Discover. Innovate. Transform.
Avinash Mudaliar is the Co-Founder and CEO of HT Labs, a digital innovation hub driving product development across content, tech, and consumer experiences. Since 2020, he has led HT Labs in launching platforms like OTTplay, Slurrp, HT School, Mint Genie, and Upublish, covering sectors from OTT and FoodTech to FinTech and digital publishing.
Shanth Kumar has been a printing technologist, editor and director with The Printers Mysore since 1983. He has driven the editorial coverage at Prajavani and helped it retain a leadership position in Karnataka over the last decade.
Ezra Eeman is Strategy and Innovation Director at NPO, the Dutch Public Broadcaster, and leads the WAN-IFRA AI in Media initiative. He also serves as lead advisor to the 2024 JournalismAI Innovation Challenge. Ezra writes a weekly industry newsletter, Wayfinder, about media innovation and is the author of the annual “Wayfinder Trends Report”. Previously, he served as Change Director at the international media company Mediahuis, where he was responsible for coordinating newsroom transformations and digital acceleration across a wide range of cross-media brands. Before that, Ezra was the Head of Digital at the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, and has held positions at VRT (the Flemish public broadcaster) and VTM (the Flemish commercial broadcaster) as innovation lab head and editor-in-chief, respectively.
Sowbhagyalakshmi K.T. is currently the Director at The Printers Mysore, where she manages operations for Deccan Herald and Prajavani. She began her journey at The Printers Mysore as a management trainee. Before transitioning to this role, Sowbhagyalakshmi practiced law at the Chambers of C.K. Nandakumar.
Rahul Pawar is part of the next generation leadership at Sakal Media Group, one of Maharashtra’s leading media conglomerates. He is actively involved in operations across advt, circulation strategy, finance, and new business development, with a focus on building scalable, sustainable revenue models for legacy media.
He has worked on projects spanning circulation expansion, hyperlocal community engagement, sports-led audience growth initiatives, and may other industries including but not limited to agriculture, real estate, packaging etc. He is currently involved in building new digital and platform-led initiatives within the Sakal ecosystem and AP globale.
Mukesh Sharma has more than twenty years of rich and diverse experience as a journalist. Most of his career has been spent at BBC News, where he held various key roles that showcased his versatility and expertise. He has an impressive track record of delivering impactful journalism across different platforms and languages. As the India Digital Editor, Mukesh led digital content strategy and execution ensuring the expansion of the BBC’s digital presence in India into a high-performing and impactful operation.
Santhosh George Jacob is the Coordinating Editor of Manorama Online, leading its content team with nearly three decades of experience in the digital space. A pioneer in digital journalism, he played a key role in establishing Manorama Online as one of India’s leading news websites, earning several international accolades, including the WAN-IFRA award for Best Newspaper Website.
Siddhant leads the design and scaling of AI-native brand experiences across India’s largest digital ecosystem. Working at the intersection of media, technology, and brand strategy, he focuses on how AI can unlock new formats, deeper engagement, and meaningful consumer conversations at scale.
Abhishek Mazumdar is the Co-Founder of The Logical Indian, a leading digital-first media platform widely recognised for its fact-based, solution-oriented journalism and positive storytelling. Since co-founding the platform, Abhishek has played a key role in building and scaling it into one of India’s most influential digital media brands, reaching millions of readers every day.
Suhas Bhandari leads product strategy for Deccan Herald and Prajavani, overseeing the digital evolution of two of India’s legacy news brands. With a strong focus on innovation, Suhas spearheads the organization’s AI initiatives by developing prototypes and quick, cost-effective solutions that solve real problems. From empowering editorial teams to optimizing marketing and subscription growth, he is dedicated to leveraging AI technology to find the best ways to make quality journalism shine.
Areena Arora is the first Editorial Coder at The Hindu. She is responsible for developing data-driven, immersive stories for a digital audience, bringing together in-depth reporting with design and code. For example, she built an interactive highlighting heightened heat-stress risks faced by blue-collar workers in Chennai. The project combined data collection, analysis, and reporting to create a compelling digital experience.
Prof. Sunil Saxena, Founder-Director of the AI Media Academy, is an acclaimed media professional with over 46 years of experience across print, digital media, and media education. He has worked with leading media organisations, including The Times of India, India Today, The New Indian Express, Indo-Asian News Service, The
Pioneer, and the Business India Group.
Nagaraj Nagabushanam is the Vice President – Data and analytics at The Hindu. Nagabushanam directs a data and insights group to build and implement data systems and pipelines for data-driven decision-making in the newsroom, product, business, and technology functions. Prior to this, he was a Director of Digital & Data at News Corp Technology Services, where he headed the Digital and Data practices, this role involves scoping projects for transition, managing the transition, standing up the teams required, and scaling the teams at appropriate times. He also managed the teams from capabilities, talent, performance, rewards & recognition, and career growth standpoints.
Nimesh is an Associate News Editor at Manorama News with over eight years of experience in the media industry. He handles multiple aspects of news production, including anchoring, production, and editorial responsibilities.
Snehal R. Singh is an AI Strategist and Chief AI Manager driving enterprise-wide AI transformation across media, publishing, and data ecosystems. With a unique blend of strategic foresight and execution capability, she is leading the shift from traditional media operations to AI-native, data-driven intelligence systems.
Shihabudheen Thangal is Assistant Content Manager at Mathrubhumi.com, working at the intersection of journalism and emerging technology. With more than a decade of experience in digital reporting and newsroom production, he helps editorial teams integrate AI into everyday workflows through practical training and experimentation. He explores how AI can enhance creativity, efficiency, and audience engagement while keeping human storytelling at the center. His work focuses on building thoughtful, future-ready media practices.
With nearly 20 years in journalism, digital news production, and change management, Tresa is an accomplished leader in driving newsroom innovation and efficiency.
At Reuters, Tresa leads the publishing and production teams that package and curate content for various clients, including Reuters.com subscribers. She oversees enhancements in user engagement and process efficiencies. As editorial lead on the largest AI project in the Bangalore newsroom, she continues to advance Reuters’ vision of combining editorial integrity with technological innovation.
