Management - IIT Madras Incubation Cell

Core Management Team

Startup Catalysts

Dr Tamaswati Ghosh, CEO

A graduate of Queen's University, Canada (BSc Honors, Biochemistry & BA, Mathematics) and Imperial College London, UK (PhD, Molecular Biophysics), Tamaswati decided to pursue her interest in technology-based entrepreneurship. She has served as COO in SEAl, a leading SAP ERP partner in East Africa. As Director of Skylark, an FMCG company in Kenya, she led initiatives to bring professional organization and accountability. She is also the CEO of IITM's sector-specific incubator, IITM's Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI)

Jayalakshmi Umadikar, Head - Corporate Connect, Academic Liaison & Social startups portfolio

With Masters in Physics & Computer Applications, Jaya has over 25 yrs of varied technology experience, from teaching & research to software development. Out of this, she has over 6 years of personal entrepreneurial experience, as a partner in a start-up venture in Israel. She has been associated with RTBI for 5 years. Leading the agriculture initiative in RTBI to develop and implement technologies for the benefit of farmers, she has published papers in reputed journals and contributed chapters to books on Usability Research.

Bhuvan Dubey, Head of Finance (IITMIC and IITMRP)

A graduate from BITS-Pilani and IIM-Indore, Bhuvan is also a CFA charter holder. He has extensive experience in the global Financial Services and Healthcare sectors in assorted roles across equity research, FP&A, business partnering and financial controlling. He has emerging and developed market knowhow, having studied in France, and worked in the UK, Switzerland, Thailand, the US and India. Bhuvan is currently the Head of Finance for IIT Madras Incubation Cell and Research Park.

Seena Shivanath, 10X Lead - startup support (digital platform)

A graduate from Calicut University in EEE and Masters in Software Systems from BITs Pilani, Seena has 19+ years of IT experience including leadership roles in program management & service delivery management. Her experience includes software development, strategizing/executing software process assurance for large scale IT projects encompassing complex corporate information systems, global networks and service delivery. With a streak for creative blogging and art, she is currently leading the program for Incubation and acceleration, while also driving the Digital Platform development program.

Pradeep Muralidhar, 10X Lead - incubator Outreach & startup Scouting

Pradeep is a management professional with 18 years of experience in startups and large enterprises. He holds an executive MBA degree from IIM Kozhikode in Strategic Management. He has worked internationally with MNCs like Adobe, Samsung and Ericsson in technology domain. Pradeep also cofounded companies and has consulted Cos. in data mining, enterprise digital transformation solutions, IOTs, Fintech, Telecom, Renewable Energy and B2B Marketplace. Pradeep has been instrumental in raising capital for few start-up ventures, turning around special situation companies, and providing exit strategies.

S Padmamalini, Sr Associate - Incubation Applications

A graduate from IIT Madras (M.Sc, Chemistry) and IIT-D (M.Tech), she has also completed an executive program on business analysis from IIM-Calcutta. Padma comes from a pharmaceutical research industry background with numerous responsible/specialist positions held across CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control) domain belonging to late stage drug development. With over 20 years experience in veterinary & human health, she has contributed to developing systems and procedures in both Indian and MNCs.

Roopavathi Kannan, Associate (Incubation Support & Investor relations)

Roopa is a recent graduate with a BE in Computer Science. She has few months of experience as Business Development Executive in a Tech based product development company.

Divyasree Krish, Associate - Startup Seed Funding & Investor Connect

Divyasree has trained to be a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary, and B.Com graduate from the University of Madras. She has 5+ yrs of experience in audit, taxation, management consulting, secretarial practices. She has collaborated with wide range of startups in Chennai on crafting SOPs, financial models, devising pricing and GTM strategies, financial planning. When not at work, she is grooving to some salsa, watching re-runs of 'The Office', gardening and improving old recipes.

Sreeparna Chowdhury, Incubation Manager

With a Master’s degree in Political Sciences and Fine Arts (Music), Sreeparna has more than 6 years of experience in various workspaces ranging from elementary education (PRT Music) in Kendriya Vidyalaya to Incubation Centres (IIT-Hyderabad). She was also managing the Creative Arts Program at IIT Hyderabad from 2016 to 2020. Currently she is pursuing her PG Diploma in Business Management from NMIMS.

Sowparnika K, Associate - Communications & Design

Sowparnika is a content creator with experience in web, social media, as well as offline content & collateral. Originally with an accounting background having completed her CA PE2, her enthusiasm for writing and a curiosity to explore emerging tech led her into the field of digital content. She has previously worked for organizations like Skillveri, helping them harness the potential of digital marketing, while understanding the challenges and constraints unique to startups.

Vivek Sarda, Product Design Consultant-in-resident

Vivek Sarda is an alumnus of IIT-Madras with BTech in Mech Engg & M.Tech in Product Design. He pursued his interest in impactful product development by working on assistive devices starting with R2D2 Lab, IITM and later co-founding a startup, NeoMotion. He has been involved in the development of various products like Arise Standing Wheelchair, NeoFly Wheelchair, Haven Hood etc. As a design consultant at IITMIC, he is working to support startups in their product development journey.

Parveen A, Associate Manager - 'Startup Engine' digital platform

Driven by her enthusiasm for flying, Parveen completed her Commercial Pilot Training from Aeroflite Aviation Corp., The Philippines. She holds a graduate degree in Physics from DAV, Indore. She has over three years of varied industry experience. Prior to joining IITM Incubation Cell, she worked as a Senior Editor at Manya-The Princeton Review, Chennai and AuthBridge Research Services, Gurgaon. Outside of work, she has been a keen student of Indian History, Polity, and Sociology and is also an avid practitioner of Yoga.

Divya Suresh, Incubator Liaison Officer

A post graduate in Psychology, Divya Suresh has had a career spanning over 15 years in HR, Marketing, Service and Sales. She is an experienced professional in field of Global Mobility and Immigration. Her several years of experience working in customer facing roles in various industries like the IT, Manufacturing, Hotels has helped her in people management skills.

Charles Arokiyadoss, Events Coordinator

A Postgraduate in Biotechnology from Loyola College, Chennai, Charles had been associated with IITMs RTBI for 3 yrs, working in the area of "Transforming Healthcare Delivery" (a collaborative effort between IITM, CMC Vellore, Uniphore & Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden) where he gained extensive experience in data collection, applied research & project management. He currently is involved in events management, producing documentaries & videos for various initiatives/campaigns at IITMIC.

Solomon Raja, Senior Administrative Officer

A graduate in Accounting & Finance and post graduate in Business Administration in Marketing Management, Soloman has over 11 years of experience in management, marketing and Administration in various domains. He was working as a Project coordinator in IIT Madras for the last one year.

J Joel Samuel, Associate - Workshop Operations

A graduate of Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore (BTech ME), Joel has experience in CAD designing and projects involving with 3D printers. He has worked with Manufacturing Industries and Rover Teams in providing design solutions to their problem statements. He is currently involved in managing Mechanical Workshops, Inventory Maintenance and directing startups to suitable vendors for their manufacturing processes.

Nupura S Gunthe, Senior Executive -HR

A post graduate in Management with specialization in Human Resources, Nupura has over 9 years of experience in different sectors such as banking, entertainment, academic and NGO’s. She is associated with broad range of HR functions covering everything right from recruitment to settlement for our entire ecosystem. She has also vast experience in organizing events, workshops and conferences.

Abisha Vijina VJ, Jr Associate - Outreach & startup Scouting

Passionate to pursue and enhance her entrepreneurial skills, Abisha completed her Masters in Management Studies and has also received the "Best outgoing student award". She also holds a Bachelors degree in Civil Engg. She also pursued a teaching career for 2 years in Management Studies at St Joseph's College of Engineering and guided college students in their post-graduate thesis.

Akash Sharma, Jr Associate - Outreach & startup Scouting

A graduate of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai (BE, Mech.), Akash has experience in Solidworks designing and projects involving sustainable development goals. He has interned with Edutech startups handling their social media activities. He also worked on a manufacturing startup, building home furniture using plastic scrap. He has deep interest in yoga, and had represented his state in national yoga championship.

Sarvesh Sankar, Associate - Startup Engine digital platform

Sarvesh is a graduate from Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology, Coimbatore (BE, Electrical & Electronics). He has experience in MATLAB software and has done projects in the field of Renewable Energy. After graduation, he decided to shift to the field of data analytics and has 1.5 years of experience in working in a startup as a junior data analyst learning and working on the tools used in data analysis like SQL and Tableau. Apart from work he is interested in reading and researching extensively on Geopolitics and History, a football player and has represented Coimbatore district U-17 and U-19 category.