Meet the Speakers | Design Quest 2025 – Leading Voices in Design.

Vivek Raju

Narrative Consultant at Kathasys

Vivek is a storyteller and designer based in Bangalore, India As a Story Consultant at Kathasys, a narrative studio, he helps startups uncover and articulate their stories with clarity and impact. With over a decade of experience spanning service, experience, and industrial design, Vivek has collaborated with leading companies like Designit, HCL, and Elephant Design.

Blending storytelling, systems thinking, and workshop facilitation, Vivek regularly conducts narrative-building sessions for both students and professionals. His passion for stories extends beyond work—he loves discovering new cuisines, especially when there’s a rich story behind the dish or the chef who crafted it.

Rajat Agarwal

Associate Director at TO THE NEW

Rajat Agarwal is a seasoned Experience Design leader with over 14 years of expertise in UX design across a wide range of domains and industries. As the Practice Head of Experience Design at TO THE NEW, a digital technology firm, he leads a dynamic team of over 45 professionals focused on building innovative and impactful digital products.

Passionate about designing with purpose, Rajat champions sustainability and accessibility in every solution his team creates. His design philosophy centers on creating inclusive user experiences that are not only functional but also meaningful and future-ready.

Poorva Lavate

Service Designer at Thoughtworks

Poorva is a Service Designer with a background in architecture and a master's in industrial design from IDC, IIT Bombay. Currently part of the CXPD Service Line in India, she focuses on untangling complex customer experience challenges and shaping intuitive, human-centered products and services. Her journey includes global exposure, with experience across architecture, product design, strategy, and service design—enriched by an internship at the Interaction Design Centre in London.

Having worked across diverse sectors like finance, manufacturing, e-commerce, and consumer goods, Poorva brings a mature and holistic design perspective. Outside of work, she’s an avid painter, drawing inspiration from nature, culture, and everyday stories that make the world a more beautiful place.

Lightning Speaker

Big Ideas, Short Talks

Experience quick, impactful sessions from dynamic industry leaders and design innovators. Get inspired with fresh perspectives, cutting-edge insights, and creative ideas at Design Quest.

Vittaldas B

Head of Project Management at Bix Bytes Solutions

Vittal has over 18 years of experience in the software industry, combining expertise in graphic design, product management, and project management. He has contributed to the development of digital products across industries like real estate, social media, travel, VR, finance, and warehouse management. His multidisciplinary background allows him to merge creative vision with technical execution, delivering scalable and user-centric solutions.

Rakesh Khanai

Head of Products and Services at Bix Bytes Solutions

Rakesh has over 16 years of experience across service and product-based companies—including Infosys, several IT service firms, and a construction-focused product startup. As Head of Products and Services at Bix Bytes Solutions, he leads product development, backend engineering, and service productization—driving growth through strategic and technical leadership.

Manjeeth Shenoy

UX Lead at EG/AS

Manjeeth is a UI/UX designer and developer with 17+ years of experience pretending to have it all figured out. He works on large SaaS products, makes complex things slightly less confusing, and occasionally wins battles against stubborn design systems. He’s not here to disrupt anything—just to design things that actually work (and maybe crack a joke or two along the way).

Speakers

Featured Speaker