Welcome Address
India Business Forum

Innovation in the Education Sector
Presentation by Ashank Desai, Chairman, Pan IIT India
and Founder Mastek

Closing Remarks
Sanmit Ahuja, Chief Executive, eti Dynamics
IIT UK Alumni Committee Member and alumnus London Business School

Dean Alumni & International Affairs, IIT Delhi

Director, IIT Bhubaneshwar

President, IIT EU Alumni Association

Ashank Desai, Founder and Ex Chairman Mastek

Ashank Desai , Founder and Ex-Chairman of Mastek, is the chief architect of catapulting Mastek into the Top 20 software companies in India. The company is well known for designing and developing the software solution for London’s congestion charging system.

Mr. Desai is a leading light of the IT industry in India. He is the founder member and ex-President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). He has also been the Vice President of ASOCIO (Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation). He is the only Indian to be presented with the Honourable Contributor's Award for his outstanding contribution to ASOCIO's growth in 1994.

Mr. Desai, M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai (ranked 3rd among Technology and Science Institutes by Asiaweek in its Special Report on Asia's Best Universities 2000) and MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad (ranks among the Top 5 management institutes in India), was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Mumbai for his contribution as a software entrepreneur. He is also the chairman of Pan IIT Association, India.

Phanish Puranam, Co-Director, Aditya Birla India Centre

Phanish Puranam is Associate Professor in the Strategy and International Management Area and Co-Director of the Aditya Birla India Centre at London Business School.  

Phanish’s research and consulting interests centre on the design and management of strategic relationships between organizations. He has published his research on topics such as the structuring of alliance and outsourcing arrangements, post-merger integration, inter-divisional collaboration and reorganizations in internationally reputed academic journals, in addition to working with companies such as Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, 247Customer, Unisys, Tata Consulting Services, IBM and CapGemini in advisory/training roles on these topics. He currently focuses his attention on European/US companies with an interest in India as well as Indian companies that are actively globalizing.

Phanish obtained his PhD at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and has been on the faculty of London Business School since 2001, where he teaches electives on “Corporate Strategy” and “M&A and Alliances”.  He also holds affiliate scholarly appointments with other institutions such as the Advanced Institute of Management (UK), the Mack Centre for Emerging Technologies (Wharton) and the Indian School of Business. His research features in the top practitioner journals such as the California Management Review and Sloan Management Review as well as the top academic journals, such as the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review and Organization Science. He is on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review and Organization Science and is also frequently quoted in the business press.

Sanmit Ahuja, Chief Executive, eti Dynamics

Sanmit Ahuja is the Chief Executive of eti Dynamics Ltd, a London headquartered economic development and investments firm focused on infrastructure development across emerging markets. Prior to founding eti Dynamics, he was the Director of Investments and Ventures at the Commonwealth Business Council.

He has extensive experience of working across Asia and Africa on various programmes including policy development, mobilising infrastructure finance and enhancing international trade in particular South-South initiatives. At eti Dynamics his special focus is in developing and executing new innovative PPP models for developing countries. He is currently spearheading development of new models in the following areas:  waste to energy; combating intellectual property & financial Crime; micro-enterprise; sovereign infrastructure funding and developing innovation ecosystem.

He is a committee member of the Indian Institutes of Technology UK Alumni. He has an Executive MBA degree from London Business School.

About Aditya Birla India Centre

The Aditya Birla India Centre is the nodal point for India related activities at the London Business School. Its vision is to be the leading centre outside India that enables a mutually beneficial exchange between Indian businesses and the global business community.

The centre aspires to achieve it's objectives through an ambitious programme of activities, which can be grouped under three main themes:

·            Annual Case Study Development Initiative - The centre helps Indian academics develop world class  teaching case studies on Indian business situations. These are subsequently listed in the European Case C House.

·            Birla Centre Distinguished Speaker Series - Features lectures by prominent Indian business leaders and policy makers.

·            Birla Centre Academic Seminar Series - Features cutting edge research on Indian business by academics.

·            Targeted specialised seminars and conferences on topics of relevance to Indian business.

The centre is directed by Professors Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam of London Business School, who are both actively engaged with Indian businesses through their research, teaching and consulting.

www.london.edu/facultyandresearch/researchactivities/birlaindiacentre.html

About India Business Forum

The India Business Forum (IBF), formulated in the year 2002, aims to further the role of India in the global business milieu. With London Business School as the platform, the IBF is a confluence of Global Business Leaders, Leading Academicians, Financiers, Entrepreneurs and Students to discuss and debate pertinent issues relating to doing business in and with India. IBF aims to become the premier forum in Europe that is India-focused and play an influential role in furthering the role of India in Global business. IBF, a student led initiative, has been conceived with primary purpose of presenting information and trends about exciting business and investment opportunities in India to investors around the world. IBF also endeavors to engage the extremely international and successful student body and alumni community of London Business School in supporting globalisation initiatives of companies.

The core activity of the IBF is to host an annual summit where the most dynamic thought leaders from India and Europe engage in diverse audience mix with insights on current business trends related to India

The IBF also hosts throughout the year, smaller satellite events on specific themes.

www.indiabusinessforum.org

About Indian Institutes of Technology

Established as institutes of academic excellence, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have become synonymous with world-class technology and engineering education in India. IITs offer undergraduate, integrated postgraduate and postgraduate programs in various engineering, science, technology and management disciplines. Admission to these programs is through national level entrance exams.

Apart from the globally renowned faculty and quality of education, diversity of students in terms of socio-economic background, culture, language and religions gives a unique advantage to IITians - the ability to manage and thrive within diversity in the fast globalizing economy. Alumni of IITs lead some of the world's most prestigious technology and business products and services companies, as well as non-profit organisations. It is estimated that almost half of all companies in the Silicon Valley are founded and headed by IIT alumni.

 www.iitlc.org