Our speakers

V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Limited

Mr. V.P. Nandakumar is the MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd., one of India’s leading NBFCs and the pioneer of the institutionalised model of the gold loans business. Mr. Nandakumar took over the reins of a single branch family business in 1986, and over the next three decades presided over its growth and transformation into a financial sector powerhouse. His vision, values and leadership were instrumental in scripting this story that today touches millions of lives in India.  

Manappuram’s origins go back to 1949 when it was founded by the late V.C. Padmanabhan, father of Mr. Nandakumar. In those days, the firm was into money lending, and pawnbroking carried out on a modest scale at Valapad, a backward coastal village in Thrissur district of Kerala. After taking over in 1986 (the year his father expired), Mr. Nandakumar soon set about expanding the business in line with his ambitions and vision.

In 1992, he incorporated Manappuram Finance Ltd., and within three years (in 1995) managed to get the company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Since then, he has led from the front to transform Manappuram Finance Ltd. into a leading NBFC present across India with 4,616 branches in 28 states and UTs, with Assets under management (AUM) of about ?25,300 crore, and a workforce of over 26,000.

In recent years, Mr. Nandakumar has resolutely steered the company’s diversification into microfinance, home loans, vehicle finance, SME and personal lending to reshape the company into a full-spectrum NBFC. Today, about 30 per cent of the company’s total business comes from the non-gold side.

Mr. Nandakumar’s achievements in business have earned him national recognition. On May 26, 2018, a special issue of the Business World magazine profiled him as one among 40 of India’s most valuable CEOs. Besides, Manappuram Finance Ltd. has emerged as one of the leading wealth creators in the Indian stock market. In December 2019, the Economic Times newspaper published the ET500 list of Top Wealth Creators of 2019 with Manappuram Finance Ltd. as the chart topper.

Other than the focus on business, the cause of the wider community is central to his vision. He established the Manappuram Foundation at Valapad in 2009 to drive the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of the Manappuram group, even before the Companies Act made it mandatory. Today, the Manappuram Foundation oversees a wide range of projects in education, health care, and overall development of the rural communities.

Mr. V.P. Nandakumar was born in 1954, holds a post-graduate degree in science and additional qualifications in Banking and Foreign Trade. He is a managing committee member of leading trade and industry associations such as FICCI, Assocham and FIDC.  In January 2019, he was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. In July 2019, he was elected as an International Director of the Association of Lions Clubs International at its Milan (Italy) convention.

V.S. Radhakrishnan, MD & CEO, Janalakshmi Financial Services

Mr. V S Radhakrishnan currently serves as the CEO and Managing Director of Janalakshmi Financial Services. He is a veteran banker with an illustrious career in the banking sector. He was with HSBC for over 25 years where he held various senior positions before moving to ING Vysya Bank for 3 years. Mr. Radhakrishnan has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

V.Thiyagarajan, MD, India Home Health Care

V.Thiyagarajan is founder and CEO of Sybrant. His first home-away-from-home was Camac Software Founder CEO, a research & development outsourcing company focused on network products. His career started as a systems design engineer in the embedded systems space doing hardware and software design and was involved in large scale implementation of SCADA projects. He also had a consulting stint in technology and strategy for Fortune 500 companies in the insurance, telecom, financial services, logistics and industrial/building automation industries. In his last assignment, he was instrumental in creating a $32 Million outsourced product development company within a few years.

He is the initiator behind IHHC. The idea grew out of the pain of finding a home care nurse for the parents of a friend. This experience was the seed which evolved into IHHC.

Vaibhav Aggarwal, Co-Founder & MD, Fabfurnish

Vaibhav Aggarwal is the Co-Founder and MD of FabFurnish.com, an e-retailer of designer furniture, furnishings, decor items and kitchenware.

 

A graduate from IIT Guwahati and MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Vaibhav’s leadership has translated into significant growth for FabFurnish.com, in a short span of time. He oversees all marketing activities and initiatives at FabFurnish.com. Prior to FabFurnish, he has worked with Groupon India and Bain & Company.

Vaibhav Chadha, MD, Head of Asia Distressed Debt & Special Situations Group, Cantor Fitzgerald

Vaibhav Joshi, Head Direct Marketing (CRM & Loyalty) and Head Business Analytics, Shoppers Stop

Vaibhav Kakkar, Partner, Saraf & Partners

Vaibhav Karnavat, Partner, Karnavat & Co.

Vaibhav is a part of his family business, Karnavat & Co. since 2005. A CA by profession, Vaibhav has been an angel investor for over 5 years. Apart from this, he also oversees the family investment office which is invested in the domains of food exports and eCommerce. For 8 years he was the CEO at Jewelex International Pvt. Ltd. In this position, he was directing and monitoring the sales, manufacturing, product development, finance, operations and administration teams. Vaibhav got his degree in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) from Mumbai in the year 2002 and completed his CA from ICAI in the year 2004.

Vaibhav Khandelwal, Co-founder and CTO, Shadowfax

Vaibhav, a technophile and  problem solver, founded Shadowfax Technologies in 2015 with his batchmates from IIT Delhi.Vaibhav's technical intrusions and initiatives are focused on 3PL integrated services that offer comprehensive, one-stop solutions for enterprise supply chains in packaging, warehousing, transportation, and order fulfilment. He has developed algorithms that help solve complex logistics problems and keep Shadowfax ahead of the curve in a dynamic and fiercely competitive environment.

Vaibhav is a cricket enthusiast and loves to explore new places. In his free time, he also performs stand-up comedy routines at his favorite Bengaluru café.

Vaibhav Khandelwal, BFSI Leader - IBM Security SWG, India / South Asia, IBM | @IBM

Vaibhav Khandelwal has been working at intersection of Banking & Technology for over 10 years. He has worked in Microfinance in SriLanka, been a Trade Finance Banker with ABN AMRO Bank in Singapore and with IBM consulted large global banks in Europe and Africa on the channel transformation and customer engagement initiatives. Vaibhav is currently India and South Asia Head for IBM Trusteer - a cloud service that is enhancing consumer banking experience by protecting banks and their customers from cyberfraud. He is passionate about new technologies that are making banking more credible, accessible and efficient. Vaibhav has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives from IIM Ahmedabad.