Meet the people building the SDV

Dr. Ananda Kumar Akkarapaka is the Director and Country Head of Technical Marketing for Automotive at Infineon Technologies India. Bringing 25 years of foundational expertise in power electronics, electric drives, and automotive systems, Dr. Kumar is a leading figure in the e-mobility transition. His extensive engineering portfolio features the successful development of high-performance traction converters, advanced EV charging systems, robust Battery Management Systems (BMS), and specialized power conversion technologies — bridging cutting-edge semiconductor innovation with strategic market growth.

Bharti Goyal Maan is an automotive and mobility leader with over two decades of experience driving large-scale engineering transformation programmes for global OEMs. As Vice President and India Client Leader for Automotive at Capgemini, she leads strategic portfolios spanning software-defined vehicles, digital cockpit, and enterprise platforms. Bharti has built and scaled global engineering teams across India and international markets, working closely with OEM leadership on SDV strategy and operating models. She brings a strong blend of industry, technology, and execution experience, with a focus on enabling India's growth as a global hub for automotive software, talent, and innovation.

Amit is a technology leader in automotive software, connected vehicles, and IoT, with more than 25 years of experience delivering large-scale software engineering programs for leading global automotive OEMs. Over the course of his career, he has led multidisciplinary teams in designing and building connected vehicle platforms, cloud-based data solutions, and software products that enable next-generation mobility services. In his current role at Stellantis, Amit is a leader in Connected Services Engineering with a focus on vehicle data collection platforms, enabling scalable, secure, and reliable data-driven services across multiple vehicle brands. Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) is a key area of interest for Amit, and he actively contributes to discussions on the future of automotive software and connected mobility.

Akshay is a product and technology leader in the automotive domain with around 25 years of global experience spanning product management, engineering, enterprise solutioning, domain leadership, and strategic partnerships. As a Lead Product Manager at Stellantis, he drives product strategy for connected vehicle data platforms and contributes to shaping the next generation of Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) technologies. Prior to Stellantis, as a Product Manager at Juniper Networks, he led product for the Multi-Service Edge telecommunications portfolio. He is a Certified Product Manager (CPM) from AIPMM and holds an executive postgraduate degree from IIM Kozhikode, along with a certification in Product Development and Design Methods from IISc. He has co-authored a book, published technical papers, and spoken at numerous industry conferences.

Yogesh Umbarkar is the Founder of Tecmotiv Solutions, Co-Founder of Tech4Earth Mobility Foundation, and Board Advisor to Astron Aerospace (USA), with over 20 years of leadership experience in the global automotive and mobility technology industry. He specializes in Software-Defined Vehicles, Connected Mobility, Mobility Intelligence, Battery Management Systems, and Digital Engineering. Throughout his career, Yogesh has led market expansion and strategic partnerships across India and the Asia-Pacific region for global technology companies, including Valtech Mobility, Eatron Technologies, Ricardo, and Convergent Science. A recognized industry speaker and moderator, Yogesh actively drives B2B and B2G collaboration, fostering strategic partnerships that shape the future of connected, software-defined, and intelligent mobility.

Shyam Sundar is a Senior Analyst at Frost & Sullivan's Mobility Research Practice, leveraging over 10+ years of experience with Daimler and Volvo across key strategic functions. His areas of focus are Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Software-Defined Vehicles, alternative powertrains, connected mobility, and V2X technologies. With a deep understanding of emerging automotive trends, Shyam works with global automotive clients to deliver data-driven insights enabling them to navigate the evolving mobility landscape.

Kamalesh Mohanarangam is a strategy and product leadership professional with over 15 years of experience in the global automotive and mobility industry. As Associate Director and Global Head of Connected, Autonomous, and Software-Defined Vehicles Research at Frost & Sullivan, he leads research and advisory initiatives focused on software-defined vehicles, ADAS, autonomous driving, and digital mobility. He has advised global automotive OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and technology companies on product strategy, market expansion, investment decisions, and growth opportunities. Before joining Frost & Sullivan, he worked alongside JETRO to support Japanese automotive SMEs entering the Indian market.

Latha is a dynamic business leader with more than three decades of experience. She is the founder and CEO of AutoAscend, focused on strategy and technology consulting in the mobility domain, and leadership coaching and mentoring. She is a strategy and technology advisor for several Tier-1s and an external advisor for consulting firms including Bain & Co and Zinnov, and is part of the thinktank in the Prime Minister's PSA office that defines e-mobility policy for India and the Karnataka government's vision group for skill building. Until June 2025 she was Vice President and Head of Technical Center India of Continental Automotive, responsible for engineering competence across Autonomous Mobility and Safety, and Vehicle Networking and Information business areas. Before Continental, Latha headed the powertrain and electrification business of Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, and earlier worked with Siemens Information Systems across engineering and business development roles internationally. She has received several industry accolades, including the Top 10 Technology Women Leaders in India award, the Solidarity Idol award at CXO level, and a DE&I Tech Leadership award, and is a certified coach passionate about developing the tech women community.

Dr. Narendra Jha is Founder & CEO of Eva2z (Evatoz Solutions Pvt Ltd), a Noida-based, privacy-first connected-vehicle platform on a mission to make India's roads safer. Eva2z turns any vehicle into a safe, contactable, connected asset through a free QR safety sticker with one-tap SOS, GPS/IoT telematics, and a DPDP-grade privacy and consent layer that powers usage-based insurance and driver-risk scoring. Bootstrapped with zero outside capital, the platform is already live with 12,000+ downloads, 2,000 vehicles streaming data daily, and 500 paying subscribers. A serial entrepreneur, Narendra previously bootstrapped Gozipp to ₹6 Cr ARR and scaled Planet Retail's software to 1,000+ clients. He holds an MBA (FMS Delhi), a B.Tech and a PhD, and mentors founders at the Wadhwani Foundation.

Sneha A. Ghorpade currently holds the position of Senior Manager in the Automotive Electronics department at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). She earned her degree in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from Pune University and brings 14 years of experience in EMI/EMC, ITS, and cyber security. In her role, she oversees EMC and Cyber Security Management System (CSMS) certification, Software Update Management System (SUMS) evaluation testing across EV, HEV, conventional and CEV platforms, establishment of testing infrastructure, and the formulation of Automotive Industry Standards for EMC and Intelligent Transport Systems. She is an internal auditor certified in ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 45001:2018, and has dedicated the last 14 years of her career to ARAI.

Mr. M. M. Desai is presently Deputy Director of the Automotive Electronics department at ARAI. He graduated in Electronics Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli, and with over 26 years of professional journey has spent over 24 years at ARAI. As Deputy Director, he is responsible for certification testing of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, assessment for the FAME-India government incentive scheme, and formulation of Automotive Industry Standards for EV/fuel-cell vehicles, Intelligent Transport Systems, cyber security, and OTA updates. He has published papers at IEEE ITEC-India and SAE's SIAT conferences on electromagnetic emissions and compatibility for electric powertrains. Mr. Desai is an avid reader and a cricket fan who enjoys tinkering with Linux in his free time.

Puneet Aggarwal is a visionary leader in Sustainable IoT and Smart Mobility, with over 20 years of experience in transformative technology. At Jio Platforms, he drives next-gen IoT solutions for sustainable transportation, connected automotive, eMobility, and location intelligence. Puneet is a Carnegie Mellon alumnus, having earned his MS in Computer Science, where he worked on projects that laid the foundation for his future endeavors. With a rich background in IoT, transportation, cloud computing, and mobile technology, he is passionate about solving complex challenges and mentoring future leaders. An accomplished entrepreneur, Puneet has founded two startups in the IoT space, and now spearheads initiatives integrating AI, blockchain, edge computing, 5G, and cloud computing across electric vehicles, automotive OEMs, fleet and logistics, and charging infrastructure.