Venkat of Microsoft Research India

Biography:

Dr. Venkat Padmanabhan is the Managing Director of Microsoft Research India (MSR India) in Bengaluru. He has been at the MSR India Lab since 2007, and was previously with Microsoft Research Redmond, USA for nearly 9 years. Venkat’s research interests are broadly in networked and mobile computing systems, and his work over the years has led to highly cited papers and paper awards, technology transfers within Microsoft, and industry impact. He has received several awards and recognitions, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2016, four test-of-time paper awards from ACM SIGMOBILE, ACM SIGMM, and ACM SenSys, and several best paper awards. He was also among those recognized with the ACM SIGCOMM Networking Systems Award 2020 for contributions to the ns family of network simulators.

Venkat holds a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi (from where he received the Distinguished Alumnus award in 2018) and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, all in Computer Science. He has been elected a Fellow of the INAE, the IEEE, and the ACM. Venkat is also an adjunct professor at the Indian Institute of Science and was previously an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington

Anshuman of Mercedes-Benz R&D India

Biography:

Dr. Anshuman Awasthi is Senior Vice President and Head for Powertrain Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), Bangalore. Additionally, he spearheads the Innovation Program at MBRDI. He earned his Aerospace Engineering degree at IIT Madras and completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen, Germany on a fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG).

In 2004, he moved back to India to join National Aerospace Laboratories Bangalore for his post-doctoral research work. Anshuman started his automotive career at General Motors Technical Centre India in thermal management, safety, and comfort. Later, he took the development responsibility of air-conditioning and engine cooling systems for all Chevrolet carlines in India.

In November 2009, he joined MBRDI, where he established and led teams on various functional evaluation topics. He has expertise in mathematical modelling of process, systems, as well as functions and has led the development of various first-in-the-industry mathematical models for Mercedes-Benz. As head of the R&D for Powertrain Engineering, Anshuman oversees software, functions, EE, design & development, computational methods, and advanced data analytics & science topics for ICE as well as EVs. As head of Innovation at MBRDI, Anshuman has set up an award-winning industry-leading innovation platform “Innovation Engine 4.0” targeted to create impactful innovations from India for the world.

Navin of Marvell India

Biography:

Navin Bishio is India's Country Manager and AVP of Compute and custom Solutions at Marvell India. As the India Country Manager, he oversees all business operations to deliver and continue to grow/improve, as well as represents the company externally. As an engineering head, he leads Compute and Custom ASIC Design for the Infrastructure domain (covering Networking, Processor, Cloud, Automotive and AI/ML applications).

Prior to this, he worked with IBM, Freescale, Cadence, and TI for automotive, consumer and custom ASIC designs. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication from NIT Surathkal. He has been an active member in EDA standards, Conferences and Industry associations, to enable semiconductor eco-system development initiatives in India. He is the Founding member of ITC India and TTTC India, to drive the growth of DFT/Test in India Semiconductor Eco-system and served as General Chair of ITC India for the first 5 years. He is part of the advisory committee for the Karnataka state skilling committee as well as the India Semiconductor Mission R&D eco-system committee.

Sreevatsa of Samsung R&D Institute India

Biography:

Sreevatsa D B is the Vice President of R&D and Head of the Platform Intelligence Center of Excellence (CoE) at Samsung Research (SRIB) in Bangalore. A seasoned technology leader with over 27 years of experience, Sreevatsa has been at the forefront of engineering evolution, driving innovation from early embedded wireless systems to today’s cutting-edge, full-stack AI solutions.

​At Samsung, he spearheads the strategic vision and development of the foundational AI platforms and systems that power the flagship Galaxy AI ecosystem, directly shaping the future of mobile and cloud with AI. Throughout his career, Sreevatsa has pioneered transformative research-to-market strategies, demonstrating a unique ability to bridge the gap between advanced academic research and scalable, real-world product innovation. A champion of engineering excellence, he is dedicated to building and mentoring world-class teams to tackle the industry's most complex technology challenges and deliver deep-tech impact at a global scale.