DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS 

TVS Motor Company is a reputed two and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, championing progress through Sustainable Mobility with four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh in India and Karawang in Indonesia. Rooted in our 100-year legacy of Trust, Value, and Service, we take pride in making internationally aspirational products of the highest quality through innovative and sustainable processes. We are the only two-wheeler company to have received the prestigious Deming Prize. Our products lead in their respective categories in the J.D. Power IQS and APEAL surveys. We have been ranked No. 1 Company in the J.D. Power Customer Service Satisfaction Survey for consecutive four years. Our group company Norton Motorcycles, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the most emotive motorcycle brands in the world. Our subsidiaries in the personal e-mobility space, Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG) and EGO Movement have a leading position in the e-bike market in Switzerland. TVS Motor Company endeavours to deliver the most superior customer experience across 80 countries in which we operate. TVS Motor manufactures the largest range of two-wheelers, starting from mopeds, to scooters, commuter motorcycles, to racing inspired bikes like the TVS Apache series and the TVS Apache RR310.

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TNPL vision is to adopt state-of-the-art contemporary technology and be the world’s most sustainable brand to manufacture eco-friendly paper and paperboards. TNPL aims to manufacture paper and paperboards of top-notch quality and achieve over 1 million tons per annum by the end of 2030. Unit – I of TNPL was commissioned in 1985 with an installed capacity of 90,000 TPA of Newsprint and Fine paper. Over the years, the Unit is now equipped with state-of-the-art automation in all three modern high-speed paper machines, producing over 400,000 TPA, making TNPL one of the prominent bagasse-based paper manufacturers across the globe. In the quest of becoming the world leader in the pulp and paper industry, a Paperboard project was conceived by TNPL, paving the way for the emergence of Unit II. Spanning over an area of 874 acres in Mondipatti, Trichy district, TNPL Unit II was designed to produce 2,00,000 MT high-grade paperboard per annum.

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Tamil Nadu is one of the leading tourist destinations in India. The State has a variety of tourist attractions spanning across temples, hill stations, wildlife, landscapes and beaches. The State offers multiple attractions for various segments of tourists.

i. More than 36,627 temples such as Meenakshi Amman Temple-Madurai, Nataraja Temple-Chidambaram, Ramanathaswamy Rameswaram, Arunachaleswarar Temple-Thiruvannamalai etc.
ii. 1,076 km coastal line spread across Chennai, Mamallapuram and Kanniyakumari accounting for more than 13% of India's total coastline.
iii. Eco-tourism (including wildlife) - The State is home to 15 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 5 National Parks, 15 Bird Sanctuaries and 5 Tiger Reserves.
iv. Heritage Tourism - Tamil Nadu is home to 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites. The State also has about 400 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) monuments.

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Policybazaar was founded in 2008 with one objective: bringing transparency in insurance. The founders wanted to reimagine insurance, so they started by simplifying all the information around plans, ending the rampant mis-selling, and preventing policy lapses. Today, we are India’s best & largest online insurance platform. Over 9+ million (90 lakh+) individuals have come to us & bought the best insurance plans from the top insurers in the country. We have sold over 19 million policies since inception, and this number is only growing. Our vision to bring pioneering technologies & innovations to the field continues to grow. We aspire to build a health & financial safety net for more households in India in the coming years.

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Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., (TNPFIDCL), is a wholly owned State Public Sector Undertaking registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) - (Deposit). The Corporation mobilizes funds primarily through deposits and debt markets for funding infrastructure Projects. It also acts as a Nodal Agency for State Welfare Schemes. This Corporation offers a higher interest rate to attract deposits up to 8.51% for Senior Citizen. The Corporation is offering 24 hours a day and 7 days a week services for its retail depositors through digital web portal and mobile app.

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TIIC, established in 1949, is the first State level Development Financial Institution promoted for catalyzing industrial development. The Corporation had financed Greenfield projects, many of which are presently successful brands. TIIC provides financial assistance for purchase of land, machinery and construction of buildings. The purpose could be for setting up new units / expansion / modernization / diversification of existing industries. Assistance is extended to both manufacturing and eligible service sector industries. It focuses on extension of assistance to Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises, which account for 90% of the total assistance. Further about 40% of the total assistance is availed by first generation entrepreneurs. The Corporation is guided by a Board of senior Bureaucrats, Banking Professionals and Sector representatives. The Corporation has continuously earned profit for past 18 years. TIIC has so far assisted 1,27,277 units with a cumulative sanction of Rs.19,444 crores up to 31.03.2021.

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Timelinks is a leading franchise partner for some of the world-class companies and works to create new markets for durable brands. We have been into both niche and mass retailing and have a complete understanding of people in the region: how they feel, act and think. Since 1991 we helped shape people’s perception of generic products and in the process defined the future of some of today’s iconic brands. Positively impacting people’s lives and experiences is our vision. And we work to realize this vision by connecting people to brands that elevate their sense of purpose, worth, and achievement. This, in fact, is our mission.

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The Tamilnadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (TNHDC) was set up in 1973 by the Government of Tamilnadu. "Poompuhar" , the brand name of TNHDC and unique handicraft store that echos the crafts of Tamilnadu.Our products are authentic, affordable and attractive which are carefully handcrafted, designed and marketed for the customer.The collections include a lot of designs and statues made from a variety of materials like Bronze, Brass, Copper, Tanjore paintings, White Metal, Black Metal, Wood Carvings, Stone Carvings, Cloth, Leather, Jute and Clay, Swamimalai Bronze Icons, Kondapalli toys, Meenakari, Kalamkari Purse, Garlands, Thanjavur Art Plate as well. Poompuhar provides marketing assistance to artisans by selling their products through its 17 showrooms which are located at Chennai City, Chennai Airport, Vandaloor Zoo, IIT Chennai, Egmore Museum, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Swamimalai, Mamallapuram, New Delhi and Kolkata, Poompuhar has 7 Production Centres located at Nachiarkoil (traditional brass lamps), Madurai (brass lamps and brass art wares), Vagaikulam (brass malabar lamps and other lamps), Swamimalai (bronze icons), Thanjavur (Thanjavur art plates), Kallakurichi (wood carvings) and Mamallapuram (stone carvings).

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Along the 7517 KMs coastline of India, 12 Major Ports and about 200 non-major ports are in existence spread across 8 Maritime States and 2 Union Territories. The Major Ports are governed by the Government of India under the Major Port Trust Act 1963 and the non-major ports are governed by the respective Maritime States under the Indian Ports Act, 1908. Amongst the Maritime States, Gujarat has the longest coastline of about1600 KMs with one major port and about 40 non-major ports. Tamil Nadu has the second longest coastline (1076 KMs) with 3 major ports and 17 non-major ports. The non-major ports in Tamil Nadu were administered and controlled by the Tamil Nadu Port Department. Keeping in line with the maritime history and in realising the need for growth in the maritime sector, the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Port Department was converted into Tamil Nadu Maritime Board under the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board Act, 1995 (Tamil Nadu Act 4/96) with effect from 18.03.1997. The Minister for Highways and Minor Ports, Government of Tamil Nadu is the ex-officio Chairman of the Board.

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Hans Raj Verma, IAS
Additional Chief Secretary, CMD, Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC)

Mr. Hans Raj Verma is an alumnus of BITS Pilani. He has over 35 years of experience in the Civil Service. He has given a strategic vision for TIIC which is India's 2nd oldest DFI, which was established in 1949. This vision of TIIC 2.0 will encompass the emerging tech platforms and pro-active engagement with all the stakeholders. He is positioning TIIC as a growth catalyst which will be a key driver in realizing the Honorable CM of Tamil Nadu's Vision of making Tamil Nadu a 1 trillion USD economy by 2030. He has wide exposure in various organisations in the industrial and IT sectors. Some of posts he has held are: Chairman - TITAN, TNEB, TIDCO, TANSIDCO, TNPCB, ELCOT, TNEGA, TANFINET, TNCDW and TASMAC. He has also served on the Boards / Governing Councils of NABARD, IIITDM, IIT (M) Research Park and SETS. His areas of interest are Industry 4.0, Cyber Security, ESG, and Military History/Strategy. At present he is on the Boards of SPB, Chettinadu Cements, ITCOT as its chairman, President of COSIDICI and CMD of TEDA.

G. Srinivasan
Chairman - Chennai Region, Institute Of Directors, former CMD, The New India Assurance

Mr. Gopalan Srinivasan is an Independent Director of Medi Assist. He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Madras. He is a Fellow member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and a fellow of the Federation of Insurance Institutes. He was previously the chairman cum managing director of United India Insurance Company Limited and chairman cum managing director for the New India Assurance Company Limited. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Chennai Region of the Institute of Directors, India.

Srinivasan Sathyamoorthy, IA & AS (Retd.)
Advisor - TIW Capital Group

Mr. Sathyamoorthy's career trajectory of 54 years has expanded his extramural horizons. Qualified as an Arbitrator, Elected as Honorary Executive Director of Anti-Corruption Academy of India, Appointed Director in Pasupati Acrylon Ltd, Chaired APS Management Consultants (P) Ltd, became Management Trustee of Chennai Age Care. A qualified civil service professional having served in prestigious roles in the Indian Government. He has served in the ministries of Government of India and in the offices of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. During his tenure, he gained exposure and experience, particularly in the Ministry of Shipping, and Ministry of Human Resources. His creative writing blossomed into 17 books and a weekly column for ten years. Mr. Sathyamoorthy's rich experience in SEBI regulations, Alternative Investment route, Company Law Prescriptions, and CSO's has helped TCG to strengthen their fund and portfolio compliance regulations.

A. Viswanathan
President - Delphi-TVS Technologies

Mr. Viswanathan is a seasoned CEO with 20 years of experience overseeing multiple business divisions in India, spanning industries such as automotive, engineering, petrochemicals, and more. He is currently serving as the President of Delphi TVS Technologies. His leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies, Indian conglomerates, joint ventures, and consulting firms have equipped him with extensive expertise in Finance, Operations, Marketing, HR, and Strategy. Recognized for his customer-centric approach and emphasis on human capital, he has a proven track record of launching new ventures, reviving operations, fostering growth, and executing acquisitions. His sales experience extends across diverse industries and channels, including automotive, oil & gas, and pharmaceuticals. Before this he was country managing director and he directed Finance and Business Planning at Visteon, showcasing comprehensive financial acumen in areas like Treasury, Tax, and Internal Audit. Additionally, he shares his expertise as a guest faculty at business schools and contributes to chambers of commerce and government advisory panels. He has a unique blend of qualifications in Finance, Engineering, Marketing, Information Technology and Law.

Ram Ramasundaram, IAS (Retd.)
Advisor Ngaz Energy, Indian Council for Circular Economy and Yosaney Fintec

Mr. Ramasundaram has over four decades of experience spanning public and private sectors. He has served as an esteemed leader in diverse roles, including as a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and Joint Secretary at the Department of Commerce. Post-retirement from the IAS in 2010, he assumed the role of Managing Director and CEO at Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Limited, navigating complex challenges. His advisory contributions to prominent entities like Hyundai Motor India and Essar Group underscore his expertise in government relations and policy. Notably, he steered ReNew Power as President, driving growth in India's renewable energy landscape. Passionate about innovation and social impact, he has pioneered impactful models, notably in HIV prevention, earning recognition and publication. He is equipped with a Master of Science degree from Loyola College, Chennai, and accolades like the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, showcase his commitment to excellence and societal betterment.

Prof. Chandrasekaran N.
Professor - IFMR Graduate School of Business, KREA University and Independent Director, Take Solutions Ltd.

Professor Chandrasekaran, an alumnus of IFMR, Chennai, holds a PhD in Economics and Financial Management from the University of Madras. He is also a certified Supply Chain Management Professional of APICS – the American Association of Operations Management, USA. He has been a part of a leadership team involved in setting up Centres of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. With over twenty-five years of corporate experience, he has worked in Information Technology, Venture Capital, and Knowledge Processing sectors. His areas of expertise include Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Human Resources, Leadership Development, and Investor Relationship Management. His consulting, research, corporate training, and teaching experience span across Supply Chain Management, Operations Strategy, Logistics Infrastructure and Management, Service Operations, Strategy, and Analytics. He also serves as an independent director, mentor, and management consultant with several leading companies and startups. Additionally, he acts as a research guide to scholars pursuing a PhD degree in Management, in the areas of Strategy and Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Saundarya Rajesh
Founder & President - Avtar Group

Dr. Saundarya has been a strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, she is renowned for her pioneering work in promoting second career opportunities for women in corporate India spanning over two decades. In December 2000, she founded Avtar – an organization that has pioneered the movement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in India! She went on to set up several other successful social enterprises including Avtar Career Creators, Flexi Careers India, Bruhat Insights Global, and Avtar Human Capital Trust. Her recent brainchild, myAvtar.com, is India’s first diversity job portal for under-represented groups such as women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and veterans. Furthermore, she has revolutionized the career prospects of women professionals in India by introducing and promoting the ideas of “Career Intentionality” and “Career Re-entry” in the corporate world. Her contributions in the field have earned her numerous awards and recognition, including the ‘WebWonderWoman’ award in 2019, and the prestigious “Winds of Change” award in 2019, making her the first international recipient. She is sought-after by organisations globally, and as a speaker at national as well as international conferences.

CA. Sripriya Kumar
Chairperson – Sustainability Reporting Standards Board & Vice Chairperson – Corporate Laws and Corporate Governance Committee of ICAI

Ms. Sripriya Kumar, a standing elected Central Council Member (2022-25) & Chairperson Corporate Laws & Corporate Governance Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She had earlier served as a central council member in (2016-19) and in the South Indian Regional Council in (2012-15). She was the chairperson of the Continuing Professional of Education Committee and was also the Vice Chairman of the Peer Review Board in her previous tenure in the central council. In the last few years, she has served on the Executive Committee, the Examination Committee and the Management Committee of the ICAI and also made noteworthy contributions to the Corporate Laws Committee, the Expert Advisory Committee and the Financial Review and Reporting Board. She is the Convenor of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Laws group of ICAI. She had been appointed to the working group constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for drafting the rules and regulations of the bankruptcy and insolvency code. A chartered accountant since 1996 commenced her practice in 2001 after her stints with Ford India limited and PWC.

Suresh Sambandam
Founder & CEO - Kissflow Inc

Mr. Sambandam is the Founder & CEO of Kissflow. He is a first-generation, self-made entrepreneur who is passionate about technology and mentoring other aspiring entrepreneurs. He has three US patents to his credit and is featured in 4 books. He is a progressive technology leader who does not regard his employees as mere profitable resources but as family. Without stopping at just being satisfied with his success, he’s chosen to pay it forward very early on. He co-founded SaaSBoomi, Asia’s No.1 & largest SaaS Community, and was instrumental in creating the first-ever playbook for aspiring SaaS entrepreneurs. He also founded Dream Tamilnadu (DreamTN.org), a policy think-tank that aims at making Tamilnadu a trillion-dollar economy. He is constantly inspiring students and professionals to become job creators rather than job seekers, and is driving the youth of Tamilnadu towards mass entrepreneurship.

Gopal Mahadevan
Whole-Time Director and Chief Financial Officer, Ashok Leyland

Mr. Gopal Mahadevan is a Chartered Accountant and a qualified Company Secretary with over 34 years’ experience in Finance across a spectrum of industries. He has had extensive experience in Manufacturing, Internet Services, Financial Services and Project Companies. Prior to Ashok Leyland, he has worked at Thermax Ltd., Amara Raja Batteries, Sify, Sanmar Group and TTK Pharma. Aside of Finance, he has handled Corporate Planning & Strategy, IT, HR and Corporate Communications. He has been awarded Best CFO from several organisations including ICAI, CNBC TV18, IMA and Business Today. He represents various Industry Bodies including CII and FICCI. Currently, he is a Convener of Economic Affairs and Policy Advocacy Panel & Ease of Doing Business Panel at CII. He represents the Tamil Nadu Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) as their Co-Chair.

Thakur Pherwani
Chief Sustainability Officer - TVS Motor Company Ltd.

Mr. Pherwani belongs to an exclusive league of young SHE & Sustainability leaders. He has been instrumental in spearheading impactful initiatives with leading companies such as Cadbury’s, Unilever, Perfetti Van Melle, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Dr Reddy’s and now CSO at TVS Motor Company. With a career spanning two decades, he has established solid technical expertise by working in cross-industrial and multi-faceted areas of ESG/sustainability governance, Safety, Health & Environment management systems. His key initiatives like ‘My Sustainability Index,’ ‘My Safety Index,’ & ‘My Health Index’, are now a leading benchmark and established Global standards. As a result of his accomplishments, he has been conferred with the prestigious “Rising Star of Safety” award by the National Safety Council- US in 2013. He was also recognized as the “Ultimate Innovator” by worldwide EHS Amazon in 2018. Currently, he is driving Safety and Sustainability culture change at India’s top 2w TVS Motor Company. He is an inspiring voice on maximizing positive outcomes for the business, people, and the environment. He is facilitating for integration ESG roadmap into the core strategy. He is in the process of implementing strategic, evidence-based sustainability initiatives at organization.

Bhavani Balasubramanian
Independent Director, Chief Strategist – Diversity Evaluation - Avtar Group

Mrs. Bhavani a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary by profession was formerly an audit and assurance Partner and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Deloitte with four decades of experience. As an Inclusion Leader at Deloitte, she has led various D&I initiatives for around 5000 professionals over the years. She is an independent director on the Boards of Public Companies. She is the Chairperson of the Women’s Business Council of Madras Chamber of Commerce and has been the Chairperson of Company Law Committees of Assocham and Madras Chamber of Commerce. She has been a member of the Audit and Assurance Board at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for 8 years,and a member in various committees for 6 years, authored 10 publications on audit, curated and launched the audit e-learning project, and has trained Chartered Accountants in audit for over three decades. She is recognized for her expertise in risk-based audits and was invited by the Govt. Of India and Govt. of Bhutan to train the Govt. auditors on this methodology. She is a leadership and Diversity coach.

Rajiv Gupta
President - PB Fintech

Mr. Gupta has over 33 years of diversified experience in Indian Financial Services and he currently works as the President for PB Fintech Ltd where he is responsible for driving New Strategic Initiatives, Public Policy and Risk management across the group, as well as identifying Group's key policy and regulatory issues to drive policy advocacy by engaging directly with Government Policymakers, Regulators, Industry Associations and other strategic stakeholders and has represented the group at various forums as a speaker. He is also on board of a few subsidiaries and will also directly responsible for the PB Fintech Account Aggregator business. He started his career as a Retail Banker with GE Capital, HDFC Securities, Kotak Group, and ICICI Ltd. He has worked with premier corporate houses in various areas of Banking, Insurance, and Securities. He had also Co-Founded a Start-up Instaremedy.com. At SBI Life where he spent more than a decade, he was part of a start-up key Management team and later went on to become the company's first Executive Director where he played a strategic role in propelling India’s largest private life insurer into the next phase of growth in addition to his contribution for the Board and Board committee meetings.

Ranganath N Krishna
Independent Director in Multiple Organisations Former MD & CEO, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Ranganath N K served as the Managing Director of Grundfos Pumps India Private Limited from its inception till March 2020. Currently he is a director of Strategy Catalysts Pvt. Ltd. which focuses on helping small and medium companies scale. Experienced in managing businesses, including sales, operations, marketing, finance, production and human resources. He is an Independent Director on the boards various companies and is also on the board of Cognizant Foundation and NGOs focused on mental health and primary education. He is a Mechanical Engineer and a Post Graduate in Business Management from XLRI. He has also been the chairman of CII Tamilnadu council, the chairman of the Madras Management Association and the chairman of AEEE. He has also been on the CII national committees on water, skill, manufacturing, sustainability and CSR.

Dr. T.G. Vinay, IAS
Managing Director Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Drainage Board

Dr. T. G. Vinay IAS., is an officer of Indian Administrative Service belonging to 2009 batch. He is a graduate in Medicines and did his MBBS in M.S.Ramaiah Medical College, Bengaluru. He entered into IAS on completion of MBBS with public service as passion, aspiration and mission. He has immense field experience of working as Collector, Dindigul, as Sub-collector, Namakkal, as Additional Collector (DRDA), Karur and as Deputy Commissioner in Greater Chennai Corporation and also as Collector, Ariyalur.

Till about the middle of 19th century, Chennai received water from local shallow wells and tanks. Mr.Fraser, a civil engineer forwarded a proposal to the government to tap the Kortalayar river which is situated about 160 km northwest of Chennai and it was accepted. The project comprised of a masonry weir across Kortalayar at Tamaraipakkam and diverting the water into Cholavaram lake and hence into the Red Hills lake through a channel. The works were completed in 1870 at a cost of about Rs. 18.50 lakhs. In 1872 a Valve House at Red Hills and an earthen Supply channel to supply water to chennai by gravitation was constructed. At Chennai end, the channel delivered water by gravity into a masonry shaft at Kilpauk from which the cast iron mains of the City branched off and a scientifically designed water supply Distribution System was established.

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R. Ambalavanan, IA&AS
Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.

Thiru R.AMBALAVANAN, IA&AS, (1994 Batch Officer). He has held charges as Principal Accountant General (Audit-l), Tamil Nadu from 02.08.2021 to 30.11.2022. Earlier, he held charge as Director General of Commercial Audit & Ex-officio Member, Audit Board, Chennai and as Accountant General (Audit) Odisha, Bhubaneshwar. He served as Director (Personnel) in the office of the CAG of India, New Delhi and was posted as First Secretary & Director of Audit in the High Commission of India, London from 2006 to 2008. He was also on deputation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India as Executive Director, (South Zone) in the Tea Board at Coonoor. He has vast experience in the audit of the UN Missions at New York, Sudan and Rome. He graduated in Agriculture from TNAU, Madurai, obtained Master's degree in Environmental Science from CUSAT, Kochi and Master of Technology in Remote Sensing from College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University, Chennai. Currently holding charges as Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Power Finance Corporation and Tamil Nadu Transport Development Corporation Ltd., Chennai.