Windmills Craftworks

With over 24 years of experience driving success across diverse industries, Ashish brings a wealth of expertise in scaling businesses and fostering innovation. Most recently, Ashish served as President at UrbanPiper, where he spearheaded global revenue growth and operations. Prior to that, as the CEO of Chili's Grill & Bar, he successfully expanded the brand to 15 new locations across South and West India.

Ashish’s career also includes leadership roles at Ninjacart, CloudKitchens, Bunge, Accenture, and HCL, where he played a pivotal role in shaping strategic direction and operational excellence.

Ashish holds an MBA from IIM Lucknow and a BE from Delhi College of Engineering. Outside of work, he enjoys honing his culinary skills for his 11-year-old daughter and keeping up with the latest films.

Chef Suresh T Venkataramana is a seasoned culinary professional with over 28 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, spanning both international and local markets. His career includes a decade in the United Kingdom, where he worked in several high-end establishments and trained under Michelin-star chefs, honing his expertise in fine dining and kitchen leadership.

He has been instrumental in designing and executing Oota Bengaluru, a concept that celebrates regional Indian cuisine. He also served as the Director of Culinary Operations at Windmills, Grandscape (USA), where he was part of the opening team and continued to oversee culinary excellence, innovation, and operational efficiency between 2020 and 2024.

Mahiul Islam was born and raised in Kharagpur, India, and completed his education at NIPS School of Hotel Management, Kolkata, followed by an MSc in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Madurai Kamaraj University. Since then, Mahiul has built an extensive career in the hospitality industry, holding key leadership roles across India and Bangladesh. 

He began his journey with Vivanta by Taj and The Leela, progressing through operations and F&B management roles, including Director of Food & Beverage at Sheraton Brigade, Bangalore and Novotel Convention Centre, Hyderabad.

Mahiul has also led entrepreneurial ventures and consultancy projects, consistently driving operational excellence, revenue growth, and team engagement.

Nishant Patwary, a seasoned Chartered Accountant with over a decade of rich experience in Finance, Accounts, and Treasury operations across the hospitality sector. He has led the finance function at premier establishments like The Oberoi Sukhvilas, Wildflower Hall, and the corporate office of EIH Ltd.

He has been instrumental in driving key transformations such as SAP implementations, cost optimization, and IndAS-compliant financial consolidation for listed entities and complex business structures. With a strong foundation in risk mitigation and a proven track record of leading high-impact financial operations, Nishant's passion lies in building robust systems that enable long-term growth and stability.

Jay was born and raised in Bangalore and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Sikkim, along with an Apprenticeship in Food & Beverage from The Oberoi, Bangalore. Over the last 20 years, he has built an extensive career in the hospitality and F&B industry, working with leading hotels, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, breweries, luxury lounges, and global F&B outlets.

He began his journey with The Oberoi and Ista (now Hyatt) and went on to hold key leadership roles with ITC Gardenia, Shangri-La Bangalore, Ministry of Crab in Bangkok, Nimma Local Café, and, most recently, as General Manager & Mixology Director at Jwala & Rakh in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Jay has also led entrepreneurial and consultancy projects, bringing innovation to beverage programs and operational excellence.