Ideas For India 2025

Bio

Simon Gerard McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford, GCMG, KCVO is a British diplomat and academic. He served as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 2015 to 2020, marking the culmination of a notable diplomatic career. Educated at De La Salle College in Salford and Pembroke College, Cambridge, McDonald joined the FCO in 1982. His early postings included assignments in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn, and Washington, D.C., reflecting a breadth of experience in international diplomacy. He later served as Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary (2001–2003), Director for Iraq at the FCO (2006–2007), and Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Overseas and Defence Secretariat at the Cabinet Office (2007–2010). In 2010, he was appointed British Ambassador to Germany, a position he held until 2015. As Permanent Under-Secretary, McDonald led the FCO during a period of significant geopolitical changes, including the UK’s decision to leave the

European Union. His tenure was characterised by efforts to adapt the UK’s diplomatic strategies to evolving global dynamics. In 2020, he retired following the merger of the FCO with the Department for International Development, forming the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In recognition of his services, McDonald was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). In 2021, he was ennobled as a life peer, taking the title Baron McDonald of Salford, and currently sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. Since September 2022, Lord McDonald has served as the Master of Christ’s College, Cambridge, contributing his extensive experience in governance and international relations to the academic community.

Sessions

Bio

Raja has worked with founders for most of his working life of 24+ years. His defining stint was with Sequoia India, where as CMO, Raja worked with founders from different stages – Byju Raveendran (Byju’s Learning App), Vikram Chopra (CARS24), Amrish and Jitendra (Citrus Pay), Virendra Gupta (Daily Hunt), Jaydeep Burman (Faaso’s), Kunal Shah (Freecharge), Sameer Maheshwari (Healthkart), Amit Kumat (Prataap Snacks), Alan and Nami (Truecaller). The founders he worked with at Sequoia brought a variety of diverse opportunities and challenges to the table and helped Raja decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his life – work closely with founders and founding teams. His raison d’être is to look at business challenges through the lens of marketing with a skin-in-the-game, long term approach to help build the brands of tomorrow. And that’s exactly what he seeks to do at Spring Marketing Capital, a skin-in-the-game marketing value added investment firm that looks to partner founders to build the brands of tomorrow. Raja is an eternal optimist and believes strongly that creativity and entrepreneurship can change the world.

Sessions

Bio

Vinesh is co-founder of the Indian Political Action Committee, India’s premier political consultancy. He completed his graduation from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal with a desire to work for the people and reshape India’s participatory democracy. While working with I-PAC, he not only understood the problems and struggles of the common Indian voter but also tried to create an impact through his contributions and decisions in various campaigns.

He will be attending India Week to share his vast experience on the Indian policy ecosystem.

Sessions

Bio

Nasser Munjee is the chairman of DCB Bank. He has had a significant career in India’s financial and development sectors. Nasser began his career in 1977 when he joined HDFC, India’s first housing finance company, as one of its early employees. He played a key role in HDFC’s development into a major financial conglomerate. In 1997, Nasser was instrumental in founding IDFC, which helped advance private infrastructure investment in India. He has also served on the boards of several major corporations, including Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, and Cummins India. Nasser was the President of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has contributed to numerous government task forces on housing and urban development. With a strong interest in rural development, housing finance, and infrastructure, Nasser has also served as a technical advisor to the World Bank’s Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Fund. In addition to his corporate work, he is the chairman of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, India and director of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. Nasser’s contributions have been recognised with accolades, including being named the best Independent Director by the Asian Centre for Corporate Governance and awarded Indian Business Leader of the Year 2014 by Horasis.

Sessions

Bio

Giles Trendle is a distinguished journalist, media executive, and strategic advisor with extensive experience in international reporting and content creation. He began his journalism career in the mid-1980s as a freelance reporter in Lebanon, covering the civil war and hostage crisis. Over the years, he has reported from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories, covering topics such as conflict, politics, climate change, and human rights. From 2015 to 2023, Trendle served as Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, leading a global team of over 400 journalists and overseeing editorial content across television and digital platforms. Under his leadership, Al Jazeera English won numerous prestigious awards, including Royal Television Society Awards, Peabody and Emmy Awards, and even an Academy Award nomination. Beyond journalism, Trendle plays a key role in strategic communication and content development. He is actively involved in projects that enhance climate change coverage, investigative reporting, and youth-driven journalism. He co-chairs the Covering Climate Now initiative, is an ambassador for ChildPress, and supports independent filmmakers reporting from conflict zones. A strong advocate for media freedom and journalist protection, Trendle continues to contribute to global conversations on quality journalism, climate issues, and press safety.

Sessions