Media Release

Mangaluru, Feb 24: VAA, the alumni association formed by the recipients of Vishwa Konkani scholarships instituted by World Konkani Centre, Mangaluru, is organising a day-long mega event called 'Prerna – A Confluence of Ideas and Motivation' on February 27 at TV Raman Pai Convention Hall, Mangaluru.

The conference is one of the initiatives as envisaged by Vision TVM of World Konkani Centre. The event will be inaugurated by Padmashree awardee T V Mohandas Pai in the gracious presence of chief guest Sundeep Bambolkar, joint MD of Indoco Remedies, Mumbai, Basti Vaman Shenoy, [resident of World Konakni Centre. Lenita Jenifer Menezes, the president of VAA will deliver the welcome address.

Prerna which was initiated last year, will present 6 speakers who have not only dared to tread the uncharted path, in professional and personal life, but have also carved out a niche for themselves. Joint managing director of Jyothy Laboratories Ullas Kamath, stock market analyst and expert Ambareesh Baliga, director HR of UST Global Software Umesh Kamath, prominent TV anchor at CNBC TV18 Reema Tendulkar, chief creative director of Sony Entertainment Television Ajay Bhalwankar, social enterpreneur and corporate mentor T V Mohandas Pai, will be speaking at this edition of Prerna.

To broad base the programme and seek more participation, the event would be open to the entire student fraternity of the region. Students, desirous of participating may contact the organisers. While there is no entry fee, the seating capacity of the venue may restrict the attendance and hence it is a first come first serve opportunity. The event is organised by VKSSF Alumni Association and World Konkani Centre, Mangaluru.

VKSSF Alumni Association has been established to foster the ideals of giving back to society under the Vision TVM programme of the World Konkani Centre. Today, the members of VAA have spread across the world, occupying coveted positions in various corporations and organisations. As true bearers of the spirit of Konkani speaking people who have wholeheartedly contributed to the region's all round development, VAA is initiating a platform event where all the established alumni can interact with student population of the region, motivate and inspire them and foster creativity and innovation.

Brief introduction of the speakers:

1. Ullas Kamath, joint managing director and CFO, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd: Ullas Kamath is a qualified chartered accountant and company secretary. He has a degree in law and masters degree in global management from London School of Economics. He has attended the advanced management programme both at Wharton Business School and Harvard Business School. Jyothy Laboratories has diversified and become a multi product FMCG company under his able leadership. He spearheaded Henkel India acquisition. He is the winner of CA Business Achiever Award instituted by ICAI.

2. Ambareesh Baliga, stock market analyst and expert: At the age of 25, Ambareesh Baliga was bitten by the stock market bug and he took on the onerous task of setting up Kotak Mahindra Finance Kolkata office in the early nineties. Thereafter, he set up portfolio management desk of Kotak, Karvy and Way2Wealth over the next 20 years. His acumen and understanding of stock markets and expertise in wealth management, corporate advisory, retail finance and stock broking is well known. A common sight on business channels, he is an independent strategy advisor to a number of corporate.

3. Umesh Kamath, director HR, UST Global Software: Umesh Kamath played a key role in computerising the PSU behemoth SAIL in the early nineties. When he was at Bhilai Steel Works, he also passed his civil service exams and got posting in the Indian Engineering Services. After a brief stint he came back to the corporate sector and was adjudged Best Young Manager in 1995 by All India Management Association. Post MBA from London, he set on the path of managing HR in organisations like Reliance, Cabot Corp, Allianz etc. Currently he is the director HR at UST Global, USD 1B US based software service company with 15,000 employees globally.

4. Reema Tendulkar, research analyst, CNBC TV18: Reema Tendulkar anchors prime-time market shows like Markets and Macros at CNBC TV 18. Apart from that, she is an expert corporate researcher of sectors like information and technology and telecom. An engineering graduate by education, she holds degrees in financial risk management (FRM) from GARP, chartered financial analyst (CFA), all 3 levels of the US exam. Prior to working with CNBC-TV18, she was working in asset management division of Edelweiss Capital.

5. Ajay Bhalwankar, chief creative director, Sony Entertainment Television: Ajay Bhalwankar, with a background in journalism, joined the Zee Group in 1994 as assistant director, Dream Merchants and went on to become Zee TV's programming head. He was instrumental in launching Music Asia, which is now called Zing. He joined Sony Entertainment Television in 2009 and is instrumental in creating quality content for the channel. Currently he is the chief creative director at Sony Entertainment Television.

6. T V Mohandas Pai, social enterpreneur and corporate mentor: Well-known for his efforts in improving literacy, public infrastructure, public policy process and also for his active role in Akshaya Patra, BPAC etc, T V Mohandas Pai is an advocate of startup revolution in India. In his new avatar as a social entrepreneur and enabler, he is of the firm belief that Indian youth can propel the country to be the startup capital of the world, the outcome of which would not only set the growth engine but also create societal changes for good in our country.