An Industrial Designer from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India, Mr. Ashish Deshpande started his design entrepreneurship journey, 29 years ago, by co-founding India’s pioneering design practice, Elephant Designs Private Limited. Mr. Deshpande leads the Product & Retail Experience Innovation group and has led projects ranging from consumer appliances related to air, water and energy, medical equipment, wearable electronics, automotive and retail.

Mr. Deshpande conducts workshops on growth by design, design thinking & product innovation. Mr. Deshpande is the President of the Association of Designers of India, an active member of the Design Alliance Asia and has been on the jury of India Design Mark.

Ms. Reena Bhagwati has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and has more than 28 years of experience in providing Fiscal, Strategic and Operations Leadership. Ms. Bhagwati is a Joint Managing Director of Bhagwati Autocast Limited, Director of Bhagwati Spherocast Private Limited and Managing Director of Bhagwati Filters Private Limited. Ms. Bhagwati leads operations and strategic directions with full responsibility for top and bottom line including strategy formulation, long term planning, cross-functional management, legal and financial obligations.

She has held leadership positions in several public institutions such as the President of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) in 2013-14, Chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Gujarat State Council in 2016-17, among others. She is a member of the Governing Body of Ahmedabad Management Association, a part of the All India Management Association. Ms. Bhagwati also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Eimco Elecon (India) Limited.

Mr. Santosh Nema, aged 60 years, is a B.E. (Mechanical) and has an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad. He has more than 35 years of extensive experience in leadership roles across consumer-facing industries like Asian Paints Ltd, Shalimar Paints Ltd, CERA Sanitaryware Ltd and Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd. among others. He has expertise in sales, marketing, operations and business development, strategic planning, dealer network, leading and developing teams, P&L management, customer centricity, brand building, JV and strategic alliances, change management and building high-performance cultures.

Mr. Nema is the founder and director of Nmbrlogic Internet Private Limited. He is an innovative thinker with broad-based expertise in Sales, Marketing, Operations and Business Development. He has consecutively produced sustained revenue and EBITA growth in dynamic and changing markets. His expertise lies Creating Winning Businesses Plans, Strategic Planning, Dealer Networks, Developing New Businesses, Leading And Developing Teams, P&L Management, Customer Centricity, Brand Building, Forming JV And Strategic Alliances, Change Management and Building High Performance Culture

Ms. Malavika Ramanathan Harita, an Independent Director at Symphony Limited, boasts an impressive academic background with a bachelor’s degree in physics, chemistry, and mathematics from Bangalore University, and multiple postgraduate diplomas from prestigious institutions like IIM Bangalore, Columbia Business School, and MIT Sloan School. With over 40 years of experience in marketing, communication, and entrepreneurship, she founded and led Saatchi & Saatchi Focus in India as CEO for 25 years, handling a diverse portfolio of brands including Godrej Agrovet, Tata Coffee, Hewlett Packard, and Infosys.

In addition to her corporate achievements, Ms. Malavika serves on the Board of Governors of IIM Bangalore and Visakhapatnam, the Governing Council of Mount Carmel College, and holds leadership roles in various industry bodies. She is the first woman to win the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIM Bangalore and has a strong passion for mentoring startups and women entrepreneurs. As a Communication Evangelist, Brand Strategist, Teacher, and Corporate Trainer, she continues to make significant contributions to the fields of marketing and education.