Speakers 2013
VIJAY MALLYA
THE MAVERICK MOGUL Rarely has a man embodied the spirit of spirit quite like Dr Vijay Mallya. Heir to the United Breweries Group, it is Mr Mallya himself, rather than the chiselled faces and long legs that have endorsed his brand; who is transfixed upon the public imagination as the King of Good Times, recent Read More…
VIKRAM SINGH MEHTA
THE IRREPRESSIBLE TYCOON His ancestors were divans of Udaipur. Grandfather, India’s high commissioner to Pakistan. And father, a foreign secretary. Public service, it seemed, was a legacy handed down to Vikram Singh Mehta. A legacy he almost pursued when he joined Indian Administrative Services, only to quit two years later. Having left several other jobs Read More…
VINOD RAI
THE ALERT WATCHDOG Twenty twelve, Vinod Rai feels, will “go down in the history of Indian democracy as a defining year. A year in which the citizen came centre stage and debunked the age-old myth of the silent majority”. It was the year of the middle class, who finally gave voice to long-held anger on Read More…
WILLIAM URICCHIO
THE DISRUPTIVE MEDIA HISTORIAN He thrives on instability, uncertainty and disruption, which makes William Uricchio perfectly suited to this moment in time. A media historian by training, Uricchio investigates and documents the development and use of pretty much all forms of media – from studying the implications of everyone’s favourite ‘social media’ to exploring the Read More…
YOGENDRA YADAV
THE CREDIBLE CAMPAIGNER When Yogendra Yadav announced his decision to enter politics with the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012, there were many who were stunned by his transition from political analyst to politician. But, the seeds of the move are to be found many years back. In 1993, as a Professor of Political Science at Read More…
ZACH HOEKEN SMITH
THE GEEK WHO’S REINVENTING MANUFACTURING He looks like a geek – and is a bit of one. That’s the only thing about Zach ‘Hoeken’ Smith that runs true to expectations. On every other front, he’s the original lone ranger, going in a direction opposite from the herd. While others, especially from the West, see China Read More…
