The Professor of Practice (PoP) Cohort at SRM Executive Education is comprised of senior leaders representing diverse corporations in leadership positions. These distinguished professionals bring rich industry and practical experience directly into the classroom, offering learners hands‑on knowledge that bridges the gap between industry and academics.
The Professor of Practice (PoP) Cohort at SRM Executive Education is comprised of senior leaders representing diverse corporations in leadership positions. These distinguished professionals bring rich industry and practical experience directly into the classroom, offering learners hands‑on knowledge that bridges the gap between industry and academics.
Professors of Practice serve as the industry‑immersed teaching faculty, ensuring that learners gain exposure to real‑world challenges and solutions. Their role is to:
Bring corporate insights, leadership experiences, and practical frameworks into classroom teaching.
Deliver hands on knowledge that connects theory with practice.
Prepare learners to become “finished and market ready products” equipped for placements and leadership roles.
Align academic content with industry expectations, ensuring relevance and competitiveness.
Ensure learners embrace the concept of continuous learning even after completing formal education, helping them remain competitive in the market, retain relevance, and accelerate their professional career growth.
The PoP Cohort is entrusted with:
Co-Founder & Director
Area of Expertise: Analytics, Marketing & Business Intelligence
Vivekanand (Vivek) Ramamurthy is the Co-Founder & Director of Wilson Consulting, a Business Intelligence and Analytics consultant, and a Corporate/Academic Trainer specializing in data visualization and analytics. He has an MBA in Marketing & Statistics from Monash University, Melbourne, and brings a strong foundation in Sales & Marketing, with over 7 years of experience in relationship management within the hospitality industry.
Vivek works in the USA and globally to design and implement analytics solutions across Marketing, HR, Operations, Supply Chain, Retail, Healthcare, and Sports domains. His expertise spans dashboard design, KPI development, data storytelling, and implementation of analytics initiatives, with a focus on building knowledge-driven teams and embedding analytics into decision-making processes. He specializes in Tableau, data visualization, Microsoft Excel, and Business Intelligence, enabling organizations to transform data into actionable insights and measurable business impact.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Chief Practice Officer
Area of Expertise: IT, Analytics & AI
Rasesh Shah is a technology and business leader with 30+ years of experience spanning technology, analytics, consulting, digital transformation, and business leadership. He currently serves as Chief Practice Officer – EdTech at Fractal, where he leads Fractal Analytics Academy and is responsible for scaling its EdTech business and building an ecosystem of AI and analytics professionals.
A technologist with a strong focus on business outcomes, Rasesh has built and scaled multiple practices during his long association with Fractal. His experience includes leading the Financial Services and Consumer-Packaged Goods practices, establishing Big Data and Visualization capabilities, and serving as Chief Information Officer, where he led enterprise-wide digitalization, cloud transformation, cybersecurity, automation, and technology integration initiatives.
He is also passionate about education and entrepreneurship, serving as a Professor of Practice at Father Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering and a Mentor at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore, where he mentors startups in the AI sector. He has also created the Coursera course “Generative AI for Business – A Leaders' Handbook.”
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Director of Product Management - Invoicing and B2B
Savitha Ajitraj is a senior product leader at PayPal with close to two decades of experience building and scaling global products across commerce, trust, platform ecosystems, and AI-enabled experiences. She currently leads Invoicing and B2B Products at PayPal, driving product strategy and P&L for branded payments across domestic and cross-border segments. Her experience spans SaaS, APIs, merchant onboarding, product-led growth, disputes, trust, compliance, and commerce infrastructure across more than 200 markets.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Chief People Officer
Area of Expertise: OB, HR & Strategy
Raja Rajeswari Kodan is a seasoned Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience across financial services, technology, consumer goods, manufacturing, and professional services. She currently serves as Chief People Officer at Vivriti NEXT, having previously served as Group Head – Human Resources and Chief People Officer at Vivriti Capital. Her career reflects extensive experience in strategic HR leadership, business partnering, talent management, and people transformation.
She has held senior HR leadership positions at Freshworks, Flex, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, GSK Consumer Healthcare, Scope International, and Titan Industries, working closely with business leadership across diverse and high-growth organizations. Her experience includes HR business partnering, operations and commercial HR, talent strategy, and organization-wide people initiatives.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Holds a PGDPMIR in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from XLRI Jamshedpur and a B.Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from VNR Vignanajyothi Institute of Engineering & Technology.
Chief Executive Officer-India & South Asia
Area of Expertise: IT, Strategy & Digital Transformation
Ramanan S V is a seasoned business and technology leader with 30+ years of experience spanning financial technology, BFSI, insurance, telecommunications, business transformation, and operational excellence. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer – India & South Asia at Intellect Design Arena Ltd., where he leads the organization’s efforts to deliver innovative, AI-powered and design-led digital solutions for the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector.
With a strong background in change management, Six Sigma, Design Thinking, technology-led transformation, and customer-centric business strategy, Ramanan has worked with leading organizations across technology, telecom, insurance, and consulting. He has also held senior leadership and Board positions, combining strategic vision with a strong focus on operational excellence and measurable business outcomes.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Professional Highlights
Partner
Dr. K. Ganesh is a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Chennai office and a leading expert in supply chain planning, logistics management, and large-scale transformation. He leads McKinsey’s supply chain planning and logistics work in Asia and advises organizations across India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. He is office managing partner of chennai mckinsey. His work spans automotive, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and agrochemicals.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Vice President of Artificial Intelligence
Area of Expertise: AI, Data & Digital Transformation
Dr. V. Chandramouliswaran (Mouli) is VP – Artificial Intelligence and India Country Head at PayPal, and an Enterprise AI Transformation Leader and Board & CEO Advisor. A Wharton PhD and global executive with 23+ years of experience, he has built and scaled teams across AI, Data, Risk, Product, and Engineering. He has a proven track record of designing and executing enterprise-scale AI and data transformations with significant business impact.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Group CEO
Area of Expertise: Finance, Operations & Supply Chain
Dr. Uppiliappan Gopalan is a globally acclaimed business leader of Indian origin with 25+ years of leadership experience across FMCG, Retail, EPC, Automotive, Manufacturing, Trading, and Supply Chain businesses. He currently serves as Group CEO of a diversified business conglomerate in the South Pacific, with extensive experience managing P&L responsibilities for multinational organizations with revenues of up to USD 1 billion.
A strategic thinker and implementation-focused business leader, Dr. Gopalan has held senior leadership positions with organizations including the Murugappa Group, Bhatia Brothers Group (UAE), Dubai Holdings, Trinity Holdings (UAE), and Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Oman). His expertise spans finance, treasury, capital markets, operations, supply chain, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investments, business transformation, and organizational turnaround.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Managing Director
Area of Expertise: IT, Risk & Cybersecurity
Kalyanaraman K is a seasoned technology and risk management leader with over two decades of professional experience across technology risk, governance, business continuity, cybersecurity, cloud assurance, and technology transformation. He currently serves as Managing Director at Protiviti India, leading the firm’s Chennai office and driving technology and risk management initiatives across South India.
His expertise focuses on helping organizations strengthen operational, business, and cyber resilience while leveraging technology to enable business transformation. His work spans Technology Risk & Governance, Continuity & Resiliency, Cloud Assurance, IT Risk Management, Service Management, Technology Transformation, and Enterprise Solutions.
Areas of Expertise
Career & Academic Highlights
Post Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives