Swarup Nanda : Chairman & CEO
Swarup is a Mechanical Engineer with an MBA in marketing. He has over a decade’s experience in multiple business domains. He is the business head of three separate and privately-held firms working in various domains of Book Publishing, Content Creation, Angel Investing, and Business Consulting. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, he has worked with several MNCs in the media space. His passion for literature and books is his motivation for building Leadstart Publishing. He oversees all aspects of the expanding business.
Sunil K Poolani: Executive Director (1970 – 2011)
Sunil had a wide and varied career path, starting with journalism and functioning as a Senior Editor with the Express Group, The Sunday Observer, Free Press Journal and Blitz. He was a regular contributor to mainstream publications like Hindustan Times, DNA, Asian Age, Deccan Herald, Deccan Chronicle, Sahara Time and Oman Tribune. Sunil founded Frog Books in 1994, which later got incorporated under the Leadstart Publishing umbrella . Sunil breathed his last on 10th June’ 2011, 5:30 p.m. He suffered a cardiac arrest.
Chandralekha Maitra: Executive Director – Editorial & Human Resources
Chandralekha brings to Leadstart Publishing 25 years of experience as a book publishing professional. She began her career as a features writer and columnist, working with a wide spectrum of newspapers, magazines and periodicals across India, before moving into book publishing full time with India Book House, Mumbai. Over the years she has had the exposure to the finest publishing houses both in India and abroad, and various genres and markets. She received her training in editorial title management from Book House, London. Chandralekha has a parallel and specialist career in the domain of Human Resource Management. She has been widely involved in people management and training, most recently as Head, Programme Management at the Tata Group. She continues to write, train and mentor in this domain as her publishing commitments allow.
Raj Supe: Advisor Emeritus
Raj Supe, aka Kinkar Vishwashreyananda, a poet, storyteller and novelist, is also a seeker and bhakta – a devotee of Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath. An MBA, his career has spanned advertising, research and creative consulting, before devoting his time to literature and spirituality. His works include Three No Trumps (a novel, 1998), Sagarika Anusagarika [Echoes of Nine Rivers] (poetry, 2001), Pilgrim of the Sky (spiritual memoir, 2010), and translations of religious texts such as Cloudburst of A Thousand Suns and Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari. He has also worked on film scripts with Ram Gopal Verma and Ashutosh Gowariker and on plays with Makarand Deshpande.
Mishta Roy: Executive Director, Leadstart Design Studio
A graphic designer with a BFA (First Class First) from Delhi College of Arts and an MFA from Central Saint Martin’s, University of London, Mishta has worked with various organisations since 2000, notably Tehelka, Saatchi & Saatchi, Explocity and Rave magazine. She continues to work with Artindia magazine, India Foundation for the Arts and Breakthroug, among others. She is located in Bangalore.
Derek Bose: Associate Editor
Derek is a senior journalist, author, magazine editor, film jurist and columnist. Over the past 25 years, his writings have appeared in leading news journals in India and abroad. He has authored seven best-selling books on cinema. In 2007, he was awarded the Rashtriya Ratna, as the best Indian film journalist of the year. He has been a Consulting Editor with Frog Books since its inception.
Abhirami Sriram: Associate Editor
Abhirami has over 10 years’ experience in publishing, having worked with prestigious publishers including Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, Rupa & Co, Sage Publications, EastWest Books and Katha Books. She has been working with Leadstart since 2008, editing mostly non-fiction.
Manohar Chapa: Head, Sales – Western India
Manohar brings with him 18 years of retail experience, spread over various business domains. He has worked in India and West Asia before joining Leadstart. Manohar oversees the business in West India.
Ramu K. : Head, Sales – Southern India
Ramu is a veteran of the book trade . He has an extensive 15 years experience in the domain. He has worked with all leading Publishers of India like Rupa, Nyogi, etc. before his current assignment. He now oversees the sales and distribution of Leadstart in Southern India.
Arijit Haldar: Head, Sales – Eastern India, Bhutan & Bangaldesh
Arijit has over 15 years’ experience in book sales and distribution. He currently oversees Leadstart’s business across Eastern India and neighbouring eastern countries. He has worked with several leading book publishers that include Jaico, Magna,etc.
Mahendra Rawat: Head, Sales – Northern India & Nepal
Mahendra has over 6 years’ experience in book sales and distribution. He comes from a family in the book trade. He has worked with several book distributors and publishers before his current assignment with Leadstart Publishing.
Iftikar Shaikh: Author Relationships & Online Sales
Iftikar has had a decade of experience prior to joining Leadstart. He managed key business processes of MNC banks along with other outfits. He, and his team, take care of business operations efficiency along with handling author relationships.
Rajesh Bale: Purchase & Sales Support
Rajesh handles the critical area of the sales support team of Leadstart that services its entire distribution pan India. He has 15 years’ experience in managing back-office and business operations.
