Our speakers

Bernard Charlès has been Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dassault Systèmes, since January 2024. He served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2022, and was Chairman & CEO in 2023. 

Charlès started his career in the company in 1983 to develop new design technologies. In 1986, he founded a dedicated New Technologies, Research and Strategy department, and in 1988 was appointed President of Strategy, Research and Development.

He has helped instill a culture of ongoing innovation to further consolidate Dassault Systèmes’ scientific capabilities and make science part of the company’s DNA. The inspiration behind digital mock-up, product lifecycle management and 3DEXPERIENCE®, he firmly believes that virtual technology is about making possible the impossible: 3DEXPERIENCE universes are the most powerful vehicle for testing concepts and creating the future, bringing dream and reality together, and stretching the limits of science and imagination to drive progress in society.

Charlès has positioned Dassault Systèmes as the preferred partner for sustainable innovation in three major sectors of the economy: Manufacturing Industries, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Infrastructure & Cities. The company, established in 1981 and world leader in virtual worlds, was recognized as one of Forbes’ "World’s Most Innovative Companies". 

Bernard Charlès is co-author with philosopher Pierre Musso of The Industry Renaissance, which discusses the power of virtual universes to sustainably transform industry. 

He is a foreign member of the US National Academy of engineering and a member of the French Academy of Technology. He holds the rank of Commander in the “Légion d’honneur” (French Legion of Honor). He is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure engineering school in Cachan and has a PhD in mechanical engineering majoring in automation engineering and information science. He also holds an agrégation — the most senior teaching qualification achievable in France (specializing in mechanical engineering).

Deepak NG was appointed as Managing Director for Dassault Systèmes India in February 2020. He joined Dassault Systèmes in 2011 and carries more than 21 years of experience across different industries. He has driven key transformational projects in various industries including Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, High-tech, and Government. In his previous role at Dassault Systèmes, as Director of Global Affairs and Innovative Business Development, he was instrumental to establish new partnerships by engaging in smart city projects and by developing industry-based programs for the workforce of the future.

Chief Executive Officer – New Mobility at Reliance Industries Limited, leading Mobility initiatives in Hydrogen and Electric domain.

Nitin completed his Bachelor’s in engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and his Post Graduation in Business Management from Mumbai. He is a recipient of Full bright - CII fellowship from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg (USA) and has also undergone leadership Training at the Harvard Business school & Wharton School in United States.

Nitin has over 31 years of experience in the automotive industry in the realms of Sales and Marketing in Domestic and International Markets, Product Development, Defense, Power solutions Business & Electric Vehicles. Prior to joining RIL, he was Chief Operating officer (COO) at Ashok Leyland, COO at Switch mobility UK, Head (Sales and Marketing & Product planning) for Cars at Tata Motors besides holding various Board positions in India, UK, UAE & US.

Rajesh MISHRA is the Executive Vice President, CDO – Chief Digital Officer.
Rajesh MISHRA is responsible for group wide initiatives on Process transformation and IT Solutions. He has more than 27 years of Industry experience in IT and Large scale transformation Programs. He has done his Graduation and Post - Graduation from BITS, Pilani.

Mr. Atul PARANJAPE started his career as a design engineer in 1985 with Larsen & Toubro, where he was responsible for the design & detailed engineering of pressure vessels for process industry as per customer specifications and international codes such as ASME. For the next 37 years, he’s progressed & gained experience in domains such as process planning, inventory control, implementation of ERP systems, marketing, business development, manufacturing planning, quality assurance and more. His experience spans multiple technology generations and a spectrum of industries ranging from aerospace & petrochemicals to heavy engineering.

Today, Mr. Atul PARANJAPE is the Vice President – Digital & IT, L&T Energy – Hydrocarbon where he is responsible for digitalization across businesses & locations. Some of his key undertakings include: Digital SCM on SAP Ariba, Project Digital-Twin on Dassault 3DS, Connected Machines & Workers using IIOT, AI/ ML and Data Analytics.

Florence VERZELEN is Dassault Systèmes’ Executive Vice President in charge of Industry, Marketing & Sustainability since 2018. Her role is to grow the portfolio of solutions and significantly increase the revenues of Dassault Systèmes in the 12 industries it serves, in order to achieve sustainable growth and rapid business development. To this end, she focus on creating “forward looking” industrial solutions that will help all industrial players to transform through digitalization. Florence has also created the sustainability function within Dassault Systèmes, with the vision that digital solutions can help transform the industries to help them become more sustainable. She is also leading Dassault Systèmes’ service organization, transforming its business model towards “outcome based” solutions.

Before this latest appointment, Florence was working at Engie, a world leader in the energy sector – holding different positions, as Business Development Vice President, Engie Qatar CEO, Performance Plan Vice President and finally Engie Europe COO.
Florence has an extensive experience in both public and private sector, having held different positions in the European Commission and the French Administration.

She is also an experienced board member, with board position at PSA and currently at Air France; CNES, the French Space Agency and Institut Montaigne, the leading think tank in France. Florence is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique / Corps des Mines.

Prashanth RAY Co-Founder & Executive Director - LUCID Implants is a highly motivated researcher on a mission to develop innovative solutions in the area of tissue engineering towards potential clinical applications. 

Prashanth RAY, an engineering graduate and former visiting researcher at Johns Hopkins University, USA, brings an excellent mix of technical, design, and business skills to the organization.

Ajinkya DHARIYA, is the Founder and CEO at PadCare Labs, He is a Mechanical Engineer and Sanitation Entrepreneur. He graduated in 2017, and then started PadCare Labs in 2018 with a vision to shape sustainable societies by enhancing hygiene standards. He is a product enthusiast and loves to solve consumer centric problems with design thinking approach. He is Curious and courageous.

Ajinkya's Curiosity drives him to forge new paths and develop Bold, Innovative, and Progressive solutions like Sanitary Napkin Disposal and recycling. His courage empowers the challenge vested interests, pursue unconventional ideas and fight for the health of our planet and its people to bring prosperity.
 
He is pursuing the dream for a sustainable society with his 3P's, Passion, Perseverance, and Persistence. His efforts were recognized by WIPO, TBC, WSSCC, UnLTD India, Dassault, UK- Royal Engineering Academy and Government of India. He is acting as a young ambassador to inspire social actions for healthier people and the planet. Contact Details Ajinkya Dhariya Founder and CEO PadCare Labs 7678647899 

Laina EMMANUEL is founder and CEO of BrainSightAI. BrainSightAI is a neuroscience based deep tech startup that employs multimodal brain imaging to help neurosurgeons pre plan surgery.

Before becoming an entrepreneur she worked for over 15 years in healthcare management, policy and consulting.  She has an MBA in healthcare from ISB, and has used her learnings in consulting for the Government of India, and some of the highest impact organizations like Clinton Health Access Initiative and Centre for Policy and Research.

She has also a deep technical knowledge, having worked in product teams building products affecting millions of people at Netapp and offshore development centre of Cisco at Infosys.

Shreejith RADHAKRISHNAN works as Strategic Account Manager at DASSAULT SYSTEMES and is responsible for working with TATA Motors Ltd & Subsidiaries. Prior to joining Dassault Systemes, Shreejith worked at MathWorks for 11yrs creating value for leading domestic & global automotive customers in the areas of Technical Computing & Model-Based Design. Overall, Shreejith has 14 years+ of industry experience in software sales across industry sectors in India, with a focus on design and development applications.

Laurence MONTANARI brings nearly 30 years of automotive engineering and business experience to the largest of Dassault Systèmes’ 11 industries of focus, following a career at the French multinational automobile manufacturer Groupe Renault, where she began as a mechanical engineer in 1992. 

In her most recent role at Groupe Renault – senior innovation manager of its in-house LCI (Collaborative Innovation Laboratory) – she led experimental projects to address emerging trends and develop disruptive mobility solutions for urban areas, including an electric vehicle aimed to understand the last-mile delivery of goods, by creating an atypical innovation ecosystem and driving the adoption of cloud-based technologies. 

This involved bringing together and spearheading a virtual value network of project stakeholders from engineering, design and product marketing disciplines – each with their own challenges – to facilitate open innovation and collaboration around a vehicle’s digital model. Project stakeholders had the opportunity and autonomy to engage in a new digital “test and learn” experience with dashboard managers, powerful realistic rendering images, urban delivery web monitoring, and virtual visualization with a headset but without data transfer or processing. Laurence MONTANARI holds a mechanical engineering degree in robotics from the Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France. 

For more information on Dassault Systèmes in the Transportation & Mobility Industry, please click here.

Tejas KUSURKAR, Co-founder, CEO, Offgrid Energy Labs - comes from a diverse background ranging from biotechnology to materials. His passion for clean energy led him to complete his Ph.D. at IIT Kanpur and gain hands-on experience in various sustainable energy technologies. Tejas co-founded Offgrid along with three of his peers to innovate and launch sustainable and cost-efficient technologies for the energy storage sector.

With over 25+ years of experience in the Automotive and High-Tech industry, Ganesan KRISHNAMURTHY is the Business Consulting Director for the Global T&M Industry and he is based out of Silicon Valley office, California. He spent 5 years as the Technical Executive at Tesla for their deployment of 3DEXPERIENCE platform. He has also been working very closely with other EV Startups in California and the established OEM’s and Suppliers at Detroit on the key areas of disruptions in the T&M Industry including Powertrain electrification and ADAS/AD. 

Dr. Lalitha SUBRAMANIAN is a Science Fellow and Senior Director of Global Contract Research & Scientific Consulting. She leads a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers on strategic collaborations with industry customers to solve their business-critical challenges using 3D modeling & simulations and data science technology.  For over 25 years, she has successfully delivered energy savings, remediated product and process failures and driven product innovation for her customers. She and her team have won innovation awards from her customers for the break-through scientific work that solved critical industry challenges and enabled better and more sustainable products and processes.  Battery chemistry, cell design and cell manufacturing process optimization are areas that she has been actively engaged in with customers in aerospace, automotive, chemicals and high technology industry sectors.  With a Ph. D. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India and postdoc at Cornell University, New York, USA with Prof. Roald Hoffmann (Nobel Laureate), Lalitha combines her knowledge from wet-lab and analytical characterization experiments with integrated computational materials engineering and data science. With several publications, book, book chapters, and patents, she has been invited to present at various international conferences.

With over 22 years of experience in the civil & structural engineering space, Neerav MEHTA is currently the Senior Deputy General Manager, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Limited. He has led Enterprise-wide Digital Transformation Program (EPSILON) - Covering entire EPCC Value chain, has 17+ years of experience in EPC and EPCM Projects in areas of Oil & Gas, Refinery & Petrochemicals fields. He has been responsible for the technical review of key engineering deliverables, man power planning and monitoring, cost/quantity and schedule monitoring, interfacing with construction team, vendors and other engineering disciplines and has represented civil teams for 3D model, HSE, constructability and design reviews. Mr Neerav MEHTA has significant experience to work with multi-cultural teams for various International & Domestic Projects. He received his Bachelor of Engineering (BE), Civil Engineering from Sardar Patel University and has completed post graduated programs in Data Science and Business Analytics from the Great Lakes Institute of Management and the University of Texas at Austin.

Ravikiran POTHUKUCHI leads Dassault Systèmes’ Manufacturing & Logistics business in India. His role is to define the business strategy to expand Dassault Systèmes’ solution footprint in India’s rapidly growing manufacturing & logistics sectors.

Ravikiran started his career with Dassault Systèmes in 2004, donned various roles within its R&D organization before moving into a business development role in 2011. In 2017, he took the countrywide responsibility to grow the market share in its core industry verticals. Having delivered a YoY double-digit growth for the last 4 years, he is entrusted with the responsibility to tap the growth potential of India’s manufacturing & logistics sectors. 

A graduate of premier academic institutions IIT-Madras, IIM-Bangalore, he is also a DAAD scholar and a member of several industry bodies such as SAE and IFCCI.

Ashish GOYAL is a management graduate from IIM Ahmedabad having extensive product & general management experience across industries. He is currently working with Jindal Stainless Limited as General Manager – Procurement & Business analytics and is responsible for projects related to product & pricing strategy, commercial negotiations and business analytics.

Before joining Jindal Stainless Limited, Ashish has worked in Tata Administrative Services (TAS) as a Manager, Leadership Program coordinating across Tata’s various industry arms. 

Ashish also has an extensive academic background. He acquired his Bachelors in Management from Delhi University and his MBA in Strategy, Operations & Finance from IIM Ahmedabad including a 3 month exchange program at the University of Chicago, with a focus on analytics & economics.

Sanjeev R has 12+ years of background in Supply chain, Digital Manufacturing & Operations, and Product Lifecycle Management Space. Sanjeev is serving as a Business Consultant at Dassault Systemes, leading a team of experts & consultants in supply chain & manufacturing domains and helping organizations to strategize the smart manufacturing & Industry 4.0 initiatives focusing on the segments of Sales & Operations, Digital continuity, Operations management, lean manufacturing & logistics optimization across different industries.

Prior to this role, he was working in the capacity of a Solution Architect and an Industry consultant on digital manufacturing for domains such as Aerospace & Defense, High Tech, Transportation & Mobility, and Infrastructure industries.

Sanjeev holds a Masters Degree in Computer Integrated Manufacturing & Bachelors' degree in Mechanical Engineering and has an industry experience of more than 12 years.

Vikram, an IIM Kozhikode grad in Data analytics with base of BE Mechanical has 16+ years of experience in various leadership roles of Supply Chain Management across Strategic Sourcing, Global Sourcing, Analytics & Digitization, NPD & Procurement with industry leading organizations like John Deere, Carraro & Mahindra.

Currently associated as Head Analytics for Purchase function in Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd as a driver of Digital & Analytics Strategy to accelerate Business Transformation. His primary focus is on creating a roadmap for Innovation, Digital Transformation with analytics, Sourcing strategies and Partner management.

He has created a homegrown solution D-Cube for strategic sourcing function using AI & ML based advanced analytics solutions which identifies preferred supplier strategy, supplier risk, improves visibility of spend & prescribes cost reduction opportunities through costing outliers detection.

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Morgan ZIMMERMANN is the Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Systèmes NETVIBES, where he is responsible for all aspects of the brand strategy, portfolio and business operations.

He has over 20 years of experience in AI, big data and digital transformation.

Since joining Dassault Systèmes in 2010 upon the acquisition of EXALEAD, a market leader in search platforms and search-based applications, Morgan has been devoted to furthering the capabilities of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to reveal information intelligence using AI and big data to transform implicit or explicit information into actionable knowledge and know-how.

While in charge of EXALEAD Strategy, Sales and Business Development, Morgan expanded the brand’s presence across international markets. He was appointed CEO of EXALEAD in 2015, quickly restructuring the product portfolio serving all Dassault Systèmes customers. After leading the acquisition of PROXEM to empower the 3DEXPERIENCE platform with state-of-the-art, AI-driven natural language, Morgan spearheaded the consolidation of all data and AI brands under a single brand: NETVIBES.

A frequent speaker at international conferences, Morgan Zimmermann is passionate about helping customers to realize the power of data to transform their business.

Piyush JAIN is Head Strategy at Uno Minda Group. He is responsible for driving projects across multiple businesses to supporting growth agenda of group.
 
Piyush has 20+ years of rich experience and a very successful track record of business transformation and turnaround across industries which includes autocomponents, Telecom, Construction, Power and Hospitality. 

Piyush is B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi and complete his MBA in Finance & Strategy from IIM Bangalore. Post MBA he joined Tata Group as a TAS officer and has held multiple leadership roles across group companies like Tata Teleservices, Tata Projects, Tata Power and Taj Hotels.

Kiran DIVEKAR is currently working as Director of Business Planning for Dassault Systemes India. In his role, he is responsible for building a multi-year business plan and strategy for the entire Dassault Systèmes solution portfolio to target the markets in India spanning across all multiple industries like Automotive, Aerospace, CPG, etc.

Kiran Divekar was heading the manufacturing portfolio with DELMIA brand and has worked very closely with customers like TATA Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Havells and ITC. He has promoted and worked extensively in implementing the Smart Factory/Industrie4.0 & Digital Manufacturing initiatives with these customers. 

During his stint in R&D, Kiran worked with Global customers like Boeing, Toyota, Airbus and Embraer. His contribution with Boeing on the 787 Dreamliner program played a key role in designing the solution for Boeing for their Manufacturing Planning and Shop Floor Applications. Kiran has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UVCE, Bangalore, Master of Technology (M Tech) in Design Engineering from IIT Delhi and a MBA from Michigan State University, USA

Satish TIWARY is a seasoned professional with proven track record in developing and delivering innovative solutions for complex problems which helped enhance their profitability by increasing productivity and reducing cost He is an agile practitioner, has developed and managed multiple digital products for external as well as internal customers for improving productivity and profitability of organization he is also a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) black belt certified professional and have been using LSS methodologies for transformational projects.

He received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Durgapur and his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Operation Management from SPJIMR SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. He commenced his career as an Assistant Manager Maintenance, at TATA Motors and has worked with large companies such as Ashok Leyland, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Accenture, PWC India and National Engineering Industries Ltd. (NBC Bearings), before joining Dassault Systèmes in 2021.

Cdr. Thomas PHILIP has an overall professional experience of more than 22 years with the Indian Navy and Corporate sector. He at present drives the manufacturing and logistics solutions at Dassault Systèmes India and works with the clients in the sector including ports to achieve operational excellence objectives by implementing DS tools.

His professional experience in the manufacturing and logistics sector is honed by his career as a technical officer with the Indian Navy followed by a corporate stint at KPMG, KITCO, and Mahindra & Mahindra.

As part of his corporate career, he has been involved in developing a strategic growth plan for industries in the manufacturing sector. He was also involved in infrastructure consultancy projects and project management related to various marine and port projects such as the development of Shipyards, Port Marine infrastructure, Development of International cruise terminals, and Inland waterways transportation /Water Metro.

As part of his naval career, he has been part of some of the niche projects of the Indian navy such as the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Building Project, Vikrant at CSL, Nuclear Submarine INS Arihant, design team & ship repair projects at Naval Dockyard which has helped him to develop an in-depth knowledge in the fields of Ship repair, Building, and management of shipyards.

Cdr. Thomas is a B.tech (Mechanical Engineering) from Naval College of Engineering, with Masters in design engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He also has undergone the Executive PGP certificate program in Operations Management from IIM Kozhikode.
 

 Mr. Praveen Mysore is Technical Director at Dassault Systèmes India Private Limited. He has been associated with Dassault Systèmes since 2002. Before joining Dassault Systèmes he was working with Mahindra & Mahindra, Mumbai as Press Tool Designer.

At Dassault Systèmes, he has held various positions starting with Application Engineer, Technical Manager, Brand Sales Director and now Technical Director. He is responsible for engaging with clients across 12 industry verticals on business transformational projects. His main focus is to drive the value engagements with clients to ensure that clients maximize the value of the solution from Dassault Systèmes and benefit from business transformation. 

He has worked with many Indian and overseas clients in Asia Pacific region deploying the digital solution for engineering, manufacturing and governance from Dassault Systèmes. 

Mr. Praveen holds M. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from VTU.

Patrick FARDEAU, Aerospace & Defense Vice President, Global Sales and Market Development for Dassault Systèmes, has more than 20 years’ experience in aerospace and working in the areas of Information Systems, Sales and Marketing. He has worked with many aerospace and defense companies in Europe, Middle East and Asia including working for over five years with the Executive Committee of the global aerospace and defense leader, Airbus formerly EADS. He has an extensive experience of the Aerospace Product Development and Manufacturing process, as well as tools and methods deployed across various programs in which he has been involved in depth.

After working for Schlumberger from 1985 to 1987, he joined IBM for Sales and Marketing position in charge of large industrial accounts such as RENAULT and PEUGEOT, then became sales manager in 1996, and Director in charge of Aerospace Sector in 1997. He created ARIBA France in 2000, a company specialized in market place and e-procurement. 
He rejoined IBM in 2001, being in charge of PLM Software Sales for EMEA until 2007 with in addition strong focus on Aerospace and Airbus, and finally became in charge of the global EADS group from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he was offered a position of VP Sales in Dassault Systèmes, where he is currently working, in charge of developing sales and market worldwide for the Aerospace and Defense Industry, promoting the 3DEXPERIENCE and A&D Solutions portfolio strategy and value for the aerospace companies.

A graduate of an Aeronautic PHD with Doctor Degree in Space programs Management, and Executive MBA in INSEAD, plus DESS in Human Resources Management in Paris Sorbonne, Mr. Fardeau is also a member of the Aerospace associations USAIRE and also the CEPS. He is leading the Systems Modeling commission in Academy de l’Air et Espace.
 

François-Xavier DUMEZ with over 33 years of experience in the software, marine and shipbuilding domains, he is currently the VP Marine & Offshore Industry, Dassault Systèmes. Having started his career as a Naval Hydrodynamic Tests Division Manager at DGA - Direction générale de l'armement, he progressed as a software, research & development project manager at Dassault Systèmes. Mr. Dumez then worked as an educator for 12 years from 1994 – 2007 as an Engineering school teacher at ENSTA Paris, specializing in Ship design with CATIA V5, Hull form optimization, Naval Hydrodynamic courses and Numerical Hydrodynamic courses. As an accomplished researcher, he has featured in multiple breakthrough publications before re-joining Dassault Systèmes in 2010 as a CATIA - M&O Structure Products Manager. Since 2010, Mr Dumez has been a constant & integral part in developing & deploying Dassault Systèmes’ next-gen technology solution that are disrupting the Marine and Offshore industry today. François-Xavier Dumez received his Master’s degree in Oceanography from SeaTech Ecole d'ingénieurs, and completed his second Master’s degree at Ecole centrale de Nantes in the field of Fluids dynamic (option Naval Hydrodynamic) & Spécial Section Advanced Hydrodynamic Naval (SSHNA).

Mr. Akhilesh KUMAR JHA presently working as a senior scientist at the Aeronautical Development Establishment in the field of UAV Design and Development.   He has done BTech from NIT Jamshedpur in mechanical engineering & MTech from IIT MUMBAI in aerospace structure. He has worked in the field of Airframe design, control surface design & development, landing gear design & development, fuel tank design and development, and digital mockup generation for MALE UAVs. He has also worked as a system engineer for Imported and indigenous payloads. He has published more than 20 papers in different national, and international conferences, seminars, and journals. He has been also awarded the lab scientist award for the year 2016. He is a member of the Aeronautical Society of India as well as the Indian Society for Advancement of Materials and Process.