World Economic Forum project leader to give lecture on digital transformation impacts in India

Akhilesh Srivastava will give a presentation titled “Digital Transformation and the Future of India” on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. at the business school’s Troesh Conference Center. The lecture is free and open to the public. It will also be live-streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ZaparaBizSchool

Srivastava, who is a member of the board of governors of the Engineering Council of India among other appointments, is working with the World Economic Forum, the government of India, the government’s central public policy think tank Niti Aayog, and the Union Road Transport Ministry in implementing Road Safety 2.0 which was announced last year. The project’s objective is to utilize technology toward achieving a 50% reduction in road fatalities across India by 2025. According to reports, India in 2018 ranked No. 1 of 199 countries for numbers of road fatalities.

In addition to his leadership of Road Safety 2.0, Srivastava was recently appointed to serve as a road safety ambassador by the International Road Federation, a global nonprofit that is involved in all road policies and development worldwide. In other capacities he is also an external advisor to international management consulting conglomerate McKinsey & Company, an IT advisor to the government of Uttarakhand in India, and a member of the board of governors for the International Council of Consultants.

Srivastava formerly served as chief executive officer of commercial operations and IT of the National Highways Authority of India and chief operations officer of Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. where he was responsible for spearheading the automation of India’s national highways. Over the course of 27 years Srivastava was instrumental in implementing use of drones, Lidar laser imaging and detection, geographic information systems, project management software and other technologies. His key achievements have included leading the implementation of the FASTtag electronic toll collection system across India's highways which hosts more than 17 million users and more than 4 million daily transactions.

Srivastava received the Vishwakarma Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements in the digitization of the construction industry. He was named one of the “51 Most Impactful Smart Cities Leaders” in 2019 and his widely-read book which published that year, “Digital Construction Management,” came into use as an academic textbook.

Srivastava holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and has studied at Stanford University, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is currently completing a doctorate in intelligent transport systems from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India’s equivalent of CalTech and MIT.

Srivastava arrives at La Sierra University through his friendship with Zapara School of Business Dean John Thomas. “I met Srivastava in Mumbai and later in Dubai and was impressed by his commitment to making change by harnessing technology to enhance road safety,” Thomas said. “I believe our students, staff and faculty members as well as members of our community will be stimulated and enriched by the opportunity to learn from someone whose ideas have already been part of the conversation at the World Economic Forum.”

For further information about the lecture, contact business@lasierra.edu or call 951-785-2464. La Sierra University and the Zapara School of Business are located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, Calif., 92505.