Pradyumna Vyas has more than thirty-six years of professional and teaching experience across different spheres of design. Prior to joining NID, he was associated with Kilkenny Design Centre, Republic of Ireland. In 2011, he was awarded for his outstanding contribution to design education at Asia’s Best School Award, Singapore. He was a jury member at the special awards screening panel at Good Design Award (G- Mark), the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, Japan from 2012-2014 & 2016.

Srini Srinivasan is a highly accomplished designer & entrepreneur in creative design and technology development, with over 25 years of work experience in the Silicon Valley, United States and India. Presently, Srini is the Senator of WDO (World Design Organisation), working with its global members to promote design for a better world.

Dr. Annurag Batra is a Serial Entrepreneur, a Media Mogul, an Author, an Angel Investor, a TV show host, and a full-time dreamer. Dr. Batra is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media group and the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld Media Group. BW Businessworld is in its 42nd year and is one of the most respected business media platforms.

Rahul Kadri is a Partner & Principal Architect at IMK Architects, an architecture and urban design practice founded in 1957 with offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Kadri took over the reins of the practice from his father I. M. Kadri in the 1990s after completing a graduate diploma in architecture from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, USA. Kadri’s work is widely acclaimed with multiple felicitations from the Indian Institute of Architects, an ‘Architect of the Year’ award from the Times Network. and was listed among ‘India’s Top Architects’ at the Construction World and Builder Awards 2020. Most recently, IMK Architects was honoured as the ‘Supreme Winner’ as well as the winner in the ‘Public Building Exterior’ category at the 2021 Surface Design Awards, London.

Akshat Bhatt is the Principal Architect at Architecture Discipline, a New Delhi-based multi-disciplinary design practice he founded in 2007. His work, spanning varied typologies from residential and retail interiors to large-scale public and commercial assignments and spread across the length and breadth of India, highlights the emergence of an architectural expression that is contemporary, yet rooted in a critical understanding of regionalism. The outcome of every commission at Architecture Discipline is determined by a series of design processes, from full scale mock-ups to long-term material investigations, which strive to develop programmatic and technical flexibility. As a result, all buildings are integrated from conceptual framework to tactile experience.

Starting off in 1984, with the Delhi theatre group Chingari, apart from his abiding interest in acting, in films, TV and theatre, Rahul Vohra has a deep understanding of Indian folk and classical arts and of World aesthetics, theatre and cinema. First as founding Co-ordinator of Sarthi, a voluntary group set up to address basic rights of traditional artists and artisans, and since 1999 with his own independent company APOSTROPHE 99, Rahul Vohra has directed productions with troupes of performing artists and crafts persons from all across the country, showcasing their work in various parts of the world including France, Spain, Reunion and Hong Kong.Rahul has acted in many seminal feature films and short films in Hindi, English and in French such as Mira Nair’s Kama Sutra

Darshan believes in inclusive design principles; that all good design should be accessible. She joined Godrej & Boyce's Interio division in 2006, where she was a catalyst in introducing design thinking, by creating and showcasing a diverse range of products under one platform, with a unique design philosophy. She formed the GCPLDesignLab in 2009, and was instrumental in applying design led thinking to transform brands for a rapidly evolving Indian market. This created a great impact and value for consumers across categories, with reinvigorated brands like Expert, aer, Cinthol, Goodknight and BBLUNT. Darshan is a post graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and an alumna of the Harvard Business School’s executive education General Management Programme.

Sumanto is the former chairman & chief creative officer of 82.5 Communications, Ogilvy Group, which he helped launch in 2019. Earlier, he was the executive creative director, South Asia, Ogilvy. Sumanto has built brands like Dove, Pond’s and Star Plus, successfully relaunched UTI Bank as Axis Bank and helped launch brands like Pro Kabaddi, Maharashtra Tourism and The Economist.
Sumanto has won advertising awards at Cannes, the Clios, the One Show, the London Festival, the Abbies and Kyoorius.
Sumanto is also an actor and model.

Raj is the Chief Creative Officer of the Leo Group across South Asia looking after 7 offices across 4 countries.
Over a career spanning 17 years, Raj has won many awards across several categories, including more than 20 Cannes Lions. The latest additions to his shelf include a Cannes Innovation Silver for HP Lubricants - Roads that Honk and a Cannes Creative Effectiveness Gold for Bajaj V -The Nation's Bike.

Nandita Das has acted in 40 films in 10 languages. She has directed 3 well-acclaimed films, Firaaq (2008), Manto (2018) and Zwigato (2023). She has served twice as a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival among others. She is a strong advocate for issues of social justice. In 2016, she founded ‘Nandita Das Initiatives', a creative platform which also produced her feature films Manto and Zwigato.

This award winning director is known for his exceptional talent in crafting compelling stories that leave a lasting impact on viewers. Khan is best known for his films that focus on social issues and patriotism, such as "New York" (2009), "Ek Tha Tiger" (2012), and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" (2015), which became one of the highest-grossing Indian films.

Pallavi started her career at Infosys, went on to work at Piramal Healthcare and then started her company SuperBottoms in 2016. The inspiration for SuperBottoms was the fact that as a young mother she was looking for suitable alternative to the disposable diapers available in the market. SuperBottoms is a sustainable mom and baby essentials brand that offers high-performance, skin-friendly, sustainable and cost-efficient cloth diapers in India. It is a digital-first brand, a new concept in a space dominated by large players.

Himani Mehta Dehlvi is a costume designer for film and theatre for the past 20 years. She has worked on films like Bhopal Express, Monsoon Wedding, Bourne Supremacy, Dance like a Man, Outsourced and recently No Fathers in Kashmir and The Sweet Requiem. The play, Much Ado about Nothing at the Royal Shakespeare company was also designed by Himani. She is passionate about indian textiles and photography.

Pernia Qureshi is one of India’s leading style icons and fashion entrepreneurs. A stylist with Harper’s Bazaar, Elle & Conde Nast in New York & New Delhi. Pernia has also ventured into designing costumes for Bollywood, namely the film ‘Aisha’. She has also represented some of the finest brands on social media like BMW, Levis, Chivas, Birdichand, Biotique etc She created and launched Pernia’s Pop-up Shop in 2012, India’s first true fashion e-commerce website that showcases over 500 designers, and delivers worldwide. Pernia launched Gur, a 100 percent sustainable clothing line in 2019. Gur is Qureshi’s endeavour, resolute at producing high-grade garments stemmed from forest friendly fibers. The motive here is a radical overhaul of the existing use of plastic, elastic and non-biodegradable trims.

Starting off in 1984, with the Delhi theatre group Chingari, apart from his abiding interest in acting, in films, TV and theatre, Rahul Vohra has a deep understanding of Indian folk and classical arts and of World aesthetics, theatre and cinema. First as founding Co-ordinator of Sarthi, a voluntary group set up to address basic rights of traditional artists and artisans, and since 1999 with his own independent company APOSTROPHE 99, Rahul Vohra has directed productions with troupes of performing artists and crafts persons from all across the country, showcasing their work in various parts of the world including France, Spain, Reunion and Hong Kong.Rahul has acted in many seminal feature films and short films in Hindi, English and in French such as Mira Nair’s Kama Sutra.

Anuj Sharma has come up with a unique method to construct clothes without machines, tools, or stitching techniques. Come and experience firsthand the simple joinery system, which replaces sewing from clothing or home furnishing. It is a technique that involves only buttons and rubber bands, a quick construction method, possibly the cheapest in the world, and the greenest for the environment. The Button Masala collection has been a part of the travelling exhibition Connecting Concepts by DutchDFA and also Bliss at the Taiwan Design Expo. Sharma has attended the Fashion Coterie in New York and participated in a show at the Alchemy Festival in London. He was also invited by HCL to speak on unconventional management during World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland.

Sonali Rastogi is the Co-Founding Partner at Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading Architecture and Urban Design practices, and among the top 100 architectural firms globally. Sonali has worked across a diverse canvas ranging from architecture to urban design, landscape, interior design, and art & sculpture. Her professional portfolio includes several significant institutions, select residences, hotels, commercial buildings, residential complexes, and Smart Cities across India, Bhutan, South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, The UAE, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. She is the recipient of over 110 international and national awards, including India's first World Architecture Festival award.

Mitu Mathur is an accomplished architect and urban designer with extensive experience in designing public & institutional, master planning and housing projects. As the Director of GPMA, she has been steering the firm’s growth since 2006, exemplifying its collaborative and interdisciplinary approach towards architecture and planning. Her work is guided by the philosophy — People, Process and Passion. She also leads the Design Research team at GPMA, focusing on the evolution and sustainable design of Indian cities. With a vision to promote housing for all, she is leading landmark projects like Netaji Nagar and Sarojini Nagar Redevelopment in Delhi.

Amit Khanna is an architect, urbanist and educator. The work of his firm integrates architecture, construction and sustainability, producing award winning and globally recognised buildings. He is a widely published author and photographer, and his special focus is on the transformation of cities. He was trained at SPA & Oxford.

Darshan believes in inclusive design principles; that all good design should be accessible. She joined Godrej & Boyce's Interio division in 2006, where she was a catalyst in introducing design thinking, by creating and showcasing a diverse range of products under one platform, with a unique design philosophy. She formed the GCPLDesignLab in 2009, and was instrumental in applying design led thinking to transform brands for a rapidly evolving Indian market. This created a great impact and value for consumers across categories, with reinvigorated brands like Expert, aer, Cinthol, Goodknight and BBLUNT. Darshan is a post graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and an alumna of the Harvard Business School’s executive education General Management Programme.

The creative force behind the brand, Pearl Uppal inherited her mother Kulbir’s deep passion for Indian needle crafts, love for custom made and uncompromising approach to quality. Academically inclined towards science and technology, Pearl pursued a bachelor’s in engineering from Delhi college of engineering and master’s in technology management from IIT, thereafter making a flourishing career in the internet industry. There too, her interest in fashion did not stay away for long and she actively started work in the crossings of fashion, tech and retail. She founded and invested in fashion tech startups and the journey came a full circle when she re-joined hands with her mother to seed Talking Threads in end of 2013. In a short span of 6 years, by 2019, Talking Threads created and served a discerning clientele in over 70 countries.

Rahul Kadri is a Partner & Principal Architect at IMK Architects, an architecture and urban design practice founded in 1957 with offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Kadri took over the reins of the practice from his father I. M. Kadri in the 1990s after completing a graduate diploma in architecture from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, USA. Kadri’s work is widely acclaimed with multiple felicitations from the Indian Institute of Architects, an ‘Architect of the Year’ award from the Times Network. and was listed among ‘India’s Top Architects’ at the Construction World and Builder Awards 2020. Most recently, IMK Architects was honoured as the ‘Supreme Winner’ as well as the winner in the ‘Public Building Exterior’ category at the 2021 Surface Design Awards, London.

Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani is the Co-Founder, and Managing Director, at Hiranandani Group. He has also recently established a new business vertical "Hiranandani Communities". The globally renowned Developer is accredited with the title of Man behind redefining the skyline of Mumbai. He is truly conferred as Realty Czar of Indian Real Estate. The first-generation entrepreneur legend was born in 1950 in the family of a Padma Bhushan ENT specialist Dr. L. H. Hiranandani. An ingenious scholar from the Campion School Mumbai and a Graduate from Mumbai University. He completed his F.C.A. from the Institute of Charted Accountants of India. The visionary gentleman has earned the doctorate degree after performing his research on Real Estate.

Siddhartha is a designer, cultural strategist and a teacher. Das has led or collaborated on over 100 projects across the world on different aspects of strategy, curation and design. He has worked on cultural institutions, museum complexes, thematic exhibitions; art projects and installations; and livelihood programmes rooted in crafts communities. He has worked with over 3,000 craftspeople in 15 states of India. Das is a Charles Wallace, Nehru Trust and an Asia Society Fellow, and has received various international fellowships for study tours across the World. He was awarded the British Council’s International Young Design Entrepreneur. Some of the Studio’s projects include: adapting the 240 year-old SMS Townhall, Jaipur as the Rajasthan Heritage Museum; Interpretation Centre for the 210-year old Former British Residency, Hyderabad and many more.

James Wellwood, a former professional rugby player with the London Wasps, is a Cambridge graduate who has experience in emerging market business development within the investment industry. After spending over a decade and gaining valuable experience in the investment industry, Wellwood pivoted to fashion and became a founding member at Urbanic. With the help of robust supply chain technology and design creativity, he envisioned building a premium fashion brand of this age. Urbanic's vision is to bring creativity and technology to emerging market consumers with the best fashion by creating new rules, breaking stereotypes, and challenging the status quo.

Pradyumna Vyas has more than thirty-six years of professional and teaching experience across different spheres of design. Prior to joining NID, he was associated with Kilkenny Design Centre, Republic of Ireland. In 2011, he was awarded for his outstanding contribution to design education at Asia’s Best School Award, Singapore. He was a jury member at the special awards screening panel at Good Design Award (G- Mark), the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, Japan from 2012-2014 & 2016.

Sharad Agarwal is an accomplished business leader with over two decades of rich experience in the industry. His expertise is strategic planning, leadership, business development, and team building. He is known for his strategic thinking, business acumen, and passion for the automotive industry. Currently, as the Head of Lamborghini India, he is responsible for overseeing the brand operations in India. He has been instrumental in enhancing Lamborghini’s positioning, expanding its footprint, and driving future growth for the brand in the Indian market.

Reza Kabul, known as the pioneer of high-rise architecture in India, is a revered name in the Indian Architecture & Design fraternity. With 34 years of expertise in the industry, ARK Reza Kabul Architects has a proven track-record in project design from inception to execution ranging from master plans and townships, to hospitality, residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, and educational segments. His projects range from hospitality giants such as the Taj Group of Hotels, properties by Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton; to key real estate players such as Kanakia Group, Crescent Developers, Ekta World, and Seth Creators; amongst several. With an ancillary studio based off the US west coast in San Francisco,