Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma

Conrad Kongkal Sangma is the current Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He is the president of the National People’s Party (NPP) and is also the member of Parliament from Tura’s constituency. He began his political career in the late 1990s after completing his studies. He held a number of positions such as Power, Finance, IT, Tourism and GAD. He also presented his first budget within 10 days of being a minister in Meghalaya. From 2009 to 2013, he held the position of the Leader of Opposition in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. 

William M.H. Shih

Yasunobu Otsuka is a senior manager of the Department of Business Development at Asahi Quality & Innovations, Ltd. with over 17 years of experience in the beverage industry. He contributed to over 30 product developments in a wide range of categories for 10 countries. He will study the requirements for market entry in new regions utilizing outbound open innovation.

Raj Kumar Songa did his MBBS, MD (Med) from AIIMS, Delhi. He worked at a few tertiary care hospitals as physician/intensivist and was selected to be the Panel Physician for 5 anglophone countries – US, Australia, Canada, UK and NZ. His panel clinic is called Centre for Migration Medicine (CMM) which is overseen by CDC, Global Health Australia, UK Health Security Agency.

He is on the board of a few non profit organisations like Global Disciples and Reasons to Believe (Asia Pacific) and had served as the Founding Vice President of International Panel Physician Association (IPPA). He has an MA in OLM (Organisational Leadership and Management) from Sam Higginbottom University, Allahabad. He is currently a Garwood Fellow of the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Kannan Vishwanatth

Dr. Kannan Vishwanatth is an academic researcher and entrepreneur having over 24 years’ experience in pharmaceuticals and international trade. He has completed his Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, Master’s in Business Management and Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management. Consistently increased production, reduced operating costs, and improved product quality by utilizing world-class manufacturing concepts (lean manufacturing six sigma, theory of constraints, etc.) to optimize & rationalize manufacturing processes and supply chain networks. Known for building and motivating cross-functional teams that exceed corporate expectations.

Shoji Tsuboyama

Shoji Tsuboyama is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CapitaLink Partners, Inc. He acts as Management Partner / Representative Director for a boutique investment banking and advisory firm in Japan, heading up a team of senior professionals from UBS and other major financial institutions to primarily cater to Japanese publicly traded companies as well as US/European institutional investors. He successfully closed a number of innovative financing transactions by linking Japanese investees and investors abroad.

During his appointment as a Garwood Fellow, Mr. Tsuboyama will study the success and failures of startups in Silicon Valley over their full journey to: a) what factors are involved in attracting capital, b) what factors contribute to their failure and eventual failure and demise and c) what were the early warning signs to cut the losses.

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar is the Principal Secretary of Finance in the state of Meghalaya. During his Garwood Fellowship appointment, Mr. Kumar will conduct a full feasibility study based on scientific research on the creation of gaming and entertainment theme parks for economic development of the State of Meghalaya. This will be based on surveys and Assess and interact with executives of at least five global theme parks to recommend the best model for the State Evaluate sources of funding and financing and payback periods for ROI.

Cyril V. Darlong Diengdoh holds a B.A. LL.B (Hons.) degree from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, India and is a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He works in the State Government in Meghalaya, one of the States in the North East of India.  He is currently Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya in the Planning Department,  Finance Department and the Chief Minister’s Office. He is also Director of Tourism and his work will focus on how to improve tourism infrastructure in the State of Meghalaya with the aim to make tourism one of the main engines for economic growth and livelihoods. Cyril will focus on developing a plan for the Theme Park of the future, based on innovative ideas, open innovation, business models, emerging technologies that will be versatile and pandemic proof. He will seek ideas and feedback from selected members of the Berkeley Innovation Forum in developing these concepts.

Ram Kumar

Mr. Ram Kumar will conduct a comprehensive survey to analyze the level of traction for positive population healthcare management among potential ecosystem players for feasibility and scaling of this program in Meghalaya and beyond. Develop an execution and implementation plan based on pilots, prototypes and impact studies

Sampath Kumar 

Sampath Kumar is an administrative service officer in India with over 24 years of leadership experience. Mr. Kumar has more than 17 years in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and 7 years in the non-profit sector.

Sampath Kumar has had the opportunity to design and implement innovative and scalable policy solutions for poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, rural development and participatory governance. In Meghalaya, Mr. Kumar launched the State Capability Enhancement Project (SCEP) as a means of strengthening state capacity, while successively tackling complex development challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying principles of the SCEP, Meghalaya’s response has involved cross-department collaboration, alliance between government and civil society, and mass mobilization of a community-level response across the state. The state has also used the heightened focus on health to tackle the pandemic but other key health issues, such as maternal and child mortality.

Yashraj Bhardwaj

Yashraj plans to use insights from his research on open innovation strategies practiced by Silicon Valley R&D departments within large firms to strengthen India’s manufacturing base to move India towards a more innovative future. Yashraj’s research will be backed by corporate firms, government entities, and highly connected family businesses—including royal families. His firm has offices and operations across the globe that specialize in Research and Consulting for the development of prototypes and IP marketplaces.

Tom Gu

Tom Laifang Gu is the Vice Dean (R&D and international cooperation) at Overseas Education College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Dr. Gu earned his Ph.D., Management from the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, has an MSc, Economy, Southwest Communication University, China, and a BSc, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Jilin University of Technology, China.

His current research focuses on the impact of Open Innovation at Haier, a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company. After Haier adopted Open Innovation in their organization, Haier focused on upgrading their transformation processes, and improving strategies for organizational and cultural changes.

Chen Jie

Doctor Chen Jie is a Lecturer at the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications in China.  Dr. Chen received her Doctoral in Business Administration from Grenoble Ecole de Management in France and Sant Anna, Pisa, Italy. She earned her Masters from the Law School, Southwest University of Political Science & Law, LLM in China, and her Bachelor from the School of International Cultural Exchanges, Sichuan International Studies University, TEM 8, China, and Second Bachelor Degree from Southwest University of Political Science & Law, China. Dr. Chen’s research interest are in Open Innovation Ecology, Innovation Entrepreneurship Education, Energy Economy, Scientific and Technological Progress and Green Development, and Sustainable Development.

Yao Li

Yao Li has more than 20 years of management experience in construction and urban construction and research. Currently, Yao Li is building an entrepreneurial team focused on digital transformation and Open Innovation especially as it applies to Huawei, and Smart Parks projects in Shanghai. She believes digital transformation will help develop China’s industrial parks.

Yashraj Bhardwaj

Yashraj plans to use insights from his research on open innovation strategies practiced by Silicon Valley R&D departments within large firms to strengthen India’s manufacturing base to move India towards a more innovative future. Yashraj’s research will be backed by corporate firms, government entities, and highly connected family businesses—including royal families. His firm has offices and operations across the globe that specialize in Research and Consulting for the development of prototypes and IP marketplaces.

Tom Gu

Tom Laifang Gu is the Vice Dean (R&D and international cooperation) at Overseas Education College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Dr. Gu earned his Ph.D., Management from the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, has an MSc, Economy, Southwest Communication University, China, and a BSc, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Jilin University of Technology, China.

His current research focuses on the impact of Open Innovation at Haier, a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company. After Haier adopted Open Innovation in their organization, Haier focused on upgrading their transformation processes, and improving strategies for organizational and cultural changes.

Tianjin Ren 

Tianjin Ren explores possible applications of Open Innovation methods in art & modern Chinese calligraphy.

Wang Kai

Wang Kai will study the impact of Organizational Changes post implementation of Open Innovation process in marketing channels in Chinese firms.

Xinjin Fan

Xinjin Fan will study innovation processes within high-tech enterprises in Silicon Valley, on applying Open Innovation in cloud computing for high-tech enterprises.

Hongxiao Zhou

Hongxiao Zhou will explore policies and methods that enable Open Innovation between regional & central government structures to expand markets.

Ge Penjin

Ge Penjin will focus on understanding the role of Open Innovation in the governance of industrial park platforms.

Xinqiao Wang

Xinqiao Wang will study Open Innovation process in online community-based software development firms

Hu Yang

Hu Yang will explore the impact of Open Innovation process on project management models in the engineering industry.

Ambassador V. Ashok 

Ambassador V. Ashok, Indian Foreign Service, retired in the rank of Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in October 2018, after serving for 36 years in various capacities in countries around the world, including as Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic and to the Republic of Zimbabwe. He also served as India’s alternate governor and alternate permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, following a stint at the Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai. Amb. Ashok is a graduate in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. 

Mohi Ahmed | CV

Dr. Mohi Ahmed is the Senior Director of Open Innovation Program at Fujitsu and was named one of the world’s key “idea practitioners” in the book “What’s the Big Idea?” Mohi is a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School in Boston and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo and has a PhD in Communications from Simon Fraser University in Canada. His current research topic is: Open (Innovation and Marketing) Platform for Doing Well by Doing Good.

Gunso Kim | CV

Gunso Kim received his PhD in Computer Engineering from Yonsei University in 2010. He served as Assistant Mayor of IT for the Seoul Metropolitan Government. He serves as Secretary General of WeGO(World eGovernment Organization of Cities and Local Governments). Under his experience, Seoul was ranked #1 out of 60 big cities in the world for eGovernment cities by the United Nations. His interests are in Digital Economy that covers Bigdata, IOT and ICT. He wonders how new technologies can accelerate Open Innovation in governments and companies.

Todd Schofield | CV

Todd Schofield holds Global Executive MBA degrees from both the National University of Singapore and UCLA. He is currently the Managing Director of SC Studios, LLC, for Standard Chartered Bank in San Francisco. Schofield holds more than 20 years of experience in large-scale corporate technology and innovation, and has been named a Top 25 Global CTO and Top 25 Information Manager.

Philipp Skogstad | CV

Driven by curiosity and the desire to improve people’s lives, Philipp envisions and creates products and organizations. He is an expert in design thinking, innovation, and change management, who combines technology, business, and empathy to implement change in an agile fashion with customers. His leadership style emphasizes collaborative learning through rapid prototyping.
His academic credentials include a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with focus on design methodology and innovation management from Stanford University and a MBA from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Prior to joining SAP, Philipp worked in the automotive, defense, and IT industry. He was also the Deputy Director of the Center for Design Research at Stanford University and a student in Hasso Plattner’s first course at Stanford’s d.school. He is a dual citizen of Germany and the United States.