Dr Ganesh Natarajan
- Founding Professor
Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, a platform for digital start-ups, skills and social ventures in the country. He is also the co-founder of Global Talent Track, Skills Alpha and Lighthouse Communities Foundation as well as two Indo-US joint ventures – Kalzoom Advisors and the Center for AI and Advanced Analytics.
Dr Natarajan is a member of the Central Board of Directors of State Bank of India and Chairman of the Board of Honeywell Automation India Limited. He has been Chairman of industry associations such as NASSCOM and NASSCOM Foundation as well as various national committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the All India Management Association. He serves on the Boards of Principal Asset Management, Hinduja Global Solutions, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, Singapore, Systech Inc., and Social Venture Partners (SVP) International, USA. He has authored several books and is a regular writer and speaker at national and international forums.
Dr Natarajan has a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from NITIE Mumbai, a PhD from IIT Bombay and Advanced Management from Harvard Business School. He has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Bombay and NITIE and has been recognised by EY and the Asia Pacific HR Forum for excellence in technology entrepreneurship and people-centric leadership.
Awards and recognitions
- Named the 'CEO of the Year' by the Asia Pacific HR Conference in 1999.
- Recognised as the CEO of the Decade – Knowledge Award, by Wisitex Foundation in 2000.
- Received the Asia HRD Congress Award for contributions to the organisation through HR in 2005.
- Finalist at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award, 2005.
- Gold Medallist in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering, IIT Bombay
Past positions
- Chairperson - The Outsourcing Forum of the Confederation of Indian Industries in Western India.
- Member - Executive Council of NASSCOM, India’s premier IT and BPO Association.
- Vice - Chairman and Global CEO - Zensar Technologies Ltd.
- Chairman - NASSCOM Innovation Forum (2005-07).
Others
- CEO - Aptech Limited