Dr Dileep Mavalankar has been heading the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar as its Director since 2012. Dr Mavalankar received an MBBS and MD in Preventive and Social Medicine from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad and an MPH and Doctor of public health from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, USA.

He is also the Vice President (western region) for PHFI and serves as Coordinator of NIDHI-TBIC. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA. He has also worked as Senior Management Advisor for the “Averting Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (AMDD)” program of Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York. He was Faculty at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Public Systems Group, from 1991-2010. The main area of his work is the management of public health programs, especially reproductive and maternal health.

He has been a consultant to several international organizations, including Columbia University, WHO, UNICEF, CARE, UNDP/World Bank and the government of India and state governments. The Prime Minister appointed him to the Missions Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission constituted by the Government of India. He was also a member of the Steering Committee on Health for the 12th Five-Year Plan.

Mr. Manoj Gopalakrishna, a Wharton Alumnus, has over twenty-eight years of leadership experience in Global as well Indian healthcare organizations. He has been a key contributor to the transformation of Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL Lifecare now) a leading healthcare organization with diversified product, service, and program portfolio. Post his career with Hindustan Latex Limited, he joined Becton Dickinson and Co (BD) as Managing Director leading its South Asia operations. Under his leadership BD grew to a company with manufacturing, R&D, and marketing operations in India. After the leadership stint in BD, he was CEO of HCL Healthcare and pioneered development of primary ambulatory care centres and corporate health services in Delhi NCR in partnership with Johns Hopkins International.

Mr. Manoj is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Prozela Healthcare, a professional services firm enabling medical technology and pharma companies design and execute transformative initiatives for accelerating their growth and impact. He is also an active participant in the health-tech start-up ecosystem.

Mr. Thulasiraj is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. After eight years in the industry he joined Aravind Eye Hospital in 1981, to lead the administration as a member of its start-up leadership team. In 1992, he co-founded Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology,which has mentored over 360 hospitals in India and imparted management training to over 2,600 eye-care professionals from across the globe.

Mr. Thulasiraj has been actively involved in several research activities, both clinical and operations research. He has been an advisor on several national and international bodies. He was IAPB’s Southeast Asia’s Regional Chair and was Founder President of Vision 2020 India. He is or has been on the Board of Aurolab, Acumen Fund, Seva Foundation, and Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He was an invited speaker at the TED Conference, India in 2009. He has been listed amongst the 30 most influential people in public health globally and recognized as the ‘Most inspiring Healthcare Leader of the year’ by Times of India – both in 2014. He was honoured as distinguished alumni by Indian institute of Management Calcutta in 2018.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan is a distinguished pediatrician and global expert in tuberculosis and HIV. She previously served as the Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) and as Deputy Director-General for Programs at ICMR. Currently, she is the Chairperson at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the Principal Advisor to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

With over 40 years of experience in clinical care and research, Dr. Swaminathan has dedicated her career to translating research into impactful health programs. She held prominent positions such as Secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (2015-2017). Her efforts have focused on integrating science into health policy-making, enhancing research capabilities in Indian medical institutions, and fostering global partnerships in health sciences.

Dr. Swaminathan received her academic training in India, the UK, and the USA, and has authored over 480 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She is a Fellow of the US National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), and all major science academies in India. She holds honorary doctorates from prestigious institutions including Karolinska Institute, EPFL Lausanne, and the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She serves on numerous national and global advisory boards, and holds adjunct professorships at Karolinska University (Sweden) and Tufts University (USA).

During her tenure as WHO’s first Chief Scientist, Dr. Swaminathan established the Science Division focusing on research, quality assurance of norms and standards, and digital health. She played a pivotal role in coordinating global scientific efforts and was instrumental in setting up COVAX to ensure equitable vaccine distribution to low and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.