Arjun Malhotra is a pioneering Indian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist. In 1975, he co-founded HCL Group, helping grow it from a small “garage operation” to one of India’s largest IT corporations, serving as Vice Chairman. He later founded TechSpan and became CEO of Headstrong, overseeing its merger with TechSpan and its acquisition by Genpact in 2011. Malhotra was the first prominent Indian entrepreneur to relocate to the U.S., where he expanded HCL’s U.S. operations, and also led major joint ventures in India. He has received the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, the DQ Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named an Eminent Engineering Personality by the Institution of Engineers (India). Malhotra continues to advise start-ups in the education and healthcare sectors.

Malhotra holds a Bachelor of Technology (Hons.) in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, where he received the Dr. B.C. Roy Gold Medal and was later named a Life Fellow. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. In addition to his business achievements, he has served on the Boards of Governors for institutions like IIT Kharagpur Foundation, Indian School of Business, and The Doon School, and founded the Prof. G.S. Sanyal School of Telecommunications at IIT Kharagpur. A co-founder of SPIC MACAY, Malhotra has also been involved with TiE and other global networks supporting entrepreneurship.

Thomas Kailath is an Indian-American electrical engineer and professor emeritus at Stanford University, recognized for his transformative contributions to information theory, control theory, and signal processing. He earned his B.E. in Telecom from the College of Engineering, Pune, in 1956 and his M.S. and Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1959 and 1961, respectively. After a year at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he joined Stanford in 1963, became a full professor in 1968, and held the prestigious Hitachi America Chair in Engineering.

Throughout his career, Kailath’s research spanned numerous fields, including communications, control, and semiconductor manufacturing. His work with over 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students resulted in more than 300 journal papers, numerous patents, and several influential books. Kailath co-founded multiple high-tech companies, two of which went public, and his students have launched over 20 companies themselves.

Among Kailath’s many honors are the 2012 U.S. National Medal of Science, the IEEE Medal of Honor, and the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award. He is a member of several prestigious academies, including the National Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of London, and holds honorary degrees from institutions worldwide.

Amartya Sen is a Nobel Laureate in Economics and one of the world’s most influential thinkers on development, democracy, and justice. He currently serves as the Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He was formerly the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and has held academic appointments at Oxford University, the London School of Economics, and Delhi University.

Born in Santiniketan, India, Professor Sen studied at Presidency College in Kolkata and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. His academic career has spanned continents and decades, marked by pioneering contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, development economics, and the intersection of economics and moral philosophy.

Professor Sen has served as President of the Econometric Society, the Indian Economic Association, the American Economic Association, and the International Economic Association. He is known not only for his scholarly rigor but also for his deep engagement with questions of human freedom, inequality, and social justice.

His books have been translated into more than 30 languages and remain essential reading for anyone interested in equity and public reasoning. Key works include Development as Freedom, Poverty and Famines, The Argumentative Indian, and Identity and Violence. Through his work, Sen has helped reframe global conversations on poverty, public health, gender equity, and democratic practice.

Sukhi Singh is the founder and culinary force behind Sukhi’s Indian Cuisine, a beloved brand that has brought the vibrant flavors of India to homes across the United States. Born in India and inspired by her grandmother’s kitchen, Sukhi discovered early on that cooking was more than a skill—it was a form of love, memory, and storytelling.

In 1985, she moved to the U.S. with a suitcase full of spices and a vision: to share the depth and diversity of Indian food with those who crave bold, authentic flavors. What began as a personal passion soon grew into a celebrated culinary brand, known for its integrity, tradition, and taste.

Sukhi’s Indian Cuisine has become a household name, blending old-world recipes with modern convenience. Behind every dish is Sukhi’s continued dedication to craft, culture, and community—an artful expression of the India she grew up in, and the America she helped flavor.

Her journey is not just a story of entrepreneurship, but a tribute to the heritage she carries and the bridges she’s built through food.