directors
Wheels Global Foundation’s Board members are global alumni leaders who have achieved commendable professional success in their careers and have a deep passion for impact and believe in WGF’s mission and vision.
They bring in a variety of needed skills, experiences, resources, and network access to help WGF execute its annual plans successfully. They are invited in to join the Board by existing WGF Trustees and/or officeholders. Board is led by its Chairman, and it also appoints President & Vice-President(s) to drive its day-to-day execution.
Sharad Kumar Tak
Mr. Sharad Kumar Tak is the Chairman of WHEELS Global Foundation, a pioneer who built one of America’s first space-based communications companies and turned technology into a tool for uplifting community. He completed his BTech. Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1966 and went on to do a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).
Mr. Tak has had an illustrious and distinguished career as an entrepreneur and technologist having founded and steered several companies to leadership positions in their respective industries, and provided extraordinary value and returns to investors, shareholders, employees, and the communities.
He formed ST Group to consolidate his diverse business interests in the United States and abroad in infrastructures development (including power plant, refinery, and petroleum exploration activities), information technology, communications, business services, real estate, and two luxury hotel-resort properties in Bermuda.
Ratan Agarwal
Ratan Agarwal serves on the Wheels’ Board as President, bringing nearly three decades of rich experience in building and scaling multiple new start-ups and executive roles (in strategy, operations, marketing, and business development) at several Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Ratan is a co-founder and managing partner of CARBON Group Global, a global sustainability solutions-holding company, creating rapid replications (‘CARBON Copies”) of proven solutions with market-based models in Education & Learning, Women’s Empowerment, Resources (Food, Energy, Water), Health, and Economic Development.
In addition to the CARBON role, Ratan is dedicating his time in supporting innovation ecosystem in northeast corridor through his investment activities (via Keiretsu Forum and Mid-Atlantic Bo-Angels) and mentoring (at local incubator TechLaunch NJ). Ratan is a Board Advisor to several start-ups in Cloud/SaaS, software, and digital marketing.
While at Cisco, Ratan led the incubation and launch of Cisco’s IoT solutions and Cloud Infrastructure services, in addition to running a multi-billion global services business. Prior to Cisco, Ratan led the marketing & business development of two business units at Telcordia and led several consulting engagements at A.T. Kearney. Ratan received his MBA at Wharton School and Masters in Structural Engineering at IIT Bombay and lives in New Jersey.
Suresh V. Shenoy
Mr. Suresh V. Shenoy is the Vice-Chairman of WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) and serves on its board to provide valuable advice and direction for the activities of the non-profit organization. Mr. Suresh Shenoy has been an active supporter of the Capital IIT and Pan IIT Alumni associations and has continued to give his time and talent to WGF as its trusted advisor.
Mr. Suresh Shenoy is Executive Vice President at Alyxtech, Inc., Inc., a Virginia-based systems consulting and Technology Company. He recently completed two terms as Chairman of the National Capital Region of the American Red Cross and currently serves on the boards of The Kevric Company, IMC Global Services, The Capital IIT Alumni Association, and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Shenoy also serves on the TechAmerica Board of Directors, the Board of Directors for Fairfax 2015 – the biennial World Games of Police and Fire Fighters with 12,000 athletes competing from 80 countries.
His distinguished career includes being the Program Committee Chairman of the PanIIT Global Conference held in Washington, DC in 2005. Mr. Shenoy served as co-President of the PanIIT Alumni Association in North America for the 2006-2008 Term. He also represented Dranesville District on the Fairfax County IT Advisory Board for six years. Mr. Shenoy is a Fellow of the Information Management Congress (Europe) and AIIM International (USA). He has been recognized by IBM Corporation as ‘Information Champion’ for his contributions to Enterprise Content Management technologies for three consecutive years 2009-2012 and received the Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai. In 2010, Mr. Shenoy and his brother Sudhakar were honored by the Northern Virginia Community Foundation for their leadership and contributions to Fairfax County. He is on the adjunct faculty of the School of Information Technology & Engineering at George Mason University, where he teaches a course in Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation.
Mr. Shenoy has traveled widely throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (1972), and an MBA from the University of Connecticut (1975).
Sujatha Narasimhan
Sujatha is the CEO and ex-officio Board Member of WGF USA. She is an alumna of IIM and Thunderbird School of Global Management, bringing over two decades of experience across the corporate (advertising and telecom) and development sectors. She led fundraising efforts, built strategic partnerships, and collaborated with grassroots organizations, government bodies, and experts to drive impactful change. Known for her exceptional networking and relationship management skills, she navigates complex scenarios effectively.
Having lived and worked in the U.S. and India, she brings a cross-cultural perspective and expertise in navigating diverse economic, social, and policy landscapes.
Hiten Ghosh
Dr. Hitendra Ghosh is the ‘President Emeritus’ of WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) and serves on its board as the chief executive of the operations of the non-profit organization. Dr. Ghosh has a distinguished career and has been actively involved in giving generously, his time and talent to activities of PanIIT and Capital IIT Alumni associations, as well as other organizations that promote the welfare of citizens, ‘at the bottom of the pyramid’.
Dr. Ghosh is Vice-President and Chief Quality Officer of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, Maryland. He is a member US-India Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce and the board of the IIT Foundation and US-India Strategic Institute. He is a member of the board of Advisors of IVY venture capital, India, and of the Board of Executive directors, Quest Forum, USA, an Industry body of Telecommunication companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Ericsson, Nokia, Fujitsu, Reliance, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone, and others.
His past achievements include receiving an outstanding Invention Achievement award from IBM, a Management Excellence award from Unisys Corp., and a Corporate Quality Management Award from Hughes Electronics. He has been awarded the “Pride of India” award by NRI Institute of India and Pravasi Achievement Gold medal of UK as also Distinguished Service Gold Medal from IIT-kgp and Lifetime Service Achievement Award of PanIIT Alumni, the USA of which Dr. Ghosh has been Co-president (2005-2006) He has also served on the Board of Directors of Tata-Unisys Corp, India.
Dr. Ghosh received B. Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur in 1958 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1962 from the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.
Dr. Ghosh will serve as Chair of the Board of Directors, presiding over meetings of the Board and other Board activities, including program planning, policy-setting, global strategy, financial oversight, and fundraising. Dr. Ghosh will also serve as President of WHEELS. In this role, he will have primary responsibility for implementing WHEELS programs, administration, and fundraising. Specific responsibilities include execution of organizational activities and goals, maintenance of communications with the Board of Directors regarding major policy setting and fiduciary board responsibilities, strategic planning, budget development, monitoring, and hiring and management of employees and volunteers to execute programs and activities.
Himanshu Verma
Himanshu Verma serves on the Wheels’ Board as Vice-President & Secretary and is an entrepreneur who applies Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to create innovative applications. Over the last 20 years, he has managed the conceptualization, planning, delivery, maintenance, and retirement of Analytic, Data Visualization, GIS, Business Intelligence, Data Warehouse, Master Data Management, Data Integration, Data Mining, and Text Mining, eDiscovery & predictive AI solutions. He specializes in designs of massively parallel (MPP), high volume, low latency big data solutions.
He has successfully played diverse roles as a Chief Technology Officer, Enterprise Information Architect, Data Integration Architect, Data Architect, Solution Architect, and Project Manager. He undertakes tasks related to Solution Architecture, Strategy & Vision, Requirements Gathering, Data Modeling, Project Management, Big Data Architecture, and Technology/talent acquisition.
He has worked on multi-million-dollar projects with Knightsbridge, Capgemini Ernst &Young, IBM & Y-Point Analytics across Health Insurance (BCBS), Federal (Securities and Exchange Commission – SEC, General Services Administration – GSA sam.gov, Dept of Education), Telecom (Comcast, Nextel, Sprint), Security (ADT), Startup’s (SeniorLink, Upsell, Crisis Resolve – AI Mental Health, EPID Safe Contact Tracing), Retail Banking (Bank of Colombia), Logistics (FedEx), Mortgage (Freddie Mac), Investment Banking (JPMC) Retail (Cargill), Low Income Housing (DC Housing).
He has his undergraduate B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay & his Master in Information Management from the University of Akron.
Dr. Smita Siddhanti
Dr. Smita Siddhanti is the founder and President of EnDyna Inc. specializing in management and environmental consulting for various federal agencies in Washington DC. She was the past president of the DC Chapter of TiE – “The Indus Entrepreneurs”, and currently serves on the Global Board of Trustees for TiE. She has served on the Virginia Governor’s Air Quality Board and on the Board of the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Siddhanti is a recipient of several awards including the 2014 Future 50 award of Smart CEO, and the White House Green Government award in 2016.
Smita is committed to enhancing entrepreneurship as the basic engine for economic development and has been actively involved in this pursuit with a global organizations such as the Ashoka Foundation for changemakers, American India Foundation, Indiapora, and TiE chapters around the world. She is on the board of MaganSangrahalaya Samiti (MSS), an Indian NGO in Wardha, Maharashtra, working for rural enterprise development in villages.
At TiE Global, Smita is leading the TiE Women Initiative to assist and mentor women entrepreneurs across the globe. In addition, she has built a strong relationship with TiE and the Indian Embassy to start various technology incubation and entrepreneurial initiatives. Smita is also leading the TiE Global Special Interest Group of social entrepreneurship and social impact investing. With her extensive experience and engagement, Dr. Siddhanti is contributing to WHEELS Global Foundation’s two major missions – Livelihood and Sustainability – facilitating the development of sustainable enterprises to enhance the rural economy. A well-known speaker in numerous national and international conferences and forums, she recently was a panelist at the US-India Leaders’ Summit at the National Press Club in DC, and at the Philanthropy Summit at the George Town University. In addition to several publications, Dr. Siddhanti is an author of the book Multiple Perspectives on Risk and Regulation: The Case of Deliberate Release of Genetically Engineered Organisms into the Environment, published in 1991. She holds a B.S. and M.S.in Biology from Delhi University, an M.S. in Technology Policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic (RPI), and a Ph.D. in Technology and Public Policy from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Raj Shah
Dr. Raj Shah is the Chairman of the Health Council.
He is a practicing cardiologist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur based in Philadelphia. He is educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Temple and Drexel University faculties. He is a pioneer in the field of telemedicine and the creator of the SmartCareDoc telemedicine system which was deployed at “The Clinic at Wal-Mart” in 2012-14: The first telemedicine clinic in a retail store in America. He established a TeleRetinopathy screening program at the Temple University Health System in 2016 and a teaching Teleclinic at the School of Nursing at Rutgers University.
He is also a Research Fellow at the Blanche and Irwin Lerner Center at Rutgers University for the study of Pharmaceutical Management and Healthcare and lectures about Telemedicine. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Kean University College of Business and Public Management and Global Business School, and a Trustee of S.M. Shah Law College, and Sarvajanik School in Mehsana, India.
Dr. Shah is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, and cardiac CT angiography. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Physicians. He received his medical degree with distinction from the M.S. University in Baroda, India, and graduate training in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Shah received a Master of Business Administration with Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honors in 1997.
Dr. Bindukumar Kansupada
Dr Bindukumar Kansupada is the Vice Chairman of the Health Council.
He is a retired Cardiologist, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, Educator, and active healthcare political activist.
Dr Kansupada was appointed as Assistant Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at Drexel University and as Clinical Instructor in the Dept of Internal Medicine – PCOM, till he retired.
Dr Bindukumar Kansupada is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, and Fellow American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. He received his MBBS degree from prestigious Topiwala Medical College, Mumbai University, and received his post-graduate training in invasive, noninvasive Cardiology and Electrophysiology from Medical College Of Pennsylvania (Drexel University Medical School).
Dr Kansupada received his Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of South Florida in 1998. He is an ardent supporter of Integrative preventive health care and non-pharmaceutical interventions for improving clinical outcomes of Non-communicable diseases such as Hypertension, Diabetes, Heart Diseases, and Cancer. He is a promoter and educator of Vedic medical Science including Disease based Yogic exercises, Plant-based diet, Nutraceuticals, and Mindfulness Meditation. He had the honor of leading the Integrative Cardiac Rehab Dept program and Cardiac Cath Lab at a Local hospital in Bucks County, Pa for many years.
Nitesh Kumar
Mr Nitesh Kumar is the founder of Sukhlahi Capital LLC, an investment advisory firm that manages a hedge fund and a venture fund. Before founding Sukhlahi Capital LLC in 2019, Nitesh spent more than 13 years on wall street working for large banks like J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas in New York and London trading Commodities.
Nitesh has been an active supporter of many social impact initiatives in education and health for a number of years in several States in India, including Bihar & Jharkhand.
Nitesh holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay and a Master of Financial Mathematics from NC State University.
Madhur Khanna
Madhur Khanna is a practicing Architect/ Partner in her Architectural practice of 30 years.
She has served on the board of Pratham for the last five years – “Pratham is one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Established in 1995 to provide education to children in Mumbai slums, Pratham (which means “first” in Sanskrit) is now one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India. Working in collaboration with governments, communities, parents, teachers, and volunteers, Pratham focuses on innovative interventions to address gaps in the education system. The clarity of mission is “every child in school and learning well” Pratham USA is a volunteer-driven organization with 14 chapters across the United States.
Madhur Khanna is a member of a Women’s Entrepreneur group in Bangalore that focuses on providing micro financing to women in need – both in rural as well as marginalized communities. Currently elected on the board of WHEELS Global, she aims to work in Water Conservation, impact driven digital vocational programs as well as affordable housing.
Madhur Khanna holds an undergraduate degree in B. Arch from Delhi School of Planning and Architecture and a Masters in Architecture – Major in Urban Design from University of Texas at Austin. In her 40 plus span as an Architect, she has worked and is proficient in many areas of Building design, working with Financial Institutions underwriting Multi Family Developments, Construction as well as Development.
Her experience encompasses a wide range of Projects in affordable housing – having multiple years of contracts with various Public Housing Agencies including Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Dr. Raghavan Ramanan
Dr. Raghavan Ramanan (Dr. Ram) is the Board Member, Chair of the Sustainability Council and the Global Co-convenor of WGF Chapters.
Dr. Raghavan Ramanan, a Fulbright Leadership Scholar, is a Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer of ImpactEdge, Inc. Dr. Ram is a globally recognized expert in Sustainability, ESG and CSR through experience garnered over four decades in corporate (ExxonMobil), consulting (AECOM, ICF and Trinity), and academic environments (Illinois Institute of Technology, Desert Research Institute, and Indian Institute of Technology). He also serves as a Board Member and the Chair of the Education Council of the Education Council of Air & Waste Management Association, International (Founded 1907).
- Dr. Ram has authored multiple books, presented, and published scientific, technical, and management papers as well as thought leadership briefings worldwide. He delivered the Fall 2019 Commencement Speech at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Ram is a Professional Engineer in Texas and India, a Chartered Engineer and Scientist in UK and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer of the National Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.
Dr. Ram has served as a member of the World Economic Forum and Echoing Green Climate Change Brain Trust, and a member of the GRI Academic Committee. He has led and participated in many industry organizations and professional associations to promote environmental and sustainability disciplines worldwide. He has provided executive briefings to industry and ministry leaders from former Soviet Union nations, Brazil and Nigeria, Reserve Bank of India, The Conference Board USA, Northern Trust, and so on.
Uma Ganesh
Uma Ganesh has over three decades of experience with skills, talent management and education technology businesses, investing and mentoring digital startups and supporting livelihood opportunities with the special focus on women.
She is an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi and PhD from IIT Bombay. With three decades of success in corporate and entrepreneurial ventures covering manufacturing, Media, Banking, Education and Information Technology, Uma has built expertise in entrepreneurial strategy, skills development and digital employee management platforms
Her entrepreneurial venture Global Talent Track attracted investment by Intel Capital, CISCO and Helion Ventures. This venture is one of the leading vocational skills companies that uses the blended learning model and acts as bridge between academia and the Industry. GTT and its digital platform Skills Alpha have so far impacted 1.2 million youth in the country.
GTT Data Solutions Ltd has been listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange recently and is set to scale new heights. Uma has co- founded 5 F World, Skills Alpha. She also co founded GTT Foundation which works for empowerment of marginalised youth and women and promotes green jobs.
Uma has a regular column in the Financial Express where she writes about the socio economic impact about trends in Digital and Skills. She has co-authored two books – Knowledge Force and Accelerating Digital Success and co-edited a book’ Nari Shakti. Uma has been an elected member of the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and Chair of NHRD Pune.
Rajiv Jain
Rajiv Jain is the interim CEO of Akshaya Patra-USA. Rajiv brings a rare combination of being a successful entrepreneur, a deep compassion for everything around him and a genuine desire to help those who are not in a position to help themselves.
Rajiv is a philanthropist currently engaged with projects at the intersection of education and nutrition.
Previously, Rajiv was a co-founder alongside his wife Hima of a2z, Inc., a tech company considered one of the fastest-growing privately held U.S. companies before being acquired by Personify.
Rajiv received a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, a Master of Science degree from Clemson University, and an Executive MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Mahesh Shah
Dr Mahesh, based in Maryland, is a well-known cardiologist and a WHEELS supporter for many years. He received his MBBS degree from Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai in 1976, followed by Cardiology fellowship in D.C. General Hospital.
As a senior member of one of the largest multi-specialty group practices, he has served Maryland’s rural communities for nearly 40 years until his retirement in 2018. He has been holding medical camps serving rural communities in remote regions of India focusing relentlessly on preventing coronary artery disease.
With rapid growth of health initiatives in our portfolio and deep integration of technologies in all facets of healthcare, addition of Dr Mahesh Shah to WHEELS Board could not have been at a better time. It points to a great opportunity for WHEELS to become a perfect platform for two large 80,000+ professional groups — IITians and Physicians of Indian heritage in USA — to join hands in driving our mission of impacting 20% of Rurban India by 2030.
Samir Behl
Samir Behl is a seasoned Executive with very broad global experience of living and working on four continents (America, Asia, Australia, Europe) with top-tier consumer packaged goods companies — Unilever, Kellogg, General Mills/Pillsbury and Amway. Strong P&L management skills with significant experience in General Management, Marketing and Innovation to drive continued strategic growth and business performance.
He is a firm believer in leveraging the global trend of Digitalization to develop personalized customer strategy in the age of Artificial Intelligence, while forging deep relationships with people.
Born and raised in India, Samir Behl attended the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, where he earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. He also earned a Master of Business Administration with a major in consumer marketing from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.
Shashi Tripathi
With over 25 years of global experience, Shashi Tripathi brings a rare blend of operational leadership, venture capital insight, and product-driven innovation. He built, scaled, and advised businesses across enterprise technologies, AI, healthcare, FinTech, SaaS, delivering tangible value to shareholders, customers, and teams alike.
Shashi currently serves as a board member, investor, and advisor to high-growth companies across the U.S., Europe, India, and APAC. His core expertise spans strategic growth, investment, finance management, product and platform development, GTM execution, digital transformation, and P&L leadership. Having led organizations through both high-growth and turnaround scenarios, he excels at navigating complexity, scaling innovation, and unlocking enterprise value.
In venture capital, he launched and fully deployed a successful fund, investing in 42+ companies with a zero-failure record to date. Across the boardroom and the executive table, he brings a deep understanding of governance, growth-stage risk, and cross-functional leadership.
Education & Credentials
▪ M.S. – Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
▪ B.S. – Mechanical Engineering
▪ Dale Carnegie Graduate – Business Operations School
▪ Board Certified Executive
Richard D'souza
Richard holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Tulane University and a Master’s in Ship Structures from the University of Michigan, both with First Class Honors. He has authored numerous technical publications, received awards from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and serves on boards including the FPSO Forum and Deep Offshore Technology.
He is a graduate of IIT, Kharagpur – BS, Nval Architecture.
