Advisory Council

Advisory Council

Mathew Cherian

Mathew Cherian is an enthusiast in the development sector with degrees from prestigious institutes like BITS and IRMA. Cherian has worked in the area of rural development with cooperatives in association with the National Dairy Development Board. He has also been a consultant to voluntary agencies and to the National Wastelands Development Board. He has served in various senior roles at the Association of Third Sector Researchers in India, Resource Mobilization Network in India, Campaign for Human Rights for Dalits and Tribals, and Charities Aid Foundation India. Cherian is an active member of the National Council of Senior Citizens chaired by the Prime Minister and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of HelpAge India.

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, a platform for skills, start-ups and social ventures in the country. He is also Chairman of Global Talent Track, a pioneer in employability skills training in Asia. He led APTECH, a global training major, for 10 years, was Vice Chairman and CEO of Zensar Technologies, a global software success story, till early 2016. His industry responsibilities include Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation, President of the HBS Club of India, and Member of the National Council of the CII. He is a Global Board Director of Social Venture Partners and Convener of SVP Pune. Author of nine books, he believes in the triple bottom line approach to management and leadership.

Arun Maira

Arun Maira, an alumna of St. Stephens’ College, is a management consultant and former member of the Planning Commission of India. He is also the former India Chairman of Boston Consulting Group. Maira was a part of the Tata Administrative Services for 25 years, and has authored several books, including Redesigning the Aeroplane While Flying: Reforming Institutions and An Upstart in Government: Journeys of Change and Learning. Maira has formally held the position of Chairman at Save the Children – India and Axis Bank Foundation, and served at various capacities in educational and management-based institutes, including Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, the India Brand Equity Foundation, the Public Interest Foundation, WWF – India, the World Food Program India Trust, and Aspen India.

Jonathan Bill

Jonathan is CEO and Founder of CreditMate.in – a fintech focused on mass market, new to credit lending in India. He is also a board member of Mobile Streams, an AIM listed mobile content company. Prior to founding CreditMate he built BillBachao.com which he sold in 2015 to one of India’s largest business groups. He has lived in India for 8 years arriving initially with Vodafone as part of a decade long career creating mobile internet services for developing markets across India, the Middle East and Africa. Pre Vodafone Jonathan was Commercial Director of Real Media an ad tech business sold to WPP in 2002.

Manisha Aryal

Manisha Aryal is a development practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in designing and implementing ICT-enabled programs globally. In her current role as the Global Practice Lead for Digital Development, she spearheads the company’s digital development strategy, providing thought leadership and hands-on support to projects and programs that innovate with technology solutions. Ms. Aryal also has expertise in media and information ecosystems and backstops Chemonics projects that build resilience against disinformation, strengthen information integrity, and support local media ecosystems.

Anriette Esterhuysen

Anriette Esterhuysen is a human rights defender and computer networking pioneer from South Africa. She has pioneered the use of Internet and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to promote social justice in South Africa and throughout the world, focusing on affordable Internet access. She was the Executive Director of the Association for Progressive Communications from 2000 until April 2017, when she became APC’s Director of Policy and Strategy. In November 2019 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Esterhuysen to Chair the Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group.

Sonia N. Jorge

An expert in the confluence of development and communications policy, Sonia has over 25 years of diverse international experience in a career spanning both the private and not-for-profit sectors. As a policy advisor, Sonia has led numerous digital policy and development projects in several countries and with international organizations, such as the World Bank, UNDP, UN Women, and for private sector companies, from mobile operators to industry associations.

Akhtar Badshah

Akhtar Badshah is an expert on social impact, philanthropy, CSR and international development, an author and artist. He is the founder and Chief Catalyst of Catalytic Innovators Group a new consulting practice focused on accelerating social impact through catalytic innovation. He a Distinguished Practitioner and Associate Teaching Faculty at the University of Washington, School of Business (Bothell Campus) and Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He also is a faculty lead at START Center at the Department of Public Health.

Asha S. Kanwar

Professor Asha Singh Kanwar, one of the world’s leading advocates of learning for sustainable development, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning. Throughout a career spanning over 35 years, she has made outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching, research and international development.

Rajiv Kumar

Rajiv Kumar is an Indian economist who served as the second vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog. He also serves as the chancellor of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. His earlier stint in government was initially with the Ministry of Industry and subsequently in the Ministry of Finance, as an economic advisor during the reform years of 1991-1994. He has wide experience having worked in government, academia, industry associations, as well as in international financial institutions. He also served as an independent director on the central boards of the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India.

Rajnesh Singh

Rajnesh Singh is a seasoned technology industry executive, serial entrepreneur, and thought leader with extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific, and beyond. He has played founding and leading roles in several technology and private equity investment firms and has led business management and strategy development across multiple industries, including ICT, telecommunications, power infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and real estate. He has worked on policy, regulatory reform, and development issues around the region, and has held several leadership roles in the Internet community.