Advisory Board

Mr. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, is a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and has served the Government of India at the Top level in various capacities.

Current:  Chairman, ICICI Bank and NSE (National Stock Exchange)

Previous Board Positions: IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, IDFC, Bank of Baroda, LIC, New India Assurance, GIC, United India Insurance, Oil Industries Development Board, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd., Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority, Petronet LNG

Prior to that he served in various capacities in Government of India:

-Chairman, WDRA

-Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas

-Special Director General (F&A) Organizing Committee Commonwealth Games, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

-Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Finance

-Addl. Secretary & Mission Director, NRHM, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

-Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance

Prior to that he served in the Government of UP in the capacities of: Secretary to Chief Minister, Addl. CEO Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, Trade Tax Commissioner etc.

He completed his Master Degree in (Physics) from University of Allahabad. He also completed his Master in Science in (Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries) from London School of Economics.  

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Mittal, is a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and has served the Government of India at the Top level in various capacities.

Current: Director in AIRTEL, HSBC Asset Management, MAX Bupa Health Insurance, TRIDENT, Max Life Insurance, Balrampur Chini Mills, MAX India, ONGC Tripura Power company, North-East Power Transmission Company.

Previous Board Positions: RBI (Reserve Bank of India), SBI (State Bank of India), IIFCL, LIC, SAIL, ONGC Tripura Power Company, North-East Power Transmission Company.

Prior to that he served in various capacities in Government of India: 

- Secretary, Ministry of Finance

- Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs

- Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

- Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

As Managing Director, IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited- he worked in the area of project development and financing of infra projects

He was the chief negotiator of India for WTO negotiations, and supervised all multilateral Preferential Tariff negotiations, development and operation of SEZs, FDI and Overseas Investment from India. He formulated SEZ policy in March 2000 for the first time in India.

Mr. Mittal has hands on experience in International Trade, Infrastructure, Urban Development, Renewable Energy, Micro-Credit, Corporate Governance, Banking, Insurance, Finance.

He was awarded the Director's Gold Medal at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for topping in India among IAS Officers from his batch. He holds a Master’s degree in Physics with specialization in Electronics from University of Allahabad, India.

Mr. Jose Ignacio Galañena, is a Spanish native with an illustrious career of 40 years in the International Development, Promotion and Exports for Spanish companies.

He was Director (International) & Secretary General, Navarra Chamber of Commerce-he worked for 29 years, for international promotion of companies from Navarra region in Spain. 

Under his great Leadership at Navarra Chamber of Commerce, the companies from the region experienced unprecedented initiatives, programs, creation of new associations/forums and Trade Delegations resulting in huge successes in terms of Internationalization and the Exports.

In 1982, he created the Export Association of Navarra (Wines), where he is currently working as its General Secretary (from 2007- till date).

He has been a pioneer in the field of Internationalization of Spanish Companies since he created the 1^st Association of Exporting Companies of Navarra region, promoted the 1^st ever Trade Delegations of Navarra companies to North America (USA & Puerto Rico), Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden & Norway), East Europe (Poland, Hungary & Russia), Latin America (Mexico & Colombia) and South Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore & Japan).

Jose Ignacio, being a visionary with International vision &great entrepreneurial spirit,is credited with playing Leadership role in creation of:

-National level "Plan Cameral de Exportaciones" which was the most important project ofConsejo Superior de Cámaras (association of Chambers of Commerce of Spain)

-PIPE plan (Plan of Initiation of Export and internationalization)

-EBROEXPORT- the 1^st Export Consortium of Navarra, La Rioja and Aragon companies

-Jornada País- Technical conferences & seminars

- ATLAS- program for Knowledge Transfer

- INTERREG- program for Trans-boundary cooperation

His interests lie in supporting the Spanish companies to Internationalize & Export their products and services.

He holds a degree in Law and also served as a Captain in Merchant Navy.

Mr. Rajendra Kumar Tyagi, is a former IFS (Indian Foreign Service) officer and served in several Embassies of India abroad.

During 33 years of service, he served as: 

-Ambassador of India to NORWAY.

-Ambassador of India to BELARUS.

-Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Madrid (SPAIN)

-Counselor & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Dublin (IRELAND)

-Counselor, High Commission of India in Colombo (SRI LANKA)

-1^st Secretary, Embassy of India in Stockholm (SWEDEN)

-2^nd Secretary, Embassy of India in Lima (PERU)

-3^rd Secretary, Embassy of India in Caracas (VENEZUELA)

During his long career, he also served Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi in different capacities viz. Joint Secretary, Director, Deputy Secretary.

He speaks- Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish in addition to English & Hindi

Prior to joining IFS, he worked with Geological Survey of India- mainly as Field & Exploration Geologist in South Western Rajasthan in 1977 and prior to that he worked as Research Associate in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Mr. Tyagi, was deputed by Government of India in Nicaragua 1989, was chosen by UN as disarmament fellow from India 1992. He participated in several International Conferences on behalf of Govt. of India, under the aegis of UN.

His interest lies in the areas of Geology & Mining and Hydro-Carbon/Oil industry.

Mr. Tyagi, did his Masters in Geology from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee.

Mr. Sharda Prasad, is a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and has served Government of India at the Top level in various capacities.

Current: Advisor (Skill Development & Livelihood), Sagarmala Program, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India.

Priot to that he served in various capacities in Government of India:

-Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment- he did pioneering work in Skill-Development and Employment.

-Director General (DG), Employment & Training (E&T)- he was the longest serving DG, E&T since 1945 when the organization originally came into being.

-Chairman of the Committee, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship- he recommended several Reforms in the Skill-Development System of the country.

-Member on the Committee, Ministry of Urban Development- he drafted new laws for Planning and Development of Delhi.

-Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh (in the rank of a Minister of State)- advised him on various policy and implementation issues on Skill Development and Employment Generation.

Mr. Prasad is an internationally well-known authority on Skill-Development. He represented India in various multilateral organizations, such as World Bank, ILO, EU, UNESCO, ASEM. Negotiated bilateral agreements, entered into MOUs, set up Joint Working Groups on Vocational Training and Skill Development with Germany, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

He formulated National Skill Development Policy of India, 2009- a guiding document for skill development in the country and spearheaded the largest intervention Project of the Word Bank on Skill-Development. 

He Holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Allahabad.

Ms. Pilar Juzgado, is a Spanish native with more than 25 years of Professional experience in National SMEs in the Services, Tax-Accounting-Commercial, Financial, Industrial and Commercial Advisory sectors.

She is an Expert in the areas of Economic-Financial and Fiscal management, in the development of Financial Control tools and in the optimization of Operating procedures.

Pilar has extensive experience in the planning, coordination and supervision of all the activities in her reference areas (Finance, Economic, Fiscal Administration and HR), ensuring compliance with Economic and Strategic objectives of the Corporation.

Her excellent Leadership and Performance driven skills have been demonstrated in her wide ranging success achieved, herstrong experience in the Selection, Implementation and Startup of ERP systems, high quality delivery of services- where she always strives to achieve optimal output with efficient use of resources, in the Leadership of Corporate Projects and in the Inter-relation with Public and Private organizations.

She has very strong experience in the management of the Human Resources area, promoting inter-departmental coordination and leading multidisciplinary teams oriented towards the achievement of corporate objectives.  

Her Transversal competences include: technological advances, intercultural communications, integrity, results orientation and adaptability, autonomy, proactivity, perseverance, negotiating skills and empathic communication.

Even though Pilar is a workaholic, when she is not working she takes out time and likes to spend it with her family and in travelling with them.

She has a Master’s degree in Finance & Administration.

Mr. B K Chaturvedi, has rich and diverse Top Management corporate experience, in the Automobile, Auto components, Engineering and Real-Estate development and Consulting sectors.

As Managing Director, EICHER Ltd.- he was a key member of the founding team of EICHER which transformed the organization from a small one product tractor company to a major player in the Automobile industry.

As President & Executive Director, HINDUSTAN Motors Ltd. (C K Birla Group)- he gave a new direction to the Group business strategy that led HM into contract manufacturing as a parallel line of business.

He also served as CEO of Central Park, a major Real Estate development company in NCR and as CEO (India), RENOIR Consulting. He began his career with TATA Motors (1971-1978).

Mr. Chaturvedi was President of Tractor Manufacturers Association, Member of CII National Council, and Member on the Board of Automotive Skill Development Council as nominee of National Skill Development Corporation.

He has been associated with large Pvt. Equity firms as Advisor. He is on the boards of several companies. He is involved in coaching and mentoring of senior executives and owners. He is associated with Dept. of Science and Technology for evaluation of research projects in Mechanical Engineering and Automation.

He attended Dr. Deming’s TQM training programs in Japan, was a member of CEOs’ forum conducted by Prof. CK Prahlad and attended the Harvard Business School, Executive Development Program, is President of IIT Roorkee Alumni Association and was honored as Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Roorkee in year 2012.

He has an outstanding academic background. He did his B.E. (Mech.) from IIT Roorkee and MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Mr. Markus Hoffmann von Wolffersdorff, is a German Lawyer & Mediator, with rich experience in the areas of Corporate Law, Trade & Distribution Law, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions and alternative dispute resolution.

Mr. Hoffman, is a partner in the German Law Firm Dorschner & Hoffmann, based out of Leipzig, Germany. Apart from that, he is also the Head of the Saxon chapter of the German-Indian Round Table (GILT) network, Vice President of the Indo-German Lawyer Association and has also worked for the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in the past.

He has extensive work experiences in the Indo-German business since 2003, and has diverse experience that involves advising and supporting various companies from India to enter German market and German companies to enter Indian market.

He has worked in the areas of market entrance, formation of Subsidiaries & Joint Ventures, company administration and interim management, merger & acquisitions, IP protection, legal strategies, litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

In Germany, he has also worked in the areas of cross-sector Trade & Export, Employment Laws, general Civil & commercial law, Moderation and coaching in executive feedback processes in companies and public institutions, Mediation of conflicts within and between companies or public institutions and authorities. He is a certified Business Mediator of the Steinbeis Advisory Center Business Administration.

Mr. Hoffman, studied Law at the University of Leipzig, Germany and did his Masters from German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer.

Mr. Balvinder Kumar, is a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and has served Government of India at the Top level in various capacities.

Current: Vice-Chairman SGT

Priot to that he served in various capacities in Government in India:

-Secretary, Ministry of Mines- he was responsible for several initiatives to spurt growth in Mining, a core sector of Indian Economy- pre-requisite for Power, infrastructure, Cement and for metals like Aluminium, Copper, Gold etc.

-Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority, Ministry of Urban Development- he was responsible for implementing the Land-Pooling Policy, Transit-Oriented-Development Policy, e-auctioning of Commercial, Industrial, Parking spaces etc.

During his 36 years of service, he has worked in different sectors of Industrial Development, Mines and Metals, Taxation, Housing Sector, Social Development, Fertilizers, Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies etc.

As Vice Chancellor of SGT Medical and Engineering University, located at Gurgaon in National Capital Region- he is responsible for its overall development & new initiatives.

Mr. Balvinder Kumar, has authored 2 widely acclaimed books ‘’Man’s Spiritual Journey” and “Awakening the Thinking Mind– an Inward Journey” (was released by 2 Ministers of Government of India andthe Cabinet Secretary). The Book was presented to the President & Prime Minister of India and to the Dalai Lama). He also successfully organised 2 Painting exhibitions to display about 100 paintings at nationally acclaimed Art Gallery.

Besides, he is actively participating in training and other non-profit activities of Centre of Governance, the NGO headed by ex-Cabinet Secretary, Government of India.

Mr. Kumar, after completing his Masters and M.Phil. from Delhi University, he completed Masters in Development Administration from University of Birmingham, UK.

Mr. Marek Zaborowski, is a Polish native and an International Expert in the fields of Strategy, Capacity Building, Coalitions and Alliances, Energy efficiency policies & Projects.

Current: Team Leader of a European Commisison, Technical Cooperation project

As a Senior Expert, he has consulted- European Commission, OECD, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE)- Government of India, ARUP, ECORYS, Scott Willson- in the fields of Business, Economy, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Environment.

Marek has worked on International projects in several countries- Belgium, France, India, Ireland, Norway, Poland and UK.

Since 2014, he has been the Team Leader of European Commission-India Technical Cooperation-Energy program, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India- where he has done exemplary work & supported Government of India in its Solar initiative.

He has been holding several prestigious positions as- President of the Institute for Environmental Economics Association, a member of the Board and the President of the Małopolska Energy and Environment Agency, a member of the Board of Trustees at the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Vice-President of the Institute of Environmental Economics.

Marek ardently follows his passion of Kickboxing and likes to indulge in photography whenever and wherever he travels. He also works in the areas of Training of Professionals, setting up businesses.

Mr. Zaborowski, graduated from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology at the Krakow University of Technology, Poland and completed his Post Graduate studies in Environmental Economics from the University of Minnesota, USA.

Mr. Bhuwan Chaturvedi has a very rich Industry experience in the Areas of Manufacturing Technology, Merger & Acquisitions with specialization in Stressed Assets and Strategy development.

Current: CEO, PAHARPUR Cooling Tower Group Company.

He is also the Head of SPL, a JV company of Paharpur & National Textile Corporation (a PSU under Ministry of Textiles - GOI) listed on the BSE- he is responsible to giving strategic direction to the group.

Bhuwan brings in diverse Industry experience in the Indian market including Strategic Legal Consulting, Sales & Business Development, Market Development, Mergers & Acquisitions, Manufacturing and Technology.

Heis a very sought after Thought-Leader andhas been actively involved in many Industry Forums and is regularly invited as a Expert Speaker on a broad range of topics covering areas of work.

He is also an avid Social Worker and supports genuine Public causes by providing his Strategic & Legal expertise and fighting for the rights of underprivileged. He has been an activist against wrong doings of some Real Estate companies and has led successful campaigns- aimed to provide relief to the public at large.

He likes to Travel to New places, which help him to understand people at a deeper level and helps him in connecting with them, their issues and causes.

Bhuwan is well versed in different aspects of business thanks to his strong educational background- He is a Masters in Business Administration, a Law Graduate and has a Bachelor in Engineering degree.

Ms. Andra Riemhofer, is a German native having more than 20 years of work experience in the areas of Intercultural communication & cooperation. She has to her credit books and other publications on German culture & India, which have been very well received.

Born and bred in Germany, she knows that seemingly small things can be relevant when foreigners speak to a potential German business contact/company.

Her main concern is that SMEs cannot fully deploy their potential in the international market because of information deficits and cultural barriers. Setting up representations or making major decisions before having developed a deeper sense for the market and the business culture ties up and in the worst case burns capital.

According to her experience, many business relationships come to an end before they even start. Intercultural differences very often result in mis-understandings, frustration and unnecessary loss of time and money.

She helps international companies enter the German market and avoid the common pitfalls that typically arise from intercultural misunderstandings. Since 2013, Andra has been offering step-by-step companionship for small and medium-sized enterprises according to their maturity level in the German market. Along with her hands-on intercultural support, she offers research, appointment-setting, handholding, and other sales-related services.

Most of her clients are from the UAE, India, and Nordic countries. Andra is also lecturing on her areas of expertise and conducting workshops for intercultural teams. For further information on her portfolio and business philosophy, please visit on www.andra-ibf.com.

Andra, holds a degree in Business Administration, along with an M.A. in Intercultural Communications and Cooperation.

Mr. Manoj Kumar, is an International Expert in the field of Governance, Risk & Compliance domain, Audit & Enterprise Risk and Regulatory Risk Management.

World Bank, Walmart, Santander Bank, Deloitte, GE Capital, Citi group, TD Bank, China Trust Bank, PSEG, and Canadian Pacific Railways- are some of the global organizations in Banking and Financial services industry, which have taken his Expert services.

Mr. Manoj has extensively worked as a Risk partner with CFO, CRO, CDO business units to drive substantial change within organizations and has been deeply involved in managing complex projects, Mergers & Acquisitions Integrations risk oversight, Internal Audit, Financial Reporting Assurance, Risk consulting Leadership, Business Process Review, Operations & Technology Risk Management among others.

He has successfully worked on a broad range of Regulatory compliance projects; Regulatory Reporting, Dodd-Frank CCAR, Basel, Capital Planning, Stress-testing and Executive Reporting projects and assignments.

He possesses deep technical skills with data architecture, data flow, risk data aggregation (RDA), business intelligence, data quality– score cards, KPIs, financial systems and GRC solutions.

He is a fitness enthusiast, likes running for Marathons and in his free time likes travelling to Europe, Middle East for Tourism.

He holds important certifications like CISA, CISSP, BS7799/ISO 27001 Lead Auditor.         

He holds MBA degree from Kellogg (Finance & Strategy) and a B. Tech. in Computer Science & Information Technology.

Dr. Kai-Uwe Ulrich is a German expert with rich experience in the areas of International Business, Energy, Environmental, Chemical and Sustainable Ecological practices.

He has been involved in tutoring and training activities for international participants from various countries in the GIZ manager training program “Fit for Partnership with Germany”.

Other areas of his work in the past have been contaminant transport and fate in surface waters, groundwater, and sediments, aquatic ecology of mining affected surface waters and pit lakes, design of water treatment processes, thermal groundwater use and management, biogeochemistry, surface reactions and immobilization of uranium and metal compounds etc.

His current assignments include working as trainer & tutor for GIZ International Business Training Program participants, with GICON InTraBiD GmbH, and working as scientist, research and project manager, with BGD ECOSAX GmbH. Previous assignments included working as Head of Laboratory and Quality Management Officer with BGD Soil and Groundwater Laboratory Dresden GmbH; as Research Associate, Dept. of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University St. Louis (USA); as Research Associate, Institute of Radiochemistry, Research Center Dresden-Rossendorf; working as Technologist & Client Adviser, AWV-Dr. Busse GmbH, Plauen; as Postdoctoral Fellow, Dresden University of Technology, Department of Forestry, Geo- and Hydroscience.

Dr. Kai-Uwe has special interests in trekking, hiking, rock climbing, long-distance running, cross-country skiing and is also involved as an Amateur actor in theatre productions.

Dr. Kai-Uwe completed his Ph.D., after completing his Masters & Bachelors degrees.

Mr. Girish Agarwal, is a Chartered Accountant (CA) with a brilliant academic record and a broad experience of 35 years in the areas of Finance, Accounts, Audit, Taxation & Corporate Laws.

Current: CFO of a Strategic Business unit of a major player in Power sector.

In the position he was responsible for Budgetary Controls, Material Procurement & Works Contract, Financial reporting, Funds / Working Capital Management, Tax Management & Compliance.

His variety of experience inter-alia includes handling Finance function of an important engineering company in Power sector. Telecom (Electronics Engineering) PSU- Finance & Accounts experience in Plant, Foreign Project & Corporates offices, long stint at a Major Stock Exchange, brief stints with Financial Consultant and a Leading Tax Expert.

Mr. Girish was Management Trustee/Member Investment committee of EPF Trust of BHEL, Haridwar. He was also the convener for Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) initiatives.

He was part of the Senior Management team of a Major Stock Exchange, where he inter-alia worked as in-charge of Listing, Investor services, surveillance/inspection etc. and was appointed as a Member of SEBI coordination committee on Investor Grievances.

Earlier he worked in the Senior Management position in Finance in the corporate office of a major public sector undertaking and was also deputed to an important project in Afghanistan.

His areas of interest include Holistic living, Spirituality and has a deep orientation towards Social Service- where he keeps himself engaged in serving the humanity in his own little ways.

He was the Topper of Delhi University in Graduation and was a Rank Holder in CA examination.