, employee engagement and culture in the organisation is inspiring. He was the former Chairman of American Chamber of Commerce, Chennai.
Prof. M.V.Ashok an Agribusiness Professional, retired as the Chief General Manager of National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) after 37 years of development banking service having been with the Reserve Bank of India and Canara Bank also earlier. Currently he is Adjunct Professor for College of Post Graduate Studies Shillong with the Central Agricultural University North East, besides being an Adviser to Aditya Birla Group as well as Dr. Reddys Foundation and other NGOs.
Having graduated from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore, he has a Masters from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, and done courses on Agri-Business Management from Cornell University, USA as well as on Financing Micro Enterprises from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Reading, UK.
He has been associated with sustainable development programmes for rural communities implementing agribusiness projects using CSR funds. He has exposure to rural finance and agribusiness sector in several countries including Thailand, Kenya, China, Germany, USA, Finland and England.
Giriraj joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1985 and was allotted the Maharashtra Cadre. He has worked in various capacities for 32 years in Maharashtra State and also in Government of India and retired in November 2017 as Additional Chief Secretary - Finance Department. Some of the previous positions include Secretary - Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Secretary - Water Conservation, MGNREGA. He has been working for last 25 years to strengthen the bamboo sector.
His special interests include general bottom up development, growth of India, poverty alleviation issues and voluntary sectors. He is very familiar with NGO sector and all related issues.
Meenakshi is a Co Founder at Citizen Matters Chennai, launched in 2016, a city-focused, online and mobile - citizen-oriented newsmagazine, covering city public affairs, community and culture. She is also a co-investor in Menterra Social Impact Fund. She has been a key contributor at Pratham Education Foundation, India’s largest non-profit organization in the primary education space, for 7 years in a full time role and 7 more as a volunteer. She also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF). She has earlier worked with Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), Mumbai.
Mukesh is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Menterra, a company that supports early stage impact-focused enterprises operating in India. He is also a Non-Executive Director on the board of Biosense Technologies. Till recently, he was a Chief Investment Officer at Villgro. He has 12 years of experience in impact investing, private equity and investment banking space. He has worked on over 50 buy-side and sell-side transactions across Asia, Middle-East and Europe. He is a Chartered Accountant and CFA Charterholder.
Dr. Hegde is a Trustee, Principal Adviser and Former President of BAIF Development Research Foundation, an award-winning charitable organisation in India that pioneers agricultural development. He is the Chairman at Children’s Future India (CFI), Managing Trustee at Nature Cure Ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi at Urulikanchan and Trustee at M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai and Agri Biotech Foundation, Hyderabad. He is also a Research Guide for Doctoral Studies in Environmental Science at the Savitribai Phule University, Pune. Previously, he had served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet. He is also an author of three books - Handbook of Wastelands Development, Gandhian Approach to Rural Prosperity and Positive Attitude for Good Health and Happiness and five booklets for Children on Environmental Awareness. He has an M.Sc. Agriculture from G.B. Pant University, Pantnagar, M. S. Horticulture from University of Hawaii, PMA from IIM, Ahmedabad and Ph.D. from Pune University.
