Events

As part of its Urban Works Innovation Challenge 2019-2020, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai invites you to a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Ravina Aggarwal and featuring two distinguished startup founders, Antony Alex, Founder and CEO at Rainmaker, and K.P. Ashwin, Director at Promethean Energy.
India has witnessed disruptive innovation throughout its history – from manufacturing to software services, e-commerce, and apps.  Each year, more than 800 new technology startups emerge in the enterprise sector.  In 2019, the country produced 16 startups valued at over $1 billion.  In addition to popular disruptors in the entertainment and retail markets, several impactful startups are solving complex city-level challenges of mobility, resource efficiency, and safety.  Our panelists will share their journey as leading entrepreneurs who are using technological innovations to advance sustainability and safety in our cities. 

The panel will be followed by an Information Session for those interested in applying for the Urban Works Innovation Challenge.  

Stay tuned for similar events in New Delhi and Bengaluru.

To register, please send an email to mumbairsvp.cgc@columbia.edu

About the speakers:

Antony Alex is Founder and CEO of Rainmaker, a comprehensive online tool for prevention of sexual harassment (POSH) trainings, workshops and compliance.  A graduate of National Law School, Bangalore, Mr. Alex started his career with ICICI Bank in 1998 and later moved to set up Kochhar & Co’s Mumbai office.  In 2006 he was part of the core founding team at Pangea3, one of the world’s largest and most successful LPOs. The company was ultimately sold to Thomson Reuters in November 2010.  Mr. Alex has always been passionate about training and has conducted workshops for a number of his clients on topics ranging from prevention of sexual harassment, code of conduct, anti-corruption practices etc.  It is this passion for learning and training that led him to set up Rainmaker. 

K.P. Ashwin founded Promethean Energy in 2014 because he believed that energy efficiency will drive the next wave of industrial growth. Promethean Energy builds unique waste heat recovery solutions for industrial and commercial applications and counts industry giants such as Godrej, Pepsico, Honda, and Mahindra among its clientele. Promethean's tech and business expertise has received recognition from organizations such as UNIDO, CII, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. Previously, Mr. Ashwin garnered consulting experience with Boston Consulting Group where he honed his skills working with large MNCs on projects ranging from strategy to operations and execution. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad. 

Ravina Aggarwal has been the Director of the Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai since 2015.  She is a sociocultural anthropologist with a doctoral degree from Indiana University in 1994.  Dr. Aggarwal taught in the Department of Anthropology at Smith College, where she became a tenured faculty member.  Her research is based on extensive fieldwork in the Himalayas and her areas of study and teaching included political anthropology, peace-building, cultural studies, gender, and development.
Prior to joining the Mumbai Center, Dr. Aggarwal worked at the Ford Foundation’s New Delhi office from 2007-2015, where she was responsible for strategic planning and grant-making for programs on development, social justice and public policy, with a focus on the fields of education, media and information technology, and arts and culture.  She serves on the Advisory Board of the Mumbai-based Urban Design Research Institute and is one of the two founders of the Ladakh Arts and Media Organisation.
Dr. Aggarwal is the author of several publications, including Beyond Lines of Control: Performing the Border in Ladakh, India (Duke University Press, Seagull Books) and the editor of Into the High Ranges (Penguin India) and Forsaking Paradise (Katha).  She has recently completed Songbird (forthcoming Zubaan), a mystery novel for young adults set in the Himalayas.