Photo by Ranjit Kandalgaonkar, Visiting Artist, Fall 2015
SAI is honored to announce new members of our Arts Advisory Council. Council members provide support and advisement for the Arts at SAI program, which aims to connect South Asia’s curators, museum administrators, artists, and art educators with Harvard faculty and students to support activity and research that advance understanding and appreciation of South Asian art.
Sanjay and Pinky Reddy, India
G V Sanjay Reddy is the Vice Chairman of GVK, a conglomerate with interests in Energy, Airports, Transportation, Resources, Real Estate, Hospitality and Life Sciences. He was instrumental in making GVK the largest private airport operator in India, by owning, developing and operating the Mumbai and Bengaluru airports, which handle over 50 million passengers per year. He founded GVK Biosciences, which is one of Asia’s largest contract research organizations, employing more than 2000 scientists. He is involved with GVK EMRI 108 service, which is the world’s largest ambulance service offered free of cost to over 800 million people across India, having saved more than one million lives until date. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is an active contributor to the industry and the community through leadership positions at premier forums such as the World Economic Forum and the Jagdish and Kamala Mittal Museum of Indian Art, and is Chairman of the National Committee on Infrastructure at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s premier business association.
A successful entrepreneur with interests in diverse and challenging fields such as retail, infrastructure, hospitality, and social enterprises, Aparna Reddy has been actively engaged in wide-ranging activities and businesses. She has been Managing Director of Lotus House Group, Aparna Foundation, FICCI FLO, Hyderabad 10K run, Young Indians, Indian School of Business (ISB), and Young Presidents Organization (YPO). She has also associated with and organized fundraising events for charitable institutions such as CRY, Save the Child, and established her own charitable trust, ‘Aparna Foundation,’ which is committed to supporting less privileged artisans of traditional and dying Indian art forms. Her passion for art, nature, and local food has led her to be involved in projects such as the art installations at the Mumbai Airport, and she is currently working on the Garden Concept for Bangalore Airport Terminal. She has completed various business management courses at Harvard University in Cambridge and ISB in Hyderabad.
Omar Saeed, Pakistan
Mr. Omar Saeed has been the Chief Executive Officer of Service Industries Ltd. since July 31, 2011. Mr. Saeed served as Chief Operating Officer of Premier BPO Inc. He ran Service Sales Corporation as Chief Operating Officer from 2002 to 2010. He founded Ovex Technologies (Private) Limited in 2003 and served as its Chief Executive Officer. He was an early stage employee at Homewarehouse.com which was acquired by Walmart. He has also worked for a supply chain company that