BCONNECT

Explore 2024

30+ Speakers, 6+ Panel Discussions, 4+ Workshops, Day long Career fair, Networking and much more
– June 27th 2024 , San Jose, CA

Keynotes & Fireside chat

Panel Speakers

Prakash Bhalerao

Venture Capitalist

Dilip Chauhan

Deputy Commissioner NYC Mayors Office for International Affairs

Raj Joshi

Lecturer in Management Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Parimal Kopardekar

NASA Director

Nitin Salunke

President & CEO; Member of the Board of Directors at Supira Medical

Surbhi Rathore

Co-founder & CEO Symbl.ai

Sara Deshpande

Maven Ventures, General Partner

Sonali Sambhus

Board Director/Startup Advisor

Anupama Ambe

Senior Vice President & Managing Partner Kaiser Permanente at Kyndryl

Shilpa Kolhatkar

Head of Global AI Nations, Nvidia

Sandhya Patil

VP of AI at MarketEngine.ai

Vida Vidyangi Patil

Founder @ Pitch Cafe | PR-Communications Media & Production | Startup Catalyst | 3X Book Author

Vinayak Godse

CEO @ Data Security Council of India

Pratik Budhdev

Senior Investment Director at Volvo Cars

Rohan Rasane

Engineering Architect at Servicenow

Shirish Sathaye

General Partner at Cervin

Manoj Wadekar

AI Systems Technologist, Board Member - JEDEC

Milind Bhandarkar

Sr Distinguished Technologist, HPE

Saurabh Atre

Chief Business Officer at L&T Technology Services Limited

Parag Naik

CEO at Saankhya Labs Pvt. Ltd.

Shriniwas Kulkarni

Industry Leader Embedded System & Consumer Electronics

Rahul Deshmukh

Senior Technology Strategist, Data center and AI Infrastructure

Shankar Hemmady

Entrepreneur | Fractional CMO | Fractional Chief AI Officer | Author | Inspirer

Jay Kulkarni

Founder and PE @ NetServ

Lalit Shinde

Upendra Mardikar

EVP, Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA. Author, Advisor, Mentor

Sameer Ahirrao

BConnect Chair and CEO @ Ardent Privacy

Sachin Ohal

Chief Architect- Distributed Cloud and Industry Solution at Deloitte

Shalaka Kharche

Founder @BConnect Seattle & Innovation expert at Intelex

Kedar Kulkarni

Delivery Lead/SAFe SASM, CSM, SFC, ITIL,INS

Viraj Raut

Director at Astereae

Workshop Leaders

Ajit Bedekar

Director at V. P. BEDEKAR & SONS PVT. LTD.

Swati Vora

Founder at Returnize

Aditya Kulkarni

Founder Sai Farms & Happy Homes LLC

Nilesh Dixit

Founder Zeehub AI

Naren Patil

Founder StartupWind

Lax Sakalkale

Executive Advisor, Sr. Director/VP Products, Solutions

Santosh Salvi

CEO/Founder at UNIQUE System Skills LLC

Jay Kalke

Founder / Partner FiCon Capital

Dr. Balaji Aglave

First Commercial Mango Grower in the USA

Raghu Reddy

CEO, Kalven Financial Group

Career Fair Mentors

Vaishali Wagh

MatchPoint : Account Director

Leena Berde

Sr Professional Talent Acquisition & Sales

Shriram Gharpure

Coupang : Technical Recruiter

Vidya Bam

Nike : Senior Leadership Recruiter

Ajit Bodas

Airbnb : Head of Global Technical Recruiting

Sunil Phatak

Coupang : Global Recruiting Leader with experience in building holistic recruiting solutions and teams

Featured Speakers

Journey of an Entrepreneur

Dive into the captivating narrative of entrepreneurial brilliance with Anand Deshpande as he unfolds the 'Journey of an Entrepreneur'. Join us for an illuminating speaking session where Dr. Deshpande, the visionary force behind Persistent Systems, shares insights gleaned from decades of trailblazing leadership. Don't miss this opportunity to glean inspiration and actionable strategies from one of India's foremost technology luminaries.

What you will get

Listen to Great Speakers

Immerse yourself in insights and inspiration as industry luminaries, including Anand Deshpande, share their transformative journeys and invaluable wisdom.

Grow your Network

Forge meaningful connections with like-minded professionals, entrepreneurs, and visionaries, expanding your network and unlocking new opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Workshops by Experts

Gain practical skills and actionable strategies in hands-on workshops led by industry experts, equipping you with the tools and knowledge to drive innovation and success.

Pitch Ideas to Investors

Seize the opportunity to showcase your startup idea to seasoned investors, garnering valuable mentorship, and propel your ideas to the next level.

"Connect, build and foster the Marathi professional community"

Expand All +

Conference
Entreprenuership
Grow Professionally
Jobs & Career Fair

08:30 - 09:00
BConnect Opening Ceremony
09:05 - 09:10
BConnect Introduction by Viraj Raut
By Viraj Raut Director at Astereae

Welcome Note, Opening Note, Grand Opening and celebration
Where
Main Hall
09:10 - 09:25
Scaling to 78,000 employee enterprise
By Hanmantrao Gaikwad CMD, BVG India Ltd
09:25 - 09:45
Dr. Ramesh Raskar : Opportunities in Applied AI
By Ramesh Raskar Prof. MIT, C10Labs
09:45 - 10:15
Dr. Anand Deshpande : Persistent Expedition, from Startup to Billion Dollar Empire
By Anand Deshpande Founder & Chairman, Persistent Systems, Sameer Ahirrao BConnect Chair and CEO @ Ardent Privacy
10:15 - 10:30
Vaibhav Dabhade : Resilience in entrepreneurship building global ecommerce B2B SaaS company
By Vaibhav Dabhade Founder & CEO Anchanto
10:30 - 10:45
Tea Break I
10:45 - 11:00
SN Ghormade : Leadership and Entrepreneurship opportunities in Defense
By Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, PVSM, AVSM, NM, ADC (Retd) VICE ADMIRAL (Retd)
11:00 - 11:15
International Defense tech complexities
By IPS Krishna Prakash IPS, ADGP, Dilip Chauhan Deputy Commissioner NYC Mayors Office for International Affairs, Sachin Ohal Chief Architect- Distributed Cloud and Industry Solution at Deloitte
11:15 - 11:45
AI Revolution creating opportunitities
By Ramesh Raskar Prof. MIT, C10Labs, Shirish Sathaye General Partner at Cervin, Manoj Wadekar AI Systems Technologist, Board Member - JEDEC, Milind Bhandarkar Sr Distinguished Technologist, HPE
11:45 - 12:00
IBS Fintech solutions for a Turbulant economy
12:00 - 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 - 14:15
World of Innovation : Sector wise opportunities for the next deacde
By Raj Joshi Lecturer in Management Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Parimal Kopardekar NASA Director, Nitin Salunke President & CEO; Member of the Board of Directors at Supira Medical, Pratik Budhdev Senior Investment Director at Volvo Cars, Rohan Rasane Engineering Architect at Servicenow
14:15 - 14.35
Ravi Pandit : Building KPIT journey of grit
By Ravi Pandit Chairman & Co-Founder of KPIT Technologies Ltd, Prakash Bhalerao Venture Capitalist
14:35 - 15:05
Opportunities and trends in Security, Privacy and AI
By Vinayak Godse CEO @ Data Security Council of India, Jay Kulkarni Founder and PE @ NetServ , Lalit Shinde , Upendra Mardikar EVP, Chief Information Security Officer at TIAA. Author, Advisor, Mentor
15:05 - 15:20
Health meets tourisum - Ruby Hall Clinic
15:20 - 15:30
Inspiring Stories of Mahapreneurs
By Indraneel Chitale Partner, Chitale Bandhu, Parikshit Prabhudesai Vice Chairman at Pitambari Innovative Products, Saurabh Gadgil MD & CEO, PNG Jewellers
15:30 - 15:45
Tea Break II
15:45 - 16:25
Exceptional Women in VCs and AI
By Surbhi Rathore Co-founder & CEO Symbl.ai, Sara Deshpande Maven Ventures, General Partner, Sonali Sambhus Board Director/Startup Advisor, Shilpa Kolhatkar Head of Global AI Nations, Nvidia, Sandhya Patil VP of AI at MarketEngine.ai
16:25 - 17:00
Powering Innovation Panel | Semiconductor
By Saurabh Atre Chief Business Officer at L&T Technology Services Limited, Parag Naik CEO at Saankhya Labs Pvt. Ltd., Shriniwas Kulkarni Industry Leader Embedded System & Consumer Electronics, Rahul Deshmukh Senior Technology Strategist, Data center and AI Infrastructure, Shankar Hemmady Entrepreneur | Fractional CMO | Fractional Chief AI Officer | Author | Inspirer, Lax Sakalkale Executive Advisor, Sr. Director/VP Products, Solutions
17:00 - 17:30
Journey of BConnect, Awards & Closing Ceremony
By Viraj Raut Director at Astereae
18:00 - 20:00
Happy hour networking + Dinner + Entertainment

10:30 - 10:45
Tea Break I
10:45 - 12:00
Digital Marketing Workshop for Startups and Small Businesses (Session1)
By Naren Patil Founder StartupWind, Lax Sakalkale Executive Advisor, Sr. Director/VP Products, Solutions

Many startups and small businesses struggle to drive demand due to high cost of marketing agencies, lack of marketing skills and limited resources. In this workshop, you will learn: How to leverage Digital Marketing to drive demand and pipeline Best practices for Segmentation, Targeting & Messaging Blogging, Storytelling & SEO strategies for your business Effective Email & Social Media Marketing Join this workshop and get ready to unlock the growth that your business deserves!
Workshops
12:00 - 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:30
Real Estate Investment Workshop
By Santosh Salvi CEO/Founder at UNIQUE System Skills LLC, Jay Kalke Founder / Partner FiCon Capital, Dr. Balaji Aglave First Commercial Mango Grower in the USA, Raghu Reddy CEO, Kalven Financial Group

Understanding the Basics of Real Estate Investment  Session 1: Introduction to Real Estate Investing  Basics of real estate investment – types of properties, residential vs. commercial, etc.  Finding new properties  Buying Process  Benefits of Real Estate Investing  Session 2: Financing Options for New Investors  Overview of financing options for real estate investments.  Tips for securing funding and navigating the mortgage process. How to invest in Farming Real Estate  Covers end-to-end process – Identifying land, Purchasing, market demand, tax benefits, government incentives, etc. V. Strategies for Success in Real Estate Investing  Choosing the Right Investment Strategies  Mitigating Risks and Maximizing Returns
Workshops
15:30 - 15:45
Tea Break II
15:45 - 16:30
Digital Marketing Workshop for Startups and Small Businesses (Session2)
By Naren Patil Founder StartupWind, Lax Sakalkale Executive Advisor, Sr. Director/VP Products, Solutions

Many startups and small businesses struggle to drive demand due to high cost of marketing agencies, lack of marketing skills and limited resources. In this workshop, you will learn: How to leverage Digital Marketing to drive demand and pipeline Best practices for Segmentation, Targeting & Messaging Blogging, Storytelling & SEO strategies for your business Effective Email & Social Media Marketing Join this workshop and get ready to unlock the growth that your business deserves!
Workshops
16:15 - 17:00
Round Table with Ajit Bedekar
By Shalaka Kharche Founder @BConnect Seattle & Innovation expert at Intelex, Ajit Bedekar Director at V. P. BEDEKAR & SONS PVT. LTD.
2:30 - 3:15
The Women power show
By Anupama Ambe Senior Vice President & Managing Partner Kaiser Permanente at Kyndryl, Kedar Kulkarni Delivery Lead/SAFe SASM, CSM, SFC, ITIL,INS, Swati Vora Founder at Returnize

09:00 - 10:30
Career Fair - Early morning
By Vidya Bam Nike : Senior Leadership Recruiter, Ajit Bodas Airbnb : Head of Global Technical Recruiting, Sunil Phatak Coupang : Global Recruiting Leader with experience in building holistic recruiting solutions and teams, Vaishali Wagh MatchPoint : Account Director, Leena Berde Sr Professional Talent Acquisition & Sales, Shriram Gharpure Coupang : Technical Recruiter

Grand Career Fair, Lots of opportunitities to network. Meet top companies that can guide or can be future employers. Apply for open jobs Resume help and guidance Career guidance advice, Mock Interviews and feedback Mentors and Mentorship signups, Connect with Hiring professionals
Career Advancement
10:30 - 10:45
Tea Break I
10:45 - 12:00
Career Fair - Mid morning
By Vidya Bam Nike : Senior Leadership Recruiter, Ajit Bodas Airbnb : Head of Global Technical Recruiting, Sunil Phatak Coupang : Global Recruiting Leader with experience in building holistic recruiting solutions and teams, Vaishali Wagh MatchPoint : Account Director, Leena Berde Sr Professional Talent Acquisition & Sales, Shriram Gharpure Coupang : Technical Recruiter

Grand Career Fair, Lots of opportunitities to network. Meet top companies that can guide or can be future employers. Apply for open jobs Resume help and guidance Career guidance advice, Mock Interviews and feedback Mentors and Mentorship signups, Connect with Hiring professionals
Career Advancement
12:00 - 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 - 15:30
Career Fair - Afternoon
By Vidya Bam Nike : Senior Leadership Recruiter, Ajit Bodas Airbnb : Head of Global Technical Recruiting, Sunil Phatak Coupang : Global Recruiting Leader with experience in building holistic recruiting solutions and teams, Vaishali Wagh MatchPoint : Account Director, Leena Berde Sr Professional Talent Acquisition & Sales, Shriram Gharpure Coupang : Technical Recruiter

Grand Career Fair, Lots of opportunitities to network. Meet top companies that can guide or can be future employers. Apply for open jobs Resume help and guidance Career guidance advice, Mock Interviews and feedback Mentors and Mentorship signups, Connect with Hiring professionals
Career Advancement
15:30 - 15:45
Tea Break II
15:45 - 17:00
Career Fair
By Vidya Bam Nike : Senior Leadership Recruiter, Ajit Bodas Airbnb : Head of Global Technical Recruiting, Sunil Phatak Coupang : Global Recruiting Leader with experience in building holistic recruiting solutions and teams, Vaishali Wagh MatchPoint : Account Director, Leena Berde Sr Professional Talent Acquisition & Sales, Shriram Gharpure Coupang : Technical Recruiter

Grand Career Fair, Lots of opportunitities to network. Meet top companies that can guide or can be future employers. Apply for open jobs Resume help and guidance Career guidance advice, Mock Interviews and feedback Mentors and Mentorship signups, Connect with Hiring professionals
Career Advancement