Chapters

Regional chapters represent a regional representation of the national WGF organization, and hence carry out most of the activities, albeit for the regional footprint.

Improving the Lives in Rural India by Technology-enabled Solutions

They help connect the global WGF entity to the grassroots of the ecosystem. Our current regional chapter organization leaders are:

Ravi Sharma

Ravi Sharma is a Director of Product Management at Oracle Corporation. He is an Electronics and Communications Engineering graduate of the 1992 batch of IIT (BHU) Varanasi. Ravi is the Vice-President, Global Convenor of the Chapters at WGF.

Ravi is a seasoned product professional known for his uncommon commitment to customer success and translating technology into tangible business value. With a track record spanning consulting, product development, and product management, he offers a unique blend of strategic insight, innovative solution design, and adept navigation of complex challenges. Renowned for his exceptional business acumen and pioneering thought leadership, Ravi’s collaborative and compassionate approach positions him as a catalyst for fostering increased adoption and driving organizational growth.

Beyond his corporate role, Ravi plays an active role on the board of PanIIT USA, where he contributes to both the Executive Committee and Scholarships Committee. He also holds the position of President of the PanIIT USA Phoenix Chapter. Additionally, Ravi has previously served on the Board of Greater Phoenix Mensa.

Dr. Raghavan Ramanan

Dr. Raghavan Ramanan (Dr. Ram) is the Board Member, Chair of the Sustainability Council and the Senior Advisor 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.

Sujata Roy

Sujata is the President, WHEELS Global Foundation India. Sujata spent most of her career in the Corporate IT sector, working with various private and multinational organizations like DPS, Techna, PwC and finally IBM from where she retired as General Manager. Her work experience spans across a wide range of functions like Leadership development, Project Management, Risk Management, Quality Assurance, Software Development, Senior Managerial functions, and Training. In addition, she has always been a strong advocate of women’s empowerment, driving key initiatives within IBM and playing a leadership role in advancement of women employees to contribute to an all-round development of the organization.

After retirement, Sujata got actively involved in various IIT Alumni activities as well as voluntary activities to give back to the society. She has served the alumni community in several leadership roles including the President of the Kolkata chapter of IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association, Vice President of IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation India and a member of Pan IIT Alumni. Sujata received the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) of IIT Kharagpur in view of her contributions to her Alma Mater.

She served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Digital Library of India (NDLI), a flagship project of IIT Kharagpur sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, over the last 8 years and is an Independent Director on the Board of a public limited organization.

Sujata currently serves as the Chairperson of WHEELS Global Foundation, Eastern India, working towards a transformation of the rural-urban population of India.

Sujata received her M.Sc. in Physics from IIT Kharagpur in 1975, did post-graduation in Computer Science from Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and CQA from Quality Management Institute, USA.

Indrajit Chatterjee

Indrajit is the Chair of the Energy Council and Senior Advisor of WGF Chapters.

Indrajit has over 45 years of experience in strategy planning, manufacturing management, engineering projects, and design. Proven credentials in leading business units (FMCG/multinationals) in India. After his graduation, Indrajit has done many executive management programs, including a course on IoT from Massachusetts Institute of Technology- Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA, on Manufacturing from the University of Warwick, UK, and many others from IIMs. A visionary all through, he got personally inspired by Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and started giving back to the country. He spends his time focussing on education and rural development areas. He has conceived an intelligent village concept.

Indrajit received his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering at IIT-Kharagpur in 1970.

Kishan Goenka

Kishan has held executive leadership roles in corporations across three continents over nearly four decades of illustrious career – from vice-president at Hindustan Gas & Industries to running Birla International’s Europe operations, and then country head for PT. Akraya and Mediterranean Fertilizers Company. He has also held board roles at several corporations including Clean Energy India AG, Vasundhara Bio Sciences Pvt Ltd, and Akraya Energy International Pvt. Ltd. All along, Kishan has been a passionate Rotarian with nearly 40-years of service. Additionally, he has supported several other impact organizations including PHS, ESRAG, and ISKCON.

Kishan has a B.Tech (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT- Kharagpur) and an MBA in BITS Pilani, India.

Mahesh Vaidya

Mahesh is Director of Bravitek Solutions Private Ltd in Pune. Prior to that, Mahesh had a distinguished career in a variety of leadership roles such as CTO at Aftek Ltd, Managing Director at Arexera Information Technologies in Munich, and Development Executive at Godrej.

An innovative, spirited, and intuitive leader with over 30 years of technology management, product management, and product engineering experience. Excellent thought leadership, technology research, team building, people management, and business communications skills for delivering technology solutions from concept to reality on an offshore basis. A solid foundation of innovation and engineering processes.

Mahesh received his B.E. in Electronics & Telecommunications from the College of Engineering at Pune in 1983, and then M.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering at IIT-Bombay in 1985.

Subrahmanyam K V

Subrahmanyam (Subbu) K V is a seasoned professional with over 17 years of experience in operations, B2B partnerships, strategy, and P&L management across the renewable energy, engineering, and housing sectors. He currently serves as Senior Vice President at Radiance Renewables, overseeing 600 MW of operating renewable energy assets and developing 400+ MW of projects across India. Subbu has successfully closed power purchase agreements worth 1000 MW (~600M USD) and resolved operational challenges to enhance revenue and reduce downtime. He has also developed 500 MW of Round-the-Clock renewable energy solutions and spearheaded the organization’s entry into new business segments.

Previously, Subbu was Vice President at Enerparc Energy, where he tripled annual sales revenue, built a robust B2B sales pipeline, and positioned the company among the top 10 solar power firms in India. As Managing Director at Abengoa India, he turned around the business unit into a profit center, executed projects worth 50M USD, and developed new business lines in solar and water desalination. He also held leadership roles at VBHC and Schlumberger, delivering operational excellence and driving significant revenue growth.

Subbu holds a Post Graduate Program in Management from the Indian School of Business, where he won the ISB-Young Leader Award, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from IIT-Madras. He is fluent in English, Telugu, Hindi, and Spanish.

Gaurav Kumar

Mr. Gaurav Kumar is a senior business executive at bp. bp is one of the largest and oldest energy companies globally with a purpose of reimagining energy for people and planet. Gaurav has lived and worked in 3 continents and has 17 years of experience across financial services, energy, and commodities businesses worldwide. In addition to WHEELS, Gaurav also volunteers for University of Chicago Space Network, bp STEM program, and CFA Society of Chicago.

Gaurav lives with his wife and daughter in Chicago.

Sunil Khanna

Sunil Khanna is the co-founder and Director of SAI Agroforestry, India. He completed his B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from IIT (BHU) in 1976 and M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1978. Mr. Khanna was the President and Managing Director of Vertiv India (www.vertiv.com, formerly Emerson Network Power India Ltd.) until his superannuation in 2020. Post retirement, he has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman – Vertiv India. Sunil served as Managing Director of Emerson Process Management India Ltd. between 2006 and 2011. Sunil has worked earlier with ABB and was Vice President- Automation Solutions before moving to Emerson in 2004.

Sunil is recognised in the industry for having made significant technological contributions to the field of Process Automation and Critical Power Solutions. Sunil is one of the founding members of Automation Industry Association (AIA) and was its President from 2008 to 2011. Sunil was also a key member of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), elected as CII National Council Member between 2008 and 2010. He was nominated Vice Chairman of the CII Maharashtra State Council in 2015, and subsequently as Chairman in 2016. Sunil served as Chairman – Skill Development for CII-Western India.

Sunil also champions rural, social and agricultural development of our country, particularly in the State of Maharashtra and Odisha. The relevance of his contribution can be measured by its immense impact made by a number of projects he has been involved in.

As CII Chairman of Maharashtra, he pursued water conservation and irrigation projects to improve water availability and storage in many drought-prone districts of Maharashtra.

Ramnath S. Mani

Ramnath S. Mani is the Vice Chair of the South Chapter. A Serial entrepreneur and one of the pioneers in India in the field of Industrial Automation including Power Electronics, Variable Speed Drives, PLC, Distributed Controls, Scada, Information Systems, and MES, has been instrumental in introducing Automation in the industry in India since the early 1970s. Played a pioneering role in bringing to India international Automation companies like CGEE Alsthom of France, Allen Bradley of USA (now Rockwell Automation), Stromberg of Finland (now part of ABB), Exide Electronics of USA, and Control Techniques Emerson Industrial Automation of UK and USA., Inductive Automation of USA … Having a deep domain knowledge on the application of Automation in the manufacturing sector like Paper, Steel, Cement, Sugar, Textiles, Rubber & Plastics, Automobile, Material Handling, etc, Has considerable experience in implementing the transition of Industrial Automation from Analog to Digital Technology.

Experience in the IT industry for a couple of years has extended my knowledge from Manufacturing to Business Enterprise and use of Cloud, Mobility, Analytics, and Social platforms leading to a comprehensive integration of “Shop Floor to Top Floor”. Now involved with the next revolution in the Manufacturing Industry with the Digitization of Plant Floor operation, integrating the Operations Technology (OT) to Information Technology (IT) in Manufacturing and implementing Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and Industry 4.0 Technologies.
Engaged passionately with a Portal on Industrial Automation which brings all the stakeholders of automation including the end-user industry to a common platform.

Ramnath received his B.Tech. in Electronics & Electrical Communication at IIT-Kharagpur in 1969.

Prashant Newaskar

Prashant is currently working as a Consultant in the energy industry.

Prashant has nearly four decades of experience in the energy industry spanning leadership roles in proposal management, cost estimation & control, planning/scheduling, and project management. During this period, he worked in Singapore, Kuwait, India, and Malaysia in reputable international companies on large projects in the field of Oil & Gas (Onshore & Offshore), Refineries, Petrochemicals, Pipelines, and Environmental, Paper, and Power.

He worked for two years as Proposals and Estimation Manager for SNCL Singapore Pte. Ltd. (formerly known as Kentz MEPC Singapore Pte.Ltd.)

Prior to that Prashant worked as the head of the Proposals / Estimation department of Global Process Systems Pte. Ltd., Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (reporting to GM/Director) handling proposals for FEED, Detailed Engineering, EPC, EPCM, etc. projects for Platforms (WHP / Process), FPSOs, MOPUs, etc.

Prashant held the role of Vice President – Proposals / Estimation for SMOE handling proposals/estimation for EPC / fabrication work for fixed platforms / FPSO projects for the offshore Oil & Gas Industry.

Prior to joining SMOE, Prashant worked as the Director – Proposals for Kvaerner E&C Singapore Pte. Ltd. – a subsidiary of the Aker –Kvaerner group involved in Front End Engineering Design / detailed engineering projects for offshore / onshore Oil & Gas Industry.

Prashant received his B.Sc. at Holkar Science College in Indore in 1968, and then his. Tech. in Chemical Engineering at IIT-Bombay in 1973.

Ravi Bhatia

Ravi Bhatia is a pioneer and highly respected executive in the Australian telecommunications market. Through skillful leadership and innovation, he has been the driving force behind building this unit into one of the country’s largest full-service voice and data carriers with an established national brand, Primus. Ravi founded Primus in 1995 and led it as CEO till 2011 and then transitioned to the Chairman role.

Ravi received his B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering at IIT-Delhi in 1970.

Tirthankar Banerjee

Tirthankar is the founder & director at Perth, Australia-based Oztron Energy, focused on design and project management services for Renewable Energy Systems. Tirthankar is one of the most accomplished renewable industry thought leaders with a deep passion for renewable energy and grid support systems and Microgrids.

He has led renewable energy projects across many countries in South East Asia. Some of his specialties include smart mini-grids design and implementation, large PV and hybrid power plant design & implementation, grid connection at LV and MV level, MV design and protections, batteries and DC systems, and grid support systems.

Tirthankar received his B.Tech. in Electronics at IIT-Kharagpur in 1974, and a D.IISc in Electronics Design at the Indian Institute of Science in 1977.

Farid Khan

Farid Khan is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, senior risk & regulatory compliance adviser, and a published writer. A former head of business at Hitachi Software Europe and past Chair of IEEE Smart Village – South Asia Operations, Farid successfully launched IEEE’s Smart Village program for South Asia in India. As the program’s co-architect, he held a non-executive position on the global management committee.

In 2017, National Geographic premiered a documentary on his pioneering work in the mountains of Ladakh, India. Frequently cited and published in technical blogs, computing and IT publications, Farid has written extensively and spoken internationally on emerging technologies and technology interventions in development across Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US. An Electrical Engineer from Aligarh Muslim University, India, he holds a master’s in IT Law from the University of London and attended a master’s program in Development Practice at Regis University, Denver, Colorado.

He loves horse riding and is a keen runner. He reads voraciously and has a penchant for mystic poetry and contemporary art – and often writes bad haikus!

Yogesh Sharma

Yogesh Sharma is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, business coach, blogger, and Quantum thinker. He is co-founder & chairman of Mamsys Consulting Services, a Charter Member of TiE, a Member of PanIIT Europe, and now the WHEELS EU/UK chapter co-chair.

As the Chairperson of Mamsys, he helps defining & executing the strategic direction for Mamsys, a high-growth technology services company empowering diverse clients with AI-enabled digital transformation solutions and IT consulting. He helped Fortune 500 companies achieve remarkable outcomes through advanced technology solutions and building Enterprise Applications.

He believes in physical and mental fitness through yoga, meditation and golf.

chapters