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Event Highlights · Flagship Leadership Forum
Two days where India's CEOs, CXOs, incubator leaders, policymakers and ecosystem enablers came together to shape the future of innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship-led growth.
100+
CXOs & Incubator Leaders
94
Organisations
18+
Speakers & Facilitators
About the Conclave
The ISBA CXO Conclave is the flagship leadership forum of the Indian STEPs and Business Incubators Association (ISBA), bringing together CEOs, CXOs, incubator leaders, policymakers, industry experts, investors and startup ecosystem enablers from across India.
Through keynote addresses, panel discussions, leadership conversations and interactive sessions, the conclave promotes the exchange of best practices, addresses emerging opportunities and challenges, and fosters partnerships between academia, industry, government and incubators — accelerating innovation, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship-led economic growth.
Conclave 2026 reinforced ISBA's shared commitment to building a stronger, more connected, and innovation-driven ecosystem — with meaningful discussions on deep-tech innovation, sustainable incubation, corporate partnerships, and policy advocacy.
Technology Business Incubators, Atal Incubation & Community Innovation Centres, university incubators, research parks, and corporate innovation centres — converging for knowledge exchange and collaborative problem-solving.
Participation Snapshot
100+
CXOs & Incubator Leaders
Attendees
94
Startup Ecosystem Organisations
Represented
18+
Speakers & Facilitators
On stage
12+
Sessions
Across two days
9
States
Nationwide reach
5+
Ecosystem Segments
TBIs, AICs, ACICs & more
Participation Overview
A convergence of TBIs, AICs, ACICs, university incubators, research parks and industry innovation centres from across the country.
94 unique organisations represented
Voices of Leadership
The strength of ISBA lies in its collaborative community, and this conclave reinforced our shared commitment to building a stronger, more connected, and innovation-driven ecosystem. I extend my sincere appreciation to ACIC-VGU Foundation, our distinguished speakers, delegates, partners, volunteers, and the organizing team.
Mr. Prasad Menon
President, ISBA · CEO, CIBA
ISBA CXO Conclave 2026 brings together leaders of India's incubation and innovation ecosystem to exchange ideas, foster collaboration, and shape the future of entrepreneurship. I hope this conclave serves as a catalyst for meaningful partnerships, knowledge sharing, and collective action.
Mr. Gaurav Sharma
CEO, ACIC-VGU Foundation · Convenor
It is a privilege to be part of a platform that unites ecosystem leaders to share best practices, address emerging challenges, and build lasting collaborations. I am confident the discussions will inspire new ideas and strengthen India's innovation and incubation ecosystem.
Mr. Abhishek Pareek
CEO, AIC Banasthali Vidyapith Foundation · Co-Convenor
Day 1 · 2 July 2026
From a visit to Jaipur's innovation hub and a closed-door deep-tech roundtable to keynotes on resilience, CSR and ESG.
Delegates toured ACIC-VGU Foundation at Vivekananda Global University — exploring its incubation ecosystem, startup support programmes, innovation infrastructure, sector-focused initiatives, and government-supported schemes, with first-hand exposure to its operational model and impact.
A closed-door Think Tank moderated by Mr. Kunal Upadhyay (Translation Endeavors) brought senior incubator leaders together on the evolving deep-tech funding landscape — collaborative funding models, the Research, Development & Innovation Fund (RDIF), the Fund of Funds (FoF), and policy advocacy. Its insights fed directly into the Day 2 plenary.
Addresses by Mr. Gaurav Sharma, Er. Onkar Bagaria and Mr. Prasad Menon set the tone for the two-day conclave — emphasising collaboration, community-driven innovation, sustainable incubation, and strengthening India's startup ecosystem through collective leadership.
Dr. B. Krishnamurthy (BKM)
An exploration of how emerging technologies — particularly AI — are reshaping organisations and leadership. The session highlighted adaptability, lifelong learning, resilience, psychological safety, and building innovation-oriented cultures able to thrive in uncertainty.
Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, IAS (Retd.)
India's CSR framework and its growing role in supporting incubation centres, academic institutions and startups — plus emerging mechanisms such as the Social Stock Exchange. CSR emerged as a strategic enabler for sustainable incubation beyond traditional government support.
Padma Shri Prof. Ashutosh Sharma
ESG principles as drivers of sustainable innovation — governance, AI for sustainability, and balancing knowledge creation with economic value. Responsible innovation and ESG-driven decision-making emerged as essentials for building globally competitive startups.
Moderator: Dr. Premnath V. · Panelists: Dr. Anand Sri Ganesh, Dr. Harsh Vinayak, Mr. Aman Bhaiya
Leaders from banking, technology and CSR explored how corporate mandates can become sustainable funding mechanisms — collaborative CSR models, accelerator programmes, governance frameworks, impact measurement, and industry-incubator partnerships.
Dr. Satilal Patil
Drawing parallels between endurance adventure and the startup journey, Dr. Patil emphasised resilience, teamwork, communication, adaptability and practical decision-making — inspiring delegates to view challenges as opportunities for growth.
Day 2 · 3 July 2026
Incubators under RDIF & FoF, the ISBA Co-Incubation Framework, government scheme workshops, and a policy unconference — closing with a grand plenary.
Mr. Shaji Varghese, CEO, SINE IIT Bombay
The pivotal role of incubators in strengthening India's deep-tech ecosystem through RDIF and the Fund of Funds — facilitating technology commercialization, research translation, industry collaboration, and investment readiness for deep-tech startups.
Mr. Ismail Akbani
An interactive exercise introducing the proposed ISBA Co-Incubation Framework — demonstrating collaboration, resource sharing, and standardized co-incubation practices that reduce duplication and collectively accelerate startup success.
DST (NIDHI, PRAYAS, SSS) · BIRAC (BIG, LEAP, BioNEST) · MeitY Startup Hub
Focused discussions on funding mechanisms, implementation challenges, reporting requirements and policy improvements — generating recommendations for simpler processes, transparent communication, and stronger institutional collaboration.
Mr. Prasad Menon
An interactive discussion on the key challenges facing India's incubation ecosystem and ISBA's role in policy advocacy and institutional collaboration — reinforcing ISBA as a collective voice advocating reforms and addressing common challenges.
Mr. Prasad Shetty
Open dialogue among ecosystem leaders on operational challenges, policy priorities, institutional collaboration and the future direction of ISBA's advocacy — capturing grassroots insights to shape a more collaborative, inclusive ecosystem.
A reflection on key takeaways from the sessions, panels, workshops and policy conversations, followed by a Vote of Thanks and group photograph. The conclave closed with a Cultural Fiesta and Gala Dinner — an informal platform for deeper engagement and future collaboration.
Distinguished Voices
Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee
Father of Indian CSR & Sustainability; Former Secretary, GoI; Former DG & CEO, IICA
Prof. Ashutosh Sharma
Former DST Secretary · IIT Kanpur
Ms. Smita Pandey Mishra
Founder · Fandoro Technologies
Dr. Satilal Patil
Founder · Green Vision Life Sciences
Dr. Krishanmurty B.
Industry Engagement Lead · IISc
Dr. Harsh Vinayak
Head, Global Digital Assets Management · NTT DATA
Mr. Aman Bhaiya
VP & Head (Strategy & Growth) · SBI Foundation
Mr. Kunal Upadhyay
Co-founder · Translation Endeavors
Mr. Shaji Varghese
CEO · SINE, IIT Bombay
Dr. Anand Sri Ganesh
Director · NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore
Mr. Avinash Punekar
CEO · iCreate
Dr. V. Premnath
Founder & Director · Venture Centre
ISBA
Prasad Menon
President · ISBA
Prasad Shetty
Vice President · ISBA
Sudha Selvaraj
Chief Executive Officer · ISBA
Gladis Nair
Head – Operations · ISBA
Ismail Akbani
CEO · AIC Mahindra
Davinder Singh
CEO · ACIC-BMU Foundation
Abhishek Pareek
CEO · AIC Banasthali Vidyapith Foundation
Poyni Bhatt
Independent Director · SEDEMAC
Deepanwita Chattopadhyay
IKP Knowledge Park
Ashish Garde
MAGIC
Suresh Kumar
PSG-STEP
Balachandran A.
VIT Technology Business Incubator (VITTBI)
The Community
| Name | Designation | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna | CEO | ASPIRE TBI, University of Hyderabad |
| Ms. Nidhi Bawashe | CEO | Wainganga Incubation Foundation |
| Dr. J. Suryakumar | CEO | SSIIE Technology Business Incubator |
| Mr. Sudhir Manohar Arali | CEO | KIT's Innovation & Research Foundation, Kolhapur |
| Mr. Muruganantham Senthilrajan | COO | Metayage Private Limited |
| Dr. Karthikeyan A K | CEO | MaDeIT Innovation Foundation |
| Dr. Tusharkumar K Panchal | Group CEO | GTU Innovation & Startup Centre |
| Ms. Suman Gupta | COO | BBB, Regional Centre for Biotechnology |
| Mr. Apurva Gaiwak | CEO | SGSITS Incubation Forum, Indore |
| Dr. Shitalkumar A. Jain | Deputy Director | MITAoE Entrepreneurial Development Foundation |
| Ms. Rashmika Shah | Sr Manager | Nirma University |
| Mr. Rajesh Mane | Cofounder & Partner | Spotlight Strategic Partners |
| Mr. Umesh Ankush Kakde | CEO | DFIIE |
| Dr. Archita Nandi | Director | CU-TBI |
| Mr. Srinivasa Rao Sureddi | CEO | GUSEC |
| Mr. Mandar Joshi | CEO | COEP's Bhau Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
| Mr. Santosh Kumar | Director | SPJIMR |
| Dr. Santhosha Rao | CEO | Manipal Universal Technology Business Incubator |
| Mr. Avijit | COO | IKN Innovation Foundation |
| Mr. Atul K. Bharat | Director | AIIH Foundation |
| Mr. Shrikant Hanumant Kunden | CEO | Laxmibai Bhaurao Patil Innovation Foundation (LBPIF) |
| Mr. Shahid Abbas Mir | COO | Chinar Quantum AI |
| Prof. G. R. Sinha | CEO & Provost | GU Incubation Innovation Technology & Applied Research Council |
| Dr. Gaurav Gupta | CEO | MRFRI, Hyderabad |
| Dr. Nisha Mukund | CEO | Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council |
| Dr. M. Parvez Alam | Executive Director | Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council |
| Mr. Ashish Bhutada | COO | SVKM's NMIMS SoBUS COE for Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
| Dr. Navin Baban Khandare | CEO | KBCNMU Centre for Innovation Incubation & Linkages |
| Dr. M. Venkatesan | Dean | KSRCE Council for Innovation & Incubation |
| Mr. Makarand Kulkarni | CEO | MAGIC |
| Col. B S Rao | CEO | SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX) |
| Mr. Keyur Punjani | COO | iTIC Incubator, IIT Hyderabad |
| Mr. Harsha Vikas Dhanalakota | AVP | IIMV FIELD |
| Dr. Atish Ray | CTO | Savli Technology & Business Incubator, Vadodara (DST-GoG) |
| Mr. Saurav Kumar | General Manager | TBI-KIET |
| Mr. Rama Kant | Director | Entrepreneurship Promotion & Incubation Council |
| Dr. Vishal Gandhi | Founder & CEO | BIORx Venture Advisors |
| Dr. Shruti Bhargava Choubey | CEO | Sreenidhi Ascend |
| Mr. Puneeth S | Head | Siddaganga Incubation Foundation |
| Mr. Girish Hiremath | CEO | Global Incubation Services | GINSERV |
| Dr. Lakshmi Jaganathan | CEO | RVEI Incubation Foundation |
| Mr. Kiraan Mehta | CEO | Forum For Innovation Incubation Research & Entrepreneurship |
| Mr. Girish Venkat | CEO | Presidency Launchpad |
| Mr. Sandeep Madiwal | CEO | FMCII |
| Mr. Nitish Metha | Head | SP-TBI, Andheri |
| Mr. Jay Sudani | CEO | Parul University |
| Mr. Hardik Joshi | COO | TIH Foundation |
| Mr. Sudhanshu Ranjan | Head | Navrachna Foundation |
| Mr. B Shivashankar | Chief Executive | SJCE STEP, Mysuru |
| Dr. K. Lakshmi | Director | K S R College of Engineering |
| Mr. Kiran Chakravarthulu | Head | Vignana Jyothi Foundation |
| Mr. Navin Kumar Gaur | COO | IIITD Innovation & Incubation Center |
| Mr. Bhavesh Mudgal | Head – Startups | HDFC |
| Dr. Ravi Kumar Goyal | COO & Director | CCS NIAM |
| Dr. Sheenu Jain | CEO | LNMIIT |
| Mr. Shivam Sharma | Co-Founder | Innovher |
| Mr. Sourav Gautam | COO | ACIC-VGU |
| Mr. Bhavesh Verma | Digital Brand Manager | ACIC-VGU |
| Mr. Amey Karmali | CEO | CIBA, Goa |
| Mr. Sanjay Mulvi | Head, Incubation | CIBA, Goa |
| Mr. Ravikumar Tiwari | Vice President | Sparkle GLA |
| Dr. Rahul Amritraj Singh | Head of Incubation | GIMS |
| Prof. Sidharth Shankar Tripathy | CEO | Bennett Hatchery Foundation |
| Ms. Anshu Jain | HOD | JITO JIIF |
| Mr. Atul Kherde | Director | AIIC MIT |
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Showing 65 of 65 listed delegates · 94 unique organisations represented.
Moments
With Thanks
The successful execution of ISBA CXO Conclave 2026 was made possible through the valuable support of our partners.
Supporting Host
ACIC-VGU Foundation
F&B Partner
Awsum
F&B Partner
Stroom
The conclave reaffirmed the collective commitment of India's incubation community to fostering innovation, strengthening institutional partnerships, and advancing a collaborative startup ecosystem.