ULI India Annual Conference 2025 - World’s Best Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Living

When

2025-02-20
2025-02-20T10:00:00 - 2025-02-20T19:00:00
Asia/Kolkata

Choose Your Calendar

    Where

    Jio World Convention Centre 1st Floor, Meeting Room 104 A & B G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex Mumbai 400098 INDIA

    Pricing

    Late Pricing Begins February 21 Members Non-Members
    Private $150.00 $300.00
    Public/Academic/Nonprofit FREE FREE
    Retired FREE N/A
    Student FREE FREE
    Under Age 35 $50.00 $150.00
    Prices are listed in USD. If you are not member yet, sign up here.
    Making Indian Cities Livable
     
    The "live-work-play" model, rooted in the philosophies of urbanist Patrick Geddes, underpins the idea that cities are complex ecosystems where residential, economic, and cultural activities intertwine. In India's rapidly urbanizing landscape, the need to balance these facets has become urgent, as Indian cities grapple with population increase, economic growth, and a critical need for spatial urban planning. Looking past the traditional focus of this theory, we place the emphasis on the intersections: live-work, work-play and live-play offer Indian cities a better framework for creating dynamic and liveable cities.
     
    Programme Schedule
     
    10:00 AM10:30 AM | Registration & Networking
     
    10:30 AM10:45 AM | Welcome Address
     
    Rohan Sikri, Senior Partner, The Xander Group 
    Scott Dunn, Chief Strategy Officer Asia, AECOM
     
    10:45 AM–11:45 AM | Keynote 1: The International Experience | World’s Best Cities: What Will It Take for India to Compete?
     
    Keynote Address: Chris Fair, CEO and President, Resonance Consultancy
    Fireside Chat with Chris Fair
    Moderator: Supriya Thyagarajan, Principal | Executive Director, Perkins Eastman
     
    11:45 PM–12:45 PM | The Opening Plenary: The Indian experience | Crafting India’s Blueprint for Global Urban Positioning
     
    Chief Guest Address: Amitabh KantG20 Sherpa – India, Government of India
    Fireside Chat with Amitabh Kant
    Bhushan Gagrani, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
    Moderator: Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK
     
    12:45 PM–1:30 PM | Networking Lunch Break
     
    1:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Entertainment Districts: A New Paradigm for Urban Transformation
     
    Andy Lantz, Co-CEO & Creative Director, RIOS
    Nandini Sampat, Principal Architect, Somaya & Kalappa Consultants
    Rohit Bansal, Group Head of Communications, Reliance Industries Limited
    Sushil Kumar Singh, Chairperson, Mumbai Port Authority
    Vivek Narain, Founder and CEO, The Quorum Club 
    Moderator: Amit Grover, CEO – City Side Developments, Adani Airports 
     
    2:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Panel Discussion: Financial Inclusion: Expanding Access to Credit for Communities
     
    Ajay Sharma, Managing Director, HSBC India
    Hardeep Sachdeva, Senior Partner, AZB and Partners
    Manmeet Gulati, Head - Real Estate Banking, South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank
    Vipul Roongta, MD and CEO, HDFC Capital
    Moderator: Rohan Sikri, Senior Partner, The Xander Group
     

    3:30 PM – 3:45 PM | Networking Tea Break

    3:45 PM – 4:45 PM | Panel Discussion

    Cities in a New Era of Financialization: How Capital Markets Shape Urban Spaces

    Amit Diwan, Senior Managing Director, Country Head, India, Hines
    Gautam Hora, Managing Director Commercial & Real Estate, EAAA Alternatives 
    Raj Shah, Senior Vice President Real Estate, GIC 
    Sumit Gera, CEO, India Business Parks, CapitaLand Investment
    Moderator: Anshul Jain, Chief Executive - India, SE Asia & APAC Tenant Representation, Cushman & Wakefield  
     
    4:45 PM – 5:15 PM | Plans to Impact: What Will Drive India’s Urban Transformation?
     
    Khoo Teng Chye, Practice Professor, College of Design and Engineering, NUS
    Praveen Pardeshi, CEO, Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA)
    Moderator: Neel Raheja, Group President K Raheja Corp
      
    5:15 PM – 5:20 PM | Closing Address: Anupam Yog, Managing Partner, XDG Labs
     
    5:20 PM – 7:00 PM | Networking Cocktails 



    Speakers

    Speaker

    Amit Diwan

    Senior Managing Director & Country Head, India, Hines

    Amit is a Senior Managing Director and the Country Head for Hines in India. In his role, Amit is responsible for development, acquisition, and asset management of real estate across the country. Hines currently has offices in 5 cities in India - in Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Ahmedabad, and currently focused on office and residential projects. Amit has a track record of starting and scaling-up businesses as an intrapreneur. He started GE Real Estate’s operations in Singapore in 2006 and scaled them across Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. He started IndiaReit / Piramal Fund Management’s business in North India in 2010. Amit began his career with Marakon, where he was based in Singapore and was part of teams that advised the C-suite of large corporations across 9 countries in the Asia Pacific region. Amit also serves on the executive committee of ULI India.

    Speaker

    Andy Lantz

    Co-CEO, Creative Director & Partner, RIOS

    Andy Lantz is an architect and visionary leader serving as Co-CEO and Creative Director at RIOS, a multidisciplinary design firm based in Los Angeles. He holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University. Throughout his career, Andy has led innovative design solutions across various sectors, including workplace strategy, mixed-use districts, and cultural institutions. Notable projects under his direction include the Vrbo headquarters in Austin, Texas, which utilized a data-driven approach to create thoughtful programming and experiential design, and the GoodRx Headquarters in Santa Monica, emphasizing aesthetics and wellness. In addition to his role at RIOS, Andy has contributed to academia as a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), teaching introductory graduate-level design studio courses. Andy is also recognized for his thought leadership on the future of work and corporate urbanism. He has shared insights on these topics at various platforms, including the WRLDCTY event, which brings together global ideas in urban design, real estate, and technology. His work has been featured in publications such as Architectural Record, where he discussed projects like the 1901 master plan to redevelop the area around Chicago's United Center and the Spotify Content Campus.

    Speaker

    Anupam Yog

    Managing Partner, XDG Labs Pte Ltd

    Anupam is a pragmatic urbanist and creative strategist with over 20 years of experience in research, design, and urban innovation. As the Managing Partner of XDG Labs, a research organization based in Singapore, he collaborates with a community of innovators to advance the purpose of creating healthy habitats. Anupam's long-term mission is to develop a "Conscious Cities Index," which explores the connection between community well-being and a city's urban design. He is passionate about placemaking for healthy habitats and is the initiator of The Big Sit, a social health movement that reimagines the relationship between people and place.

    Speaker

    Chris Fair

    President, Resonance Consultancy Ltd

    As President of Resonance, Chris leads a team of leading global advisors on placemaking, branding and marketing for destinations, cities, districts, and developments around the world. Chris holds a Masters degree in Studies of the Future and specializes in trend analysis, visioning, strategic planning and marketing for destinations, cities and communities. Chris designed the World’s Best Cities rankings to define and benchmark the performance of more than 400 cities around the world, and he is a frequent speaker and commentator on global tourism, real estate and urban development trends. Chris is a past Chairman of the Urban Land Institute’s Travel Experience & Trends Council, a member of the Project for Public Spaces Leadership Council, and instructor in Placemaking at New York University.

    Speaker

    Hardeep Sachdeva

    Senior Partner, AZB & Partners

    Hardeep Sachdeva is a Senior Partner at AZB & Partners. With 30 years of experience, he is consistently rated as India’s leading corporate and M&A lawyer. Hardeep is a business lawyer and advises across several sectors and businesses. He has led several landmark M&A, PE investments, structured financing and private credit transactions and has done pioneering work in these areas. He also advises various US and Europe based foundations in India on their impact sector investments, lending and grants in India. He has also been involved on several leading IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) matters for resolution applicants and financial institutions. Hardeep is known as most Illustrious real estate lawyer in India. Hardeep has been a member of governmental and other industry committees. He has authored several publications. He is a graduate in economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and in law from Campus Law Centre (CLC), Faculty of Law, Delhi University. He was admitted to the Indian Bar in 1995. He is a member of the Bar Council of Delhi and the Delhi High Court Bar Association. In 1995, he joined Ajay Bahl & Co., a Delhi-based corporate law firm and one of the predecessor firms that combined to form AZB & Partners in 2004. He is a key member of the firm since.

    Speaker

    Rohan Sikri

    Senior Partner, The Xander Group, Inc.

    Rohan Sikri is Senior Partner at The Xander Group and CEO of Xander Investment Management, the group’s real estate private equity arm with over US$ 2.6 billion in AUM. Based in Singapore, he co-founded Xander’s India investment platform in 2005. In 2010, Rohan co-founded Xander’s credit arm, serving as Chairman of the board for over a decade. In 2014, he spearheaded the group’s Office core-plus strategy, attracting capital from major global institutions and currently US$ 1.3 billion in AUM. In 2019, he established X Industrial Parks, a $250 million pan-India industrial real estate platform. Rohan is actively involved in shaping the future of urban spaces as the Chair of ULI’s National Council in India and is a member of the ULI Asia Pacific Executive Committee. He also serves as a ULI Global Governing Trustee.

    Speaker

    Scott Dunn

    Chief Strategy Officer, Asia, AECOM

    Scott Dunn is Vice President for Asia at AECOM (NYSE: ACM), a $13.2 billion global provider of professional design and consulting services. Scott drives strategic growth for Asia and leads strategic initiatives that drive profitable growth for AECOM as a core member of the Asia leadership team. He also leads cross-functional teams in providing integrated services and sustainable solutions for large, complex, and multidisciplinary projects across Asia, including significant municipal and civil infrastructure projects. These projects encompass high-density masterplans for new towns and the regeneration of existing urban landscapes, focusing on sustainable and smart themes. He has been instrumental in building an integrated practice groups across Asia. Scott sits on the AECOM global ESG Sustainable Legacies council and is the Committee Chair for Asia responsible for implementing AECOM’s ESG’s internal and external commitments. Internal workstreams include risk framework and governance, net zero roadmap, supplier engagement, and social value impact. External workstreams include ESG as a service for clients, key account engagement, and Scope X – embedding decarbonization across all of AECOM’s project delivery. Scott is also part of the Urban Land Institute as the Asia Pacific Chairman, Global Governing Trustee, Advisory Board member for the ULI Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, and sits on the Asia Pacific Executive Committee, Chair of the Nominations Committee, and the Singapore Country Council (founding Chairperson). He is an advocate of sustainable land development and high-density urban environmental design, believing that to create great places, one should be both sensitive to the environment and responsible for society. His books and papers on urban mobility, sustainability, and livability issues are frequently published with local and international media. As a highly regarded thought leader in the planning community, he actively speaks on land development at conferences and events throughout Asia and North America. For Urban Land Institute, he has co-authored four publications with the Singapore Center of Liveable Cities – 10 Principles for Liveable High-Density Cities Lessons from Singapore (2012), Creating Healthy Places through Active Mobility (2014), Creating Liveable Cities Through Car-Lite Urban Mobility(2016), and Urban Mobility: 10 Cities Leading the Way in Asia-Pacific (2017).