Board of Trustees

Mr. Venu Srinivasan

Mr. Srinivasan is the Vice Chairman of the Tata Trusts, one of Asia’s oldest and largest philanthropies, which are committed to making a positive and irreversible impact on millions of lives through their interventions in areas such as such as health, education, nutrition, livelihood, sustainability, urban habitat, sanitation and hygiene.

Mr. Srinivasan is the Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor Company, one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in India. Mr Srinivasan has also been conferred with the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards, in 2020 for his contributions to trade & industry.

Mr. Srinivasan has an engineering degree from the College of Engineering, Chennai, and a master’s degree in management from Purdue University, USA.

In recognition of his contribution to management, he was conferred with a Doctor of Management degree by his alma mater, Purdue University, in 2014. He has held various important positions in the Indian industry such as chairman, National Safety Council, Government of India; president, Confederation of Indian Industries, 2009 to 2010; and president, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, 1999 to 2001.

Under Mr. Srinivasan’s leadership, Sundaram-Clayton was awarded the Deming Prize in 1998 and in 2002 by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, Japan, and the Japanese Quality Medal in the same year.

For his contribution to leadership and management, Mr Srinivasan was conferred with the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award by the All-India Management Association and the Jamsetji Tata Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Society for Quality.

Mr. Srinivasan is also the managing trustee of the Srinivasan Services Trust which is engaged in the transformation and empowerment of over 3,000 villages in rural India, impacting over 1.6 million people.

Mr. Vijay Singh

Mr. Singh is the Vice Chairman of the Tata Trusts, one of Asia’s oldest and largest philanthropies, which are committed to making a positive and irreversible impact on millions of lives through their interventions in areas such as such as health, education, nutrition, livelihood, sustainability, urban habitat, sanitation and hygiene

Mr. Singh, a former Defence Secretary, is a retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre (1970 batch).

Over his career in government administration spanning 37 years, he has held key positions both in the state of Madhya Pradesh and in the Central Government. Mr. Singh was the Chief Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Government from October 2004 to January 2006.

At the Central Government, Mr Singh served as Secretary in the Department of Ayush as also as the Secretary in the Department of Road Transport and Highways. Mr. Singh has also worked with the Ministry of Health, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Information and Broadcasting, and the Department of Culture in various capacities during his stint at the Centre. Mr. Singh was also a member of the Union Public Service Commission until April 2013.

Prof. K VijayRaghavan

Prof. VijayRaghavan is Homi Bhabha Chair at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. From April 2018- April 2022, he served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. Prior to that, from 2013- 2018, he was Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

As Secretary to the Government of India, and later as Principal Scientific Adviser, Prof. VijayRaghavan has been involved in science, technology, and innovation, in all sectors, at the national and international level. He continues his interests and involvement in this ecosystem as well as in research in his laboratory.

https://www.ncbs.res.in/faculty/vijay

Mr. Siddharth Sharma

Mr. Siddharth Sharma is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tata Trusts, one of Asia’s oldest and largest philanthropies, which are committed to making a positive and irreversible impact on millions of lives through their interventions in areas such as such as health, education, nutrition, livelihood, sustainability, urban habitat, sanitation and hygiene. Apart from providing administrative leadership to the Trusts, he also sits on the Boards of various not for profit organizations and Section 8 Companies.

Prior to his appointment as the CEO of Tata Trusts, Mr. Sharma was the Group Chief Sustainability Officer at Tata Sons, where he spearheaded the Tata Group’s sustainability agenda, including crafting the Group’s ambitious ‘Net Zero by 2045’ agenda. He was, in that capacity, also the Chair of the Tata Group Sustainability Council, the apex sustainability body of the Tata Group.

He started his career in October 1992 as a civil servant and spent more than two and half decades in key Ministries and Departments of Government of India, including as the Financial Advisor to the 13th and 14th Presidents of India, before transitioning to the Tata Group in February 2019.

Mr. Manoj Kumar

Mr. Manoj is the Founder & CEO of Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for start-ups that aim to solve the most critical social, economic and environmental challenges. Mr. Manoj’s three-decade-long career has included roles as an entrepreneur, investor, and corporate leader spanning multiple sectors and geographies. Recognising the need for an enabling ecosystem to support and nurture impactful innovations in their lab-to-market transition, he founded Social Alpha in 2016. Social Alpha works closely with innovators who are willing to take entrepreneurial risks to solve humanity’s most critical challenges by helping them develop and deploy solutions for people and the planet. Since its inception, Social Alpha has supported over 300 innovations, focusing on climate change, healthcare, poverty, and livelihoods, unlocking over US$350 million from philanthropy, governments, and investors. Mr. Manoj is passionate about creating entrepreneurial solutions to societal problems by bridging the gap between science and society and addressing market failure.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkbhatt