Vivan steers our advocacy initiatives. He is Secretary of the Esya Centre, a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, and serves on the boards of several innovation-centric organisations. He is also the author of "Wonked!: India in Search of an Economic Ideology", published by Bloomsbury in 2019; and co-author of "The Dazzle of the Digital: Unbundling India Online", published by Routledge in 2022.
Raghav steers our investment mandates. Previously, he served as Director at a merchant bank, handling corporate finance mandates and as a strategic advisor to a large infrastructure firm. Raghav started his career in the financial services industry in Switzerland, and has experience of structuring cross-border investments.
Dr. Gautam steers our economic research. He has extensive research and teaching experience at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institute of Management, Institute of Capital Markets, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.
Aditi leads our legal team. She has degrees in engineering and law. Prior to joining Koan, she worked on tech-policy and governance issues at Software Freedom Law Centre, Centre for Internet and Society, and the United Nations Development Programme.
Bharathi has over 15 years of sales and marketing experience. While with the Times Group, she was responsible for identifying, building & managing partnerships with government & public sector entities. Previously, she also worked with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on issues related to international trade & commerce.
Aniruddha leads Programmes, Sustainability and Knowledge management at Koan. He is an expert in social sector risk management, and sustainable development. Previously, he served as Deputy Programme Director (Financial Sector Development) and Senior Advisor, special initiative (One World no Hunger) at GIZ.
Dr AK Garg leads Koan’s technology and trade vertical. He is a seasoned technocrat who was at the forefront of digitalisation programmes in India. Previously, as a Senior Director in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), he led the International Cooperation Division. He remains a key contributor to various Track II and Track 1.5 initiatives.
Aayush is a journalist who has written about India's politics, culture, technology and society for The Guardian, The Indian Express, The South China Morning Post, The Caravan, India Ink-The New York Times etc. He previously served as India correspondent for The Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group that aims to enhance media freedom worldwide.
Varun is a lawyer who focuses on regulations relating to information technology. He analyses the role of regulation in fostering the growth of converging digital infrastructure and service industries.
Priyesh monitors legislative reform and parliamentary activities. He previously served as Legislative Assistant to an Indian Member of Parliament, and drafted India's first comprehensive legislation on Genocide.
Ateesh is a lawyer who has a keen interest in assessing the regulatory challenges posed by emerging technologies. He previously worked with startups on PE/VC transactions. He currently analyses issues relating to digital payments, crypto currencies and internet governance.
Dhruv is a lawyer interested in areas such as platform regulation, algorithmic accountability and regulation of emerging technologies. Prior to joining Koan, he has worked at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Common Cause, and as a consultant to independent directors of a leading NBFC.
Shweta is a legal analyst, interested in the impact of emerging technologies on human rights and public policy. She has experience working with legal policy
think-tanks and academic institutions.
Niharika is an economist with keen interest in International and Environmental Economics. Previously she worked on projects focused on Macroeconomics and ESG. She has a Masters in Economics from the University of Warwick.
Tamanna is a Physics graduate from Miranda House, University of Delhi, and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). Her interests centre on emerging technologies such as Machine Learning, AI, Virtual Digital Assets, as well as new forms of digital media. She is also deeply passionate about entrepreneurship and sustainability.
Achyutam is a lawyer with a keen interest in privacy and data protection. He has interned at various research centres and law firms.
Adhnan supports our research on energy and sustainability. He previously worked on themes like clean energy and mobility at the Ola Mobility Institute, New Delhi. He has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Social Design.
Lalantika is a lawyer with experience in fintech. She is interested in the regulation of emerging technologies and studies their impact through an intersectional lens.
Mannat is a lawyer, with an undergraduate degree in business. Her areas of interest and work include data privacy, cross-border data flows, and platform governance.
Kunal works on research linked to deep tech. He also has a keen interest in sustainability, and aspires to contribute towards a more equitable world through his work. Kunal has a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Jamia Millia Islamia University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Economics.
Meghna is a lawyer with deep experience in media and emerging technology. Previously, she worked on legal and policy strategy at the Walt Disney Company. Before Disney, she set up and led the India office for Consensys, the world’s largest blockchain technology company. She is also a Fellow at the Esya Centre, New Delhi.
Aarthy is a lawyer who works on policies and regulations related to online sports and games. She previously worked with international not for profit organisations on projects focused on social and economic inclusion of gender minorities through private sector participation.
Dr. Kumar is Assistant Professor at California State University, San Bernardino. His work has appeared in various academic journals and policy forums such as Economic and Political Weekly, Ideas for India and developingeconomics.org.
Vijay is an indispensable part of our team, and renders administrative support to various projects and programmes.
For the last twenty years, Narendra has used a unique combination of communication ability, coding skills and strategic thinking to deliver. In his last role as Chief Digital Officer at Xynteo, Narendra led digital transformation for some of the world’s largest companies. He now runs his own data-driven firm which collaborates closely with Koan.
Mr. Gulati, a mechanical engineer from IIT Delhi, served in the IAS for 34 years and superannuated as Additional Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Gujarat. He has worked in Steel, Coal, Finance and Textiles, Industry, Energy & Petrochemicals, Labour, Geology & Mining, Information Technology, Transport and Finance. While in the Govt. of Gujarat, he played a key role in establishment of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, off-shore wind power and electric vehicles/infrastructure initiatives etc.
Dr. Saran is President at the Observer Research Foundation and a frequent commentator on issues in Cyber Security and Governance. He chairs ‘CyFy’, India’s dedicated conference on cyber security and internet governance and is Commissioner, Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace.
Mr. Tiwari retired as Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat. A consummate social sector expert, he has worked in areas such as women's empowerment, rural and tribal development, education, livelihood, CSR etc. He was also the Managing Director of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizer Company, Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd., and Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. He is presently on several boards and is also a visiting faculty at Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).
Dr. Rai was a member of the IAS for more than 21 years. He also worked as the National Project Director - UNDP/WIPO; Member Secretary, Foreign Investment Promotion Council; National Negotiator at WTO/WIPO; and Secretary General, Quality Council of India. Subsequently, Dr. Rai worked at the WIPO for 16 years.
Mr Karthak is a former Executive Director at the Reserve Bank of India. His expertise and skills lie in Bank Regulation, Investigation of Banking Fraud, Foreign Exchange Management, Information Technology, Currency Management, Resource Management and Leadership. Besides, serving at the RBI, he was also deputed to the Govt of India, New Delhi and Central Bureau of Investigation HQ, New Delhi. Prior to joining RBI, he worked in the Unit Trust of India, Mumbai and Air India.
Mr. Kher superannuated as Commerce Secretary in 2015 after a career of 35 years in the IAS. He then worked as a Member in the Competition Appellate Tribunal for two years. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries.