Speakers at Engaging India @ Almedalen
H.E. Tanmaya Lal
Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia
H.E. Tanmaya Lal is the Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia. Previously, he was also Head of the UN Economic & Social (UNES) Division at Geneva. His responsibilities here included climate change negotiations at the UNFCCC, Agenda 2030, the Human Rights Council, UN agencies, marine concerns, and the Arctic Council.
Klas Molin
Former Ambassador of Sweden to India
H.E. Klas Molin is the former Ambassador of Sweden to India in New Delhi. He has held multiple prolific positions in the past including Ambassador and Chief of Protocol, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm, Ambassador of Sweden to the Kingdom of Thailand based in Bangkok, and Deputy Director-General, Head of Department for Asia and the Pacific.
Nandan Nilekani
Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys
Nandan Nilekani is the Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys. He also served as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India during which he developed the Adhaar and UPI platforms. Currently, he is the chairman of EkStep, a technology-led education non-profit, and as president of NCAER, India's oldest and largest non-profit economic research think tank.
Mayank Singhal
Vice Chairman and MD, PI Industries
Mayank Singhal is Vice Chairman and Managing Director of PI Industries. He is recognised as Asia’s Most Promising Business Leader by the Economic Times and named CEO of the Year by Business Today. He is on the advisory board on the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. He has been nominated by the Department of Science and Technology, Gol as a member of the Governing Board of the Indo-US S&T Forum (IUSSTF). Mr Singhal is also on the Board of PI Life Science Research Ltd., PILL Finance and Investment Ltd., TP Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. Fratelli Wines Pvt. Ltd. and CropLife India.
Owe Ronström
Professor Emeritus, Uppsala University
Owe Ronström is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ethnology, Uppsala University. He's written extensively about music, dance, ethnicity, multiculturalism, age, heritage, and islands, among other topics. He's also produced hundreds of radio shows for the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, featuring music from all around the world.
Cecilia Oskarsson
Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India
Cecilia Oskarsson is the Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India at Business Sweden. She has worked across the globe in business development, and as product manager. She holds a degree in Business Administration and Economics, and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Tor Broström
Professor, Uppsala University
Professor Tor Broström's research and teachings focuss on indoor climate and energy efficiency in culturally and historically valuable buildings. It is interdisciplinary, and applied study aimed at finding a sustainable balance between energy conservation and cultural preservation.
Raine Isaksson
Associate Professor & Docent, Uppsala University
Raine Isaksson is associate professor and senior lecturer in Quality Management and Sustainable Organisational Development at Uppsala University. His research areas include sustainable building materials, and quality management. He holds a Master in Chemical and Process Engineering, a PhD in Quality Management.
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Sujith Nair
Co-Founder and CEO, FIDE
Sujith Nair is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy (FIDE), a not-for-profit organisation working on the development of open network protocols. He is also the genesis co-author of Beckn Protocol, an open-source initiative that enables the creation of decentralised digital economy ecosystems.
Sanjit Bunker Roy
Founder, Barefoot College
Sanjit Bunker Roy is a social activist, educator and founder of Barefoot College working towards the upliftment of people in rural areas, and making them self-sufficient in housing, electricity, water, education, etc. Bunker Roy was also included in Time 100's 100 most influential personalities in 2009 for his work in educating rural India. He was also a member of the planning commission of the union government.
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Per-Arne Wikström
Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden
Dr. Per-Arne Wikström is the Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden, New Delhi. Prior to this, he was the director of communications at The Swedish Institute, and head of external relations at Stockholm Universirty. He holds a PhD in Business Studies with specialisations in sustainability, communication, and digitalisation.
Anirban Ghosh
Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group
Anirban Ghosh is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the Mahindra Group. With over 3 decades of experience working in sales, marketing, strategy, sustainability and corporate social responsibility in India and USA. He also serves as committee members of several industry associations in India and USA, and has been a guest lecturer at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management, Indore.
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Pramod Varma
Chief Architect of Aadhaar & CTO EkStep
Pramod Varma is the former Chief Architect of Aadhaar, and various India Stack layers including UPI. He is also the co-founder of FIDE, CTO of Ek-Step, and co-chair of the Center for Digital Public Infrastructure. He is also on the advisory board of various organisaitons including UIDAI, NCPI and SEBI.
Viral Thakker
Partner, Deloitte
Viral Thakker is Partner & Leader, Sustainability & Climate at Deloitte. With over 26 years of consulting experience, Viral supports clients across industries in the public and private sector to design and drive their ESG strategy and transformation, helping them deliver social impact, transition to net-zero, build responsible value chains, introduce transparent disclosures and reporting, and bring about climate resilience.
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Per Andersson
Head of Secretariat, LeadIT
Per Andersson is the Head of the Secretariat for the Leadership Group of Industry Transition (LeadIT). Prior to this, he served as the deputy director for EU Climate affairs at the Swedish Prime Minister’s office. Over the past 20 years, he has worked on various issues in sustainability, climate and environmental affairs at the United Nations and European Union.
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Jacob Hallencreutz
CEO, EPSI Rating Group
Jacob Hallencreutz is the group CEO at EPSI Rating Group, a neutral performance assessments organisation. He is also Docent at Uppsala University. His research interests include quality management, change management, market research, strategy and operations.
Anders Fundin
Director of Research, Swedish Institute for Quality
Anders Fundin is Director of Research at SIQ - the Swedish Institute for Quality, and full Professor of Quality Technology and Management at Mälardalen University. He has over 20 years of experience in research and development in the automative industry.
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Per Olof Arnäs
Logistics Director, Einride
Per Olof Arnäs is Director of Logistics Strategy at Einride, a provider of digital, electric and autonomous shipping technology. He is also Associate Partner at Steerlink Partners, and has worked on building sustainability tracking systems for the freight industry. Per Olof has also held various roles at Chalmer’s Technology University.
Alexander Klausener
Chief Scientific Officer, PI Industries
Alexander Klausener is Chief Scientific Officer at PI Industries. He has extensive experience in various R&D areas (Basic Research, Fine Chemicals, Process R&D, Agrochemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry), Industrial Operations, Knowledge Management, Administration and Business Management. Previously he was Global Head of Bayer CropScience Research and member of the Executive Committee. For 15 years he was lecturing as honorary professor at two universities, and is (co)author of over 250 patents and scientific publications.
Shilpa Sachdeva Bhullar
Head, Legal, Risk & Compliance, PI Industries
Shilpa Sachdeva Bhullar is the Head of Legal Risk & Compliance at PI Industries. She has nearly 20 years of experience working as a corporate generalist counsel, with an interest in sustainability and environment protection initiatives.
Håkan Sundelin
Regional Director (Nordics), Electreon
Håkan Sundelin is the Regional Director of the Nordic countries in Electreon and leads the Smartroad Gotland project, the world's first electric road project to power buses and heavy trucks on the road.
Henrik Chetan Aspengren
Researcher & Project Leader, Utrikespolitiska Institutet (UI)
Henrik Chetan Aspengren is a Senior Analyst and Project Leader for the Asia Programme at The Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). He was previously an associated researcher at SASNET, Lund University.
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Henrik Johansson
CEO, Spowdi
Henrik Johansson is CEO of Spowdi, a greentech innovation company with a patented solar-powered, zero emission precision irrigation solution for small-hold farmers.
Dr. Swaminathan Ramanathan
Lecturer and Researcher, Uppsala University & Director, Deloitte
Swaminathan Ramanathan is a lecturer and researcher at Uppsala University with a focus on Sustainable Organisational Development. He is also Director, Strategy and Business Design with a focus on Climate and Sustainability at Deloitte.
Björn Samuelsson
Lecturer, Uppsala University
Björn Samuelsson is lecturer at Uppsala University, and at Luleå University of Technology. His research at Uppsala University, with Linde as partner, focusses on securing sustainable solutions for hydrogen in ferry transportation.
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Claes Kollberg
Co-Founder and CEO, Cemvision
Claes Kollberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cemvision, a sustainable chemical manufacturing company. He has over 20 years of experience working in various managerial roles in cement-centric building companies, where he has focused on making sustainable decisions. He is also a Breakthrough Energy fellow.
Rupali Mehra
Founder, Content People & CMO, Spowdi
Rupali Mehra is the co-organiser of Engaging India @ Almedalen. She is founder of Content People AB, a strategic communications company, and Chief Marketing Officer of Spowdi, a Swedish green-tech company. She has over two decades of experience in media and communications in Sweden and India.
Gunilla Rosenqvist
Project Leader, Blue Centre Gotland
Gunilla Rosenqvist is the director of Blue Centre Gotland, an institution working towards measures for a better marine environment. She is also a professor of Ethology at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and project manager in the department of Earth Sciences, Natural Resources, and Sustainable Development at Uppsala University. She holds a PhD in Animal Ecology.
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Jakob Kiefer
Executive Board Member, Spowdi & Former Sweden Ambassador for Sustainable Business
Jakob Kiefer is the Former Global Head of Government Relations & Public Affairs, ABB. Prior to that, he served as a career diplomat, including as EU Foreign Affairs Council Sherpa, Deputy Chief of Mission in China, Ambassador to Chile and Peru and as Sweden’s Ambassador for Sustainable Business. Jacob was also Senior Advisor to the CEO Climate Leaders Alliance of the World Economic Forum. He is presently an Executive Board Member of Spowdi andBoard Member of the Institute for Security and Development Policy.
Max Rosvall
PhD Candidate, Uppsala University
Max Rosvall has a M.Sc. in Socio-technical systems engineering and is currently a PhD Candidate at Uppsala University researching sustainable housing through applied systems thinking.
Roland Engkvist
EU Coordinator and International Officer, Region Gotland
Roland Engkvist is the EU Coordinator and International Officer at Region Gotland. He has previously been the Regional Planner and Project Manager at Region Stockholm, Project Manager in Mälardalsrådet, and so on. He has over 20 years of experience in managing projects within the field of strategic urban and regional development.
Mia Ljungblom
Programme Manager, Uppsala University
Mia Ljungblom is a Programme Manager for the programme Leadership & Quality Management Improvement. She is interested in leadership, group dynamics, culture and ethics.