A Senior C-level executive with 22+ years of experience. At present, working as President & CEO of Verispire Corp., USA. He is the former founder and director of Innovation Cell, a first-ever dedicated department created by Govt. of India to foster the Innovation and IP culture in India. He worked for 15+ years at CXO levels, in various domains such as Innovation Management, Patents, Patent Licensing, R & D, Entrepreneurship, Academics, Start-ups, IP Strategy, Mentoring for Start-ups, Social innovation, and Tech transfer, to name a few. Proven track record of building strong profitable teams from scratch with successful operations.  

Naveen Jha brings to ALI experience developing programs uplifting marginalized communities. He is the past CEO of the Deshpande Foundation India, a founder of sustainable and scalable enterprises having social and economic impact for the 1.1 billion residents living in rural and smaller cities in India. Naveen founded and led the Deshpande Education Trust, one of India’s biggest skill education providers for youth, Sandbox Startups, an entrepreneurship incubation ecosystem, and founded Leaders Accelerating Development, a leadership development program that has engaged 30,000 college students in societal problem-solving activities. He is the co-founder and past president of the Hubli chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and a founding board member of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network.

A Chartered Accountant turned entrepreneur who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. With over 15 years of experience in finance, fundraising, and valuation, he has invested in and built a portfolio of over 35 startups at Marwari Catalysts, mentored and advised 200+ startups, built India’s largest yearbook publishing company, and demonstrated growth of startups from Tier 2/3/4 cities of India. Devesh is also a people person and has built a strong global network with venture capitalists, angel funds, AIFs, and family offices.