C Balagopal studied Economics at Loyola College and later joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1977 and worked in various posts in Manipur and Kerala. He resigned from the IAS in 1983, to set up a company using know-how developed at SCTIMST, Trivandrum with the support of the National Research & Development Corporation and KSIDC to manufacture indigenously developed biomedical devices for the first time in the country. This came to be known as Terumo Penpol Ltd. and is today one of the biggest manufacturers and exporters of hi-tech blood bag systems in the world. He is also the founder of ANAHA Trust, set up to support social entrepreneurship in the fields of primary education and public health with a focus on rural areas. He is a Charter member and first President of TiE Kerala and is a member of the Ethics Committee of Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, member of the Board of Directors of India’s first medical devices incubator TIMed set up by SCTIMST, and an independent director on the Board of the Federal Bank Ltd. He has won many awards and accolades including the National R&D Award for successful commercialization of Indigenous Technology by Ministry of Science & Technology, Apart from that, he has published three books about his experiences as an IAS officer in Manipur and Kerala namely — “On A Clear Day You Can See India” in 2013, and “The View From Kollam: A Day In The Life Of A Sub-Collector” in 2015. The third book ‘Maveli and Markets’ was published by D C Books. He is currently working on other books on subjects as diverse as governance, public services, and entrepreneurship.

Dileep Narayanan is the Founder and Brand Mentor at Organic BPS Pvt. Ltd., India's First Purpose Branding Company. He is also the Founder and Managing Trustee of Greenstorm Foundation, a non-profit organisation, popular for its creative initiatives in building environmental consciousness among youth and children. He is an Advisory Board Member of Asset Homes Pvt. Ltd., a top-rated real estate developer in South India, and a former Advisory Board Member of Life Insurance Corporation of India, India’s largest insurance company with an asset value of 420 billion USD. A post graduate in Management, Narayanan is a speaker and thought leader on the “Doing Good is Good Business” concept.

Pavan Padaki is a Branding Coach & Principal of Insights-In Sight consulting. With a rich experience of 30 years in client management, research, account planning, creative, public relations and corporate training, he specializes in discovering insights in the world of brands, creativity, and business. He is known as the Insight Guru amongst his peers and clients for his ability to make them see the unseen. Pavan practices the fine art of integrated marketing communication. He has trained over 200 brand managers and advertising professionals to apply key brand facets to their business and brands. Participants include senior marketing professionals from organizations such as Toyota, Titan, Nokia, Lowe Lintas, UB Group, TVS, Deutsche Bank, TTK Prestige, Randstad, Total Gas, Indus League, Dalmia Cements, Fortis Hospitals among others. Pavan has been instrumental in building brand-comm since its inception and as principal brand consultant heading strategy and creativity.

A digital marketing veteran with over two decades of experience, Vivek Bhargava is the CEO of DAN Performance Group, heading all the digital performance agencies under it. He is also one of the three partners running the recently launched Dentsu venture fund. A frontrunner in the digital revolution in India, Vivek started his career in 1997 when he founded Communicate 2. He then led iProspect Communicate 2 as its Founder & MD -- after Communicate 2 joined hands with iProspect from the Dentsu Aegis Network or DAN in 2012. At the end of 2015, the company was rebranded as iProspect India, with Vivek as the CEO. Named one of the top 50 digital icons of India, he has spoken at several global events, angel invested in 13 companies, and been an investor in the reality television show, The Vault. He is the Co-Chair at SEMPO APAC and on the advisory board of industry bodies like ad:tech, DMAi, DMTI, IAMAI and is on the board of Young Presidents Organization Mumbai. A national level table tennis player, he is also the proud owner of team Empowerji Challengers in the Ultimate Tennis Table league, the country's first-ever professional table tennis league. He is also an avid chess player and an amateur paragliding pilot.