Professors of Practice

Mr. Ranjan will leverage his extensive industry experience to develop industry-led electives and programs aimed at preparing students for successful careers in the rapidly evolving field of automotive and electric propulsion technologies. He will also contribute to advanced engineering research, fostering innovation and practical insights within the academic community.

Mr. Ranjan has had a distinguished industrial career with almost 15 years in the automotive industry, leading cutting-edge developments in engine-out emissions and propulsion electrification. He currently serves as the Director of Engineering for Battery and Vehicle Manufacturing at Canoo, a leading California based electric vehicle startup.

Among his notable achievements, Mr. Ranjan served as Chief Engineer for Ferrari F160 engines, which power Maserati’s Levante, Quattroporte, and Ghibli vehicles. Additionally, he has played a key role in developing Stellantis’ STLA Large BEV architecture, enabling brands like Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep to achieve industry-leading electric vehicle performance. His expertise also contributed to the development of the Ultra-high Efficiency Single Module exhaust aftertreatment system at Cummins Inc., helping automakers such as Daimler, Paccar, DAF Trucks, and Stellantis meet stringent EPA emissions standards.

In addition to his corporate roles, Mr. Ranjan founded his own startup, developing innovative technology to integrate multiple engine dynamometers, recover energy from engine development processes, and integrate that energy with the utility grid.

Mr. Ranjan’s engineering expertise spans systems engineering, controls engineering, structural mechanics, and mechatronics. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering from BIT Mesra Ranchi and his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While at the University of Michigan, he lectured the class of 2010 and was recognized as the Best Active Learning Instructor by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). His combination of industry expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and award-winning teaching methods will greatly enrich the learning experience at KIIT.

Abir is an IT cum Telecom Portfolio and Account Service Delivery Executive with 23+ years of experience in each of the six critical areas within the realm of System Integration & Application Management Services – Project, Program & Portfolio Management, Transformation Management, Pre-Sales Bid Solutions Management, Operations Management, Domain & Competence Management and People Management. He has played a spectrum of leadership, specialist and organization roles while executing Transformation, Engineering, Development, Maintenance, Cloud & Digital Transformation engagements for global customers.

Abir holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University Kolkata and a Master’s in Reliability Engineering from Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata followed by a MBA from SCDL Pune. On a personal front, Abir likes to read, travel, and actively participates in social volunteering endeavors.

Dr. Rupesh Khare is an accomplished global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data Science. He commands more than 25 years of experience in this industry. This positions him in an elite group of global analytics leaders who has contributed to three generations of the industry. His experience spans in multiple domains such as Banking, Non-Life Insurance, Pharmaceutical & Healthcare, Manufacturing, Consumer Retail and Ecommerce. He has successfully led projects from various horizontals such as Manufacturing and Supply Chain Analytics, Marketing Analytics, Customer Analytics, Risk and Fraud Analytics, Financial Analytics and HR Analytics

In his long successful career, he has been instrumental in building multiple new AI practices and scaling up existing ones. In the process, he effectively strategized and implemented the visions of world class AI practices. During his successful career trajectory, various organizations and institutions have been consistently recognizing him for his exemplary impacts to digital transformation The trend continued when Analytics India Magazine recognized him among the top 50 AI leaders at The MachineCon – India’s Biggest Exclusive Gathering of Analytics & AI Leaders.

A passionate mentor, Rupesh strongly believes in nurturing talent through mentoring and investing in them. He is a visiting faculty of multiple leading technical and management schools where he interacts with young talent and guides them on their career and industry best practices. Rupesh has also been part of the Board of Academic councils of prestigious institutes. Throughout his career, he has published and presented many technical papers in leading journals, national and international conferences.

As the foundation of his excellent work experience, Rupesh has a unique and rare blend of education in Strategy, Leadership, Management, Finance and Engineering from the world’s one of the best schools like London Business School (LBS), London and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.