Board Member Category: Speaker 2026

Somesh Surana is the Joint President – Digital Business Group and Marketing at HDFC ERGO General Insurance. In his current role, he leads the organisation’s digital business initiatives, drives brand strategy, and spearheads growth through digital sales channels alongside marketing and communications efforts.

With over two decades of experience, Somesh brings deep expertise in the BFSI sector. He has played a pivotal role in developing and repositioning marketing communications and digital sales strategies for leading brands such as Barclays Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Currently he is also associated with several industry bodies, building marketing strategies to drive the cause of insurance awareness across the last mile.

Earlier in his career, Somesh was associated with Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, where he crafted impactful campaigns for several reputed brands.

Somesh holds a business degree and a master’s degree in management science and marketing, combining strong academic credentials with hands-on leadership experience in digital transformation and brand building.

Kunal Sharma is the VP-Marketing & Organized Trade at KRBL Limited, the world’s leading basmati rice company and home to the iconic India Gate Basmati Rice brand. In his current role, Kunal leads brand strategy, marketing innovation, and digital transformation while also steering the growth of KRBL’s modern trade and e-commerce verticals—critical levers for the company’s future-ready retail approach.

With almost 20 years of leadership experience across FMCG majors, Kunal brings a deep understanding of consumer behavior, category management, and omnichannel strategy. Before joining KRBL, he played a pivotal role at Dabur India, where over a 9-year journey, he rose from Trade Marketing Manager to Category Head for flagship segments such as Honey, Tea, and Glucose. His leadership was marked by consistent category growth, strategic portfolio expansion, and strong execution across distribution, innovation, media, and digital.

Kunal started his career with ITC Limited as a Management Trainee, building a strong foundation in sales during a successful 5-year stint. His hands-on experience in field sales and deep exposure to trade dynamics continue to shape his business-first approach.

An engineer by training and a marketer by passion, Kunal holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from PESIT, Bangalore, and an MBA from IIT Kharagpur. His academic grounding, combined with his corporate journey, has positioned him as a dynamic leader who blends analytical rigor with creative thinking.

Kunal’s cross-functional leadership and consumer-first mindset continue to guide KRBL’s mission of taking India’s finest basmati rice to the world—while building future-ready channels and purposeful brands.

Malhar Patil is the Co-Founder and COO of Flam, a cutting-edge technology platform that helps enterprises transform passive customer touchpoints into human-like, interactive visual experiences. By blending generative AI, immersive media, and real-time interaction, Flam enables brands to move beyond static content and deliver AI-powered engagement across marketing, communication, and commerce. In his role, Malhar leads partnerships, and go-to-market strategy, working closely with global brands and agencies to bring next-generation interactive experiences to life at scale.

An entrepreneur at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and consumer engagement, Malhar focuses on building products that redefine how brands communicate with audiences in a world increasingly driven by immersive and intelligent interfaces. Under his leadership, Flam has been developing advanced generative models and streaming technologies designed to make digital experiences feel more natural, responsive, and human-like—pushing the boundaries of what is possible in marketing and customer interaction.