Aditya Mittal - Arcelor

Aditya Mittal is Chief Financial Officer of ArcelorMittal with additional responsibility for M&A Business & Project Development, Flat Americas, Strategy, Investors Relations and Communications. Prior to the merger to create ArcelorMittal, Aditya Mittal held the position of President and CFO of Mittal Steel Company from October 2004 to 2006. He joined Mittal Steel in January 1997 and has held various finance and management roles within the company. In 1999, he was appointed Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for Mittal Steel. In this role, he led the company's acquisition strategy, resulting in Mittal Steel's expansion into Central Europe, Africa and the United States. These acquisitions included Kryvorizhstal in Ukraine, Polskie Huty Stali in Poland, Nova Hut in Czech Republic, Sidex in Romania, Annaba in Algeria, Iscor in South Africa, and International Steel Group in the US. Besides the Merger and Acquisition responsibilities, Aditya Mittal was involved in post-integration, turnaround and improvement strategies. This led to Mittal Steel emerging as the world's largest and most global steel producer, growing its steelmaking capacities fourfold. As CFO of Mittal Steel, he also initiated and led Mittal Steel's offer for Arcelor to create the first 100 million tonne plus steel company. Aditya Mittal holds a Bachelor's degree of Science in Economics with concentrations in Strategic Management and Corporate Finance from the Wharton School in Pennsylvania. 

Anand Mahindra - Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

Anand Mahindra is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. In April 1997, he was appointed Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and in January 2003 given the additional responsibility of Vice Chairman. Mr. Mahindra was a co-promoter of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd., which in 2003 was converted into a bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank is one of the foremost private sector banks today. Mr. Mahindra is the co-founder of the Harvard Business School Association of India, an association dedicated to the promotion of professional management in India. He takes a keen interest in matters related to education and apart from being a Trustee of the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, which provides scholarships to students, he is also on the Board of Governors of the Mahindra United World College of India. Mr. Mahindra graduated from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Magna cum Laude (High Honours).

Apurv Bagri- Metdist Group

The Hon Apurv Bagri is the Managing Director of the Metdist Group of Companies. The group is involved in international non- ferrous trade and industry and has manufacturing and trading links in Asia, the Indian sub-continent, the United States and Europe. Amongst his non-business responsibilities, he is a Member of the Board of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) which regulates and oversees Dubai’s new international financial sector. He is a past Chairman and current Board Member of the International Wrought Copper Council which represents the global copper fabricating industry. He is Deputy Chairman of the Governing Body of London Business School as well as Chairman of the School’s Asia Board; a member of the Governing Council and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of the City University, London and a visiting Professor at Cass Business School; and a member of the Corporation, University College School. He is a Trustee of the Royal Parks Foundation and Chairman of The Royal Parks Board; a Commissioner of the Crown Estate Paving Commission; a Trustee of Asia House, and a Member of the Board of the UK India Business Council. Mr Bagri is an honors graduate from Cass Business School in London. In March 2006 he was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from City University London.

Arun Sarin

Arun Sarin was the CEO of the world's biggest mobile phone company, Britain's Vodafone Group plc. He started his career as a management consultant before moving, in 1984, to Pacific Telesis Group in San Francisco. He was a director of AirTouch from 1995 and was President and Chief Operating Officer from 1997 to 1999. Arun was then Vodafone's CEO for US and Asia Pacific region until Vodafone's U.S. interests were merged into Verizon Wireless. He subsequently became chief executive of InfoSpace and later of Accel-KKR Telecom, while serving as a non-executive director of Vodafone. He rejoined Vodafone as CEO in 2003 and in 2008, he announced his resignation after Vodafone achieved record earnings. Arun has also served as a director of The Gap, Inc., The Charles Schwab Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. in US, and has recently been appointed as a non-executive director of the Court of the Bank of England. Arun graduated from IIT Kharagpur with a B.Tech degree in Metallurgical Engineering and gained a MS in Engineering and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

CK Prahalad - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan 

C.K. Prahalad, the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, specializes in corporate strategy. His books include Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision (1987), co-authored with Yves Doz, Competing for the Future (1994), co-authored with Gary Hamel, and named the Best Selling Business Book of the Year in 1994. The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers (2004) co-authored with Venkatram Ramaswamy was translated into 12 languages. Business Week described the book as “provocative” and “an important book full of disruptive ideas”. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profit (2004) was selected as one of the best books of the year 2004 by The Economist, Fast Company and Amazon.com. Harvard Business Review awarded him McKinsey Prizes for: “The End of Corporate Imperialism”, co-authored with Kenneth Lieberthal (1998); “The Core Competence of the Corporation”, co-authored with Gary Hamel (1990), and “Strategic Intent”, also co-authored with Gary Hamel (1989). He has been honored for his contributions with a Life Time Achievement Award by the Ross School of Business. He received honorary doctorates from the University of London (Economics), Stevens Institute of Technology (Engineering), University of Abertay, Dundee (Business), and University of Tilberg (Business). He was a member of the UN Blue Ribbon Commission on Private Sector and Development. He serves on the Board of Directors of NCR Corporation, Hindustan Lever Limited and the World Resources Institute.

Desh Deshpande – Sycamore Networks

Desh Deshpande is the Chairman of Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks and A123 Systems. Prior to co-founding Sycamore Networks, Dr. Deshpande was the Founder and Chairman of Cascade Communications Corp. Deshpande serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, and his generous donations have made possible MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. Deshpande holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, an M.E. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and Ph.D. in Data Communications from Queens University in Canada. Deshpande also serves on the boards of Sandstone Capital, Airvana and HiveFire. He and his wife are involved in several non-profit initiatives that include support for MIT, IIT, TiE, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Public Health Foundation of India and the Social Entrepreneurship Sandbox in India.

Hussain Dawood - The Dawood Group

Mr. Hussain Dawood is Chairman of Dawood Hercules Chemicals Ltd., Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd, Karachi Education Initiative/Karachi Business School and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, which is, globally, the largest World Bank financed social fund. He also serves as a member of the Boards of the Commonwealth Business Council, Pakistan Business Council, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, Institute of Strategic Studies and Beaconhouse National University.  He is a Global Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and the Honorary Consul of Italy, in Lahore. The Italian government in recognition of his contribution conferred upon him the Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana on 3^rd December 2008. Mr. Dawood is the first Pakistani to become a member of the World Economic Forum in 1992.  He was also among the limited people who attended the WEF Russia CEO Roundtable 2008. He has also attended the WEF Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, WEF Middle East at Sharm-el-Sheikh and the Dead Sea and WEF Meetings in Malaysia and Singapore. He has participated in several International Programs including the SAARC Business Leaders Conclave, New Delhi; the India Today Conclave, New Delhi, and the Dubai Strategy Forum. He is a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA, and a graduate in Metallurgy from Sheffield University, UK.

Kanwal Rekhi - Inventus Capital Partners

Kanwal is a managing partner in Inventus Capital Partners, a Silicon Valley based cross border, US/India early stage technology venture capital fund. He was one of the founders of TiE SV and its president for 5 years. Kanwal did his B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay in Electrical Engineering. He came to the US in 1967 for graduate studies and did his MSEE from Michigan Technological University in 1969. He held various technical jobs in the computer industry between 1969 and 1982. Kanwal came to the Silicon Valley as one of the pioneering Indians in 1971. Kanwal was the founders of Excelan, a computer networking Company in 1982. In 1985 he was named President and CEO of the Company. Excelan went public on the NASDAQ in 1987 and merged with Novell in 1989. Kanwal stayed with and joined the Board of Directors of Novell and was named an executive vice-president and the Chief Technology Officer of the Company. Kanwal retired from Novell in 1995. Kanwal also served as the CEO of CyberMedia, Inc. from March 1998 till Sept 1998. Kanwal was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1987 by the Arthur-Young/Venture magazine. In 1994, Kanwal was named to the Board of advisor to the President of Michigan Tech. Kanwal was honored with a Doctorate in 1997 in Business and Engineering from Michigan Tech.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw - Biocon Ltd

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. In 1978, she joined as a Trainee Manager with Biocon Biochemicals Limited in Ireland. Collaborating with the same Irish firm, she founded Biocon India with a capital of Rs. 10,000/- in 1978. Over the years, the company grew under her stewardship and is today the biggest biopharmaceutical firm in India. In 2004, Biocon went for an IPO and the issue was over-subscribed by over 30 times. Dr. Mazumdar-Shaw is also an art collector. She has authored 'Ale and Arty,' a coffee table book about brewing beer illustrated by paintings of some of India's renowned artists. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Bangalore University in 1973, she went to Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education (now University of Ballarat), Australia to study brewing.

Nandan Nilekani – Infosys Technologies 

Nandan Nilekani is the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Infosys Technologies Limited. From March 2002 to June 22, 2007, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director and has previously held the posts of President and Chief Operating Officer. He is one of the founders of Infosys and has served as a director on the company’s board since its inception in 1981.Nandan is listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, 2006. Nandan co-founded India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) as well as the TiE Bangalore Chapter. Nandan was the Chairman of the Government of India’s IT Task Force for power. He has also served as a member of the subcommittee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India that dealt with issues related to Insider Trading, and as a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s Advisory Group on corporate governance. Nandan was the Forbes Asia "Businessman of the Year" in 2006. In 2005, Nandan was awarded the prestigious Joseph Schumpeter prize for innovative services in economy, economic sciences and politics. In 2006, Nandan was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian honors awarded by the Government of India. Nandan received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, India in 1978.

Narayana Murthy - Infosys Technologies

Narayana Murthy is an Indian industrialist, software engineer and one of the seven founders of Infosys Technologies, a global consulting and IT services company based in India. He is currently the non-executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys. He was the CEO of the company for 21 years, from 1981 to 2002. Mr. Murthy has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, a second highest civilian award by India and Légion d'honneur highest civilan award by France. In 2000, he was awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award by the Government of India. Mr. Murthy graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore in 1967 and received his master's degree from IIT Kanpur in 1969.