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 and Dean's speech
08:45 AM - 09:00 AM
Opening Keynote: Deepak Bagla (MD & CEO, Invest India)
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
Fireside Chat
Speaker: Vikram Limaye (MD & CEO, NSE), Niranjan Narayanaswamy (Editor, Republic TV)
9.20 AM - 9.50 AM
Panel: Energy Outlook in India
Moderator: Saikat Chaudhuri (Executive Director, Mack Institute for Innovation) ;Speakers: Kuldeep Jain (MD, CleanMax Solar), Zia Nariman (Investment Officer, IFC, World Bank), Rahool Panandiker (Partner and MD, Boston Consulting Group)
9.50 AM - 10.40 AM
Coffee Break
10.40 AM - 11.00 AM
Panel: Future of Mobility
Moderator: Jayesh Ranjan ( Principal Secretary, Government of Telangana) Speakers: Abhay Damle (Joint Secretary, MoRTH, GoI) , Ann Lavin (Senior Director, Public Policy, Asia Pacific, UBER), Anumita Roychowdhury (Executive Director, Centre for Science and Environment)
11.00 AM - 11.50 AM
Panel: Investing in India
Moderator: Vinay Nair (Chairman, 55ip; Professor at Wharton) ; Speakers: Amit Dixit (Senior MD, Blackstone India), Shweta Jalan (MD, Advent International) Vishal Mahadevia (MD, Warburg Pincus India), Manas Tandon (MD, Head of India, Partners Group)
11.50 AM - 12.40 PM
Lunch Break
12:40 PM - 01:30 PM
Panel: Impact Investing
Moderator: Deval Sanghavi (Founder, Dasra); Speakers: Vikram Gandhi (HBS Professor | Founder, Asha Impact) , Soumitra Pandey (Partner, The Bridgespan Group) ,Vineet Rai (Founder, Aavishkaar Intellecap Group), Chetna Sinha (Founder, Mann Deshi Foundation), Smita Aggarwal (Director - Investments, Omidyar Network)
1.30 PM - 2.20 PM
Fireside Chat
Moderator: Harbir Singh (Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation) Speaker: Naveen Jindal (Chairman, Jindal Steel & Power)
2.20 PM - 2.50 PM
Panel: India's Evolving Healthcare Landscape
Moderator: Gans Ganapati (Director & Co-Founder, HealthCare Global); Speakers: Vishal Bali (Executive Chairman, Asia Healthcare Holdings; Senior Advisor, TPG Growth) , Meena Ganesh (MD & CEO, Portea Medical), Dr. Srinath Reddy (President, Public Health Foundation of India) , Annaswamy Vaidheesh (VP South Asia & MD - India, GlaxoSmithKline)
02:50 PM - 3.40 PM
Coffee Break
3.40 PM - 4.00 PM
Panel: Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Bollywood
Moderator: Rajeev Masand (Film Critic) ; Speakers: Richa Chadha (Bollywood), Tarun Mansukhani (Director, Bollywood), Milan Luthria (Director, Bollywood)
4.00 PM - 4.50 PM
WISC Award Ceremony
4.50 PM - 5.00 PM
Closing Keynote : Pankaj Munjal (MD , Hero Cycles)
5.00 PM - 5.20 PM
Closing Remarks
5.20 PM - 5 30 PM
Two events across two very cool cities or something else blah blah blah
