Mr Rohit Anand is currently the Executive chef a TRG Hotel. He believes that food quality starts with having the right ingredients to work with that  do not compromise on quality. He sources with the help of ther purchasing department the right suppliers and uses the preferred Hotel vendors as much as possible for the staple food items. These Vendors are  audited by a third party on hygiene standards and passed this audit. Sourcing of special ingredients should be done from local sources as much as possible. This will reduce carbon footprint and helps to create a story for your dishes from a go local aspect. He says  , “ Our current generation of guest want to know what they eat, the origin of products and if they  are responsibly sourced; sustainable, organic  and environmentally friendly. Let guests know  you are working in-line with this philosophy by  making a clear statement on your menu.”

More and more guests are seeking out conscious comforts when they eat out.

Mr Rohit believes, “Today’s diners are increasingly relying on plants for protein sources. Diners are also interested in the health and animal welfare benefits of vegetarian proteins. Now is the time to think beyond repetitive veggie burgers and branch out into plant-based “faux foods” that look and taste like meat but aren’t”

He advices aspiring people in this industry to, “Create menus that are focused on the segments. The food served are comfort dishes with a clear story and direction; local is local, western is western. Garnishes of the dishes should be relevant to the food and have a function. Stay clear of over garnishing the dishes so the focus is on a flawless execution of the main ingredient. The dishes are to be executed with a minimal mis en place and a speed of service. In-Room Dining is about speed of service and less is more to  be able to do so”.

He played a critical role in introducing the Otis ONE IoT service platform, helped develop the suite of custom smartphone mobile apps that collect and share performance data, and supported the deployment of digital technology in the hands of Otis mechanics around the world.

Ezhil joined Otis in 2001, and focused his career on advancing global IT operations, mobile application development and service transformation. He is experienced in all things digital – from sales force automation and cloud transition to agile development and global program management.

Ezhil holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and technology from India’s Madurai Kamaraj University. He has received 22 global patents.

During his tenure in the military, he accumulated over 3500 accident-free flying hours and showcased his expertise in planning and supervising complex and dangerous flying operations. He consistently drove excellence in productivity and operational readiness, ensuring the successful execution of several lifesaving and disaster relief missions. Additionally, he actively engaged in international collaborations, thought leadership and crisis management.

In May 2020, after completing a Certification in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad, Commander Dhand transitioned to the corporate sector and joined Amazon India. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, he quickly scaled up and was the of Site Leader at two of  Amazon’s largest sites. Leading teams of over 500 individuals, he efficiently managed the processing of 5 lac customer shipments daily, maintaining a remarkable Six Sigma accuracy level. He also played a pivotal role in overseeing and managing Amazon’s nationwide Covid vaccination program, successfully vaccinating 3.5 lac employees and their dependents.

Currently, as the Director at J.S Held LLC, Commander Dhand is responsible for overseeing Risk Advisory and Forensic Accounting services. Leveraging his extensive experience, he has led complex and sensitive projects related to risk identification and mitigation. His expertise has been instrumental in advising leading private equity funds on geo-political, regulatory, and governance risks. Furthermore, he has conducted numerous pre-investment due diligence exercises for significant deals involving bulge bracket firms.

Commander Dhand’s rich professional background has shaped his core values, including discipline, empathy in leading large teams through VUCA situations, maintaining a strong work ethic, and possessing an unwavering determination to succeed. These qualities, combined with his diverse skill set and leadership experience, position him as a highly capable and accomplished leader across various sectors.

In pursuit of international exposure, Abutaahir made a significant decision to move to the United States, where he immersed himself in a different work culture and collaborated with professionals worldwide. He embraced the challenges and opportunities that came with living and working in the US.

After nearly a decade in the US, Abutaahir made the heartfelt choice to return to his homeland, India, driven by a strong desire to be closer to his family and contribute to the development of his motherland. Leveraging his international experience and expertise, he aimed to make a meaningful impact on India’s semiconductor sector, recognizing the potential and opportunities within the country.

Currently serving as the Director of Engineering at Cadence Design Systems, a highly esteemed company, Abutaahir is responsible for leading and managing engineering teams, driving innovation, and ensuring the successful delivery of cutting-edge semiconductor solutions. His role involves overseeing strategic direction, fostering a culture of excellence, and promoting collaboration among team members. Nurturing talent and empowering engineers to push boundaries and innovate are fundamental aspects of his leadership approach.

Abutaahir holds a B-Tech degree in Electronics & Communication from Vellore Institute of Technology. He has further expanded his knowledge and skills through professional development programs, including the General Management program at UCLA Anderson School of Management and the Artificial Intelligence for Leaders program at UT McCombs School of Business.

Looking back, Abutaahir can now connect the dots and see how each experience has shaped him into the technical leader he is today. Steve Jobs’ insight about retrospectively understanding life’s sequence of events resonates with him, affirming the value of his past experiences, achievements, and challenges as building blocks that have led him to forge his path with confidence and determination.

Maulik’s path to success started with moderate beginnings. He grew up in Gujarat, India, and earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications from Saurashtra University, where he graduated with honours. He then joined Wipro Limited as a Trainee Engineer, quickly rising through the ranks due to his dedication, hard work, and technical prowess. He graduated from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies with a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management.

Maulik has proved his penchant for creativity and excellence throughout his career by developing and implementing disruptive solutions. He also served as a Horizontal Mentor for NASSCOM’s DeepTechClub programme, where he guided the startup community, using his excellent financial acumen and technology understanding.

Maulik has received numerous awards and recognitions for his remarkable professional achievements and contributions towards nation building. Some of his notable accolades include: 

• Global Innovation Challenge Award by Cisco for partners, for developing a solution on Digital Workplace 
• Indian Achievers Award 
• Best Implementation Award from Fortinet 

Maulik is also a certified professional in various technologies such as IBM Blockchain, AWS, BlueCoat, Checkpoint, Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, McAfee, Mirantis OpenStack, Nokia, RSA, VMware and more.

His success story is a testament to the fact that hard work and perseverance can lead to great things. 

He has explored everything from securing important assets to maximising business and uncovering the potential of hidden corporate growth opportunities with the use of Integrated Security and Automation Technology. He is passionate about security and automation solutions, and he is more focused on innovative ideas and the creation of numerous new solutions with the assistance of OEMs in the security and automation business. He focused on how security may go beyond basic protection to boost operational efficiency and maximise business. He has also disseminated information about artificial intelligence from the standpoint of security technology.

With his vast experience into Gems, Jewellery, Retail, ecommerce, Logistics and supply chain Vertical Business where he also able to contribute for develop many innovative solutions on security and operational challenges into business. He created 30+ different solutions or milestone at his current organisation to help 10K+ companies which helps him to have high contribution for change Trend of Security Industry in India mainly to focus from product selling to Solution offering into Security Industry. Some of his contributions include developing new solutions like Identification of Small Diamond and Jewellery movement even under strong light reflections, Visual Parcel tracking Solutions, Retail Business Intelligence, Consumer behavior analysis, Loss Prevention and many more. These solutions widely accepted in to industry and some reference like Dharmanandan Diamond, Hari Krishna Exports, Shree Ram Krishna Exports, Mahindra Brothers, Bharat Diamond Bourse, Myntra, Flipkart, Delhivery, Malabar Gold, Hindustan Unilever, Titan Industries, and many more.

He has been actively participating in many conferences and events as a speaker to create an awareness especially how technology can leverage and maximise business. His interviews and articles were also published in more than 20 Industry magazine issues. Retail Association of India tagged him as a “Leader and Tech Mastermind of Retail” in Retail Technology Conclave (ReTeCon)- 2018. Diamond City fortnightly Newspaper/Tabloid published his Personal Life Journey to inspire and impact the lives of others. (This Tabloid has 21K + circulations especially into Gems & Jewellery). The Half Brick Talk show also invited him to speak about his personal life journey in 2022 to inspire and impact the lives of others. He received an Award as “Rising Star” in the field of passion in August- 2022 by Dev Gadhavi supported by Dan Lok and India’s first mentor in the field of Passion. Last but not the least He has been also received an Indian Achievers Forum Awarded in Recognition to his outstanding professional achievement and contribution toward nation building for Excellent Performance in the field of Security and Automation” in 2022-23

He had a mission “To help 10K companies with security and Automation solutions for their operational efficiency and maximise business with peace of mind”. Upon completion of his mission, he decided to impact more companies and the lives of the people. So started to develop an advanced level of skills since April 2022 on Transformation of mind-set, health, personal life and business from world’s renowned mentors and coaches with the aim to contribute further into this universe. He refined his mission and took further steps towards his Vision – “A World where companies are secured, efficient and improved ease of business to make people wealthy and generate more employment”.

Journey of AGS – Alcon Global Services – An Overview:

Alcon became an independent company in 2019 and transformation was one of the key priorities in setting up Alcon Global services (AGS). AGS transformation resulted in a multimillion dollar savings from service delivery model transformation, standing up as an independent Alcon, build up knowledge in strategic areas and unlocking further transformation opportunities for re-investment in other priorities. AGS was a key enabler and a strategic partner to decide insourcing of several processes aligned with Alcon’s cultural imperative to drive ownership & accountability and speed & simplicity.

Starting in May 2019, within a span of four years, AGS India team has grown to 1000+ people organization having more than 10 functional capabilities being developed from India center especially ramped up during pandemic. IT, Finance, FP&A, Quality Assurance, R&D, Supply Chain, HR Operations & Transformation teams are based in AGS India.

Ramping up during challenging times of Covid19:

A strategic need occurred with the arrival of COVID-19 during AGS build up, necessitating the deployment of a full Business Continuity Management (BCM) plan to ensure the seamless functioning of day-to-day operations. Knowledge transfer was secured through virtual trainings and e-learnings. About 35 transition and insourcing projects were implemented with global collaboration virtually.

Alcon’s office, which is around 180,000 square feet and has 1000+ seats and state-of-the-art facilities, was constructed during the epidemic. To ensure consistent experience for all Alcon (from AGS’ partners to staff), cross-functional initiatives were grouped under Service Management Practices (SMPs) with AGS core team driving the implementation.

SMP priorities identified during Dec 2020 leadership meet were implemented, including:

• 96% of the workforce are millennials, and having a clear focus on diversity & inclusion with 34% of workforce being female colleagues
• Navratna is one of the key programs to integrate cross functional, enterprise mindset in our associates which brings various functions together to collaborate & contribute to center’s success in every way possible, regardless of the hierarchy & with a shared vision.
• From the beginning Alcon always tried to inculcate a Continuous Improvement mindset wherein we had 91% of eligible staff (555 during Dec 2021) trained in Lean Six Sigma White Belt. An ideation process was put in place for staff to submit improvement ideas. Over 200 ideas submitted with nearly 50% approved for implementation.
• To drive better Customer experience Customer orientation training became part of onboarding for new joiners with a strong focus on developing trusting relationships with customer to promote long-term success and growth.
• Alcon achieved high scores for the onboarding experience, while the quarterly employee satisfaction score for AGS was always above the company’s benchmark and have officially been certified as a great place to work building and sustaining high trust and high performance culture.
• A Center Management team was formed and a framework was created for structured and consistent means to increase the centers’ maturity level.

Value addition in the areas of Digital Customer Excellence/ Digital Health:

A strong emphasis was laid on the process of enhancing the customer experience and improving health outcomes through the use of digital technology which lead to better and enhanced customer experience and improved health outcomes.

In year 2023, Alcon has inaugurated the R&D lab at AGS Bangalore and opened this new research and development Software Verification & Validation laboratory. This lab is a part of Alcon’s global R&D network, which includes centers in the United States, Europe, and in Asia it is the first lab established outside of the United States with more than 200 + engineers / professionals working in the lab.

At Tata Motors (India, South Africa, Nepal and Latin America)

Puranik embarked on his career with Tata Motors in 1997, making his mark during a commendable 22-year tenure with one of India’s largest automotive giants. His time at Tata Motors provided him with a wealth of exposure in various departments, including customer support, strategy, sales, marketing, and brand management.

During his tenure, Puranik successfully handled key countries such as South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, and Uruguay, enabling Tata Motors to achieve remarkable results in both sales and service sectors. He played a pivotal role in establishing Tata Cars in South Africa as part of a greenfield project. Additionally, he significantly improved the market share of Tata Cars in Nepal and Bangladesh by an impressive 13%. Puranik’s leadership was instrumental in organizing the Tata Motors’ pavilion at prominent international motor shows, including:

• JIMS (Johannesburg International Motor Show) at South Africa,
• The Geneva Motors Show at Switzerland,
• NADA SHOW in Nepal

His capabilities shined most in Nepal, where he introduced the innovative “Tata Motors Car Mela” concept, a retail-focused event that successfully ran for seven seasons. His inventive “Test Drive for Education” campaign in Nepal garnered 10,000 test drives and 500 retail sales in just three months.

Under Puranik’s guidance, Tata Motors’ launches in Nepal received esteemed recognition, winning awards such as the Asian Leadership Awards Marketing Campaign of the Year for the launch of Tata’s ‘Zest’ in Nepal and the CMO Asia Awards Marketing Campaign of the Year for the Tata Bolt in Nepal. He played an instrumental role in the development of Tata Motors’ new brand identity, “Connecting Aspirations,” which resulted in an enhanced brand perception, increased brand metrics such as NPS (Net Promoter Score), consideration, top-of-mind awareness, and spontaneous awareness. Additionally, he played a key role in designing and developing the new dealer corporate identity for Tata Motors’ passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as the brand identity for the electric vehicle vertical.

Throughout his tenure with Tata Motors, Puranik received the prestigious “Three Cheers” award five times, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the company from 2012 to 2018.

At IME Automobile Division (Nepal)

Presently, Hemant Puranik serves as the Group CEO of the IME Automobile Division at IME Group in Nepal for the past three years. The IME Automobile Division serves as the distributor of prominent brands such as Ashok Leyland, Escorts, Vert Equipment, Hyundai Heavy Equipment, and Raft Motors (Electric Vehicles) in Nepal.

Upon assuming the role of CEO at IME Motors, Puranik steered the company away from significant challenges, including declining sales and fierce competition from international rivals. Under his leadership, the company adopted a customer-centric approach, prioritizing a deep understanding of evolving consumer needs and delivering tailored solutions. Through comprehensive market research and analysis of customer feedback, IME Motors successfully introduced services and enhancements that resonated with their target audience, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Under Puranik’s guidance, the company experienced steady growth, surpassing competitors in key regions and segments. Ashok Leyland’s market share in the addressable segment surged from 9% to 28%, while Escorts’ market share improved from 8% to 21%. Consequently, Ashok Leyland and Escorts have ascended to become the second-ranked players in their respective industries, having previously held the fourth and third positions.

Puranik’s remarkable achievements have garnered widespread recognition, and he has been bestowed with numerous accolades, including the prestigious “Automobile CEO of the Year” award from the prominent industry publication “Auto Nepal.” His success story serves as an inspiration for aspiring leaders in the automobile industry, showcasing the transformative power of visionary leadership, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

He is an accomplished professional with a strong track record, boasting over 25 years of outstanding experience in overseeing overall company operations and resources. His extensive travels across India, Africa, Latin America, and Asia have endowed him with a profound understanding of diverse cultures. Puranik possesses a keen acumen for identifying business opportunities and devising strategies to capitalize on them. His true value lies in his exceptional execution skills, No matter what the task is, he executes – per brief, within the deadline, and within budget.

Throughout his illustrious career spanning over 25 years, Puranik has been instrumental in promoting several Indian automobile brands, including Ashok Leyland, Escorts, Tata Motors, Vert Equipment, and Raft Motors across three continents and eleven countries.

Throughout his career, Amal has consistently demonstrated his prowess in the highly competitive field of Data and AI. He has not only grown his team but also delivered the best data and AI platform in the region, earning international certifications along the way. In just four years, he progressed from an Analyst to the Head of Delivery for data solutions, leading projects involving more than 120 professionals and delivering a value exceeding 20 million USD.

Amal’s exceptional skills and talent have garnered recognition from the UAE Government, resulting in him being granted the prestigious Golden Visa under the Special Talent Category. This honor is a testament to his outstanding contributions to the UAE economy.
With over a decade of experience in the field of Data, Amal has worked with renowned multinational companies such as Infosys, Ernst and Young (EY), Barclays, and Mindtree, holding esteemed positions and delivering impactful outcomes.

Amal’s achievements in the area of data and AI extend beyond his organizations and have reverberated globally. Through his work, he has successfully implemented groundbreaking solutions, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in data-driven decision-making and AI innovation.
Amal’s dedication and relentless pursuit of excellence have earned him a reputation as a trailblazer in the data and AI industry. He has successfully combined his technical expertise with strategic thinking, enabling organizations to harness the power of data for informed decision-making and achieving tangible business outcomes. Amal’s ability to lead large-scale projects and deliver substantial value has positioned him as a sought-after professional in the field.
Beyond his professional achievements, Amal is known for his commitment to nurturing IT talent and fostering a data-driven mindset. He actively contributes to the development of the industry by sharing his knowledge and experience, inspiring future generations of IT professionals in the UAE to embrace data and AI.

Amal’s journey from a Junior Engineer to a respected leader in the field of Data and AI is a testament to his exceptional abilities, unwavering determination, and relentless pursuit of excellence. His contributions to cultivating a data-driven culture, IT talent development, and his impressive accomplishments in the global data and AI industry make him an exemplary figure in the UAE’s tech landscape. As he continues to push boundaries and drive innovation, Amal’s impact on the industry is poised to grow even further, leaving a lasting legacy of transformative change.

After having a successful career as a Chef, Tarun has transitioned into the role of Sales Professional. He holds a Diploma in Hotel Management, Catering Technology, and Advanced Nutrition from IHMCTAN, and he has worked in the Hospitality sector for over 30 years. Tarun’s forte is excellent sales.

He has been recognised with a number of accolades, including “Most Influential Hospitality Professional,” “Food Expert of India,” “Man of Excellence in F & B,” “Club of Champions” by Rational AG Germany, “Young Restaurant Manager” by FHRAI, and “Glory of India” by the Indian Achievers Forum.