Media & Influence Speakers

Twinkle Khanna is a WSJ bestselling author and former actress who won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She is India’s highest-selling woman writer and a leading advocate for menstrual hygiene. Her book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad was adapted into the National Award-winning film Pad Man. She is the founder of the digital media platform Tweak India for women and actively campaigns at the United Nations and on the BBC for menstrual hygiene and sanitation globally.

Shobhaa De is one of India’s most popular and influential writers. All 17 of her books have topped the charts, and four of her titles are used as course material at the University of London. She is a distinguished columnist for The Times of India and Asian Age, known for her sharp, "Politically Incorrect" observations on society, politics, and the economy. She is a highly influential voice, recognized as one of "India's Most Trusted People" by Reader's Digest.

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.

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.