AIBTF - Key Persons
Executive Chairman of the International Institute of Security and Safety management (IISSM)
Job Titles:
- Member of the EXEC COMMITTEE
- Exec Committee Member
Ameet Nandlaskar is senior leadership, business & management consulting professional based in Sydney since last 23+ Years. He is involved in setting up key start-ups in the fields of Education, Consulting, and Investments. He is also on global governing council and Australia convenor for PIOCCI - People of Indian Origin and Chamber of Commerce.
Amit Vyas is the Founder-Director of Ozira Pty Ltd - an Australian company which helps industrial and municipal customers with meeting their challenges in water and waste-water treatment, Ozira provides water treatment plants and equipment solutions. Having worked in the Water Treatment Industry for the past 20 years, Amit has been able to successfully establish Ozira in a very short period as a well-known Water Treatment Solution Provider in the Australian Water Industry.
Amit has graduated as a Chemical Engineer from India and has completed his PGDBA from Indian Polis University, he has also completed Graduate Certificate in Environmental Engineering Management from UTS, Sydney. Amit started his career as a graduate engineer with Tatas back in India and moved on to the Middle East and eventually migrated to Australia permanently gaining experience in various professional engineering management roles before venturing into entrepreneurship.
Amit is also an active community member, currently heading a not for profit community organisation called "United Gujaratis of Australia - UGA" as a President. Amit is a strong supporter of migrant community and he believes in giving back to the community.
Amit is passionate about helping new migrants, job seekers and entrepreneurs and takes absolute pride in being a part of more migrant success stories.
Amit is also an active community member, currently heading a not for profit community organisation called "United Gujaratis of Australia - UGA" as a President. Amit is a strong supporter of migrant community and he believes in giving it back to the community. Amit is passionate about helping new migrants, job seekers and entrepreneurs and takes absolute pride in making many more migrant success stories.
Job Titles:
- CIO AP CAPITAL, BOARD MEMBER SENDFX )
- Financial Markets Executive
Andrew is a Financial Markets executive, with 30 years of experience domestically and internationally. Andrew worked for some of the largest banks and hedge funds globally, managing teams across Macro trading and investment portfolios, including Commonwealth Bank in Sydney, Nomura Securities in Singapore, New York, and Tudor Investment Corporation, one of the largest Hedge Funds globally.
Andrew is currently advising across Macro investment portfolios, the CIO of AP Capital, and is a Board member of SendFX, a Gold Coast international payments business.
Job Titles:
- PIONEER in the INDIAN DAIRY PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
BIPEN SHARMA (PIONEER IN THE INDIAN DAIRY PRODUCTS INDUSTRY) AIBTF is proud to have one of the most successful Indian Australians - Bipen Sharma - as one of our patrons. Every one from the Indian sub continent is familiar with the brand Sharma's Kitchen - a pioneer in the Indian dairy products industry. Bipen Sharma's journey as an entrepreneur is closely linked to his brand Sharma's Kitchen. There was a time when you couldn't find any Indian dairy products such as Yoghurt, Paneer on the shelves in Australia. Indians would crave for the home made taste of such products. Old timers would remember buying Greek yoghurt and even trying out Feta cheese. All that was changed by one man's vision. more
Bipen Sharma is a man driven by excellence and continuous improvement who started his innings in 1980 in Melbourne and has owned 3 restaurants before setting up Sharma's Kitchen. Under Mr Sharma's management, the company follows the policy of continuous improvement, regularly investing in R&D to improve product quality.
Gurudutt Shenoy is a professionally qualified Chartered Accountant (India) and CPA (Australia). He has over 30 years of experience in senior management roles across three continents- India, Africa and Australia. He has worked in various sectors include banking, education,manufacturing and retail.
His past roles include International Advisor -Godrej Properties and Financial Controller -University of Sydney. His passion includes mentoring young professionals in the areas of wealth management and community service to enhance education of the underprivileged in developing countries.
Alex Hawke is currently the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. Alex was elected to Federal Parliament on 24 November 2007 as the Member for Mitchell, an electorate centred in the Hills Shire in Northwest Sydney. Prior to his current role, Alex has served as Assistant Defence Minister and Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Special Minister of State, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, and the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer.
Job Titles:
- Founder of Noru Pharma
- McKinsey & Company Strategy Consultant
Jas Khara is the founder of Noru Pharma and has an extensive track record as a successful entrepreneur and investor. Jas has strong personal relationships with the retail industry in pharmacy, grocery and health food across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Jas previously founded Aurora Pharmaceuticals in Australia and Asia with the company subsequently being sold in 2008 to a Belgian public company, Omega Pharma. Jas also founded Rubicon Brands and Lambloch Estate, an integrated branded wine and spirits company. This company was acquired by Peterson's Wines in April of 2014.
Jas is a former McKinsey & Company strategy consultant and has extensive experience in business administration, finance and operations. Jas holds an MBA from INSEAD, France, and has a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering.
Mansi K Bhatia is the founder of a vegan brand - MASH Accessories. Mansi has done her schooling from the prestigious school in India " Welham Girls' school, Dehradun. The all-girls elite school instils in their students a belief so strong that they learn to appreciate this diversity and appreciative of one another. Mansi has done her MBA in marketing and communications at SIBM Pune.
Her first priority was looking after her kids and after 8 years started her entrepreneurial journey of her small business in Australia "Mash Accessories". Mash Accessories creates unique and sophisticated fashion accessories that draw their inspiration from aboriginal and Indian roots but with a touch of difference. For those who know Mansi, know that she has a heart of gold. Apart from being a successful business women, Mansi is dedicated to supporting women in business especially in diverse communities. She is also passionate about local charities with both her time and resources. Mansi started The Indian Tea Room - high tea with an Indian twist - supporting charities, providing networking opportunities as well supporting women in business.
Her belief is the ability of women to walk down paths and many other fears to tread, with confidence to take the initiative and to carry others along.
Mansi started The Indian Tea Room - high tea with an Indian twist - supporting charities, providing networking opportunities as well supporting women in business. Her belief is the ability of Women to walk down paths and many other fears to tread, with confidence to take the initiative and to carry others along.
Job Titles:
- PRESIDENT - S P JAIN SCHOOL of GLOBAL MANAGEMENT )
- President of the School
Nitish Jain is an educationist, philanthropist, entrepreneur, technology enthusiast and President of Australian-accredited business school S P Jain School of Global Management. With state-of-the-art campuses in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney, S P Jain has established a strong foothold for itself in the Asia Pacific.
In the last fifteen years as President of the School, Nitish has spearheaded a visionary goal - to create a school that is recognised all over the world for its innovative and disruptive style of education. Under Nitish's leadership, S P Jain is credited with several pioneering initiatives and has set several benchmarks in global business education, including a multi-city learning model that has seen its students travel to no less than 3 countries as part of their undergraduate / postgraduate education. The result of this is the transformation of business managers into global leaders who are adaptable, multicultural and globally relevant to companies of the 21st century.
Their success at work and contributions in the business community have led to S P Jain's growth as a top-ranked global business school as rated by:
Forbes, USA: Best International 1-year MBAs (2019-2021)
Ranked among the world's TOP 15
Times Higher Education (UK) - Wall Street Journal (USA): Top 1-year MBAs (2018-2019)
Ranked among the world's TOP 5
Ivy Exec, USA: Executive MBA Rankings (2018)
Ranked among Asia Pacific's TOP 10
Forbes, USA: Best International 1-year MBAs (2017-2019)
Ranked among the world's TOP 20
Forbes, USA: Best International 1-year MBAs (2015-2017)
Ranked among the world's TOP 10
The Economist, UK: Best Full-Time MBAs (2015)
Ranked among the world's TOP 100
Global Brands, UK: Best Business Schools (2015)
Ranked Dubai's No. 1
Poets and Quants, USA: Best Business Schools (2015)
Ranked among the world's TOP 50
Forbes, USA: Best International Business Schools (2013-2014)
Ranked among the world's TOP 20
Nielsen: MBA Salary Audit Report (2014)
Ranked UAE's No. 1
Poets and Quants, USA: Best Business Schools (2014)
Ranked among the world's TOP 50
Financial Times, UK: Top Global MBA Programs (2011 and 2012)
Ranked among the world's TOP 100
In recognition of these and his other achievements in the field of global business education, Nitish was felicitated with the Outstanding Contribution to Education Award by the CMO Asia. His efforts to reimagine business education and offer innovative programs were recognised through the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by TIMES NOW (2014) and Award for Business Excellence by the Australia India Business Council (2014).
In 2013, he held a coveted spot in Forbes' list of UAE's 75 most influential people. In recognition of his work in cementing Indo-Australia ties through education, Nitish was hand-picked by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join his official CEO delegation, comprising India's top 12 CEOs, to Australia post the G20 summit.
Nitish is a keen technology enthusiast, looking for imaginative ways to integrate his passion for technology with traditional teaching methods. He has led the introduction of cutting-edge tools for engaged online learning, and new classroom technologies including a one-of-its-kind Learning Analytics App. These transformative technologies are expected to take student learning outcomes to a new level. Nitish has been interviewed extensively by international publications and broadcast media including the Sydney Morning Post, Bloomberg TV (Hong Kong), BBC (Singapore), ET News (India) and Zee TV (Singapore). He has also been invited as a speaker at conferences conducted by EQUIS (Bali), EduTech Asia (Singapore) and Global Minds (Sydney).
Nitish is active in several professional societies including the FICCI and the Young President's Association. In addition, he contributes actively to social causes in India and is a Trustee of Sukhanand Ashram (Dharamshala) Trust, Seth SukhanandGurumukhrai Trust, DCW Ltd. Trust and the S P Jain Welfare Foundation. His family has founded many of these Trusts with the primary purpose of promoting education and medical welfare among low-income families. Nitish holds an MBA degree from USA's Cornell University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the EXEC COMMITTEE
- Exec Committee Member
Pranav Aggarwal is a senior commercial professional who has over 20 years experience in sales, strategy and business development with companies like EY, Citibank, Rabo and GE. Currently Pranav is helping lead Digital Sales for Enterprise customers for Microsoft across Asia.
Preeti D'silva is the founder of Better Life Migration. She is a Registered Migration/Education Agent and has worked in Australian Immigration Law for the last 15 years. Preeti is dedicated to helping both individuals and businesses with their immigration requirements. She has provided strategic advice and assistance in all matters associated with immigration to Fortune 500, ASX listed as well as start-up companies in diverse industry sectors such as IT, banking, finance, insurance, resources, consulting, hospitality, entertainment and manufacturing. Preeti specialises in employer sponsored, skilled migration, business, student, family, citizenship and review cases. Prior to working in immigration law, Preeti has worked in management, marketing, sales and business development roles in a myriad of industries, thus honing her business acumen.
Preeti has a Master's Degree in Business Administration from USA, a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce/Law and has completed a course in Australian Immigration Law.
Preeti is passionate about helping migrants and their communities. She is also a strong proponent of collaborating and helping others especially women succeed in business. She is an active volunteer for several community organisations.
Rahul Jethi is a Banking and Finance professional who has over 20 years experience in Management , Marketing, business development, networking and stakeholder engagement.
Qualifications in Civil Engineering along with Graduation in Public Administration & Sociology, Rahul is an MBA in Sales and Marketing. He acquired Banking and Financial Planning Qualifications in Australia. A successful career built on strong foundation of an extensive experience with CBA and St George, Rahul ventured to build his franchise with Bank of Queensland in 2006 .
As an entrepreneur, Rahul is very passionate about Australia-India Relationships and has been working in various business, social and political areas for more than a decade to help the two countries work more closely. Rahul is very well known in the business circles as well as the Indian and local community. Having been an active member and participant in various business, social, community and charity initiatives.
Rahul's core capabilities include strong analytical, organizational, management execution skills, cross government sectors, network and corporate strategy. Presently, his focus is to give AIBTF a strong foundation and grow it as the prime platform of choice for businesses, between Australia and India.
Mr. Sinha is a renowned speaker on subjects pertaining to security, loss prevention, training, and disaster management issues and is a regular faculty at universities across India and the U.S.
From Rs 250 to Rs 2,700 crore, R K Sinha's SIS is the first Indian MNC in the security industry.
Mr Ravindra Kishore Sinha, popularly known as RK Sinha, is a first- generation entrepreneur who successfully started Security & Intelligence Services (India) Limited (SIS) in 1974, which is the leading security and business support service provider in Asia-Pacific. Mr. Sinha is also an Indian politician, representing BJP in the Rajya Sabha as an MP from 2014-2020. In addition to this, Mr. Sinha is a popular columnist, social activist & thinker. SIS, which began as a team of just two employees in a rented office in 1985 is today, a leading security services company in India and Australia specialising in cash logistics and facility management services. In 1988, SIS opened a new training academy division for graduate officers. Till date, they have trained nearly 2 lakh security guards and 1,500 graduate officers.
Shipra Bhatia-Tewani is the Founder-Director of Melange Chic - a brand for lifestyle, ethical and luxurious products. Having worked over last few years, she has been able to successfully establish Melange Chic as an online business as well as a boutique and lifestyle store in Beecroft.
Shipra graduated as an Architect from India and went on to complete her MBA from Manchester. She lived and worked in India, Australia and the Middle East gaining experience as a marketing professional before deciding to take the leap as an entrepreneur.
Shipra believes in the power of people supporting people. She is the founder of a Facebook Community called ‘Indian Mumpreneurs' which she conceptualized drawing from the challenges she faced while building the Melange Chic brand. Shipra aims to utilise every available opportunity to give back in the hope of creating a positive and supportive community.
Job Titles:
- CHAIRMAN of BARKER HENLEY. )
For over two decades, Sunil has assisted with joint ventures relating to outbound and inbound investment in the Indian sub-continent (and other regional markets in Asia and the Middle East) in sectors as diverse as education, health, mining, banking & finance, aviation, technology and insurance.
As a current Board Member of the Chamber of Australia-India Trade and Investment, Sunil is instrumental in developing and promoting business between Australia and India, including advice on financial, organisational and strategic matters.
Sunil is Chairman of Barker Henley. For over two decades, Sunil has assisted with joint ventures relating to outbound and inbound investment in the Indian sub-continent (and other regional markets in Asia and the Middle East) in sectors as diverse as education, health, mining, banking & finance, aviation, technology and insurance.
As a lawyer, Sunil is a regular presenter on International business practises and intellectual property rights across numerous Asian markets; his presentations to SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation In Law) have been the subject of conferences and discussion papers in the wider region. He has also been a member of various government delegations to Asia, including invitations to speak on corporate governance in China. Acknowledged both nationally and internationally for his regional expertise, Sunil has been invited to give evidence before the Australian Federal Parliamentary Committee on bilateral trade between Australia and India, and is a former Board member of the Australia-India Business Council and the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce.
As a current Board Member of the Chamber of Australia-India Trade and Investment, Sunil is instrumental in developing and promoting business between Australia and India, including advice on financial, organisational and strategic matters.
In the social responsibility sphere, Sunil is committed to philanthropic activities in Australia and Asia Pacific. His philanthropic work includes organisations such as Lymphoma Australia, Diabetes NSW, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse at The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Childrens' Hospital, ASHA Foundation (India) and various learning institutions throughout South East Asia.
The Honorable David Elliott MP was born in Bankstown in 1970 and was educated at Christian Community High School, Regents Park before completing a Bachelor of Arts in History and Asian Studies. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Master of Arts (Communication). A keen interest in politics lead David to join the Liberal Party on his 16th birthday and research roles on the personal staff of then Senator Bronwyn Bishop in her Parramatta office before spending four years on the personal staff of the Hon John Howard OM AC.
In 1993 after graduating, he joined the NSW Police Media Unit. In 1995 David joined the Regular Army and, following studies at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, was commissioned into the Australian Army Public Relations Service. He completed his Master's Degree on an Army part scholarship.
A long-time friendship with then NSW Opposition Leader, the Hon Peter Collins QC MP saw David return to politics as his senior press secretary in 1997. Following the change of leadership in the NSW Liberal Party in 1999, David was invited to be the National Campaign Director of the "No Republic" campaign.
Under his administration, David saw a successful "No" vote in every State of the Commonwealth. For his services to the referendum he was awarded the Commonwealth's Centenary Medal in 2001. In 1999 he also completed his final Master's dissertation on the relationship between the Liberal Party of Australia and the media.
January 2000 saw David recalled to the Australian Regular Army and posted to the headquarters staff of the multi national peacekeeping forces in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, for which he was awarded the Australian Service Medal (Bougainville clasp). He returned to Australia in June 2000 and opted for a career sabbatical with the international charity, St John Ambulance, working as the Major Events Manager in Australia and the Manchester Commonwealth Games, UK.
In January 2004 David joined the Australian Hotels Association and served as the NSW Deputy Chief Executive until January 2008. He was responsible for tourism and accommodation issues as well as being the Association's public affairs director. He was awarded the Australian Defence Medal in April 2007 before resigning from the Australian Army to concentrate on business interests. During his time at the AHA (NSW) David served on a number of industry boards and committees including Hotel Employers Mutual and The National Tourism Alliance.
In January 2008 David was made the Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Contractors Federation (NSW) based at Norwest Business Park which operated as a Registered Training Organisation servicing more than 500 businesses ranging from publicly listed companies to small family concerns constructing infrastructure across Australia. David lives in Kellyville and is married to Nicole and they have two sons. His interests include travel, history, rugby, sailing and golf.
David was elected to the 55th Parliament of NSW as the Member for Baulkham Hills on 26th March 2011. In May 2014 he was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier. He has also served as the Chairman of Ministerial Consultative Council on India, Secretary of Parliamentary Friends of Papua New Guinea and Chairman of the St John Ambulance Parliamentary Auxiliary.
Following the re-election of the Baird Government in March 2015, David was appointed Minister for Corrections, Emergency Services and Veterans Affairs. In early 2017, Premier Gladys Berejiklian appointed David to be Minister for Counter Terrorism, replacing Emergency Services.
Following the re-election of the Berejiklian Government in March 2019, David was appointed Minister for Police and Emergency Services. David's Electorate of Baulkham Hills has a significant Indian population and many successful Indian businesses. David is well known within the Indian community and the Indian Business community.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Accountant and Co - Founder and Director of AVS Chartered Accountants
Vinay Arora is a Chartered Accountant and co-founder and director of AVS Chartered Accountants, a firm specialising in Self Managed Super Funds and catering mainly to small businesses offering end to end solutions for their compliance and accounting needs.
After earning his professional accounting degree in 1995, Vinay has 25 years' experience in the accounting and tax field, both in Australia and India. Before migrating to Australia, Vinay has been an entrepreneur, run his accounting practice in India and had been a member of the Corporate Law committee of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India which among other tasks, work in co-ordination with various Ministries of Govt of India, facilitating the Corporate and commercial laws making process.
Vinay likes working with small businesses and start-ups in a technology driven environment helping them successfully navigate the challenges in their growth phase. He is a keen community participant and with believes instrongly supporting the migrant community as a way of giving back to the community.