Our speakers

Akash Banerji, Head of Marketing & Partnerships, Viacom 18 Digital Ventures

Akash Banerji is the Head, Marketing & Partnerships for the Viacom 18 digital ventures. Prior to this role, Akash was the Head of Marketing for Hotstar (2014-15) where he was responsible for the big bang launch and driving consumer acquisition.

He has thirteen years of consistent high performance in the marketing & sales/distribution domain with leading consumer centric MNCs in the area of managing & growing brands profitably. Akash has worked across various spectrums like Digital, Sports, General Entertainment & business integration (post acquisition) and led teams (marketing & cross-functional) with the aim of gaining market & mind share.

An alumnus of Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Delhi, Akash started his career in sales & marketing working for top-notch organizations like Pepsi & Marico straddling different geographies in the country. After spending close to five years in Marico, Akash decided to move to the fast-paced world of media.

Akash Gupta, Executive Director - Head of Technology & Internet, Kotak Investment Banking?

Akash is Executive Director & Head of Technology / Internet Investment Banking at Kotak. He has over 16 years of experience in the internet / technology sectors and technology investment banking across US, Europe, India & Asia Pacific. He has run transactions worth over $100bn, across M&A, private fund raising, corporate spin-offs, divestitures, IPOs, structured products, debt offerings and equity offerings.

Akash has held senior management positions at a Fortune 1000 technology company in the US and at a successful internet venture in India, and has also seeded an internet startup in 1999 – 2000. Prior to this, while working at Credit Suisse & Barclays Capital in the US, he has worked on marquee transactions in the technology / internet space across the NYC area and Silicon Valley.

Akash’s past client list includes the likes of Google, Qualcomm, Rackspace, Yahoo, Verizon, AT&T, Viacom, Time Warner and Bharti, while he has also worked with marquee funds such as TPG, Blackstone, KKR, Bain Capital and Silverlake. hE has a keen understanding of internet startups and deep knowledge of the ecosystem and sub-verticals within technology, having worked with various business models and having seen different business cycles within the ecosystem.

Akash Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, Zypp Electric

Akash Sharma, Founder, Farmley

Akash Sinha, Co-founder and CEO, Cashfree Payments

Akash Sinha co-founded Cashfree Payments, a leading API Banking solutions company in 2015 with his friend Reeju Datta, to solve the challenges faced by businesses in bulk payments and disbursals. Before launching Cashfree, Akash worked with e-commerce giants such as Amazon and BankBazaar where he built products as a Software Engineer.

With his experience as a programmer and product owner, Akash focuses on the intersection of technology and business opportunities. A community builder in the startup and entrepreneur space, he is passionate about cutting-edge tech that can help businesses experiment, scale and innovate faster.

A graduate of International Institute of Information Technology – Hyderabad (IIIT-H), Akash started his first company while still in college, and he takes that legacy forward by building cutting-edge payment products and solutions for businesses. His entrepreneurial journey began shortly after completing his graduation in Computer Science and Engineering from The International Institute of Information Technology where he was selected for the prestigious Google Summer of Code (GSoC), an international annual program in which Google awards stipends to students who successfully complete a free and open-source software coding project during the summer.

In early 2021, Akash was featured in the highly respected Forbes India 30 Under 30 list.

Akash Suri, Group President and National Head, Asset Reconstruction and Management, Yes Bank

Akhil Awasthi, Managing Partner, Tata Capital Growth Fund

Akhil has over 23 years of private equity experience in India, and about 32 years of experience in financial services including investing in both, listed and unlisted asset class.

Akhil is the Managing Partner of Tata Capital Growth Fund, a US$ 400+ million private equity fund promoted by Tata Capital and focussed on investing in high growth companies. He is a member of EMPEA and former member of Executive Committee of IVCA (Indian Venture Capital Association).

Prior to Tata Capital, Akhil was one of the founding members of Baring Private Equity Partners, a leading Indian private equity fund and was involved in all stages of the PE lifecycle, from creating an investment proposition, fund raising, investment and divestment. Akhil has completed over 30 transactions and 15 exits delivering attractive returns to investors. He served on the Board of Directors of various portfolio companies and was also a Member/ Chairman of Compensation / Audit Committees.

He is on the Investment Committee of TCGF 1 and TCGF II.

Akhil has done his MBA from FMS, Delhi and AMP from Harvard Business School.

Akhil Awasthi, Managing Partner, Tata Capital Growth Fund | @TataCompanies

Akhil is a consummate private equity professional having raised/managed US$1 Billion across 4 private equity funds, invested in 24 transactions with 8 exits across a span of 2 decades. He joined Tata Capital in 2009 after working with
Baring Private Equity and Kothari Pioneer’s Mutual Fund business.

Akhil is the Founding Managing Partner of Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF),(an India focused private equity fund providing growth capital),he conceptualized TCGF’s Investment Strategy and raised US$ 240 million from International as well as Indian LPs under adverse market conditions in 2011. Under Akhil’s leadership, TCGF embarked on a disciplined execution of its Investment Strategy which emphasizes macro, team and measured risk taking and invested in 9 businesses across inancial services, technology, consumer,pharma and manufacturing sectors.

He also provides guidance on execution of growth strategy and disciplined risk management through his position on the Board and Committees of some of the leading businesses in India viz. Star Health & Allied Insurance and Sal Life Sciences.
Akhil is a member of Senior Leadership Group of Tata Capital Limited. He is a frequent speaker at leading industry conferences in India and abroad. He is member of the Asia Council, EMPEA , an emerging market focused association.
Akhil is a mechanical engineer with an MBA from the University of Delhi. He has completed his AMP from Harvard Business School.

Akhil lives and works out of Mumbai, India and is married to Anupama who is a practising Chartered Accountant.

Akhil Gupta, Founder and Chief Tech & Product officer, NoBroker.com

Akhil Gupta, CEO, Shine