Speakers

On March 10th, 9.30AM IST meet Kiran Mazumdar Shah, a pioneer and visionary of the biotechnology industry in India and the founder of Biocon. At the age of 25, Shah started a company from her garage and since then it has transformed to become India’s largest biopharmaceutical company: Biocon.

She has been the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for her groundbreaking work in biotechnology and is India’s richest self-made woman.

Her unique philanthropy follows the approach of “compassionate capitalism”. Fulfilling her commitment to giving back to communities and leading by example has led her to shape a legacy focused on the creation of accessible and affordable health care in India.

Her story is one of innovation, entrepreneurship and equity. Sign up now to hear Kiran Mazumdar Shah speak about Entrepreneurship, Biotech and Policy in India.

Chances are you've used Urban Company to get that lockdown haircut so you're groomed for your meetings but have you ever thought about how such a massive company, valued close to $1B was founded?

Who better to learn about the inner workings of a behemoth than the founder of Urban Company himself?

On Saturday, 21st of November, at 9:30 PM IST (8AM PST) join us as we ‘Bridge Entrepreneurial Landscapes: From the Valley to India’ with Raghav Chandra, Co-Founder of Asia’s largest human services platform.

Present across India, UAE, Australia and Singapore, Raghav has understood and delivered what the global audience wants best.

As a UC Berkeley alumnus (Class of 2011) who studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Raghav went on to work in the Valley as a software engineer for two years, after which he eventually moved back to India to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions! Prior to Urban Company, Raghav also founded Buggi, a peer to peer auto-rickshaw ride share platform. A serial entrepreneur in every sense!

Raghav will be sharing with us his experience at Berkeley, dabbling with all things start-up, the journey back home to build for India, the learnings from this experience, and capping it off with advice for budding entrepreneurs!

Anupama Chopra is a film critic, television anchor, National Award-winning book author, chairperson of the Film Critics Guild and Director of the JIO MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star. She is also the founder and fditor of the digital platform Film Companion which offers a curated look at cinema and entertainment.

An alumnus of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Anupama chose the largely untrodden path of film journalism at a time when Bollywood was characterized by its esoteric and snooty circles of influence. Fast forward twenty years and here’s a lady who has pioneered a change in the perception of the Indian film industry with not only her prolific presence as a film critic but also her inimitable interviewing style that grounds her high-flying interviewees in a way that her audience thoroughly enjoys.

Have all your questions about pictures, print and more answered in our session Off the record with Anupama Chopra, hosted by Speaker Series India @Berkeley!

Anytime there’s a fire, she’s right at the front reporting it, whether it was her iconic field reporting of the Kargil War or, more recently, her on-the-road reporting of the migrant workers' plight. Her direct and no-filter reporting on her notable ‘We The People’ show consistently stole the limelight during Sunday Prime time.
After retiring as NDTV’s Consulting Editor, she now runs her own YouTube channel MoJo Tv. Barkha is also the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award for her coverage of the 2004 Tsunami.

Professor Chandra (he teaches@UCBerkeley) is an award-winning author and a tech-entrepreneur who has built intelligent tech to help writers create intricate story-lines like his own. Most importantly, he is thought-leader whose books, amongst other things, explore the unimaginable knowledge trove that lies in Ancient Indic scriptures.

Vikram Chandra, the author of SACRED GAMES (YES! The show was made off his book) will attempt to tackle a question that even cutting-edge modern AI cannot seem to answer, a question that writers have been racking their brains over since millenniums now, a question that every business would pay billions to find an answer to - “WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY?”

Pooja Dhingra is an Indian Pastry chef, businesswoman, and an inspiration to women all over the world.She opened India's first macaroon store and is the owner of a bakery chain Le15 Patisserie that specializes in macarons and a host of french desserts.
She was selected by Forbes India for their ‘30 Under 30’ achievers (2014) and the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list. An alumnus of the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Pooja has been featured in many national dailies and is a familiar face in fashion and lifestyle magazines like Vogue, Forbes, and many more.

Sunita Narain is the recipient of the Padma Shri Award, the fourth highest civilian honour and was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize in 2005. She was also listed as one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2016. Recently, she was listed amongst World’s 100 most influential people in Climate Policy by Apolitical. She has spearheaded the Tiger Task Force for conservation of tigers as well along with being a member of Prime Minister’s council for climate change. She is a strong proponent of climate action not only through her activism but her research and policy.

Narain is a prolific writer and has authored 10 books ranging from US Climate Goals and making water more accessible. She’s also the editor of the Down to Earth magazine.

Aanchal Malhotra is an oral historian who has documented the memories contained within objects that crossed over during the Partition of 1947 through her novel Remnants of Partition : 21 Objects from a Continent Divided. She has also been shortlisted for the British Academy’s 2019 Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding, the Hindu Lit for Life Non Fiction Prize, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize and the Shakti Bhatt First Book prize.

Her understandings and research about material culture has also led her to co-found the Museum of Material Memory.

Anuja Chauhan is a best-selling author and has written some of the most memorable advertising jingles for the Indian audience. She doesn't just write stories for you to read, she writes them for you to hear and remember. Her wit and tongue-in-cheek humor are evident in both her novels as well as her iconic slogans. Her stories are ones you can relate to and see yourself being a part of!

Mallika Dua is a Delhi-based creator who will be talking to us about the use of satire and comedy in advocating for social issues primarily gender equality and mental health, staying real on social media, and her unique career choices. You will often find her mesmerising us with her endless number of characters or voicing herself in pursuit of justice no matter the scale. She uniquely blends satire in her advocacy of gender equality and need for mental health.

Boman Irani has donned many hats: a waiter, a photographer, an actor, a voice artist, and now a producer & screenwriter. This 60-year-old actor, besides having worked to success while wearing each of his career, has been an inspiration for many; his journey from struggling with dyslexia & battling a strong lisp in his early years to being a confident performer in front of millions says it all.

Mr. Prabhu, a six-time parliamentarian and union cabinet minister for over 11 years, currently serves as the Prime Minister's Sherpa to the G7 and G20. Handling numerous portfolios such as Railways, Commerce & Industry, Civil Aviation, Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Power, Fertilizers & Chemicals, and Environment & Forests, Mr. Prabhu has been instrumental in driving structural reforms in almost every facet of the modern Indian economy.

Sajith Pai, a long-time media executive turned venture capitalist at Blume VC. Sajith supports investments in Media, HRTech, EdTech, and AgriTech while simultaneously helping Blume build a research and knowledge platform. He is also a prolific writer covering everything from startups and the Indian VC ecosystem to culture and education.  He spoke to us about the workings of a VC fund and the future of industries in India as well as his framework for evaluating Indian consumers. 

Professor Kumar is an educator, most well known for his ‘Super 30’ program. With a vision to reform higher education in India for students from financially weaker sections of society,  Prof Kumar coaches a batch of 30 students every year for the entrance examination to the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs). He spoke to us about Opportunities in Crisis and the future of Indian Education during and post-COVID19.