Meet the visionaries that guide and drive our mission to change the face of employment for those in need.

Mr. Sankar is a retired Govt. of Tamil Nadu IAS officer belonging to the 1982 batch. He has an MBA from Southern Cross University, Australia. His 34 years of experience includes an array of general administrative posts in the Government, including the prestigious District Collector of Coimbatore. He has held Secretary, Principal Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary level postings in varied fields including Industries, Environment & Forests, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration & Water Supply for the Govt.of Tamil Nadu.

One of his major feats includes the coordination of the massive Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme of the Government after the devastating disaster hit Tamil Nadu in 2004. As the Officer on Special Duty and Project Director, he spearheaded the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects sanctioned by the Govt. of India, World Bank, UNDP and other International organizations, totalling USD 2 billion. He was invited by the World Bank to join as the Project Director for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project at the National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi and implemented the first phase of the project at a cost of INR 1500 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. In addition, he has experience as the CMD of Corporations such as Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development and Tamil Nadu Newsprints and Papers Ltd and Tamil Nadu Housing Board.

Dr. Kalpanaa Sankar is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Varashakti Housing Finance, a financial inclusion-focused institution dedicated to providing affordable housing solutions and empowering underserved communities.

Dr. Sankar, a nuclear physicist turned social entrepreneur, has redefined the landscape of social impact over the past three decades. As the former Managing Director of Belstar Microfinance and the Co-founder and Chairperson of Hand in Hand India, she has empowered over 10 million rural women through livelihood creation and financial inclusion. Her journey embodies an unwavering commitment to uplifting marginalized communities and driving inclusive growth.

Her expertise and influence extend globally. She has worked with leading international agencies including IFAD, UNOPS, and UNDP, contributing to global development programs and policy frameworks. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous national and international honors, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar, Bal Kalyan Puraskar, and the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr. Sankar holds a TRIUM Global Executive MBA and a double doctorate in nuclear physics and gender studies. She serves on the boards of NABARD Consultancy Services and GoodWeave International.

Mr. Ramanath Dash had served as the Regional Director of Reserve Bank of India for the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and has extensive experience in the regulation and supervision of banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), currency management, banking development and financial inclusion. During his stint in the Central Office of Reserve Bank of India at Mumbai, he was closely associated with policy formulation relating to Priority Sector Lending by banks, strengthening of Regional Rural Banks, and related areas. He was a member of the RBI Internal Group on Priority Sector Lending which submitted its report in March 2015. He was also a Member of Faculty, College of Agricultural Banking (CAB), Pune for close to six years, where he headed the Rural Banking Division. After superannuation from the Reserve Bank of India, he was Consultant to the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad. Mr. Dash studied in Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, and did M.Sc. from Utkal University. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance.

Mr. Venkatakrishnan is a banker with more than 36 years of experience. His banking exposure is spread across both corporate and retail spaces including public & private sector and overseas banking. His core strength and excellence are in sales, operations, and risk management.

He has headed a bank in West Africa and a Microfinance institution in India thus earning exposure to board functioning and regulatory compliances. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) besides holding a Post Graduate degree from Madras University and a bachelor’s degree from Karnataka University.

Shubham Kothari is an Investment Manager at Incofin Investment Management, where he manages equity investments across the Financial Services and Agri-Food sectors in India. With a decade of professional experience, including over five years at Incofin, he has extensive exposure across the full investment cycle – from deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management and value creation. His contributions span governance, financial reporting, social impact, and strategic initiatives.

Before joining Incofin, Shubham worked with TVS Capital Funds on private equity investments and with the Boston Consulting Group on strategy projects.

He is a Chartered Accountant with All India Ranks in both CA Intermediate and Final examinations.