Our speakers

Manu Iyer, CEO & MD, Bluehill Capital

Manu Iyer runs Bluehill Capital, an early-stage VC fund, focusing on hardware, clean-tech and deep-tech startups, through which capital has been deployed for 8 investments in the space to date. He is also Partner in Bluehill Retail, a retailing and distribution business that partners with several international and Indian electronics, lifestyle and apparel brands. He is a B.Tech Electrical Engr from IIT Madras and has completed his MBA from Duke University in the US. After working in Financial Services in the US, he had shifted base to India, to start off on his own. He is an active angel investor, through Indian Angel Network and Inflection Point Ventures, and a TIE Charter Member. He serves on a board of several startups and also works closely with various startups in the ecosystem to guide and mentor them.

Manu Midha, VP, Planning & Operations, Infibeam Incorporation Limited

Manu heads Planning and Strategy at Infibeam Inc. Infibeam is one of India’s largest e-commerce platforms.

At Infibeam, Manu has conceptualized and launched key projects for Infibeam like Cash on Delivery, Magic Box and BuildaBazaar. Under his leadership BuildaBazaar has become India’s largest e-commerce platform and one of the most preferred enterprise platforms in the world.

He joined Infibeam from JPMorgan Investment Banking where he was involved in key M&A transactions and IPO's of recent times.He went to IIM Ahmedabad where he graduated in the top ten percentile of his batch. Manu interned with a Consulting firm during his summer internship where he worked on devising an entry strategy for a heavy equipment manufacturer.

Earlier Manu Co-founded VidyaCenter an Online Learning venture with colleagues from his undergrad college. VidyaCenter was marketplace for educational services with built-in tools for remote learning and teaching (~10,000 registered students).

He is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT Kharagpur. Manu likes interacting with students and listening to Hindi songs at leisure. 

Manu Monga, Senior Vice President - Digital Banking and Transformation, Axis Bank

Manu is an experienced digital business strategist, with over 20 years of experience in developing and driving business outcomes with strategic use of data, technology and marketing. Previous experience ranges from launching a consumer tech start-up as a founding member to driving digital business for large scale enterprises like ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Idea Cellular.

Manu N Wadhwa, Chief Human Resources Officer, Sony Pictures Networks India

“To believe in heroic makes heroes” Benjamin Disraeli - Driven by the purpose to strive for excellence, Manu focuses on nurturing ecosystems wherein individuals challenge their own, as well their team’s limits, to drive the growth of the organization and the universe around them.  
 
With a career spanning over two plus decades, across multiple industries and countries, Manu has steered workplace & people agenda of globally dynamic organizations likes Sony Pictures, CocaCola, American Express & GE, specializing in roles like Head HR, Talent & Development, Mergers & Acquisitions, HR Transformation, Change & Digital Innovation. She has also operated in board positions wherein, she was/is entrusted to safeguard the company's interest as it pertains to license to operate and sustain in the marketplace. Manu is a graduate of the GE Human Resources 

Leadership Program (#HRLP) and started her career as a Finance Analyst with Tata Unisys.   
 
Apart from corporate endeavors, Manu is an active industry activist and member of various forums like Co-Chairperson of the CII Western Region Leadership & HR Committee, Member of CII – National Leadership & HR Committee, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) – Asia Pacific Advisory Board, LNOD Advisory Council, Chandigarh University Corporate Advisory Board, Jombay Board of Directors and AIMA YLC. She is also an active participant in various country growth efforts, such as #Startup India and a regular speaker at industry forums, wherein she passionately delivers insights on Leadership and HR Transformation, Change Management and Human Capital Index, amongst other key topics. 
 
Manu is a qualified MBTI, Six Sigma professional, Instruction Designer & Facilitator on variety of leadership & professional skills subjects. She has acquired her bachelor's in Finance, Statistics & Economics and master’s in human resources from Symbiosis Center of Management & HRD, India. 

Mark Kahn, Founding Partner, Omnivore Partners

Mark Kahn is the co-founder of Omnivore Partners, a venture fund investing in early stage agriculture & food technology companies in India. Omnivore supports entrepreneurs developing solutions to improve farm productivity, increase agricultural sustainability, modernize agribusiness supply chains, and promote farm-sourced food products. Omnivore seeks to transform Indian agriculture through technology innovation, impacting the lives of farmers and rural communities.

Mark is a Director for multiple Omnivore-backed startups, including Skymet, FrontalRain, Arohan Foods, Eruvaka, and YCook. Previously, Mark was the Executive Vice President (Strategy & Business Development) at Godrej Agrovet, one of India's foremost diversified agribusiness companies. At Godrej Agrovet, Mark was responsible for corporate strategy, M&A, R&D, and new business incubation.

Earlier in his career, Mark worked for Syngenta and PFM.  He earned a BA (Honors) from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. Mark is a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Council on Agriculture and the CII Innovation & Entrepreneurship Council.  He also serves on the board of Heifer International India.

Mark Silgardo, Sr Managing Partner, IL&FS Investment Managers Limited

Mr. Silgardo is Senior Managing Partner at IIML and has over 28 years of experience across the financial services industry. Mr. Silgardo has worked on the corporate banking side of two multinational banks, namely Banque Nationale de Paris and ANZ Grindlays for over 10 years and subsequently headed Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, one of the largest domestic investment banks in India. Thereafter as Managing Director, Corporate Finance of ABN Amro and then PriceWaterhouse Coopers, he led M&A transactions with deal sizes ranging from $25 million to $500 million across sectors as diverse as telecommunications, media, fast moving consumer goods, and oil & gas. Prior to joining IIML, Mr. Silgardo set up the Investment Banking division of IndusInd Bank, one of the premier private sector banks in India. He was also involved in M&A and fund raising strategy and execution for various Hinduja group companies spanning the telecommunications, media, ITES, real estate and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as in the structuring and development of a proposed fund management business.

From June 2006, Mr Silgardo has been running the growth private equity fund which invests in rapidly growing mid sized companies across a wide range of sectors.

Mr. Silgardo holds an MBA in International Finance from University of Rochester, New York. Mr. Silgardo did his post graduate studies in Marketing from IIM Ahmedabad.

Martin Blake, Strategic Advisor, Board of Blue Planet Environmental Services

Dr Martin Blake is an award-winning visionary thought leader and strategist with 35 years practical experience at an executive level. He is a company director, speaker and mentor with specialist expertise in board direction, governance and futuring. He holds a working portfolio of board directorships and advisory roles encompassing the USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. He is the owner of Blake Advisory, a Strategic Advisor to the Board of Blue Planet Environmental Services, an Associate Director of Future Smart Strategies, a Strategic Partner at IAQ Consultants, and a Non-Executive Director of Sabien Technology and PearTrack Security Systems Inc.

Dr Blake chairs and advises a multitude of strategic groups, all focused on the development and deployment of innovative business models. He is an Adjunct Professor of Sustainable Business Development at both Griffith University and the University of Southern Queensland, and is also a Visiting Fellow at the Business School of the University of Hull in the UK.

Dr Blake is internationally recognised as having designed and deployed one of the most successful organizational change management programmes in the world, saving millions of pounds annually and winning multiple National and International awards.

Martin Nygate, Founder & CEO, nanu

A seasoned entrepreneur with a penchant for start up success, Martin is the architect behind the nanu business. Martin has made a career out of delivering profitable high tech sales and communications solutions to the maritime and software industries, spanning Asia and Europe. Product expertise includes CRM, ERP, CCTV, SIM card, banking and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) software.

nanu was conceived from Martin’s singular mission to revolutionize the telecommunications industry and put an end to telco dominance.

@chiefnanu

Marwan Al Sarkal, Managing Partner, Chapter 3 LLC

Mathew Cyriac, , Florintree Advisors

Mathew Cyriac is the Co-Head of Private Equity in India.

Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. Cyriac has been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Allcargo Global Logistics, CMS Infosystems, FINO, FTIL, Gateway Rail, Gokaldas Exports, International Tractors, MCX, MTAR Technologies and Nuziveedu Seeds. Mr. Cyriac currently serves on the boards of CMS Info Systems, FINO, Gateway Rail, Gokaldas Exports, International Tractors and MTAR.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Cyriac served as Head of Corporate Development & Strategy of iGATE Corporation (NASDAQ:IGTE) and Chief Financial Officer of Quintant Services, where he led all the financing and other strategic transactions of Quintant and its eventual sale to iGATE.

Prior to joining Quintant, Mr. Cyriac was a Vice President in the Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Cyriac also worked in the Private Equity Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and the Investment Banking Division of Bank of America and in the Engineering Division of Tata Motors.

Mr. Cyriac received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, where he graduated at the top of his class.