Speakers at Engaging India @ Almedalen
H.E. Tanmaya Lal
Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia
H.E. Tanmaya Lal is the Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia. He has served as an Indian diplomat for more than three decades. His previous two assignments were as High Commissioner to Mauritius and as Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN at Permanent Mission of India, New York. His portfolio has included the Climate Change negotiations at the UNFCCC and Agenda 2030, among others.
Daniel Westlén
State Secretary to the Minister of Climate & Environment at the Ministry of Climate & Enterprise
Daniel Westlén is the State Secretary of the Ministry for Climate and the Environment at the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. Prior to this, he was the Secretariat of the Liberal Party. He has also served as the Council Member of the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers for 12 years.
Klas Molin
Former Ambassador of Sweden to India
H.E. Klas Molin is the former Ambassador of Sweden to India in New Delhi. He has held multiple prolific positions in the past including Ambassador and Chief of Protocol, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm, Ambassador of Sweden to the Kingdom of Thailand based in Bangkok, and Deputy Director-General, Head of Department for Asia and the Pacific.
H.E. Jan Thesleff
Ambassador of Sweden to India
H.E. Jan Thesleff is the Ambassador of Sweden to India. Since 2006, he has served as the Ambassador of Sweden in countries including the KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, UAE, and Egypt. H.E. Jan Thesleff has also held the position of Commissioner General at Expo2020 in Dubai.
Nandan Nilekani
Co-founder and Chairman,
Infosys
Nandan Nilekani is the Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys. He also served as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India during which he developed the Adhaar and UPI platforms. Currently, he is the chairman of EkStep, a technology-led education non-profit, and as president of NCAER, India's oldest and largest non-profit economic research think tank.
Mayank Singhal
Vice Chairman & MD,
PI Industries
Mayank Singhal is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of PI Industries, an Indian agri-sciences company with businesses in 30 countries. He is recognised as Asia’s Most Promising Business Leader by the Economic Times in 2021-22. He has been nominated by the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology, as a member of the Governing Board of the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and is on the Advisory Board of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability.
Owe Ronström
Professor Emeritus, Uppsala University
Owe Ronström is a Professor Emeritus at Uppsala University and has advised Engaging India at Almedalen since its inception. Prof. Ronstöm has written extensively about sustainability, sustainable futures, sustainable destination development, and multiculture and has over 100 publications to his credit. He has also been awarded the title of Rikspelman by the King of Sweden for his contribution to Swedish music.
Cecilia Oskarsson
Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India
Cecilia Oskarsson is the Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India at Business Sweden. She has worked across the globe in business development, and as product manager. She holds a degree in Business Administration and Economics, and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Tor Broström
Professor,
Uppsala University
Tor Broström is a Professor at Uppsala University and an active researcher in sustainable energy measures in buildings. He has written extensively on climate and energy efficiency in historic buildings. He is the Scientific Coordinator of the Swedish National R&D Program on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings.
Raine Isaksson
Associate Professor & Docent,
Uppsala University
Raine Isaksson is Docent and Associate Professor at Uppsala University and Luleå University, with a focus on quality management for sustainable development and sustainable building materials. His research areas include sustainable cement and concrete in Sweden and the use of alternative binders as sustainable building blocks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Sujith Nair
Co-Founder and CEO, FIDE
Sujith Nair is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy (FIDE), a not-for-profit organisation working on the development of open network protocols. He is also the genesis co-author of Beckn Protocol, an open-source initiative that enables the creation of decentralised digital economy ecosystems.
Sanjit Bunker Roy
Founder,
Barefoot College
Sanjit Bunker Roy is a social activist, educator and founder of Barefoot College working towards the upliftment of people in rural areas, and making them self-sufficient in housing, electricity, water, education, etc. Bunker Roy was also included in Time 100's 100 most influential personalities in 2009 for his work in educating rural India. He was also a member of the planning commission of the union government.
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Per-Arne Wikström
Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden
Dr. Per-Arne Wikström is the Head of Office of Science & Innovation, Embassy of Sweden, New Delhi. Prior to this, he was the director of communications at The Swedish Institute, and head of external relations at Stockholm Universirty. He holds a PhD in Business Studies with specialisations in sustainability, communication, and digitalisation.
Anirban Ghosh
Head - Centre for Sustainability,
Mahindra University
Anirban Ghosh is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the Mahindra Group. With over 3 decades of experience working in sales, marketing, strategy, sustainability and corporate social responsibility in India and USA. He also serves as committee members of several industry associations in India and USA, and has been a guest lecturer at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management, Indore.
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Pramod Varma
Chief Architect of Aadhaar & CTO, EkStep
Pramod Varma is the former Chief Architect of Aadhaar, and various India Stack layers including UPI. He is also the co-founder of FIDE, CTO of Ek-Step, and co-chair of the Center for Digital Public Infrastructure. He is also on the advisory board of various organisaitons including UIDAI, NCPI and SEBI.
Viral Thakker
Partner & Sustainability Leader
Deloitte India
Viral Thakker is the Partner & Leader, Sustainability & Climate at Deloitte South Asia. With over 26 years of consulting experience, Viral supports clients across industries in the public and private sectors to design and drive their ESG strategy and transformation, helping them deliver social impact, transition to net-zero, build responsible value chains, introduce transparent disclosures and reporting, and bring about climate resilience.
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Per Andersson
Head of Secretariat, LeadIT
Per Andersson is the Head of the Secretariat for the Leadership Group of Industry Transition (LeadIT). Prior to this, he served as the deputy director for EU Climate affairs at the Swedish Prime Minister’s office. Over the past 20 years, he has worked on various issues in sustainability, climate and environmental affairs at the United Nations and European Union.
Anders Fundin
Director of Research, Swedish Institute for Quality
Anders Fundin is Director of Research at SIQ - the Swedish Institute for Quality, and full Professor of Quality Technology and Management at Mälardalen University. He has over 20 years of experience in research and development in the automative industry.
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Jacob Hallencreutz
CEO,
EPSI Rating Group
Jacob Hallencreutz is the group CEO at EPSI Rating Group, a neutral performance assessments organisation. He is also Docent at Uppsala University. His research interests include quality management, change management, market research, strategy and operations.
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Per Olof Arnäs
Logistics Director, Einride
Per Olof Arnäs is Director of Logistics Strategy at Einride, a provider of digital, electric and autonomous shipping technology. He is also Associate Partner at Steerlink Partners, and has worked on building sustainability tracking systems for the freight industry. Per Olof has also held various roles at Chalmer’s Technology University.
Alexander Klausener
Chief Scientific Officer,
PI Industries
Alexander Klausener is Chief Scientific Officer at PI Industries. He has extensive experience in various R&D areas (Basic Research, Fine Chemicals, Process R&D, Agrochemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry), Industrial Operations, Knowledge Management, Administration and Business Management. Previously he was Global Head of Bayer CropScience Research and member of the Executive Committee. For 15 years he was lecturing as honorary professor at two universities, and is (co)author of over 250 patents and scientific publications.
Shilpa Sachdeva Bhullar
Head, Legal, Risk & Compliance,
PI Industries
Shilpa Sachdeva Bhullar is the Head of Legal, Risk & Compliance at PI Industries. With two decades of experience as a Corporate Generalist Counsel, her interest lies in environment protection and legal sustainability initiatives.
Felipe Sánchez
Country Partnerships Lead, LeadIT &
Policy Fellow,
SEI
Felipe Sánchez is part of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) Secretariat and a Policy Fellow at SEI Headquarters – Climate Energy and Society Unit where his focus lies on the decarbonization of heavy industry. Prior to this, he served as a Senior Policy Adviser in the Strategy Unit of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Meher Pudumjee
Chairperson,
Thermax Ltd.
Meher Pudumjee is the Chairperson of Thermax Ltd., an engineering company that focuses on providing sustainable energy and environmental solutions across its 29 international offices. She is a recipient of the Young Global Leader award, 2006 by the World Economic Forum & CEO of the Year, 2009 by Business Standard. She is on the Board of ‘Teach For India’, and Chairs the Board of Akanksha Foundation and also on the Board of Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation that works to support India's developmental and energy security objectives.
Amarendu Prakash
Chairman,
Steel Authority of India
Amarendu Prakash is the Chairman of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL). Before this role, he served as the Director in charge of the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) at SAIL. After joining SAIL in 1991 as a Management Trainee (Technical) and with over 30 years of experience in the company, Amarendu has worked in various roles and teams.
T.S. Balganesh
President GangaGen Biotechnologies,
Independent Director,
PI Industries
T.S. Balganesh is President and Director on the Board of GangaGen Biotechnologies. He also serves as Director on the board of Open Source Pharma India and IKP. He is also the Independent Director at PI Industries. Previously, he served as Managing Director and Member of the Board of AstraZeneca India. Dr. Balganesh has over three decades of experience working in anti-bacterial drug discovery. He has also been awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Uppsala University.
Per Östborn
Project Leader,
Gröna Mobilister
Per Östborn is the Project Leader at Gröna Mobilister, an organisation that nudges sustainable behaviour among motorists. He is also a physicist and presents an epistemic approach to physics.
Oscar Hållén
CEO,
Cemvision
Oscar Hållén is the CEO of Cemvision, that offers an ultra-low carbon alternative to traditional cement. He has served as a Board Member for Boardie AB and Nära AB. Oscar specializes in growth strategies across various industries, including fintech, public affairs, and legal and regulatory sectors, with experience at companies such as Klarna, White & Case LLP, and Microsoft.
Håkan Sundelin
Regional Director (Nordics),
Electreon
Håkan Sundelin is the Regional Director of the Nordic countries in Electreon and leads the Smartroad Gotland project, the world's first electric road project to power buses and heavy trucks on the road.
Henrik Chetan Aspengren
Researcher & Project Leader,
Utrikespolitiska Institutet
Henrik Chetan Aspengren is a Senior Analyst and Project Leader for the Asia Programme at The Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). He was previously an associated researcher at SASNET, Lund University.
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Henrik Johansson
CEO,
Spowdi
Henrik Johansson is CEO of Spowdi, a greentech innovation company with a patented solar-powered, zero emission precision irrigation solution for small-hold farmers.
Dr. Swaminathan Ramanathan
Lecturer and Researcher,
Uppsala University & Director,
Deloitte
Swaminathan Ramanathan specialises in knowledge creation at the intersections of academia, industry, research and policy. He co-leads Engaging India at Almedalen and teaches Sustainability for Business Organisations at Uppsala University. He is also Director with Deloitte, focusing on Enterprise, Technology & ESG Performance.
Björn Samuelsson
Lecturer,
Uppsala University
Björn Samuelsson is lecturer at Uppsala University, and at Luleå University of Technology. His research at Uppsala University, with Linde as partner, focusses on securing sustainable solutions for hydrogen in ferry transportation.
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Claes Kollberg
Co-Founder and CEO, Cemvision
Claes Kollberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cemvision, a sustainable chemical manufacturing company. He has over 20 years of experience working in various managerial roles in cement-centric building companies, where he has focused on making sustainable decisions. He is also a Breakthrough Energy fellow.
Rupali Mehra
Founder, Content People & CMO, Spowdi
Rupali Mehra is Founder of Content People AB, a strategic communications company. She is also the Chief Marketing Officer and Asia Head of Spowdi, a Swedish green-tech company. She has 25 years of experience in communications in India and Sweden. Rupali co-leads Engaging India at Almedalen.
Gunilla Rosenqvist
Project Leader,
Blue Centre Gotland
Gunilla Rosenqvist is the Project Leader at Blått Centrum Gotland, an institution working towards measures for a better marine environment. Prior to this, she was a professor of Ethology at Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
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Jakob Kiefer
Executive Board Member, Spowdi & Former Sweden Ambassador for Sustainable Business
Jakob Kiefer is an Executive Board Member of Spowdi. Previously he was the Global Head of Government Relations & Public Affairs at ABB, and served as a career diplomat, including as EU Foreign Affairs Council Sherpa, Deputy Chief of Mission in China, Ambassador to Chile and Peru and as Sweden’s Ambassador for Sustainable Business. Jakob was also Senior Advisor to the CEO Climate Leaders Alliance of the World Economic Forum.
Max Rosvall
PhD Candidate, Uppsala University
Max Rosvall has a M.Sc. in Socio-technical systems engineering and is currently a PhD Candidate at Uppsala University researching sustainable housing through applied systems thinking.
Roland Engkvist
EU Coordinator & International Officer, Region Gotland
Roland Engkvist is the EU Coordinator and International Officer at Region Gotland. He has previously been the Regional Planner and Project Manager at Region Stockholm, Project Manager in Mälardalsrådet, and so on. He has over 20 years of experience in managing projects within the field of strategic urban and regional development.
Mia Ljungblom
Programme Manager, Uppsala University
Mia Ljungblom is a Programme Manager for the programme Leadership & Quality Management Improvement. She is interested in leadership, group dynamics, culture and ethics.
Carl-Johan Linér
CEO,
SaltX
Carl-Johan Linér is the CEO of Salt X Technology, a Swedish company that focuses on decarbonizing the heavy-emission industry with their innovative technology. Carl-Johan was the founder of CJ Liner AB. Prior to this, he was the Senior Vice President of ABB and was responsible for the ABB Division Power Products in Ludvika.