Niraj Khinvasara
Niraj Khinvasara, Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer - International Trade Network & Events
World Trade Center Pune-Balewadi Baner
With a global career in technology, media and entrepreneurship that spans two decades, Niraj led sales for AT&T’s energy sector for Shell in Asia-Pacific. He handled complex innovative technologies for the Oil & Gas + Renewables segments and was responsible for charting the company’s strategic sales roadmap and positioning innovative products.
Prior to this, Niraj led the IBM Go-To- Market & Commercial sales engagement in India, Middle East and Africa with AT&T. He was pivotal in selling AT&T’s first Universal Software Defined- NVF based Hardware globally in this segment. He was also responsible for choosing/selling AT&T’s next generation networking solutions to complement IBM’s advanced analytics and cognitive capabilities to generate cutting edge market leading solutions In addition, he successfully managed customer relationships and headed the go-to market strategy for many new logo customers and grew existing commercial customers.
Niraj has also worked with Citigroup’s Global Financial Group and was instrumental in leading the group’s worldwide network transformation from AT&T’s side.
To add to his extensive tech and sales repertoire, Niraj has a strong foothold in the media and entertainment space. He started a media/tech company by merging IoT technology, cutting-edge video entertainment and sports to launch Mintpod.tv, a handheld TV for viewing live events. Mintpod.tv was the official media/ entertainment partner for prestigious events such Champions League Cricket, US Tennis Open, NFL, NHL, US Golf Open, Ryder Cup and Honda Grand Prix. It was also adopted by airline carriers such as GoAir as a part of their in-flight entertainment.
Niraj has deep experience and knowledge on Networking, Edge Computing, 5G, IoT, Multicloud Grid Computing, Software Defined Networking (SDN) for Data Centers and WAN, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Universal Software Defined Hardware.
Niraj also founded and currently leads the World Trade Center Start-up Incubator as the Chief Technology Advisor where he incubates multiple emerging technology start-ups and mentor entrepreneurs. At his career with AT&T, he has been recipient of multiple AT&T Achievers Club, AT&T’s sales achievers award.
With an unwavering focus on increasing shareholder value, Niraj comes with vast exposure in creating a cohesive work culture, building credibility and mindshare using thought leadership. He has worked with cross-cultural teams from Japan, US, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa and has held diverse executive positions in New York, Tokyo, Dubai, Milan and India. He completed his MBA and BBA in Business Management from Adelphi University, School of Business & Management, NY, USA.
