Our speakers

Vikas Choudhury, CEO, AIMIA

Vikas Choudhury is currently COO & CFO of Aimia India. Vikas has over 15 years of experience in executive management roles in retail, analytics, technology, venture capital and consulting. 

Prior to Aimia India, he has founded and sold a Red Herring Top Asia 100 enterprise performance management and data analytics business, run a luxury home store retailer and led a surveillance systems company managing security solutions. Vikas has been a co-founding angel investor in Mumbai Angels. Vikas started his career with Arthur Andersen and CSC in USA. 

Vikas is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and University of Pittsburgh.

Vikas Dawra, Managing Director - Investment Banking, YES Bank Ltd

Vikas Dawra is Managing Director - Investment Banking at YES BANK. He has extensive experience in the Investment Banking industry across a range of industries and geographies. At YES BANK, Vikas has led cross-border M&A, private equity placements, IPO and FCCB issues. His team focuses on E-Commerce, Information Technology, life sciences, natural resources, metals, FMCG and food & agri among other industries. Besides India, he has led successful transactions in US, Netherlands, France, Israel, Greece and Africa.

Prior to joining YES BANK, he was Associate Director, M&A at Rabo India Finance, Mumbai. Vikas also spent 5 years with Arthur Andersen both in Delhi and Mumbai, where he worked in the M&A division and focused on the life sciences and telecommunications sector.

Vikas holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from PEC, Chandigarh and an MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Vikas Gupta, Chief Information Officer, H-Energy Group of Companies

Vikas is a strategic IT Leader with organisational authority for enterprise-wide technology planning and designing infra-light solutions to intensify cost savings with continual refinement & improvement of IT performance.

An MBA Techie and cross functional strategist, adept in meeting ever-expanding, global business demands against concurrent resource consolidation.

Vikas has been a digital transformational leader for several global organizations and has brought about revolution in their business.

He has delivered projects across diverse industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Projects, Engineering and Constructions, Services, Banking & Insurance, Travel and Hospitality and in Telecommunications.

Vikas is a professional with over two decades of quality experience in IT consulting who has worked with Global IT Partners like SAP, Oracle, BaaN, SunSystems, IBM, Microsoft  in carrying out Process Design and systems implementation.

He is actively engaged in designing solutions with new age digital tools and infusing mobility to applications, enabling cloud approach and creating roadmap for Big Data & Analytics.

He has delivered umpteen projects in digital space thus implanting efficiencies in the applications' DNA and bringing about process automation by infusing technology into business.

He is adept at software development in support of industry specific digital strategies, Infrastructure and application support, quality assurance, configuration management and third-party partner management.

He has been instrumental in designing completely integrated & automated environment complimented with digital initiatives to ensure faster, simpler and easier work environment for all stake-holders and has consolidated existing Application and Infrastructure landscape into a leaner and agile global platform.

Vikas is more of an engine of the team, both @ work as well as leisure. He loves travelling to serene and uninhabited places. He loves cooking as much as he loves eating. He staunchly believes that “anything worth doing is worth doing well……..”

Vikas Jain, Co-Founder & Business Director, Micromax

Vikas Jain serves as Business Director and Promoter of Micromax Informatics Limited. He has over 14 years experience in international business and planning and the information technology sector. He has previously served with Daewoo Motors engineer (QC approval) and GE Motors as a co-op student. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Vikas Kakwani, CEO, Keya Foods International Pvt Ltd

Joined Marico as a Management Trainee in 1995 and contributed to fuelling the company’s growth over 8 years before moving to Coca-Cola and then with the objective of exploring the global market relocated to Dubai in 2004 and got into a totally diverse field of Real Estate. After witnessing the boom & the bust, returned to India in 2010 and joined Aircel Telecom as Circle CEO. The day IVFA/VKL bought KEYA FOODS, I was roped in to set-up the company’s operations and put in on the growth path.

I call myself a "Foundation Expert". Highly solution oriented, efficient planner and Out-of-The-Box thinker having the analytical & organizational capabilities in “creating from scratch” - including building the organisation, establishing sales & distribution infrastructure, automating and integrating business processes, spearheading high worth BPR initiatives, setting up supply chain network, designing & executing marketing strategy through effective people management and optimum utilization of resources towards achievement of set targets and overall P&L management.

Within one year, KEYA is now available in top 100 cities across the country through 1500 Modern Trade stores and 15000 General Trade stores as well as other channels like Airlines, Hotels & all major E-tailers like Amazon, Big Basket, Local Banya etc.

I am fond of reading & writing. I write blogs and have published a fiction e-book. I play squash, am a gadget freak and love traveling (25 countries by last count).

Vikas Keyal, Head Corporate, Vaish Associates Advocates

Vikas Keyal heads the Bengaluru office of Vaish Associates. He has been associated with the Firm since 2008 and was instrumental in setting up its corporate practice at Bengaluru. Primarily a transactional lawyer, he specializes in mergers & acquisitions, restructuring of business, asset & share purchase deals, takeovers, joint ventures andstrategic alliances, structuring of complex investments and general corporate advisory. He also has a wide range of experience inprivate equity, angel and venture capital round financings. His extensive business law and transactional experience includes corporate governance, exchange control regulations advisory, entity formation and maintenance, and the drafting and negotiation of a variety of commercial agreements and undertaking due diligence. In addition to his general corporate practice, he also works on Infrastructure Projects and has substantial experience in advising clients on power projects and CDM benefits in relation to for renewable energy.

He has advised Continental AG, Gestamp Group, Illinois Tool Works, Inc.,Gamesa, Vestas, Tyco Electronics Limited, TE Connectivity Ltd. and several other multinational companies in a cross section of industries. Among Indian companies, he has representedNational Stock Exchange, Fortis Healthcare Ltd.,Enercon,Religare Group, MotilalOswal, Wockhardt, Cello to name a few. Among investment funds, he has represented Oak Hill, TVS Capital, Sequoia and Intel Capital.

Vikas Khemani, CEO, Wholesale Capital Markets, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd

A Fellow Member of the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Chartered Financial Analyst from CFA Institute, USA. He Heads the Wholesale Capital Markets SBU at Edelweiss, looking after wide range of Capital Market businesses which includes Investment Banking, Institutional Equities, Prime Brokerage and Research. He is also member of the Edelweiss Management Committee and became the youngest member of this committee at the age of 30.

Joining Edelweiss from ICICI Securities Ltd, at a young age of 26 - he is responsible for setting building and scaling up several businesses. Vikas’ views on the Indian capital markets are eagerly sought by the business media in India and Asia Pacific region. He also regularly contributes articles on capital markets and speaks in various forums.

Vikas Kumar, Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Vikas is Partner, Corporate at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Attorneys and is based in Mumbai. His practice domain includes foreign direct investments, PE, M&A and joint ventures and strategic alliances. His experience spans across sectors such as technology, e-commerce, financial services and media & entertainment.  Vikas advises clients on exchange control laws, companies act and general corporate & commercial matters.

Vikas is qualified as Solicitor, England & Wales (Non-Practicing).  Vikas graduated with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Vikas holds an MBA from INSEAD, France/Singapore.

Vikas Mehta, CMO | President, Group Marketing Services, Mullen Lowe Lintas Group

Vikas has worked with Mullen Lowe Group in roles based in India, Viet Nam & Singapore and managed businesses across 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. As Managing Director of Lowe Viet Nam, he led the agency into becoming the largest marketing communications company in the country.  In 2011, he took up the role of Regional Growth Officer for Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore. During this stint, he helped take Lowe among the top 10 agency networks in Asia leading new business and strategic growth initiatives.

As Group CMO, he leads the company’s growth strategy and leadership agenda in thought and action. As President - Group Marketing Services, Vikas runs seven operating divisions of the group across its integrated capabilities including GolinOpinion (PR), LinEngage (Activation), dCell (Design), LinTeractive (digital), LinHealth (Healthcare Marketing), LinConsult (Brand Consulting) and LinProductions (Moving Picture).

A regular speaker/ panelist at major industry forums, he’s been on numerous international award juries and has won over 50 awards for Effectiveness at Effie, Campaign Asia, WARC Asia and 4A’s Jay Chiat Awards. Vikas has worked for advertising agencies such as Publicis and Leo Burnett before joining Lowe. Besides work, he is an amateur photographer, a formula 1 enthusiast and a lazy blogger.

Vikas Sawhney, Vice President & GM (Engineering and Robotics), Bajaj Auto

Vikas Sawhney is a mechanical engineering graduate & MBA with over 30 years of dynamic career in Automotive sector with extensive exposure in greenfield projects, rich experience in Manufacturing engineering, Project management, Operations and Robotics.

Currently working as Vice President -Engineering with Bajaj Auto Limited, heading the Robotics and Automations there along with other departments. Holds a rich experience in all facets of 2 wheeler industry with in-depth technical knowledge in most of the automotive processes like metal cutting, fabrication, welding, engine & vehicle assembly, painting and Robotic applications.

He has been recognised as a visionary in the field of robotics, being the forerunner in deploying collaborative robots in India, and holds many worldwide patents in field of robotic applications and other automotive related processes.