Ashish Kulkarni embarked on his journey in the field of arts and media in 1995, and is the founder of Punnaryug Artvision. Ashish is also the Chairman of the AVGC forum at FICCI and MCCIA, and has been persistently engaged with AVGC policy makers in India at central and state levels.

In the last two decades, Ashish's push for state level policies inclusive of AVGC skill development and creation has allowed for their successful implementation under IT ITES policies or independent AVGC policies in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP, Telangana, Goa, MP, Chattisgarh, West Bengal and Kerala. Moreover, states like UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat are actively considering the formation of AVGC policies to promote creative skill development and job creation.

Joan Vogelesang is a seasoned consultant specialized in international business development, SME globalization and education. She has been President and CEO of Toon Boom Animation from 1998 until 2014. Under her leadership, Toon Boom continued to maintain its position as a world leader in digital content and animation technology not only in high-end studios but also in education and consumer markets using the online platform.

Vogelesang has over 35 years of experience as a senior executive responsible for the product design and engineering teams, international business development, customer care and operational management in large and smaller organizations. In the educational arena, she is an influential advocate of bringing industry and education together, while partnering with value-added partners to help students achieve their goals.

Vogelesang is regularly invited as a guest speaker at international events like Asia Animation Conference, eLearning Africa, FICCI FRAMES and NASSCOM.

With over a decade of hands-on industry experience in the Film & TV space, Samit Shetty is a specialist and go-to person for Animation & VFX technologies. He has managed & collaborated on entertainment projects of all sizes, working for some of the major production houses in APAC, US & Canada. A trained post production artist himself, Samit spent a few years in the education segment as well, training the next generation of artists, most of whom today hold senior positions at leading studios.

In his current role at Autodesk, Samit works closely with VFX Supervisors & Heads of top studios in the country to help them set up and optimize their technology workflows for best quality output and efficiency. He draws from his long experience in cinematic procedures, latest technologies, editing, Animation-VFX workflows to deliver the best solutions to Autodesk customers.

A distinguished figure in the M&E industry, P. Jayakumar has spearheaded the success story of one of Asia's most pioneering animation studios, Toonz Media Group. Joining the organization as the Chief Financial Officer, Jayakumar took up the reins of the young company in 2001, becoming the CEO of Toonz. Under his inspirational leadership, Toonz expanded from its homeground growing its global footprint, diversifying business, and making strategic international acquisitions, such as the Spanish distribution company Imira and Ireland-based studio Telegael.

Jayakumar is a member of the prestigious International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is a member of CII, FICCI, and also the president of Society of AVGC Institutions in Kerala (SAIK) as well as a member of the MESC.

Founded by AK Madhavan (MadMax), Assemblage is internationally recognized in the media and entertainment industry, and has opened the doors of the Indian animation industry globally.

During his 20 years in animation, Max has delivered over 400+ TV episodicals, multiple DVDs, and 6 global feature films, clients spanning from US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia.

For the 4th consecutive year in a row, Max features in the Hot50 Power List 2019 under the Animation category, as one of the most influential people in the CG industry.

Before, Max was CEO at Crest Animation Studios, won several awards in India and globally, including BAFTA, ANNIES nomination, and Apsara Guild Award. India's first 3D stereoscopic animated film "Alpha and Omega" was delivered, in collaboration with Lionsgate.

Max has been part of various governmental bodies and delegations for AVGC industry, including NASSCOM, CII, FICCI, etc.

Srinivas is amongst the first to start animation & VFX education in the country 22 years back. He is the Director of Arena Animation-Malleswaram & Rajajinagar centers, Bengaluru & is also the CEO of a 7 years old upcoming animation & VFX production house, VedAtma Animation Studios.

He is also the Secretary of ABAI, a non-profit trade organisation supported by the Govt. Of Karnataka since the last 5 years & is working towards skill development & growth in the AVG sector of the state. From ABAI with the support of the Government of Karnataka, he has set up the first of its kind AVGC Centre of Excellence in the country and a finishing school aimed at bridging the academia-industry divide.

He is the Co-founder & Director of Purple Arrow Films, and is also the Co-founder of I-mov motiontech, a medical technology startup.

He has also ventured into feature film production under the banner name of 'Purple Rock Entertainers' & produced his first film in Kannada titled 'BHINNA' which went on to become the 'First direct to OTT' release Kannada film in October 8th 2019. His second movie 'Dear Sathya' has completed shooting & will be ready for release in October 2020. He has also made his debut as an actor in Kannada films in two movies 'BHINNA' & 'YELLOW BOARD'.

Vaibhav Kumaresh is an animation film maker and is currently the Founder, Director at Vaibhav Studios, Mumbai. Founded in 2003, the studio has created some of India's favourite animated content in the field of TV commercials and channel promos: the Amaron Battery ad campaign, Chulbuli for Clinic Plus, Buladi’s AIDS awareness campaign for the West Bengal government, the Vodafone Zumis, Simpoo the angry sardaar math teacher on Channel [V] and Lamput the globally acclaimed, Emmy nominated micro short series for Cartoon Network to name a few. The studio is currently working on its maiden feature film titled Return of the Jungle.

A Fine Arts graduate, Vaibhav studied animation film making at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He is an active committee member and the Honorary Secretary of The Animation Society of India (TASI). Vaibhav also teaches animation and is a visiting faculty at various animation and design schools across India.

Biren Ghose has been the Country Head for Technicolor India for over 11 years.

He has taken the India studio to a strength of 5000 employees. This includes marquee brands MPC, Mr.X, The Mill & Mikros.

Biren is a thought leader and industry evangelist for the past 20 years. Technicolor has won over 8 Emmy Awards for TV animation; 4 Academy Awards for VFX Films, the Cannes Lion Golds, VES, BAFTA, The British Arrows, etc.

Biren is the Vice Chairman for the CII National Media & Entertainment Committee and President of ABAI.

This year Biren has received the National Order of Merit - a knighthood conferred on him by the President of France.

Biren is multi-faceted and has a passion for art, music, Formula 1, tennis, photography, wines and spirits.

Adi Shayan comes with a long and well-respected track record in the animation industry, best known for his leadership and versatility in handling scale as well as high quality productions. He comes with rich experience of setting up and driving new business, assembling world class teams, establishing culture, and successfully producing top calibre shows.

In his career spanning 22 years, he has held leadership positions at companies like Tata Elxsi, DreamWorks Animation India, Xentrix Studios, and most recently, Cosmos Maya, where he had a very successful stint as Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, Cosmos Maya gained prominence at the global level and was able to deliver a number of high profile shows including features.

Adi is passionate about supporting initiatives focussed on animation skill development and ecosystem / community building.

Anil Wanvari, is the founder, CEO and editor in chief of the Indiantelevision.com group. He has spent more than 37 years in the media industry and is considered India's foremost analyst, consultant and catalyst for the media sector.

The Indiantelevision.com group which he has set up has a mission to educate, engage, entertain and enrich the audiences it serves in the various verticals.

It achieves this through the various B2B portals the group runs: indiantelevision.com (for the cable, satellite, OTT, production, advertising, marketing, media industries), tellychakkar.com (TV show and actor news for TV fans), AnimationXpress.com (for the VFX, comics, gaming, and animation segments) and radionandmusic.com (for the FM radio, digital music and music industry).

The Indiantelevision.com group engages with the industry through the various conferences it runs: Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS), VidNET, News Television Summit, The Content Hub. The group executes market engagement activities for industry clients - both online and offline through road shows and events. The entertainment part comes in through the India's oldest television awards The Indian Telly Awards which Anil initiated way back in 2000. Additionally, the group also organizes The News Television Awards.

Anil has been Paris-based Reed Midem's India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh representative for some of the world's largest audiovisual content trade exhibitions - MIPTV, MIPCOM, MIPFormats, MIPDoc, MIPCancun,Midem and MIPChina. He represents the world's No 1 property market for the same markets, as well as Reed Exhibitions Asia Television Forum, Singapore.