Advisory Council

Dr. Ajay Data is a young, techno-commercial Founder and CEO of multiple technology companies. His hard work, visionary approach, belief in teamwork, and ingenious thinking have made Data Infosys Limited a highly respected IT company.

As CEO and leader of the company's leadership team, he has been driving initiatives to build a skilled and culturally diverse global workforce. His innovation and execution of software products like BharatSync, XgenPlus, Spamjaoo, and DATAMAIL have garnered users worldwide and won multiple patents.

Starting modestly on April 18th, 1999, as Rajasthan’s first private ISP, the company rapidly expanded its line of businesses into e-Governance, Software Products, Turnkey IT Solutions, and Mobile Technologies. Recently, Data Xgen Technologies received global recognition for introducing a first-of-its-kind IDN email supporting email addresses in 11 local Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi. Dr. Data is the Managing Director of Data Group of Industries with an annual business turnover of approximately US $200 million and is a sought-after leader by young entrepreneurs for mentoring and guidance.

Recently, the Government of Rajasthan also started email services for every citizen using the innovation and technology built under his leadership and guidance. In his wide-ranging experience in these organizations, he has led the transformation of HR into a strategic partner, facilitated organization-wide transformation and capability development, and has been instrumental in building a strong talent pool through a series of leadership development initiatives.

Maheshwer Peri is a passionate entrepreneur and has many qualifications such as a CA, CMA, and ACS. He began his career as an investment banker with SBI Capital Markets and later spent 17 years with the Outlook group, heading it for more than 10 years.

Mahesh believes that India's demographic dividend can turn into a nightmare if the youth are not shown the right direction to maximize their capabilities.

CAREERS360 is the result of his deep understanding of student issues and the information gaps that need to be filled to help students make informed career decisions.

Dr. Ritesh Malik is a medical graduate who deviated from conventional medicine to pursue his passion for entrepreneurship. In 2016, he founded a coworking platform called Innov8. What began as a venture driven by Ritesh’s passion to promote entrepreneurship in the country has now become one of the leading names in India's coworking ecosystem.

Innov8, a Y-Combinator backed coworking space, serves as a platform to connect communities of freelancers, entrepreneurs, corporates, tech innovators, and investors under one roof in a social environment. In 2019, Innov8 Coworking was acquired by the Softbank-backed OYO Group. Innov8 now has a presence in over 14 cities in India, with over 30 campuses.

Dr. Malik has emerged as one of the most active angel investors in the country, having invested in over 50 companies in the last six years. His investment portfolio includes WittyFeed, Sarva Yoga, Sheroes, Sattviko, Josh Talks, PeeSafe, SectorQube, Inc42, QDesk, Leverage Edu, CivilCops, Pesto, OrangeWood (YC), Inito (YC), StylDotMe, TapChief, Asimov Robotics, and Ketto.

Dr. Malik’s leadership and contributions to the Indian startup ecosystem are widely recognized by the startup industry and media fraternity. He has received numerous accolades, including Forbes 30 under 30 Asia (2016), Fortune 40 under 40 India (2018), PWC & SPH 40 Influential Indians, Business World 40 Under 40 (2017), Entrepreneur Magazine 35 Under 35 India (2017), Star of Delhi award by Hurun Report, CEO of the year (Real Estate Tech) by Economic Times, and the title of ‘The Coworking Wonder’ by Entrepreneur Magazine, among others.

Rohan is a passionate entrepreneur on a mission to improve our world through maps and location technologies. He has significant experience as an industry leader in digital mapping, geospatial technologies, and automotive mobility technologies. While still an undergraduate at Stanford University in 2004, the then 19-year-old Rohan created India’s first interactive internet mapping portal, MapmyIndia.com. He joined the MapmyIndia board as a full-time Director on July 26, 2007, marking the beginning of a period of high growth for the company and sustained value creation for stakeholders. However, his greatest achievement came in December 2021 when MapmyIndia was recognized as a ‘Unicorn’ following the company’s blockbuster IPO that was oversubscribed by more than 154 times, with the stock listing with an opening day premium of 65% despite uncertain market conditions.

Rohan has experience in the geospatial industry at various stages of its evolution, focusing on bringing significant benefits of maps and location technologies to individuals, businesses, and governments. He has previously worked with leading technology and consulting giants like Microsoft Corporation in Washington, USA, and with McKinsey & Co. and Intel Corporation in California, USA. This experience has been invaluable in his current roles as CEO and Executive Director at MapmyIndia, where he drives corporate strategy, growth, sales, marketing, product, and technology innovation. Rohan has global ambitions for MapmyIndia, and work has already begun to take the company’s products and solutions global under the brand ‘Mappls’. A technocrat at heart, Rohan believes that there is limitless potential to improve the lives of millions of people.

A meritorious student, Rohan received the prestigious President’s Award for Academic Excellence at Stanford University, USA, where he pursued Electrical Engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration with Distinction from the London Business School (2015), where he earned the Dean’s List Award.

As a tech evangelist with rich entrepreneurial experience, Rohan is sought after by leading industry bodies and companies. He is a member of the CII National Committee on Space and represents MapmyIndia as a Core Member in the Indian Space Association. He sits on the Board of the publicly listed Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, the financial services arm of the Murugappa Group, with a loan book of INR 50,000+ crores, where he advises the company on leveraging technology and phygital innovations for future growth and success.

Snehil Khanor is a serial tech entrepreneur who has founded startups since his school days and is currently the Founder & CEO of TrulyMadly.

Snehil is a firm believer in creating sustainable business practices, which he likes to call ‘Frugile Methodology’ (Frugal+Agile) for startups. Under his excellent leadership, TrulyMadly has become one of India’s largest matchmaking apps.

TrulyMadly has nearly ten million downloads and has redefined the way Indian millennials find their partners.

From being known as the father of the Indian gaming industry, Vishal Gondal is now a pioneer in the health metaverse space. His passion for technology, fitness, and gaming led him to start GOQii, which focuses on preventive healthcare. GOQii helps people make positive changes towards a healthier lifestyle and be a force for good. Now, GOQii will be a combination of preventive healthcare, gaming, and the metaverse in 3D. Vishal believes that the metaverse will combine these two worlds, making living healthy in the real world more fun and rewarding. He sold his first entrepreneurial venture, India Games, to Walt Disney.

He was listed among the top 50 executives in the mobile content space by the UK-based 'Mobile Entertainment' Magazine, alongside noted people like Steve Jobs. A notable angel investor, he has brought his knowledge and love for interviewing people to a whole new platform by hosting a podcast series, ‘Beneath the Force: The Vishal Gondal Show'. On the show, he converses with personalities from various walks of life, providing a sneak peek into their fascinating lives. Vishal is also a fitness enthusiast who runs marathons, goes on treks, and enjoys skydiving.