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Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Arun Chandru

  Arun Chandru is a deep-tech innovator and the Co-founder of Pandorum Technologies, a regenerative medicine firm operating in Bengaluru and California. A gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), he has been recognized on Forbes Asia’s ‘30 Under 30’ and Entrepreneur India’s ‘35 Under 35’ lists for his work in tissue engineering. Arun leads the development of bio-engineered corneas designed to restore vision without the need for human donors—a breakthrough that has received Orphan Drug Designation from the US FDA. His work at the intersection of engineering and biology aims to enable multi-organ regeneration and extend human longevity through scalable, stem-cell-derived technologies.

• Dr. Jaimine Anita Vaishnav

  Dr. Jaimine Anita Vaishnav is a dynamic researcher and author of six books whose work on informal trade has earned endorsements from the Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). As a Professor at ATLAS SkillTech University, he bridges the gap between high-level geopolitics and grassroots reality by taking his students out of the classroom and onto the streets. Jaimine is dedicated to demystifying management principles through the lens of social equity and real-world adventure. Based in Mumbai, he is on a mission to validate the "street MBA" as a global standard for resilience and ethical innovation.

• Dr. Radhika Batra

  Dr. Radhika Batra is the co-founder of Every Infant Matters, a non-profit delivering last-mile healthcare to disadvantaged children in India and Nigeria. Within two years of founding, the organization prevented possible blindness in over 23,000 children through targeted Vitamin A supplementation — addressing a crisis that blinds nearly 500,000 children globally each year, half of whom do not survive the year. Her work also reached 3,000 mothers with nutritional support, tackling the generational cycle that begins with maternal malnutrition. Through community-based care, Every Infant Matters combines medical intervention with education on breastfeeding, hygiene, and early nutrition — proving that the most catastrophic public health failures are also the most solvable.

• Gautam Vaishnav

  Gautam Vaishnav is an artist and practitioner of rock balancing, with years of experience in fine-tuning the art of patience. He uses the raw elements of nature to explore the human capacity for focus and emotional detachment. His work is a living metaphor for the impermanence of life, teaching audiences how to stay grounded in the present moment regardless of external instability. Based in Pune, Gautam is dedicated to sharing "The Art of Letting Go" as a practical tool for mental clarity and stress reduction in an increasingly chaotic world.

• Ishan Khosla

  Ishan Khosla is a visual artist, designer, and founder of The Typecraft Initiative — a platform that collaborates with tribal women, refugees, and indigenous craftspeople to transform endangered art forms into working digital typefaces. Holding an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, his work has been exhibited at the London Design Biennial, Ginza Graphic Gallery (Tokyo), and RMIT Gallery (Melbourne), and is held in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. His essays have been published by Bloomsbury, Marg, and Macmillan, and he lectures globally at leading typography and design forums including ATypI, AIGA, and TypoBerlin. Through Typecraft, fonts built from Baiga tribal tattoos, Rabari embroideries, and Khatri tie-dye are now in active use by institutions across four continents — each one a living archive of a culture that refused to disappear.

• Joi Barua

  Joi Barua is a singer and composer whose music moves between Rock, Soul, Jazz, and World — rooted in the folklore and mythology of Assam and Northeast India. He has composed and performed for some of Indian cinema's most acclaimed films, including Dev D, Udaan, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Marguerita with a Straw, and Laila Majnu — genre-defining, award-winning work whose 2024 Imtiaz Ali release entered Spotify's Global Top 30. Beyond Bollywood, Barua has collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra on orchestral compositions exploring Artificial Intelligence and the future of human life. His engagement with Assamese ethnicity has taken him into the plural tribal histories of the Northeast, informing both his music and his vocal advocacy for rainforest conservation. He has recently composed anthems for the Indian Army honouring soldiers from the critical war zones of the last century.

• Pallavi Verma

  Pallavi Verma is a writer, spoken word artist, and the founder of PenPal, a creative agency that doubles as a modern pen-pal project. With a background in psychology and marketing, Pallavi explores the intersection of human behavior and narrative, helping individuals and brands find their unique voice. Known for her work in amplifying women’s voices through campaigns like #LeadHers and #LeanIn, she blends poetic insight with a sharp, relatable wit. Based in Dubai and Mumbai, Pallavi is on a mission to show that connection is the soul of everything we do—one poem and one dad joke at a time.

• Pearl William

  Pearl William, also known as Manzil, is a Mumbai-based fire performer and one of the few Indian women mastering this powerful art form. Blending traditional cultural roots with contemporary influences like hip-hop and modern music, she has been featured in reality shows, web series, and major concerts. Her work bridges the gap between traditional artistry and modern performance, using fire as a medium for self-discovery and courage. Pearl is dedicated to challenging perceptions and inspiring authenticity, demonstrating that true influence is found in the connection between the performer and the audience, rather than online metrics.

• Rahul Kadri

  Rahul Kadri is the Partner and Principal Architect at IMK Architects, an award-winning practice with over 150 executed projects across India and overseas. An alumnus of the University of Michigan, he has designed milestone projects for the Tata Group, Reliance, and the Supreme Court of India. Kadri is a noted expert in urban policy and co-founder of the Mumbai Architects Collective, a group of 200+ professionals dedicated to sustainable urbanism. His landmark project, the Malabar Hill Forest Trail, has received global acclaim—including the Loop Design Awards 2024—for balancing ecological preservation with public accessibility. Listed in Architectural Digest’s AD100.

• Sukriti

  Sukriti is an MFA-holding researcher and author from Columbia University whose work explores the intersection of Indian culture, history, and storytelling. A prolific writer and screenwriter, her essays have appeared in Vox, Quartz, and The New York Times, and she has collaborated on major film projects with some of India's leading directors. Through her company, Unibrow Stories, she produces content that demystifies real Indian narratives for a global audience. Based in Mumbai, Sukriti is dedicated to reframing India’s textile heritage not just as a craft, but as a sophisticated global superpower.

• Yukta Kandhari

  Yukta Kandhari is a global strategist and community architect who has built and led programmes across 160+ nationalities and six continents, working with universities, creators, and institutions from Harvard classrooms to global innovation initiatives. Her platform Founders Across Borders amplifies the voices of cross-cultural founders and changemakers building at the intersection of communities, markets, and identities. Her work sits at the intersection of cultural intelligence, trust architecture, and global leadership — the invisible layer that determines who wins deals, who earns loyalty, and who gets left out of rooms they were technically qualified to enter. In this talk, she draws on a high-stakes business failure to show why cultural consciousness isn't a soft skill — it's an asymmetric competitive advantage.