FACULTY

Dr. Alok Kumar

Gabelli Asset Management Chair, Miami Herbert Business School
Professor of Finance Expert in behavioral finance and AI-driven Markets

Professor Alok Kumar is a world-renowned scholar and strategist operating at the sophisticated intersection of economics, finance, and psychology. As the Gabelli Asset Management Chair at the University of Miami, he is a leading voice in deciphering the behavioral biases that drive global markets and the application of Al and Machine Learning to modern financial ecosystems.

An elite multidisciplinary foundation

Professor Kumar’s intellectual trajectory is defined by an extraordinary breadth of technical and analytical training from the world’s most prestigious institutions:

Engineering excellence: Began his journey with an undergraduate degree in eechanical engineering from the IIT Kharagpur.

Advanced robotics and AI: Earned an M.S. in engineering sciences (focusing on Robotics and AI) and an M.E. in engineering management from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth college.

Economic and Management mastery: Holds an M.A. in Management (Finance) from Yale University, followed by an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University.

Global academic and Research influence

A prolific researcher, Kumar’s work has fundamentally shaped the field of behavioral finance. His insights are frequently published in the “Elite Circle” of academic journals and cited by major global media outlets:

Premier publications: His research appears in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Management Science, among others.

Public intellectual: His findings are regularly featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Washington Post.

International footprint: He has held distinguished professorships and research fellowships at Warwick Business School (UK) and Deakin University (Australia), alongside previous tenures at UT Austin (McCombs) and Notre Dame (Mendoza).

Strategic corporate advisory

Beyond academia, Professor Kumar translates complex behavioral data into actionable strategies for the global investment community. He has served as a consultant for premier firms, including:

Bluecrest Capital and Commonfund
Postnieks Capital Management and Validea

Harish Kumar

AI Researcher and Practitioner
Founder, Quantamix Solutions B.V., Netherlands
Expert in Agentic AI, Knowledge Graphs and LLM Governance

Harish Kumar is an elite AI architect and researcher operating at the global frontier of applied Artificial Intelligence. With over 18 years of experience across Fortune 500 giants—including Amazon, Philips, and ING—he bridges the gap between complex algorithmic research and enterprise-grade production. As a European Patent holder and published researcher, he specializes in building Autonomous Intelligence that is both mathematically rigorous and regulatory-compliant.

Impact at a glance

18+ Years of Enterprise Digital & AI Transformation Experience.
500+ Professionals Trained across EMEA, Americas, and APAC.
4 Production AI Platforms Architected and deployed (CrawlQ.ai, GraQle, FrictionMelt, TraceGov.ai).
Research Authority: Holder of EU Patent EP26162901.8 and lead author of the TAMR+ Framework for AI cognition.

Pioneering research and Intellectual property

Harish doesn’t just deploy AI; he evolves the science behind it. His research portfolio serves as the primary technical foundation for his teaching modules:

GraQle (EU Patent): A revolutionary Knowledge-Graph Reasoning Engine that enables multi-hop LLM reasoning across 17,000+ nodes.

TAMR+ (SSRN 6359818): A peer-reviewed framework for AI Agent Cognition, integrating episodic and semantic memory to achieve 74% accuracy in complex regulatory reasoning.

TraceGov.ai: A pioneering platform for EU AI Act and ISO 42001 Compliance, automating risk classification and audit trails for regulated industries.

Strategic professional trajectory

Founder and CEO, Quantamix Solutions B.V. (Netherlands): Architecting production-grade LLM systems and delivering high-stakes AI strategy to global teams.
GenAI Platform Lead, ING Bank: Orchestrated an unprecedented 65% enterprise AI adoption rate within six months, overseeing the deployment of Azure OpenAI and MS Copilot.
GenAI Consultant, Amazon ring: Engineered AI-driven efficiency tools delivering 50% content creation gains for global marketing operations.
Regional AI lead, Philips: Scaled Generative AI adoption across three continents, achieving EUR 500K in annual savings through role-based learning paths.

Teaching Portfolio: PRTF PGDM Alignment

Harish offers a ‘Practitioner-First’ curriculum designed to transform PGDM students into industry-ready AI leaders. His proposed modules include:

AI Strategy and Competitive Moats: Building ROI models and “Build-vs-Buy” frameworks.
Agentic AI and Multi-Agent Systems: Designing autonomous loops using LangGraph, CrewAI, and AutoGen.
LLM Architecture and Fine-Tuning: Deep-dives into Transformers, Quantization (GGUF), and LoRA/QLoRA.
Context and Prompt Architecture: Advanced RAG strategies, Vector Databases, and Graph-Structured Evaluation (GSE).
AI Governance and Ethics: Navigating the EU AI Act, India’s DPDP Act, and Responsible AI auditing.

MLOps and Product Delivery: Scaling prototypes to production via AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, and Vertex AI.

Dr. Manju Khari

Dean and Professor, School of Computer and Systems Sciences, JNU, New Delhi

Dr. Manju Khari is a preeminent academic leader and a pioneering researcher in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Information Security, and Deep Learning. Currently serving as the Dean and Professor at the School of Computer and Systems Sciences, JNU, she is a driving force behind the institution’s technological research and academic governance.

Global research and Scholarly impact

A prolific contributor to the global scientific community, Dr. Khari maintains an extensive research portfolio of over 190+ publications. Her scholarly work is frequently featured in premier, peer-reviewed international journals and conferences curated by the world’s most prestigious publishers, including IEEE, ACM, Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, and Inderscience. Beyond her research impact, she has fundamentally shaped the landscape of computer science education as a co-author of two NCERT textbooks and the editor of 20 authoritative volumes, solidifying her reputation as a primary voice in both national and international academic curricula.

Strategic Research and Government Consultancies

Dr. Khari’s expertise extends far beyond the classroom into national-level research and development. She serves as a highly valued Research Consultant and lead member on critical projects in collaboration with India’s most prominent scientific bodies:

AIIMS & CSIR-NPL (under the Ministry of Consumer and Legal Affairs).

Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

These high-stakes projects focus on the practical application of Cyber Forensics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Computer Networks to solve complex national challenges.

Editorial Leadership

A highly respected figure in the international scientific community, Dr. Khari actively steers the direction of global research through several key leadership roles:

Serving as an Associate and Guest editor for prestigious book series at Springer, Wiley, and Elsevier.
Acting as a Technical Program Committee member and reviewer for an extensive array of elite international conferences.
Serving as a Peer Reviewer for leading global journals, ensuring the integrity and advancement of Computer Science and Engineering research.

Institutional Leadership and Vision

Before her tenure at JNU, Dr. Khari contributed significantly to the Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), Delhi. As a Dean at JNU, she continues to mentor the next generation of researchers, fostering an environment where AI and Deep Learning are leveraged for both scientific discovery and social meaningfulness.

Anand Kumar

Principal Scientist, Sanofi R&D, Paris

Anand Kumar is a distinguished structural biologist and a leader in drug discovery innovation, currently serving as a Principal Scientist at Sanofi R&D. Based within the Integrated Drug Discovery department, he leverages state-of-the-art biophysical techniques to accelerate the development of next-generation therapeutics.

Elite Academic foundation and Global training

Anand’s scientific journey began at JNU, New Delhi, where he earned his Master’s degree in Life Sciences. His pursuit of excellence led him to the world-renowned Pasteur Institute in Paris for his doctoral research. Under the mentorship of the esteemed Dr. Nicolas Reyes, he specialized in:

Cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM): Mastering this cutting-edge field to decode complex biological structures.

Therapeutic mechanisms: Conducting pivotal Ph.D. research on the structural mechanisms and modes of action of anti-CD20 therapeutic antibodies.

Strategic advancement at Sanofi

Since joining Sanofi in 2021, Anand has been a key architect of the company’s structural biology capabilities. His rapid career progression reflects his technical mastery and strategic impact:

Platform innovation: Initially appointed as a Cryo-EM Scientist, he was instrumental in bolstering Sanofi’s internal cryo-EM platform, significantly reducing timelines for drug discovery efforts.

Structural specialization: Following a postdoctoral fellowship focused on SLC transporters, he integrated high-resolution structural insights into the drug pipeline.

Leadership excellence: His contributions to the field of integrated drug discovery earned him a swift promotion to Principal Scientist, where he now guides critical research initiatives.

Manish Kumar

Founder and CEO, Terrasols Solutions Private Limited
Climate-tech visionary and Carbon removal expert

Manish Kumar is a pioneering entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Terrasols Solutions, a climate-tech powerhouse dedicated to scalable carbon removal and sustainable development. Driven by the core philosophy of for farmers, by farmers, he is the architect of decentralized, community-driven climate models that harmonize global environmental mandates with local livelihood generation.

Under Manish’s leadership, Terrasols has emerged as a global frontrunner in Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) and biochar-integrated carbon removal systems. He has successfully positioned the company as one of the few globally verified suppliers of ERW carbon credits, achieving a rare integration of:

Soil regeneration: Enhancing agricultural productivity through mineral applications.

Climate mitigation: Converting agricultural residues into permanent, measurable carbon sinks.

Income enhancement: Ensuring that global climate finance flows directly into the hands of rural Indian farmers.

Expertise in digital sustainability: Manish is a specialist in designing complex sustainability projects backed by rigorous Digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) systems. His strategic execution ensures that every ton of carbon removed is verifiable, transparent, and equitable. His work currently spans multiple Indian states, fostering a robust ecosystem involving:

Institutional partnerships: Engaging with global carbon markets and NGOs.

Grassroots stakeholders: Building direct, trust-based relationships with farming communities to implement scalable solutions.

Dr. Prashant Pradhan

Reader and Principal investigator
Department of Biological sciences, TIFR, INDIA

Dr. Prashant Pradhan is a distinguished scientist and educator currently serving as a Reader and Principal Investigator at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). With a profound background in molecular research and academic governance, Dr. Pradhan oversees cutting-edge biological research initiatives.

His global research tenure includes a significant postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2021–2025). An alumnus of IIT Delhi, where he earned his Ph.D., Dr. Pradhan also brings valuable pedagogical experience from his tenure as an Assistant Professor at Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi. He is recognized for bridging the gap between advanced laboratory research and transformative classroom teaching.

Dr. Akhilesh Mishra

Assistant Professor, Department of Life Science, NIT Rourkela
Principal Investigator, Computational Oncology Lab

Dr. Akhilesh Mishra is a distinguished computational biologist and academician whose work sits at the vanguard of Cancer Systems Biology and Translational Medicine. Currently leading the Computational Oncology Lab at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Dr. Mishra focuses on decoding the hidden molecular mechanisms of disease through advanced data-driven discovery.

He earned his Ph.D. from IIT Delhi, where he pioneered the development of databases and web servers designed to decode DNA sequence patterns through structural and physicochemical lenses.

Global research and Postdoctoral leadership

Dr. Mishra’s expertise was further refined through high-impact postdoctoral tenures at world-renowned institutions in the United States from UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis.

Innovation with Social impact: Beyond the laboratory, Dr. Mishra is committed to science that serves society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was instrumental in developing one of India’s most cost-effective diagnostic kits. This innovation was mass-produced by ten global manufacturers, reflecting his dedication to making high-end science accessible and socially meaningful.

Current research and Strategic vision: At NIT Rourkela, Dr. Mishra integrates Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with multi-omics data to uncover the drivers of disease progression.

Dr. Sudeep Shukla

Director, AI4Water Ltd., UK
Expert in Environmental Nanotechnology and AI-Driven sustainability

Dr. Sudeep Shukla is a globally recognized environmental scientist and a leading innovator in sustainable water management. As the Director of AI4Water Ltd. (UK), he spearheads the integration of Artificial Intelligence with environmental engineering to solve the world’s most pressing water and climate challenges.

Elite international academic pedigree

Dr. Shukla combines the academic rigor of India’s leading research university with world-class European expertise in water and sustainability:

Doctoral excellence: Earned his Ph.D. from JNU, New Delhi, grounding his professional work in high-level environmental research.

Global specialization: Holds an M.Sc. in Sustainability from the UNESCO-affiliated IHE Delft (Netherlands), specializing in climate risk and water hazards at a global scale.

Corporate leadership: Alumnus of the Oxford Saïd Business School (UK), where he specialized in leading sustainable corporations to align technical science with board-level ESG strategy.

Pioneering Research and Technical Innovation

Dr. Shukla’s work is at the forefront of Deep-Green technology, focusing on:

Climate-smart agriculture: Applying Machine Learning to assess and mitigate the impacts of climate change on global food systems.

Environmental nanotechnology: Developing advanced nanomaterials for water purification, creating highly efficient systems for removing contaminants at the molecular level.

Wastewater transformation: Innovating next-generation treatment technologies to promote circular water economies.

Leadership and Professional impact

With a career spanning prestigious academic and industrial roles, Dr. Shukla has consistently driven sustainability initiatives:

AI4Water Ltd. (UK): Leading the company’s mission (2024–Present) to deploy AI-driven solutions for global water security.

Principal Scientist (Sustainability): Directing sustainability research at the Environment Pollution Analysis Lab (EPAL), Rajasthan.

Academic faculty: Previously served as Assistant Professor at Amity University, Haryana (2017–2019), mentoring the next generation of environmental engineers.

Dr. Amitabh Kumar

Global Executive and Leadership coach
Director – Partnerships and Marketing, ICF Delhi

Dr. Amitabh Kumar is a distinguished global leader and organizational strategist with over 25 years of diverse experience spanning higher education, corporate leadership, and public sector capacity building. A Doctorate in Business Administration (SSBM Geneva), he is a Scholar-Practitioner who bridges the gap between academic theory and executive execution.

Global foundation

Dr. Kumar’s intellectual journey began at JNU, New Delhi with a B.A. (Hons.) in French, providing him with a nuanced, global perspective early in his career. This was followed by a PGPM from TAPMI, setting the stage for a trajectory through the world’s most influential multinational corporations:

Oracle and GE capital: Honed his corporate leadership and operational expertise within these global giants.

Entrepreneurial ventures: Co-founded LangÉcole Education and LangJobs.com, demonstrating a visionary approach to language education and specialized recruitment.

Elite executive coaching and Mentorship

As an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and EMCC Senior Practitioner Coach, Dr. Kumar is a sought-after advisor for CXOs and high-potential leaders. His influence extends into the highest levels of governance:

Mission Karmayogi: Served as a mentor under the Rashtriya Karmayogi Mission, driving leadership development and capacity building for senior government officers in India.
ICF Delhi NCR Chapter: Currently serves as Director of Partnerships & Marketing, shaping the coaching landscape in the national capital region.
Board-Level Advisory: Holds a strategic role as an Advisor at LinkCXO Global, connecting top-tier talent with board-level opportunities.

Academic Leadership & Thought Excellence

A respected voice in academia and human capital, Dr. Kumar shares his expertise in HRM, Organizational Behavior, and Talent Management through:

Faculty Roles: Serving as visiting faculty at NIFT Delhi and a guest speaker at premier institutions including Delhi University and VIT.

Global Recognition: Awarded the LinkedIn Top Executive Coaching Voice (2024), reflecting his influence as a digital thought leader in professional development.

Varun Agarwal

Chartered Accountant and Strategic Financial Leader
Independent Director (IICA Certified)

Varun Agarwal is a seasoned Chartered Accountant with over 21 years of post-qualification excellence in financial management, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance. As the founder of M/S Varun A & Co., he provides high-level strategic consultancy to organizations navigating complex financial landscapes.

Corporate governance and Board leadership

Varun is a Certified Independent Director through the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA). He currently serves as a Non-executive independent director on the board of VVIP Infratech Ltd, where he provides critical oversight on:

Fiduciary responsibility: Ensuring robust internal controls and ethical financial reporting.

Strategic risk management: Advising on long-term capital allocation and statutory compliance.

Strategic global trajectory

Varun has built a prolific career across world-class organizations, demonstrating a unique ability to lead in diverse markets:

Fortune 50 leadership: At Target (USA), he directed regional finance and operations across three major continents (India, Middle East, and Europe) over an eight-year tenure.

Institutional foundation: Trained at Grant Thornton, he mastered the complexities of global audit standards and financial governance early in his career.

Innovation sector expertise: At Buongiorno (Mitsui Group), he managed the financial architecture for emerging digital technologies.

Technical mastery and Regulatory expertise

With deep-seated expertise in both Internal and Statutory audits, Varun is a specialist in optimizing financial health through:

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A): Streamlining receivables, payables, and working capital management.

Legal and Process governance: Expertise in vetting high-stakes legal agreements and engineering institutional-grade financial policies.