SPEAKER PROFILES

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
Moderator 

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a journalist with over 30 years experience in various media - print, radio, television, the Internet and documentary cinema. He used to anchor "India Talks", a daily programme that was broadcast on the CNBC India television channel for nearly six years. Nearly 1,400 episodes of the programme, featuring many of India's best-known politicians, bureaucrats, social activists, businesspersons, professionals and academicians, have been telecast. He is a regular contributor to various newspapers, magazines, news agencies, websites, radio stations and television channels. He has directed a number of documentary films.

A graduate from St. Stephens's College, New Delhi and a postgraduate in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Mr. Guha Thakurta has worked with Business India, BusinessWorld, The Telegraph, India Today and The Pioneer.

He has co-authored a book on coalition politics in India that anticipated the outcome of the 14th general elections. He teaches and trains aspiring and working media professionals and lectures on the working of India's economy, its polity and its media. He is a consultant to the UNDP.
 

Jaymi McManus, 
Head of CRM Marketing, Asia Pacific, BT

Jaymi has worked within the IT industry for over ten years with the last five directly in the field of Customer Relationship Management. 

In 1997, he was responsible for corporate sales in a specialist software company, successfully executing multimillion Euro contracts with the Bank of England and London Heathrow Terminal 5 with BAA.

From 1999, he joined California headquartered CRM software vendor KANA, assuming responsibility for indirect channel management, quickly enlisting BT as a partner completing early contracts in travel and leisure sectors.

2001 saw him join BT as a CRM Specialist swiftly promoted to Senior Marketing Manager in 2003 after developing and successfully launching one of BT’s first Networked IT Services, providing hosted speech recognition, delivering in excess of €17m incremental revenues in its first year.

From 2003 Jaymi focused on learning about the success of BT’s own enterprise-wide CRM transformation programme, which has to date delivered in excess of €358 million savings, concentrating on how to translate this success into value propositions for BT’s global customers.

Success in Europe has taken Jaymi to Asia/Pacific, where he now has pan-regional responsibility for all CRM and Contact Centre related business development and marketing activities. BT’s Contact Centre solutions are based on the world’s first global 21st century IP network running, including 4,000 contact centres for nearly 832 customers.

Jaymi holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and currently lives in Singapore
 

Deepak Kumar, General Manager, Communication Research 
IDC (India) Limited

Deepak Kumar has the operational responsibility of planning, executing and managing all supply side research activities of IDC India in the space of telecommunications, data communications, Internet and E-commerce. 

Deepak carries more than 15 years of experience in journalism, editorial, analysis and other associated fields. More than half of his experience is in technology field, particularly in communications industry. His specializations are in Cellular Services, WiMax, OSS/BSS, Networking, etc. 

Prior to joining IDC, he was with Reuters and Voice & Data, in editorial roles. Voice & Data is the leading magazine in India focused in communication field. Research and analysis was a part and parcel of his responsibilities there. 
 

Darren Grigg, Director BT Account/Global Alliances, Avaya

Darren is Global Sales Director for the BT Account. Darren is based at Avaya’s UK headquarters office in Guilford and has global responsibility for the BT alliance across the world.

Darren has over 20 years of experience in the global telecommunications market with significant knowledge of enterprise solutions, routes to market and vertical market segments. 

Prior to this role, Darren was the Channel Sales Director for Avaya with responsibilities for the UK and Irish markets where he achieved significant revenue growth.

Before joining Avaya, in 2001 Darren spent five years with Nortel first as senior sector manager for the UK and was then promoted to regional sales manager for South Africa for which he achieved a Business Development Pride Award in 1999 for his work in developing the business.

Throughout his career, Darren has also worked for other leading telecommunications companies such as Siemens and Mercury Communications.