Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel - Ministry of Civil Aviation and Steel
Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia is currently serving as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Government of India. He has also been a five-term Member of Parliament, which includes four terms in the Lok Sabha (2002-04, 2004-09, 2009-14 & 2014-19), and the current term in the Rajya Sabha representing the state of Madhya Pradesh. In 2014, he
was appointed as Chief Whip of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, and in 2019 as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary In-Charge for Uttar Pradesh West and Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
Mr. Scindia began his journey in public service in 2002 In 2008, he served as the Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT; in 2009 as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and then, in 2012, as Minister of Power (Independent Charge).
Mr. Scindia's tenure as Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT ushered in the transformational Project Arrow that modernized the Indian post offices through new branding and IT-enabled procedures.
In his tenure as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, he successfully brought down transaction costs in Indian exports at various levels right from the stage of production to the end customer. Additionally, as Minister of Power (Independent Charge), he led the establishment of a unified transmission grid network, i.e. One Nation One Grid with a 6-sigma reliability system, linkages for power plants, and resolved last mile distribution issues in collaboration with State Governments.
Mr. Scindia has also been a member of Parliamentary Committees on Education, Women, Children; Youth and Sports; Defence; Finance; Home and External Affairs.
Deputy Secretary - Logistics, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Dr. Jivisha Joshi Gangopadhyay is the Deputy Secretary in the Logistics Division, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in the Ministry of Commerce. She is the nodal officer for PMGatishakti. Along with PMgatishakti, her responsibilities include - National logistics policy, Green logistics initiative, and International and EXIM-related issues about logistics. She is also holding charge as the Managing Director, of Jammu Kashmir Development Financial Corporation.
She is an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service. She is an avid reader, trained dancer, and travel enthusiast.
Senior Economic Advisor - Ministry of Civil Aviation
Shri Piyush Srivastava is an Indian Economic Service Officer of the 1993 batch. He brings with him over 28 years of experience in General Management, Policy Formulation, Scheme Formulation and Implementation Strategy, Evaluation, Economic Analysis, Monitoring Training.
He is a Science graduate with a post-graduate degree in economics. He has also done his M.Phil in Economics from JNU with a Dissertation on Industrial Productivity.
Shri Srivastava has served in various Ministries in responsible positions in different Departments/Divisions handling sensitive charges. During the course of his various postings, he worked in all three Major Departments of Ministry of Finance viz. Department of Economic Affairs (in Fund Bank and Capital Market Divisions), Department of Revenue (Intelligence) and Department of Expenditure (Plan Finance).
He has also had exposure of working with multi-lateral aid agencies (World Bank and Asian Development Bank) regarding Infrastructure Project Management as well as hands on experience grass root implementation of the Command Area Development Scheme and field posting in DC-MSME.
In his present posting in MoCA he looks after the cargo sector, aircraft manufacturing & MROs and aircraft leasing & financing.
Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation
Shri Rajiv Bansal is currently posted as the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. Mr. Bansal is an Indian Administrative Services Officer of 1988 batch, from Nagaland cadre. He has held many important positions in the Union Government including Chairman and Managing Director, Air India Ltd., Ministry of Civil Aviation; Additional Secretary, M/o Petroleum & Natural Gas; Joint Secretary, M/o Electronics & Information Technology; Secretary, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC); and Joint Secretary, D/o Heavy Industry, M/o Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.
He took charge of Air India during February 2020 after serving as the interim chairman and managing director of the national carrier for about three months starting from August 2017. He has also held several key positions in the Government of Nagaland including Commissioner & Secretary, D/o Health & Family Welfare, Nagaland; Commissioner & Secretary, School Education Department, Nagaland; Commissioner & Secretary, Finance Department, Nagaland etc.
Mr. Bansal has a civil engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, a diploma in finance from ICFAI, Hyderabad, and an executive master in international business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi
Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)
A career police officer, after intensive training at SVP National Police Academy, I have dealt with all facets of policing, including prevention and detection of crime,
crowd management, investigation, recruitment, intelligence, maintenance of law and order and management of human resources. Besides, during my tenure at Kolkata Airport, I have gained experience in narcotics control and anti-hijacking.
While dealing with crowd management and control, I have dealt with crowds of upto a 10,00,000, both peaceful and violent. Similarly, I have managed large
religious congregations during Tarakeshwar Mela and Ganga Sagam Mela, multiple times, as well as during Durga Puja, Eid and Muharram, for 21 years. In addition, have performed duties controlling Cricket crowds at Eden Garden and Football crowds at Salt Lake Stadium and Maidan for 20 years.
As a senior police officer, in both India and with UNMISL, I have faced complex and challenging situations, dealing with a multitude of crises, including conflict management, humanitarian assistance, restorative justice, human rights, community police, civic action and developmental activities.
Right after serving as an Inspector General of naxal affected areas in Bengal, I joined the CRPF (the largest paramilitary in the world) on deputation in 2012. I was posted as IG Ops Chhattisgarh & was responsible for the supervision of Anti Maoist Operations, in a state which can easily be described as the epicenter of the Maoists. I was then moved to the CRPF HQ in Delhi as IG Operations & coordinated operations and force movement in the entire country. During my
posting in Kashmir, I handled many challenging situation including the aftermath of the agitation of 2016, the fedayeen & militancy period of 2017 & 2018 and the subsequent Pulwama attack. I handled the scenario post abrogation of Article 370 with great sensitivity: every single detail was worked out and addressed, consequently ensuring zero violence and absolutely no collateral damage.
In the present assignment, as a principal staff officer, I supervise the verticals of Operations, Intelligence, Administration and Communications of a force which is 3,25,000 strong. Besides, I also directly supervise Special Forces such as CoBRA, Rapid Action Force and VIP Security Sector.
I have taken a special interest in community policing throughout my entire career & tried to build bridge of trust between armed forces and the local community using sports as a medium to reach out to the marginalized youth. Thus ran the Kolkata Police Para Football Championship (the largest football tournament in the world involving more than 700 neighborhood clubs), Junglemahal Cup (a tournament crowding 300 teams of naxal affected areas), the Gundadhur Cup (involving 120 football teams of Bastar) and a tournament in Kashmir in collaboration with overseas football club of Spain. I also started a
helpline called “Madadgar” in Kashmir which is still active and has benefited close to 5 lakhs local residents.
I have been taken over as Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on 8th June, 2022
Chief Operating Officer of Delhivery
Mr.Ajith Pai is the Chief Operating Officer of Delhivery. He has been associated with Delhivery since April 6, 2013. He holds a bachelor’s degree of engineering in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, and a post-graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He was previously associated with the Lodha Group as Associate Vice President - Procurement.
Assistant Vice President – Aviation Business Bangalore International Airport Ltd
Arun Chandra leads the Aviation Business department for Bangalore International Airport Ltd. and is responsible for Airline Route Development, Cargo Business, and Aviation Concessionaire Management.
Arun has been an aviation professional for three decades, having previously worked as an airline senior executive leading Airport Operations and Commercial Sales functions in India and abroad. He has been part of BIAL since 2017 and has overseen some milestone route developments connecting BLR with key new markets like Africa, North America, and Australia
amongst others.
During his career, Arun has had the opportunity of working in many locations in India, South-East Asia, and Europe. This has provided him with a good understanding of managing cross-cultural teams and nuances.
Managing Director – Insyngery Supply Chain Solutions Private Limited
Mr. Arun, was born in Nainital, present day state of Uttraakhand in 1972. His father was a scientist with the Govt. Of India and mother, home maker. He has an elder brother who is also a scientist and is employed with the Government of India.
Mr. Arun, grew up in a humble middle class family with education being the epicentre of family values. After finishing his junior schools in Nainital, Delhi & Jhansi, he moved to Bangalore to complete his senior schooling and graduation. He had moderate inclination towards academics and always believed that education is much more than just academics. He was an active sports man and represented his school in Basket Ball & Athletics at the state level games, during his schooling days. He was also recognised for his leadership qualities by his teachers and thus assigned leadership roles. He did his Graduation with Economic and followed it up with Post Graduation in Business Administration with specialization in Marketing.
Mr. Arun, started his business in the early nineties, immediately after completing his graduation, with setting up a small plant, manufacturing electrical transformers. The business in which he struggled and had to fold after six years. It is this six years which he considers his most enlightening phase!
Mr. Arun, entered the domain of logistics and international supply chain in the year 2001 and re-started his journey moving to New Delhi, with a firm called Amexpress Worldwide Logistics (then called American Express Shipping Line), which was a customs broker firm. Very soon he took a liking to the business and worked his way up the ladder, with his hard work, innovative ideas and entrepreneur abilities. He co-found InSynergy Supply Chain Solution Pvt. Ltd. in 2010. The company, soon acquired the various trade licenses and under his able leadership became a company with high repute. The company is a licensed customs broker and well recognized freight forwarder, which is ISO 9001, and AEO Certified. The company as of present has pan India presence with over 110 employees. The company is completely IT Integarted and has near paperless operations. All its processes are well defined and IT enabled.
Mr. Arun, is passionate about the trade and more so about the country and with an objective to pay his dues to his country, decided to actively participate in associations and groups, which work towards betterment of this logistics industry and country at large. Mr Arun got this opportunity, with Air Cargo Forum of India (ACFI) and apex body in Air Cargo domain, appointing him as Chairman of the Innovation Committee and Process Simplification Committee. Subsequently he was also appointed on the Board of ACFI in 2016. His passion for the trade and his ability to deliver was recognized and another association on the Ocean side, the Association for Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI), who appointed him as a Convener of Northern Regional Chapter in 2018. In 2020 he was co-opted to the Executive Committee of AMTOI, was appointed as Honorary Treasurer, and presently serves AMTOI as Honorary Secretary. He is also an active participant in all other trade bodies and is known for his polite yet assertive voice in the industry.
Mr Arun, is the person who has strong convection in the greatness of this nation and hold a belief that he can and he will make a difference to the life of the people in this great country in whatever ways possible.
Director of EDS INTERNATIONAL Pvt. Ltd
Gaurav R Ghuwalewala, Director of EDS INTERNATIONAL Pvt Ltd Ltd. Domestic Air Cargo Agents operating across India with 19 own branches for 28 years.
EDS has a niche in serving courier and express logistics. Gaurav has a personal interest in cold chain transportation and EDS has been one of the long players in assisting customers in the transportation of Pharma, Life-Saving Drugs, Patient Samples and today EDS is working with intercity transport of freshly cooked food.
Evolving new product mix over time and with the changes in market dynamics, trying to stay abreast with the market truly believes - there are no shortcuts in evolution!
Director General, TIACA
Glyn has been involved in Air Cargo for nearly 40 years having started his career with British Caledonian in the UK. He joined IATA in 1991 and become IATA's Global Head of Cargo in June 2014. In February 2021, Glyn joined TIACA as its first Director general where he works with the Board to deliver the organization's vision for a safe, profitable and united air cargo industry that embraces modern technologies and practices, to sustainably serve trade and social development worldwide. Priority areas include safety, security, sustainability, digitalization and innovation. He is dedicated to developing collaborative relationships and is a firm believer in supporting the next generation of industry leaders and innovators.
Chief Officer - Cargo, SpiceJet Limited
Mr. Kamal Hingorani, Chief Officer at SpiceXpress, a subsidiary of SpiceJet Limited, is focused to revolutionize the Air & Logistics ecosystem through state-of-the-art technology and disruptive solutions.
SpiceXpress will soon be offering a multi modal connectivity solution, both domestically and internationally, based on FaaS - Fulfilment as a Service.
SpiceJet is the first air cargo service with dedicated domestic freighter flights offering A2A and D2D deliveries, which covers 1600 PIN codes throughout the length and breadth of India.
With three-plus decades of experience in international legacy airlines, Kamal holds the additional responsibility as Chief Customer Officer at SpiceJet Ltd, looking after Inflight Services, Customer Experience, and Corporate & Industry Affairs. He also spearheads the role of Sustainability for the organization. For him sustainability is not simply a catchphrase; he lives it religiously in every aspect of his professional and private life. He has led international sustainability projects, including the World Economic Forum’s viability of SAF in India.
Kamal has completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and holds a Science Honors from Delhi University. He is deeply passionate about Yoga and is also a trainer in this spiritual practice.
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Aviapro Logistic Services Pvt Ltd
Mr. Keku Bomi Gazder, until recently was the former CEO, AAI Cargo Logistics & Allied Services Co. Ltd a 100% subsidiary of the Airport Authority of India under the Ministry of Civil Aviation Govt of India.
Prior to that and has had a distinguished career of nearly three decades in the aviation responsible for the Middle East, South Asia and India regions, handling senior positions in leading aviation companies such as Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo, Air France-KLM Cargo & Martinair Cargo amongst others.
He worked in close association with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other ministries and was part of the following initiatives / committees:
Focus Group on Operationalizing of Krishi Udaan, Lifeline Udaan and Vaccine Maitri
Defence Convergence Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Governing Council of the Logistics Skill Council (LSC), under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Investment Clearance Cell Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Member - National Committee on Civil Aviation by the Confederation of Indian Industries.
Chartered Member at CMILT (The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport – India).
Former Member, Civil Aviation Advisory Group under the aegis of Hn. Minister of Civil Aviation, India.
Former Member, Air Cargo Promotion Board under the aegis of Hn. Minister of Civil Aviation, India.
Former Member, IATA Advisory panel on CASS Implementation in India.
Mr. Gazder has been conferred the following:
“Industry Ambassador” – India Cargo Awards by DDP in 2022
“Corona Warrior” Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) Vishwakarma Award for the year 2021.
“Air Cargo Person of the Year 2019-20” awarded by ACAAI Eastern Region.
“Trail Blazer” - India Cargo Awards by DDP in 2018.
Consultant, Cargo Commercial, TATA Air India
Kunal Bhatt, an independent air freight consultant, with 25 plus years of rock-solid experience with two of the world’s largest airlines, Air France KLM and Qatar Airways. Kunal is currently working with Tata Air India as a full time Cargo Consultant.
In his career spanning over more than two decades, Kunal has held various leadership positions covering almost all facets of the air cargo business.
He has led turnkey projects including the inception to implementation of Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art, next gen end-to-end cargo system “CROAMIS”, he has delivered various cargo digitalization initiatives centered around the industry’s "Simplifying the Business" objectives.
Kunal is a popular people’s leader. His forte lies in Air Cargo Digitalization, Cargo Commercial and Revenue Management.
Kunal holds an Executive MBA with distinction from HEC Paris with a major in Digital Transformation.
He is a regular speaker at industry events. A lesser-known fact about him is that Kunal is a voice over artist by passion. He has recorded more than 75 ads in English and Hindi for over 50 prominent brands for popular Indian radio stations in the Middle East
Chief Commercial Officer- Cargo (International), IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Limited)
Mark Sutch is IndiGo’s new Chief Commercial Officer – Cargo International, effective March 01, 2023. Mark brings with him 25 years of airline industry experience across different verticals, including extensive cargo experience. Mark’s most recent assignment was as Chief Commercial Officer with CMA CGM Air Cargo based in Marseille. Before that, he was with Cathay Pacific Airways including being based for 5 years in Mumbai as the airline’s regional general manager for South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He also previously ran all commercial aspects of Cathay Pacific’s cargo division in their Hong Kong head office. Mark is a British and Irish national and has spent most of his career on international assignments.
Chief Executive Officer, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited
Mr. Pradeep Panicker is the Chief Executive Officer of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL). Before joining GHIAL, he was at GMR Delhi International Airport as Chief Commercial Officer for Aeronautical Business. He is also a board member of GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited, GMR Hospitality and Retail Limited, and GMR Air Cargo and Aerospace Engineering Limited. Apart from the Airport, he is also responsible for MRO, Cargo and Duty-Free Business.
Mr. Panicker has been one of the key members of the successful team that won the bid for the modernization of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi, and its takeover.
He was the Founder and President of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI).
Mr. Panicker is a Chartered, Cost & Works Accountant and holds a Diploma in Merchant Banking and Financial Services.
Head Cargo Commercial, Air India Limited
Ramesh is an engineer with a master's in transport planning and MBA from Bradford University. Ramesh has been in the logistics industry for more than 30 years, out of which he has spent more than 2 and half decades in the air cargo logistics industry.
Ramesh spent more than one and half decades with Emirates Group in Dubai working across multiple functions and business units such as Dnata Cargo, Mercator, and Emirates SkyCargo. In his stint with Emirates SkyCargo, he managed infrastructure development, global products development/ management, and special products operations at the hub.
He was associated with Qatar Airways Group as the Head of QAS Cargo wherein he managed airport cargo operations from the old airport to the current airport in 2014.
He was the CEO of Celebi Cargo business in Delhi from 2014 to 2019, where Delhi airport witnessed its cargo volumes exceeding 1 mil tons annually.
He was the Chief Cargo Officer for Adani Airports Holdings Limited until recently, managing both Cargo and GH business units.
He is currently associated with Air India Cargo as Head of Cargo Commercial.
Vice President Supply Chain Management - Dr. Reddy's Lab
Dr. Ravi Prakash Mathur, -Vice President Supply Chain Management and Global Head of Logistics at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. at Hyderabad India.
Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur is supply chain professional and a published author with 30 years of experience.
He works in the areas of Supply Chain and Digital Transformation, Integrated Business Planning, Global Logistics, and Emerging Digital Technologies. He is member of various Supply Chain Councils and Academic Boards of Business Schools. He speaks regularly at international conferences and at top ranked universities in India.
In 2020, he coauthored an academic paper, titled “Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd: Inventory Management Under Resource Constraints”; which is hosted by Harvard Business Publishing Education and is also available on the HBR store. In 2022 his paper “Evaluation of factors for effective distribution of Covid-19 vaccines” was published in Journal of Distribution Science and was selected for the WHO Covid-19 research database.
He was amongst the “Top 25 Digitalist Thought Leaders of India” announced by SAP Ace awards in 2015. In 2014 he co-authored the book “Quality Assurance in Pharmaceuticals & Operations Management and Industrial Safety”.
Dr. Mathur’s doctoral thesis was about supply chain systems for international freight.
Chief Operating Officer- Lynkit Solutions Private Limited
Sadhika is an economist by training, with a decade-long career in logistics technology, working with various global private and public sector clients for various infrastructure and technology projects aimed at logistics efficiency. She is currently the co-founder and chief operating officer of Lynkit. Lynkit is a National Startup Award-winning technology company with proprietary IoT-based enterprise SaaS products for supply chain and logistics management.
Prior to joining Lynkit, she was a project manager and Sr. transportation economist with a Fortune 200 engineering firm AECOM, headquartered in San Francisco. Her experience also includes stints at Scotia Bank, DMICDC, and US-India Business Council. Sadhika is a BA (Hons) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and an MSc. from the University of California, Berkeley.
As Lynkit COO, Sadhika manages business operations, finance, and compliance.
Her experience has enabled Lynkit to quickly grow the company from 5 members to over 125 today. Her international experience and data-driven approach have ensured that industry best practices are followed in the company’s management approach and in the products they create. Her transportation industry and financial planning experience provide invaluable insights to Lynkit’s product design team for ensuring that businesses see real ROIs on their investments in Lynkit’s digital products.
She is also an international expert for the Asian Development Bank and has been consulting various governments in South Asia on their digital transformation projects.
Most recently, she was awarded the Times 40 under 40 national award.
Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadhikakumar/
The Company
Lynkit is a technology product company, with 6 proprietary products spanning different aspects of supply chain management and logistics tech. Lynkit specializes in utilizing deep tech like IoT and combining its use with blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, industrial automation, and vision tech to track, digitize, automate, and analyze different processes of the supply chain.
Lynkit is the winner of the National Startup Award 2022 (by GOI/ Startup India), Startup of the Year award in Logistics/ Fulfillment 2022 by Entrepreneur India, Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from TiE and Lumis Partners, Best Company award recipient by Internet 2.0 Conference Dubai Expo’22 and ranked Top 6 Startups by KPMG ENRich 2022 and Top 10 Blockchain startups by CIO Insider.
Global Head of Air Freight and Pharma Vertical Radar Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (WIZ Freight)
He is an alumni of prestigious SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
He started his professional journey with the industry 28 years ago with TNT Skypak and has evolved to become an experienced sales & commercial head with a demonstrated history of working in the logistics and supply chain industry. He has worked in various capacities with companies like AFL Pvt. Ltd. & Dachser India. In his previous assignment, he worked as Chief Commercial Officer with Agility Logistics for 6 years.
Satish is a strong sales professional skilled in Negotiation, Import & Export , Operations Management, Air & Ocean Freight, Customs clearance and Sales & Marketing.
He is passionate about Life sciences and patient safety, speaks in various forums in India and overseas on the various subjects like Unbroken cold chain, infrastructure at airports for cargo handling for Pharma, Perishable exports etc.
He is a motivational speaker and likes to be ahead of the curve .
CEO – Cargo and Logistics, GMR Group
Mr. Sanjiv Edward is taking over as the Chief Executive Officer – Cargo and Logistics, GMR Group w.e.f. April 2023 responsible for handling Cargo business for Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, etc. and all upcoming airports, in addition to continue to drive strategic projects for DIAL.
He has earlier served as Chief Commercial Officer – Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), leading the Aeronautical and Aero-related business verticals of IGI Airport, responsible for developing and driving the strategy for these verticals by achieving sustained growth of Aeronautical revenues through various streams, such as Cargo, Land & Space, Concessions and Aeronautical services. His profile also included leading the Airlines marketing and Route development activities to enhance IGI Airports’ Air connectivity network.
Earlier to this role, Sanjiv was heading the Cargo business of DIAL, where he was responsible for successfully driving the Cargo Strategy and Development of the Cargo Master plan, making IGIA as the no 1 Cargo Airport in the country. He has been actively engaged with Government, Regulators, and Industry for Policy formulation at various levels. Sanjiv is working closely with WCO, ICAO, WTO, TSA, UNCTAD and he also served as the Chairman of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Miami from May 2015 to October 2017 and currently on the Board of ACFI, CELEBI, DAFFPL and DASPL.
He is an accomplished individual with domestic and international experience of over 20 years in the Aviation Industry & has won several personal and corporate awards.
Secretary, APEDA
Currently Working as Secretary, APEDA posted at APEDA head quarter.
PhD in Commerce & Post Graduate in Business Administration and Computer Applications.
Attended Food & Agri Business Management Programme (Cornell University and Satguru Management), USA from 11th to 23rd June 2005.
A Rich Experience of more than 32 years in agri sector. Looked after export promotion of Fresh Horticulture produce and Processed food products, Livestock products, IT activities of the organisation, Traceability projects.
Received National Award (Gold) for E Governance in the year 2008 and E-Asia award for traceability project in the year 2009.
Has been part of Trade delegations visit and promotional activities organised in various countries for promotion of Indian agri products.
Chief Business Officer of Pradhaan Air Express
Mr. Vipul Bhalla is the Chief Business Officer of Pradhaan Air Express, India’s youngest cargo Airline that operates the world’s first and only A 320 Freighter. He has been associated with the Air Freight Industry for over three decades. He started his career with a stint of 16 years with British Airways and later with Etihad Airway at Delhi, Chennai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Senior Management roles covering Customer Service, Revenue Management, Commercial Optimization and Field Sales with Regional and Worldwide sales responsibility covering more than 71 markets and managing teams generating more than $1 billion in freight revenues. His last role was with Oman Air Cargo responsible for the Indian Sub-continent, Europe and Global Key Accounts. He is a Science Graduate from the Delhi University.
Sales Director Asia Pacific - Commercial Aviation, EMBRAER Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd
Vasuki Prasad dedicates his time and efforts into discussions and solutions that allow airlines #SustainableProfitability. Based at Singapore, he is presently the sales director responsible for South Asia and Indonesia at Embraer commercial aviation. Earlier, Vasuki was with Vistara, a joint venture between TATA and Singapore airlines, as the head of commercial planning and analysis. After graduating with an engineering degree in electronics and communication, he started his career with Honeywell Aerospace, and holds two US patents. Vasuki also is a Master of Business Administration in Aerospace and Aviation from Toulouse Business School.
Managing Director- Skyways Group
Yash has been a strong visionary and always tried to bring new innovations to the field of logistics. He, thus was able to make and launch the first web marketplace for air cargo in the world in the year 2000 www.cargoflash.com.
Yash has been a key driver to take his company from a 17 member team in 1995 to 900+ personnel team spread across it's 32 locations in India as well as it's overseas offices in Germany, Vietnam, Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong. The company has IATA, M TO, AEO, ISO 9001:2015 and numerous other important industry accreditations.
Skyways has been the No. 1 Air Freight Forwarder of India for 6 years in a row (2017-2022), as per world ACD. Skyways is also ranked No. 29 in the IATA global ranking for e-AWB showcasing the Group's technological penetration in logistics industry.
He is the current President of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) for the current term 2022-2024. ACFI is a leading nationwide platform for all stakeholders in the air cargo sector who can work collectively for addressing major industry challenges. Under his inspiring leadership, Yash aims to work in sync with the Govt. of India, MoCA, regulators and trade bodies to build a world class air cargo ecosystem in India that is at par with the best-in-class air cargo frameworks across the world. His endeavor is to reinstate the position of ACFI at local and international forums as
a strong trade body that works for the growth of the air cargo fraternity and boost the economy at large.
The stellar leader has been associated with various trade forums and industry associations in his career. He was the former President of Air Cargo Club of Delhi (ACCD). In the past, he was the President of his School ex-Student association for 5 years.
He is earnestly involved in philanthropic activities and has supported various social organizations like The Earth Saviours Foundation, Bhagat Foundation (in association with IAG Cargo), Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group etc. In his free time, he loves to socialize with people, listen to Bollywood music, play cricket and go dancing.
Yash has been awarded by the industry at various forums. Some of the key ones:
"Dynamic Logistics Personality of the Year" at the Northern India Multimodal Logistics
Awards 2023 powered by EXIM INDIA.
"Exemplary Leadership" Award at Express, Logistics & Supply Chain Awards, 2017.
"Entrepreneur of the year" Award at India Cargo Awards 2017.
"Face of the Future" Award at India Cargo Awards 2015.
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