The Board of Trustees of Karna Vidya Foundation consists of committed individuals who provide strategic direction, strong governance, and oversight to the Foundation’s work. United by a shared vision of empowering persons with visual impairment, the trustees ensure transparency, accountability, and sustained impact across all initiatives..
Managing Trustee
Subramaniam V
Subbu brings over 40 years of experience in management consulting, corporate planning, operations, and business development. He has worked with leading Indian corporates in senior leadership roles, including Board-level positions. A Chemical Engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)–BHU (1982), he also holds management qualifications from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore (1984).
Trustee
G. BALASUBRAHMANYAN (Bala)
Bala is a Chartered Accountant with expertise in systems, finance, and asset and currency management. He has held senior leadership roles with Indian Oil Corporation and Best & Crompton, led finance for the Texmaco Group in Indonesia, served as Director–Finance at the Tripatra Group, and was Group Director–Finance & Control at Arya Sada Perkasa. From 1998 to 2007, based in Singapore, he headed his own firm and founded Paterson Consulting Group Ltd in Chennai, focusing on private equity and corporate strategy consultancy.
Trustee
G. Ganeshan Suppiah
A Mechanical Engineer from PSG Tech and a Graduate Diamonds professional from GIA–USA, he is a successful entrepreneur in fine jewellery retailing, manufacturing, and exports. After over five years with the BOSCH Group in sales, marketing, and product management, and two years of freelance consulting with PwC, he joined his family jewellery business in 2002. He is currently a Partner in MSD and Subbu Group, which operates jewellery retail showrooms across Tamil Nadu, a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chennai, and a U.S. incorporation.
He is the Founder & Managing Trustee of Aditi Foundation, Founder Trustee of Karna Vidya Foundation and Orange Foundation, a Charter Member of TiE, and has served as President of the Nagarathar Chamber of Commerce (2019–20). He also serves on advisory councils including GIA Alumni Collective (Chennai Chapter) and actively supports rural education, reflecting his strong belief in giving back to society.
Trustee
P S Suresh
Suresh is an Industrial Engineer from IIT Roorkee and an MBA in Finance and General Management from IIM Calcutta (Class of 1992). A career professional with multi-industry experience spanning watches, furniture, apparel, leather home décor, and footwear, he began his career with Titan Industries in 1992. After international assignments in Muscat and Indonesia, he returned to India in 2005 and has since held profit-centre leadership roles with leading Indian and multinational companies, including the Hirdaramani Group, Arvind Ltd, Pearl Global, and Bhartiya International.
Most recently, he served as Managing Director & CEO of Ramesh Flowers (P) Ltd, part of the Gala Group, Germany, India’s largest home décor manufacturer and exporter. He is currently with the Tata Group, heading the Footwear Business at Tata International Limited. He is passionate about music, sports, public speaking, and social work.
Trustee
Prof. Anand Jagadeesan
Prof. Anand Jagadeesan is an academician and RCI-certified rehabilitation professional with over 30 years of experience across higher education, corporate, and social sectors. He currently serves as Honorary Trustee & Chief Functionary of V-Excel Educational Trust (a unit of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham), Honorary Director of Nivesh Foundation for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, Honorary Trustee of Anandam Public Charitable Trust, and Advisor to several NGOs working in the field of disability.
Trustee
Shankar Subbiah S
Shankar Subbiah S. is a passionate IT professional and Assistive Technology and Accessibility Consultant with over a decade of experience, based in Chennai. Guided by the belief that “Inclusion is Equality, Accessibility is the Key,” he works with national institutions, government departments, colleges, and universities on technology-enabled education, assistive technology training, and accessible resource libraries for persons with disabilities.
He has designed and implemented ICT-based projects for education and livelihoods with development-sector organisations such as Leonard Cheshire UK, CBM, Bookshare, and various CSR partners across South Asia. He has contributed as a member of NCERT expert sub-committees on e-content guidelines for children with special needs and inclusive ICT labs, and actively mentors assistive technology startups in India to develop user-centric solutions.
Honorary Advisor
Dr. K. RAGHURAMAN
Dr. K. Raghuraman is an Assistant Professor based in Chennai and an Honorary Advisor to Karna Vidya Foundation. Driven by a commitment to empower individuals with visual impairments, he conceptualises and leads developmental initiatives in guidance and counselling, skill training, and sensitisation of educators, employers, and administrators to create accessible and sustainable ecosystems for social inclusion.
He has served as a member of diverse academic and professional bodies and has published research papers at national and international forums in the areas of literature and disability studies.
Trustee
A. Vijayakumar
With an M.A. and M.Phil from Madras University, she joined the government collegiate service in 1986 as an Assistant Professor of English and retired in 2017 as Head of the Department of English at Presidency College, bringing over 30 years of teaching experience. She has served as Scribe Coordinator for visually impaired students and guided numerous M.A. and M.Phil dissertations.
She is currently the Coordinator of the Rotaract Club of Drishti, a Board Member of Karna Vidya Foundation, and part of the Executive Council of the National Association for the Blind, Tamil Nadu. She has also served as President of the Blind Teachers Association for six years, organising seminars, conferences, and cultural programs.