3 June, 2026, Bengaluru: IIM Bangalore has announced the recipients of its Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2026. Instituted in 2007, the Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) are given to alumni in recognition of their achievements of exceptional merit and excellence in their chosen field of endeavor – be it industry, corporate, entrepreneurship, or social service. Each awardee will receive a citation and her/his name will be engraved on the Wall of Fame at the Institute. This year, the awards will be presented on 14th June 2026, during the reorientation program of the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) and the Post Graduate Programme in Business Analytics (PGPBA) batch of 2025-2027.

The five alumni to receive the DAA this year are Arun Pai (PGP 1993), Rashmi Mohanty (PGP 1995), Manish Tiwary (PGP 1995), Karthik Reddy (PGP 1996) and Dipesh Shah (PGSEM 2002).

Arun Pai (PGP 1993)

Arun Pai is a Bengaluru-based civic leader, urban innovation practitioner, and founder of several citizen-led initiatives focused on improving walkability, public spaces, and urban infrastructure. Widely known as the “Footpath Mayor of Bengaluru,” he has led community-driven efforts that bring together citizens, government agencies, institutions, and volunteers to create practical and scalable urban improvement initiatives.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (PGP 1993), Arun completed his Mechanical Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras before beginning his entrepreneurial and civic journey. He founded Bangalore Walks in 2005, which has conducted over 1,500 heritage and city walks across Bengaluru, and later established India Rising Trust in 2014 to promote walkability, public space improvement, and citizen participation.

Arun is closely associated with The Ugly Indian, the nationally recognized civic movement known for transforming neglected public spaces through direct citizen action. His TEDx Bangalore talk, ‘Why is India so Filthy?’, received global attention, and the movement was later appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Over the years, he has worked extensively with civic bodies and institutions across Bengaluru on pedestrian infrastructure, public space improvement, sanitation, and community initiatives.

Through Project Walkaluru and the Indian Pedestrian League, he has led large-scale citizen engagement efforts focused on improving urban mobility and footpath infrastructure.

Arun Pai is a recipient of the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Award instituted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and his work has been featured in leading global media, including BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. His civic innovation efforts were also recognised in the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat program in 2026. He continues to be an active voice on walkability, sustainability, climate action, and citizen-led urban transformation, guided by the belief: “If you want to change the world, start with your own street”.

He says, “Namaskaara. I’m a proud Bangalorean (I grew up here!). I’m also a proud IIM Bangalorean. I spent the last 20 years building my professional career telling the story of my Bengaluru, and over the past 16 years, I’ve been doing my little bit to give back to this wonderful city that has given me so much. I am really touched that IIMB has recognized the work that I have done – ‘in Bengaluru, for Bengaluru’. I typically decline awards and public recognition, as I prefer to work silently and anonymously, but I happily accept this recognition as I believe it will help the cause I care deeply about – a better Bengaluru”.

Rashmi Mohanty (PGP 1995)

Rashmi Mohanty is the Chief Financial Officer of SBI Cards and Payment Services Limited. A Computer Science graduate from Delhi Institute of Technology, she brings over three decades of leadership experience across global banking, treasury, corporate finance, and financial strategy.

She began her career with Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets Division before moving into corporate treasury leadership at GE Capital. Over the years, she has held senior leadership roles at Religare Enterprises, Vedanta Limited, and Clix Capital, where she helped shape treasury and finance functions for large and listed organizations. During the COVID-19 period, she also served as both CFO and Interim CEO of a lending company.

Rashmi is recognized as one of the few women CFOs of listed entities in India and a strong advocate for women in finance. She is a regular speaker at industry forums, mentors fintech entrepreneurs through NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, serves on the Industry Advisory Board of IIM Sambalpur, and was recognized by BusinessWorld among the Most Influential Women in Finance 2026.

Beyond her corporate career, Rashmi is one of India’s early women ultramarathon runners, having completed endurance events across the world, including the Comrades Marathon and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. She also actively supports grassroots initiatives focused on education and economic empowerment for women and girls in rural India.

“I humbly accept this award. IIM Bangalore gave me the confidence to build a career on my own terms, and this gave me the courage to pursue my passions beyond the boardroom. This recognition celebrates excellence across all dimensions of life – not confining it just to careers. I hope it inspires others, especially women, to build an identity beyond their career, invest in their wellbeing and nurture their passions”, she shares.

Manish Tiwary (PGP 1995)

Manish Tiwary is the Chairman and Managing Director of Nestlé India, with additional responsibility for Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. He is focused on driving growth through strong brands, technology, artificial intelligence, and consumer-centric innovation, while building an agile and future-ready organization guided by the principles of being “Fast, Focused, and Flexible.”

Before joining Nestlé India, he spent nine years at Amazon, including four years as Country Head for Amazon India, where he played a key role in transforming online shopping in India. Prior to that, he spent two decades at Hindustan Unilever Limited across sales, marketing, and technology leadership roles, leading brands such as Axe, Rexona, Vaseline, and Sunsilk, and later serving as Sales Head for South Asia and Managing Director for the MENA region.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, St. Stephen’s College, BIT Mesra, and IMD, Manish is known for his people-focused leadership style and commitment to diversity, integrity, and social responsibility. Originally from Jamshedpur, he is also passionate about golf, travel, and running.

He shares with the Institute, “Thirty years after walking these halls, I return with profound gratitude to thank IIM Bangalore—not just for the world-class education that shaped my career, but for also giving me a chance to meet an awesome finance professional and more importantly my most ardent supporter & critic – my wife Pooja, my closest friends from my batch, and the mentorship of some of India’s finest professors. To receive this Distinguished Alumni Award from my alma mater is a deeply moving honor, and I accept it with a heart full of nostalgic memories for the institution that gave me both my destiny and my most cherished relationships”.

Karthik Reddy (PGP 1996)

Karthik Reddy is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds with over US$900 million in AUM. Blume invests in emerging tech and tech-led innovation from Seed to Series A and supports its standout portfolio companies through growth rounds. Over the past 15 years, Blume has backed over 175 startups across four core funds and is currently deploying from its new Fund V.

At Blume, Karthik has led investments in and serves on the boards of several top portfolio companies, including Smallcase, Servify, Ultrahuman, LeverageEdu, Niqo Robotics, Unacademy, GreyOrange, Stage, Exotel, and IDfy, among other rising stars.

Karthik has also held several leadership roles in shaping India’s venture ecosystem. He served as Chairperson of the Executive Committee (2022–24) and Vice Chair (2020–22) at the IVCA (Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association). He has also been a member of SEBI’s AIPAC (Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee) and the NSAC (National Startup Advisory Council).

With prior roles at American Express Bank, Instinet, and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Karthik brings diverse experience in financial markets, technology, and media across the US and India. He is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee, IIM Bangalore, and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

“IIM Bangalore provided such a rich experience that prepared me for the next three decades and will serve me throughout the rest of my career. It nurtured my all-rounder persona and that is my secret weapon in building one of India’s foremost Venture Capital firms. I’m proud to receive this honor from one of the best schools in India and will strive to give back to the institution in many ways”, he says.

Dipesh Shah (PGSEM 2002)

Dipesh Shah is a technologist and institution-builder with over three decades of experience across R&D, consumer technology, and innovation leadership. From developing early wireless communication software to leading large-scale AI and technology transformation initiatives, his career has been driven by a vision of building world-class technology capabilities from India.

As the first employee and later the first Indian Managing Director of Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore, he helped build a team of over 15,000 engineers and transformed SRIB into one of India’s leading Global Capability Centers. Under his leadership, the organization delivered several global innovations, including the world’s first 4G Voice over LTE solution and advanced “Nightography” camera technology, while also becoming one of the country’s top patent creators.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (PGSEM 2002), Dipesh credits IIM Bangalore for helping him bridge technology with business and consumer insight. He currently serves as Executive President and Chief Technology Officer at Havells India Limited, where he is focused on advancing indigenous technology capabilities and enabling Indian engineers to compete globally through AI, IoT, and semiconductor innovation.

His journey from a humble background to leading global R&D organizations reflects his belief that world-class technology and innovation can be built from India itself.

“I accept this honor with profound gratitude for the teams, mentors, family and the alma mater that expanded my horizon beyond coding to the larger mission of nation-building. To the next generation, I say: do not settle for ‘Me Too’ solutions, strive for the ‘Me Only’ innovations that only you can offer the world. Use software (and AI), the most malleable material on Earth, to solve our hardest problems with speed and deep technical grit. Learn fast, dream bigger than your circumstances, and commit to the depth of work required to make India a global R&D engine. Above all, ‘Have the Ambition to change the world, and the Humility to accept it”, says Dipesh.

About the Lecture

Opportunity is not an abstract ideal but a set of structured pathways—ladders that determine which futures are truly accessible to young people. For many, these ladders are too few or too weak, leaving vast potential untapped. How can societies progress when millions operate far below their capabilities? This lecture explores how to bridge the gap between capacity and opportunity, drawing on over a decade of global research. Professor Krishna discusses how countries have successfully built strong ladders of opportunity while achieving excellence, offering insights into how development can expand real possibilities for all.

About the Speaker

Anirudh Krishna is an internationally renowned scholar on poverty, inequality, and social mobility, and their impact on communities worldwide. He is the Edgar T. Thompson Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University, where he has taught for 25 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University (2000) and a master’s in economics from Delhi University (1980) and previously served 14 years in the Indian Administrative Service, leading rural and urban development programmes.

He has received several global honours, including an Honorary Doctorate from Uppsala University (2011), the Olaf Palme Visiting Professorship (2007), and the Dudley Seers Memorial Prize (2005, 2013). He has advised the World Bank, the United Nations, and multiple governments and NGOs.

His recent work on ladders of opportunity and social mobility, featured in his TED Talk, builds on three decades of research across Asia, Africa, and the US. Krishna has authored nine books and nearly 90 publications, including One Illness Away and The Broken Ladder, which won the A.K. Coomaraswamy Award.

Event Details
Date: 19 December 2025
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Venue: Bangalore International Centre (BIC)
Register here

The inauguration brought together leaders from academia, law, and public service, who underscored the importance of ethical and structured temple governance. The programme blends classroom learning with field immersion and practitioner insights, equipping students with capabilities across services management, perspective management, an understanding of the spiritual economy, financial frameworks, and community engagement, preparing them for responsible leadership in sacred institutions.

Welcoming the new batch, Advocate Shri S. K. Jain, Chairman – Managing Council, Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, and Chairman – College Development Committee, emphasised the importance of responsible trust governance in today’s complex environment; “Temple Trust Management goes far beyond administration. It involves balancing the interests of trustees, devotees, priests, government authorities, and society at large. This programme equips learners with the right mindset and managerial discipline to protect trust assets, ensure transparency, manage crowds sensitively, and uphold faith without compromising emotions,” he said.

Drawing attention to current challenges faced by religious trusts, ranging from regulatory compliance and financial accountability to crowd control and infrastructure utilisation, he added that structured education in temple management is no longer optional but essential for safeguarding India’s spiritual and cultural institutions.

Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool, highlighted the programme’s larger vision of nation-building through education; “For us, this initiative is about ‘Temple Management for Nation Building’. Temples are not only places of worship; they are social, cultural, and economic nerve centres of communities. By integrating modern management practices with Indian Knowledge Systems and value-based learning, we aim to create leaders aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047,” he said.

Dr. Suresh Haware, Chairman, Temple Management – Core Committee, congratulated WeSchool for being the first institution globally to launch a formal, structured programme in temple management; “WeSchool is the pioneer of Temple Management education. The first batch will always be remembered as the founding cohort of this movement, and the second batch carries forward that legacy. This programme addresses real-world challenges such as, temple economy and even the application of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence,” he said.

Adding a social perspective, Shri Sumant Amshekar, social worker and activist, spoke about temples as invisible yet powerful centres of management; “The best management is often the one that is not noticed. Temple management is about service, discipline, and creating an ecosystem where devotees experience dignity, order, and spiritual fulfilment. This programme has the potential to turn temples into centres of social transformation,” he said.

Dr. Suhas Pednekar, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai, highlighted the cultural significance of temples in India’s civilisational framework; “Indian society has always stood on four pillars, home, school, temple, and nature. Strengthening temples through knowledge and modern management is essential to preserving our cultural foundation while preparing for the future,” he remarked.

With the inauguration of Batch 2, WeSchool continues its mission to create socially responsible leaders capable of managing sacred institutions with professionalism, compassion, and accountability, ensuring that India’s temples remain resilient pillars of faith, service, and nation-building.