Lakshmana Ponnekanti, CoFounder has around 15 years experience in Program Management, professional services of Enterprise Content Management and Digital Media Management. He is the Founder and Managing Director of CMSEDGE Solutions private limited.He has done Bachelors in Computer Science and Systems Engineering from GITAM, Andhra university.
Laura L. Knight received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Business and Environmental Public Policy respectively. She completed her doctorate at the University of Georgia in Geography with a specialization in Marine Science and Remote Sensing. Dr. Knight's International interests have included the development and training for Hazardous Materials Management/Emergency Response Policy development in Canada and, the Bahamas. Her studies abroad have taken her to Brazil, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, enriching her appreciation for cultural diversity in the development of mediated solutions.Dr. Knight’s prior research investigated the water quality and habitat of the endangered short nose sturgeon in the Savannah River. Her research used both qualitative and quantitative methods by employing mid-range frequency side-scan and high frequency DIDSON SONAR to examine the uniqueness of specific habitat features. Her projects have contributed to the refinement of Southeastern cultural resource management policy and new policy initiatives for Native American tribal governments throughout the Southwest.
Renato de Castro is a senior vice president for smart city investments at Commercial Real Estate Financing, Inc., an american equity infusion & grant funding bank based in Pennsylvania, US. Renato De Castro is a Member of the advisory board of Smart Cities Asia 2016, Kuala Lumpur ,Malaysia and global advisory board of Leading Cities NGO, located in Boston,US. International advisor for The World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments, in Seoul. Founder, executive board member and senior consultant at Baumann Consultancy Network for Smart Cities projects and internationalization strategies. Doctor of Business Administration candidate at Maastricht School of Management. He has 17-years experience in academic lecturing as MBA professor, responsible for the subjects/courses on international marketing and globalization strategies at several Universities in South America, Europe and Asia. He specialized in mentoring and advising startups for "go global" strategies.
Rakesh Bhatia has vast Executive Leadership experience with successful track record of setting up, growing, running and integrating multi-million USD/Euro, IT/Software/BPO/BPM operations in multiple geographies. He has built Great Places to Work, having RealPage India recognised as one of the 50 Best IT-BPM Companies and 100 Best Companies in India to work for by Great Place to Work Institute, India, Economic Times and NASSCOM. He has been a speaker at several Conferences and Seminars and Business Schools on topics ranging from International Business, Entrepreneurship, People Management, Leadership, Project/Program Management, Information Security, Compliance and Corporate Governance. He has mentored and supported several start-ups and entrepreneurs and continues to do so. He is pursuing Doctorate in Business Administration with research interest in M&A integration, sensemaking and culture in international business and M&As at Grenoble Ecole de Management. He has Executive PG in Management at IIM Kozhikode. He is certified PMP Professional from PMI