Professor Terry F. Buss, is the Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Adelaide, Australia.  Dr. Buss earned his doctorate in political science and mathematics at Ohio State University, USA. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Buss has built his career in both academe and government. In his immediate past position, he directed the program in International, Security and Defense Studies at the National Academy of Public Administration for five years. Dr. Buss served as dean of the School of Policy and Management at Florida International University (FIU), Miami. He worked as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC. Dr. Buss chaired the Department of Public Management in the Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University, Boston.

While on leave from Suffolk, Dr. Buss spent one year at the World Bank as a senior strategy advisor to the vice president for training and technical assistance and as the secretariat for the development of the World Bank’s Global Distance Learning Network (GDLN). He was director of the Ph.D. program at and chair of the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies at the University of Akron, Ohio and also Director of Research at the St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center/Northeast Ohio College of Medicine. During this period, Dr. Buss, while on leave from Akron, directed the U.S. Information Agency technical assistance program in Hungary for three years immediately following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe; he replicated this program in Russia. In addition, he worked on leave with the Council of Governors Policy Advisors, an affiliate of the National Governors Association as a senior advisor. He did so as an unprecedented two-time Fulbright Scholar winner in Hungary, working with the Minister of the Interior. He also received two fellowships with the Congressional Research Service, where he authored policy studies mandated by Congress. Buss has published 12 books and nearly 300 professional articles on a variety of policy issues. Dr. Buss has won numerous awards for research and public service. Over the years, he has worked overseas on major projects in England, Wales, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Ghana, Haiti, Canada, Colombia, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Australia. He also directed projects in Iraq, South Africa and Botswana from the United States.

Dr. Mathew J Manimala is a Professor of Organization Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), India.  Prior to joining IIMB, he has served as Senior Member of Faculty and Chairman, Human Resources Area, at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad, India. At IIMB he has worked closely with the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) primarily to build the research competencies of the Centre during its early years, when he served as the Jamuna Raghavan Chair Professor of Entrepreneurship for two terms and as the Chairperson of NSRCEL for one term. Currently he is also a Senior Enterprise Fellow of the School of Entrepreneurship and Business (SEB), University of Essex, UK.

Professor Manimala obtained MBA degree from the University of Cochin, India, MBSc degree from the University of Manchester, USA and the Fellow in Management (doctoral) degree from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), India.  He has received several academic honours including a Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Research in the Field of New Enterprise Development from the Academy of Management.  He has been awarded research fellowships by prestigious international agencies such as the European Foundation for Management Development (for a research fellowship at Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK: 1990-91) and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (for a research fellowship at the University of Calgary, Canada: 1998-99). In July 2011 he was honoured by CMO-Asia with the “Best Professor of Human Resource Management” Award at the 2nd Asia’s Best B-School Award function held at Singapore.

The teaching, training and consultancy interests of Professor Manimala cover a wide range of topics in Organization Behaviour and Entrepreneurship.

Professor Manimala has done extensive research in the area of Entrepreneurship. His work on Entrepreneurial Heuristics is acclaimed by the community of researchers (including the Academy of Management) as a pioneering work in the field, wherein he has also perfected and used a novel methodology called ‘Case-survey method’.  He has published more than 50 research papers and articles in refereed international journals and presented papers mostly in international conferences. Among the research projects initiated/carried out by him recently is the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project, a multi-country research project involving more than 30 countries, of which he was the leader of the India team for two years.   He has published four books: Entrepreneurial Policies and Strategies: the Innovator’s Choice(Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1999); Entrepreneurship Theory at the Cross Roads: Paradigms and Praxis, First Edition (Wheeler Publishing, New Delhi, 1999) and enhancedSecond Edition(Wiley-Dreamtech, New Delhi, 2005 and 2009);  Enterprise Support Systems: An International Perspective edited by him along with Jay Mitra and Varsha Singh (Response Books/Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2009); and Organizational Behaviour: A Psychological Perspective for the Asia-Pacific, (co-author with four others), (McGraw-Hill Asia-Pacific, Sydney, Australia, 2009).   He is a member of the Editorial Board of several journals including Creativity and Innovation Management, published by Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, UK, and is the Editor of South Asian Journal of Management, published by the Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA).

Professor M. Suresh Rao is Professor for Entrepreneurship and Chairperson, Center for Entrepreneurship at S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), India, one of 5 founding members of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN). Professor Rao has designed the pioneering Start Your Business Program for budding entrepreneurs and is the Coordinator of the program. He designs and co-ordinates courses on Entrepreneurship for the various programs of the institute & is a resource person for evaluating business plans and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Professor Rao has three decades of professional management experience in family-managed, Indian and joint venture corporate, like Godrej and Boyce, Maxworth Orchards and Easycall Paging (India). His areas of expertise include revamping business strategies, professional management practices, developing new products and services and restructuring. He is the facilitator to Bhavans Research Center for Microbiology, in its goal to be a self-sustaining center for industry collaboration and academic up gradation. The Center and NEN jointly conduct the unique annual Mock IPO contest with entrepreneurial teams pitching to mock investors.

Professor Rao, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, India, has wide industry exposure to marketing turnarounds and growing new ventures in mainstream and new economy sectors. Prior to joining SPJIMR as Professor for Marketing in year 2000, he was CEO of a multinational telecom services company. In 1998 he was invited by IBC Singapore to give a presentation on ‘Creating a Market for Call Centers in Emerging Market’. Professor Rao has participated in the SEE Seminar for Global Entrepreneurship Faculty conducted by Babson College, Mass., USA. He has also attended the EECPCL program at Harvard Business School for global entrepreneurship faculty.

Professor (Dr.) Naseem Abidi, is the Professor of Jaypee Business School (JBS), India, a constituent of Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT), Noida, India, a Deemed University. He is a holder of M. Tech. & completed his Ph.D. in Future Studies & Planning. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in diversified fields.

Dr. Abidi started his career as software professional with National Informatics Centre (NIC), Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. After four years of working with NIC, he joined academics. He has an excellent academic record and has taught in leading Business Schools in India, UK and UAE. He has published research papers and cases in reputed journals. His areas of interest are economic efficiency, research methods, management science and humanitarian supply chain management.

Mr. Sanjay Sethi is the Founder & CEO of Matrix Publishers (India) and Founder & Chief Editor of www.youngindianmanager.com. He is a globally experienced professional in Book Publishing, Media, Broadcasting & Education. Prior to promoting his own imprint - Matrix Publishers (India) and an online media venture www.youngindianmanager.com in 2010, he gained rich corporate experience for over two & a half decades in global book publishing, media, broadcasting and educational markets. His training ground included leading international brands & market leaders - Wolters Kluwer, Macmillan, Sony, McGraw-Hill, Addison-Wesley/Pearson & the Times of India Group, where he held key management positions across product, marketing, sales, distribution, strategic and corporate functions.

As a Managing Director of Wolters Kluwer CCH India he designed & implemented a successful market re-entry strategy which resulted in steep organic growth. He received industry-wide acknowledgment for establishing a strong team & brand presence for a start-up in a highly cluttered & fragmented market. During his tenure the company built a strong & diverse product portfolio and Sanjay was also a key member of the CCH Asia Management Team.

As Chief Publisher & Head: Strategic Business Development of Macmillan India Ltd., he implemented restructuring of key publishing verticals, introduced a culture of efficiency & excellence which contributed to the company’s recognition as a “Business Superbrand”. He also launched new & profitable businesses including the prestigious International Assessments of Indian Schools JV with University of New South Wales, Australia.

Mr. Sethi was the Vice President (Ad-Sales) of Sony Entertainment Television though he was primarily responsible for generating sales revenues; he also played an instrumental role in effectively maintaining relationships across key stakeholders. He was selected as the first GM of the channel’s expansion in the UK by the Executive Board and was a key member of the SET MAX and AXN launch teams.

As the Chief Manager of the Times Television & Times FM Radio SBUs (The Times of India Group) he designed & implemented key elements for the launch, programming, branding, marketing & sales strategies of the two sunrise SBUs. The early part of his career was focused on gaining valuable experience at Tata Mcgraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. (Product Manager) and Addison Wesley Publishing Company Ltd., USA, where he was the Country Manager for the Indian subcontinent. His strong management skills & deep understanding of India’s educational market encouraged UNSW Global, University of New South Wales, Australia to appoint him as an Independent Director on their Indian Board in 2007.

A published author & an active speaker at key industry events; especially ones pertaining to anti-piracy & IPR protection initiatives, forums & publications (including those of WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization) he is a regular guest lecturer at various educational institutes, including some leading business schools.

As a face-of-the business personality, he maintains a large & effective network of very strong relationships across media, government, corporate, HNWI/celebrities, academia, professional, business & industry associations; commands high recognition & credibility across a variety of business verticals and is often instrumental in pro-actively linking others on professional & personal platforms.

Mr. Sethi’s key career achievements include; industry-wide acknowledgement for achieving rapid turnarounds across product, marketing, positioning, sales, strategic & P&L functions; a proven track record in carrying effective market research & analysis, leading to formulation & implementation of growth strategies that deliver higher market shares; planning & executing successful launches for new products, SBUs or companies in traditional, sunrise & technology driven content businesses; driving innovation & managing change on a pro-active or situational basis in highly competitive businesses, environments & markets and maintaining a close & regular - customer & stakeholder interface for regular feedback.

His key strengths include, strong understanding of Indian & global business practices, Strategic planning, macro & micro level implementation, strong communication skills, relationship, establishment & media management. A team builder, motivator & trainer with strong presentation, interpersonal & negotiation skills, he is widely acknowledged for maintaining high standards of professionalism, transparency and integrity. He is a graduate in Publishing Management from the University of Delhi, India. He received the coveted National Scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Government of India for outstanding academic performance. He is a postgraduate in Management and he also holds the unique distinction of receiving the Chancellor’s Silver Medal and the Hindustan Times Silver Medal