Our speakers

Dr. Karim El Solh, Co-founder and CEO, Gulf Capital

Dr. Karthik Narayan R , Founder & MD, Athulya Senior Care

Dr. Karthik Narayan R is a distinguished healthcare leader with over 15 years of experience in geriatric care and hospital management. As the founder of Athulya Senior Care, he has revolutionized eldercare in India, combining clinical expertise with innovative management practices.

Dr. Keyur Parikh, Founder & Chairman, Care Institute of Medical Science

Chairman, CIMS Hospital. One of the senior-most Interventional Cardiologists of India associated with pioneering invasive and interventional cardiology work in India, triple diplomats of Board of Internal Medicine, Cardiology & Interventional Cardiology (having lived in USA from 1982-1995). An alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Owner/President Management (OPM Program-48) in 2014-2016.

Awards & accomplishments:

• He was awarded the Order of William Harvey by American College of Cardiology in 1991 and Prestigious “Distinguished International Service Award” by the American College of Cardiology in 2004.
• Received the “Special Award to Dr. Keyur Parikh” for contributions to cardiology, awarded by AACOI- American Association of Cardiologists of Indian Origin), March 2015Faculty of International Conferences- ACC, Euro-PCR, ESC, TCT, CSI, ICI, C3, etc.
• Awarded by the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences, Winnipeg, Canada– “Lifetime Achievement Award in Cardiovascular Science, Medicine And Surgery” and 'IMA (Indian Medical Association) Dr. K. Sharan Cardiology
• Excellence Award‘ by IMA.
• Dr. Parikh received AAPI “Global Leadership Award” at the Hands of Honorable Shri Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India (then Chief Minister of Gujarat)

Dr. Kirit s Parikh, Chairman - IRADe, Former Member, Planning Commission

Dr Kirit S. Parikh has a Doctor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master's Degree in Economics from MIT, USA. He has been a Professor of Economics since 1967.

Widely recognized as architect of India's Integrated Energy Policy Committee.  He was a Member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of five Prime Ministers of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar, V.P.Singh and Rajiv Gandhi.

Honoured with Padma Bhushan by the President of India in March 2009. He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and honorary life member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (on an average given to two persons a year in the world).

He was honoured as the most distinguished and illustrious alumni of the decade from India by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in September, 2007.  He was conferred the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur in September, 2007.

In 1978 he was given the "Vikram Sarabhai Award" for Systems Analysis and Management. In 1999 he was given the "Visveswaraya Award" by the Engineers' Foundation in Kolhapur.   He is also a recipient of "Nayudamma Award" for contribution to the welfare of mankind through developments in the fields of Economics & Energy in February 2005.  

Dr. Krishna M Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International Limited

Dr. Krishna Ella, a graduate from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, moved to the US for his MS from the University of Hawaii and Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, before taking a faculty position at the Medical University of South Carolina-Charleston.

Driven by a vision to develop innovative remedies for developing world healthcare challenges, Dr. Ella returned to India with his wife Suchitra in 1996 to establish Bharat Biotech International Limited, a company that has delivered over 4 billion vaccine doses to the poorest and most underserved in over 116 developing countries through UNICEF, GAVI and other distribution channels.

With over 160 patents, the company has over 16 vaccines in its portfolio and employs around 2600+ people. The company has also received direct and indirect grants of over $165 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $ 4 million from the Wellcome Trust, and other grants from Governments of UK, Norway and India.

Partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and various agencies since 2001, Dr. Ella ensured that Bharat Biotech successfully developed Rotavac®, India’s first new molecule and the world’s most affordable vaccine against Rotavirus induced diarrhoeal infections and death, with the Honourable Prime Minister of India launching the same to save the lives of many children. Under his leadership, the company also developed and launched Typbar TCV®, the world’s 1st clinically proven and WHO pre-qualified Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) and becoming the first company to have proven the efficacy of a Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine through human challenge studies conducted at Oxford University in 2018.

COVAXIN® another recent feather in Dr. Ella’s cap, India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech is developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV). The indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility in record time. The vaccine is developed using Whole-Virion Inactivated Vero Cell derived platform technology. Inactivated vaccines do not replicate and are therefore unlikely to revert and cause pathological effects. They contain dead virus, incapable of infecting people but still able to instruct the immune system to mount a defensive reaction against an infection.

Dr. Ella’s contributions to the development of biotechnology in India has been through his association with several technical committees of the Government such as:

• Former Member, Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C), Government of India
• Member, Governing Body of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Member, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)
• Member, Research Council of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB)
• Member, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
• Member of Governing Body Council, ILS, Bhubaneswar
• Former Chairman, Board of Governors, National Institute of Technology, Warangal

He is also a recipient of more than 100 National and International awards, of which few are mentioned below:
JRD TATA Best Entrepreneur of the year

• ET Now Special Recognition for Healthcare Industry Award
• Best Innovative Company of the year by Bio Spectrum
• Business Leader of the Year, Pharma Bio World – 2011
• Best Technology and Innovation Award, Prime Minister of India – 2008
• Life Time Achievement Award, TANA, USA ? 2019

Accolades received

• Biospectrum Award, Under Top 20 BioPharma Companies ? 2019
• Company of the Year Award, Zee Business – Dare to Dream Awards ? 2019
• Best Innovation Award, ‘Man’Exe, CII & Govt. of Telangana ? 2019
• Industry Excellence Award, IPA ? 2019
• Biospectrum Product of the year Award for Rotavac5D - 2021
• BioAsia Genome Valley Excellence Award – 2021
• India Today Healthgiri Award-2021

Dr. Kshama Fernandes, MD & CEO, Northern Arc Capital

Dr. Kshama Fernandes is the Managing Director and CEO of the Company and oversees the overall management of the Company. She was appointed to the Board with effect from August 1, 2012 and was most recently re-appointed as Managing Director for a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2020. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science from Goa University, and a master’s degree as a well as a PhD in management studies from Goa University. She has over 25 years of experience spanning across management, risk advisory and academia. Dr. Fernandes is a financial risk manager certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Prior to joining the company, she was a professor at the Goa Institute of Management. She has also served as Northern Arc’s chief risk officer from 2009 to 2012.

Dr. Kunal Sehgal, Managing Director and Chief Pathologist, Neuberg Sehgal Pathlab

Dr. Kunal Sehgal is a Hematopathologist and Flow Cytometrist and currently is Managing Director and Chief Pathologist, Neuberg Sehgal Pathlab. He received his M.D. in Pathology from PGIMER Chandigarh and was awarded the gold medal for the best student of the university during his course. He worked as a fellow and senior resident in the Hematopathology laboratory at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai. He has been awarded the UICC ICRETT AUF Fellowship during which he worked at the flowcytometry laboratories at John Hopkins University, Baltimore and at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle –USA. He also worked as a Consultant in the Hematology Laboratory at PD Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai from 2011-2015. 

His main areas of interest are in the field of flow cytometry and newer parameters on CBC instruments. He has been actively involved in the development and standardization of six & eight color immunophenotyping at Hinduja Hospital and Tata Memorial Hospital. He has actively participated in various flowcytometry associated projects and training courses held at Hinduja and TMH and as part of the The Cytometry Society-India and INDO US conferences. He has presented papers at both national and international conferences. He is a certified NABL auditor for hematology and clinical pathology. He is a life member and Joint secretary of The Cytometry Society of India, and member of Mumbai Hematology Group and Indian Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. 

Dr. Lalit Khaitan, Chairman & MD, RadicoKhaitan

A veteran with over 50 years of experience, Dr. Khaitan, is one of the pioneers in the Indian spirits industry. He provides the overall strategic direction to Radico Khaitan. He has been instrumental in improving quality standards and enhancing customer satisfaction, leading to substantial revenue growth and increased market shares. In the process, he has succeeded in transforming Radico Khaitan from a bottler to a leading IMFL player in India. His unique management style has helped maintain Radico as an ethical and transparent organisation with highest corporate governance standards.

Dr. Khaitan has been widely recognised for his contribution to the liquor industry. He has been associated with a number of developmental projects, has represented India with several international delegations, and is involved in social & educational activities across India. He is currently:

• Chairman, U.P. Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Senior Member, Managing Committee, ASSOCHAM
• Member, Managing Committee, All India Distillers Association
• Member, Managing Committee, U.P. Distillers Association
• Member of the Standing Committee of PHD Chamber
• Chairman, Northern Region Development Council, ASSOCHAM

He has received the lifetime achievement award from the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies in 2005 and by Alcobev in 2008. Most recently he has been awarded the ‘Legend of the Industry’ at Spiritz 2014.

Dr. Lopa Mudra Basu, Advisor - Government Affairs Advisory Council, Cloud Security Alliance

Dr. M K Khanduja, CMD, BSR Super Specialty Hospitals Ltd

Dr. Khanduja Chairman and Managing Director BSR Healthcare is a career Pediatrician of twenty five years experience and ventured to become an entrepreneur sixteen years back. BSR Healthcare runs 8 high end Diagnostic centers across Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. And 175 bedded “Apollo BSR Hospitals” located at Bhilai. Group aims to expand BSR healthcare as a chain of hospitals and diagnostic center on a pan - India level. BSR is presently expanding in medical diagnostic with another 10 centers as well as hospital business by way of two Specialty Hospitals.