Lakshmi Pratury

Lakshmi Pratury is an entrepreneur, interviewer, speaker, and self-described “people collector”. She is the driving force behind INK, which she founded in 2010 and in which she currently serves as CEO and as host and curator of live events.

INK is India’s foremost platform for the exchange of cutting-edge ideas and inspiring stories. Based out of Bangalore, India, INK is known for events such as the annual INK Conference, INK Asia, and INK Salons. Video releases from live events are available at inktalks.com. Beyond live events, INK is a community that transforms imagination to impact, as demonstrated by programs such as INK Fellows and INK Makers.

Lakshmi also serves as director of the SingularityU India Summit in association with INK and as the host of “Talk at 12 with Lakshmi Pratury”, a show on Radio One, 94.3 FM in Bangalore.

The idea of INK sprang from the 2009 TED conference in Mysore, India, which Lakshmi co-hosted with Chris Anderson. Prior to this, Lakshmi spent two decades in leading roles in the technology, venture capital, and non-profit industries in the US including the American India Foundation, Global Catalyst Partners, and Intel. She holds MBAs from Portland State University and the Bajaj Institute, attended IIT Mumbai, and was the gold medalist in undergraduate mathematics at Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Lakshmi is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named as “Inspirational Icon” at the Audi Ritz Awards in 2015 and being included in Forbes magazine’s list of “Women to Watch in Asia”. She resides in Bangalore, India and travels widely.