Parekhit Bhattacharjee

With nearly two decades of experience across India, China, Singapore and global markets, Parekhit Bhattacharjee has built a career around one of communication’s most essential skills: understanding people. As a global communications leader in the technology sector, he works at the intersection of technology, culture, innovation and human behaviour. Yet beyond corporate storytelling lies another side of his creative life one shaped by poetry, literary fiction, music and photography.

Bhattacharjee’s debut poetry collection, A Map Without Names, explored identity, memory, solitude and belonging, earning him the 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award presented by BookLeaf Publishing. His second book, Things We Never Said, moves into literary fiction, focusing on overlooked lives, unfinished conversations and the emotions hidden within ordinary moments.

His professional journey has also earned recognition from PRovoke Media and Reputation Today, while his story features in Westland’s Aspire: Stories About 24 Global Indians in Communications. Based in Singapore, Bhattacharjee continues to write, observe and explore the spaces where words often fall silent.

Capt. Pradeep Singh

Capt. Pradeep Singh’s journey from the bridge of a ship to the boardroom reflects a career shaped by resilience, strategic thinking and continuous learning. A former Master Mariner, entrepreneur, investor and author, he is the Founder and Chairman of Aethon Group, a diversified maritime enterprise spanning risk management, ship management, marine consultancy, technology, ship owning and ship recycling. Through the group, Singh has focused on supporting safer, more efficient and sustainable shipping operations. His entrepreneurial interests extend beyond maritime. As Founder and Chairman of Karma Developers, he has championed the idea of “affordable luxury”, combining premium design, sustainability and community-focused development with long-term value.

Singh is also an author and thought leader whose books, articles and newsletter explore leadership, entrepreneurship, governance, innovation and wealth creation. Across his professional and literary work, he advocates institution-building over short-term success. For him, enduring leadership rests on trust, sound judgment and the willingness to keep learning an approach captured in his belief that true leadership is about creating new paths where none exist.

Abhiraj Gupta

Abhiraj Gupta represents a new generation of Indian business leaders drawing on the country’s intellectual traditions to navigate the demands of modern enterprise. As Executive Director at Industrial Organics Limited, a leading manufacturer in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals sector, he works across strategy, governance, business development, and organisational growth. A graduate of the University of Warwick and the Indian School of Business, Gupta combines international management education with experience gained within a family-led business. His interest in leadership extends beyond the boardroom. In The Chanakya Playbook, published by Rupa Publications, he explores the enduring principles of Chanakya and the Arthashastra, translating their strategic ideas into practical lessons for contemporary leaders and organisations.

For Gupta, leadership is ultimately about more than business performance. It is about creating systems that are ethical, institutions that are resilient, and organisations capable of lasting beyond the people who build them. His approach brings together strategic thinking, responsibility, and a distinctly Indian perspective on the meaning of enduring leadership.

Sudhir R Nambiar

After 27 years in the IT industry, Sudhir took an unexpected turn from building a career in technology to building worlds through fiction. Born into a humble family in Kerala and raised in Bangalore, he began his professional journey as a software programmer before moving into senior leadership roles with global organisations including General Electric and Hewlett Packard.

A lifelong reader with a fascination for science, space exploration and storytelling, Sudhir had long found inspiration in writers ranging from Dan Brown and Isaac Asimov to Amish Tripathi, Agatha Christie and Stephen King. A career sabbatical created the space to finally turn that fascination into writing. Encouraged by his son, who became his first reader and most candid critic, he began refining his stories for publication.

His second-written novel, The Mangalyaan Protocol, became his first published book and spent four consecutive weeks at No. 2 in Amazon’s Science Fiction category. The book was also shortlisted for Book Fest 2026 by BookBrews and featured in The Literature Today magazine. His first-written novel, The Ashtadasa Code, is now also available to readers.

Sreelata Menon

Award-winning writer Sreelata Menon has spent decades finding new ways to make history accessible and engaging for younger generations. With a Master’s degree in History, she began her career in the 1970s as an Assistant Editor before moving across teaching, advertising, journalism and full-time writing. These varied experiences shaped the clarity, research and storytelling discipline that define her work today.

Menon has now written around 18 books, covering history, mythology, culture and adventure for young readers. Her works include Panchatantra: Animal Tales, Indira Gandhi: Child of Politics, Guru Nanak: The Enlightened Master, Fascinating Maharajas of India, The Feisty Women of Ancient India and the award-winning Learned Men and Women of Ancient India. Her latest book, In Search of Lost Cities, is published by Hachette.

Her contribution to children’s writing was recognized  with the Sahitya Sparsh Award in 2024. In a new milestone, Fascinating Maharajas of India has been shortlisted for the FIHCR–The Anant Pai Prize for Indian Historical Writing for Children 2026. Through her writing, Menon continues to turn the past into stories young readers can discover, understand and remember.

Sheryl Maharaj

Sheryl Maharaj’s leadership approach is rooted in self-knowledge; it is the only strategy that matters, and it begins with a question often overlooked: How well do we know ourselves? Born in New Zealand and drawing on professional experience in London, Vancouver, Sydney, and across Asia, she brings a unique cross-cultural perspective as a purpose-driven business performance leader and author.

For more than two decades, Sheryl has worked with individuals, executives, and organisations, and her philosophy centres on purpose as a source of meaningful leadership. Her 2025 book, In Pursuit of Dharma, distils this experience into a five-step leadership framework for discovering one’s purpose and leading with greater intention. For Sheryl, leadership is the most powerful force shaping destiny. Through her work and writing, she continues to advocate a simple yet profound idea: leadership begins with self-awareness, and meaningful impact follows when we learn to live and lead with purpose.

Navneet Jhamb

After three decades navigating boardrooms across global markets, Navneet Jhamb has found another way to examine the world: through satire. His debut book, Doublespeak: Chronicles of Wit & Wisdom, released in January 2026, combines sharp humour, observation and self-reflection to question the assumptions and contradictions that shape everyday life. The book was launched at IIM Kozhikode, where Jhamb is an alumnus and Gold Medallist in both academics and extracurriculars.

An engineer from MNNIT Allahabad, Jhamb has built and transformed businesses across the US, Africa, China and India, including serving on the boards of Indian entities of Fidelity International, Guardian Life and Vertafore. He is currently Managing Partner at Privé by Property Station and Founder of prOPIUM.ai.

Doublespeak grew from his widely followed LinkedIn newsletter, which crossed a million impressions, and features eighteen commissioned artworks by Monika Maini. Beyond business and writing, Jhamb is also the Founding Trustee of the Triti Charitable Trust. Dividing his time between Singapore and India, he continues to explore the space where business experience, wit and self-examination meet.

Madhulika Syal

Madhulika Syal brings together two dimensions of leadership that are often discussed separately: professional discipline and personal resilience. With extensive experience across the UK and India, she has held senior roles with global institutions, working across internal audit, governance, risk, compliance, financial crime and regulatory transformation. Her career reflects a sustained focus on strengthening organisations while navigating the complexities of an increasingly regulated financial landscape.

Her journey has also found expression through writing. In Unbroken Soul – A Phoenix Rising from Shadows into Eternal Love, Syal explores perseverance, transformation and the courage required to rebuild after difficult chapters. The book reflects a more personal side of a professional whose career has been shaped by responsibility, change and resilience.

Her contributions across professional and literary spheres have earned multiple recognitions for leadership, achievement and women’s empowerment. For Syal, leadership ultimately extends beyond titles or professional success. It is rooted in the ability to face adversity with courage, maintain integrity and continue moving forward with purpose a philosophy that connects her corporate experience with the personal journey reflected in her writing.

Shreyans Ashok Kucheria

Shreyans Ashok Kucheria brings together entrepreneurship, historical research and an enduring interest in Indian statecraft. A businessman from Maharashtra’s Dhule district, he is the author of The Chronicles of Indian Politics, a work exploring India’s political and civilizational thought, with a foreword by veteran statesman Shri Sharad Pawar.

Kucheria’s research and writing have received notable recognition. His work has been listed in the Parliamentary Library of the Parliament of India and recognised by the India Book of Records for authoring the maximum pages in a book on the statecraft of ancient and medieval India by an individual. He is also a recipient of an international literature award, while his work has been featured in Ukiyoto Litteratura Magazine.

Alongside his literary pursuits, Kucheria leads Kucheria Distributors, an FMCG enterprise. His work reflects an interest in examining India’s political and historical traditions through research and writing, while his personal philosophy is captured in his words: “OF Light I Vow Eternal Silence Souls Awaken Kindness Unfolds.”

Michelle Judy

Michelle Judy is an author, poet, educator and communication advocate whose work explores the connection between words, self-awareness and personal growth. With a background in English Literature, education, Positive Psychology, mindfulness and communication, she brings literature and learning together to encourage meaningful change.

Her debut poetry collection, Blessed In The Mess, received the 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award. Her nonfiction book, Wisdom Through Words – The 5 A’s to Transform How You Speak, Connect, and Grow, was part of the Likhega India Mission, recognised by the India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records. Her poetry has also appeared in Across Latitude & Language: World Poetry Anthology 2025.

Beyond writing, Judy develops curriculum for children aged 6–12 and conducts public speaking and creative writing workshops, guided by her belief that words can heal, connect and transform.