Advisory Panel

He is passionately involved in interfaith dialogue leading to closer understanding between different faiths, and deeply committed to peace initiatives across the globe. Swami Shantatmananda has visited Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Russia, the UAE, the UK, France, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the USA, and Taiwan on lecture tours and international conferences, and regularly lectures on spiritual topics across many Indian cities.

He was a pioneering influence in setting up Sarada Seva Sangha, an NGO in the suburbs of Kolkata managed by more than a hundred trained women volunteers — one of his exceptional achievements in Women's Empowerment. He was instrumental in devising programmes telecast over CNN-IBN and Doordarshan's National Channel to propagate Swami Vivekananda's message among youth, and writes regularly for the Sunday Guardian and occasionally for Speaking Tree (Times of India).

He drove many improvements in Paraffin Wax Deoiling and Hydro-finishing units, delivering increased production and sustained quality. He brings rich international experience as Section Head of Hydrocracker units at Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC), including the restoration of a Hydrocracker unit damaged during the Iraq war, plus project work across the USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

He has presented at an international conference on Lube Oil Base Stock Technology and serves as Vice President of the Energy and Fuel Users' Association (ENFUSE). He has also been a visiting faculty member for M.Tech. Petroleum Engineering courses at AC College of Technology, Madras, and a regular faculty at the Refinery Engineering School of Training (RESOT), CPCL. He holds a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from CIT, Madras University, an M.Tech. from AC College of Technology, Anna University, and diplomas in Safety, Energy Management, and Industrial Hygiene from Annamalai University, along with a Management Education Program at IIM Ahmedabad.

He began his career at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), gaining deep experience in plant operations and leading the development of simulation models for training panel operators. He has trained more than 300 operators and engineers in Operator Training Simulator (OTS) systems from petroleum refineries, and later joined a niche Chennai company as Lead Engineer, executing several OTS projects for refineries in India and abroad.

He went on to become Oil and Gas Practice Head at a leading IT company, playing crucial roles in Application Support & Maintenance projects and developing digital PoCs involving mobility, analytics, and IoT for the industry. He has served as a Subject Matter Expert for a Learning & Development project for a US-based Oil and Gas major, and teaches "Petroleum Refining" for the B.S. (Process Engineering) programme jointly offered by BITS Pilani and CPCL.

He has been associated with some of the largest oil & gas / petrochemical engineering consultants and owners, with project expertise spanning concept design through detailed engineering and commissioning. His team's capabilities include Laser Scanning of complete process plant facilities to build 3D intelligent models, clash checking using point-cloud data, underground facility detection via GPR, photogrammetry, and 3D CAD modelling for engineering land and building surveys.

Their scope also covers Process Engineering (PFDs, P&IDs, equipment sizing, heat & mass balance diagrams), Civil & Structural Engineering (architectural layouts, RCC and structural drawings, foundation planning), and Mechanical & Piping Engineering (equipment data sheets, piping design and stress analysis, HVAC ducting layouts) — along with construction supervision, procurement & inspection, and manpower secondment.

Sridharan's experience spans IT, Digital Product Engineering, Digital Enterprise transformation initiatives, Software Services, and Industrial Automation Controls for global manufacturing customers. He has managed P&L and sales across verticals including Automotive, Off-highway, Consumer Durables, Aerospace, Hi-Tech, Peripherals, and Medical.

He has delivered consistent revenue growth and managed large relationships across North America, LATAM, Europe, Japan, and Korea, with a deep understanding of Digital Product Engineering business globally. His focus is driving Digital Transformation in manufacturing through the interplay of IoT, mobility, additive manufacturing, connected products, and Industry 4.0 — working with an ecosystem of technology partners and startups.

He was Regional Master Black Belt and Operational Excellence Leader for Asia Pacific at DuPont in Singapore, and has developed and conducted Six Sigma & Lean Manufacturing training for Green, Black, and Master Black Belts across the region. Prior to becoming a trainer, he held rich operational, process, and project roles across multiple sites in India and Singapore.

Ashok has led major Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, HR Excellence, and Top-Line Growth projects at DuPont and GE, training, coaching, and mentoring over 10,000 belts across Asia Pacific. He is one of few experts globally to implement PSM systems from the ground up for high-hazard processes, and has developed a Six Sigma-based prediction model for safety and process incidents. Specialties: Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, DFSS, Innovation, Growth, TRIZ, PSM, and Behaviour-Based Safety Management.