DR ASHOK GULATI, Director – Asia, IFPRI
Dr Ashok Gulati is currently director – Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He earlier was the director of the Markets, Trade and Institutions Division of IFPRI in Washington D.C. Before joining IFPRI, Dr Gulati was a NABARD chair professor at the Institute of Economic Growth and chief economist at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). He has also been a member of the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister of India. Dr Gulati has done Masters in Economics and Ph.D. from Delhi School of Economics.
|
DAMODAR MALL, Group customer director, Future group.
Prior to being the group customer director, Future group, he was the CEO, Innovation and incubation of Future group. He has also handled operations Foods Business, Pantaloon Retail (I) Ltd, as the CEO. He has 10 years’ experience in sales and brand management at Hindustan Unilever. Damodar Mall started his career with Hindustan Unilever where he worked in Sales & Brand Management. Later, Mall co-promotoed a supermarket chain in Mumbai, (now, D-Mart) and led the Sangam Direct e-tail initiative of Hindustan Unilever. Mall later joined Future Group as CEO – Supermarket Business. Mall is B Tech from IIT, Mumbai and has his MBA from IIM Bangalore.
|
DHIREN KANWAR, Chief – F&B, Operations and Design, KIAC
Dhiren Kanwar currently heads the strategy function for food and beverage in malls for Kshitij Retail Destinations. Kanwar started his career at Sheraton and later joined the Taj Group. He fulfilled the dual role of being in charge of the kitchen operations of the Taj Birdys cake shop and the execution of “Jazz by the Bay”. Dhiren has also trained in Singapore worked with Chef Steudler of the Plaza Athenee Hotel, Paris. He opened a specialty kitchen, Gourmet Street catering to Mumbai’s gourmets in desserts, cakes and specialty catering of Italian, Mexican and regional Indian food then in 2003 set up an international class commissary which supplies a variety of specialty food and desserts to chains like Barista, Café Coffee Day, Subway, Qwiky’s, INOX, Hypercity etc.
|
Dheeraj Gupta, Managing Director, Jumboking Foods Pvt.Ltd.
The founder of Jumboking national chain, Dheeraj Gupta is a Hotel Management graduate from IHM, Mumbai with a master degree in Financial Management from Symbiosis Pune. In the past 7 years, he has single handedly driven the organization to open 45 outlets all over India. Prior to opening Jumboking, Dheeraj started a mithai business, which he had to wind up within 18 months because of lack of funds. Dheeraj not only put up his own single product stores but also convinced others to invest in the brand through the franchise model.
|
Dinesh Malpani, CCA & CEO, Food Express Retail Pvt.Ltd.
Dinesh Malpani is the chief executive officer Food Express, a chain of super stores in South India. He is a commerce graduate who did an Accelerated Management Programme from ISB. In his early days, he was involved in his family business of gemstone exports.
|
DHEERAJ KHANNA, Modern Trade Head, Agro Tech Foods
Dheeraj Khanna , heads Modern Trade business for AgroTech Foods. Dheeraj is an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad having accomplished career spanning over 11 years with companies like HUL , Coca-Cola India and Bennett Coleman.
|
DR. LESLIE D. BOURQUIN, Associate Professor and Food Safety Specialist, Michigan State University
Dr. Bourquin is an associate professor and Food Safety Specialist in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at Michigan State University. Dr. Bourquin’s research program focuses on the impacts of public and private food safety standards, barriers to their acceptance and effective implementation by the food industry, and the potential impacts of these standards on public health. Dr. Bourquin’s outreach and development work focuses on applied research, education and capacity building, and risk communication on food safety issues.
|
Dr. Thomas Reardon, Professor of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University
Dr. Thomas Reardon is Professor of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University and Co-Director of the IFPRI/MSU Joint Program on "Markets in Asia". Reardon is considered a leading global expert on the supermarket revolution in developing countries, and its impact on supply chains and produce farmers. He was the featured speaker on this theme at the Produce Marketing Association "Fresh Summit" in the U.S. in 2007, AND FOR THIS EXPERTISE AN INVITEE TO THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN DAVOS IN 2009. His Ph. D. is from University of California at Berkeley and he is listed in Who`s Who in Economics.
|
Dr Vilas Ramrao Shirhatti Chief Of Technology, Marico
Dr. Vilas Ramrao Shirhatti, Chief of Technology of Marico Limited, Mumbai, has several years of academic research experience that spans institutions like National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Johns Hopkins University and National Institutes of Health (NIH) at USA. He has been working with industry for the past 20 years in India and abroad which include Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, General Electric and Godrej Consumer Products. He has also been teaching at UICT, Hindustan Lever Research Foundation, GE Six Sigma School, Foundation for Advanced Education in Science, Bethesda, USA, Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Washington DC, USA. Has over 20 publications to his credit in various International and National Journals.
|