Vice Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University and Prof. Chemistry of Somaiya Vidyavihar & Somaiya Ayurvihar
Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai has been at the helm of affairs of many higher educational and scientific research establishments for the last 47 years of service as a teacher, researcher, professor, and executive head of Education, Science and Technology establishments in the country and abroad.
Trustee of K J Somaiya Trust and K J Somaiya Medical Trust and Team Leader for the Help a Child project
Amrita Somaiya graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Simmons College, Boston USA. Amrita is a Trustee for Somaiya Trust and Somaiya Vidyavihar & Somaiya Medical Trust. She is the Chairperson of the Help A Child to Study Project, which provides scholarships to motivated students from financially challenging backgrounds. She is the Director of Kitab Khana, a boutique bookshop in fort, Mumbai. Amrita is actively involved as the Managing trustee of The Somaiya School. She loves to read, cook, travel and knit.
Executive Director of Vakil & Sons Pvt. Ltd
Bimal Mehta is the Executive Director of Vakil & Sons Pvt. Ltd (Vakils), a premier printing and publishing firm based in Mumbai. Over the last 18 years he has been involved in the restructuring off Vakils from a traditional print company to a high-tech IT enabled services company.
He is also the working director of Vakils Premedia, a company with offices in India and the US that works with leading corporations to offer premedia and cross media services around the world. Mehta serves on the governing council of the Service Export Promotion Council, and has been Vice President of the Bombay Master Printers Association and on the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bombay. Part of his Rotary service involves being Chairman of the two Vocational Centres in Mumbai involvement in the Boys Orphanage Home. Mehta holds an MBA from Boston University’s Graduate School of Management.
Director, Dean, Professor of Practice, and Chair of Management Development Programs at the K J Somaiya Institute of Management.
Raman Ramachandran Ph.D is the Director, Dean, Professor of Practice, and Chair of Management Development Programs at the K J Somaiya Institute of Management. With nearly three decades of experience at BASF India Ltd and PI Industries Ltd, he has held many positions of responsibility and led the strategic evolution of BASF as a leader in the agricultural products business in the Asia Pacific region.
He has global experience and has worked with international organizations in Kenya, the Philippines, and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA and with BASF in Singapore with Asia Pacific business responsibilities. Raman has a Ph.D from University of Adelaide, Australia and was Robert S. McNamara Fellow of Economic Development Institute, World Bank in 1990. Raman is also a non-executive Chairman on the board of Calibre Chemical Pvt Ltd and an Independent Director of Proklean Technologies. He is the recipient of the "LifeTime Achievement" Award of FICCI's Chemical and Petrochemical sector for his contribution to the Agrochemical Industry. He is passionate about management education and helping practicing managers to be successful by combining his years of corporate experience with academic experts at K J Somaiya Institute of Management.
Group Chief Economist of Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai
Dr. Sachchidanand Shukla is the Group Chief Economist of Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai. He has around 25 years of experience spanning corporate sector, financial services, and capital markets. Prior to joining Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai, he was the Chief Economist of the Mahindra Group, and was also associated with Axis Capital (earlier known as ENAM) as chief economist. His key areas of research have been financial markets, strategy, development policy, programme implementation and impact evaluation.
He has a Ph.D. in financial economics from Birla Institute of Technology and post graduate qualifications in business management (finance) as well as in economics from the University of Mumbai and has been a recipient of K J Somaiya Gold Medal. He has been a part of NITI Aayog’s panel of Economists and was a part of a Planning Commission/ World Bank study - Maharashtra Development Report - as an `External Expert’.
Dr. Shukla is currently chairperson of the Economics Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, and Industry (BCCI) and is also co-chairman of the national Economics committee of FICCI. He is also associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) & ASSOCHAM. He is keenly connected with the academia and has authored a book (on macro-economics for BMS course in the University of Mumbai) besides publishing several research papers. He contributes regularly to business publications and writes in the Economic Times, Mint, The Financial Express, The Hindu Business line and Moneycontrol etc.
Chairman and Managing Director of Firmenich in India
Satish Rao is the Chairman and Managing Director of Firmenich in India, a Fragrance and Taste company headquartered in Switzerland. With over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and general management across multinational companies, he has led over 1000 employees in India, taking Firmenich to a leadership position in the Indian market.
Satish is a Harvard-trained business leader who holds a master's degree in Science and an MBA in Marketing from Mumbai University. He is also a philanthropist, Founder President of his school's alumni association, and National President of the Swiss Indian Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Satish is an avid golfer and Author of a best-selling book on leadership virtues titled 'CAN I FLY'.
General Manager - Information Technology Somaiya Vidyavihar
Mahaveer Devannavar has over 20 years experience in the field of Information Technology. He is basically a software developer with a wide experience of developing ERPs, Implementation of ERPs, Databases & Web Development. Currently, Mahaveer Heads and Manages the 20 member Information Technology team of Somaiya Vidyavihar, which has brought about a digital transformation in the way the institutes operate today.
Newer and robust systems have been successfully implemented specially in Admission Management system, Fee Management system Examinations and Grades Management, Library Management amongst others. His other responsibilities include overseeing the infrastructure of technical operations, eliminating security risks, increasing user satisfaction, and maintaining current operations and systems.
Director, S K Somaiya College at Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Monica Lodha is a Chartered Accountant & a Faculty at Somaiya Vidyavihar. She is the Coordinator of Self-Financing Courses at K J Somaiya College of Science and Commerce. In a service of a decade at Somaiya Vidyavihar she has published and presented 14 Research Papers in State, National, and International Conference & Seminars.
With her specialisation in Accountancy & Taxation, Monica has also authored a book on Indirect Taxes. Monica Lodha is an Associate member at Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), She has worked as convenor of Examination Cell and is active at various social forums. She has worked as a Committee Member at Bharat Jain Mahila Mandal & Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Sabha Mumbai, as the President at Amet Mahila Mandal.
Adjunct Professor at KJSCE and Professor and Director at Somaiya School of Design, Supported by riidl
Dr. Irfan N A Siddavatam received a Master's in Computer Engineering from Mumbai University and a Ph.D. in Technology from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai. He is the former Head of the Department of Information Technology at K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering (KJSCE). He has been associated with KJSCE since 2001. He is currently a Professor and Director of the Somaiya School of Design(SSD) and an Adjunct Professor at KJSCE.
His research interest includes Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Product development. He is a consultant for the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) (A civil society organization and think-tank of cybersecurity and policy experts). His interest lies in developing cognizance of the importance of UI and UX in product development. He has been instrumental in developing content and running audit and credit courses in UI and UX design for UG programs. His work includes developing intelligent solutions to ensure secure cyberspace for critical infrastructure and safeguarding children and women. He was a consultant for the research work titled “Landscape Analysis for Online Child Trafficking and Online Child Sexual Exploitation”, initiated by Children's Investment Fund Foundation CIFF (A philanthropy from the UK). He served in the capacity of Technical Assessor, respectively, for the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), along with many such institutes. He has conducted cyber security training at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DAIT) Pune, Emerson Electric Company, Pune, and many others. He is a reviewer for several International Journals and Conferences. He has attended many events, including but not limited to training programs and panel discussions as an Invited Speaker.
Associate Professor of Sanskrit and Centre Head of Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies.
Rudraksha Sakrikar is an Associate Professor of Sanskrit and Centre Head of Bharatiya Sanskriti Peetham at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies. He was awarded a PhD in Sanskrit in 2019, and his research focused on an Indian perspective on the science of weather forecasting as described in Sanskrit texts.
Rudraksha has authored 56 entries and edited 38 entries on Yoga for Marathi Vishwakosha, and is a principal investigator of a research project on preparing a dictionary of Yoga terms funded by Central Sanskrit University. He is a PhD guide for Sanskrit and Yogashastra at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, as well as a Sarangi player who performs at various venues in India.
