Published on: October 5, 2026
The world of business is evolving faster than ever, driven by powerful shifts in technology, consumer behaviour, innovation, leadership and new-age opportunities. As industries transform and new possibilities emerge, certain forces are playing a defining role in shaping what comes next. The Power 5 brings together the ideas, movements and changemakers influencing the future of business and society.
1. Suresh Naik – Building an Indian Dessert & Coffee Brand with Global Ambitions
Suresh Naik, Founder and CEO of Harley’s Fine Baking, is redefining India’s premium café and dessert landscape with a vision that extends well beyond building another food and beverage brand. With an IIM Calcutta finance degree and leadership experience at Tech Mahindra, Naik’s entrepreneurial journey has spanned diverse sectors, including technology, telecom and education, before an unexpected passion for baking led him to the world of premium desserts.
The idea for Harley’s took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when Naik began experimenting with baking. What started as a personal interest gradually evolved into a business opportunity—and, more importantly, a larger purpose. His interactions with bakers and kitchen workers during the pandemic highlighted the limited recognition and opportunities often available to the skilled workforce behind India’s baking industry. Naik set out to build a premium Indian dessert brand that could create not only exceptional products, but also employment, dignity and professional growth for its people.
Launched in 2021 as a boutique café centred around the Russian Medovik, Harley’s has since expanded to more than 70 stores across six Indian cities. Its portfolio includes European-style desserts, gourmet cheesecakes, French macarons and specialty coffee, combining culinary craftsmanship with a contemporary café experience.
A landmark moment came in December 2024, when Harley’s created a 2,254-kg Russian Medovik honey cake, earning a Guinness World Records title. The record, executed with the participation of more than 500 bakers and support staff, demonstrated the brand’s ability to combine culinary innovation with large-scale operational execution.
Today, Naik is steering Harley’s toward international markets, including Dubai and London, with an ambition to build a globally recognised Indian-origin dessert café brand. His journey reflects how product innovation, people-centric leadership and disciplined systems can transform a personal passion into a modern consumer brand with global aspirations.
2. Ankur Bhasin – Shaping the Future of Event Management, Entertainment and Hospitality
With more than 26 years of experience across event management, artist management, live entertainment and hospitality, Ankur Bhasin has built a career around one defining idea: creating experiences that connect people, talent and businesses. As the Founder of Eventsbistro, he has developed a strong presence within India’s event management, entertainment and hospitality ecosystem, working with leading hospitality groups, luxury venues and entertainment destinations across India and international markets.
Over the years, Ankur’s journey has extended well beyond traditional artist and event management. His understanding of the entertainment and hospitality businesses, combined with a close reading of changing consumer preferences, has enabled him to create meaningful collaborations between artists, brands, event platforms and hospitality establishments. Through Eventsbistro, he continues to facilitate the right talent and event experiences for the right environment, helping venues strengthen their entertainment offerings while creating memorable experiences for their audiences.
His association with acclaimed singer and performer Sagar Bhatia, whom he exclusively represents, further reflects his ability to build and manage long-term relationships within the event management and entertainment industry. For Ankur, artist and event management is not simply about representation or execution; it is about creating sustainable opportunities and partnerships that benefit both talent and businesses.
His entrepreneurial journey has also expanded into the food and beverage sector, giving him a broader understanding of hospitality, event management and experiential consumption. This cross-industry exposure has strengthened his vision of how entertainment, events, dining and hospitality can come together to create distinctive destination-led experiences.
Today, Ankur is preparing for the next chapter of his entrepreneurial journey with a new hospitality venture under development. Combining decades of experience across event management, entertainment and hospitality with an entrepreneurial outlook, he continues to explore innovative formats where these industries converge while remaining focused on creating lasting value for partners, audiences and the wider industry.
3. Dr. Mani Pavitra: Building Businesses, Empowering Entrepreneurs and Redefining Growth
For Dr. Mani Pavitra, entrepreneurship has never been only about building businesses, it has been about creating platforms that enable her to serve more people, solve bigger problems and create impact at scale.
An orthodontist by training, gold medallist, entrepreneur, educator and two time TEDx speaker, Dr. Mani Pavitra has built a diverse journey across healthcare, entrepreneurship, financial education and the creator economy.
As Director, Network Development at AVMSmiles, she contributes to building a modern dental care network with a focus on patient experience, leadership, team development, systems and sustainable growth. She is also helping scale Sukhalok longevity clinics across India, reflecting her vision of making preventive and longevity focused healthcare more accessible.
Her entrepreneurial vision extends beyond healthcare. Through CreatorWerse, a large content creation facility in Hyderabad with 50+ content spaces, she helps doctors, entrepreneurs, coaches and professionals transform their expertise into meaningful digital content.
Beyond her own ventures, Dr. Mani Pavitra is actively involved in building entrepreneurial communities. She is helping scale the Federation of Marathi Entrepreneurs across districts in Maharashtra and serves as a Vision Team Member at NalandaX, supporting its presence across 10 cities in India.
She also champions financial education through Fortune Academy and initiatives such as Million Moms, encouraging women and entrepreneurs to build stronger financial awareness and long-term independence.
Across everything she builds, one philosophy remains consistent: growth becomes meaningful when it creates the capacity to serve others.
For Dr. Mani Pavitra, success is not simply about personal achievement, it is about developing leaders, building sustainable organisations and creating systems whose impact continues beyond the individual.
Build your capacity. Create strong systems. Use both to serve more people.
4. Dr. SRISHTI TRIPATHI | Founder & Director, Active Little Minds
Dr. Srishti Tripathi, Pediatric Physiotherapist, Child Development Specialist, and Founder & Director of Active Little Minds, brings over 11 years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation and child development. With a Master’s in Neurological Physiotherapy, she has specialised expertise in sensory integration, neuro-developmental therapy (NDT), neonatal care, autism, dysgraphia, and pediatric mental health. Her multidisciplinary understanding allows her to create therapy approaches that address not only clinical needs but also the functional challenges children and families encounter in everyday life.
What sets Dr. Srishti and Active Little Minds apart is a distinctive philosophy rooted in the concept of generalisation: helping children transfer the skills they learn in therapy into everyday life. For her, progress is not limited to what a child can accomplish inside a therapy room; the real measure of success is whether those skills can be applied confidently at home, in school, and in social environments. The objective is to help children become increasingly independent and capable, rather than becoming dependent on lifelong therapy.
This philosophy also places families at the centre of the developmental journey. Parents are guided and trained to understand their child’s needs and support therapeutic goals through everyday routines, making intervention more consistent and meaningful beyond scheduled sessions.
Over the years, Dr. Srishti has supported numerous children through developmental intervention, including journeys from intensive therapy towards greater functional independence. Her experience spans early intervention, developmental rehabilitation, and complex pediatric needs, with an emphasis on practical, measurable progress.
As Partner at Cloudnine Hospital, Gurugram, and Founder of Kindora India, Dr. Srishti continues to contribute to the ecosystem of child development and early intervention. Through Active Little Minds, her vision is to combine therapy, family empowerment, and real-world skill development initiatives to help children participate more confidently, function more independently, and ultimately thrive beyond the therapy centre.
5. ADITYA MOHAN: Redefining Fitness Through a Holistic, Personalised Approach
Founded by Aditya Mohan in 2014, Fitness Tree is a holistic fitness studio built around the belief that good health is one of life’s greatest gifts. Aditya believes that a healthy and fit individual is more productive, efficient and positive, and has therefore created Fitness Tree to provide practical health and fitness solutions that encourage sustainable lifestyle changes.
Aditya’s journey into fitness began through his own rigorous and disciplined training. Over seven years across Delhi, Pune and Mumbai, he worked extensively on his fitness and experienced first-hand the positive impact that physical well-being could have on both personal life and professional performance. This experience inspired him to create Fitness Tree as a space that could cater to individuals at every stage of their fitness journey—from people leading severely sedentary lifestyles to those who are already fit and want to deepen their knowledge and push their capabilities further.
Over the past 12+ years, Aditya’s focus has been on helping people understand every element involved in achieving and maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. His approach encompasses workouts, nutrition, discipline, mindset and the mental aspects of creating lasting behavioural change. As a hands-on coach, he personally guides and monitors every member, working with people across age groups—from 15-year-olds beginning their fitness journey to senior citizens aged 60+ seeking to maintain strength, mobility and quality of life.
A distinctive aspect of Fitness Tree is Aditya’s decision to personally oversee the entire training experience. He believes that having multiple trainers can sometimes result in miscommunication, mismanagement and a disconnect between a member’s core objectives and the services being delivered. By personally working with members, he aims to ensure consistency, accountability and focused guidance while helping individuals achieve their goals within a defined timeframe without unnecessary expenditure.
Aditya also believes that traditional approaches to fitness are often reactive rather than preventive. His methodology focuses on changing mindset, habits and lifestyle, supported by continuous follow-ups and monitoring of each individual’s performance and progress. Fitness, in his view, extends well beyond hardcore gymming or heavy machinery; strength, mobility, nutrition, discipline and sustainable habits are equally important.
With nearly two decades of experience in fitness and 12 years of successfully running Fitness Tree, Aditya is now extending his expertise beyond the studio through online coaching and training programmes for individuals across India and internationally. His vision is to positively impact as many lives as possible by making people aware of the importance of building and maintaining strength and fitness regardless of age, gender or circumstances. For Aditya, fitness is not a sprint, but a marathon—a lifelong journey towards better health and a better quality of life.
