New Product & Product Management Awards Judging Committee

Arif Mujawar is Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Planning at Atmus Filtration Technologies, a publicly listed global filtration technology company serving the transportation, industrial, and related markets. In this role, he provides executive leadership across a complex, multi-site manufacturing and supply chain network, with a focus on shaping operations strategy, building scalable operating systems, developing high-performing teams, and delivering sustainable, customer-centric performance across the business.

Arif has nearly two decades of experience across manufacturing, supply chain, operations leadership, enterprise transformation, and program management. His career has been defined by leading large-scale operational transformations, strengthening global operating networks, and building organizations capable of delivering measurable business results. He has held progressively broader leadership roles, including Plant Director, Executive Director of Global Operations, and Vice President.

In recent executive roles, Arif has played a central role in shaping the Atmus supply chain following Atmus’ transition as an independent public company. He led the establishment of multiple independent distribution centers, strengthened Atmus’ manufacturing operating system, and advanced lean transformation across plants and distribution operations. His work has focused on enterprise performance, manufacturing and supply chain effectiveness, working capital discipline, customer delivery, operational resilience, and profitable growth.

As a former Plant Director, Arif led one of the company’s major U.S. manufacturing facilities, where he strengthened labor relations, advanced operational discipline, and built a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. His broader leadership experience spans manufacturing strategy, global supply chain planning, logistics and distribution network development, operational excellence, productivity improvement, and cross-functional business transformation. He is recognized for combining strategic thinking with practical execution in complex, enterprise-wide environments.

Arif also brings significant experience in new product launch execution, operational readiness, and the manufacturing capabilities required to bring products to market reliably and at scale — giving him a practical understanding of how product strategy, supply chain readiness, engineering, and business performance come together to create successful product outcomes.

Arif holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He has also completed executive development programs focused on enterprise leadership and business transformation.

Arif was invited to serve as Chair of the New Product & Product Management Judging Committee for the 2026 International Business Awards®, following two prior years of service as a Stevie Awards judge. This committee leadership role reflects the continued relevance of his executive experience in manufacturing, supply chain, operational excellence, product launch execution, and global enterprise leadership. His background enables him to evaluate product innovation, operational scalability, customer value, and measurable business and financial impact across industries.

Ahmed Abdullah is Founder & CEO of Sitka AI Technologies (Frisco, TX), an AI automation company serving US enterprise and SMB clients across healthcare, logistics, and revenue operations. He built Pakistan's world class digital platforms and is an Extraordinary Ability visa holder.

Technology Delivery Lead at Accenture with 14 years of experience delivering large-scale transformation programs across Financial Services. Bharathi specializes in leading cross-functional global teams, driving end-to-end delivery, and building scalable technology solutions that align business strategy with execution.

Enterprise Cloud Architect and Senior AI & Data Systems Consultant with 24+ years of experience delivering enterprise AI, cloud, analytics, and data platform solutions. IEEE Member, ACM Professional Member, 2026 Stevie Awards and CODiE Awards Judge, Web of Science Reviewer, and published AI researcher specializing in AI, cloud computing, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.

Paramita Banik is a business development leader specializing in AI commercialization and enterprise technology. With 19 years of experience across banking, energy, fintech, and life sciences, she brings deep technical and commercial expertise to the AI agents space — helping organizations deploy autonomous AI to transform their revenue operations.

Aysenur Can is a supply chain and systems transformation leader with 14+ years of international experience at Fortune 500 companies. She has led large-scale WMS/ERP implementations, KPI governance, and continuous improvement programs. A Certified Scrum Master, she has a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Panagiotis (Peter) Coutoulas is a Product Leader in AI at ASAPP, where he leads HILA (Human-in-the-Loop Agent), Messaging Platform and AI Services. A Stanford MBA with previous experience at McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse, Panagiotis specializes in translating advanced AI into measurable enterprise impact.

An Information Technology Professional with 25 years of experience spanning Product Ownership, Quality Engineering, and Scrum Master roles within Research and Development organizations. Devki specializes in Enterprise CRM/ERP and Association Management Software (AMS).

Yeni Fowotade is an international business and technology strategy leader with over a decade of experience driving business growth, market expansion, and product-led transformation across Africa and global markets. She serves as a Principal growth strategist, helping organizations scale innovative products, enter new markets, and build viable growth strategies.

Solution Architect with 21+ years of software development experience, including 10 years leading global in-store and retail technologies for Pizza Hut. Expert in enterprise systems architecture, cloud/edge infrastructure, POS integration, and full-stack engineering. Experienced in evaluating high-volume digital systems and aligning technology execution with corporate scale.

Sameer has 16 years of engineering and technology leadership experience and sustained impact in multiple senior roles, including Lead PM/Sr. Manager at Guidewire, and earlier product leadership roles at Apple, Genentech, Sandvik, and Merck.

Nikhil Jathar, Co-Founder & CTO of AvanSaber Inc., has 19 years' experience architecting enterprise platforms, leading to three product exits. He now leads AI-native ERPClaw and TailTest, backed by US AI patents. An IEEE Senior Member, and Forbes Tech Council contributor, Nikhil advises global enterprises on ERP modernization and applied AI.

Rufeda is a Customer Success Manager on Amazon's Fashion & Fitness Vendor Services team and founder of CareMap Health, a free bilingual AI platform helping people navigate and afford care. A TEDx speaker and host of the Product Chat Series podcast, she's grown a 20,000+ community of aspiring product leaders.

Karthikeyan brings over 13 years of experience in SAP development and transformation, with a strong focus on SAP S/4HANA across On-Premise, Private Cloud, and Public Cloud environments. Currently, he works as a Clean Core and SAP BTP Subject Matter Expert, helping organizations design and implement scalable, future-ready solutions.

Sahil Khullar is a Digital Product Manager at American Express in New York City, with deep experience across financial services, digital transformation, customer experience, and agile product delivery. He has led data-driven product initiatives at Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, and UBS, delivering scalable solutions that drive efficiency, innovation, and business impact.

Jachym is the founder of Algomizer, an AI Search service provider helping enterprise brands, VC firms, and universities optimize their visibility in AI-generated answers across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. His work has been featured by Andreessen Horowitz, he contributed to emerging academic research at UoT and recently presented at the 2026 GEO Conference.

Gauri Kulkarni is the Vice President of Development and a board member at Humanitarian Software Holdings. She was also the sole representative of her company to setup a branch in the UK for Humanitarian Software where she managed teams globally. She has experience developing and managing ERP systems for over 10 years now.

Sumit Kumar is an innovation and technology leader with expertise in packaging, sustainability, and product development. He has led global, first-to-market innovations from concept to commercialization across global markets. He brings deep technical expertise and a global perspective on innovation and business impact.

Gaurav Gul is a Technical Program Manager at Amazon with 10+ years of experience in cloud computing, AI, data engineering, and business intelligence across Amazon, Dell, Apple, Accenture, and other global organizations. He enjoys evaluating innovation, technology, and business excellence and looks forward to contributing as a Stevie Awards judge.

Pavan Madduri is a Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at W.W. Grainger, CNCF Golden Kubestronaut, Oracle ACE Associate, IEEE Senior Member, and a Speaker at HPSFCon, KyvernoCon, & BrightTALK. He has authored 19 articles in CNCF Blog, IEEE ComSoc, & Platform Engineering. Pavan is also a reviewer for the IEEE IoT Journal.Pavan Madduri is a Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at W.W. Grainger, CNCF Golden Kubestronaut, Oracle ACE Associate, IEEE Senior Member, and a Speaker at HPSFCon, KyvernoCon, & BrightTALK. He has authored 19 articles in CNCF Blog, IEEE ComSoc, & Platform Engineering. Pavan is also a reviewer for the IEEE IoT Journal.

Arvin Maleki, a renowned figure in industrial design, has earned the Gold at the A'Design Award, alongside five additional gold medals. Globally ranked 10th in Canada, 7th in Iran, and 731st worldwide, he shapes the industry as a juror and author. He contributes to fostering innovation in the design community.

Currently, Nishant spearheads strategic partnerships across Connected TV and Automotive at YouTube, negotiating with Fortune 100s, launching in-car media experiences, pushing YouTube’s reach across devices with cutting-edge innovations, and generating billions in revenue. Crafting new opportunities, steering strategic vision, and driving innovation are at the core of his passion.

Anusheel Pareek is a Senior PM at Google Cloud leading several product areas for Gemini Enterprise. Previously, he built Google’s 3P Model-as-a-Service business from scratch and scaled to $XBn in revenues. He has 10+ years of experience in AI, Product, and Strategy (ex-BCG). A Wharton MBA and IIT Madras graduate.

Prathap is an accomplished IT leader with over 21 years of experience in enterprise software development, test automation, and product lifecycle management. He oversees end-to-end product strategy, roadmap planning, stakeholder engagement, and delivery alignment across multiple digital platforms, customer service platforms.

Jayakumar Ramalingam is a Staff Software Engineer at SiriusXM with 16+ years of experience designing and delivering scalable enterprise technology solutions across the media, retail, automotive, and financial services domains. His expertise spans software architecture, cloud-native and event-driven systems, AI-enabled platforms, system reliability, and enterprise-scale delivery.

Mona is a Principal Applied Scientist at Dell Technologies specializing in Generative AI, Agentic AI, RAG, NLP, and Knowledge Graph systems. She holds 9 AI patents, authored IEEE research publications, and leads enterprise-scale AI innovation initiatives delivering impactful business outcomes. Her expertise spans LLMs, semantic search, intelligent automation, and enterprise AI platforms.

Results-driven SAP Finance leader with 24 years of experience, including 20 years in SAP and 4 years in accounting. Strong global exposure and is equally effective in hands-on solution design/delivery as well as in engaging business and executive stakeholders. Effectively led enterprise-level financial transformations.

Pavel Sikachev is a Strategic Product Leader with 10+ years building AI products and digital ecosystems. Recently CPO at Jume Platform (Fortune 500 clients including Danone and Unilever); previously Director of Product Management at Mars Petcare. Active mentor at Plug and Play, Leap Venture Studio, and ADPlist.

In a lengthy career in marketing and advertising, Malcolm has founded advertising agencies, Media and PR Consultancies and served as CEO at McCann Erickson. He has worked with many world-leading organisations including Unilever, Nestle, Coca Cola, Nissan, Panasonic and General Motors. He now runs his own consultancy advising on business management.

Director of Design at Reacher Platform, a YC-backed AI company in San Francisco building brand-creator tools for UnderArmour, L'Oreal, and Logitech. International recognition across AI, accessibility, and digital design (2026 iF, 2025 Red Dot, A' Gold, IDA Gold, London Gold, MUSE, Indigo). Previously 5 years at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

A Strategic Product Manager with 15+ years of experience in the telecom domain, cloud platform transformation, and product management, Neetu brings strong expertise in Kubernetes platforms, data and AI products, and large-scale digital transformation initiatives. She has led impactful initiatives such as launching an AI-driven intake platform that streamlined workflows.