Aaron is a senior associate with Eagle Investments Ltd. in Dubai, where he is responsible for advising on and executing principal investment, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and restructuring transactions for the group and its portfolio companies across the U.S., China, South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Aaron is also responsible for origination, evaluation, execution and monitoring for a globally diversified $100 million portfolio of private equity investments within the financial sector. Prior to that, Aaron was an associate with Spouting Rock Capital Advisors (direct investment and advisory firm) and a founding member (associate) of Spouting Rock Consulting (investment consulting firm). Aaron is a member of Business Council for Peace, advising Afghan entrepreneurs on business planning, financial modelling and operational finance. Aaron holds a B.A. in international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is a chartered financial analyst (CFA).

Ajay Hattangdi is the Chief Operating Officer for InnoVen Capital Group where has overall executive responsibility for driving the Group’s international expansion, and Chief Executive Officer responsible for leading the Group’s business in India. Ajay is widely recognized as the pioneer of the venture lending segment of the corporate finance industry in India. He has worked with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to introduce the concept of venture lending for over a decade since founding Citigroup India’s venture debt business in 2005. At that time, Ajay had the added responsibility of being the head of strategy for the Citigroup’s corporate & investment bank in the country. Ajay worked with Citigroup India for over 12 years before leaving to establish SVB India Finance, Silicon Valley Bank’s non-banking finance company focused on venture debt in 2008. SVB India Finance was re-branded InnoVen Capital India following a buyout of the business in 2015. Ajay is on the advisory board of Mumbai Angels which is among the largest angel groups in India and a founding steering committee member of the Association of Indian Angel Groups, a collective of accredited angel investor groups in India. He is a regular speaker on the angel and venture capital circuit. In 1998, Ajay co-founded PRAJA Foundation, a voluntary Mumbai-based non-profit committed to re-establishing accountability and transparency in public governance. Ajay has a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Sydenham College, a Master’s degree in Banking & Finance from Mumbai University, as well as an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Thomas is a financial management and organizational expert with over 25 years of international experience in the not-for-profit, financial services and hospitality industries. Thomas was director of special projects at the Open Society Institute (OSI) / Soros Foundation, a private operating and grant-making foundation based in New York City for more than 12 years. He was involved in many re-structuring projects within the organization, which is essentially a network of over 32 independent foundations with operating and grant-giving projects in over 60 countries. He has led a knowledge management initiative at OSI to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration capacity within their network of organizations. He has an M.B.A. from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Karim is a freelance consultant in conflict sensitive development with over 25 years of experience working with governments, UN agencies and NGOs across Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. He is currently involved in a variety of projects, including: advisor on official development assistance policy, program formulation and design, and monitoring and evaluation of development projects for the UN and bi-lateral donors. He is also senior stabilization advisor with the UK Department for International Development. Karim is co-designer and main lecturer for a post-graduate module on state building and conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a visiting lecturer at the Norwegian Department of International Environment and Development Studies, as well as several universities in the United States. He authors contributions for policy papers, books, periodicals and journals. He has an MSc. in development economics and international development from the University of East Anglia.

David Goff is the co-founder of UAE-based Analog Production, a media production house specialized in photography and video advertising; and ReelHelp, its non-profit arm dedicated to the celebration of human dignity. David has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. He has been awarded a fellowship with the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP), which is only attainable for photographers with distinguished and exceptional ability and creativity in photography. He is highly passionate about photography, art, design/fashion and humanitarian causes and always looks to produce top quality work in challenging environments. He has received over 100 professional awards from the BIPP, the Master Photographer Association (MPA) and the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photography (SWPP). David specializes in fashion, architecture/interiors, advertising, portraits and reportage. David and its dedicated team have been supporting Insaan since 2015.

Jed is a videographer and film editor for Analog Production, a global media production house, as well as for its humanitarian arm, Reel Help. Issued from a family of artists, Jed is creative and passionate about his work. Together with his team at Analog, Jed has been supporting Insaan as a film editor for the last few years. Jed derives great joy in doing his part to convey narratives about life for the world’s poorest.