Member of the DIA Board of Directors and also serves as the Co-chair for the DIA Science Policy Advisory Committee. He is an accomplished global life sciences innovation executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience across three multinational corporations, GE Healthcare, Life Technologies, and Terumo BCT, delivering over $500M in career revenue. Palani has a considerable track record in breadth and depth from a medical product development standpoint, and has worked in the areas of drugs, devices, and diagnostics. Palani has a Ph.D. in the field of biological sciences from Northern Illinois University, followed on by a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester in HIV biology.

C Padmakumar was Co-Founder & Chairman & Managing Director of Terumo Penpol Private Limited. Currently Special Officer, Kerala Medical Technology Consortium; Director, Kerala Lifesciences Industries Parks Private Limited; Director, Padosan Trading Private Limited; and Chief Consultant, C P Consulting.Padmakumar started his career as a Junior Project Executive and worked his way up from the shop floor in India’s first Blood Bag company, Peninsula Polymers Limited (PENPOL). The company is now established as one of the largest manufacturing sites for Blood Bags in the world and is the market leader in India. He was the Chairman of CII Thiruvananthapuram Zone during the period 2011-13. He has also been a member of the CII Kerala State Council.

An influential and data-driven executive professional with a robust background in the Pharmaceutical and Public Health sectors, bringing a unique blend of expertise in leading digital transformation initiatives and leveraging data to guide corporations through complex business changes. Recognized as a thought leader/industry expert in the data, digital health, and AI ecosystem, excelling at understanding industry trends and developing strategic perspectives to guide digital health and AI partnerships and investments. High-level analytical skills and deep expertise in drug development, clinical, safety and regulatory processes, data management, digital innovation, and governance.

Ashok serves as General Manager & Executive Director, DIA India, leading strategy, operations, and partnerships across the country. A pharmaceutical physician with 29 years of experience spanning the Indian Army, academia, and leading global pharmaceutical companies, he brings deep expertise in clinical development, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, and drug safety. Prior to joining DIA, Ashok held senior leadership roles at Novartis, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Themis Medicare, leading complex development programs and cross-functional teams. He holds an MBBS and MD in Pharmacology, with executive education from IIM Calcutta and certification in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, UK.

Dr. Vivek Ahuja is a physician-turned pharmaceutical leader with 25 years of experience across pharmacovigilance, clinical research, public health, and technology. In 2005 he pioneered pharmacovigilance in India by establishing the first global PV unit at Ranbaxy. He is Executive Vice President at EVERSANA leading global pharmacovigilance, with prior leadership roles at Sun Pharma, ArisGlobal, Baxter, and PATH. He holds an MBBS (GMC Chandigarh), MD (AIIMS New Delhi) and MBA (MDI Gurgaon). He co-authored the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (2010) and supported PV systems in Nepal, Bangladesh, and China. An international speaker, he advocates simplifying pharmacovigilance through practical innovation.

Dr Mrutyunjay Suar is the Director General of Industry-Institute-Innovation Interface at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, CEO, KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI) and the Chairman of Bhubaneswar City Knowledge Innovation Cluster Foundation (BCKIC), an initiative of the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Govt of India. An entrepreneurial professor with PhD in Molecular Microbiology from University of Delhi and postdoc from Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich. Under his leadership, KIIT-TBI nurtured 460+ start-ups in last 15 years, created 10000+ jobs and established Centre of Excellence in incubation in the area of Digital Health, Diagnostics & Precision agriculture, supported by DST, Govt of India.