Meet the
Empowerment
team

Our Mission

Empowering youth through education and skills

India Youth Fund seeks to break the cycle of abject poverty in the urban slums of India by empowering youth to stay in school and work towards a brighter future.

Our Team

Victor Martinez-Angles

Chairman
victor@indiayouthfund.org

Victor started the India Youth Fund in 2012 to raise awareness and funds and promote education and skills for underprivileged youth in India. He is also the managing director of the international operations for the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office. Before that, Victor was a partner at Lumis Partners, a private equity fund, lead Corporate Development for Genpact, and held Business Development and M&A Executive positions at General Electric Company.

Avtar Ganju

President

Avtar partnered with Victor to start the Salaam Bombay Children’s Fund in 2012. Avtar Ganju has a PhD in Pharma and an executive management degree in marketing. He is a Certified Financial Planner (C.F.P), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (Ch.FC). Avtar has been in the financial industry for over 35 years and specializes in Retirement Planning and Wealth Transfer with a focus on Legacy & Charitable Planning. Avtar has 600 plus endorsements on his LinkedIn Profile.

Ashley Kadakia

Executive Director
ashley@indiayouthfund.org

Ashley met her husband, a native of Mumbai, in 2004. In 2013, she started Beyond Bombay, a US based retail company of unique goods sourced from India. Ashley has spent the last decade frequently traveling to India and has good understanding of US-India partnerships. Ashley joined the Advisory Board of India Youth Fund in 2014 and served as CEO from 2017 to early 2023.

Aditi Shrikam

Executive Director

Aditi Shrikam joined the Advisory Board of India Youth Fund in 2013. Aditi is the CFO of Malabar Bay & Jaye’s Studio. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Aditi is passionate about education. She currently serves on the MUSPA Board of Pine Crest School, FL and has served as Trustee and President during her 9 year term on the Board of Trustees of The Long Ridge School, CT.

Anne Vonick

Office Manager
anne@indiayouthfund.org

Our Advisory Board

Victor Martinez-Angles

Victor started the Salaam Bombay Children’s Fund in 2012 to raise awareness and funds to promote education and skills for underprivileged youth in India. He is also a partner at Lumis Partners since 2009. Before Lumis, Victor lead Corporate Development for Genpact and held Business Development and M&A Executive positions at General Electric Company.

Julian Elliott

Julian Elliott started his professional career at Price Waterhouse. After many years spent in the Geneva and San Francisco offices, he joined the private wealth management firm of Notz Stucki & Cie working from the Geneva and Montreal offices. Julian retired as a Partner from Notz Stucki & Cie in 2010 at which time he founded Fargo Management Canada Ltd. providing international strategic consulting services from Montreal. Julian is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant.

Vikram Gandhi

Vikram Gandhi is the Founder of Asha Impact, an impact investing and policy advocacy platform focused on critical development challenges facing India and other emerging economies. He is on the faculty of the Harvard Business School where he teaches in both the MBA & Executive Education programs. He is a Founding Board Member of Social Finance India and is on the Board of the Grameen Foundation. He is also Founder and CEO of VSG Capital Advisors, and Senior Advisor to The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Vikram is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 1997 and has been a part of the New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai chapters.

Avtar Ganju

Avtar partnered with Victor to start the Salaam Bombay Children’s Fund in 2012. Avtar Ganju has a PhD in Pharma and an executive management degree in marketing. He is a Certified Financial Planner (C.F.P), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (Ch.FC). Avtar has been in the financial industry for over 35 years and specializes in Retirement Planning and Wealth Transfer with a focus on Legacy & Charitable Planning. Avtar has 600 plus endorsements on his LinkedIn Profile.

Dr. Rajkamal Iyer

Rajkamal Iyer’s research focuses on the area of banking and contract theory, with a particular interest in understanding the role of interbank markets in the provision of liquidity. Raj holds an MA in Economics from Bombay University, an MSc in Economics and Finance from the London School of Economics, and a PhD in Finance from INSEAD.

Ashley Kadakia

Executive Director
ashley@indiayouthfund.org

Ashley met her husband, a native of Mumbai, in 2004. In 2013, she started Beyond Bombay, a US based retail company of unique goods sourced from India. Ashley has spent the last decade frequently traveling to India and has good understanding of US-India partnerships. Ashley joined the Advisory Board of India Youth Fund in 2014 and served as CEO from 2017 to early 2023.

Dr. Vinay Nair

Dr. Vinay Nair is a successful entrepreneur and a leading academic. He has started or is involved as an advisor or board member in several companies in financial services, across investment management, venture capital and fintech. He is also involved in technology-enabled solutions that link Israel, India and the US across different sectors.

Dr. Ashok Shaha

Dr. Shaha specializes in head and neck surgery. His commitment has been to foster a better quality of life for cancer patients. He has been elected to top leadership positions in the American Head and Neck Society, the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the New York Head and Neck Society, the New York Cancer Society and the American Society for Surgeons of Indian Origin.

Aditi Shrikam

Aditi Shrikam joined the Advisory Board of India Youth Fund in 2013. Aditi is the CFO of Malabar Bay & Jaye’s Studio. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Aditi is passionate about education. She currently serves on the MUSPA Board of Pine Crest School, FL and has served as Trustee and President during her 9 year term on the Board of Trustees of The Long Ridge School, CT.

Padmini Sekhsaria

Padmini Sekhsaria is the vision and force behind Salaam Bombay Foundation which started in 2002. Her holistic approach to life has been decisive in her move to spearhead the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation which supports causes in the area of health, education and employment generation. She is a graduate from the London School of Economics and has a M.Sc. in Financial Economics from University of London.

Jehil Thakkar

Supporters

IYF is thankful for the generous support from the following companies

Avendus

Avestar
Capital

Beyond
Bombay

Christie’s

General
Electric
Foundation

KKR

Lumis
Partners

Malabar
Bay

Oak
Foundation

Pepsi Co

Partners

India Youth Fund works with local non-profit organizations that oversee the programs on the ground

Salaam Bombay
Foundation
Mumbai | Pune

http://www.salaambombay.org





Tomorrow’s
Foundation
Kolkata




http://www.tomorrowsfoundation.org





Society for People's Action
for Development
Bangalore








DreamLab








Sharp
Jaipur