Govindraj Ethiraj is Founder & Managing Trustee of IndiaSpend. A television & print journalist, he is former Founder-Editor in Chief of Bloomberg TV India, a 24-hour business news service launched out of Mumbai in 2008. He also worked for over five years with television station CNBC-TV18, from near start-up point in 2000. He has worked in the digital space – with Business Standard as head of new media – as well as traditional print, at The Economic Times, Business World & Business India magazines. His articles presently appear in the Business Standard newspaper and Forbes India online. He recently concluded a one-year public service assignment with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a Indian Government initiative to issue over a billion biometric identities. He is a Fellow of The Aspen Institute, Colorado.
Email: govindraj@indiaspend.org
Praveen Chakravarty is a senior financial services professional of repute, public policy enthusiast and an active angel investor. He is currently the CEO of Anand Rathi Advisors, a growth focused investment bank. Prior to his current role, he was on an assignment with the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) set up under the Chairmanship of Mr. Nandan Nilekani by the Government of India. Mr. Chakravarty is a frequent contributor to opinion-editorial columns of leading newspapers. Mr. Praveen received his MBA degree from the Wharton School and his undergraduate degree from BITS, Pilani. Email: praveen@indiacentral.net
Kumaar Bagrodia is the CEO of LeapVault a knowledge media and talent development company he founded. He is an executive & entrepreneur coach, facilitator, speaker and the principal consultant for Who Moved My Cheese in India. He is the founder of the CLO Chief Learning Officers Summit India. Prior to this he has worked with companies like Infosys and WNS in various roles. He holds an MBA from Oxford University, UK and is a country champion and ambassador for the Oxford Business Alumni in India. He firmly believes in the impact of ‘intellectually directed philanthrophy’ Email: kb@indiaspend.org
PATRONS
Rohini Nilekani, is Founder-Chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set up with a private endowment, to work on water and sanitation issues in India. She is also Founder-Chairperson of Pratham Books, a charitable trust which seeks to put “A book in every child’s hand.” An ex-journalist, author and philanthropist, Rohini has been deeply involved with development issues for more than a decade. She is currently a member of the Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. She sits on the Boards of many non-profits, notably ATREE (the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) and Sanghamithra Rural Financial Services. Rohini has authored two books published by Penguin India- a novel - Stillborn - and also a non–fiction account of dialogues she moderated between social and corporate leaders called Uncommon Ground.
Gopal Jain, is Managing Partner at Gaja Capital Partners. Gopal started out investing as a hobby when he was thirteen. He began his professional investing career 19 years ago and started making private equity investments in 1995. Since then he has made nearly 25 investments. These include several companies that have grown to become sector leaders in India. As an entrepreneur he has been a pioneer in private equity and equity research in India. He is a charter member of TiE Mumbai and a member of Leaders’ Quest, UK. Gopal has a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Delhi.
SUPPORTERS
Business Standard: India’s leading business daily, stands for journalism that is rooted in ethical conduct and defined by a sacrosanct bond with the reader
Nachiket Mor: Member Board of Governors at Institute for Financial Management and Research, Non Executive Board Member at CRISIL
Sanjiv Anand: Managing Director, Cedar Management Consulting International
Arun Jagatramka: Chairman, Gujarat NRE Coke
Ganesh Rengaswamy: Partner, Lok Capital