Our Speakers

Mark Mathews is a former professional Big Wave Surfer and Red Bull Athlete known for his mastery of high-stakes environments. He is an award-winning speaker and expert in mental resilience and sustained long-term performance. Drawing from 20 years of experience, his presentations provide counterintuitive techniques on Leadership, Safety, and Risk Management. His keynotes use spectacular surf footage to demonstrate the need for agility and meticulous preparation to overcome challenges and perform at peak levels.

Varun Agarwal is an acclaimed entrepreneur and author of the national bestseller How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company. He is the co-founder of Alma Mater, India’s largest provider of school and college merchandise. His talks foster a go-getter attitude and have been delivered to major global clients including the United Nations, Google India, and HP. His presentations, which are highly sought after by educational institutions and corporations, focus on Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of passion.

M. J. Akbar is a leading Indian journalist, former editor of major dailies, and a critically acclaimed author. He is a prominent expert on Indian policy and South Asian geopolitics. His first book, India: The Siege Within, had a deep impact on India’s policy in Punjab and Kashmir. His latest book, Tinderbox, discusses identity crisis and class struggle in Pakistan. His keynotes offer incisive commentary on current and political affairs and the complex dynamics of the Indian subcontinent.

Calum Chace is a best-selling AI author and futurist whose books Surviving AI and The Economic Singularity have shaped how leaders think about automation, work, and society. A former business executive and journalist with an Oxford PPE background, he translates complex ideas—AGI, LLMs, and accelerating tech—into clear, practical narratives. His core message is balanced and actionable: AI can drive abundance, but only if organizations prepare thoughtfully with strategy, skills, and sensible governance. He co-founded the Economic Singularity Foundation, contributes to Stories from 2045, and advises boards on responsible AI adoption. On stage—at events like CogX and private leadership offsites—Calum mixes big-picture foresight with near-term playbooks: where AI creates value now, how to adapt jobs and education, and which policies reduce risk without stifling innovation. Audiences leave with context, vocabulary, and concrete next steps to build an AI-ready future.

Palki Sharma Upadhyay is a journalist and editor who translates complex international affairs into clear, evidence-led narratives. After early work in public broadcasting and print, she anchored WION’s global news coverage and later held senior editorial roles at Network18/Firstpost. Her on-air style privileges sourcing and context over spectacle. As a moderator and commentator she helps audiences and leaders read geopolitical signals, assess media risk, and shape communications that withstand scrutiny.

Jeremy White is Senior Innovation Editor at WIRED, where he tracks the technologies and companies building the near future and turns them into usable insight for leaders. His beat spans AI and automation to mobility, cybersecurity, and consumer hardware, with a focus on what’s real, what’s hype, and where value appears first. Earlier stints at the Financial Times and Esquire (UK) shaped his eye for design and product—how innovations cross from lab to everyday life. As a keynote speaker and moderator, White briefs boards and product teams on timelines, adoption hurdles, and the operational impacts of emerging tech. He is known for translating complex systems into clear choices—what to pilot, how to govern, and how to talk about change with customers and regulators. Whether road-testing exoskeletons or interrogating quantum and web3 claims, he keeps promise and trade-offs in view, offering a realistic map of the next decade that decision-makers can act on.

Niina Majaniemi, MBA, is a globally recognized expert in emotional intelligence, inclusive leadership and workplace wellbeing, with two decades of experience across international business and tech, including roles at Nokia and Microsoft. A published academic and practitioner, she has designed global training, produced events, and authored thought leadership for organizations such as Microsoft, Adobe and Manpower. Niina coaches leaders to embed empathy, accessibility and responsible AI into product design, leadership and customer experience, translating soft skills into measurable outcomes. She speaks at international forums alongside presidents, executives and changemakers, and works as a workplace culture architect and human centered leadership advisor. Her mission is simple: organisations don’t have to choose between humanity and profit - they can (and should) achieve both.

Roger Federer retired in 2022 after a career that reconfigured modern men’s tennis. His play—marked by technical fluency, strategic clarity and public composure—produced 20 Grand Slam singles titles and 103 ATP singles championships, records that anchor his standing in the sport’s recent history. Beyond match results, Federer has built a sustained philanthropic platform through the Roger Federer Foundation, focusing on early childhood learning across Southern Africa and Switzerland. His post-playing agenda combines advocacy, selective partnerships and public conversation about transitions, performance psychology and the responsibilities of public figures.

Falguni Nayar founded Nykaa in 2012 after a long career in investment banking, building it into a leading beauty and lifestyle platform that married curated assortment, content-led discovery and physical retail into a profitable public company. Her talks distill practical lessons on category creation, omnichannel scaling, founder governance and disciplined risk—offering executives concrete frameworks for growing consumer brands in emerging markets.

Smriti Mandhana is an Indian opening batter and vice-captain who played a leading role in India’s 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup victory. Renowned for a blend of technical finesse and aggressive rhythm, she has set national and international benchmarks — including centuries across formats and calendar-year scoring records — while captaining at franchise level.