Smart City Leader’s Conclave on Sustainable Expansion of Mumbai: Reshaping Urban Growth for a Resilient Future

Dr. Shirish Sankhe

Director and Founding Partner, ISEG Foundation

In over 26 years at McKinsey, Shirish worked on the transformation and turnaround of several companies and helped them achieve significant and sustained performance improvements. He worked with energy, metals/mining, manufacturing and infrastructure companies in India and across the world. As a Senior Partner, he led McKinsey’s Energy and Materials Practice in Asia as well as the Restructuring/Transformation practice.

In addition to serving companies, Shirish has worked on the topics of net zero transition, economic growth and urbanization in India. He has worked with state and central governments on urbanization policies and the development of new cities. He was closely involved with the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) on economic research for over 20 years.

Shirish has authored several landmark reports on India’s economic growth and urbanization. His latest report is on India’s net zero transition – “Decarbonising India: Charting a pathway for sustainable growth” (October 2022). His latest in the economic growth area was MGI’s 2020 report “India’s Turning Point: An economic agenda to spur growth and jobs” which he lead-authored. The report highlights the actions needed to return the economy to a high-growth path and create gainful jobs for 90 million workers by 2030.
After stepping out from McKinsey in December 2022, Shirish has been driving ISEG Foundation (Institute for Sustainability,

Employment and Growth), a non-profit multi-stakeholder institute focused on job creation and net zero transition in India. ISEG is currently working on 3 major projects: 1) Economic master-planning of Mumbai Metropolitan Region, 2) Economic master-planning of Varanasi-Prayagraj Region, 3) Energy Transition in Maharashtra State.

Shirish holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and is a graduate of the Wharton Executive Management Program of University of Pennsylvania.

Shri. Bhushan Gagrani, IAS

Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

Much-admired administrator, possessor of crystal understanding about city planning and development works. Has the most unique professional approach in planning development projects and reviewing hurdles/cons related to them within the Corporation.
A 1990 batch IAS; who has the peculiar credit of being the first candidate to clear the IAS examinations in Marathi language and ranked 3rd in all over India. Since then, has donned several caps within the public organizations under Government of Maharashtra-working with MTDC and the Medical and Public Health Department.

At CIDCO, he has played title role in successful completion of the Bidding process for NMIA Project and amicably solving various issues related to NMIA PAPs. And now with Ground Breaking Ceremony of this prestigious project at the hands of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi he spearheaded this dream to actual realisation.

During the tenure at MIDC as Chief Executive Officer; contributed towards the successful launch of the “Make in India” (MII) campaign in the state. The state witnessed a free inflow of businesses as MoUs worth multi-crores were signed during this period.
Has an unmatched style of observing matters at different stages that assures up gradation. An excellent motivator for people around, and is gifted with the superlative qualities of efficient team building, influential cross-functional supervising skills and accurate decision making.

Has an active mind-set to watch for the personal abilities in an individual and encourage the same for the betterment of the team. Turning positive skills in favor of the team and promoting innovation along with creativity in work are a few organizational traits resulting in top notch outcomes.
Worked as Additional Chief Secretary to Hon. Chief Minister in Chief Minister Secretariat.
At present working as Municipal Commissioner / Administrator of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

Dr. V S Parthasarathy

Independent Director, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC); Board of Governors of IIM Mumbai; Former President of Mobility Services Sector, Mahindra Group

Dr. V S Parthasarathy has over 37+ years of rich experience wherein he has successfully led businesses, functions, organization transformations and over 125 M&A transactions.

He is on the board of several listed and unlisted companies. He is an Independent Director on Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), NIIT MTS a Edutech Listed company and Pennar Industries. He is on the Boards of companies on path to being unicorn+ IPO like Cloudnine Hospitals, Car Dekho, Greencell Mobility, to mention a few. He is on the board of Governors of IIM Mumbai (earlier NITIE). He also coaches and mentors Startups.

He started his career with Modi Xerox and rose to a position of Associate Director, serving across multiple positions and locations. In Mahindra Group, where he served more than two decades, his last role was as the President of Mobility Services Sector. Prior to that, he was the Group CFO & Group CIO for seven years. Additionally, he has served as a member of the Mahindra Group Executive Board and been on the board of several listed companies.

He carries out several philanthropic activities for women’s empowerment through education, employment and entrepreneurship initiatives of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and is an Independent Director on two of its companies.

He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for his CFO and CIO roles, as also the Business World – Yes Bank Hall of Fame Award; Best CFO of India Award by IMA Corporate Excellence Awards; Digital Icon of India Award by HPE; and CIO 100 – Hall of Fame by CIO after winning the awards for four consecutive years.

He is a Chartered Accountant from ICAI, India and ICAEW, UK and an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s AMP (2011). He recently completed his PhD from Mumbai university.

Mr Sameer Unhale

Joint Commissioner, Department of Municipal Administration, Government of Maharashtra; Urban Practitioner & Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI.

28 years into urban governance , focusing on Urban issues like Infrastructure , Poverty Alleviation, Sanitation and Smart Cities. Have worked in the capacity of State Mission Director , Municipal Commissioner and CEO Smart City to Utilise Digital Innovations and Public Policy for Sustainable Development of inclusive and livable cities . I look forward to Connect Philanthropies /International Development Agencies and CSR to mainstream SDG’s in cities

Mr. Ramana Rachaprolu

Executive Director (Planning), Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL)

Graduate in Civil Engineer and Prost Graduate in Transportation Engineering
33 Years of Professional Experience in Urban Planning, Transport and Regional Planning, Financing, Procurement and Implementation of Infrastructure projects

Director (Planning/Real Estate/NFBR) June 2023 onwards
Heading the Planning department; responsible for New Project (corridor) Formulation and Planning, Town Planning, Land acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Environmental Planning, Multi-modal Integration, Nan-Fare Revenue, Real estate- Development etc.
Executive Director Planning MMRC Jan. 2015 – May 23

Responsible for Implementing Mumbai Metro Line 3; Colaba-Bandra-Airport-SEEPZ; Planning, Financing Implementation including Land acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement, Social Issues, Environmental, and Development control along alignment, intermodal integration etc.

Worked 23 years in MMRDA in Various Capacities Responsible for Financing of Transport Infrastructure in various cities/ULBs in MMR, MUTP (World Bank Funded Multimodal Transport Improvement Project), Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project –MUIP (Roads, Flyovers and Traffic ) Regional Plans of MMR and Daman Region and various Traffic/Transport Improvement Projects in Mumbai & MMR. Responsible for Planning, Financing & Implementation of several other Urban Highway Project (Roads & Flyover & Elevated Roads), in Metropolitan Region including Financing Urban transport Infrastructure by ULBs in MMR

Key member in planning of Mumbai Metro Master planning, DPRs and implementation of specific corridors. Mumbai Line 2 and 3 Member in High Court committee, held several public consultation processes and External Examiner at IIT Bombay

Mr. Jerin Venad

CEO & Co-Founder, Cityflo

Jerin is CEO and Co-founder of Cityflo, an urban mobility company. Cityflo operates 350 buses, serving 3 lakh+ commuters every month.

Ms. Haima Deshpande

Senior Journalist

• Been in Journalism for the last 35 years
• Worked with Maharashtra Herald (Pune), The Asian Age, The Indian Express, Mumbai Mirror, DNA, Open Magazine and Outlook Magazine
• ⁠Is a long form as well as short form writer
• ⁠Presently an independent writer doing stories for Hindustan Times
• Well seasoned journalist who has reported on the major happenings in the country
• Among other beats reporting on Politics and Bureaucracy is her forte
• Involved in rehabilitation and reintegration of female patients of the Regional Mental Hospital in Thane

Mr. Vinod Kumar Menon

Editor Special Investigation, Mid-Day

I am the special investigation – editor at MiDDay Infomedia Limited, a Dainik Jagran Initiative. I am in the profession of journalism for last 25 years, with passion for reporting on crime and investigation, forensics science, public health, public issues etc.
Prior to joining Midday, I worked with M/s Zee Telefilms Limited.
I am a life member of Indian Society of Criminology, University of Madras. I have done my postgraduation in Criminology, apart from graduating in LAW (LL. B) and B.com from Mumbai University. I have also done my PG (Diploma) in Journalism.
I am invited as guest speaker to address law students ( LL.B and LL.M) at the Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai campus, State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) etc., apart from law and journalism colleges in the city. This is a pro bono service by me, with an intent to impart knowledge and enhance my personal learning.

I have received several prestigious awards and scholarships during the course of my working as an investigative journalist:

Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2024-
Won the award for Civic journalism – the series published in the year 2021, highlighted the plight of two men and a cop, who put their lives at risk to ensure that the last rites of unidentified and unclaimed bodies in the city mortuaries (many of them died of covid), were performed with dignity.
Newsmakers Achievers Award in 2022
Won the 14th Newsmakers Achievers Awards under Best Media Journalist category.
SCARF India MEDIA FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARDS in 2021-
The series of stories highlighted the rights and challenges of a woman with mental illness who struggled to gain custody of her child in December 2020 from an influential Bollywood director, who had been fostering her child, wouldn’t let him go. The woman from Bihar overcame mental illness under Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Dr Bharat Vatwani’s care. Our report created public outcry and support for the mother and finally justice prevailed she got her child back from Juvenile Justice Board.
Laadli Media Award in 2017 –
Won the 2015-16 Laadli Award for the Best News Report about Gender Sensitivity story titled ‘Child brides refuse to say I do’ appeared in MiD-DAY on January 17, 2016. Noted activist and dancer Dr Mallika Sarabhai presented the award at an event in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on February 23, 2017.
International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2016, USA-
Was the only Indian working journalist to be shortlisted for over three weeks IVLP-2016 leadership program. Was representing India, along with 21 investigative journalists from across the world.
REDINK Press club award in 2015 for a series of in-depth investigative stories on the dangerous drug meow meow. It led the central government to ban it under the NDPS Act.
REDINK Press club award in 2014 for two in-depth investigative stories in two different categories, viz:
Incident of rape at Bhandara under the Crime and Investigation category, &
Malnutrition death in Dolara village, 100 kms from Mumbai, under the Health category.
REDINK Press club award in 2013 for in-depth research-based story on drought in Dolara village, 100 kms from Mumbai.

Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2012 under the Environment category, for in depth series of stories on drought published in the year 2014.
My discovery of a 200-year-old secret tunnel under General Post Office (GPO), Mumbai in October 2010 got much deserved attention in the media. It also opened up a new avenue of research for historians and archeologists on Mumbai.
I have numerous investigative pieces to my credit – exposes and eye-openers that have been cited as evidence in the Court of law during trials.

Mr. Amit Kekare

Chairman, Power and Infrastructure Committee, Bombay Chamber; Vice President – Head of eMobility Siemens Ltd

Amit Kekare is Vice President in Siemens Ltd and currently heading the eMobility business for India and Middle East region. In his more than 18 years of experience in Energy Industry, he has worked across various geographies such as US, Europe, and Asia. He has led business and strategy functions and actively led multiple power systems engineering, HVDC design projects globally. He holds Masters in Power Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) and MBA from Indian School of Business (Hyderabad).

Mr. Shrinath Rao

Sr VP and Head – L&T Transportation Infrastructure Business, Larsen & Toubro Limited; Co-Chairman, Power & Infrastructure Committee, Bombay Chamber

Mr. Shrinath Rao has over 40+ years of extensive experience in the Construction Industry with LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED.

He has held various Senior Management positions in International business segments (Middle East & ASEAN countries) for almost 22 years and 18+ years within India.

He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and is a fellow from Oxford University.

Currently, he is heading the Transportation infrastructure Independent Company (RBF & RBG).

His experience is rich, varied and spans domains like Management, Construction, Contracts, and Inter-disciplinary Finance arrangement for large-scale projects.

Ms. Pinky Mehta

President, Bombay Chamber and CFO, Aditya Birla Capital Ltd.

A qualified chartered accountant with over three decades of diversified experience, Pinky Mehta has been a part of the Aditya Birla Group since 1991, having joined the group as its first woman officer. In her current role as the Chief Financial Officer of Aditya Birla Capital Limited, Pinky is responsible for Finance, Accounts, Banking, Secretarial, Taxation, MIS, Mergers, Restructuring, Acquisitions and Fund Raising, as well as the ongoing development and monitoring of control systems and reporting of financial performance. Prior to joining Aditya Birla Capital, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., where she was instrumental in the demerger of Madura Garments to Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited. She played a strong supporting role in the merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd., with Grasim; followed by the subsequent listing of Aditya Birla Capital Limited.

Over the years, her contribution in the areas of demergers, mergers and acquisitions for the Aditya Birla Group companies has been significant. She was actively involved in the demerger of the cement business, the joint venture with the Sun Life Group for the life insurance business and acquisitions of Madura Garments, Transworks Information Services Limited, Minacs Worldwide Inc. and Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited.

Pinky is one of the distinguished Women Leaders in the Aditya Birla Group. She was conferred the ‘Chairman’s Award for Exceptional Contributor’ 2008 and ‘Chairman’s Award for Accomplished Leader’, 2016. She is also the recipient of the coveted Institute of Chartered Accountants of India CA CFO – Woman Award, 2016 and ET Prime’s Women Leadership Award, 2021