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2025's Theme
The Art of Unlearning
From an early age, we're taught that learning is the key to growth—a steady, linear journey of progress. But true transformation often comes from unlearning: questioning long-held beliefs, challenging outdated routines, and letting go of what no longer serves us.
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At TEDxKrea 2025: The Art of Unlearning, we explore how progress sometimes requires stepping back, rewriting the narratives handed to us, and embracing change in a fast-evolving world. Whether it’s rethinking cultural norms, career goals, or internalized fears, unlearning opens space for creativity, growth, and authenticity.
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Join us as we reflect on stories of letting go to move forward—because evolving isn’t always about adding more; it’s about choosing what to leave behind.
GET TO KNOW THE SPEAKERS OF 2025 TEDxKREAUNIVERSITY
Meet Ishan Shanavas
Author & Environmental Storyteller
Ishan Shanavas is a young author, TEDx speaker, artist, and environmental storyteller whose work lives at the intersection of ecological education and art. Having recently graduated from Ashoka University, Ishan is best known for his bestselling memoir, The Light of Wilder Things, which chronicles his inner and outer journeys through the wild. He is the founder of Eco Inspire, an environmental education program that aims to inspire 25,000 students across India to care for nature and wildlife. As the writer behind The Owlet, a popular weekly newsletter, he reflects on nature, creativity, and the human spirit. From photographing rainforests to illustrating wildlife stories, Ishan’s fine-art visuals aim to spark curiosity and inspire conservation. Ishan and his work have been featured by CNN-News18, Scroll, The News Minute, Mongabay, Mathrubhumi, Nature inFocus, Sanctuary Asia, and Roundglass Sustain. A lifelong student of the natural world, he hopes to champion ecosystems and sustainability through storytelling and hands-on creativity.
Meet Ananth Padmanabhan
Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers India
Ananth Padmanabhan is the Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers India. Since his appointment as CEO, the company has grown its revenues by 300% and expanded its publishing footprint in English language publishing for India. His strategic initiatives included investing in new categories and voices, imprints and new markets and new capabilities. The company’s partnerships with various publishers both Indian and international in addition to their strong relationships with booksellers and distributors across the subcontinent have been instrumental in HarperCollins’ growth story. HarperCollins is India's most awarded publisher and has been awarded the Publisher of the Year Award seven times. Ananth is Co-Chair of the Publishing Committee within FICCI. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Publishers in India (API). He is actively involved in policy making that enables a level playing field for Indian publishing, championing inclusion and diversity, protecting authors against Copyright and Territorial Infringement, and fighting digital and print piracy in the market. He has spent over three decades in bookselling and publishing and began his career at a bookstore in Chennai, India, in 1992 where he discovered his love for books.
Meet Pankaj Rai
Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Aditya Birla Group
Pankaj Rai is the Group Chief Data & Analytics Officer at Aditya Birla Group, where he leads the Group’s data science and analytics strategy across diverse sectors including cement, chemicals, metals, fashion retail, and financial services. With over 25 years of experience, he has held leadership roles at global organisations such as Wells Fargo, Dell, Standard Chartered Bank, ICICI, and GE Capital, building capabilities in analytics, strategy, and operations. Pankaj’s work focuses on enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions, creating scalable digital products, and driving analytics maturity across organisations. An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, he brings a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic insight to harness data for transformative impact.
Meet Neeraj Khanna
Co-Founder & Director, Spark Career Mentors,
Independent Director, Josh Talks
Neeraj’s career path has been extremely varied with his 25 years of corporate life in 4 different sectors and 4 countries, including the hospitality, aviation, telecom and IT & BPO industries.
After starting his career at the Taj Group of hotels he moved to head customer service operations across India for ModiLuft, one of the first few private airlines of India (a joint venture of Lufthansa and the S. K. Modi Group). Neeraj played a critical role in helping start and establish the Indian IT-BPO industry being a part of the initial team at GE Capital’s International Services division (now called Genpact), building from scratch and growing the MphasiS BPO operations as its COO, managing the joint venture of Clientlogic, USA with ITC Infotech as its CEO & Managing Director, running the offshore operations for Dell’s Worldwide Consumer business from India and during his last few years of corporate life with BT doing multiple roles ranging from managing over a billion pounds worth outsourcing operations and running its complex service delivery operations across 42 countries.
For the last 12+ years Neeraj has been an entrepreneur, investor, board member and mentor.
Meet Sarika Singh
Actor, Writer, Director
Sarika Singh is an actor with over 17 years of experience in the Indian entertainment industry. She holds a Post Graduate degree in English Literature from Mumbai University, India. She began her acting journey in 2007 after completing few theatre acting workshops and started actively doing theatre before transitioning into films and web series, building a diverse portfolio across multiple platforms and genres.
She also directed a short film called “Equations”which was showcased in the Mami Film Festival. As an artist the next step for her is to explore the writer director in her.
Her acting credits include “Bombay Velvet,” “Ok Jaanu,” “Kaamyaab Harr Kisse Ke Hisse,” “Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi.” “Jagga Jasoos” She has also worked extensively in web series including “Kaalapani,” “Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo,” “Masoom,” “Trial by Fire,” “Mismatched,” “Adulting,” and “Chalo, Koi Baat Nahi,” “Mistry” to name a few. Sarika continues to explore newer spaces and genres as an actor. Theatre remains her first love, and she continues to explore and dig deeper into theatrical work, maintaining her connection to the stage, where it all started . Her body of work reflects a commitment to both mainstream and independent cinema.
Meet Meenakshi Anantram
CEO – Razzmatazz | Vice Chairperson – Rohit Memorial Trust | Vice Chairperson – CII Indian Women Network (Leadership Wing) | Published Author | Certified Life Coach
Dr. Meenakshi Anantram is a dynamic entrepreneur, event manager, and author with a diverse and impactful career spanning science, sports, media, and leadership. A first-generation entrepreneur, she is the Founder and CEO of Razzmatazz, one of India’s pioneering event management companies, and has hosted events for Presidents of India, Vice Presidents, Chief Ministers, and several high-profile celebrities. With a background as a scientist, she was the recipient of the Young Scientist Award by the Indian Science Congress and became the first Indian woman scientist selected for the Antarctic Mission. A nationally recognized anchor and commentator, she is a Limca Book of Records awardee for cricket commentary and a former national-level handball player and cricketer representing India. Beyond event management, Dr. Anantram has contributed significantly to tourism and cultural festivals such as the Goa Carnival, Visakha Utsav, and the Ganjam Gopalpur Beach Festival. She is also an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author, a certified life coach, and a highly sought-after motivational speaker and corporate trainer. Recognized with numerous accolades, including the Legend of Event Industry Award, the Global SEAS Award for Top Women Entrepreneur in India, and the Mahatma Gandhi Desh Seva Puraskar (2025) for her pioneering role as India’s first palliative medical clown, Dr. Anantram continues to inspire as a leader, mentor, and influencer across multiple fields.
Sandhya Sriram
Group CFO, Narayana Health
A business focused finance professional with 20+ years of experience in Strategic Finance, Governance, Technology and Shared Services. Well-travelled Leader with experience in working with diverse global teams. Regarded as a Thought Leader in business finance, analytics, technology, governance and diversity. A Chartered Accountant by qualification and an All India Rank holder, Sandhya is recognized for her business-focused approach to finance, blending analytical insight with a strong commitment to operational excellence and sustainability. At Narayana Health, she plays a key role in driving the organization’s financial strategy, digital adoption, ESG roadmap, and stakeholder engagement. She is an active contributor to the broader business ecosystem as a regular speaker at national and international forums, and a guest faculty at leading institutions including IIMs and the Institute of Directors. Her work has been featured in various publications, and she continues to advocate for diversity, technology-enabled finance, and responsible leadership. Her contributions have been acknowledged through several industry recognitions, including “Top 100 Global CFOs”, “CA Woman of the Year”, and “Top 10 Women CFOs in India”.
EVENT DETAILS
TEAM SIZE
28
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AUDIENCE
100
SPEAKERS
7