Dr. Nikhil Agarwal currently working as CEO FIRST at IIT Kanpur. “Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology” is responsible for incubation and innovation at IIT-Kanpur.

He is the former CEO, Innovation Society, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The role of the innovation society is to kickstart the innovation agenda and promote entrepreneurship in the sunrise state of India.

Dr Agarwal has founded businesses and advised firms on strategic matters in last 20 years of his career. He has worked with global multinationals like Cadbury’s and Zensar (RPG Group). He has lectured at leading global universities like Virginia Tech, University of Bradford, University of Edinburgh and University of Cambridge in visiting capacity. His interviews and work has been extensively covered in international media including HBR, Forbes, CNN Money, BBC Radio, The New York Times to name a few.

He has served on many international think-tanks and hold leadership positions in global organisations. He has served as high-level-advisor to United Nations Global Alliance on ICT & Development (UNGAID) between 2008-12; board member at World-Entrepreneurship-Forum and Open Mind Foundation respectively. He was the first Asian to be elected as Co-Chair of prestigious Internet Society Advisory Council (ISOC-AC) for 2008-10. In 2017, he was nominated as Fellow of IC2 Institute, University of Texas at Austin.

Professor Agarwal has traveled extensively around the world and worked with global institutions, corporations and multinationals. He has published over 40 research papers, conference publications and articles in top journals. He writes his column “Snake Charmer” in Times of India (TOI) and Economic Times (ET). TOI is the largest English newspaper in the world by circulation. He founded EntrepreneurCafe.org one of the world’s largest entrepreneurship networks.

Dr Nikhil Agarwal is alumnus of University of Cambridge and University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.