Sudhir Sethi - Founder CMD, IDG Ventures India

With over 30 years of technology industry experience that includes over 10 years of venture investing, Sudhir specializes in investing in young Indian technology companies and helping them grow rapidly globally.

Earlier, as head of Walden International India, Sudhir was a seed investor in Mindtree Consulting. Sudhir also served on the Investment Committee of UTI Ventures, on Advisory Board of Westbridge Capital and on the Board of Advisors at N. S. Raghavan Center for Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore. Prior to Walden, Sudhir served at various leadership positions in Wipro, HCL and subsequently Infotech Enterprises.

In addition to leading IDG Ventures India, Sudhir serves on the Executive Committee of Indian Venture Capital Association and is on the Board of Ascent Capital (a $350 million PE fund). He also serves on the Boards of Manthan Systems (Business Intelligence and Analytics Software for Retail Industry), Myntra.com (Online Platform for Personalized Products), Perfint Healthcare (Intelligent, Connected and Reliable Healthcare Devices), Aujas Networks (Information Security Services), ConnectM Technology Solutions (Energy and Telecom Tower Management Analytics), iViz Techno Solutions (On-Demand Cloud bases Security), 3DSoc (3D Games & Gifting for Mobile Handsets), iProf (Technology Enabled Test Preparations and Distance Learning) and Emploi Globale (Executive Search). Sudhir holds a B.Tech in Engineering and an MBA Degree from FMS, Delhi.

Mohan Kumar - Executive Director, NVP India

Mohan brings in extensive operational, technology and investment experience, having worked at leading global organizations in various senior positions and personally investing in technology start-up companies. Mohan is based in NVP India’s Bengaluru office and is focused on investments in next-generation technologies, Healthcare and Education. Mohan led NVP’s investments in Borqs based out of Beijing and US, a leading open source mobile application software provider and integrator. He also led the investment in Perfint Healthcare which develops Image-guided robotic solutions for oncology. He is also active in the board of Appnomic Systems, MobileIron and Clairmail.

Mohan has also been an angel investor and is active in helping start-up companies in the areas of mobile solutions, content and applications, namely AgreeYa Mobile, Allgo Systems, Azingo ( acquired by Motorola ) , Quantum SPA ( Italy ) , MyZenPlanet and Ionic Microsystems ( acquired by Global Edge ). Mohan also served as Corporate Vice President of Mobile Devices Software at Motorola where he was instrumental in creating mobile platform middleware, user interface technology and applications across 3GSM, CDMA and WiFi / WiMax mobile phones. He was responsible for launching mobile phone for the European and ASIAN market. Mohan also played an integral role in setting up design centers in Asia and Europe. He was responsible for Software and Telecom products with annual revenues of more than US$2 billion. Prior to serving in multiple senior roles at Motorola, Mohan worked with Texas Instruments as a technical architect on DSP Technologies and helped set up Texas Instruments’ business unit in Bangalore.

Mohan holds a B.Tech degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Institute of Technology, Benares, India. Later he took part in the Leadership/Management Program at the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.

Sanjaya Kulkarni - Independent Director

• Presently advise Indian industrial groups on growth , strategy , fund raising and acquisitions.
• Involved in a number of transactions on cross border collaborations and acquisitions
• Advisor to a Motilal Oswal Private equity fund
• Investor in , member of the Board and also a mentor to the promoter of a number of start ups – Treehouse Education , Goli Vada Pav and iProf Education solutions
• Independent Director on Boards of listed companies : Agrotech foods Ltd ( a ConAgra affiliate ) UTV Software Communications ltd ( a Walt Disney affiliate ), Time Technoplast Ltd ( in technical collaboration with Mauser , Germany ) , and Chairman of TPL Plastech Ltd .
• Chairman of audit committee of UTV software and TPL Plastech and a member of other committees of the Board in all companies
• Managed Century Direct Fund ( 2000- 2006 ), one of the earliest private equity fund for investment in growth companies in India . The fund had investments in large companies such as Alok Industries , Secure Meters , Ecoboard Industries , UTV communications , Time Technoplast and Drish Shoes . Have been a Director on all these companies
• Promoted 20th Century Finance Corpn ltd in 1980, along with others . 20th Century was the first leasing company to be listed in 1982 . It grew to be the largest finance group with an asset size of over USD 1bn in 1999 with diversified operations . As a promoter and shareholder , managed the day to day operations of the NBFC . All department heads reported to me . The countrywide operations included 52 offices and 525 staff.
• Group consisted of an asset financing business in 20th Century Finance Ltd ( NBFC ) , a commercial bank - Centurion bank ( in collaboration with IFCW , ADB and Keppel bank) , a mutual fund in collaboration with Zurich financial , a car financing business in collaboration with GMAC and retail finance business along with Kinetic – 20th Century Kinetic Finance Ltd . 20th Century also had membership of BSE and NSE
• Have pioneered financial products for 20th Century Finance which included foreign currency borrowings , foreign currency swaps, securitized lending , securitization of lease and HP receivables and commercial paper.
• 20th Century had the highest credit ratings of AAA from CRISIL for its fixed deposits from 1999 to 2005
• 20th Century was among the first to start a private equity fund in 1996 and also invested from the proprietary balance sheet . The fund size was USD 75 mn and investors in the fund included IFCW , GIC Singapore , Mitsui group , Jafco , GSC Partners etc
• Earlier worked for Citibank , India ( 1973- 1980 ), in investment banking and managing corporate relationships
• Chairman of the Equipment Leasing Association , the industry association of leasing from 1993 to 1995 , and Vice Chairman for 2 years before that
• Part of RBI committee on lending to finance companies in 1993
• MBA from IIM Ahmedabad (1973) and B. Tech ( Hons ) from IIT Bombay (1971)

Raghvendra Rau - Director

Raghu Rau is a creative, global management professional with strong operational, marketing and strategic leadership experience and relationships in the technology industry. He has an impressive record of bringing disruptive technologies to market and invests and advises early revenue companies in the Internet, mobile video and telecommunications space, internationally. He is also an advisor to the Ministry of Communications and Transport, Mexico.

Rau was a Senior Vice President at Motorola Inc. and General Manager for Mobile Video until 2008, holding positions of increasing responsibility since 1992, in the USA, Europe and Asia. He won the coveted CEO Leadership Award in 2007 for his many accomplishments.

As the Chief Strategy Officer of Motorola’s $ 13b Networks and Enterprise business, he directed the business to industry leading levels of profitability and leadership positions in new technologies such as WiMAX. He was involved in multiple acquisitions of both small and large companies, developing strategic industry alliances and optimizing multi billion dollar R&D investments. As the Chief Marketing Officer of Motorola’s Networks business he marketed its wireless and wire line solutions to carriers world wide, dramatically transforming the value proposition by changing the focus from Radio Access Network products to complete network solutions that included: packet core networks, soft switches, service delivery platforms and high value services. He also designed and successfully executed strategic marketing programs, new product launches and integrated communications plans using traditional and new media, winning industry awards.

As the General Manager of the Canopy Wireless Broadband business he doubled its revenues two years consecutively bringing it to a level of $ 200m, while delivering double digit operating margins. He was also the first general manager of the centralized professional services organization substantially growing global revenues to about $ 1 b. He was also instrumental in winning over 55% market share for Motorola’s infrastructure business in India when licenses were first awarded in 1994. Based for three years in London, he also helped in the significant turnaround of the networks business by profitably growing revenues in the Europe, Middle East Africa region.

Before joining Motorola, Rau was the General Manager and Co founder of a telecommunications services company in Qatar and prior to that was the General Manager of a multinational in India. Rau has served as the Chairman of the Quest Forum, the leading quality standards organization in the global telecommunications industry, the Board of the Center of Telecom Management at USC and the Motorola France Telecom partnership Board.

Rau has authored case studies on Global Marketing that have been taught at leading international universities, published articles on the Future of Communications and is a sought after speaker at industry and technology forums. Rau has a Bachelors degree in Engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Jason M. Palmer - Senior Vice President,
Strategy and Business Development, Kaplan Ventures

Jason M. Palmer is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Kaplan Ventures (KV). With more than fifteen years of experience in the education and technology industries, Jason Palmer is a leading entrepreneur, innovator, and thought-leader in the field of education technology.

At Kaplan Ventures, Jason leads the company’s venture capital investments in education technology and global education companies, providing not just capital but also management support, industry expertise, and access to resources across Kaplan to help KV’s entrepreneurs rapidly grow profitable new lines of business.

Prior to his current roles at Kaplan, Jason served as the General Manager of Kaplan Premier Tutoring. Kaplan Premier Tutoring delivers high-quality 1:1 tutoring programs for the SAT and ACT to more than 5,000 U.S. high school students annually.

Before Kaplan, Jason worked at SchoolNet, a Carlyle-backed provider of data-driven decision-making systems to K-12 school districts, where he managed strategic partnerships and M&A efforts. Prior to SchoolNet, Jason worked at Microsoft, where he was responsible for education product strategy around 1-to-1 computing, with a focus on product planning and strategic partnerships. Before Microsoft, Jason founded three technology and services companies in the 1990s.

Jason holds a BA in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also serves on the Foundation Board for the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education.

Sanjay Purohit - Founder Director, CEO, iProf

Sanjay is an expert in business innovation and process transformation and has extensive experience of leading transformation projects across several industries and organizations. He has experience in technology, textiles and outsourcing services industries and has worked in USA, India and Singapore.

Prior to starting iProf, Sanjay was a managing director with New York based mortgage restructuring firm LMCO. As part of his role at LMCO, Sanjay oversaw restructuring at prominent organizations such as Silicon Graphics and Greatwhite.

Before LMCO, Sanjay had led several organizations through transformation phases as a CEO. He was the CEO of USD 600M textile firm Dan River in the United States. Dan River’s transformation under Sanjay has been featured in several business periodicals and is a University of North Carolina Business School case study. In addition to Dan River, Sanjay has also been the CEO of BPO organizations Colwell and Salmon, Caretel; and manufacturing firm Best and Baker.

Earlier in his career, Sanjay has worked in senior roles with AT&T Wireless and Motorola when they entered India. He was also part of the founding team at outsourcing firm Epicenter Technologies. His first job was as an IAS officer.

Sanjay is an MBA (Gold Medalist) from IIM, Ahmedabad and holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT, Mumbai.