Imran Qadri

Imran Qadri heads Marketing & PR for the iconic Harley-Davidson brand in Asia Emerging Markets & India region. He is based out of Bangkok, Thailand. He has been associated with Harley-Davidson since April 2019. Apart from India, he oversees Marketing for Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore), South Korea, Taiwan & Hong Kong as well. He has 14 years of Marketing work experience with brands like Hero Honda, Hero MotoCorp, Nissan & H-D. He has donned several hats in his past roles ranging from Marketing Communications, Brand Management, Product Marketing, Category Management, Media Planning & Regional Marketing. He has led teams and agencies deliver with award winning campaigns, launches & content. Recently he was adjudged among Top 40 Nationwide Experts declared by Business Mint for 2022. He was also part of Top 50 Marketing and Communication Leaders in India in 2021 as adjudged by White Page International and among Top 100 in Asia for 2022. He was one of the Social Samosa Top 40 Marketers for the batch of 2019-20 and among Top 25 Content Disruptors in India in 2020 declared by Vidsaga.com. He has been a jury member with many credible advertising & communication forums. An MBA in Marketing from FORE School of Management, Delhi, Imran has a B.E. Mechanical degree from MSRIT, Bangalore, apart from executive leadership & digital marketing certifications from Vanderbilt University & IIM Lucknow, respectively. He is a certified Sports car instructor and has a flair for writing.

Balaaji Vaidyanathan

Balaji Vaidyanathan is an award winning and accomplished global marketing leader with over 20 years of experience driving ground-breaking integrated marketing campaigns and strategic initiatives, leading from the front to build and inspire global cross-functional teams across complex organizations to enhance brand positioning, value, and revenues. In his current role since February 2019, Balaji is responsible for building the marketing value proposition and growing the brand’s strategic and digital footprint for the CEEMEA region, based out of Dubai. He also drives the marketing efforts for a global strategic project to launch the first ever fintech wealth management platform in Germany as part of a broader European market penetration strategy. Prior to this, Balaji was Deputy Head – Marketing for Franklin Templeton India based out of Mumbai, since February 2010, responsible for multi-million $ budgets and leading all key brand initiatives including advertising, investor education, events and advisor engagement.

Balaji has been one of the early adopters of leveraging gamification, content marketing and storytelling in the mutual fund industry to promote investor education in the online space. His deep understanding of consumer marketing and customer life-cycle journeys have won him dozens of awards globally for creativity, content, innovation and effectiveness.

Kavita Jagtiani

Experienced brand builder and business professional with over 20 years of cross category work experience in consultancy, financial services, luxury goods and consumer products.

Expertise & proven track record in strategic planning, category creation, innovation, consumer insights, integrated campaigns and in-market brand activation.

Prasad Pimple

Prasad is a firm believer in the process of ideation – experimentation – learning fast – succeeding faster & scaling up cheap.

A Chemical Engineer from UDCT & MBA from JBIMS, Prasad has 19 years of experience in Digital business, brand & product management, customer acquisition, customer life cycle management, strategy, business planning and research across insurance, telecom, banking and engineering sectors.

Prior to Kotak Life, Prasad has worked in HDFC Life, Tata Docomo, Vodafone, ICICI Bank & Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Sharmila Sandeep

An MBA in Marketing from PSG Institute of Management. Also holds M.A & M.Phil in Sociology. Sharmila joined Saint-Gobain -Gyproc in 2021 as the Head of Marketing.

Sharmila has 18yrs of Brand and Marketing experience across various industries. Prior to Saint-Gobain, Sharmila led marketing and product management at ICICI Bank, Bisleri, Pidilite, Hatsun Agro, Radio Mirchi & Future group retail. Sharmila has vivid interest and acquired skills in numerous handicrafts, conducts workshops and loves being a swimming coach. She unwinds by watching movies and social networking.

Amiya Swarup

Amiya Swarup Heads Marketing Advisory and is Partner for Ernst & Young. He has nearly two decades of experience in fostering collaboration within the intricate web of marketers, media agencies, martech partners, and media houses, building a better working world

Aditya Menon

Ajey Maharaj

Ajey Maharaj leads Corporate Communications and PR at Fortis Healthcare Ltd, leveraging over 30 years of experience in Corporate Communications and Marketing Communications. His expertise extends to internal and external communications, crisis management, media engagement, public advocacy, CSR, and building corporate reputation. Ajey is known for his exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to develop collaborative relationships, alongside strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.

His tenure in corporate communications has been decorated with several accolades, including the ‘Corporate Communications Professional of the Year 2021’ and ‘Top 100 Influential Game Changer’s award’ for multiple years ( 2021, 2022 and 2023) from Exchange4media and Business World Group. He also received the ‘PRO of the Year Award 2009’ from the Media Federation of India and the ‘Media Corporate Communications Man of the Year 2010-11’ from The Institute of Economic Studies.

At Fortis Healthcare, Ajey’s role encompasses strategic media and PR planning, integrated communication execution, enhancing corporate image, and crisis management. Additionally, Ajey contributes his expertise as a board member to several Fortis entities, including the Fortis CSR Foundation, Fortis HealthStaff Limited, Malar Stars Medicare, Fortis Health Management (East) Limited, and Fortis Cancer Care Limited.

Before joining Fortis, Ajey held significant positions in notable organizations such as Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd., Reliance Energy Limited, Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., and Steel Authority Of India Limited. His academic qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from AIMA, New Delhi, Bachelor of Arts from Hindu College, University of Delhi and completed his AISSCE at Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodi Road, New Delhi.

In addition to his professional achievements, Ajey is an accomplished athlete, having represented India in basketball at various master international events and participating in International Cricket Sixes Tournaments. His athletic accomplishments complement his dynamic corporate communications career, where he has established a legacy of robust media relations and corporate brand enhancement.

Anshuman Chkravarty

Brand Management and Marketing Communications practitioner with experience in working in India and international markets (Asia & Europe), with exposure in B2C & B2B domains. An MBA in Marketing & Post Graduate in Journalism & Mass-comm., with over 20 years experience in strategizing and executing brand launches, re-positioning strategies, media planning and buying, internal and external communication, social & digital marketing, PR & reputation management, crisis communication, events and celebrity management & supporting financial PR & IR.