Our speakers

Daniel dos Reis, Head of imvestments, Wamda capital

Daniel is an experienced Venture Capitalist with 19 years in the technology sector. As Investment Director at Wamda Capital, he manages early-stage investments in the MENA region for one of the region's leading early-stage Venture Capital firms. Previously, Daniel led the investment unit Dtec Ventures of the Freezone Authority Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) and directed the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) in Saudi Arabia. He holds a Diplom from the University of Hamburg.

Daniel Hand, Chief Technology Officer, APAC, Cloudera

Danny Wettreich, Chairman & CEO, GreenBank Capital Inc

Danny Wettreich is Chairman and CEO of GreenBank Capital Inc and of its subsidiary GreenCoinX. GreenBank is a Canadian public company which has developed the world’s first cryptocurrency requiring user identification. GreenCoinX meets the same “Know Your Customer” identification standards as the banking community, and makes the promise of cryptocurrency a reality by alleviating concerns that crooks and terrorists can use cryptocurrency to hide their activities. GreenBank’s other subsidiary GreenBank Financial Inc. is a licensed Canadian investment bank. Danny is also Chairman and director of five publicly listed natural resource companies in Canada. He has been CEO of Churchill Venture Capital LP, a Dallas, Texas private equity business, for more than 25 years.  He has been a director of public companies listed on NASDAQ, the American Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, and the Vancouver Stock Exchange, a predecessor to the TSX Venture Exchange. These public companies have been in diverse businesses in internet technologies, oil and gas, retailing, telecommunications, media, and real estate. He has facilitated 13 reverse takeover transactions of public companies in Canada, the USA and England. He is a graduate of the University of Westminster with a BA in Business.

@dannywettreich

Darius D. Pandole, Partner, New Silk Route Advisors

Darius joined New Silk Route Advisors at its inception in February 2007 and focuses on private equity opportunities in the Indian sub-continent out of the Mumbai office.

Darius previously worked at IDFC PE Ltd. which he joined in February 2003. Darius was the Executive Director, and later Chief Operating Officer of this asset management company that managed the India Development Fund, an infrastructure focused private equity fund. While at IDFC PE, Darius participated as a Director on the Boards of portfolio companies and also represented the firm in interactions with regulatory authorities and at industry forums, such as the SEBI, IVCA, etc.

In February 1999, Darius co-founded and served as Managing Director of IndAsia Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd., the Indian advisor to the AMP-IndAsia India Fund – a private equity fund established in partnership with AMP of Australia. Whilst establishing this fund, he completed numerous successful private equity investments in the Information Technology, Telecom and Media sectors on a “club basis”. Prior to this, in 1997, Darius joined the investment team at the IndOcean Fund, amongst the first private equity funds to be established in India. As a principal at this Fund, he was involved in evaluating potential investment proposals and in working with portfolio companies.

Darius has a BA (Economics) from Harvard and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker at venture capital industry forums in India.

Darius Pandole, Partner, New Silk Route

Darius joined New Silk Route Advisors at its inception in February 2007 and focuses on private equity opportunities in the Indian sub-continent out of the Mumbai office.

He previously worked at IDFC PE Ltd. which he joined in February 2003. Darius was the Executive Director, and later Chief Operating Officer of this asset management company that managed the India Development Fund, an infrastructure focused private equity fund. The India Development Fund was the largest domestic private equity fund in India at that time and Darius was part of the start-up team responsible for raising and managing this fund. While at IDFC PE, Darius participated as a Director on the Boards of portfolio companies and also represented the firm in interactions with regulatory authorities and at industry forums, such as the SEBI, IVCA, etc.

In February 1999, he co-founded and served as Managing Director of IndAsia Fund Advisors Pvt. Ltd., the Indian advisor to the AMP-IndAsia India Fund – a private equity fund established in partnership with AMP of Australia. Whilst establishing this fund, he completed numerous successful private equity investments in the Information Technology, Telecom and Media sectors on a “club basis”. Prior to this, in 1997, Darius joined the investment team at the IndOcean Fund, amongst the first private equity funds to be established in India. The IndOcean Fund was established in partnership with Chase Capital Partners and Soros Fund Management. As a principal at this Fund, he was involved in evaluating potential investment proposals and in working with portfolio companies.

Upon his return from the US in1993, he managed the operations of his family owned soft drinks business, Duke and Sons Limited, which was a market leader in Western India. Darius was responsible for the marketing strategy and sales execution, as well as for the finance and treasury management functions. He led the negotiations that culminated in a successful sale of the business to PepsiCo.

He was the Indian junior national squash champion and represented India at various international tournaments. He was also a US national squash champion and first team All American.

He has a BA (Economics) from Harvard and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a frequent speaker at venture capital industry forums in India.

Darshan Gandhi, Global Design Head, Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Darshan Gandhi is Global Head - Design, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL).

Darshan believes in inclusive design principles; that all good design should be accessible. She joined Godrej & Boyce's Interio division in 2006, where she was a catalyst in introducing design thinking, by creating and showcasing a diverse range of products under one platform, with a unique design philosophy. This led her to work for Godrej Industries in 2008, where she was assigned to design SPACE, a prototype office to create a young work culture that inspired the exchange of ideas, innovation and change at Godrej. This was the start of design driven thinking at GCPL.

She formed the GCPLDesignLab in 2009, and was instrumental in applying design led thinking to transform brands with delightful product offerings (in a Godrej way) for a rapidly evolving Indian market. This created a great impact and value for consumers across categories, with reinvigorated brands like Expert, aer, Cinthol, Goodknight and BBLUNT. By leveraging the design tools of need based user-centric segmentation, prototyping and product mapping, Darshan led the development of a unique collaborative approach in line with GCPL’s overall objectives. Today, she and her team of highly skilled designers have extended the same approach to GCPL's brands and categories across Africa and Indonesia. The recent designification of Africa’s leading hair extensions brand, Darling, marks a milestone in GCPLDesignLab’s journey of inclusive design thinking practices as a leading in-house design studio. GCPLDesignLab was awarded ‘India's Best Design Studio Award 2017’ and ‘India’s Best Product Design Award 2019’ .

Darshan is a post graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and an alumna of the Harvard Business School’s executive education General Management Programme.

Darshan Mehta, CEO, Reliance Brands

Darshan Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, NewsReach India

Darshana Shah, Sr.Vice President - Marketing and Visual Merchandising, Hypercity Retail

Darshana Shah holds a Master degree in Marketing from NMIMS .She has over 14 years of work experience with 6 years in the IT and 8 years in the retail sector. Thus her work experience spans from stepping into the IT Industry to establishing herself in the retail sector. With expertise in varied areas like operations, marketing, brand building, private brands marketing, retail communications. She has worked with retail giants like Shopper’s Stop, Future Group (Pantaloons and Big bazaar) & Reliance Retail.

Darshana is very passionate about travelling and meeting different people across the globe and learning about their culture & heritage. She loves dancing and is a certified Indian classical dancer (Bharatnatyam). An avid reader, she enjoys reading fiction and also loves experimenting with continental cuisines in her spare time. 

Darshika Kothari, Partner, AZB Partners

Darshika Kothari is a partner of AZB & Partners specializing in private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. She has over 14 years of experience in the legal field, spearheading several large transactions, advising marquee private equity clients as well other leading international and Indian corporations and financial institutions with regard to various legal and regulatory aspects.

 

Darshika’s extensive experience ranges from structuring instruments, formulating entry and exit strategies, and governance issues to advising on acquisitions and investments in India and abroad, takeovers, foreign investment regulations, securities related laws, complex regulatory issues and securities litigation. She has advised the firm’s leading clients with regard to their Indian ventures and investments in a broad range of sectors.

 

Darshika also often participates in several legal reforms committees and policy initiatives.