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Our Mentors

Afthonia’s mentors are industry veterans, investors, and domain experts who provide startups with strategic guidance, market insights, and hands-on support. Their expertise helps entrepreneurs navigate challenges, refine business models, and accelerate growth in the fintech ecosystem.

Ranjith Kota

Associate Director- E&Y. Information Management Design | Strategy

Ranjith, Associate Director at EY, brings 20+ years of expertise in global financial regulations and insurance, specializing in system modernization.

Kapil Kaul

Chief Executive Officer-IIT Kanpur Development Office. Fundraising | Outreach

Kapil is the CEO of IIT Kanpur Development Foundation, with 20+ years of experience in leadership across education, banking, and non-profits.

Gary Casement

Advisor. Strategic Planning | Insurance Domain Expert

Gary is an Insurance industry veteran with over 40 years of experience, specializing in strategic planning and Insuretech startups.

Chad Gordon

CEO | GreenStar Advisors Strategic Advisory | Investment Management

Chad is the CEO of GreenStar Advisors, specializing in wealth planning, investment management, and leveraging technology to improve client experience.

Santoash Rajaram

Seasoned Technologist | Co-Founder Spraoi

Santoash is a former Apple Senior Engineering Leader and Co-Founder of Spraoi, specializing in disruptive insurance solutions and tech evaluation.

Matthew O’Mara

Insurance Advisor | Co-Founder Spraoi

Matthew Co-founded Spraoi, delivering disruptive insurance solutions, and mentors Afthonia's startups, focusing on US market potential.

Catherine Lynk

Senior Digital Strategist | One North Interactive. UI/UX|Digital Strategy

Cathy is a Senior Digital Strategist at One North Interactive, specializing in UX design and data-driven marketing strategies.

Asha Chaudhry

Founder & Chief Community Officer | Kids Book Café. Community Builder | Engagement Consultant |User Generated Content Curator

Asha is a communications professional with 20+ years of experience and is a pioneer in community building in India.

Kruti Arora

Founder - Vivaa Consulting. Master Marketeer. Ace Communicator. Creative Ideator.

Kruti is the Founder of Vivaa Consulting with 14+ years of experience in marketing, PR, and content development.

Gaurav Rane

Guest Speaker | Indian Institute of Technology. Thought Guru. Mind Igniter. Maven Planner.

Gaurav is a Guest Speaker at IIT and former Managing Director at Digitree Digital, specializing in digital marketing solutions.

Trent Landes

Assistant Director of Operations | Fidelity Life. Insurance Influencer

Trent, Assistant Director at Fidelity Life, supervises daily operations across multiple departments with 18 years of experience in life insurance and reinsurance.

Shreyans Bhansali

Founder and CTO | SocraticTechnology | Product | Growth

Shreyans, former VP of Engineering at Venmo, founded Socratic and now leads an education team at Google.

Jay Kulkarni

Director – Financial Services Advisory (PwC US) | Digital Transformation | Program Management

Jay is a trusted Management Consultant with 12 years of experience, specializing in the Insurance sector and PwC’s Advisory practice.

Shipra Bhansali

Brand Strategist

Shipra, an MBA graduate from ISB, has 17 years of experience in Brand Management and Marketing Communication. She recently exited a food e-commerce startup she co-founded with Tanul.

Suhas Baliga

Legal consultancy

Suhas, founder of Innove Law, is a legal expert with over a decade of experience in venture capital, private equity, and corporate law.

Aman Zaidi

Strengths Coaching | Leadership Development | Business Storytelling

Aman is the Founder of Fortius, combining business, neuroscience, and strengths development to enhance workforce engagement and coaching for Afthonia's startups.

Tim McLaughlin

Partner at Craft | User experience design.

Tim is a Partner at Craft, a Strategic UX Design and Research firm, with decades of leadership in user experience design across multiple industries.

Mamta Chaurdia

Product growth | Spraoi. Program and Account Management. Insurance

Mamta is the Head of Product Development at Spraoi, leveraging her experience in technology integration and insurance industry management from roles at Deloitte Consulting and Cognizant.

Cade Scroggins

Product Design & Development

Cade has over 6 years of experience in product development and is currently working with Spraoi to enhance insurance experiences.

Pankin Bhagat

CFA, Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier Investment Managers

Pankin is a wealth management expert specializing in multi-asset portfolio construction, currently managing Lombard Odier's Swiss employee pension fund portfolio, with prior experience at Deloitte Consulting in New York.

Mabel Chacko

Co-founder & COO, Open Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd

Mabel is a fintech innovator and co-founder of Open, a neo-banking platform for SMEs and startups, recognized as one of India's top women in fintech.

Ajay Kamath

Commercial Director – Bambu | Product

Ajay leads the Markit Digital business for S&P Global Asia, specializing in sales, business development, and product strategy, with expertise in wealth tech, B2B SaaS, and scaling startups in Asia.

Gaurav Shrivastava

Co-Founder-Zimmber & Pensieve

Gaurav Shrivastava is an entrepreneur, co-founder of Zimmber, and builder of AI-driven products like text analytics and voice-enabled search engines.

Mukesh Chandra Kestwal

Chief Innovation Officer at IIT Ropar

Mukesh is the Chief Innovation Officer at AWaDH, TIH, IIT Ropar, with 8+ years of experience in S&T and startups.

Srinidhi G S

Sr. Director – GE Healthcare Strategy | Operations | Design Thinking

Srinidhi, Senior Director at GE Healthcare, brings 22+ years of experience in healthcare, focusing on software, product management, and enhancing customer experience in MRI products.

Gaurav Sharma

Growth Alliance Manager- Eroute Technologies

Gaurav, with 20+ years of experience, leads Growth Alliances at Eroute Technologies, specializing in business development, sales, and mobile solutions. He's also a visiting faculty member and Cannes Lions award winner.

Tathagat Varma

VP Strategy and Operations – Walmart

Tathagat has over 30 years of experience in software products, having worked with top companies like Siemens, Huawei, and McAfee. Currently, he serves as VP of Strategy and Operations at Walmart and pursues a PhD in AI businesses.

Anirudha Modak

Founder & Principal Consultant – Guru on Tap Consulting

Anirudha is a seasoned entrepreneur with successful exits in fintech, former COO at a listed IT services company, and expert in organizational strategy, sales, marketing, and fundraising.

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