Who Is Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, Anusandhan National Research Foundation CEO, Speaking At NDTV World Summit 2026

Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), will speak at the NDTV World Summit 2026, which will be held in New Delhi on October 22 and 23.

He will speak on the second day of the summit at 12:45 pm on “Can India Build a Research Superpower?” He will be joined by Professor Duvvuri Subrahmanyam, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, for the discussion.

Who is Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman?

Born in Bangalore, Kalyanaraman took charge as CEO of ANRF in March 2025. In January 2008, Kalyanaraman joined IBM Research. He worked with the company for more than 10 years. Between 2011 and 2013, he served as co-director of the IBM Research Centre established with Universiti Brunei Darussalam and also served as Chief Scientist at IBM Research Australia from 2013 to 2015. He later returned to IBM Research India.

After leaving IBM, Kalyanaraman joined GE Power Conversion in 2018. He served as CEO of its Commercial and Industrial Solar business for around seven months. He then became Executive General Manager for Growth Offerings and Initiatives.

In 2020, he joined Microsoft and first served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Energy and Mobility at Microsoft India until April 2023. Then, he became CTO for the energy industry in Asia. He held the position until March 2025. Kalyanaraman also received Microsoft's Gold Club recognition for his performance and contribution to the company's growth.

Education

He studied computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and completed his BTech degree in 1993. He secured the third rank across India in the IIT-JEE entrance examination in 1989 and ranked first in the South Zone.

Kalyanaraman went on to pursue higher studies in the United States. From 1993 to 1997, he studied at The Ohio State University, where he completed his master's degree and PhD in Computer and Information Sciences. He later completed an MBA at the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he studied from 2003 to 2005.

In August 1997, he joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United States as a professor. He worked there until December 2007. During this period, he also co-founded Premonitia Inc., a technology startup that worked on predicting and managing problems in computer networks. The company operated from 2001 to 2002.

Interest in Carnatic Music

While studying at RPI, he created a website dedicated to South Indian classical music, even before iPods became popular. The website attracted tens of thousands of users and became a popular online resource for Carnatic music.

He also participated in Carnatic music and violin activities during his student years at IIT Madras and The Ohio State University.

NDTV World Summit 2026

The NDTV World Summit 2026 will bring together leaders, policymakers, business executives, scientists and other experts to discuss major issues affecting India and the world. The 2026 summit will take place in New Delhi on October 22 and 23, under the theme “A World Between Orders.”

People from different fields share their views on what is happening around the world, the challenges countries face and what the future could look like.