Chirag Kulkarni and His Passion for Artificial Intelligence

Chirag Kulkarni continues to translate his passion for artificial intelligence in his business ventures. As a serial Internet entrepreneur, his most successful venture so far is Insightfully, a technology company that utilizes cross-platform search and predictive analytics in creating a more integrated and robust network for its clients.

Insightfully uses its clients’ social context in discovering where their resources and skillsets can be used to assist others and, in the process, become more effectively and efficiently engaged with their professional networks. Basically, each client’s network including Facebook and Twitter are synched into a central database where the company’s proprietary algorithm are used in predicting what the network has been doing and where the client can be valuable. The engagement platform is currently most popular among enterprise employees and micro-communities for this reason.

Kulkarni is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Insightfully. He co-founded the technology company with Ajay Saini and Jingyu Li on 27 March 2015 when they were fresh graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As proof of Insightfully’s innovative software, the company was recognized as a "2015 Startup to Watch" during the Canadian Internet marketing conference. Insightfully was recognized as one of the 10 companies to watch out for in 2016 according to the Huffington Post; one of the social media tools in the future by Inc.com; and one of 6 companies that investors should pay attention to in 2016 according to Tech Cocktail.

Aside from Insightfully, Kulkarni has also founded and led other business ventures. He was also a co-founder and CEO of STR, a tennis racquet stringing venture focused on both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. He was a co-founder and chief financial officer of an iOS strategic networking application known as Mingle.

He was also the founder of C&M Group, a consulting firm that provided expert assistance in product innovation and business growth to the startups in Fortune 500 companies’ investment portfolios. One of its most prominent clients is Berkshire Hathaway.

Kulkarni is indeed a widely respected thought leader and expert in the industry especially in terms of sales, marketing, and business strategy.

Gunupati Venkata Krishna Reddy Is Ready for Competition

GVK, a Hyderabad-based conglomerate engaged in the development of infrastructures in the energy, transportation, hospitality, and life sciences as well as resources industry, is one of the industry leaders – and credit for its stature largely goes to Gunupati Venkata Krishna Reddy. As the founder chairman and managing director of the infrastructure conglomerate, he possesses the charismatic leadership, strong vision, and entrepreneurial savvy that he continues to apply in the company. He is also aptly considered a pioneer in the power plant industry since GVK set up India’s first independent power generation plant in 1997.

Reddy started his business career when his father allowed him to manage the family’s small construction firm. He soon branched out into the manufacturing sector by establishing Novopan Industries, a company based in North Carolina.

For his business achievements, Reddy has been awarded with several awards including Infrastructure Person of the Year 2014 during the Construction Week India Awards; Lifetime Achievement Award during the India Aviation 2014 conference; and the Padma Bhushan, among others.

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao Paving the Way to Progress and Development

Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao is one of the few Indians who can rightfully say that, indeed, they are paving the way for progress and development in their country. He is, after all, the founder and chairman of the GMR Group, an international infrastructure developer, builder, and operator based in India. He is also a world-class mechanical engineer and billionaire industrialist as well as generous philanthropist.

As founder chairman of GMR Group, which he established in 1978, he has led its growth into the global market. Today, the global conglomerate has an active presence in seven countries with stakes in highways, airports, and energy structures as well as in large urban developments. GMR Group is also well-known for developing, building and operating national assets in India, an accomplishment that Rao has been recognized by the public and private sectors.

Born into an upper middle-class family engaged in commodities trading and jewelry, Rao became a junior engineer at the Andhra Pradesh Government after his graduation from Andhra University. But his entrepreneurial spirit soon asserted itself and he went into business starting with commodities trading.

He ventured into other businesses including a jute mill, which he used as leverage in acquiring other assets. He eventually divested his business interests in several industries, established Vysya Bank with ING as a collaborator, and entered the energy and infrastructure industries.

His entry into the energy industry became his ticket to becoming India’s leading infrastructure asset developer in terms of asset size, revenues, and market capitalization. Among the assets that his conglomerate owns is Hyderabad's International Airport Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

Furthermore, the GMR Group is known as one of India’s most respected and trusted brands. Rao has also received accolades including the 2007 Economic Times Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

His generosity is just as well-known in India through the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, a non-profit organization that serves the underserved peoples in 2 locations.

Aloysio de Andrade Faria Has the Midas Touch

Aloysio de Andrade Faria, a highly successful Brazilian banker, has the Midas touch. His net worth as of May 2015 – US$2.8 billion – is a proof of it while his continuing success in the business world reinforces his golden touch.

Aloysio is a pediatrician by profession but as the son of a successful finance-related businessman, he merged his medical interest with business. In 1949, he became the leader of Banco da Lavoura when his father stepped down from his post and he transformed it into Banco Real, one of the most successful banks in Brazil. Banco Real, however, sold all of its national and international assets to ABN AMROBank, a Netherlands-based company, except for a few companies in the Real Group including Real Leasing and Seguros Real.

He is also a founder of the Alfa Bank, a personal and investment bank with headquarters in New York considered as one the ten largest banks in the United States. He is also the owner of the world’s largest Guarana plantations, the Transamerica Corporation, which also includes media and hotel groups.

Abílio Diniz: Brazil’s Retail King

Abílio dos Santos Diniz, a well-known Brazilian businessman and billionaire, is the former chairman of Grupo Pão de Açúcar (Companhia Brasileira de Distribuiçao). His wealth comes largely from his influential role in the rise of Grupo Pão de Açúcar. He is one of the wealthiest persons in Brazil with an estimated personal net worth of $4.4 billion in 2015, an increase from $3.7 billion in 2014; Forbes ranked him as the 9th wealthiest person in Brazil and the 369th richest individual in the world.

In his youth, Abilio was a champion race car driver who won the 1970 Mil Mihas Brasil race with Alcides, his brother. His own son, Pedro Diniz, is a former Formula One driver; he largely provided the funds for his own son’s career while also tapping into his own sponsorship connections.

Abilio’s father, Valentim, established Pão de Açúcar that later became Companhia Brasileira de Distribuiçao, a major retailer in Brazil. In 2002, Abilio stepped down as chief executive officer after selling a large stake of Grupo Pão de Açúcar to Casino Group, a French company; he remained as the company’s chairman.

In 2009, Grupo Pão de Açúcar purchased Casas Bahia, which gave Abilio control over Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Casas Bahia, Extra Hipermercados, and Ponto Frio. By 2012, however, Abilio may have remained as chairman of Grupo Pão de Açúcar but he was divested of all operational functions; Casino Group controlled the company at this time.

In April 2013, Abilio became the chairman of BRF and stepped down as Grupo Pão de Açúcar’s chairman by September 2013.

Abilio had his own share of controversies and challenges in life. He was once involved in a criminal investigation conducted by the Federal Public Ministry of Brazil. He was also kidnapped and kept for six days in an underground room; it was political kidnapping that happened a day before the presidential elections.

Ibrahim Abouleish Promotes Biodynamic Farming Methods

Ibrahim Abouleish, an Egyptian scientist, started his career in the fields of pharmacology, chemistry and medicine at the young age of 19 when he started his studies in Austria. In 1969, he completed his doctorate in pharmacology and worked in several management positions in the field of pharmaceutical research.

With his brilliant mind and passionate drive, he applied for and was granted patents for several new medicines particularly for arteriosclerosis and osteoporosis. He is considered as one of the notable pharmacologists in his country for this reason.

Furthermore, he is known for his effective and efficient strategies in biodynamic farming methods in Egypt largely through SEKEM, a comprehensive development initiative he founded in 1977. Beginning in the 1990s, SEKEM established its reputation as Egypt’s market leader for organic crops and crop remedies as well as its leading organization working toward the widespread use of biodynamic farming methods.

For his work, Abouleish was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, selected by the Schwab Foundation as an Outstanding Social Entrepreneur, and appointed by The Business for Peace Foundation as an Oslo Business for Peace Honouree, as well as received the 2013 Award for Excellence in Positive Change during the Global Thinkers Forum.

Poonam Ahluwalia: Effective Advocate for Youth Entrepreneurship

Early on in her career, Poonam Ahluwalia adopted an enduring philosophy inspired by her mother’s words: To leave every place where she worked in a better place than when she entered it. With her social entrepreneur mindset, she founded two non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting youth entrepreneurship and shaping international youth employment, namely:

• Established in 1998, the YES Campaign has helped in placing youth employment and entrepreneurship on the global agenda. In the 14 years of its existence, it organized 5 Global Summits, 5 Regional Summits, and numerous in-country forums as well as encouraged young people worldwide to implement over 400 projects. Its innovative low-touch, high-impact approach was instrumental in its success.

• YouthTrade, which was inspired by the conscious capitalism philosophy, adopts a three-pronged approach to youth entrepreneurship – certify businesses managed by youth entrepreneurs, provide them access to markets, and build demand for their products and services. Today, YouthTrade products are available at Nordstrom and Whole Foods Market while its present headquarters, the YouthTrade Innovation Studio, is located at Babson College.

Before establishing these youth entrepreneurship-focused organizations, Ahluwalia started her advocacy by teaching basic hygiene in communities after her high school graduation. She completed her master’s degree in political science at Rajasthan University in India and her master’s degree in mass communications at Boston University in the United States.

She worked for various organizations related to her advocacies. She continues to be a member of the Hunger Project, which she joined in 1984, wherein she raised funds, increased awareness, and organized activities for the organization.

She worked for the State of Massachusetts’ Welfare-to-Work programs in the late 1980s and with the Education Development Center (EDC) in 1997. In her EDC work, she created workforce development workshops with the goal of promoting global education and health.

Ahluwalia has been recognized for her work in youth entrepreneurship by various organizations, such as the Indian-American Trade and Commerce and the Legislature of the State of California as an outstanding youth community leader.

Sevket Sabanci: Born With A Silver Spoon But Works Hard For It, Too

Sevket Sabanci was born with a silver spoon – he is, after all, the fourth son of Haci Ömer Sabanci and, thus, a member of the influential Sabanci family of Turkey. He is a billionaire businessman and philanthropist whose business savvy, ethics and success are just as well-known as his family lineage.

He has a degree in textile engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in England. After graduation, he returned home and worked at various managerial positions in his family’s companies before becoming Sabanci Holding’s international representative.

He is currently Esa Holding’s chairman; Esa Holding is Air Berlin’s second-largest shareholder as well as owner of Pegasus Airlines, Turkey’s largest private airlines. He is also one of the founding members of the Sabanci Foundation VakSA, one of Turkey’s major philanthropic organizations. His net worth is an estimated $7 billion as of 2015.

He is currently married to Hayirli Zerrin and has three children.

Mehmet Karamehmet: Bouncing Back After Failure Led to His Success

Mehmet Emin Karamehmet achieved his status as the second-wealthiest person in Turkey – 401st in the world according to the 2012 Forbes Billionaires list – by always bouncing back after failure. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Çukurova Holding conglomerate, one of Turkey’s largest corporations, which makes him one of the country’s most successful and influential businessmen.

Established in 1923, the Çukurova Holding conglomerate is a commercial and industrial conglomerate with its headquarters in Turkey. Such is its wide range of influence from communication and information technology, media, and financial services to construction, energy, transportation, and industrial services that every Turk is likely to use one of its products and services at least once a day.

Çukurova Media Group handles most of the conglomerate’s media assets while Digiturk, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cukurova Group, handles the purchase, production and packaging of content including television series and movies. The Çukurova Group also operates in several other sectors including chemicals production, paper production, steel pipe manufacture, and textile manufacture.

Karamehmet has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dover College in Kent (UK). After his graduation, he went back to his hometown, started his first company on a 100,000 TL capital, and began his successful business career. He also started getting more involved in his family’s business while also establishing Cukurova Holding, which he led toward becoming one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates.

But Karamehmet also has his share of failures. For example, he owns little of his previous assets in the media and automobile sectors because he passed the companies involved to the Turkish national government as payment for his tax debts. His company engaged in the telecommunications industry, Turkcell, is also under litigation for ownership; he currently owns the largest share in Turkcell that, in turn, comprises the largest share of his enormous wealth.