Community

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region.

Sara Saeed

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sehat Kahani, Pakistan

Sara Saeed Khurram is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sehat Kahani, an all-female health provider network working to create quality, cost-effective, ICT-enabled health care solutions for communities in Pakistan. Saeed Khurram has won numerous honours for her work, including the 2019 Rolex Awards for Enterprise (Associate Laureate), TIAW Award, CRDF Global Award, Ashoka Changemakers, ISIF Asia, The Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Award, 2016 UNICEF Global Goal Campaigner Award and 2017 Arpatech Young Entrepreneurs Award. She is also a Cartier Awards finalist and the first frontier Innovator from Pakistan. Saeed Khurram is also a 2016 Acumen Fellow, TedX speaker, Cherie Blair Foundation alumnus and Amplify Fund grantee. She completed her medical degree from Dow University of Health Sciences in Pakistan and MPH from the Aga Khan University of Health Sciences.

Sharad Vivek Sagar

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dexterity Global, India

Sharad Vivek Sagar is Founder and CEO of The Dexterity Global Group. He is a globally renowned social entrepreneur, noted thought leader, powerful orator and a widely followed youth icon. Raised in a small village in India, Sagar founded the national organization Dexterity Global aged 16. Today, scholars and leaders trained in the Dexterity system have received over $1.75 billion in scholarships from leading universities around the world, served as India’s ambassadors to global platforms, won 1,000+ national and international awards and launched their own leadership initiatives. The Telegraph newspaper noted, “Dexterity is building the future of India.” President Barack Obama invited Sagar to the White House. Forbes listed him on the Global Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Rockefeller Foundation inducted him in the list of 100 Next Century Innovators. The Nobel Peace Center invited him to the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. He was included in the Queen’s Young Leader list. India’s most watched television show, Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), invited him as the youngest Expert on the show. Sagar graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor’s degree and Harvard University with a Master’s degree on full scholarships. At Tufts University, he was the first Indian in 160 years of university history to be selected the Graduation Speaker. At Harvard University, he became the first Indian to be elected the President of Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2017, he became the youngest Indian to be invited as the Chief Guest and Convocation Speaker of a university and in 2024 he became one of the youngest in the world to receive an honorary doctorate “for his outstanding contributions and attainments in the field of social entrepreneurship and leadership”. In 2022, India’s leading newspaper Dainik Jagran bestowed upon Sagar the Editor’s Choice Award for India’s Youth Icon “for representing the bold face of young India and redefining education and leadership for millions of young Indians”.

Tara Singh Vachani

Executive Chairman, Antara Senior Living Limited, India

Tara Singh Vachani is the Managing Director of Antara Senior Living, focused on improving the lives of seniors. Antara Senior Living is the first Indian venture creating vibrant residential communities that offer lifestyle with lifecare. Tara is also engaged with the Max India Foundation.

Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman

Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

Jeevan Kumaravel Thondaman is Cabinet Minister for Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development in Sri Lanka. He is also General-Secretary of the Ceylon Workers Congress, that works towards the upliftment of historically marginalized plantation worker communities. Thondaman is also one of the youngest MPs elected in Sri Lanka, in 2020, aged 25. In his previous portfolio as State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure, he worked relentlessly to create a conducive environment for plantation workers, ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and adequate benefits. As Minister for Water Supply, he has been spearheading ambitious reforms in the water sector to increase access to safe and affordable drinking water, create a climate resilience roadmap for water services and a transparent pricing formula that protects the most vulnerable in society. He continues to advocate for the rights of all marginalized people in Sri Lanka, especially workers, women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT+ community. In 2022, he became one of the first MPs to openly support the rights of the LGBT+ community. He is also known for his passion for art, culture and sport. Thondaman has a certification in Criminology from the London School of Economics and an LLB from Northumbria University.

Lokesh Todi

Chairman, Avasar Equity Limited, Nepal

Lokesh Todi is the Chairman of Avasar Equity, which manages Nepal's first licensed Private Equity Fund. He is also a director in Reliance Group Nepal, a conglomerate with interests in manufacturing, trading, energy, and financial services. As a director in Reliance Group Nepal, he oversees the group's carpet manufacturing operations.

Prior to working at Reliance Group, Lokesh was a Senior Analyst at Analysis Group in Boston where he provided his economic expertise in litigation related cases to various government organizations and Fortune 500 firms such as Intel Corporation, Microsoft, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Toyota, British Petroleum, and the Israeli Finance Ministry. Lokesh received his MBA degree from Yale University in 2014 where he was an Emerging Entrepreneurship Fellow. He received his BA degree from Colby College where he was awarded the prestigious Baker Scholarship and graduated the school with magna cum laude honors with a distinction in Economics and Political Science in 2009.

Aakrit Vaish

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jio Haptik Technologies Limited, India

Aakrit Vaish is the Co-Founder & CEO of Jio Haptik, one of the world's largest AI companies. He founded the company in 2013 as Haptik, which was acquired by Reliance Jio Platforms in 2019 in a $100 million transaction, forming the new entity of Jio Haptik. Aakrit has been a pioneer in the conversational AI space, leading the wave of transforming customer experience digitally. Under his leadership, Haptik has powered more than 200 brands globally, including Whirlpool, HP, Zurich Insurance, Disney+, KFC & more. The platform processes over 4 billion interactions annually and is consistently mentioned as a top industry player by Gartner, Forrester & Everest. Haptik was named a category leader in Bot Platforms by G2 in their Spring 2022 report, based on a rating of 4.5/5.0 by more than 100 customers. Outside of Haptik, Aakrit is an active angel investor in startups in India, having made close to 80 such investments. He is a charter member of the Entrepreneurs Organisation and Co-Chair of H2 India. He serves on the boards of various technology startups, helping them with go-to-market, scaling & team building. Aakrit has been recognized by Entrepreneur 35 Under 35, Forbes 30 Under 30, and Businessworld 40 Under 40. He has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

Sudarshan Venu

Managing Director, TVS Motor Company Limited, India

Sudarshan Venu is the M.D. of TVS Motor Company. He is also on the board of Sundaram - Clayton Ltd, the holding Company, and MD of TVS Credit, the group's financial services arm. He is an automotive enthusiast and grew up amidst the roar of the engines of India's oldest factory racing team. Over the last few years, Mr. Venu has been charting the future of one of India's leading two-wheeler manufacturers, making it the most awarded two-wheeler company. He now plans to transform the Company into a top global mobility player. Under his leadership, TVS acquired U.K.s iconic motorcycle brand Norton Motorcycles and has set up a completely new manufacturing facility in the U.K. Mr. Venu also strongly believes in staying ahead of the emerging trends: electrification and personal mobility are two big areas of focus. He is looking to build a strategic personal e-mobility ecosystem by scaling unique brands. He recently led TVS to acquire the European e-bike brand EGO Movement and Switzerland's largest e-bike company, Swiss E-Mobility Group. With the vision of enriching the life of every Indian, he is also leading the change at TVS Credit Services. He holds a Graduate Degree with Honors in Management and Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. He also obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the School of Engineering and, a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School & an M.Sc. in International Tech from the University of Warwick in the U.K.