New additions to our Advisory team

As mentioned in my previous post, here are more updates on some of the key developments over the last several months…

Two highly accomplished and very interesting people have joined our Advisory team. I’m really honoured & privileged to have them provide us their mentoring and support. Here’s a brief introduction to Soumya and Reuben…

• Soumya Banerjee: A veteran in the areas of internet, new media and financial services, Soumya Banerjee is a pioneer in successfully establishing, and scaling a global distributed multi disciplinary consulting services model. As the former Managing Director of Sapient in India, Soumya was instrumental in its establishment and growth to over 4000 people and creating a portfolio which delivered high end consulting and interactive services.  Recognized in multiple forums for creating award winning workplaces, Soumya takes a special interest in mentorship and growth and helping companies and people achieve their true potential. With his professional and life experiences in India, Europe and the Americas, Soumya takes a personal interest in the nuances of global cultures and is also an avid photographer and traveler. He has a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Houston.

• Reuben Abraham is a professor and director of the Emerging Markets Solutions Initiative in India at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He serves on the global board of directors of the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), a fund which aims to catalyze growth in emerging markets. Under the aegis of SEDF, he has set up a unique $17 million India-focused SME early stage fund with Google and Omidyar Network as co-investors. He serves as an independent director on the board of Indiaco Ventures, a leading listed Indian financial services company, and serves on the advisory board of two start-ups. He was also a TED Global Fellow for 2007 and and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

  Reuben completed his M.A., M.Phil and Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York. During his time in New York, he was an Associate Fellow in Global Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Public Policy Consortium Fellow and a Sloan Telecommunications Fellow. He served as a consultant at the World Bank and conducted research at three Columbia University research labs. Before Columbia, he was involved in co-founding two start-up ventures, both in India.

Resurrection and some (badly overdue) updates

Well, what can I say…the last 4 months have been a blur!

Apart from completing one full year since we officially started Onward (we still haven’t celebrated that yet!), we’ve been neck deep in projects, deadlines, fieldwork, analysis, business development…you name it. Of course, all good problems to have, for a young organization (or, so they say!)!

Here are some of the significant developments…

Firstly, 2 recent additions to the Onward team…

1. Samrat Nawle (Senior Researcher)
   Samrat joined us in early June this year. With a degree in Industrial Design from National Institute of Design, Samrat has over 7 years’ experience in User Research, Contextual Studies & Innovation, and Product Design (specifically automobile design). Prior to joining Onward, he worked with Human Factors International (Contextual Innovation team) and Reva Automobiles. Aside from his really weird (?!) sense of humour, Samrat brings with him an undying sense of commitment and passion for user centered innovation, and has already started making a huge difference to the work we’ve been doing.
2. Ranjit Singh Research Associate)
   Our most recent team member (joined barely 2 weeks ago), Ranjit has a B.Tech degree in ICT (interesting, eh?) from Dirubhai Ambani Institute of Information & Communication Technology (DA-IICT), Ahmedabad. He’s been working on academic projects for the last year in a variety of areas including – Information visualization of a Tribal healthcare initiative, developing a model for understanding indigenous innovation systems in India (Worked as Research Assistant on case studies of grass-root innovation in India encompassing the notion of coping, Jugaad – the bricoleur’s approach – and the middleman as a fixer) — and also worked as a freelance journalist for DNA, Ahmedabad (extensive statistical research on trend stories, feature stories on the city of Ahmedabad, technology reporting). Unsurprisingly (for those who know him), he chose to stay away from the typical “software engineering” jobs, to pursue his passion for Innovation, Information Design and User Research.

More updates coming soon (really)!