Meet the 32nd Annual Harvard Business School Tech Conference Team

Kshitij Maheshwari

**Conference Co-Chair**
I grew up near New Delhi, India. Post bachelors at the Indian Institute of Technology, I worked as a management consultant focusing on digital transformation and strategic operations across sectors. I have been passionate about digital equity which recently led me to work in Indian telecommunications as a strategist, creating data solutions for small businesses.

Mahlaqa Kamran

**Conference Co-Chair**
I was born and raised in Pakistan, living across multiple cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. After graduating with a degree in Economics and Mathematics, I joined McKinsey as a consultant. I was with McKinsey for 3 years prior to HBS, primarily helping public and private sector clients develop strategies for growth. My interest in tech stems from my desire to have positive impact at scale, and I am looking forward to meet you all at the conference.

Sotiris Baratsas

**Conference Co-Chair**
I come from Athens, Greece and most recently worked as a Product Manager at Mastercard in New York and as a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company in Greece, serving clients on Strategy, Digital, Operations and Transformation in the Industrial, Energy and Financial Services sectors. I deeply believe that Technology can be a force for good in the world and look forward to bringing together talented people as part of the Tech Conference to talk about creating an exciting future while navigating the current uncertainty in Tech.

Alisha Bhanji

**Co-Director of AI/ML**
Born in Kenya and grew up in Canada. I graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Nanotechnology Engineering. Waterloo had a great coop program so I got work experience at Apple and NASA as well as research experience at Harvard and MIT before graduating. After undergrad, I worked on my own tech startup, Scope Photonics, to develop novel camera technology for the smartphone industry. Most recently, I spent a year in tech private equity, learning about how to deploy capital to software enabled businesses. I'm excited to learn about how AI can help us solve society's most pressing problems and generally improve our quality of life.

Michelle Hu

**Co-Director of Careers in Tech: Investors Track**
I was born in and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and I graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics. After graduating, I worked at JP Morgan in their financial Institutions group assisting companies with strategic alternatives, financing, and M&A transactions. Afterwards, I moved to Insight Partners on their technology investment team, where I worked with founders across early and late stage enterprise software, marketplaces, healthtech and fintech companies. In my free time, I am involved with non-profits focused on financial literacy and small business entrepreneurship, and I am excited by promoting diversity and equal opportunity in the investing industry.

Matt Thompson

**Director of EdTech**
I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI. I graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in computer science. After graduation, I commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. I served as a platoon leader in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, and as a company commander in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, TX. I’m interested in how technology can help democratize and individualize education.

Michael Barclift

**Director of Climate Tech & Touch Tech**
Previously served as a mechanical engineer at GE with 6 years of experience focused on 3D Printing. I have 4 publications on additive manufacturing and have been cited in over 200+ academic papers. Prior to GE, I was a graduate researcher at Penn State University. We are entering an era where the advancement of "Deep Tech" will play a critical role in addressing the world's most pressing challenges in the development of Space, Aviation, Clean Energy, and Manufacturing. I'm excited for what the future holds.

Michael Shao

Co-Director of AI/ML

I grew up in Michigan and studied Applied Math / Economics at Harvard College. Prior to HBS, I spent 4 years in New York City as a tech investment banker and, more recently, a software growth investor covering AI, cybersecurity, DevOps, and IoT/Telematics. My fascination with technology stems from its relentless drive for innovation and its profound ability to craft new tools for society. I'm particularly captivated by the transformative potential of AI and its unprecedented scalability which will inevitably redefine our world in the foreseeable future.