WHITE PAGE INTERNATIONAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of NEC Corporation
Aalok Kumar is the President and CEO of NEC Corporation India. An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad from where he pursued his MBA, Aalok graduated from St. Stephens College, Delhi University.
Aalok's illustrious career spans over 26 years wherein he has provided strategic direction to globally renowned brands in Indian and international markets including Japan, APAC, and EMEA. He started his career as a sales manager at Castrol India Ltd back in 1995. He then joined the global conglomerate General Electric in 2000 and moved on to become Head - Products after freelancing for about a year. Following this, he joined ABN Amro Bank as a VP in the unsecured lending business. Aalok re-joined GE Capital in 2005 where he led several leadership positions ranging from VP - Marketing for Asian region to CEO for Singapore market and eventually taking up the role of CMO & Head, Strategic Initiatives, GE Capital International for EMEA and APAC and Chief Strategy Officer for Japan over the course of a decade. His result-oriented approach and deep expertise in business transformation, performance improvement and margin expansion ensured he continues to climb up the corporate ladder. He then moved to GE Healthcare as Chief Growth Officer and Strategic Initiatives Leader - APAC wherein he was responsible for developing market winning commercial strategies through channel development, strong product value proposition development, pricing, demand generation, customer experience & building a data driven rigorous sales management framework. In 2019, Aalok joined the leading consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company as a Senior Vice President and led the mandate to deploy a suite of transformation approaches underpinned by distinctive tools and technologies to enable real, sustained growth for clients' businesses.
Aalok's journey with NEC began in March 2020 as he took up the mantle as the President and CEO at NEC Corporation India, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, Japan. Aalok is responsible for leading and expanding NEC India's business offerings in India and global markets.
As an accomplished leader, Aalok is known for his management style and holds a stellar record in driving market share growth by creating new market opportunities. His diverse experience has allowed him to adapt to changing trends. When it comes to challenges, Aalok's primary objective is to maintain high-quality performance standards to meet the challenges to stay ahead in the fast-paced and competitive business environment, and therefore steadily delivering business goals and value to stakeholders. A truly prudent and decisive leader, Aalok's journey has been inspiring and noteworthy.
Abhishek Goel is an entrepreneur, a meditator, most importantly he is a visionary who redefined scholarly communication. He is the CEO and Co-founder of CACTUS Communications. He started this company along with his brother, with a vision of providing high-quality English editing services in Japan in 2002. Today CACTUS is recognized globally and is connecting the researcher community around the globe.
Abhishek finished his schooling from St. Paul School, Darjeeling in 1995, he then went on to pursue a bachelor in the field of commerce in marketing and Human Resource from NM College of Commerce and Economics, and he graduated in the year 2000. During his college years, Abhishek joined AIESEC in the year 1997, which is one of the largest youth-run NGOs with a presence in over 120 countries. He was a member of AIESEC for four years, where he administered multiple tasks and handled various positions and also became the President of AIESEC, Mumbai. During his time in AIESEC, he went on an exchange program to Japan as an exchange consultant, where he coincidently helped a Japanese professor, who needed support in editing his research paper. Even though CACTUS Communications was established in 2002, but this is the origin of CACTUS, which today is an international enterprise.
Abhishek's role at CACTUS is significant. He established, developed, and has been amplifying the impact of CACTUS globally. He built an organization that revolutionized global scientific communication. By collaborating with researchers, universities, publishers, societies, and life science organizations along with AI and hi-tech, he strives to make a difference for publishers and researchers. In 2017 he was recognized and received the "Entrepreneur of the year award" by Ascent foundation.
Abhishek has an influential personality, whether it was leading an NGO or a company. His leadership style is noteworthy. It manifestly reflects the core value of CACTUS. Buddha once said, "What we think, we become". Having an optimistic view of oneself is very important. We can achieve that when we reflect peacefully. What could be more peaceful than meditation? Abhishek is an active meditator and has a zeal for live theatrical and music performances. He is also an avid reader and enjoys both fiction and non-fiction equally.
Abhishek Somany (MD, Somany Ceramics) is a third generation entrepreneur and a true leader with remarkable experiences, currently spearheading the entire gamut of operations at Somany Ceramics. He has been the long-standing MD and growth driver of Somany Ceramics Ltd for almost two decades now. He kicked-off his journey in the Ceramic industry with initial training at Kanoria Chemicals, Uttar Pradesh. He then continued his training at M/s. Pilkington Tiles U.K., a company engaged in the manufacturing of glazed ceramic wall and floor tiles. After completing his training, Mr. Somany joined Somany Group as a Management Trainee.
18 years on, having moved up the ranks from Management Trainee to President Domestic Marketing and then to Executive Director, Mr. Somany as Managing Director is now in charge of the operational responsibility and day-to-day functioning of the company. Additionally, he is personally involved in the Product Designing and Sales & Marketing departments of the company.
Under Mr. Somany's leadership, Somany Ceramics has swiftly grown to become an industry leader in Ceramics, bagging many prestigious awards and global recognition. He has also been recognized in the Power Brand Hall of Fame as a Corporate Leader of the Ceramics Industry for 2011-2012.
Mr. Somany's prowess as a ceramic industry magnate has also earned him a membership on the Executive Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Ahmed Al Falih was born in 1960 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He earned his Bachelor in Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and later pursued an MBA at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
Al Falih joined Saudi Aramco in 1979. With 60,000 employees, Saudi Aramco is an integrated global petroleum company and the leading industrial enterprise in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For over several years, he held positions of increasing responsibility and in October 2004, Al Falih was appointed to the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, eventually becoming the CEO in 2009.
Al-Falih served in key leadership positions across the organization, and is responsible for the expansion of the company's business portfolio into new areas of operations. He oversaw all of the company's core operations- exploration and producing, refining, marketing, international relations, operations services; and engineering and project management, taking the company to where it stands today.
Falih is also a humanitarian. He is a part of many social programmes. He has served as the chairman of the Dammam City Municipal Council. His board memberships in other community focused organizations include the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Fund for Sup - porting Small Business Projects for Women, and Eastern Province Society for the Handicapped.
Akbar Al Baker has played a pivotal role in shaping the face of Qatar Airways, and transforming it into one of the fastest-growing and highly acclaimed airlines in the world. It was his dedication and hard work that has helped Qatar Airways win the Airline of the Year, for the two consecutive year 2011-12, by global industry audit Skytrax.
After earning his graduate degree in economics and commerce in India, Al Baker worked at various levels in the Civil Aviation Directorate before becoming Qatar Airway's CEO in 1997. He has spearheaded the growth of Qatar Airways, which operated only four aircrafts in a regional capacity prior to his appointment. Qatar Airways currently flies a modern fleet over 130 aircrafts to more than 140 destinations across six continents.
He is also leading the development of the multi-billion dollar Hamad International Airport project, home to Qatar Airways. Al Baker is a member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is a non-executive Director of Heathrow Airport Holdings.
Al Baker is a highly motivated person. Together with his tremendous passion and intellect, he has made himself a successful businessman in Doha. He also holds a private pilot licence, and is also group chief executive of several divisions of Qatar's national airline- Qatar Airways Holidays, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Duty Free Company, Doha International Airport, Qatar Distribution Company, Qatar Executive, Oryx Rotana Hotel and Qatar Aircraft Catering Company.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Managing Director of UFlex Ltd.
Ashok Chaturvedi is the Chairman and Managing Director of UFlex Ltd. UFlex is an industry marvel, which began as a very small manufacturing unit in 1983 and today has a gross turnover of USD 1 Billion with a bunch of successful business endeavors. It is a leading business conglomerate with its presence across the value chain of flexible packaging comprising of bi-axially oriented plastic films, chemicals, packaging machines, rotogravure printing cylinders, aseptic liquid packaging, converting, hi-tech brand protection, anti-counterfeiting solutions, and holography. Ashok is a first generation visionary entrepreneur and the founder of UFlex Group. Being the architect of the group's vision and its business strategy, Ashok has built a global presence with manufacturing stations in India, Mexico, the USA, Poland, Egypt, and UAE. Today under his leadership, UFlex is making headway as India's largest company and a global leader in flexible packaging materials and solutions, serving Fortune 500 companies; and its products are sold in over 150 countries worldwide.
The foundation of customer relationship is the 3Qs - Quality, Quantity, and Quickness, which Ashok has promised to his customers and has it entrenched in the organization's ethos. UFlex is a value-driven organization and Ashok's principle and values are mirrored by every business and process of the group. Trust and respect; customer value creation; innovation; global perspective & speedy execution are the paramount principles that drive the company. Globalization, excellence, innovation with differentiation, modernization, quality, and quantum growth has ushered UFlex to the success that it enjoys today.
Ashok believes that people are the pillar of business, thus he is passionate about people's well-being, and his efforts on enhancing and bettering the lives of people are noteworthy, whether it be employees, customers, business partners, shareholders, or any other stakeholders, he is equally considerate about all. He leads a global workforce of 9000+ employees with different ethnicities, working across four continents.
As a philanthropist, he believes in empowering the underprivileged and vulnerable sections of the society and works relentlessly towards the cause he believes in. Ashok is a cricket enthusiast and his love for cricket drives his passion for providing education and sports facilities to the not-so privileged children and youth. With a commitment to improving the quality of the sports facilities in the country, he constantly promotes the advanced Modern Cricket Club and generously contributes towards the growth of institutions for management studies.
As a widely traveled individual, Ashok holds a universal mindset, broader perspective and stout conviction, a trait that defines the global leaders of the 21st Century. He has been honored with many awards and accolades which includes ET Polymers Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 and Father of Flexible Packaging at the 1st Global Conference on Plastic & Packaging 2019. A much revered industry stalwart, Ashok is often referred to as the latter title by patrons for steering the packaging industry to a 15,000 crore INR industry.
He is truly a visionary, philanthropist, and a leader that this country needs.
Chua Sock Koong served as the Group CEO at Singtel Group Treasury Pte. Ltd. Chua joined SingTel in June 1989 as a treasurer. In April 1999, she was promoted to CFO, and was responsible for the Group's financial functions, including treasury, tax, insurance, risk management and capital management while managing a diverse range of other portfolios simultaneously.
Ekta Kapoor was born to be a prodigy, in the world of the Indian entertainment industry, she introduced to us an entire genre of television content. A whole new dimension of the Indian entertainment industry was formed when Ekta Kapoor decided to start her own production house Balaji Telefilms Ltd in the year 1994. Balaji has provided us with outstanding, delightful and engaging entertainment content, and for most of the general entertainment broadcasters, Balaji's shows have always been the channel drivers.
Ekta started her career when she was just 18 years old as Joint Managing Director and Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms Ltd. Her unique approach and comprehensive experience is the reason behind the company's success, and being the creative director, she is the creative force that drives the company. She is a hustler, she works 16-18 hours a day working on contents and she is innovative, she keeps moving with India's transforming TV climate and keeps raising the bar.
Balaji under Ekta's leadership and creative guidance, has won almost every major TV awards and accolades. Ekta is passionate about what she does from a young age, the artist in her has awe-struck everyone. She has earned multiple awards. She was decorated with the fourth highest civilian honor- "Padma Shri Award" as well as "The Businesswoman of the Year" by The Economic Times in 2002. She received the title of "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young and "Woman of the Year" by the American Biographical Institute in 2001, and she received many such awards. She was positioned at No.1 among "50 Most Influential Women" in the Indian marketing, advertising, and media ecosystems by IMPACT magazine in 2016.
Ekta is an entrepreneur, visionary, creative, hustler, and artist. She revamped India's television landscape and came with a vibe that boosted India's satellite television game. She showed that you are never too young to establish an empire.
Harsha Solanki is a proficient professional with an experience of over 16 years in the industry. She is the Managing Director at Infobip, supervising India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Harsha is an alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, from where she completed her PGDM in telecommunications & IT Management. She is a computer science graduate from Fergusson College. Harsha's expertise in the Application to Person (A2P) messaging space has been proven by her eminent track record.
Harsha commenced her career as a manager of marketing & sales at Starcorp in 2005, she then joined Smart Wireless Pvt Ltd. as Senior Manager of marketing and sales in 2006 and before joining Infobip, her last venture was Bsmart Tech Pvt. Ltd as Country Head. Harsha joined as the Managing Director- India at Infobip in 2017.
Her work at Infobip is noteworthy. She quadrupled the turnover of the enterprise in the last four years. She is an influential leader with a vision of building Infobip as an engineering mitochondrion with its benchmark-defining CPaaS infrastructure and an innovation-centric perspective. She is presently working on strengthening the company's leadership position by channelizing the demand of the ‘New Normal' which will contribute to the company's growth making headway in being one of the largest IT companies in Europe. With Infobip being on the right track under her administration, the company has launched three ground-breaking SaaS products this year with the widest range of programmable channels comprised of omnichannel contact center solution ‘Conversations', bot-building module ‘Answers', and customer engagement solution ‘Moments'. She oversees organization's P&L, Administration, and People Management in India. Her proclivity to experiment and innovate, amplifies, and compliments the core values of Infobip, which is innovation, speed, and agility.
Harsha is an interior designing enthusiast which reflects on the design of her residence. She comes from the family of defense personnel and is married to an Army Officer of Indian Army. She enjoys traveling socializing, and spending quality time with her family and has zealous reader. She loves dogs and takes pride in that. If you spot her playing with German Shepherd, that's Angel.
Job Titles:
- President of Rajasthan Foundation
HM Bangur is also the President of Rajasthan Foundation, Kolkata Chapter. Shri Bangur was the President of the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) between 2007 and 2009 and Ex-Executive Member of FICCI. He has been awarded with the prestigious "Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2016" and "Forbes Leadership Award 2017". He is also Chairman of the Bengal and an NGO actively engaged with Kolkata Police to provide all possible help to the old age people living alone. You should always give back to the society.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder & CEO at Wakefit
Ankit Garg, a Chemical Engineering graduate from IIT Roorkee, is Co-founder & CEO at Wakefit and heads its new product development design, research & innovation operations team. After a successful stint at Bayer Chemicals' Product Development wing, Mr. Garg kickstarted Wakefit's operations in 2015. Prior to this, he also worked with with Tapzo and was a Process Excellence professional.
Keeping his entrepreneurial spirit alive, Wakefit is Mr. Garg's second venture in the start-up world. To ensure Wakefit's success in the innovation and customer engagement departments, Mr. Garg champions a visionary approach that focuses on research and innovation. Additionally, he has also pioneered the adoption of a direct-from-factory model of delivery that has resulted in considerable reduction in costs for customers. Five years down the road, Mr. Garg envisions Wakefit to be the top customer pick for the most innovative and trusted brand in the industry.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and CEO of the Wilmar Group
Kuok Khoon Hong, 64, is the chairman and CEO of the Wilmar Group. He is overall in charge of the management of the group with a particular focus on new business developments. He has extensive experience in the industry, and has been involved in the grains, edible oils and oilseeds businesses since 1973.
Kuok graduated from the University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He has completed many projects involving the establishment of oil palm plantations in Asia and Africa, as well as the processing of grains, edible oils and oilseeds. He has held several key executive positions in various companies, including general manager of Federal Flour Mills Bhd and managing director of Kuok Oils & Grains Pte Ltd.
Kuok's excellent managerial skills and his vision to see opportunities mature into fruition, has been instrumental in the development of the company. Among these, was the acquisition of a 10.1 per cent interest in Australia's leading listed branded food company, Goodman Fielder.
Wilmar remains the world's largest palm oil firm and Asia's leading agri business group with over 400 manufacturing plants. Kuok is ranked seventh on Forbes' list of Singapore's 40 Richest, and 314th on its list of The World's Billionaires. He has a reported net worth of U S$2.3 billion, and is synonymous with Wilmar International, in which he has 12 per cent stake.
Professor Malcolm McDonald is one of the world's foremost authorities on strategic marketing, market segmentation, sales and strategic/key account management. He has written over 45 books on the subject of marketing, has spent the past 30 years researching it and has helped many of the world's leading organizations profit from being more market-driven. Coming from a background in business which included a number of years as Marketing Director of Canada Dry, Malcolm has successfully maintained a close link between academic rigour and commercial application. He has consulted to many major companies from the UK, Europe, USA, Far East, South-East Asia, Australasia and Africa, in the areas of strategic marketing and marketing planning, market segmentation, key account management, international marketing and marketing accountability.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- CEO of Priyadarshani School
Ms. Siingh is the leader that we need in the field of education. Her contribution and influence will produce more leaders like her in the future. She exemplifies her own motto to transform oneself, to step out of one's comfort zone and never lose integrity.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of D B S Group Holdings
- Director of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd
Peter Seah Lim Huat acts as the chairman of D B S Group Holdings and Singapore Health Services. He also serves on the boards of many commercial enterprises in Singapore and overseas, such as Capita Land. From December 2001 until December 2004, he was president and CEO of Singapore Technologies Pte Ltd and also a member of its board of directors. Before joining Singapore Technologies in December 2001, he was a banker for 33 years, retiring as vice chairman and CEO of Overseas Union Bank in September 2001.
Peter is a graduate of the University of Singapore with an honours degree in Business Administration. His immense knowledge and sheer hard work helped him climb a series of ladders of success and gain recognition amongst his peers. He holds significant positions in innumerable companies and firms. His strategic thinking and pro-active decision-making nature has benefitted every firm he has been associated with.
Peter is a director of Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, STAT S Chip PAC Ltd and StarHub Ltd, as well as Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited and Asia Mobile Holdings Pte Ltd.
He sits on the Boards of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd and G IC Special Investments Private Limited, and is a member of Defence Science and Technology Agency and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is also the Honorary Treasurer of the Singapore Business Federation Council.
Shalini Natraj is the Global HR Head of GSC, Fleet & Strategic Brand at Maersk. With over 19+ years of experience in HRM across various multinational companies, her current responsibilities pan across the end to end life cycle of an employee's journey at Maersk. Her expertise in building a strong talent agenda to support the ever-changing business is highly valued in the organization. In addition, she is a staunch advocate for strong community relations, diversity and inclusion at Maersk. She has been pivotal in leading programmes that not only enhance an employee's professional career but also their overall wellbeing. Her recent success was in rolling out the ‘Coaching' culture across India, China and Manila. An initiative that equipped leaders at Maersk to lead differently and to create a culture of empathetic listening and "asking", instead of telling resulting in self-managed and engaged teams and customers.
Her talent philosophy is ‘‘You don't build a business; you build people and teams and then they build the business". She firmly believes in keeping the employees at the heart of everything and then building a culture of development, care and innovation around them. This has helped Maersk propel their business to a new level, not just within the organization but setting high standards for the whole industry to follow.
Shalini received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Bangalore University and Master's in Human Resources from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. In her personal time, she likes to practice Yoga and meditation.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of UK Asian Business Council ( UKABC ) United Kingdom ( UK )
Taha is the Chair of UK Asian Business Council (UKABC). In addition, he is the Managing Director of Monkey Consulting Ltd, specialises in international business development and marketing. He is also Business and Economic Advisor to the Government of Malta and Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara Uganda, Country Co-ordinator People of Indian Origin Chambers of Commerce (PIOCCI) , President Greater London Chapter Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International and Ambassador, Views of the World Film and Music Festival.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) at Crayon Software Experts India Pvt. Ltd
Vikas Bhonsle is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Crayon Software Experts India Pvt. Ltd and has been leading it across India since June 2014. Vikas is an alumnus of the University of Mumbai where he completed his graduation in the field of physics and did his MBA. He is well versed with the disciplines of Business Management, Sales, Marketing, Strategy Formulation, Operational Management and Relationship Management with over 20 years of experience.
His association with Crayon, the global leader in Software Asset Management (SAM), Cloud and Volume Licensing has been a strengthening one with the company growing deeper roots in the country with new collaborations, investments, mergers, and acquisitions. He is a strong advocate of transparency, working productively and is a major contributor to the company's visibility in the country.
He has been in this industry for over 20 years now and hasn't left any stone unturned. He is aware of every move of the local market and evaluates it through international standards, which he believes is his advantage.
Vikas is known for his ability to build a value driven organization while delivering on the business forecasts, commitment and especially capability to kick start new business opportunities. As a distinguished leader who is optimistic, self-motivated and focused he believes in getting outcomes through most effective and economical ways. He is a result-oriented professional with an exceptional track record of building a team that is capable of raising the bar, developing skills for personal advancement and enhancing the overall growth of the company.
"Boss says GO, but a leader says LET'S GO.", it is a very well-known proverb that defines one of the leadership qualities of Vikas. He believes hallmark of a true leader is not only in how much one achieves but, in the way, one nurtures talent, coaches and mentors' colleagues. A true leader not only should care deeply about organizational development but also about his teams and the individual careers of his people. His ability to care, mentor, walk together, brainstorm ideas and keeping it cool at the same time, being self-motivated and optimistic, makes him a commendable leader of our time.
Before Vikas became a part of the Crayon family, he worked with Dell for over 14 years. He was General Manager of the Mid-Market of Dell India, where he handled a business portfolio of over 300 Million Dollars. Over his 14 years' experience in Dell, he managed different regions, portfolios and had an International stint of Marketing as a Brand Manager for the South Asia region.
He always wanted to be a cricketer. He received his first bat at the age of 11 years and soon his sportsmanship was visible to all. He is passionate about cricket and even today enjoys playing cricket in his free time.
Yogesh is also fond of animals and is passionate about the fair treatment of the animal. He designed a framework that recommends that any organization dealing in animal products should be responsible for ensuring cruelty-free treatment to animals during the production. He also made sure that this responsibility towards animals is shared by all, by not limiting it within the organization but also extending it by continuous auditing of the vendors they use. This proposal was acknowledged and appreciated by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), and at present, is under consideration to effectuate as a law. He is an exemplary leader and innovator.