Mr. Ashutosh Garg

Managing Director, Guardian Lifecare Pvt. Ltd.

Armed with an MBA, Mr. Ashutosh Garg has worked in the corporate sector for 25 years. He worked for ITC Limited for 17 years, leaving in 1995 as Managing Director of one of the ITC group companies, based in Singapore. Thereafter he spent 8 years in the aerospace industry, four years each for Lockheed Martin and Hughes, running their satellite systems.

In April 2003, the entrepreneurial bug bit him and he started a chain of Health and Beauty Retail outlets under the name Guardian. Guardian is the master franchisee for GNC Live Well in India and is now the leading wellness retailer in India. Guardian is also the publisher of the very successful newspaper and magazine in English and Hindi called the Guardian Health Chronicle.

He is a director of the GAVI Fund, a US$ 8 billion fund, formed by the WHO, UNICEF, The World Bank, the Gates Foundation and some of the developed nations to meet the 4th and 5th United Nations Millennium Development Goals for Women and Child health. A member of the Retail Strategy Council of India, he has also served on the Advisory Council of the Centre for Policy Research and continues to serve on the boards of several companies.

In January 1995, he was recognised as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, Switzerland. He is an active member of the Young Presidents� Organisation since 1994 and a Charter Member of TiE since 2007.

He has written the highly acclaimed book titled �The Buck Stops Here � my journey from Manager to Entrepreneur� which has also been released as an eBook and an audio book. The book now going into its second edition is also being translated into Hindi. His second book �The Corner Office� was launched on 1st August 2013.

His wife Vera is a Historian and teaches at the American Embassy School, New Delhi. His elder son, Varun, an MBA from the London Business School, works for American Express in Singapore as Manager Business Development. Younger son, Ashwin, works as Brand Manager for Procter and Gamble in Toronto.

An avid golfer, he plays the Indian flute and enjoys reading and listening to Indian classical and vocal music.