Vijay Mahajan founded PRADAN, an NGO that uplifted over a million impoverished households since 1983. He also established the Basix Social Enterprise Group, which aided over five million disadvantaged households through microfinance and livelihood services from 1996. His innovation of the Local Area Bank model, beginning in 2000, influenced the Raghuram Rajan Committee's recommendation for Small Finance Banks in 2008-09. Vijay, an accomplished alumnus of IIT Delhi (1975) and IIM Ahmedabad (1981), as well as a Fellow of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School (1989), has significantly contributed to policy committees, NGO boards, and social enterprises. He was recognized as an Outstanding Social Entrepreneur at the 2003 World Economic Forum, an Ashoka Fellow in 2008, and a Rockefeller Bellagio Centre Resident Fellow in 2017. Since 2018, he has led as the CEO of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies in New Delhi.

A corporate trainer turned artist-cum-entrepreneur Ghazal Alagh co-founded Mamaearth, driven by the passion for making early parenting stress-free. She spearheads innovation, community, and new brand initiatives- working closely with a large number of consumers, and mom-communities, who are central to the innovation strategy, and are pivotal in the product development lifecycle. With a bachelor’s in information technology and Intensive Courses in Modern Art, Design and Applied Arts from New York Academy of Arts, she started her career with NIIT as a Corporate Trainer. Recognized as a top 10 women artist in India and globally, Ghazal earned honors like Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business 2023, Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen, and GQ's Young Influential India, ET 40 under 40, Business World 40 under 40 Awards and many more. Juggling roles as a trainer, artist, and mother, she stands as a pioneering inspiration to women entrepreneurs.

Jwala Gutta is a prominent Indian badminton player representing the nation internationally. She has won 14 National Badminton Championships and was also ranked in the BWF top 10. Honored with the 2011 Arjuna Award, India's second-highest sports honor, she shined in women's and mixed doubles. Jwala's feats include historic dual participation in the 2012 London Olympics, 2014 and 2016 Uber Cup bronzes, and a groundbreaking Badminton Asian Championship medal. Ranking achievements encompass being no. 6 in mixed doubles and no. 10 in women's doubles, making her the only athlete to be in the top 10 ranking in two events in badminton history. She represented India 4 times in Commonwealth Games and won gold and silver at 2010 and 2014 respectively in women's doubles which were the first for the country in the discipline. Furthermore, she made history by being the 1st women's doubles pair to win a bronze medal in world championships 2011. Internationally, her doubles prowess triumphed in tournaments like the Jakarta Satellite, Welsh International, Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament, Cyprus Badminton International tournament, Indian International Challenge tournament, Nepal International Series tournament, Bitburger Open Grand Prix tournament and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix tournament. Notably, she reached the 2009 BWF Super Series Masters Finals, a milestone for Indian badminton.

Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS, belongs to 1990 batch of the Indian Administrative Service borne on Karnataka Cadre. Besides studying History and Economics, he has done MBA in Public Policy from Birmingham, UK; M.Phil. in Social Science; and L.L.B from Delhi University. He has handled different portfolios in the State of Karnataka, particularly, in Industries & Commerce, Urban Infrastructure Development and Education with many accomplishments to his name. In the Government of India, he has served with distinction in Ministries of Urban Development, Overseas Indian Affairs, Rural Development, Textiles, Information & Broadcasting. He served as Additional Secretary and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Presently, he is Secretary, MSDE since September, 2022.

Dr. Chintan Vaishnav is a socio-technologist, an engineer trained to design and build large-scale systems that possess both human as well as technological complexities. Presently, he serves as the Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), a flagship initiative of the government of India under the auspices of the NITI Aayog. Chintan is on leave from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his present assignment. As a teacher, innovator, and entrepreneur, he has split his time between teaching and research at MIT and living and working with rural communities in India to build solutions that can overcome constraints fundamental to improving human conditions.

Co-founder of HCL, Dr. Ajai Chowdhry, embarked on an exciting journey with five others over four decades ago, with a vision to create India’s very own microcomputer. Their pioneering efforts in digital electronics in India resulted in three major milestones of the IT industry: the PC revolution, mobile telephony and systems integration. Regarded as the ‘father of Indian hardware’, he has been a relentless advocate of self-sufficiency in electronics. He continues to serve on several Government committees working towards making India the electronics hub of the world. For his contributions, he was conferred India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, in 2011. His inspirational journey has been captured in his memoir, Just Aspire: Notes on Technology, Entrepreneurship, and the Future.

Hemendra has over 25 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, management consulting and investment banking. Hemendra in his career has invested in several early stage agritech and mid-sized companies in the agricultural supply chain. He is an investor, board member and adviser in many food and agritech start-ups working on innovations in areas such as agri-inputs, market linkages, mechanization, food nutrition and value chain financing. He is currently working as Venture Partner with Bharat Innovation Fund –investing in early stage deep-tech start-ups across sectors. Hemendra is the co-founder of ThinkAg – a platform for accelerating the adoption of innovations in agriculture space. He is the Chairman of FICCI Task Force on Agri Start-ups. He is also an advisor to a few Foundations, Multilaterals, Corporates and Funds with interest in investing the Indian agri startups and SMEs. He has authored many papers on the subject and speaks regularly at conferences pertaining to food and agribusiness sector as well as start-up ecosystem. He is a management graduate from IIM (Ahmedabad) and Agricultural Engineer from Rajasthan Agricultural University.

Samhita Social Ventures sprouted from Priya's work with Nadathur family's social initiatives in conservation, art, education for differently-abled kids, and microenterprise livelihoods. Prior to this, Priya co-founded The Spark Group that made education affordable for underserved communities- shaping strategy, business plans, and raising funds from IFMR Trust. Her journey into social entrepreneurship ignited at MIT's Poverty Action Lab. There, she contributed to startups Aerovax (needle-free vaccines) and Kalpataru (efficient microfinance tech), both awarded at MIT. Priya has worked as a consultant with the International Finance Corporation in Africa. She started her career in Accounting at Arthur Andersen in Mumbai. Her career is an interesting fusion of on-the-ground grassroots solutions through enterprise and strategic consulting experience with established companies, a perfect combination for understanding and implementing CSR projects across the board. Priya has a Masters in Economics from Yale University, USA, a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and a Masters in Commerce from Mumbai University.

Mekin Maheshwari is the Founder & CEO of Udhyam Learning Foundation - a non-profit that has worked on enabling entrepreneurial mindsets for over 16 lakh govt school & ITI students across 9 states in India and an annual income uplift of Rs. 20 Cr for 5000+ Istri entrepreneurs. He is also a Co-Founder of Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and ACT Grants and an independent board member at TeamLease. As an Angel investor & philanthropist, he is focused on creating impact at scale in the fields of human capital & Ed-techs with investments in companies like Urban company & Quizizz. An engineer by education, Mekin started his career at Yahoo! and has held entrepreneurial roles throughout his career. Before Udhyam, he helped Flipkart through its scale journey. From an early leader at Flipkart to eventually playing the role of Chief People Officer for a 35k strong team, Mekin deeply cares about people realizing their potential and succeeding in life. He is a sports & music fan, & a foodie.

Dipali Goenka, CEO & MD of Welspun India Ltd., is a dynamic entrepreneur known for her leadership and people-first approach. She's steered Welspun India to a global home textile powerhouse and the biggest US supplier. Under her guidance, the Welspun brand, renowned for quality bed, bath, and area rug products, has reached homes worldwide. Forbes ranks her as the 16th most powerful businesswoman in Asia, acknowledging her exemplary leadership and industry contribution. Ms. Goenka is known to be a 'CEO with a soul' and a passionate philanthropist, who tirelessly works for inclusive development. Her beliefs have been translated into Welspun’s vision to bring Corporate Social Value to communities via the 3Es of Welspun – Education, Empowerment and Environment & Health. Her commitment to women's empowerment led her to become WEConnect International's brand ambassador, certifying Welspun as a "Woman Owned Enterprise." Armed with business acumen, she continues to lead Welspun India to greater heights.

Naghma is the CEO and Director on the Board at EdelGive Foundation. Over the last decade, she has driven the vision of the EdelGive, strengthening its core principles of collaborative philanthropy; and transforming it from a grant-making foundation to a philanthropic asset management platform, today. Over the years, she has forged valuable partnerships with diverse stakeholders and has been the brainchild for innovative collaborations in Education, Migration, Women, Climate and Capacity Building at EdelGive. In addition to her role at EdelGive, she is also General Board Member at Goonj, India Climate Collaborative. She also provides strategic guidance the Migrants Resilience Collaborative, the largest migrant collective in the world. Naghma is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Sairee Chahal, a serial entrepreneur, mom, angel investor, evangelist for #womensinternet and a board member. She is the force behind SHEROES, an online women's ecosystem offering support, opportunities, and community at www.sheroes.com and the SHEROES App. She also leads Mahila Money, a community neobank for women. Sairee contributes to Milaan Foundation, Paytm Payments Bank, and US-based Women in Cloud as a board member. She's lauded for creating an ecosystem that empowers women entrepreneurs and leaders, addressing gender disparities through technology. An adept technology entrepreneur, Sairee's ventures like Newslink, Fleximoms, and SHEROES merge community and platform, revolutionizing women's aspirations globally. With an M.Phil from JNU, and a PGDBM from IMT Ghaziabad, Sairee kickstarted her professional career while still in college before cofounding her first startup. She went on to also work at corporates like Heidrick and Struggles and CII. An Aspen Leadership Fellow, A Braddock Scholar, she has been recognized for her achievements globally, Sairee is a Devi Award winner, apart from the Femina Achievers Award, Cartier Award, Editor’s choice for L’Oreal Femina Women’s Award, Business Today and Most Powerful Women in Indian Business.