IAC in India

Mr Uday Kotak is the Founder and Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Over nearly 40 years, he has led the Kotak Mahindra Group’s evolution into one of India’s most recognised and diversified financial services institutions, with businesses spanning banking, asset management, alternative assets, insurance, securities, investment banking, private banking, microfinance, and asset reconstruction. He also served as Non-Executive Chairman of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) from 2018 to 2022, steering the organisation through a period of crisis.

Mr Kotak has received numerous honours, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Mint India Investment Summit (2025) and CNBC-TV18, EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (2014), and India Business Leader of the Year (2021). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai University, and a Master of Management Studies from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

 

Mrs Madhabi Puri Buch is the former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), where she was the first woman and first private sector leader to head the institution.  Previously, she was the CEO of ICICI Securities, a leading investment bank in India, and an Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank. With over three decades of experience across regulation, banking, capital markets, private equity, and consulting, she carries a distinctive blend of experience in policy and business.

A mathematics graduate from St. Stephen’s College and an MBA graduate from the India Institute of Management Ahmedabad, she has now pivoted to managing pro bono projects in Biomedical Research for Oncology.

Mr Manish Kejriwal is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kedaara Capital, a leading India-focused private equity firm managing over $6 billion across diverse sectors. With more than 30 years of investment experience, he previously established and led Temasek’s India operations, overseeing over $4 billion in investments and holding senior global leadership roles.

Earlier, he was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and worked with the World Bank and Goldman Sachs. He currently serves on multiple corporate boards and supports education initiatives, including Ashoka University, and is widely recognised as a prominent voice in private equity and global investing.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and an MBA from Harvard University, where he was a Baker Scholar.

Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal is the Vice-Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading conglomerates with diversified interests in Telecommunications, Space Communications, Digital Solutions, Financial Services, Real Estate, in addition to other ventures. He is also a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Bharti Airtel and Indus Towers, Managing Director at Bharti Realty Limited, and Independent Director of Marico and Global Health Limited.

Mr Mittal serves as a member of several industry associations and policymaking bodies. He is an Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees of Brookings Institution and Member of the President’s Council on International Activities (PCIA), Yale University. He is amongst the Champions of EDISON Alliance at the World Economic Forum, and a member of the India-Singapore CEO Forum.

Mr Mittal holds a Bachelor’s degree from Panjab University and a Master’s degree from Harvard Business School.

Dr Ranjan R Pai is the Chairman of Manipal Education & Medical Group (MEMG), and a preeminent institution builder and investor. Under his leadership, MEMG has become a global powerhouse in education and healthcare, managing universities across India, Malaysia, Dubai and Antigua.

He also founded UNext Learning and leads Claypond Capital, backing high-growth startups. His strategic stewardship has attracted top global investors, successfully transforming the “Pais of Manipal” legacy into a multi-sector conglomerate with societal impact.

He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

Dr Pramath Raj Sinha is Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Ashoka University, a leading liberal arts and sciences university in India. He is also a Founding Senior Partner of Jetri, an education-focused strategy and implementation firm.

He was the Founding Dean of the Indian School of Business, a globally ranked business school, a Partner at McKinsey and Company, and the Founder of Harappa, and online learning institution later acquired by upGrad. He has been instrumental in setting up a wide spectrum of charge-based higher education initiatives across India, and has authored two books on education and institution building.

He holds a PhD and a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he was honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2018.