The Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) is Wharton's student-run, India-centric business conference bringing together leaders, professionals, academics and students from around the world to discuss India's evolution into a prominent global economic power
The purpose of the twenty-third conference is to promote constructive dialogue on circumstances shaping the current business landscape in India and discuss how diverse sectors of the industry can be harnessed jointly to create a positive change. WIEF aims to provide a platform for collaboration between academics and students from diverse backgrounds (including Wharton MBAs, Penn Law, Penn Design and Penn Engineering) with professionals from Finance, Consulting, Policy, Economics, Entrepreneurship and Media & Entertainment industries.
WIEF is attended by over 300 people annually, and features renowned speakers who are at the forefront of India’s economic and business growth and development. The forum receives extensive media coverage in India and in the wider business community. Recent forums have been covered by networks such as CNBC, NDTV and Bloomberg, broadcast over TV and the Internet, and covered by over 30 journalists and all major publications.
Breakfast & Registration
8:15 AM - 8:45 AM
Opening remarks
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
Speech by Dr. Amy Gadsden, Executive Director, Penn Global
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Opening Keynote : Dr. Marshall. M. Bouton (Director, Center for Advanced Study of India)
9:15 AM - 9:35 AM
Panel: Economics & Policy: Moderator: Rick Rossow (Wadhwani Chair, CSIS) Speakers: Vijay Iyer (VP & COO, MIGA), Nisha Biswal (President, US India Business Council), Josh Felman (Former Head IMF, India)
9:35 AM - 10:25 AM
Coffee break
10:25 AM - 10:45 AM
Panel: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency: Moderator: Vivek Chauhan (Wharton) Speakers: Kavita Gupta (Founding Managing Partner at Consensys), Jules Miller (Partner, IBM Blockchain Accelerator), Kevin Werbach (Blockchain Faculty Lead , Wharton Business School)
10:45 AM - 11:35 AM
Panel: Tech & Analytics : Moderator: Saikat Chaudhuri (Executive Director - Mack Institute) ; Speakers : Shekar Ayyar (Senior VP Corp Dev & Strategy, VMware), Anjan Lahiri (CEO, Birlasoft), Shaunak Roy ( Founder, Yellowdig)
11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Lunch
12:25 PM - 1:10 PM
Panel: Startups & Innovation : Moderator: Mukul Pandya (Editor-in-chief, Knowledge@Wharton) ; Speakers: Prasanna Krishnan (Founder, Smartypal), Gautam Tambay (Co-Founder and CEO Springboard), Sashi Reddy (Managing Partner, SRI Capital)
1:10 PM - 2:00 PM
Panel: Finance: Moderator: Dr Vinay Nair (Founder & Chairman ,55ip) ; Speakers: Bharat Poddar (Senior Partner, BCG), Tania Ahuja (M.D, US Operations, Arkera), Venkat Badinehal (M.D, RBC Capital Markets)
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Coffee break
2:50 PM - 3:10 PM
Closing Keynote: Teresa C. Barger (Co-Founder and CEO, Cartica)
3:10 PM - 3:30 PM
Closing remarks : WIEF Team
3:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Breakfast & Registration
08:00 AM - 08:45 AM
Opening remarks
08:45 AM - 09:00 AM
Opening Keynote
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
Panel: Energy Outlook in India
Moderator: Saikat Chaudhuri (Executive Director, Mack Institute for Innovation) Speakers: Pankaj Munjal (MD, Hero Cycles), Kuldeep Jain (MD, CleanMax Solar), Zia Nariman (Investment Officer, IFC, World Bank)
09:20 AM - 10:10 AM
Coffee Break
10:10 AM - 10:30 AM
Panel: India's Evolving Healthcare Landscape
Speakers: Dr. Srinath Reddy (President, Public Health Foundation of India), Annaswamy Vaidheesh (MD, GlaxoSmithKline India), Meena Ganesh (MD & CEO, Portea Medical)
10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fireside Chat
Moderator: Arnab Goswami (MD, Republic TV) Speaker: Vikram Limaye (MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange)
11:20 AM - 11:50 AM
Panel: Investing in India
Moderator: Vinay Nair (Chairman, 55ip; Professor at Wharton) Speakers: Vishal Mahadevia (MD, Head of India, Warburg Pincus)
11:50 AM - 12:40 PM
Lunch Break
12:40 PM - 01:30 PM
Panel: Impact Investing
Speakers: Deval Sanghavi (Founder, Dasra), Soumitra Pandey (Head, The Bridgespan Group)
01:30 PM - 02:20 PM
Fireside Chat
Moderator: Harbir Singh (Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation) Speaker: Naveen Jindal (Chairman, Jindal Steel & Power)
02:20 PM - 02:50 PM
Panel: Future of Mobility
Speakers: Ann Lavin (Senior Director, Public Policy, Asia Pacific, UBER), Abhay Damle (Joint Secretary, MoRTH, GoI)
02:50 PM - 03:40 PM
Coffee Break
03:40 PM - 04:00 PM
Panel: Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Bollywood
Speakers: Tarun Mansukhani (Director), Rhea Kapoor (Film Producer, Founder of Rheson)
04:00 PM - 04:50 PM
WISC Award Ceremony
04:50 PM - 05:10 PM
Closing Keynote
05:10 PM - 05:30 PM
Closing Remarks
05:30 PM - 05:45 PM
Two events across two very cool cities or something else blah blah blah
