Sh Rishab Kumar
NextStep Foundation has been born out of a long-standing dream and vision of Rishab Kumar. A vision where he wished to replicate his own launch for keen young talented learners. A next step which was initiated by a kind hearted mentor. A next step which began from a humble family and a school in the backyard of a dusty town.
Rishab Kumar, a keen learner, supported his entire education through his own efforts & scholarships. After a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Gold Medal, from Delhi University in 1958, he finished his masters’ course at IIT Kharagpur. An award of a rare foreign scholarship in a talent competition enabled him to earn a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in 1962.
Rishab Kumar started his professional career with a major oil giant in New York which continued with their Indian operations where he headed Planning & Corporate Affairs functions. After nationalization of Petroleum business in India, he moved to the private sector where he led the Indian side to set up a joint venture in the Philippines. Finally, he joined Wipro Ltd during its entry into new businesses. He pioneered the formation of MAIT & represented industry to help the government agencies to formulate policies towards growth of the nascent Indian IT industry. Finally, he retired as Corporate Affairs head & member of the Board of Directors of Wipro Ltd. In 1993.
Rishab Kumar had been on governing bodies of two schools. With this as base, he hunted for a systematic process to search & support the lost but deserving keen young talented learners. He believes NextStep Foundation provides a good option.
Rishab Kumar has led a life shorn of waste but full of purpose and deep dedication. His contribution to NextStep is free from expectation of any reward or recognition.
Dr Sridhar Mitta
Dr. Sridhar Mitta’s 50 years of professional experience in the IT industry can be summarised into four words – Technology. Business. Entrepreneurship. Social Impact.
Dr. Mitta spearheaded R&D in the IT industry to design unique minicomputer systems that are suitable for the Indian market by using microprocessor technologies. Later, he pioneered the delivery of product development services to global technology leaders from India.
Dr. Mitta is currently the Founder of NextWealth Entrepreneurs. The purpose of NextWealth is to provide employment to graduates in small towns focusing on women. The company helps its global clients to gain insights from their data by blending human touch with digital technologies.
Dr. Mitta was the first employee of Wipro’s IT business and spearheaded its growth into many businesses as CTO for 20 years from 1980. Dr. Mitta started his career at ECIL, Hyderabad as Technical Manager where he managed projects of national importance for defence and space departments. He was also a founder of EnThink Inc. and e4e Inc. in Silicon Valley.
Dr. Mitta is associated with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Nasscom, Government initiatives, start-ups, Venture Capitalist in advisory and mentorship roles.
Dr. Mitta received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Master’s from IIT Kharagpur and MS & PhD from Oklahoma State University, US. He was later inducted into CEAT Hall of Fame at the same University.
Ajay Kumar
Ajay works in the high technology Electronic Design Automation industry and is currently based near Portland, Oregon. He completed his B.Tech (EE) from IIT Kanpur and MS in Computer Science from University of California at Santa Barbara.
Adeesh Mehra
Adeesh Mehra is the proprietor of Adeesh Mehra & Co, an established firm of Chartered Accountants. He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), with 32 years of post qualification experience in areas of accounts, audit, business advisory, consulting, tax audit, tax laws, companies and other allied areas of specialised knowledge.
Rakesh Jain
After nearly 40 years of work in the corporate sector, Rakesh has chosen to serve the cause of underprivileged learners in the education space with NextStep Foundation as the vehicle to achieve same in the role of a Managing Trustee. He himself feels immense gratitude to mentors and lifetime gurus who have shaped his life. His story began with his dad who enabled him to build a strong foundation at IIT Delhi & IIM Calcutta, a TATA veteran who held his hand during 21 years with TAS, and last but not the least the founder of NextStep who has been his godfather and now has rolled the challenge of focussing efforts on talented and keen learners at risk. Rakesh has worked extensively in the Oil & Gas industry with a brief stint at HDFC Ltd leading their K12 education initiative in early formative years and now returning as a member of the Board of Trustees for their Pune school. He has also had the opportunity to participate in a leadership program at Harvard Business School.