Mr. Naveen Jha
President
Naveen Jha is one of India’s prominent social Impact leaders. As a former CEO of Deshpande Foundation, he has launched one of the largest Startup incubator and Skilling Center in India and has mentored over 100+ organizations. Naveen has pioneered several education models unleashing entrepreneurship and leadership among youth. He has orchestrated many innovations and mentored several renowned large-scale organizations and startups working in the field of Ed-Tech, overhauling systemic change, imbibing scientific temper, and building skills cumulatively impacting half a million youth. His other known works also include: refining large scale farm value chains, innovating lean financial models for water harvesting, and have impacted over a million farmers.
Naveen is a serial entrepreneur and has co-founded several startups ranging from vegan lifestyle products to sustainable farming sciences working with several others. Naveen has also been advising various philanthropic foundations, State Governments, and Think Tanks on social Innovation and entrepreneurship. Naveen is the recipient of the British Chevening Gurukul Fellowship and has also served at the Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
Naveen is passionate about education and empowering the rural youth of India. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) for many years and has served on the Managing Committee since 2012. He has been serving as President since 2014.
Mr. Sheshgiri Kulkarni
Treasurer
CA Sheshgiri B. Kulkarni is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a DISA qualification. He is a commerce graduate from Karnataka College, Dharwad, with over 29 years of experience as a consultant and faculty member for professional institutes. His areas of expertise include Financial Accounting, Direct Taxes, and Corporate Law.
Sheshgiri has presented papers at various conferences on accounting and taxation and regularly provides analyses of the Union Budget. He has held leadership positions within ICAI and is a Charter Member and Governing Board Member of the TiE Hubli Chapter.
In addition to his professional work, Sheshgiri is actively involved in community initiatives aimed at the rehabilitation and eradication of blindness. He believes that the teachings of Gandhi, Basavanna, and Buddha are essential for a civilized society.
Mrs. Agathe Meurisse-Fortier
Member and cofounder of the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya
Born in Paris in 1972, Agathe studied drawing at L’Atelier Clouet in Paris and the History of Art at the Sorbonne before leaving for India in 1995. Agathe has also studied Bengali at the Vishwa Bharati University at Shanti Niketan in West Bengal and Hindi at Varanasi. Since then, along with her husband Mathieu Fortier and their four daughters, she has spent many years in India and now devotes her time for the well-being of the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV’s) children.
Mr. Anand Nilekani
Member
Anand Nilekani’s career in Information Technology is marked by pioneering projects that have significantly impacted the industry. He led the Online Reservation System for Indian Airlines, the first project in India. He was instrumental in planning and executing large and complex networking projects for several banks and the Armed Forces. His innovative spirit also led to establishing remote management services from India for data centres in the USA and other countries. His journey began with IBM in 1974 and continued with CMC, ORG Systems, and Indian Airlines, culminating in a 26-year-long tenure with the Tata Group. He held the position of Vice President, Global Infrastructure Services in Tata Infotech and retired from the position of Practice Director (IT IS) and Head of Asia Pacific Region in TCS in 2013.
Born in Dharwad, Anand Nilekani’s educational journey laid a strong foundation for his career in Information Technology. He received his early education at St. Joseph’s High School and Karnatak Science College, Dharwad, and then pursued his BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from REC Trichy. His academic pursuits also led him to acquire a Diploma in Management, further enhancing his expertise in the field.
Beyond his IT career, Anand is an avid sportsperson. He captained his college and district table tennis teams and competed successfully at the state level in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Arun Bellary
Member
Arun Bellary, who is originally from Dharwad, started his career at Bell Laboratories in 1982 as a R&D scientist and worked his way up at Fujitsu and DSC Communications. He obtained MSEE from SMU and MBA in M&A from Thunderbird University, Arizona.
Arun has held several senior management positions in MNCs such as Corporate VP of PMC-Sierra Inc., Founder, Chairman & CEO of Metro-OptiX, VP & GM at Ericsson, and VP at Pirelli Optical Network Systems. His first start-up was Optilink and in 2013 he launched ASARVA Chips & Technologies.
In 2007 Arun became involved with Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) as a donor and volunteer. He was invited by the founders to join the Managing Committee, and served as President from 2010 to 2014.
Mr. Avinsh Patil
Member
Avinash, who hails from Dharwad, completed his B.Com from Karnataka University, Dharwad. For several years he worked at Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) as the Accounts Manager. He has since taken up other employment but is still very much connected with the organization especially in his capacity as a Managing Committee member.
Mr. K.L. Patil
Member
K.L. Patil, a senior advocate, boasts an impressive four decades of legal practice in Dharwad. His journey began with a B.A. and LL.B. from Karnataka University and University Law College, Dharwad, in 1977. Since then, he has delved deep into civil, criminal, service, labour, and allied laws, establishing himself as a seasoned professional.
Beyond his legal career, Sri. Patil has served on the panel of leading institutions such as Karnataka University, University of Agricultural Sciences, Karnataka State Law University, the State Bank of India, and the Karnataka Public Service Commission.
Not just a legal luminary, Sri. K.L. Patil has also been a guiding force in community institutions. His 30-year tenure as Director of Raddi Co-operative Bank, including 26 years as its Chairman, has left an indelible mark on one of the region’s oldest financial institutions. His role as a Trustee of the Sri Siddharoodh Math Trust Committee, Hubballi, further underscores his deep commitment to public service.
Mr. Mathieu Fortier
Member and cofounder of the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya
After studying anthropology at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, Mathieu has travelled extensively in India. Here he studied Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, and Kannada), Indian Classical Music, and Hatha Yoga. He now devotes his time to work related to Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) and Young Musicians of the World (Canada).