Center of Excellence (CoE)

Mr. G V Shashidhar brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge within the areas of IT and IT services; having worked within various leadership roles with organizations such as Wipro, Sprint Nextel, TATA Communications, AT &T and others. He has worked with core business functions at client organisations to drive value to customer’s business.

Mr. G V Shashidhar holds a Degree in Electrical Engineering from NIT Surat along with a Post Graduate Degree in Management from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

Ravindra is a seasoned and outcome driven Cyber Security leader with 26 years in Strategic Planning, Solution Architecting, GSOC Delivery and Governance of security services. His unwavering commitment lies in assisting organizations across diverse industries in achieving their financial goals through the establishment and implementation of robust security programs. Having worked with organizations like Capgemini, DXC Technology, HP, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, he is dedicated to driving business growth by delivering innovative cyber security solutions and consultancy. Ravindra heads the Cyber Security division of Vara Infrovate.

Vishal is a highly experienced change leader with an impressive track record of 22+ years in strategy formulation, business consulting, business development, relationship management, acquisitions, change management and influence.

He has worked with companies like KPMG Consulting, Wipro Limited, NSEIT Limited, HCL Limited and Ways India. During this period, he has worked with clients across multiple geographies covering India, USA, South East Asia, Middle East and Australia. Vishal has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics Engineering and a Masters in Management Studies with a specialization in Finance.

Uday is a passionate HR professional. He has completed his B.E. (Electrical Engineering) & M.B.A. from the University of Mumbai. Uday has been an honorary lecturer, for some renowned master in management degree courses, at the University of Mumbai.

Before joining Vara, Uday worked with top multinational companies such as McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, TATA Consultancy Services, Capgemini & Prudential. Uday heads the HR function for Vara Infrovate, Vara Technology & Fujisoft Vara.

Vishwanathan is an accomplished Senior Banking Executive with 20+ years of experience in understanding customer delivery processes and its potential impact and benefit to internal and external stakeholders.

He has led large scale international business operations in custody and middle office, transformation and change programs; including transitions. In the past, he has worked with WNS Global Services, Syntel, ABN Amro and Standard Chartered Bank. As the Chief Operating Officer of Vara, he is here to drive the NextGen technologies to market.

Dr. Partha Das Chowdhury is a Research Associate in the REPHRAIN center at the University of Bristol, UK. His research interests are privacy-enhancing technologies, the intersection of PETs and social sciences, secure software development, security protocols, and adopting tools to protect citizens from online harm. He has published at USENIX PePR, IEEE SecDev, ESORICS SecPre, and the Security Protocols workshop held annually at Cambridge, UK.

He has over a decade of industrial technology implementation experience for various client organizations including Tata Steel, city traffic management systems, and mining majors. He was associated with the Center for 4th Industrial Revolution, an initiative of the World Economic Forum as one of the contributors to the Blockchain toolkit. He was invited as an expert to the Commonwealth Working Group on Interception of Communication and Related Matters at Marlboro House, London in 2005. He also served as an invited panelist at the Vizag Fintech summit 2018, an annual event of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India. Partha has received Army Commander’s commendation, Eastern Command, Indian Army, 2021.

Colonel Inderjeet Singh is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune. He then went on to serve in the Indian Defence Forces. Inderjit has a glorious career of nearly three decades as an Information Systems professional in a wide spectrum of areas spanning from Information Security, Risk Management, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, Cyber Warfare, Cyber Terrorism, Expertise in SOC and CERT, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain & Cryptonomics, Machine Learning & artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities.He is visionary for Start-Up Incubation, Entrepreneurship Development.

Strategic Consulting and New Technology Evaluation for commercial viability. Inderjit is also a Council Member of nearly a dozen prestigious bodies such as CET (I) and fellow of IETE, IE, Member CSI and Executive Council Member Society for Data Science, Member Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), IEE, ISOC, IOT for Smart Cities Task Force (IoT4SCTF) and so on.

An alumni of IIT & IIM and PhD in Economics from Jadavpur University, Dr. J. N. Mukhopadhyaya has over 35 years of experience in various roles with companies like Indian Oxygen Limited, IBP – Balmer Lawrie group, Alliance Hoare Securities Limited, Alghanim Industries – Kuwait etc. He was Sr. Vice President at SREI Capital Markets Ltd before coming to Academics in 2002.

He has been a visiting Professor at many IIMs (Calcutta, Rohtak, Bodh Gaya, Ranchi, etc.) and served as a Director/ Dean and Professor at several prestigious institutes – Heritage Business School, J. D. Birla Institute and Globsyn.

He is presently Professor of Finance at Army Institute of Management.

Dr. J. N. Mukhopadhyaya also has extensive experience in providing corporate training in Finance at Tata Motors, Lafarge, IBM, Cognizant, Mcnally Bharat, Titan, Exide Industries etc.

His specialities include Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Financial Services, Capital Market, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Valuation.

Currently serving as an Independent Director, Dr. J. N. Mukhopadhyaya seeks to particularly guide in enhancing brand equity and Return on Capital for Vara group of Companies.

Rashid is an achievement-driven professional with over 19 years of experience in Project Management, Risk Management, Business Development, Team Handling and Leadership with large & strategic projects from concept to commissioning.

Having experience in managing the entire breadth of project and business development commercial operations, Rashid possesses an in-depth understanding of securing key accounts and strengthening customer relations.

Dinesh is a qualified Chartered Accountant having 16 years of experience. He has proven expertise in finance activities, including Accounting, Audit, Taxation, Budgeting, Cash Flow & Financial Planning, etc. Before joining the Company in 2010, he worked with Ruia Group, a Kolkata-based Company.

Arindam has more than 20 years of experience in IT industry with focus on Agile Implementation, ITIL methodologies and PRINCE2 Project Management techniques. His expertise include managing various ITIL teams in implementing time bound projects as Transition and Core Infrastructure Manager across entire gamut of Finance, Retail and Manufacturing Domain in both international and domestic market.

He has extensive experience in managing end-to-end products and projects in both MNC and start-up cultures, right from the ideation to decommission of the product / project. He has also worked on transition and automation of various teams from on-shore to off-shore locations. He is currently managing the Data-analytics, RPA projects and COE formation by leveraging skill sets of market leading innovation partners and start-ups.

He has extensive knowledge on leading an enterprise agile transformation by leveraging the Scaled Agile Framework, with its underlying principles of lean thinking and product development flow. His insightful experience in formulating & implementing new system, policies & procedures; monitoring operational KPIs & performance as well as leading team activities like training & development, coaching & mentoring.

He focusses on team-based management style coupled with the zeal to drive vision into reality.

Sanchari drives the Blockchain practice at Vara. She has been with the organization for the past 12 years in multiple roles. In the current role, she manages a team of developers, Quality Analysts & Project Managers. A Masters in Political Science from the University of Calcutta, she specializes in Business Analysis and is focused in managing Client Relationships. Prior to joining Vara, she has worked in the Publishing domain managing team and customer engagements.

A Master in Computer Science from IISc, Bangalore, Arup is a veteran with over 40 years in the IT Industry. He pioneered the concept of outsourcing to India from Wall Street firms in the late ‘90s. After 26 years at TCS (7 years as the President, TCS America) and then with mid-Tier companies like Polaris as President and Birlasoft as CEO, Arup is currently the founding chairman of D2E Consulting (www.d2e.co.in) and MakeITDeals (www.makeitdeals.com).

The former Chairman of NEC Technologies India Private Limited, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation Japan, has overall experience spanning over 40 years in top management roles for 24 years prior to joining the company in March of 2019. Currently, he is running a boutique consulting firm focused on helping organizations do business between India and Japan. He has served as Executive Advisor to NEC Technologies India, Logomotion SRO, Slovakia, Europe, and JP Tokyo. Currently, he is a Director at Fujisoft Vara Pvt Ltd and Vara Technologies Pvt Ltd.

Fluent in English and Japanese with a deep understanding of Japanese culture, business practices, and language. His experience and unique ability to deal with top management in India and Japan enabled him to create and run JVs successfully. Through a people-centric approach, he has experience in strategic planning, business growth, and building profitable, successful organizations. He strongly believes that only an employee-centric approach will allow organizations to grow sustainably.

On a Rotary Foundation scholarship, Mr. Gupta completed a one-year full-time Japanese language program at International Christian University Tokyo. As a postgraduate research scholar at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, he studied ‘Efficient development of software packages’. He then completed one year of job training at Fujitsu on AOTS (Association of Overseas Technical Scholarships, 1983-84).

He started his career with BHEL, a Government of India enterprise in 1977. His ability to take extraordinary challenges made it possible for him to successfully spearhead TGK India Limited (Managing Director 1993-98) from concept to inception. He joined HCL Technologies in 1998 as VP of strategic alliances, in Japan, and then served HCL Technologies Japan as VP of Japan operations (2002-2005). He was instrumental in creating the Joint Venture NEC HCL System Technologies Limited (NEC HCL ST). Subsequently, HCL Technologies nominated him as CEO of NEC HCL ST from Nov 2005 to Apr 2013.

In 2013, NEC Corporation bought a stake in HCL and appointed Mr. Gupta as CEO & MD of NEC Technologies India Private Limited. He retired as Chairman of NEC Technologies India Pvt Ltd in April 2019 and continued as Executive Advisor until Mar 2020.

With more than 18 years of experience handling processes for Banks city infra, Praveen has been instrumental in implementing tolling systems and administering all e-payment methodologies. His expertise includes product development, software design, execution, and customization. He has had practical experience in conducting initiatives like toll management and ATMs for the Indian Roads and Highways sector.

Margaret is a dynamic professional with a passion for safety and business management. Despite having dual degrees in Business Administration and Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), her desire to scale up led her to enroll in a global MBA program at Australia’s Deakin University.

Margaret has experience in management consultation, team building, professional development, strategic implementation, and company collaboration. She has implemented integrated management systems (IMS) for ISO, OHSAS certifications, and lean management systems. As a member of Vara, she is on a quest to make India safer and more intelligent.