Desh Deshpande
Founder of Deshpande Foundation
Boston, United States
Desh Deshpande is a notable entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is among the founding members of TiE Global, chairman of the Akshaya Patra Foundation's Board of Directors, and Life member of MIT Corporation.
In July 2010, Deshpande was appointed by President Barack Obama to the co-chairmanship of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group established to support the US President's innovation strategy.
With Deshpande Startups, the objective is to provide the ecosystem needed for entrepreneurs in tier 2 and tier 3 cities to succeed.
Sam Pitroda
Former Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations
Sam Pitroda is an advisor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has been credited with modernizing India’s telecommunications infrastructure in the early 80s. He has served as an adviser with the rank of a cabinet minister in the Congress on technology missions relating to literacy, immunisation, telecom, water and dairy. In 2010, he founded the National Innovation Council, and has also served as an adviser to the United Nations.
Smita Siddhanti
Founder & President of EnDyna Inc.
Virginia, DC
Dr. Smita Siddhanti, President and founder of EnDyna Inc., an environmental and management consulting firm, working with several US federal agencies. A nationally recognized expert in public health risk assessment and environmental management, she has worked extensively with federal and state agencies to develop regulations, policy, guidance, technology evaluations and management approaches to environmental protection, and training. She serves on the board of University of Pittsburgh and has served on the Virginia Governor's Air Quality Board. For the last two decades, Smita has been actively engaged with Rural women entrepreneurship in villages of Maharashtra. Dr. Siddhanti is the current President of TiE-DC and a Trustee on the TiE Global Board.