Digital
Rodic Digital & Advisory bets on AI with Varun Mundra as technology chief
NEW DELHI: Rodic Digital & Advisory is sharpening its technology edge. The strategic advisory and digital transformation arm of the Rodic Group has appointed Varun Mundra as chief executive officer, technology, tasking him with building AI-first products and scaling digital advisory services across infrastructure and public systems.
Based in New Delhi, Mundra will drive the firm’s technology strategy, product roadmap and AI-led solutions portfolio, as Rodic deepens its push into data-driven policymaking, digital infrastructure frameworks and public-sector transformation. His experience working with regulators, health authorities, stock exchanges and government bodies is expected to strengthen the firm’s influence with policymakers and institutions navigating data governance and AI adoption.
Managing director of Rodic Digital & Advisory, Nagendra Nath Sinha, said Mundra joins at an inflection point for the firm. His track record in building AI-first businesses and forging government and enterprise partnerships, he added, will help deliver “intelligent, sustainable and resilient infrastructure solutions at scale”.
Mundra brings more than 13 years of experience across health tech, voice AI, fintech and enterprise SaaS. Most recently, he was managing director and country manager for Vara, a Germany-based medical AI company, where he built the India business from the ground up with full P&L responsibility. Earlier roles include senior leadership positions at Skit and TOPXIGHT Research Labs, spanning AI SaaS ventures in capital markets, cybersecurity and deep tech.
An international MBA graduate from SPJIMR and IESEG, with a BTech in computer science from Nirma University, Mundra specialises in go-to-market strategy, government business and product-led growth.
As India’s infrastructure ambitions collide with the rise of AI, Rodic is placing a clear wager: smarter systems, faster decisions—and technology at the heart of it all.
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
