Advisory Board

Philanthropist & Founder - CEO, The Convergence foundation

Ashish Dhawan

Ashish Dhawan is the founder and CEO of the Convergence Foundation (TCF), which is focused on accelerating India’s economic growth and development. He is also the chairperson of Ashoka University, a leading liberal arts university in India, and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to improve the quality of education for all children in India.

TCF incubates nonprofits focused on creating system-wide impact in the areas of economic growth, equality of opportunity, and sustainability. Its current portfolio includes organizations working on jobs and investment, rule of law, governance and state capacity, economic empowerment of women, science and technology, air pollution, unlocking philanthropic capital, and improving the effectiveness of nonprofits.

Before his second career as a philanthropist, Ashish was among India’s most successful private equity investors. He founded and ran ChrysCapital, the country’s leading private equity firm. Ashish graduated from Yale University and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is also on the India Advisory Board of Harvard and a member of Yale’s Development Council. He also serves on the governing board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Director, Forbes Marshall Group

Rati Forbes

Rati Forbes has been a director of the Forbes Marshall group since 1992, where she headed the human resources function till 2011, together with learning and development. During her tenure, Great Place to Work ranked Forbes Marshall — not once but thrice — as a top-25 company to work for in India, the highest rank being six.

At present, Rati heads the Forbes Foundation and is responsible for its CSR and foundation activities. She is recognized for her social initiatives, both within the company and beyond. She chaired the western region cell of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for six years, working on social development. The cell’s main objective is to sensitize corporate entities to their social responsibilities.

Rati has served on the boards of two international foundations, and continues to serve as an independent director on the boards of several listed companies, foundations and non-profits across India.

Rati graduated with psychology (honours) and sociology from the University of Mumbai, and has also undergone executive courses on human resources, organizational behaviour, and strategic philanthropy. She holds a master’s degree in sustainability management and leadership from Cambridge University, UK.

Director & Co-founder, Koita Foundation

Rekha Koita

Rekha Koita is the Director and Co-Founder of Koita Foundation. 

Koita Foundation is a not-for-profit organization which focuses on two key areas- Digital Health adoption in India and Transformation of NGOs. With consulting experience at Accenture and corporate training background at Mind Matters, Rekha spearheads the NGO transformation efforts. The foundation works with NGOs to optimize processes and implement technology to enhance program scale and outcomes. 

She holds a Masters Degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.Tech from IIT Bombay

Rekha was honored with IIT Bombay’s Distinguished Services Award in 2019.

CEO, EkStep Foundation

Shankar Maruwada

Shankar Maruwada is the CEO of EkStep Foundation, a philanthropic mission he co-founded with Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani in 2015, to improve basic education for 200 million children in India.

He is a member of the National Steering Committee set up by the Government of India for reshaping the country’s curriculum in line with the 2020 National Education Policy.  More than 25 years of experience across corporate, entrepreneurial, nonprofit and government sectors enables Shankar to see through different lenses, an ability that he has effectively leveraged in shaping EkStep’s mission, using technology strategically to achieve population-scale impact in learning.

Shankar is deeply passionate about data, research, and leveraging technology for creating large-scale transformation in society. He was part of the startup team at Aadhaar; he was also responsible for naming it. He set up one of India’s first data analytics companies, Marketics. This combination of cross-sectoral experience and interdisciplinary approach has been the driving force in pursuing innovative solutions at scale, together with strategic collaborations, in achieving EkStep’s education mission. He is a mentor to startups, social entrepreneurs, and not-for-profits.

The motto of his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur, ‘Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam’ (Yoga is excellence at work), and its message of ‘Dedicated to the service of the Nation’, together represent his chosen path of life. He deems it a privilege that he received the best possible higher education in India, and that it was subsidised by the Indian taxpayers. He is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Shankar values the diversity generated by his experience of having lived, and grown up, in the north, south, east, and west of India. Being a proud husband and a playful father, he considers, are his greatest achievements.

Managing Director & CEO Central Square Foundation

SHAVETA SHARMA-KUKREJA

Shaveta is the CEO & Managing Director at Central Square Foundation. She has been part of the founding team at CSF since 2012.

Shaveta leads CSF’s work on FLN (Foundational Literacy & Numeracy), Early Childhood Education (ECE) and EdTech, and oversees the organization’s institution building. She is passionate to bring to life CSF’s vision of quality learning for all children and government-led system reform for scale and sustainability.

Shaveta is on the advisory board of Language and Learning Foundation Foundation (LLF), Madhi Foundation and Saarthi Education. Another passion area for her is gender, and she is a founding mentor t to The Udaiti Foundation that is working on women economic empowerment.Prior to CSF, she worked at The Boston Consulting Group and Citibank. She has also been a visiting faculty member in the Human Resources and Organizational Behavior disciplines at many business schools. Shaveta earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, and holds an MBA in Management from IIM, Bangalore.

Egon Zehnder

Sonny Iqbal

Sonny began his career with Egon Zehnder in the London office in 1998. He helped found Egon Zehnder’s offices in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and advises family businesses on succession, founder transition, governance, and the development of family charters across markets. Sonny co-founded, and until recently co-led, the firm’s global family business advisory practice.

Before joining Egon Zehnder, Sonny worked with the Oberoi Group in the UK, India, and the Middle East. He also managed the financial and travel service businesses of American Express in India.

Sonny is a fellow of the Institute of Coaching, McLean, an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. While actively coaching senior professionals, he frequently speaks and writes on topics related to family businesses. He has published papers in various international journals, including six publications in the ‘Harvard Business Review’. He is currently based in Gurgaon.

Advisory Partner,Bain & company ( ILSS Board Chair)

Srivatsan Rajan

Sri Rajan is currently an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company in San Francisco. Prior to this he was a Partner at Cota Capital, an early-stage venture fund in San Francisco. He was a partner in Bain & Company’s San Francisco office and has over 25 years of management consulting experience across India and the United States. He has served as the Managing Partner for Bain & Company India and subsequently as its Chairman for its India operations.

Sri serves on the board of Delhivery, a logistics startup in India, and is an investor in and advisor to many other startups and funds. He is also the Chair of the Advisory Board of Akshaya Patra in India and the Vice-Chair of Akshaya Patra USA. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of Central Square Foundation and The Convergence Foundation and is the Chair of the Advisory Boards of ILSS and The Udaiti Foundation. He has previously been on the Advisory Board of Bridgespan India.

Sri earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business, where he was a Palmer Scholar. He graduated with a postgraduate degree in management from IIM, Calcutta.

EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON OF ANTARA SENIOR CARE AND VICE CHAIRPERSON OF MAX INDIA LIMITED.

Tara Singh Vachani

Ms. Tara Singh Vachani is the Executive Chairperson of Antara Senior Care and Vice Chairperson of Max India Limited.

As founder of Antara Senior Care, her vision was to give a new dimension to the senior care space in India. In line with its vision to be the most trusted brand for seniors and their families, Antara has positively impacted over 50,000 lives through its various offerings that cater to the evolving lifestyle and lifecare needs of the elderly. Today, Antara encompasses five verticals – Residences for Seniors, Care Homes, Care at Home, MedCare and AGEasy by Antara.

Tara is also the Managing Trustee of Max India Foundation, a role she is extremely passionate about. Max India Foundation plays an active role in the not-for-profit space through grant giving for capacity building in the Education sector and runs a program on Social Emotional Ethical (SEE) learning in collaboration with Emory University. Tara is a partner in Learning Matters, which is a dynamic, child-centred education organisation for children, parents and educators.

Furthermore, Tara holds positions of influence on various boards and organizations, including a board seat at the prestigious Indian School of Business. She is the member of the National and Delhi board for Teach for India. Tara contributes as a Governing Council Member of The Vedica Scholars Program for Women, an innovative MBA program tailored for women. She dedicates her time as a mentor for KARM Fellowship, enabling young women from less-privileged backgrounds to pursue their educational and professional aspirations. She is also the founder member of Giving Pi of Dasra — a philanthropic network where she leverages her personal experiences and connections to address India’s developmental challenges.

Throughout her journey, Tara remains a dedicated learner and embodies the core values of Max Group, including Sevabhav, Excellence, and Credibility

Her achievements are widely recognised. Tara was named a member of the Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum in 2020 and featured as one of the ’40 under 40′ leaders in The Economic Times in 2018.

Tara has a major in Politics and South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, supplemented by courses in Strategy Management at the London School of Economics and Hospitality Business Strategy and Management at Ecole ho telie re de Lausanne, Switzerland. She is an avid traveller who maintains a deep connection with India, driven by her love for family and country. Known for her organizational skills and pursuit of perfection, Tara’s interests include reading and theatre, and she is always looking for new experiences. As the youngest child of the renowned business leader and visionary, Mr. Analjit Singh, she is married to Mr. Sahil Vachani and is a proud mother of two daughters.