EPACK Group Strengthens Leadership with Appointment of Narayan Lodha as Executive Director and Group CFO

EPACK Group, a rapidly growing Indian conglomerate with diversified operations across consumer durables, prefabricated construction, EPS-based packaging solutions, and petrochemicals, has announced the appointment of Mr. Narayan Lodha as its Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately.

Mr. Narayan Lodha

With over 25 years of leadership experience, Mr. Lodha is a seasoned finance professional known for his deep expertise in corporate finance, capital markets and strategic planning. In his new role, he will be responsible for shaping and executing EPACK Group’s financial strategy, driving fiscal discipline and strengthening governance and compliance frameworks across all business verticals.

A qualified Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary, Mr. Lodha has a proven track record of leading large-scale IPOs, private equity placements and debt fundraising. His leadership experience spans India’s renewable energy, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, with a strong focus on capital efficiency, stakeholder alignment and long-term value creation. Prior to joining EPACK Group, he has held senior leadership roles at reputed organizations such as Vikram Solar, Inox Wind, Ravindra Energy, and Indian Energy Exchange, where he played key roles in steering financial strategies, executing capital raises, and driving business turnarounds.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Bajrang Bothra, Group Chairman and Whole-Time Director, EPACK Group, said, "We are delighted to welcome Narayan to the EPACK family. His depth of experience in financial strategy and capital markets will be invaluable as we embark on our next phase of accelerated growth. His leadership will help us stay agile, resilient, and aligned with our long-term vision."

On taking up his new role, Mr. Narayan Lodha said, "I am excited to join EPACK Group at such a dynamic time in its journey. The Group has built a solid reputation for innovation, agility, and operational excellence. I look forward to working closely with the leadership team to strengthen our financial systems, support strategic growth, and create long-term value for all stakeholders."

Mr. Lodha’s appointment comes at a defining moment for EPACK Group, as the company builds on strong year-on-year growth and advances its long-term expansion plans. With EPACK Durable already listed and EPACK Prefab Technologies having filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in preparation for a planned IPO, the Group is poised for a significant leap forward. Mr. Lodha’s leadership will be key in strengthening the Group’s financial framework, guiding strategic capital deployment and driving sustainable value creation.

Leader in Regulatory Compliance ‘Aparajitha’ Gets New CTO; Eyes Transition from Services To Product-based Model

Dr Venu Murthy

Aparajitha, a prominent player providing tech-driven compliance solutions, has appointed Dr. Venu Murthy as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The move reflects the company's efforts to strengthen its technology leadership and drive innovation in a competitive market.

As the CTO, Dr. Murthy aims to guide Aparajitha’s shift from a services-oriented to a product-centric model, particularly in the realm of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) solutions.

Dr. Murthy has previously essayed pivotal roles in multinational corporations such as ThoughtWorks, Unisys, IBM, and Infosys. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and has also authored several research papers.

“We are glad to welcome Dr. Murthy. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge in technology strategy, cloud computing, enterprise architecture, data analytics, cybersecurity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. We are confident that his expertise will help Aparajitha turn into a one billion dollar entity in the next five years,” Aparajitha’s Managing Director Nagaraj Krishnan said.

“I am honoured to join Aparajitha and look forward to leveraging my experience to drive innovation and propel the company to new heights in the ever-evolving technology landscape," Dr. Murthy said.

Aparajitha is an industry leader in providing tech-driven labour, industrial, and financial compliance solutions. Its domain-specific services are crafted to assist businesses with the necessary licenses, registrations, and compliance management under various domains. Some of Aparajitha’s clients include Amazon, Google, Oracle, HSBC, HDFC Life, Airtel, Boeing, JP Morgan, Samsung, Shell and Sony.

For more information, please visit: https://aparajitha.com/

Kore.ai Appoints Former Citigroup International CIO as President and COO to Lead Global Operations

DK Sharma leverages expertise in core modernization and digital transformation for large-scale initiatives to the conversational AI leader

Kore.ai, the world’s leading enterprise conversational and generative AI platform and solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Devendra Kumar (DK) Sharma as president and chief operating officer (COO). As COO, he is leading Kore.ai's Go-to-Market functions, revenue growth, client success, strategy and cross-functional collaboration while driving overall operational excellence.

D K Sharma

DK brings 30 years of experience and an outstanding reputation as a pioneer in the technology and financial services space to the Kore.ai executive leadership team. Throughout his career, he has held diverse executive leadership roles within various global organizations and startups, including Citigroup International, and was on Kore.ai's board of directors for several years.

“Enterprise AI will increasingly shape the future of global organizations,” said Raj Koneru, CEO and founder of Kore.ai. “DK Sharma brings a wealth of experience in spearheading large-scale transformation through modernization and digitization. We believe his operational expertise will advance our product development efforts while scaling our global growth.”

Kore.ai has seen a record 130% increase in revenues and the addition of large marquee customers across key verticals in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. To ensure deeper market penetration, the company is actively enlisting additional channel partners across North America, EMEA, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

“Kore.ai’s powerful and unique combination of undisputed product leadership and strategic relevance in an emerging technology space positions it for market success,” said DK Sharma. “I could not be more excited to join Kore.ai’s great team, which fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, diversity, and respect. With such a strong foundation, I am eager to contribute to the company's continued growth and achievements.”

With its “better together” strategy, Kore.ai is pioneering the new approach of leveraging generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to help enterprises adopt this disruptive technology safely and securely. Last month, Kore.ai announced a new partner program to bolster the support it provides to its indirect sales channel by creating a new tiered structure for partners and solution providers. The company also committed significant investments for each partner covering go-to-market, enablement and marketing support while providing additional resources.

Kore.ai has over 400 customers, and automates at least a billion interactions every year through its enterprise AI platform and solutions. To date, the company has successfully delivered more than $1 billion in cost savings to global enterprise customers. Around 200 million consumers and 2 million enterprise users currently leverage Kore.ai’s solutions to improve customer, employee and contact center agent experiences for optimized business outcomes.

About Kore.ai

Kore.ai is a global leader in the conversational AI-first platform and solutions, helping enterprises automate business interactions to deliver extraordinary experiences for their customers, employees, and contact center agents. More than 400 Fortune 2000 companies trust Kore.ai’s experience optimization (XO) platform and technology to automate their business interactions for over 200 million users worldwide to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Kore.ai has been recognized as a leader and an innovator by top analysts and ensures the success of its customers through a growing team headquartered in Orlando with offices in India, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Visit Kore.ai to learn more.

BharatPe Group Appoints Pankaj Goel as CTO

Pankaj is a seasoned engineering leader with close to 3 decades of experience

Prior to joining BharatPe, Pankaj was the Head of Payments Engineering at Razorpay

BharatPe Group, India’s leading name in the fintech ecosystem, has announced the appointment of Pankaj Goel as the Chief Technology Officer. Pankaj is a seasoned engineering leader with nearly three decades of experience in technology and engineering roles. Prior to joining BharatPe, Pankaj was the Head of Payments Engineering at Razorpay. Pankaj will be reporting to Nalin Negi, Chief Financial Officer and interim CEO, BharatPe. Pankaj will be leading the technology team at BharatPe Group and spearheading the technology and innovation strategy across the Group of companies.

During his career, Pankaj has demonstrated a remarkable ability to build and manage technology functions at scale, catering to consumers, as well as enterprises of varied sizes. Pankaj's expertise lies in the fintech domain, where he possesses deep engineering knowledge and significant industry experience. In his last stint at Razorpay where he spent 4.5 years, Pankaj established a robust engineering organization that achieved remarkable growth, supporting the company's expansion from $1 billion to $100 billion TPV. Prior to Razorpay, Pankaj held leadership positions at renowned companies such as Intuit, Trilogy, and Sun Microsystems. Pankaj holds a Bachelors of Technology degree in Electronics and Communications from National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Additionally, he also pursued Executive MBA in General Management from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Pankaj also recently completed a PG program in cloud computing from the University of Texas.

Commenting on the appointment, Nalin Negi, CFO and interim CEO, BharatPe said, "Technology is the backbone of our business and we stand committed to innovate and build disruptive fintech products that are market-first and relevant, as we expand our footprint to newer domains. With a seasoned engineering leader like Pankaj joining the team, we are confident that we will be able to build best-in-class fintech products that will further enable the next level of growth for the BharatPe Group of Companies. Pankaj’s phenomenal work during his rich career of close to 30 years is a testament of his strategic vision, managerial acumen, and ability to drive business growth through technology. I welcome Pankaj to the leadership team and look forward to working with him to build new-age products for millions of merchants and consumers. I am confident that under his able leadership, we will build the best technology team in Indian fintech ecosystem.”

Pankaj Goel, Chief Technology Officer, BharatPe Group, added, “Since its inception, BharatPe has leveraged technology to build disruptive and first-of-its-kind of products that have empowered millions of businesses across the country- from India’s first interoperable UPI QR with zero transaction fees, to its 100% digital lending product. The company has also made a mark in the consumer fintech space with postpe which was a great success from its early days. I am thrilled to be a part of BharatPe Group, as it focusses on building a portfolio of fintech products for a wider set of merchants and consumers. As digital becomes more mainstream, I believe there is a huge opportunity for fintech companies to enable the next level of growth story for merchants as well as make an impactful contribution to the overall India growth story. I am hoping that we will deliver impactful solutions that will enable us to not only solve existing problems, but also help us stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving fintech landscape.”

About BharatPe Group

BharatPe was founded in 2018 to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. In 2018, BharatPe launched India’s first UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero MDR payment acceptance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched a card acceptance terminal – BharatSwipe. Currently serving 1 crore merchants across 400+ cities, the company is a leader in UPI offline transactions, processing 300 million+ UPI transactions per month (annualized Transaction Processed Value of over US$ 24 Bn in payments). The company has already facilitated the disbursement of loans totaling INR 100B+. BharatPe’s POS business processes payments of over US$ 3.5 bn annually on its machines. BharatPe has raised over US$ 583 million in equity till date. The company’s list of marquee investors includes Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital, Beenext, Amplo, and Sequoia Capital. In June 2021, the company announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India (Rebranded to Zillion), the country’s largest multi-brand loyalty program company with 100 million+ members. In October 2021, the consortium of Centrum Financial Services Limited (Centrum) and BharatPe, was issued a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). BharatPe also entered the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) segment with the launch of postpe in October 2021. postpe has over 8 million downloads and an annualized TPV of close to INR 50B+. In January 2023, BharatPe Group received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. Recently, the company announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Trillion Loans, a renowned NBFC (Non- Banking Financial Company). 

Ajay Chitkara to Join Ecom Express as MD & CEO

Ajay to assume responsibilities from 1st September, 2023

Ecom Express Limited, a leading end-to-end technology-enabled logistics solutions provider to eCommerce industry backed by marquee private equity investors Partners Group, Warburg Pincus and British International Investment, has announced that Mr. Ajay Chitkara will join as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Ajay currently serves as Director & CEO of Bharti Airtel's enterprise arm, Airtel Business and will assume responsibilities at Ecom Express from 1st September, 2023. He will report to the Board of Directors of the Company.

Ajay is a senior business leader with over two decades of proven track record. He has led and delivered significant portfolio and organization change at Airtel Business transforming it into India’s largest enterprise technology company. He also serves on the boards of Nxtra by Airtel, Hughes Communication and Network i2i. Ajay began his career in sales at Comsat Max Limited before joining Airtel in 2001.

Announcing the appointment, Chairperson at Ecom Express, V. Anantharaman said; “We look forward to welcoming Ajay as our new CEO. Ajay comes with extensive enterprise experience from Airtel where he has demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic capabilities. The Board wishes him well and looks forward to Ajay scaling Ecom Express further and delivering long-term value for all its stakeholders.”

Ecom Express co-founders T. A. Krishnan, Manju Dhawan and K. Satyanarayana added; “We are excited to welcome Ajay to Ecom Express and look forward to working with him as he leads the business to the next levels. Ajay has tremendous experience and proven track record in scaling enterprise business and we look forward to his participation and contributions as the company scales to serve the growing needs of Indian e-commerce and beyond.”

Ajay said: “I am excited to become a part of the Ecom Express family. It is a great moment to be a part of this business and to be working with its customers, the world-class team, the board and investors, with a common goal of creating India’s most trusted and respected logistics solutions provider for the e-commerce industry. I look forward to building further on the strong foundation of Ecom Express established over a decade, to achieve new milestones, and deliver customer delight.”

About Ecom Express:

Ecom Express Limited has its presence in all 28 states of the country and operates in over 2,700+ towns across 27,000+ PIN-codes covering 95%+ of India’s population. Ecom Express has over 50,000 employees across 3,000+ delivery centers and over 7 million sq.ft. of express processing & hub infrastructure and fulfillment center space.

For more information, please visit: https://ecomexpress.in/

Electric Motorcycle Maker Tork Motors Expands Leadership Team; Onboards VP - Sales and Network Development

• Mr. Sanjiv Verma joins Tork Motors as VP – Sales and Network
• Mr. Sanjiv Verma has been associated with prominent consumer brands across automotive, telecom and banking sector

India’s first electric motorcycle maker, Tork Motors has strengthened its leadership team through inclusion of Mr. Sanjiv Verma for Sales and Network development. Mr. Verma will hold the position of VP – Sales and Network at Tork Motors and will be responsible for expanding brand’s reach to newer geographies.

Mr. Sanjiv Verma, VP – Sales and Network, Tork Motors 

On the appointment, Mr. Kapil Shelke, Founder & CEO, Tork Motors, said, “We are happy to welcome Sanjiv  Sanjiv Verma for Sales and Network development at the growing Tork Motors’ family. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in network and high-performance markets, coupled with strategic leadership skills. Sanjiv’s extraordinary track record of business growth and development is the perfect combination we need to drive our strategy in Indian market. As we gear up to open touchpoints in seven cities, by the end of financial year, I am confident that Sanjiv will continue play a larger role in making the brand accessible to our valuable customers in existing and newer locations.”

Mr. Verma has 18 years of rich experience of new business development, network expansion of primary and secondary wholesale and retail dealer development with well-rounded experience comprising of enterprise sales across key cities of India. He joins Tork Motors from Greaves Electric Mobility (Ampere), where he was responsible for leading the dealer development in the country and was also a business head for Northern territory. Throughout his career, Mr. Verma has been associated with prominent consumer brands across automotive, telecom and banking sector at diverse geographic locations in the country.

About Tork Motors Pvt. Ltd.

Tork Motors is India’s first electric motorcycle manufacturer, registered in the year 2006. The brand has a rich and glorious legacy of racing at the ‘Isle of Man and is backed by the Bharat Forge group. Kapil Shelke, the founder of Tork Motors has leveraged his racing experience in making the brand India’s top electric vehicle manufacturer. Tork Motors has filed more than 50 patents and designs under IPR (Intellectual Property Rights bolstering its R&D and cutting-edge technology since its inception. To know more about the company, visit www.torkmotors.com

PrepInsta Appoints Vaibhav Jain as Its New Chief of Staff - Marketing and Strategy

PrepInsta, India’s most popular and visited placement website, has announced the appointment of Vaibhav Jain as its new Chief of Staff- Marketing and Strategy. Vaibhav brings an industry experience in Content Management, Marketing and Production to his new role at PrepInsta. Taking on his new part, he would be responsible for fueling PrepInsta’s subscription growth among first and second-year students. He will also carve out the target audience's placement approach to widen their horizon. Vaibhav will also look into adding several new courses to the platform t8o help first and second-year students from non-CS IT backgrounds stay up to date on the latest technologies and innovations.

With a degree in B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering, Vaibhav previously worked as a Technical Content Intern and Technical Content Lead at PrepInsta, where he helped the company establish a technical team vertical and increase growth and revenue through performance marketing. He has contributed to the brand's growth over the period and now takes on new responsibilities to enable other facets.

Atulya Kaushik, Co-Founder, and CEO, PrepInsta, said, “Marketing and strategy are two significant variables that affect a company’s growth and development. Our responsibility to our stakeholders and our promise to facilitate the best service possible can only be realised through a strong strategy and marketing. Vaibhav’s broad experience in marketing and consulting will not only supplement this critical business vertical but will also aid in strengthening our offerings which surely will add value to our business. I wish Vaibhav the best in his new position.”

“I started at PrepInsta as an intern in the content team 3.5 years ago and have come a long way with my sheer dedication and hard work. It’s exhilarating to be a part of PrepInsta as it continues to grow in the Ed-tech industry. The company’s steady evolution trajectory, from humble beginnings to becoming a robust technology-equipped upskilling platform, is truly impressive. I envision PrepInsta as one of the top Ed-tech firms in India, and I am excited to contribute to this growth and make the experience in the organisation as enriching as possible,” said, Vaibhav Jain, Chief of Staff- Marketing and Strategy, PrepInsta.

PrepInsta is a one-stop placement destination, with the primary goal of addressing India’s current disparity in job prospects. PrepInsta, through its product PrepInsta Prime, trains students in the entire process of placement preparation, skill development, coding learning, and interview prepping. PrepInsta offers 200+ courses which increase the chance of students getting a high-paying job. Any interested student can enrol by subscribing to Prepinsta Prime, and gain access to courses such as AI/ Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Coding courses in C/C++, Competitive Coding, Ethical Hacking, Cyber Security, Python, and DSA. PrepInsta also recently announced the addition of new courses to its Prime module. The new courses include FAANG placement preparation, service-based company placement, web development, data analytics, Power BI, and Salesforce.

About PrepInsta

Founded in 2016, in the dorm room of VIT Vellore, PrepInsta is a one-stop destination for placement and the fundamental aim of the company is to resolve the existing imbalance of career opportunities in India. The Ed-tech firm helps students with end-to-end placement preparation, skill-building, learning to code, and also the key to every successful job which is – interview preparation. PrepInsta strives to address the skill gap issue in India by providing skill-based learning through its product PrepInsta Prime which enables students to get placed in their dream company.

Incepted by the three friends who are now its co-founders- Atulya Kaushik, Aashay Mishra, and Manish Agarwal had a similar vision to make the entire process of placement easy, accessible, and inclusive for all. The company currently has two offices, one in Noida and the other in Bengaluru.

Ninjacart Appoints Paul Varghese as Head of Its Reseller Platform

Ninjacart, India's leading agri-startup that leverages technology and data to organize the Indian agriculture ecosystem, announced the appointment of Paul Varghese as Head of its Reseller Platform effective October 6, 2022.

The appointment comes as a part of Ninjacart’s continued focus on strengthening both Ninjacart’s Fulfillment and Platform businesses. As Ninjacart's Reseller platform leader, Paul will contribute to the development of the company's strategy, GTM, teams, and execution capabilities.

A post-graduate from IIM Calcutta, Paul Varghese brings in an experience of over two decades of expertise in sales, marketing, and building the business domain. Paul has previously worked for Swiggy, Reckitt, and Procter & Gamble. At Swiggy he led restaurant partner relationships for the food marketplace business as well as cloud kitchen and brandworks business lines. At Reckitt and P&G he has worked extensively with growing brand penetration and driving channel engagement to expand the business network.

Commenting on the appointment, Kartheeswaran K K, COO & Co-Founder of Ninjacart said, “I am absolutely excited to welcome Paul on board. I am confident Ninjacart will thrive under his leadership due to his track record of success and expertise. Paul's vast experience and leadership will enhance our collective passion as we invest in Ninjacart's vision of becoming India’s largest agri platform."

About Ninjacart:

Ninjacart is India's leading agri-platform, which leverages technology and data to organize the agri commerce ecosystem. Ninjacart aims to be the digital plumbing network for global agri commerce that solves structural problems such as information asymmetry, payment hassles, distribution inefficiency, and discovering new buyers and sellers with tech-first solutions. Today, Ninjacart operates in 150+ markets across multiple agri commodities. To know more, please visit www.ninjacart.com.

Wow! Momo strengthens its founding team, elevates its CMO Muralikrishnan as Co-Founder

• Murali joined Wow! Momo as the Chief Branding officer in 2018 and later elevated to CMO.
• From playing a pivotal role in creating the omni-channel to nurturing the delivery business exponentially, Murali has been the 4th pillar to the existing 3-member founding team.
• Muralikrishnan to part of the board of directors with this development. 

Wow! Momo Foods that operates with 3 Brands; Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken, elevates CMO Muralikrishnan as Co-founder. With this development, Murali also became part of the company's board. 

Muralikrishnan as Co-Founder

Murali has been associated with Wow! Momo since inception; however officially joined the founders in the year 2018. Murali began by leading the store-level growth hacking to brand development and was later named as the group’s CMO.

Murali has been a key pillar in building the Delivery and Omni-Channel verticals of the brand; he also set up the entire martech stack, a strong communication platform, intra-tech initiatives and an in-house 360-degree marcom suite. Murali has also been the crucial catalyst in launching the FMCG vertical & other QSR Brands Wow! China and Wow! Chicken.

“I have known Murali for half of my life now; he has a rich advertising background and his storytelling experience is unmatched today & handling his experience in brands, both from start-ups to national and international brands has added a strong versatility in his approach. He brings a strong consumer perspective to the table, which is the need of the hour for us as we are growing over a 100% CAGR. As he puts it; He is not only our CMO he is our Chief Relevance officer. As a progressive company, we feel we need to share the wealth to make wealth; that’s what our philosophy has always been,” said Sagar Daryani, CEO & Co-Founder of Wow! Momo.

Launched in August 2008, the multi-billion-rupee QSR chain currently has over 500 outlets in 25 Indian cities; aims to enter over 100 cities soon. The brand also intends to fortify its FMCG vertical; its has recently hired a CEO for the FMCG vertical and is looking to strengthen its team from ecom to modern retail. Currently serving variants of RTE momos; intends to enter cuppa noodles, sauces and other RTE Indian & oriental snack segments by Q2 FY23.

Last month, Wow! Momo had raised INR 125 Crores at a staggering valuation of INR 2125 Crores. Wow! Momo has successfully created a category and converted a small road-side snack into a formidable national brand across the country; similarly with Wow! China its redefining Desi Chinese taking it to the Pan-India audience and the recently launched Wow! Chicken aims at Indianizing fried & grilled chicken in the country.

Somaiya Vidyavihar University Announces Appointment of Prof. Mayur Yergeri as Director of SIRAC & Dean, Research

A highly-accomplished academician, he has been a guide to M. Pharm, PhD and PostDoc students

Somaiya Vidyavihar University is delighted to announce the appointment of Prof. Mayur Yergeri as the Director of Somaiya Institute for Research and Consultancy (SIRAC) & Dean, Research. He will be overseeing all research and academic programs at SIRAC.

Prof. Mayur Yergeri

Prof. Yergeri comes with 27 years of experience in Academia and Industry as Professor, Principal and Associate Dean. He has a background in Pharmacy, with a B. Pharm and M. Pharm in Medicinal Chemistry. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from The University of Mysore and Postdoc from VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

He was awarded with the CSIR-SRF, BOYSCAST Fellowship from DST, DST Young Scientist, and the DHR Foreign Fellowship by the Government of India. In addition, he has received research grants from DST, SERB, UGC, ICMR, DBT and DHR of more than INR 30 Million. In addition, he has filed two patents, and published more than 50 publications in international journals. Prof. Yergeri has been a guide to more than 40 M. Pharm, 6 PhD and Postdoc students till date. He has been a speaker across the globe on the subject of Drug Resistance in Cancer Cells. His commitment to cancer research has also lent to policy making with the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Speaking on the latest appointment, Prof V N Rajashekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor , Somaiya Vidyavihar University, said, “We are pleased to welcome Prof. Mayur Yergeri, who comes with an exceptional career in the field of education, to the Somaiya family. His industry expertise, edu-centric mindset, and organisational leadership experience makes him the best-suited person for the role of Director at SIRAC & Dean, Research. We are confident that he will provide intellectual leadership and support for the faculty and strengthen the culture of genuine collaboration among faculty, administrative leadership, staff and students across different institutes.” 

Prof. Mayur Yegiri, Director, SIRAC said, “I am thrilled to begin this new chapter in my career. It is an honor to be part of a prestigious institution that champions transformation via people, research, academic excellence and technology, underpinned by access and equity. I feel privileged to be associated with SIRAC, and look forward to contributing toward improving interdisciplinary studies and intra-campus activities. "

5ire Onboards Footballing Legend Turned Social and Sustainability Activist Didier Drogba as Advisor

Didier Drogba, Chelsea Legend, and one of the greatest footballers turned social and environmental activists, has joined hands with 5ire, the 5th-generation blockchain network. Founded by visionary entrepreneurs from India, Pratik Gauri, and Prateek Dwivedi, 5ire signs up Drogba as their Business Advisor to work towards a shared vision of pushing the boundaries of sustainability and making this planet a better place.

As an advisor for 5ire, Drogba will leverage his network and the Didier Drogba Foundation to have more corporates and institutions on 5ireChain, the world’s first and only sustainable blockchain.

Former captain of the Ivory Coast national football team and its all-time leading scorer in professional football, Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, is one of the greatest footballers to have graced the sport. He is best known for his time spent playing for Chelsea, where he was chosen by the club's supporters as the best player to ever represent the team. He has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other foreign player and is presently the fourth-highest goal scorer in club history.

Never one to shy away from social issues, Drogba is credited to have famously stalled a civil war in his country, on the day he led the Ivory Coast team to their first-ever berth in the Football World Cup finals. Since then, he has been known to have been actively involved in social causes, receiving an honorary degree in recognition of his contributions. His role in the peace process also earned him a place in the fabled Time magazine list of the top 100 most influential persons in the world in 2010. Having launched the Didier Drogba Foundation , which works towards helping provide better options for improving the lives and future of children, he has been working tirelessly with the vision of creating a better world for future generations.

On this occasion, 5ire's CEO and Founder Pratik Gauri said, "Didier is a footballing legend and a superstar in the truest sense of the term. He is also an incredibly empathetic human being and an agent of change, who cares for this planet and its future. The work he has done over the past decade in bettering the lives of children has been phenomenal. He shares our vision of sustainability and making this planet fit for future generations. We are delighted to have him on board as 5ire’s business advisor and look forward to working with him towards a common goal.”

Speaking on this occasion, Didier Drogba said, “I have been working on social issues for more than a decade, and I have realised how societal and environmental factors are intricately intertwined. This is where I have felt that technology can play a part, to pave the path towards sustainability. My association with 5ire is a natural culmination of my experiences and beliefs and I am thrilled to partner with this cutting-edge brand, helmed by young tech visionaries like Pratik, and Prateek, who are working towards not only revolutionising the way the world does business, but to ultimately make the planet a better place to live in.”

Prateek Dwivedi, Co-Founder, 5ire , added, “Didier is an inspirational leader. Not only is he a legend of the world’s greatest sport, but he also happens to be deeply involved in the betterment of the world around him. His exploits in social and environmental activities, and his constant endeavor to make the world a better place for children and future generations, make him a natural fit for the 5ire ecosystem. We are delighted to have him on board and look forward to changing the world with him.”

The world’s first ever layer 1 sustainable 5th generation blockchain ecosystem, 5ire aims at serving humanity by changing the way the world does business: from a for-profit model to a for-benefit model. With twelve patents pending along with multiple proof-of-benefit consensus that it has built, this July, less than a year since its inception, 5ire became India’s 105th unicorn.

About 5ire

5ire is a blockchain ecosystem that focuses on the widespread adoption of blockchain technology by integrating sustainability, technology, and innovation to build the 5th industrial revolution (5IR). It was founded by blockchain proponents Pratik Gauri and Prateek Dwivedi in August 2021. The mission of 5ire is to increase the adoption of blockchain for worldwide benefit by embedding a for-benefit paradigm at the heart of the blockchain, highly incentivizing practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), facilitating the transition from 4IR to 5IR, and accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The company's primary offering is 5ireChain, a first-layer, sustainability-driven 5th-generation blockchain that ensures adherence to the philosophy of 5IR, creating a net positive impact on the planet and serving humanity.

Zeon Lifesciences Onboards Dr.Vivek Srivastava As Senior Vice President

Aims to expand the company’s Innovation & Scientific Affairs divisions

Zeon Lifesciences, Indian leading manufacturer of nutraceuticals and herbal products announced the onboarding of Dr.Vivek Srivastava as a Senior Vice President- innovation, Business Strategy & Scientific Affairs of the company. Dr. Srivastava has worked at various CXO level roles with several initiatives in the domain of Nutrition & Herbals during his 15 years of expertise in the field of Nutrition & Alternative medicine.

Dr.Vivek pursued his Masters in Alternative Medicine with a specialization in Herbals and Phytonutrients followed by Doctorate in Phytonutrients. He has executed innovative research, product development, and curated practical solutions with claims that are backed by research in the health and wellness industry. He has developed and marketed more than 75 formulations. Dr.Vivek is also a member of MNI (Medical Nutrition Industry) and has been instrumental in representing the food industry to implement food regulation and its harmonization.

Zeon has worked with numerous reputable institutions from all over India to conduct high-quality research, pre-clinical & clinical studies on a variety of products, including NII, New Delhi, CCMB Hyderabad, SRM University, Chennai, Adesh University, Punjab, BITS Pilani, DPSRU, and IIIM, CSIR, Jammu.

Expressing his views on this major announcement, Suresh Garg, MD and Founder, Zeon Lifesciences, stated, "With the guidance of his vast experience and knowledge, I believe that the onboarding of renowned name Like Dr. Vivek Srivastava with his expertise about the Nutrition industry would genuinely help us, especially in Business Strategy and Development, as well as establish a standard for nutraceuticals in India. I’m fully confident that his joining will be a huge success for us.”

Dr. Vivek Srivastava stated “I’m really excited and keenly looking forward to working and associated with Zeon Lifesciences. As we are all aware of that Zeon is already an established and trusted name in the nutraceuticals industry, the company is going with good innovations and growth throughout the years so happy and excited to work ahead, hopefully, will give my best for the business and nutraceuticals industry“

About Zeon Lifesciences

Established in 1987, Zeon Lifesciences Ltd., has become one of the most preferred manufacturing partners for Nutraceutical and Herbal products for major reputed industries across Indian and global territories. The company deals with a wide range of product categories such as Health and Wellness, Vigor and Vitality, Beauty and Wellness, Bone Health, Endurance, and Healthy Weight. A broad spectrum of end-to-end researched-driven products caters to all Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and Kid’s Health, Medical Nutrition, and Weight Management Nutrition. It has advanced its systems and institutions to deliver the absolute highest quality of nutraceutical and supplement products to every client, and at an unmatched value.

Formed by a strong vision of the industry veteran Mr Suresh Garg back in 1987, Zeon is a heritage-rich company that envisions good health for all. Zeon is a leader in finished formulations and quality ingredients with a focus on extensively researched products. It offers a complete bouquet of manufacturing and developmental solutions to meet the ever-changing market demand. Zeon has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Ponta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, which is spread across 28000sq. Yards. The facility is equipped with the latest technology and a DSIR recognized R&D facility dedicated to Gen-next innovation.

The campus has four manufacturing units for dedicated SKU’s like Spray-dried Powder, Dry Blended Powder, Tablets, Capsules, Diskettes, and Liquids. This ensures environmental control for each type of formulation.

UOLO Ropes in Ex Paytm Money Founding Member Mr. Mohit Gupta

Mr. Mohit Gupta

UOLO, an edtech platform that brings high-quality, affordable products to K-12 students via their schools, has announced the appointment of Mohit Gupta as Head of Monetization. In his capacity, Mohit will be responsible for leading business operations to make edtech simple, easy, and accessible to millions of Indian students with UOLO.

Gupta has over 15 years of leadership experience in setting up and growing businesses at scale and has a strong track record in strategy consulting and business management. He was a founding member of Paytm Money and democratized wealth management for the masses. Gupta has also been associated with Hindustan Times, Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo, Deloitte Consulting, and multiple Fortune 500 organizations during his stint at Essex. At Uolo, he will play an important role in the company’s growth by strengthening its revenues without any sales force.

Welcoming Mr. Gupta onboard, Mr. Pallav Pandey, Co-founder and CEO of UOLO, said, “Edtech sales in India are unsustainable given how gullible parents are lured into expensive purchases through loan schemes under a high-pressure sales environment. Our vision at Uolo is to monetize through affordable programs without needing a salesman. Mohit’s deep expertise in building pure digital businesses at Paytm, HindustanTimes, and extensive consulting background makes him an ideal choice for heading Monetization at Uolo.

Commenting on joining UOLO as Head of Monetization, Mr. Gupta said, “I am excited to join UOLO in our mission to democratize the edtech sector with a focus on quality, affordability, and accessibility. The current market offerings are not suitable for more than 85% of the students who are from budget or affordable private schools. We are designing mobile first solutions in partnership with the schools and are on track to build a better India by educating and empowering 20 million students over the next few years.”

About Uolo

Uolo, established in September 2020, brings high-quality yet low-cost edtech offerings to K-12 students in India via their schools. Uolo offers schools, for free, a state-of-the-art mobile app for school-parent communication. Using this app, schools can offer their students high-quality education programs at affordable prices during the after-school hours. As of date, Uolo works with 5,500+ schools and 2.2 million students across the country.

U GRO Capital Appoints Smita Aggarwal as an Additional Independent Director

U GRO Capital, a listed MSME lending fintech platform, today announced the appointment of Ms Smita Aggarwal as Additional Independent Director of the company.

Smita has three decades of experience in finance as a banker, lender, regulator and an investor. She is Global Investments Advisor for Flourish Ventures, a global fintech focussed fund, and leads investments in innovative fintech start-ups that help advance financial health and inclusion in Asia. Smita is on the Fintech Advisory Board of New York University and Global Fintech Fest. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of IIFL Asset Management Company and guest faculty for “Fintech in Emerging Markets” at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

Smita has held leadership positions with noteworthy names such as Omidyar Network, Fullerton India Credit, Reserve Bank of India and ICICI Bank with a successful track record of building businesses from scratch, introducing new products, and driving growth through innovation. She is a rank-holder chartered accountant and has attended executive programs at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management. Listed in “Top 35 Global Women in Fintech Power list”, ‘Top Women in Finance’, “Top 30 Fintech Influencers” and “Women Who Venture” – brings together her high caliber experience and energy to U GRO Capital.

Speaking on the appointment, Mr. Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of U GRO Capital stated, “We are delighted to welcome Ms. Smita Aggarwal to U GRO Capital’s board as an independent director. U GRO has been focusing on Impact & ESG extensively, she has done extensive work around digital financial inclusion space and we are confident that her addition to the Board would sharpen U GRO’s focus in these areas”

Smita Aggarwal said, “I am delighted to join U GRO Capital as an Independent Director and be a part of the company's rapid growth journey. This is an exciting time for U GRO Capital, as it is rapidly approaching its Vision 2025 growth targets and surpassing significant milestones in doing so, which also becomes a source of excitement to me.”

As of 31 December 2021, U GRO Capital’s AUM had risen to Rs. 2,589 crore and its branch network stood at 82. Further it recorded the highest monthly disbursements at Rs. 414 crore in December 2021. Its customer base recently crossed the 16,500 mark. Continuing the momentum, the company has set a vision 2025 of acquiring 1 % market share of the outstanding MSME credit, achieving an AUM of Rs. 20,000 crore and serving 1 million MSME customers.

Binance Hires Ex Microsoft and Agoda Product and Engineering Execs to Bring Web3 to the Masses

Binance, the global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest ecosystem, today announced it has appointed Rohit Wad, former Corporate VP at Microsoft, as its CTO, and Mayur Kamat, former Agoda VP of Product, as Head of Product.

Wad will be responsible for engineering scalable, compliant and fast Web3 services and solutions. He will also be responsible for ensuring the continued security, stability, and liquidity of the exchange while meeting the evolving regulatory compliance requirements across regions where the platform is available. In addition, Wad will focus on significantly expanding the engineering team to accelerate the organization’s progress.

Kamat will lead every aspect of Binance’s product strategy, roadmap and development. He will guide the team to build products that will bring mass adoption to crypto and lower the barrier to entry to Web3 technology. Both Wad and Kamat will focus on making Web3 services more accessible and usable to everyday people and driving innovation within the Binance ecosystem.

"My career has been focused on improving everyday life with the power of technology," said Kamat. “Less than 10 percent of the addressable internet population owns crypto assets. Our goal is to bring the benefits of Web3 technology to the masses by making the product simple enough that anyone in the world can use them, including those who are new to it. I am humbled to play a small part in providing financial freedom and supporting inclusion to billions of people.”

"We are working on many Web3 experiences and solutions that will be transformative to billions of people, starting with the freedom of money," said Wad. "I am excited to be able to bring the amazing advances and potential of Web3 technology to everyone."

Wad joins Binance with over 30 years of experience in engineering and development. Prior to Binance and Microsoft, Wad served as an Engineering Director at Facebook and Google. Wad was one of the key players behind the development of Microsoft Teams and Skype.

Kamat brings to Binance 20 years of experience in tech and product. Previously, Kamat served as the VP of Product at Agoda where he was in charge of the company’s supply, finance and marketplace products. Prior to that, he led product teams at Hiya and Google. Kamat was behind the product team that developed Gmail for mobile, Android for Work, Hangouts, Google Voice, and Windows DRM.

Simpl Appoints Robin as Principal Data Scientist

Simpl, the market leader in 1-tap checkout, today announced the appointment of Robin as Principal Data Scientist. Robin has served as a Lead Scientist - Analytics Science in his previous role at FICO USA.

His new role at Simpl includes creating high-impact Data Science and anti-fraud projects in close coordination with other stakeholders. He will be working as a technical consultant to product managers from different departments.

Robin comes with over 14 years of robust experience in building AI solutions for a range of industries. During his time at FICO, he was instrumental in developing the FICO Cognitive Analytics toolkit using advanced machine learning algorithms. Robin’s areas of expertise include developing anti-fraud solutions for insurance claims, credit cards, and other applications. He has also worked on Clinical Decision Support and Identity Proofing projects.

Commenting on the key appointment, Nitya Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder – Simpl, said, "In the fintech payments industry it is imperative to continuously innovate by deploying new-age technologies. We believe that AI, ML, IoT, blockchain technology, data analytics and other technologies will help us in delivering powerful products and deliver better user experience to customers. And having seasoned technologists will help us to fast track our product development. In this regard, we are excited to on-board Robin as Principal Data Scientist. He will be instrumental in spearheading anti-fraud initiatives at Simpl."

Robin, Principal Data Scientist– Simpl, stated -

I’m thrilled to be a part of Simpl’s journey in innovating the digital payments ecosystem and ensuring consumer data protection. I look forward to design and develop a suit of solutions utilizing advanced machine learning algorithms at Simpl and contribute towards Simpl’s commitment of making payment experience simple, safe, and secure for customers.

Simpl will continue to seek out the best and brightest in the industry in hiring, promotion, and business practices. Simpl is committed to the simplification and democratization of digital transformation in the payments space in India.

Co-founded in 2015 by Nitya Sharma, Simpl is India’s fastest-growing Buy Now, Pay Later platform meant to make payments invisible and money intelligent. Simpl is on a mission to empower merchants to build trusted relationships with customers, one transaction at a time. With more than 10,000 available merchants and 25 million-plus users pan-India, Simpl envisions creating an inclusive digital payments experience for India that empowers and fosters trust between merchants and their customers.

Simpl is the leading Pay-Later platform in India, providing a full-stack solution for e-commerce conversion. It enables merchants to give customers 1-tap  checkout, buyer protection and a pay-later facility to allow them to feel safe and trusted when shopping online. Through Simpl, merchants can provide consumers with an easy, safe and intuitive user experience.

CropIn Announces Three New Executive Leadership Appointments

To lead its new phase of growth and global expansion with a mission of accelerating progress in agri-ecosystem everyday

• Industry veteran Mohit Pande joins as Chief Business Officer to spearhead business expansion across international markets
• Vijay Nelson takes charge as Chief Product Officer to accelerate product innovation and strengthen Cropin’s agri-ecosystem Deep Tech offerings for global markets
• Sujit Janardanan has been named Chief Marketing Officer with a mission to spur market penetration across growth regions

Cropin, a leading global ag-ecosystem intelligence provider, today announced the appointment of three executive leaders in a move to strengthen its leadership team and support the company’s continued growth and execution of its strategic priorities. Mohit Pande joins Cropin as Chief Business Officer, Vijay Nelson as Chief Product Officer, and Sujit Janardanan as Chief Marketing Officer.

After building a successful business model and spearheading an all new ‘Ag-intelligence’ movement for ecosystem players worldwide for over a decade, Cropin is accelerating its journey of building a deep tech organization that is focused on solving some of the toughest challenges and biggest opportunities faced by the agri-ecosystem. The restructuring exercise encompasses redefining the organizational culture, strengthening values, and introducing a host of people-friendly initiatives as the company is expanding its operations across global markets.

Mohit Pande has been named Chief Business Officer. Mohit will be responsible for accelerating Cropin's business operations across global markets. With a customer base spanning 56 countries, Cropin is on an aggressive path to expand its international presence and set-up offices in priority markets across North America, LATAM, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Africa region - apart from India. With 25 years of experience in driving business operations for technology giants such as Google and Microsoft, Mohit was most recently Co-Founder of Linear Squared (now acquired by Algonomy) and previously Country Manager, India for Google Cloud. He will work with Cropin CEO Krishna Kumar and COO Kunal Prasad to spearhead the company’s aggressive business growth globally.

Vijay Nelson has been appointed Chief Product Officer. Vijay will lead product development and platform innovations at Cropin. He will focus on streamlining existing product offerings and build the next generation of Ag-intelligence solutions, tailored for different customer segments. He will also help the company to strengthen its Deep Tech product suite and accelerate the convergence of AI, ML, data science, satellite imagery, and remote sensing to reimagine a truly futuristic tech-enabled agri ecosystem worldwide. Vijay has nearly 20 years of experience as a product leader in leading technology organizations such as Microsoft, Amazon, eMids and Honeywell. His most recent role was at Microsoft where he was the Principal Group Product Manager, heading the Microsoft Outlook products in India.

Sujit Janardanan has been named Chief Marketing Officer. Sujit will focus on enhancing Cropin's brand positioning as the most admired Deep Tech company in the agtech space and spearhead market penetration across growth regions. He will also focus on rebuilding and growing the company’s marketing organization. Sujit has over 2 decades of experience in driving global and regional marketing at technology leaders such as Google, AWS, NTT (Netmagic) and McAfee among many others. Prior to joining Cropin, he was Head of Marketing, India for Google Cloud.

Commenting on the appointments, Krishna Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, Cropin said “I am delighted to welcome Mohit, Vijay and Sujit to the Cropin leadership team. Cropin is gearing up for the next phase of growth and international expansion as we seek to transform the agri ecosystem worldwide. We take great pride in the creation of a global Agtech category while building Cropin since 2010. There has been significant traction for our solutions in the past few years. We strongly believe that this is the right time for us to embark on a new journey to scale our ‘built in India’ Intelligent Ag Cloud platform across global markets. The new appointments will be invaluable additions to our senior management team on this exciting journey.”

About Cropin

Founded in 2010, Cropin is a pioneer in the Agtech space building the first global Intelligent Ag Cloud. Cropin's platform enables various stakeholders in the agri-ecosystem to leverage digitization and AI at scale to make decisions that increase efficiency, scale productivity, and strengthen sustainability. Cropin has worked with 250+ customers and has digitized 16 million acres of farmland, improving the livelihoods of more than 7 million farmers. It has built the world's largest farming data insights over a decade, spearheading a global ‘Ag-intelligence’ movement with a knowledge graph of 488 crops, 10000 crop varieties in 56 countries. With its AI/ML platform tailor-made for the agriculture ecosystem, Cropin has computed 0.2 billion acres of farmland in 12 countries, covering 24 major commodities.

Hero MotoCorp Appoints Digitization and Technology Expert to Accelerate Digital Transformation

Appoints Reema Jain as New Chief Information & Digital Officer

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has further strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of digitization and technology expert, Reema Jain.

Ms. Jain, with nearly two decades of world-class technology and leadership experience, has joined Hero MotoCorp on 1 March 2022 as the new Chief Information & Digital Officer to lead the technology driven business transformation. She will further strengthen the company's initiatives such as IT-related infrastructure, strategic planning, aligning digital strategies including the usage of new-age technologies.

Ms. Jain will directly report to Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO, Hero MotoCorp.

Mike Clarke, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer – Hero MotoCorp, said, “In the relentless pursuit of our vision - 'Be the Future of Mobility', we have been embracing new technologies to bring greater agility into our working practices. As we are in the midst of a transformation, this newly created position marks an important milestone in our digital journey. Reema’s addition to the team will help us lead the digital acceleration and leverage technology to augment our innovation ecosystem together with our customers and partners."

Reema Jain is a well-known name in the technology industry and was recently named among top 100 global CDOs across industries. Jain most recently served as Chief Digital Officer at Vodafone India.

Prior to that, Ms. Jain was associated with global corporations such as Unilever and GE in leadership roles, where she was responsible for building agile, robust, scalable and resilient technology platforms, processes, and IT Solutions.

Hero MotoCorp recently elevated Ranjivjit Singh – who has been heading Marketing - to the newly constituted role of Chief Growth Officer, with an objective to leverage the emerging opportunities in the post-pandemic world, by bringing more synergies between the key customer-facing functions of Marketing and Sales & After-Sales.

Skanda Jayaraman Joins Qapita as CEO Marketplace

• Skanda Jayaraman joins the digital platform to be the CEO for its marketplace
• This announcement follows a recent strategic investment by the Citigroup into Qapita
• Qapita will look to add intersectional talent across SaaS, Capital Markets and digital ledgers / web3.0 technology to build its platform

Qapita, a Singapore and Bengaluru based digital platform for equity management, has roped in an experienced investment banker, Skanda Jayaraman, to lead its marketplace for private securities. The Company had earlier announced that it secured an investment and a partnership with Citigroup to accelerate its platform. Qapita plans to facilitate liquidity solutions via a digital marketplace enabling transactions for companies between investors and employee stakeholders.

Skanda was most recently the Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Spark Capital, one of India’s premier mid-market investment banks and grew the business multi-fold into respected pan-India franchise. Skanda brings a deep understanding of private market transactions and an extensive network of relationships in the VC and PE community. Qapita will leverage his experience to build a unified platform and offer liquidity solutions to its clients, their shareholders and employees.

Skanda would oversee the launch of Qapita marketplace which will offer a full stack solution to clients across India and SE Asia, including but not limited to liquidity solutions to the employees, and early investors on Qapita’s customers’ CapTables. Qapita aims to be a one stop shop for all CapTable management for private companies and the marketplace will be integral to our strategy to dominate the mind and wallet share in the region.

Announcing the same, Ravi Ravulaparthi, CEO and Cofounder of Qapita, said, “There cannot be a better time to build an operating system and rails for a marketplace for private securities. Qapita will continue to invest in talent and capabilities across SaaS, capital markets, and digital ledger technology. Skanda is an experienced leader who can guide this intersectional team.”

Skanda Jayaraman added, “Qapita has assembled an excellent multi-disciplinary team to solve this complex problem at scale. Excited to be building a tech powered platform to unlock liquidity solutions in a soon-to-be trillion dollar private market. I look forward to working alongside the Founders Ravi, Lakshman and Vamsee to build Qapita into a leading platform.”