Gautam Kaul
IPS (Rtd)
Gautam Kaul belongs to the 1965 batch of IPS, AGMUT cadre. Retired as Director General, Indo Tibetan Border Police in the year 2001. Served in various capacities in Central Para Military Police Forces as well as in Delhi and Chandigarh Police. Has been associated with combating militancy in Jammu & Kashmir while working in the Para Military Forces. Also handled security operations of the VVIPs. Recipient of two National awards, one International award, namely “Star of Italian Solidarity”, 2004.
He is a film society activist from early 1960s and was President of Delhi Film Society and President of Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI). Widely involved in the field of literature, commercial arts, education, environment protection, culture, journalism and promotion of sports at national level. Author of book, ‘Cinema and the Indian Freedom Struggle’.
TV Ramachandran
President, Broadband India Forum and Chairman at Telecom Sector Committee, European Business Group Federation, Founder & CEO – ‘Advisory@TVR’ Consultancy Services
T.V. Ramachandran, experienced for about 22 years in Indian Mobile Telecommunications, is President of the Broadband India Forum and Chairman of the Telecoms Council of the European Business Group, India. He was the 1st CEO of one of the earliest cellular ventures in India – Sterling Cellular Ltd (Essar Cellphone), Delhi and led the establishment and successful launch of the largest Indian cellular network of that time. Sterling Cellular was incidentally the original predecessor of what is today Vodafone Delhi.
Mr. Ramachandran was the Founder-Chairman of the India Interest Group of GSM MoU Association from 1995 to 1998 and has been closely involved with GSM and ITU activities all through the years. He was also the 1st Director General of the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) and established and led it to the position of being one of the most credible and vibrant professional bodies that became accepted as the effective voice of the Indian mobile industry.
TV has a Master’s in Physics (specialisation in Wireless& Electronics) with distinction and University rank, from Madras University and is Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) London, for his contributions to Mobile Telephony. One of only 3 Indians to be conferred this prestigious Award in the over 100 years of existence of this institution. Is Member of IET’s Global Advisory Panel for IoT (Internet of Things).
He is also Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers (India). In March, 2015, at the Telecom Leadership Forum in Delhi, TV was conferred the Voice & Data Lifetime Contribution Award.”
Mark Pursey
Founder and CEO, BTP Advisers
Mark is an Anglo-Australian PR Executive and the founder and CEO of BTP Advisers. He has advised governments and aspiring opposition leaders from Europe, Africa and Asia on international communications strategy. These include the administrations of Presidents Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. Mark has advised winning election campaigns and ballots in the UK, France, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Georgia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Sierra Leone – amongst others. He also acted as an adviser to the Vote Leave campaign.
Mark has extensive experience devising international PR campaigns for both SMEs and international businesses. Prior to setting up BTP, Mark was a Communications Officer for the worldwide Vodafone Group during which time he dealt extensively with the Indian market as well as Vice-President for Communications for Deutsche Asset Management.
Sandeep Bamzai
Author, Media veteran and Consulting Editor to BTVi
With close to 35 years of professional experience, Sandeep Bamzai is currently Editor in Chief and COO of the five editions of Financial Chronicle, the business newspaper of Deccan Chronicle/Asian Age Group.
Prior to this, Sandeep was Editor of Mail Today, a joint venture between India Today Group and Daily Mail of London. He started his career with The Statesman in Calcutta in 1983. Having worked across all media verticals, Sandeep considers himself a news, cricket and crisis junkie.
Headhunted for Hindustan Times in 2000, he was the National Business Editor of the newspaper for many years. Before this, he has been with Business India, Times of India Group, Illustrated Weekly, Sunday Observer and Editor of Dalal Street Journal. As a journalist in senior editorial positions, he has worked in three metropolitan cities in the biggest media houses in the country.
An economics graduate from Calcutta University, he is an alumnus of the prestigious St Columba’s in New Delhi. He is also Visiting Fellow at India’s top think tank, Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Author of three seminal books – Bonfire of Kashmiriyat and Guts & Glory – the Bombay Cricket Story. Currently, writing a definitive history of the Indian Princes and how they tried to construct a Third Dominion independent of Pakistan and India.
A major cricket junkie, an inveterate traveler and an avid listener of music, loves watching movies. Sandeep loves the space where politics and economic converge.
Parvez Ahmed
Veteran Sports Journalist and Author
Parvez Ahmed is a distinguished sports writer and editor. He began his career in 1980 with Sandhya Samachar and since then has worked as Sports Editor with the National Herald group, Sports Editor with Navbharat Times, TVI and Zee News.
Over a period of more than four decades, he has covered almost every sports activity including World Cup Cricket, Olympics, World Cup Football, World Cup Hockey, Wimbledon and others big events. He had the opportunity to tour Pakistan with the Indian Cricket team. As the Sports Editor, he has interviewed leading sports personalities like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sir Viv Richards, Imran Khan, Zahir Abbas, Dhanraj Pillai, Leander Peas, PT Usha and many more. One novel, four plays and many short stories have been published in his name.
Sondeep Shankar
Photo Journalist
A renowned photo-journalist for almost forty years, Sondeep Shankar has worked and led the photo coverage of leading publications including Hindustan Times and Times of India Group as Photo Editor and Picture Editor of India Today magazine and Observer Group of Newspapers including Sunday Observer and Observer of Business and Politics. Simultaneously worked for German magazines, Stern and Der Spiegel and for New York Times and Bloomberg News as a freelance photographer based in New Delhi. Currently, working as Consulting Editor (Pictures) for Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle Group of publications.
Sondeep began his career as a staff photographer with the Hindustan Times. After working for over four years, he moved to Ananda Bazar Patrika Group, where he worked as senior photographer based in New Delhi. Sondeep did extensive photo-stories from every part of the country for magazines like Sunday, Ravivar and Business World, all part of the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group. He was also involved with the launch of The Telegraph in 1982.
Worked on a large number of coffee-table books on varied subjects ranging from social and travel to religion. Some of the titles include Rajasthan, Havelis of Old Delhi, Jaisalmer, The Golden Temple, The Sikhs, Ganesha – Lord of Beginnings and Ganga – A Journey to name a few.
Have published a series of coffee-table books on the Sikh religion, covering Sikh heritage, people and their pilgrimages through UBS Publishers and Distributors in association with the National Institute of Panjab Studies (NIPS), a New Delhi-based group of Sikh historians and academics. The series includes The Golden Temple, Anandpur: City of Bliss, The Sikh Wedding, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Historical Gurdwaras of Delhi, Forts, Palaces, Havelis of Panjab etc.
Sondeep Shankar has held no. of exhibitions across the country including photography exhibition ‘Sikhs: A Heritage of Valour and Devotion’, acquired by ICCR, Ministry of External Affairs. It had been on display in Malaysia and Singapore and is presently travelling in the US and Canada.
In 2016, Curetted two photo exhibition for ICCR, Ministry of External Affairs, for display at the BRICS heads of state meeting in Goa and BRICS media conference. In December 2016, Curetted the 4th bi-annual show of photographs and Video works of members of the Working News Cameramen’s Association. The show, one of the largest exhibitions of photographs in the country was held at Lalit Kala Academy galleries in New Delhi.
Awards and Accolades:
- Rajasthan Tourism Awards in 1980 and 1981
- Second prize in Nikon Photo Contest, Japan, 1992
- First prize in the National Photo Competition on Child Rights organized by Photo Division, Ministry of I&B and UNICEF 1996
- Parishad Samman from Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi 2001‒02
- Presently serving second term as a nominated member representing Working News Cameramen’s Association in the Press Council of India
Ravi Prasad
IIT Kanpur and Carnegie Melon University USA
Ravi Prasad, world renowned High Tech entrepreneur, consultant, & columnist with excellent political & media contacts in India with 25 years’ experience as an Entrepreneur & Consultant in High Technology Industries in USA & India. Consulting Editor of RealPolitik magazine http://www.realpolitik.in
Expertise in assisting high technology multinationals in marketing their products & services in India, entering into joint ventures with suitable Indian partners, obtaining all regulatory approvals from central & state governments Advisor to several dozen corporations in India and abroad.
Write frequently in Tech Central Station (USA), Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Telegraph, Economic Times, Financial Express, Hindu Business Line, RealPolitik, Observer of Business & Politics. Founder-chairman of a think tank on defense & security in South Asia.
Shravani Dang
Communications leader, Spokesperson, Independent Board Director, AVANTHA GROUP
Shravani Dang is Vice President and Global Group Head- Corporate Communications at the Avantha Group. She is a senior Communications and CSR leader with over two decades of quantifiable achievements. Her experience base spans multinational companies across Technology, Financial, Not-for-profit and Industrial sectors.
Previously, she has worked with Fidelity, CSC, HCL, and international relief and development organization CARE. Shravani also headed the CSR portfolio at Fidelity, CSC and HCL. Trusted by CXOs and boards, Shravani is a media and external affairs advisor to leadership teams.
Shravani has been invited to join multiple boards but has selected to be a member of the board of international NGO – Charities Aid Foundation (CAF India) and The CyberMedia Group. She is a founding board member of Asia Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD). Reputation Today magazine recently ranked Shravani as among the top ten corporate communications professionals in the country.
Renu Kakkar
Director CSR & Communications, Apeejay Surrendra Group
Renu Kakkar is Director CSR & Communications, Apeejay Surrendra Group. An alumnus of Lady Sri Ram College and IIMC, she began her career in Delhi as a financial correspondent with The Indian Express Group after working with various media houses as a freelance investigative reporter and contributor. Prior to joining Kolkata based Apeejay Surrendra Group, she was working with The Telegraph at its headquarters in Kolkata as an Assistant Editor specializing in financial markets. Her interest in the potential of the Internet saw her leave media in 2000 to join the internet broking business of Apeejay Securities, Group’s stock broking company now owned by IL&FS Investsmart. Renu has worked in various business verticals of the diversified conglomerate, as well as, held an additional charge of heading the Corporate Software Development cell, a Group capability she created in 2001.
The Public Relations Council of India conferred Renu with the “Chanakya Award -2011” – a Social Leadership award for outstanding contribution in the field of social communications. The International Confederation of NGOs conferred her with “Karmaveer Puraskaar-2012” – a Corporate Citizen Award for pursuing holistic CSR Initiatives. In 2017 she was recognized as one of the 100 most impactful CSR leaders from India. Renu has co-founded a not-for-profit company that addresses the deteriorating standards that plague service organizations in India, adversely impacting India’s competitiveness in the world.
Professor Asoke Bhattacharya
Ex-Professor and Head, Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extention, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Professor Asoke Bhattacharya has over three decades of teaching experience at the post – graduate level at various Universities across the globe including Jadavpur University, India, University of Aarhus and Danish Pedagogic University, Denmark, University of Goteborg, Sweden. He is also Professor of the European Union, Erasmus Mundus, Visiting Professor, University of Aarhus, Denmark and University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
A recipient of Erasmus Mundus Scholar of the European Union and UNESCO-NLM award for outstanding contribution in the field of literacy, Mr. Bhattacharya was Professor and Head, Department of Adult, Continuing Education & Extention, Jadavpur University, Kolkata; Director and Chief Executive Officer, Roopkala Kendro, Film and Social Communication Institute, Government of West Bengal; Chairman, International Forum for Studies in Society & Religion (IFSSR) and Coordinator, Eastern Zone, Indian Reading Association (IRA)
Professor Bhattacharya is Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India; Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism for Developing Countries, Indian Institute of Mass Communication and M-Phil in Environmental Science, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. He has authored several books and monographs; some of his research work has also been published.
V K Vardarajan
Former Deputy Editor and Chief of Bureau of the Hindu Business Line
V. K. Varadarajan had been associated with the Hindu Group for 24 years in various positions extensively covering Business, Finance, and Economy. He started his career with UNI. Retired from active journalism in 2010.
Currently, teaching Business Journalism in St. Joseph College, Bangalore. Also taught Media, Ethics, and Law and few while keep giving lectures on Business Journalism and Political Communication. Mr. Varadarajan was aassociated with the Dignity Foundation, an NGO for senior citizens as an adviser for its Bangalore Centre.
Has been freelance writing, produced a magazine on Good Governance.
Mr. Varadarajan, B.A. (Hons), Economics from Delhi University holds a Certificate in News Agency Journalism form the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ), Berlin (West), Germany 1979