Our speakers

Dheeraj Gupta, Founder, Jumbo King

After a three-year course in Hotel Management and an MBA in Finance from Symbiosis, Dheeraj Gupta set out to try his hand at business.

He set out to do something most unique and innovative - brand the vada pav. At Jumboking, the retail QSR chain he founded in Aug 2001, he standardized the vada pav, made it a scalable model, and took it to markets outside of Mumbai, giving it a national presence.

Recognized as one of the youngest thought-leaders in the franchising industry, Dheeraj has won several awards in this field such as the  Award for New Concept Franchising and Award as Innovative Franchisee model in 2007. A member of the jury of the ET retail awards in 2010, he also chairs the Certification Committee for Franchising Association of India. In March 2014, he authored a knowledge paper on Franchising, which was applauded and well received by the industry.
 
Dheeraj's approach has been pioneering, with an unrelenting focus on innovation and operational excellence.

Thanks to his methodical and meticulous approach, whether product or service, everything is standardized, operations are simplified, and all of this is put in manuals for easy and smooth execution. He firmly believes in the power of innovation. This trait is thus encouraged in his team and by his extended family of franchisees too.

It's not just about grey matter for this pioneer. Dheeraj recently completed the 42 km run at the Standard CharteredMarathon and running is a daily morning habit. Sprinting past different neighbourhoods, he observes the flow of people at work, no matter which part of the globe he's trotting. An avid reader of business biographies, the ace businessman is also interested in books that focus on personal growth, mastery and innovation.

Dheeraj Jain, Founder, Redcliffe Labs

Dheeraj Sinha, Group CIO, JSW Group

Dhiraj C Rajaram, Founder, CEO & Chairman, Mu Sigma

Dhiraj Rajaram is the founder, chairman and ceo of Mu Sigma. He is responsible for the organization's vision and strategic direction, building teams, aligning organizational resources to a customer centric vision and delivering profitable growth. Dhiraj has built Mu Sigma from ground up, during which time he executed activities that included raising seed and growth capital for the venture, securing key Fortune 100 customers, incubating a delivery unit and hiring key leadership members.

His entrepreneurial skills have helped Mu Sigma bag industry accolades, investor backing and client appreciation. Dhiraj was named to Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 and Techweek Top 100. He was also recognized as 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Services) and also made it to Chicago Business Crain’s 40 under 40. Under his leadership, in 2011, Mu Sigma received a $108M funding from Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic Partners; the largest round of investment in big data and analytics. Mu Sigma also made it to the Inc. 5000 list in 2012, thrice in a row. Most recently, Dhiraj won the CNBC TV18 Young Turk Award at the India Business Leader Awards 2013 as well as the 2014 Distinguished Entrepreneurial Award From Chicago Booth.

Dhiraj set up Mu Sigma with a vision to make decision sciences and analytics commonplace across organizations. The company has driven disruptive innovation in the industry by integrating the disciplines of math, business and technology, creating a harmony between the creation and consumption of analytics. Mu Sigma continues to attract the best clients, talent and investor base.

Prior to founding Mu Sigma, Dhiraj advised senior executives across a variety of verticals as a strategy consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Dhiraj holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Wayne State University and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University.

Dhiraj Kacker, Co-Founder & CEO, Canvera.com

Dhiraj has been working in the field of Digital Imaging since 1991. In 2013 Dhiraj along with Canvera's Co-Founder Peeyush was recognized as amongst the top-10 Most Influential People in Photography in India by Asian Photography magazine. Prior to founding Canvera Dhiraj was Director of Product Development and Operations at Naehas a Silicon Valley startup building technologies for multi-channel personalized marketing applications. Prior to Naehas Dhiraj was Engineering Manager/MTS at Shutterfly (NASDAQ:SFLY), a US based online Digital Photography company, where he was part of the core R&D team that developed their imaging and workflow automation technologies. Dhiraj has a PhD in EE from Purdue where his research was focused on algorithms for desktop printers. His PhD research was sponsored by HP's Imaging & Printing Group. Dhiraj has an MS in EE from Washington State University and B.Tech in EE from IIT Bombay. Dhiraj has numerous patents and publications to his name in the field of Digital Imaging. 

Dhiraj Kumar Sinha, Co-Founder & Partner, SucSEED Ventures

Dhiraj Nayyar, Officer on Special Duty and Head, Economics, Finance and Commerce, NITI Aayog, Government of India

Dhiraj Nayyar is Officer on Special Duty and Head, Economics, Finance and Commerce, NITI Aayog, Government of India, At NITI Aayog, he is responsible for all policy matters related to the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services and Department of Commerce. Dhiraj trained as an economist at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, Merton College, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge. After a stint teaching development economics at the University of Cambridge, Dhiraj switched to journalism. He was Opinion Editor of The Financial Express, Deputy Editor of India Today, Editor-at-large at Firstpost.com, India Columnist for Bloomberg View and Managing Editor of The Quint. He was also CEO of the Think India Foundation, a media-active think tank. In 2013, Dhiraj was awarded a Bastiat Prize in journalism by the California-based Reason Foundation. He is the editor of two books, Surviving the Storm: India and the Global Financial Crisis and Dogs and Us: Collected Short Stories. 

Dhiraj Poddar, Country Head, India, TA Associates Advisory Pvt Ltd

Dhiraj Poddar is the Country Head, India at TA Associates Advisory Pvt Ltd. He focuses on investments in growth companies in India and other emerging markets. Poddar has advised on TA’s $40 million investment in Tega Industries Ltd and a minority stake in e-payment processing services provider BillDesk (part of IndiaIdeas.com). He also sits on the board of both companies.

Previously he worked with Standard Chartered PE, where he served as a director responsible for origination and evaluation of investment opportunities, leading investments, managing portfolio companies and handling exits. Before this, Poddar worked with Progeon, the ITES arm of Infosys, as part of the team that set up the KPO division. He has also served a stint with ICICI Securities as a assistant vice president.

Poddar holds a degree from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Dhruv Agarwala, Co-founder, PropTiger.com

Dhruv brings along with him several years of experience. Before PropTiger came into being, He was the CEO of GE's Infrastructure business in India, and also led Institutional Sales for GE in the country. He has previously held various senior roles with GE in the US and has world - class operating and general management experience.

Dhruv had previously started a highly successful iron - ore mining company in India, and he also started and exited an education business offering management training. He holds a B.S. in Materials Science from Northwestern University, an M.S. from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard.

Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com