Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, SYSM, PVSM, AVSM, VM
Director General, Centre for Airpower & Strategic Studies and
Former Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force
Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor is a distinguished fighter pilot and strategic leader with nearly four decades of service in the Indian Air Force. Commissioned in 1986, he has logged over 3,400 flying hours on the MiG-21 and MiG-29 and is a Qualified Flying Instructor and Fighter Combat Leader.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and National Defence College, he has held some of the IAF’s most significant operational, command, and strategic appointments, including Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Air Command and Vice Chief of the Air Staff. His career has spanned operational command, military training, personnel leadership, strategy, and international defence diplomacy.
As Director General of the Centre for Airpower & Strategic Studies, Air Marshal Kapoor brings deep expertise in national security, strategic decision-making, organizational transformation, and the evolving role of technology and AI in defence and security.
Rajan Luthra
Sr. Executive Vice President,
Reliance Industries Ltd.
He is Sr. Executive Vice President at Reliance Industries Ltd.- India’s largest enterprise. Engaged in the start-up and scale-up phase of multiple Reliance hydrocarbon and consumer businesses for 26+ years. Currently, lead a Digital Platform team for Industry 4.0 technology programs for asset protection and oversee world’s 1st Joint Ops Center to unify cross-functional workflows leveraging data & AI.
Technocrat with proficiency in driving large-scale adoption & scale-up of Critical & Emerging Technologies, DeepTech Innovation, Enterprise Resilience and Public Policy initiatives. Deep interest in Autonomous Systems, mitigating Aerial Threat Vectors, and addressing Disinformation Security risks. Among earliest adopters of advanced tech in India including RFID, IoT, Biometrics, Digital Surveillance, AI, Radars, Drones & Counter-sUAS. Driven multiple strategic engagements with leading global firms including Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Siemens, Palantir, Dassault, Thales, IAI, PwC, Deloitte. Recognized as among the pioneers in the Indian security industry for over 30 years.
Deeply engaged with global innovation ecosystems. Represent RIL on the Investment Committee of Israel Innovation Authority sponsored incubator for frontier-technologies in Jerusalem. Led RIL investments in 15+ early stage Israeli tech startups, a leading Indian drone start-up and India’s #1 video management company. In 2006, as member of the founding team at Reliance Retail, helped design the business strategy and processes, technology architecture, and helmed the loss prevention function. In 2009, initiated RIL ventures in Aerospace and Homeland Security. Was responsible for large scale Business Transformation initiative and launch of REFERS – a unique employee exigency support initiative.
Voluntary Work:
– Honorary Practice Fellow at Institute of Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London
– Member Trustee & Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, India’s leading think tank
– Convenor of Bureau of Indian Standards’ electronic security systems committee panel
– Member of Research Council at CSIO-Chandigarh, a premier CSIR (GoI) lab
– Member of Innovation Council at Jio Institute
Jeremy Verstraete
Global Vice President
UL Solutions
Jeremy Verstraete is Global Vice President of Growth & Marketing at UL Solutions, where he leads global growth initiatives focused on megatrends, growth engines, and market expansion. With more than 20 years of executive leadership experience, he has held senior roles at UL Solutions, USG Corporation, Knauf, and Eastman Chemical. Most recently, he served as General Manager of UL Solutions’ Built Environment business, overseeing certification and advisory services across fire safety, life safety, and security. Having lived and worked in Southeast Asia and the United States, Jeremy brings a global perspective to business transformation, technology adoption, and building trust in an increasingly AI-driven world. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Esti Peshin
Global Cybersecurity & AI expert,
former VP of Cyber Division, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
Esti is a globally recognised leader in cybersecurity, AI, and is a pilot, with flying as her hobby.
From 2017 to 2025, she served as Vice President and General Manager of the Cyber Division at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), where she built one of the world’s most sophisticated national-grade cyber capabilities, growing it from a directorate into a strategic corporate division and spent 11 years in an elite IDF technology unit. She currently advises governments, multinational corporations and industry leaders on cybersecurity strategy, AI, and national resilience.
Ms. Swati Samaddar
Head – Government Affairs
CP PLUS
Ms. Swati Samaddar is a seasoned Technology Policy Lead and Government Affairs Specialist with over 25 years of cross-industry experience spanning public policy, regulatory affairs, corporate strategy, and technology business leadership.
Currently Head of Government Affairs at CP PLUS, she drives policy advocacy, regulatory engagement, and strategic alignment in India’s security technology sector. Swati has held leadership roles at AMCHAM, IBM, Intel, Adobe, and other global organizations, building deep expertise in government engagement, education policy, cloud solutions, and enterprise technologies. A trusted advisor and strategic thinker, she blends business acumen with policy insight to influence change and foster innovation.
Syed Ishtiyaq
Founder & CEO,
Rafttaar.ai
Syed Ishtiyaq is a forward-thinking technologist and the Founder and CEO of Rafttaar.ai, an advanced technology platform pioneering a new era of automated construction management and compressed project execution.
Backed by two decades of deep-rooted, front-line construction experience, Syed’s career is defined by a commitment to standardizing highly fragmented operations. By replacing traditional outsourcing friction with vertically integrated business models, his systems drive unprecedented execution velocity for capital-intensive real estate developments.
His strategic executive affiliations and leadership portfolio extend across key industrial ventures, including HOWELL, TNDC, SPD, and TECH CAMPPUS. Through these corporate entities and integrated frameworks—including ecosystem ties with Speeed Holding—he drives digital transformation, automated material sourcing, and operational efficiency across multi-stakeholder supply chains.
Anand Thirunagari
Country Manager
Genetec
Anand Thirunagari is a technology and business leader with 22+ years of experience building and scaling enterprise technology businesses. As Country Manager for Genetec India, he has spent nearly a decade building the India business, expanding its enterprise customer base, partner ecosystem and market presence across critical infrastructure, data centers, transportation, government and large enterprises.
His experience spans business strategy, enterprise sales, market development, ecosystem building and organizational leadership. Anand is passionate about the intersection of technology, business growth and leadership, with a particular focus on how organizations can combine strategy, people and execution to create sustainable business outcomes.
Col. Hasmukh Patel, SM, CFE
Independent Risk Intelligence Consultant
Col. Hasmukh Patel, SM, CFE brings over four decades of experience spanning military intelligence, corporate risk management and forensic intelligence. During his distinguished 23-year military career, he served with Military Intelligence, including a UN mission in Somalia, instructed officers in satellite imagery analysis, and commanded MI units under the Northern and Southern Commands.
He subsequently spent 16 years in the corporate sector, holding leadership roles with Reliance, Essar and Future Group. A visiting faculty member at Forensic Science University and Rashtriya Raksha University, Col. Patel currently works as an Independent Risk Intelligence Consultant, advising corporates on intelligence-led risk management.
Samir Kumar Jha
General Manager – Security, Fire & Life Safety
Bharat Diamond Bourse
Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), located in Mumbai, is one of the world’s largest diamond trading centres, bringing together around 2,500 small and large diamond trading firms under one roof. With nearly 90% of the world’s polished diamonds—almost nine out of every ten—passing through its facility, BDB plays a pivotal role in the global diamond trade.
Samir Kumar Jha is General Manager – Security, Fire & Life Safety at Bharat Diamond Bourse, where he oversees security, fire safety, business continuity and disaster management for one of the world’s premier diamond centres.
With extensive experience across physical security, asset protection, electronic security, threat assessment and intelligence-led risk management, Samir advocates a holistic approach to security built around preparedness and a strong security culture.
A CPP and PCI professional with postgraduate qualifications in Criminology & Police Administration and Psychology, he is also Vice Chairman, ASIS Mumbai Chapter and Vice President – Security, FSAI National Team.
His leadership philosophy is summed up in his motto: “Security is a Culture, Let us Develop it.”