ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
1
GCC Innovation Summit 2026
GCC 4.0: Co-Creating India's Innovation Powerhouse:where Enterprises Meet Academia, Startups Meet Scale
26 Feb 2026, NOVOTEL Hyderabad
2
Schedule
3
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM - Registration and Networking
(at entrance of Hall 1 & 2)
4
Panel Discussion SessionsStartup Demo Events
5
(Hall 1)(Hall 2)(MRG 4)(MRG 5) (MRG 6)
6
Schedule Panel Discussion TitleSpeakersDeep Tech Startup Stalls
List of startups to display their projects.		Speakers' LoungeStartups/Researchers, Investors & GCCsSpecial Sessions
7
09:30 AM – 09:50 AM - Inaugural Ceremony and Opening Address
• Prof. Manindra Agrawal – Director, IIT Kanpur
• Swapan Johri- President Growth Markets, HCLTech
• Jill Kouri -CMO, HCLTech
• Kiran Cherukuri-Executive Vice President and Global GCC Practice Head, HCLTech
• Prof. Amey Karkare-Dean of Resources and Alumni, IIT Kanpur
• Rakesh Sharma, President, IIT Kanpur Alumni Association
• Sunil Singhal-Founder President, IIT Kanpur Alumni Association (Delhi Chapter)
• Jai Shankar Sharma - SMC, Chairperson		• Samvyo Tech

• Nagent

• COLIV MANAGER

• SINGINGBIRDAPPS.COM

• Youkti

• PLEBC INNOVATIONS PVT. LTD.

• EarthTech-AI

• Entheory

• NextYou Innovative Solutions Pvt Ltd

• dataface.ai

• NARRIS

• MindMatrix.io

• Kritsnam Technologies

• EZiL

• UnityCircle

• Roxonn Future Tech

• MadScientist, Inc

• CHARS & OILS COMPANY

• Ev Retron Energies India Pvt Ltd

• Runo

• KARMAA LAB PRIVATE LIMITED

• Augsidius Health
8
09:50 AM – 10:00 AM - Joint Announcement by HCLTech and IIT Kanpur (MoU and Whitepaper)
• Prof. Manindra Agrawal – Director, IIT Kanpur
• Prof. Amey Karkare-Dean of Resources and Alumni, IIT Kanpur
• Jai Shankar Sharma - SMC, Chairperson
• Swapan Johri- President Growth Markets, HCLTech
• Jill Kouri -CMO, HCLTech
• Kiran Cherukuri-Executive Vice President and Global GCC Practice Head, HCLTech
• Vijayanand AK- GCC Solutions Head, HCLTech
9
10:00 AM – 10:10 AM - Roll Out of program details of SMC Hyderabad 2026
• Jai Shankar Sharma - SMC, Chairperson
10
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM - KeynoteGCC Operating Model and Value ShiftKiran Cherukuri – Executive Vice President and Global GCC Practice Head, HCLTech
11
10:40 AM – 11:00 AM - Joint addressCo-Innovation and Co-CreationProf. Manindra Agrawal – Director, IIT Kanpur
Swapan Johri – President Growth Markets, HCLTech
Jill Kouri, CMO HCLTech - Moderator
12
11:00 AM - 11:40 AM - Panel Discussion A1 The Skill Cloud Enterprise – Orchestrating Global Talent at ScaleKritika Murugesan – Senior Director, GCC & Talent Council, NASSCOM
Vinod Chilakapudi – Senior Director, S&T, PepsiCo
Dr. Aparna Gupta – Principal Expert & Advisor to the CEO, ANRF, DST, Government of India
Vikas Jaswal – Managing Director, Nationwide
Richa Jain - Managing Director, Northern Tool
Bipin Pendyala, General Manager and Head of India, Appen; Vice President, HYSEA - Moderator		SMC Pitch & Demo – Growth Leaders Session 1
6 curated growth-stage startups
• Live 8–10 min pitch per startup
• Revenue traction & GTM clarity
• Enterprise / GCC collaboration ready
• Focus: Scalable business models & market expansion		Special Session
13
11:40 AM – 12:10 PM - Panel Discussion A2Fireside Chat: Sustainable by Design – Engineering the Carbon-Neutral GCCJyothsna Kuchimanchi - Sr Director, Optum
Praneeth Kumar Madamshetty - Carrier Technologies India
Chandra Balani – GCC Head, India, AWS
Manasi Agarwal – Sustainability Head, Global Energy & Manufacturing, HCLTech - Moderator
14
12:10 PM-12:20 PM - Sponsor AcknowledgementBreakInnovations from IIT Kanpur
(Translational Researches)
• Prof. Raja Angamuthu, Interface Office for Technology and Applications (IOTA)
• Prof. Ashok Kumar, Bio-Sciences
• Prof. Shakti Singh Gupta, Robotics
• Prof. Haby Mathew, CDIS, AI Innovations
15
12:20 PM – 12:55 PM - Panel Discussion A3Engineering GCCs – New Frontiers of Innovation and Co-CreationNanada Lakkaraju – Managing Director, Carrier
Gaurav Luthra – Director, Altruist India
Anant Anand – Director of Software Engineering, Evernorth Health Services
Madhuri Raya – VP, Software engineering, Optum
Vittal Devarajan – Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Research & Development, HCLTech - Moderator		SMC Pitch & Demo – Growth Leaders Session 2
4 mature startups
• Strong revenue visibility
• Clear unit economics
• Expansion roadmap discussion
• Strategic partner conversations encouraged
16
12:55 PM – 01:05 PM - Inauguration of the GCC–Startup Collaboration Platform: ENABLING CO-CREATION AT SCALE
Presenters: Deepak Gandhi, Director, Altruist Technologies
Gaurav Luthra – Director, Altruist India
Sujit Kumar, Founder, MindMatrix
17
1:05 PM – 2:00 PM - Networking Lunch at Lounge
(Infront of Hall 1 & Hall 2)
18
02:00 PM – 02:40 PM - Panel Discussion A4GCC ExpansionRohit Singla – Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff and Board Member, Western Union India
Monica Pirgal – Chief Executive Officer, Bhartiya Converge
Venkat Kumar Siddineni – Principal Consultant, Business Support, KONE Elevator India; Former Director and Head, KONE GBS
Manjunatha Pai - WW GSI Business Leader, AWS
Sandeep Patnaik – Sr. Managing Director, JLL India - Moderator		SMC Pitch & Demo – Growth Leaders Session 3
5 high-momentum startups
• Scaling beyond initial markets
• Capital-efficient growth models
• Fundraise-ready narratives
• Design partner opportunities open		T-Incubators - GCCs Connect (Facilitated by TGIC)
• Sahil Suman and the team
19
02:40 PM – 03:00 PM - Panel Discussion A5Policy Spotlight: Invest Uttar PradeshAlok Kumar Ji – Principal Secretary, Planning & Program Implementation, Government of Uttar Pradesh
20
3:00 PM – 3:40 PM - Panel Discussion A6From Knowledge to Scale: GCC–Academia–Startup SynergiesVishal Kulshrestra, Head ecommerce & Omni Channel, Alshaya Group
Sujit Kumar, Founder, MindMatrix
Anil D Kumar, Sr. Director, Infor
Vipul Singh, CHRO - Lloyds India Tech Center
Ram Dheeraj Gadiyaram, Global AI&IT Portfolio Governance Lead, Novartis
Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor of Economic Sciences at IIT, Kanpur - Moderator		Early Builders Showcase – Cohort 1
6 early-stage startups
• Bold problem statements
• MVP / early traction
• Technology differentiation
• Seeking design partners & strategic capital		UP government sessions with GCC's Investors and startups
• Alok Kumar Ji, IAS, Principal Secretary, Planning and the team
21
3:40 PM – 4:00 PM - Panel Discussion A7Fireside Chat: Geopolitics and Data Borders – Navigating Data Sovereignty to AI GovernanceAbhishek Chandra – Chief Operating Officer, Julius Baer India
Vineet Srivastava – Head, Detection Engineering, Threat Detection and Response, Global Cyber Defense, GlaxoSmithKline
Prashant Mascarenhas – Sr. Vice President & Global Business Head, Cybersecurity & GRC, HCLTech - Moderator		Break
22
04:00 PM – 04:40 PM - Panel Discussion A8Investment in Deep Tech Startups collaborating with GCCsKiran Chandra Kalluri, Founding Partner, Dallas Venture Partners
Radhesh Kanumury - Managing Partner, Suvan Ventures
Puru Modani - Co founder, BM Capital Family office
Ratnakar Samavedam - Partner, Hyderabad Angles Fund
Vineel Nalla -
Koushik Chitrapu - Founder, Incubez OTT - Moderator		Early Builders Showcase – Cohort 2
3 selected breakout startups
• High-conviction founders
• Large market opportunity
• Early proof points
• Curated interaction with investors		TiE T-Hub AIC sessions with GCC's, Investors and Startups
• Dr. Nandita Sethi
• Shanthala Veigas, Senior Director, TiE Hyderabad and the team
23
04:40 PM – 5:00 PM - Panel Discussion A9Future Forward Keynote: GCCs Beyond 2030Achyuta Ghosh - Executive Research Leader, HFS Research
24
05:00 PM – 05:10 PM - Vote of Thanks
• Rakesh Sharma, President, IIT Kanpur Alumni Association
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100