Feb 29 & Mar 1, 2024

Ajay Popat is President, Ion Exchange (India) Ltd. and responsible for Technology, Heavy Industry & Environment Business, Corporate Marketing, Corporate Diversification and Communication. He has more than 40 years of experience in Strategy, Business & Organisation Development with leading organizations. Associated with Ion Exchange since 1994, he has spearheaded several initiatives in developing and successfully commercializing proprietary, advanced & sustainable technologies for purification & separation in water, wastewater treatment and more recently in areas of renewable energy.

An authority in his field, Mr. Popat is active in promoting the cause of water industry through active participation with the Water and Environment Council in CII, FICCI, Bombay Chamber of Commerce, Indian Environmental Association, Water Quality Association – India Task Force, Process Plant and Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) and other trade bodies. He is a Director in the governing bodies of these organizations. He is also the Chairperson of ASSOCHAM India’s National Council on Environment and Climate Change (Waste & Water Management) and leads CII’s Core group on Promotion of New and cutting–edge Technology for Waste Water Management. Mr. Ajay Popat pursued his engineering degree in Plastics Technology from the Plastic & Rubber Institute, UK and Masters in Business Administration specializing in Marketing & Strategy with honors from NMIMS Institute. He has also been conferred with a Fellowship by Indian Plastics Institute in 2007. He likes to read, socialise, pursue indoor & outdoor sports activities and pursue life style improvement activities for the benefit of self, associates and the society.

Chrys Fernandes is a Chemical Engineer, with 28 years of industry experience ranging from manufacturing, consulting and sales & marketing. He joined DuPont Water Solutions (formerly part of Dow) in 2006, as part of the New Business Development group evaluating new technologies, business models and M&A for business growth. In 2011, he took on the responsibility of Regional Commercial Leader for the Residential and Commercial product line, with the responsibility to grow and expand the markets for the Indian Sub-continent. In Sept 2013, he was given the responsibility to lead the Regional Marketing & Business strategy leader for the Asia Pacific Region. In his current role as Business Head for India Subregion, he is responsible to help build and implement a strong business growth strategy for India. Understanding future customer needs and working with Dupont’s multifunctional team is core ensuring that the company is at the front end to develop and launch products that set the trend for the market. Prior to joining DuPont, he worked for Lahmeyer International India GmbH, with their water consulting division. During this period, Mr Chrys worked extensively with local governments, multilateral funding institutions for urban water and wastewater infrastructure projects. He started his career with Degrémont in India with the Design and Engineering division and then moved to a sales and marketing role. Outside of professional interests, he likes to travel, read, and enjoys long runs and biking

Backed by an experience of more than around 23 years in various Business Lines of Water & Waste Water Treatment Industry / Chemicals / Ion Exchange Resins / Reverse Osmosis Membranes, Prakash Shanmugam is currently the GM & Head of Business Unit – Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) in India, wherein he is heading the overall Business Unit – Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) in the Indian sub-continent.

Prior to LANXESS he worked with Bayer Chemicals where he held key positions in the field of Sales & Marketing for BU - Ion Exchange Resins and later was involved with the Strategy & Business development of the APAC region for LANXESS.