Chairperson, AFS India Board

Mr. Siddharth Singh is the Director of The Emerald Heights International School, Indore. Mr. Singh completed his education from the Stony Brook University in the United States, where he pursued double major in economics and finance and was acknowledged with a distinction a CUM LAUDE for economics. He later acquired an MBA with specialization in marketing and finance. He has been involved with a project in China based on the industrial streamlining of the working system and has also done a course on strategic leadership management from IIM Kozhikode and pursued an Educational Leadership course at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Mr. Siddharth Singh was selected by Education World magazine as one of the Young Shining Stars of Indian Education in 2017 and felicitated with the Edu Leader of the Year 2022-23 award for his contribution in the field of education by Brainfeed magazine.

Mr. Siddharth Singh was felicitated by ASMA as India’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 Awards 2021’ and selected by BW Education for 40Under40 Power List 2024.

Mr. Siddharth Singh is currently serving on the Board of Round Square and as Chair Person of the Board of AFS India.

Director, AFS India Board

Ranjana Iyer is a practicing lawyer. She has over three decades of experience and expertise as a senior litigator. She has handled a vast variety of commercial disputes.

She has appeared before courts and tribunals in matters relating to intellectual property laws, immigration laws, and arbitrations. In addition, she has also worked as a legal advisor to a group of companies in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Director, AFS India Board

Jayant Hari Har Lal, a product of The Doon School and of the IIT at Kanpur started his career as a Marketing Engineer and moved on to being an entrepreneur. He set up a very successful engineering unit at Dehra Dun and gradually moved towards his passion –teaching.  After 7 years of voluntary teaching at his alma mater – The Doon School, he b came a full time faculty member there teaching Maths and Physics. He has been a Housemaster and Deputy Headmaster at The Doon School and then was Founder Principal of the Sanskaar Valley School in Bhopal. He hung up his boots as Director Development at The Doon School in 2011 and is now engaged as an Education Consultant.

He is an avid reader, a sportsman having played competitive Basketball, Squash & Golf. Widely travelled globally, he now lives in Dehra Dun and travels regularly to Mumbai, Kathmandu, Siliguri, Khajuraho and Delhi.

Director, AFS India Board

Jayant Krishna led key initiatives of the Prime Minister’s Skill India Mission as CEO, executive director and COO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). He became the first Indian to be appointed group CEO of the UK India Business Council which he led in strengthening bilateral economic ties between India and the UK. Mr Krishna is also a reputed coach and mentor for organizations requiring a breakthrough in their performance.

As Founding CEO of the Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (FAST India), he set up the organisation from scratch. He is also senior fellow in US-India Policy with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and served as executive director of public policy at Silicon Valley philanthropic donor WF.

A British Chevening scholar, he received the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award for Innovation in Governance. He is a fellow of the All India Management Association and the Computer Society of India. He also taught at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, and serves on various Boards. He has represented industry, and the Indian government, while leading delegations abroad, has published many OpEds and is a frequent panellist on TV channels.

Director, AFS India Board

Ravi Pandit a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Company Secretary by profession, is an accomplished Finance & Legal professional. He has donned leadership roles across the management spectrum in his distinguished career spanning over 3 decades. He gained useful experience about the industry and business practices while overseeing the Accounting and Finance functions in large Indian conglomerates, such as, the Tatas, Bajaj, Essar, Walchand and Global Group.

As a Company Secretary, he played a crucial role not only in the smooth conduct of Board meetings and AGMs, but also in dealing with independent Directors and Institutional investors. His last assignment was with the Global group in Mumbai. During his long career he occupied Key Management positions such as, CFO & Company Secretary, Group CFO, Chief Investor Relations Officer, Chairman and so on.

Ravi’s exemplary manners, soft speech and his ability and willingness to find solutions to vexing problems endeared him to colleagues and people around him. He used to be consulted by the Chairmen/Directors/CEOs in all matters of strategic importance.

Some of his major achievements:

• He has handled 5 large IPOs and raised Equity, Debentures and Term Loans exceeding Rs.500 crores in aggregate.
• He has set up from scratch the finance, accounts, legal, secretarial and internal audit departments in at least two to three companies.
• He has had hands-on experience Merging GECS with GTL.
• Formed and monitored a JV between Tatas and AT & T
• He won the Golden Peacock Award for CG from the Institute of Directors.
• Currently, he works as an Independent Consultant and is on the Board of three companies as a Non-Executive Director.
• He is also a partner in a CA firm named R. P. Pandit & Associates.