The AVID IDEALOGY SERIES New Narratives for a Connected World

Royston Braganza Joined Grameen Capital in 2007 to launch the organization as CEO. He currently oversees all aspects of operations in India. Grameen Capital, founded by Grameen Foundation USA, IFMR Trust and Citigroup, is a first of its kind social business enabling Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) develop wider access to the capital markets. In his earlier assignment, as a Senior Vice President with HSBC, Royston was instrumental in setting up and heading HSBC’s Microfinance & Priority Sector business. Before joining HSBC, Royston worked in Citibank India for over 8 years in various assignments both across the Consumer Bank as well as the Corporate Bank. He has served on many boards and advisory bodies, including Sa-Dhan, Grameen Foundation India, FICCI Financial Inclusion Committee and the United Nations Microfinance Resource Group. He has been invited to address various programs, in India and globally, promoting microfinance as a sustainable tool to eradicate poverty. The London-based Finance Monthly publication named Royston in their 2013 Global CEO Award Winners list as one of the Top 4 CEOs in Asia, and Top 2 in India. He has done his Masters in Management Studies from the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

Sudhakar Ram Born in Chennai, Sudhakar Ram has lived in India, the US and the UK, where he currently lives. He is a silver medalist from the Indian Institute of Management Culcutta and the co-founder and CEO of Mastek, a multinational IT services company headquartered in Mumbai. Started in 1982, it is one of the oldest software companies in Indian and has major presence in the UK , US, Canada and Asai- Pacific. He was the recipient of CNBC Asia’s ‘Indian Business Leader of the Year ‘ award in 2007.

Rajni Bakshi Is the Gandhi Peace Fellow at Gateway House and a Mumbai-based author. She published a Research paper in October 2012 titled Civilizational Gandh. Rajni has a BA from George Washington University and an MA from the University of Rajasthan. She is the author of Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom: for a market culture beyond greed and fear (Penguin, 2009), which won two Vodafone-Crossword Awards. Her earlier book, Bapu Kuti: Journeys in Rediscovery of Gandhi (Penguin, 1998) inspired the Hindi film Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan. Her other books include: Long Haul: the Bombay Textile Workers Strike 1982-83 (1986), A Warning and an Opportunity: the Dispute over Swami Vivekananda’s Legacy (1994), Lets Make it Happen: a backgrounder on New Economics (2003) and An Economics for Well-Being (2007). Rajni serves on the Boards of Child Rights and You (CRY) and Citizens for Peace. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture and a long term associate of Centre of Education and Documentation (Mumbai & Bangalore).