Kiran is a thought leader & spokesperson for the IT-BPO industry in India who spurred the creation of policies and strategies for the advancement of the sector internationally. During his stint as the Head of NASSCOM, he espoused the inclusion of innovation as a key goal for the sector, in addition to the focus on cost and quality. As part of his two-decade long career at ISRO, he was the Founder-Director of Development and Educational Communicational Unit and a key part of the team pioneering the India-USA Satellite Instructional TV Experiment (SITE) and the Kheda Communication Project. He has been a member of several government committees including the Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister.

Kiran Karnik was an important member of the SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment) project in ISRO which used indigenously designed "set top boxes" for the first time in India in the mid 70s.

Professional Career: Ex-President of NASSCOM, CEO of Discovery Networks, ISRO

Education: PGDBM from IIM Ahmedabad, BSc (Hons) from Bombay University

Awards/Recognition: Padma Shri, Franck J Malina Astronautics Medal for Space Education by International Astronautical Federation, UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication