An interview with Shyam Menon, Partner and Co-Founder at Bharat Innovation Fund and Infuse Ventures, and Chief Growth Officer at CIIE.CO.

John Hoffmire: Like so many CRISP scholars, you’ve had an interesting journey including everything from being a research engineer to managing two successful venture capital funds you co-founded. Tell me how your career has taken shape.

Shyam: For me personally, it began back in 2001 when I got an opportunity to be part of a nanomaterials

An interview with Shailesh Pathak, Chief Executive Officer of L&T IDPL (Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd.)

John Hoffmire: I always like to start an interview by asking for a broad brushstroke picture of a career. Will you tell me about yours?

Shailesh: A British friend described my career as poacher-turned-gamekeeper-turned-poacher. After my MBA in 1986 I worked in project finance and investment banking with ICICI for four years in Bombay, as it

An interview with Dr. Shalini Sharma, Founder and CEO, Sanshodhan An E-Waste Exchange, and founding Director of the Global Institute for Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals (ICE&SDGs)

John Hoffmire: You are the founder of Sanshodhan An E-Waste Exchange, an emerging company working for e-waste management and the development of zero waste businesses and organizations. You also founded Global Institute for Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals (ICE&SDGs), the NGO. Tell me how this came about?

Shalini: It goes back to January 2017,

An interview with Dr. Nitin Shukla, Principal Scientist, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India

John Hoffmire: You are a principal scientist at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, which is known for its excellence in scientific research in chemistry and chemical engineering. Tell me about the work you do there, if you will.

Nitin: The saying, “Do what you’ll love, and you’ll never work another day in your life” definitely

An interview with Sreedevi Devireddy, Founding Chief Executive Officer, SR Innovation Exchange, the technology-business incubator of SR University, Warangal

John Hoffmire: In the three years since I met you as a fellow of the Chevening Research Science and Innovation Leadership Programme (CRISP) at Oxford University, you created and have steered SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX) to a level where you are receiving international recognition. Please tell me more about that.

Sreedevi: I explain it this way:

An interview with Sachinder (Sachin) Mohan Sharma, Group General Manager at the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)

John Hoffmire: I’ve been on trains in India but I still can’t fathom the scale of what you must manage as the Group General Manager at the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL). Tell me more about what you do.

Sachin: The Government of India has entrusted DFCCIL with construction, maintenance and operation of

An interview with Sushrut Vaidya, innovation leader with one of the largest technology companies in the world

John Hoffmire: One of the things that always impresses me when I sit down with a CRISP scholar is the interdisciplinary learning that each of you have engaged in. You are no exception. You’ve gone from a Bachelor of Engineering, to printing technology and graphic communication, technology management, Indology and Buddhist studies. Then on to consulting

An interview with Kamesh Gupta, Senior Vice President, Strategic Collaborations & Programs, Group Technology & Innovation Office (GTIO), Tata Sons Limited

John Hoffmire: Kamesh, you are a man who wears lots of hats. Tell me about your many responsibilities at Tata.

Kamesh: As a Senior Vice President, Strategic Collaborations and Programs in the Group Technology and Innovation Office of Tata Sons, my job is to create and deliver strategic collaborations and new technology programs for global impact.

An interview with Dr. Mohita Gangwar Sharma, Professor of Quantitative Techniques and Operations Management, FORE School of Management, New Delhi

John Hoffmire: I hope you don’t mind my starting out on a somewhat personal note by saying I remember you as one of the nicest people I have ever met. I’ve often wondered how you balance your kindness and positive attitude against the sometimes hard edge that is expected in the business management world.

Mohita: In

An interview with Suphiya Khan, Associate Professor, Banasthali University, India, and Founding Director at Drumlins Water Technologies Pvt LTD

 John Hoffmire: When I met you in Oxford two years ago, if I remember right, you were working on providing safer drinking water throughout India. Is that still one of your priorities?

Suphiya: You remember right. In India, as in many other parts of the world, water scarcity is considered a major crisis in the 21st

An interview with Ananth Aravamudan, Energy Sector Lead, Villgro Innovations Foundation and an alum of the Chevening Research Science and Innovation Leadership Programme (CRISP)

John Hoffmire: You’ve had an interesting journey from electrical engineer to being the energy sector lead for Villgro Innovations Foundation, India’s oldest and one of the world’s largest social enterprise incubators. Please tell me about that journey?

Ananth: I started out as an electronics engineer by training. I spent 14 years in the IT/Tech sector at

An interview with Dr. Beena Rai, Head – Physical Sciences at TCS Research, Tata Consultancy Services

John Hoffmire: I love your Twitter tag: “A scientist who makes serious research fun.” Tell me about your recent research and what is fun about it?

Beena: First, to me what makes research fun is that one gets to follow one’s curiosity. As a scientist, I’ll take on a challenge and then use my curiosity and