Pramod Kapoor
Founder and Publisher, Roli Books
Pramod Kapoor, the founder and publisher of Roli Books (established in 1978), is a connoisseur of images. A sepia aficionado, he has over the course of his illustrious career conceived and produced award-winning books that have proven to be game changers in the world of publishing. Be it the hit ‘Then and Now’ series and the seminal Made for Maharajas, or even the internationally acclaimed Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography and New Delhi: The Making of a Capital.
In 2016, he was conferred with the prestigious Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), the highest civil and military award in France, for his contribution towards producing books that have changed the landscape of Indian publishing.
His first book as author, Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography is the result of years of painstaking research on subject close to his heart. He is currently working on his forthcoming books on Calcutta Then Kolkata Now in the Then & Now series and The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny 1946
Vahid Mehrinfar
The Transformation Maker - The Brand Futurist
A young boy, passionate about cars, and whose sketches at an early age captured the attention and admiration of General Motors USA, and Opel of Germany, Vahid Mehrinfar in pursuit of his dream moved to America. After finishing High School he went on to study at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. There, Vahid was trained as an industrial designer specializing in transportation and product design. Soon, an entrepreneurial spirit and growing ambitions led him to legendary designer and Hollywood futurist Syd Mead (known for classics such as Blade Runner, Tron, Star trek, and many other Science-Fiction films), propelling him into a truly new dimension of creativity. Inspired by Mead’s renditions, Vahid took upon himself a new challenge – to visualize a different reality, embracing the art of near photorealistic visualization of architectural designs in a completely new cognitive framework. As a self-taught magical realism painter, where his virtual predictions have equaled near photographic eventuality, in his early twenties he rapidly earned the status of being one of the most respected Architectural Visualists in the United States serving a broad base of clientele globally. His propensity for envisioning the future into a virtual realism through his designs and magical renditions at a young age soon saw Vahid visualizing the future for some of America’s Fortune 500 companies and some notable public personalities. Citicorp, Gerald D. Hines Interests, Prudential Development, Exxon, the Jacksons (the group), Donald Trump’s shuttle airline (Trump Air) and many more, were amongst the enviable list of clients whom Vahid worked with. In 1990 for love he left America to Bahrain where he had to reinvent his career for the Middle East market, and having accomplished this challenging task, Vahid Mehrinfar through Inspiracia Holdings, along with his other business interests in the field of communications, has served his regional and international clientele in the capacity of a strategic brand building and communications consultant, known as the Brand Futurist.
Revathi Kant
Chief Design Officer, Titan Company Ltd.
Reavthi is a Design & Innovation strategist with over 12years of experience in applying Design Thinking in diverse domains. A marketing veteran, and a multifunctional hybrid thinker, she has the knowledge and experience of transforming insights grounded at the intersection of Business, User benefits and human psychology into innovative strategies and offerings that lead to revenue growth .She is a firm believer of disruption with design and is excited about how design can impact and elevate lives.
She focuses on continuously building Design as a unique and compelling differentiator in the sustainable growth of business. Rallies for the alignment and optimal inclusion of end user’s unmet needs, unspoken wants and un-articulated desires to the core value proposition offered by the portfolio of brands to generate shareholder’s value.
Revathi spends a great deal of time on consumer research, trying to get a feel of the customers' pulse and to understand fashion trends and derive key insights. Integrating Design in business is her key area of focus.
Her special areas of interest are people and their behaviour, metaphysics, spirituality and alternate healing. This has helped her to look at things in a holistic manner and to apply it to her everyday professional life — giving her direction to come up with solutions to various problems.
AMIT GUPTA
Director - STIR | mondo*arc india
Amit Gupta is an entrepreneur who ventured into the world of art, architecture and design in the late 1990s. Having established the first Indian architecture and design gallery, he hosted and curated a series of initiatives to promote these disciplines. In 2004, he launched vis a vis, India’s leading conceptual lighting solutions company, and also went on to founding www.lightandyou.com, the online high street for global lighting solutions.
In 2014, Gupta introduced STIR (See. Think. Inspire. Reflect), a platform for the dissemination of ideas, knowledge and innovations in the field of design and architecture. STIR publishes the design journal, mondo*arc india I STIR, which in the short span of 3 years has become the country's fastest growing design publication and is acclaimed as the ‘well read design magazine’.
Gupta further played the role of an evangelist in 2016 to launch Dextra, an international platform that facilitates collaborations and content generation in the creative fields.
All these initiatives are run as independent business units, thriving due to the relentless passion and drive to making a difference within the creative community of the world.
Manit Rastogi
Founder Partner, Morphogenisis
Graduated from the School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi) and the Architectural Association (London) with Honours (Diploma school) and Distinction (Graduate school) in Energy and Environmental Studies, Manit is the Founder Partner of Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading award-winning Architecture and Urban Design practices based out of New Delhi, India. Morphogenesis has been ranked for 5 years in running among the Top 100 Architectural Design Firms worldwide by Building Design Magazine, UK in WA100, 2016.
Manit is a Fellow of the IIA (Indian Institute of Architects) and the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, UK). Manit has taught at various universities and been a director of the Sushant School of Art and Architecture as well as the Sushant School of Design. He has been a juror on several design and award juries. Manit is a founder member, The GRIHA Council. As a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of GRIHA, India’s own Green rating system, and as member, Resource Persons Group on Environment and Ecology- Lt. Governor’s Secretariat, New Delhi, Manit works with urban policymakers to spearhead initiatives with an emphasis on environmental sensibility and social welfare.
Prof PV Madhusudhan Rao
Head - Department of Design, IIT Delhi
P. V. M. Rao is Mehra Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and present Head of Department of Design at IIT Delhi. As a coordinator of IIT Delhi Innovation Center he oversees multiple initiatives for students in the space of design, innovation and entrepreneurship. His teaching and research interests include product design & manufacturing with a special emphasis on design of medical and assistive devices. He was involved in converting multiple unmet needs into marketable products which include smartcane, Refreshable Braille Device, Tactile Diagrams etc. He also serves as a director on multiple new ventures in the space of medical and assistive devices.
He was a guest researcher to US Government's National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Maryland, USA multiple times. He was visiting scientist to MIT and visiting faculty to Stanford University. He has worked with hundreds of Bachelors, Masters and PhD students and guided their technical projects. He has authored more than 100 research papers international journals and conferences. He has filed more than a dozen patents many of which have been commercialized. He has successfully carried out large number of sponsored research, consultancy, design and innovation projects which were sponsored by DST, MHRD, MeitY, DBT, BHEL, Government of Ethiopia, Boeing, Wellcome Trust (UK), Omidyar Network.
He is a recipient of 2005 Vasvik Industrial Research Award and National Award by Department of Science & Technology to Scientists working on Improving Accessibility for the Disabled for the years 2016 and 2017. He has also served on many research and innovation committees of government of India which include DST, DSIR, DBT, CSIR, BIRAC, MHRD, MeitY, MSME, ministry of social justice and empowerment.
RITU BERI
Fashion Designer & Entrepreneur
RITU BERI 'S name is synonymous with the explosive globalization of India’s fashion industry. A pioneer in her field, Ritu was anointed India's Fashion Queen, two decades ago, when the prima donna stormed the catwalks of Paris with her label, one that fused Indian aesthetics with global fashion trends, just as India began opening its borders to international trade.
Empowered being the protégé of the French embroidery maestro, Francois Lesage, she value- added to that prowess she acquired, with her personal propriety and patent of intellectual and creative capital that she bought to the board- room.
It culminated in Time magazine declaring her “THE FIRST LADY OF FASHION IN HER COUNTRY", Beri being the First Asian to head a French fashion house, Jean Louis Scherrer; and adding to her string of “firsts”, BBC credited her business skills with a resounding headline: "Indian fashion takes a hold in the form of Ritu Beri."
When you attire and define sartorial trends for the likes of Bill Clinton, Nicole Kidman, Prince Charles and Ivana Trump, you've inadvertently entered the International Privy League of Power dressers.
Her creations were objectively evaluated by fashion connoisseurs across the world. Rating, qualifying and quantifying her acumen, Lesage lauded her in his generous accreditation: "Ritu's contemporary expression has given to an Indian tradition of clothes, a mood of the Yves Saint Laurent collection of the eighties." Retro as well as eclectic, signified her versatility as a marquee designer, futuristic and who had leap- frogged ahead of her localized peers.
To acknowledge her path breaking contribution to fashion and design, she was awarded the prestigious French honour, Chevaliere des art et des Lettres, one of the rarest of rare halo's.
Her visage is amongst the most recognizable faces of India in her sphere, being listed amongst the 50 most important people of the country, and counted amongst the galaxy of the Top 15 Women of India. A nominee for the Economic Times Business Woman of the year Award in India, she is noted to be amongst the 20 Best Dressed Celebrity Icons of the country, being voted “Delhi’s Most Stylish’ in a nationwide poll conducted by Hindustan Times. Tag Heuer endorsed her as their ‘Link Lady of India’.
Preeti Vyas
Chairwoman and Founder, VGC
Preeti Vyas, as an independent entrepreneur with humble beginnings in 1997, has steered VGC's Mumbai and Bangalore offices to a top position in India as an independent Design and Communication Consultancy with several international associations including the recent strategic alliance with leading Dutch Agency, Total Identity. According to Economic Times and from the time she began her journey after graduating from the National Institute of Design, Preeti has created some of India’s most Iconic brand stories and redefined the design landscape.
She is counted among 50 most influential women in India according to Impact and Verve magazines, ranked as one of the top creative minds by The Economic Times and named one of the 25 most Powerful Women in Indian business by Business Today.
Perhaps more to the point, what characterises her oeuvre, and impact, whether as the Creative director of Contract or Enterprise, or as the Executive Creative Director of the Trikaya Grey Dream team, or as Founder of VGC, is Preeti' s penchant of breaking everything down to its fundamental truth. From making economic sense with design as a management tool, to business and marketing strategy, Preeti has infused them all with the essence of intelligent design thinking.
Amongst her other achievements, Preeti has been on the jury for D&AD, the New York festivals and the Cannes festival, where she was invited twice. A member of the Indian Design Council, she helps in formulating important design policies for the country. She is also on the advisory councils of ISDI Parsons School of Design, MIT School of Design and on the governing council of NID, Vijayawada.
To sum up, Preeti is a creative mind, an artist and a thinker without boundaries.
She is always willing to explore and experiment and push herself and all around to discover newer and greater dimensions. As they say, she endeavors to always stay hungry & stay foolish.
Sameer Sikka
sameer.sikka@businessworld.in
+91 9873411854
Hoshie Ghaswalla
hoshie@businessworld.in
+91 9811010094
Karishma Naqvi
karishma.naqvi@businessworld.in
+91 9999658263
Afifa Sheikh
afifa@businessworld.in
+91 8860977503