​About Event

​Most executives spend a career climbing inside one company. Venkatesh Valluri spent 40 years climbing inside three of the biggest names in global industry, then turned his attention to building something that didn't exist yet.

​This special edition of Build From The Dock is a conversation with a leader who ran GE's global operations for over a decade, took Agilent Technologies' India business from spin-off to scale as Chairman and President, then chaired the board of Ingersoll Rand & Trane Systems in India while sitting on the company's global executive leadership council. Today he's spearheading the launch of one of India's largest Deep Science Translation Institutes, moving breakthroughs in aerospace, semiconductors, biocomputational technology, and cybersecurity out of the lab and into the market.

​This session gets into what four decades inside global industrial leadership teaches you about building and scaling technology businesses, how deep science actually makes the leap from research to real products, and what he looks for when he's advising founders and executives building hard tech companies today.

​​Featured Speakers

​​Venkatesh Valluri Vice Chairman, MS Ramaiah Academy Foundation

​Venkatesh Valluri has more than 40 years of experience across global industries, leading initiatives spanning leadership, technology, manufacturing, and management in India, Europe, and the United States. He previously served as Chairman of the Board for Ingersoll Rand & Trane Systems in India and was a member of the company's global executive leadership council. Before that, he was Chairman and President of Agilent Technologies' Indian subsidiary, and earlier in his career held multiple global executive leadership roles at GE over a decade.

​Today he's Vice Chairman of MS Ramaiah Academy Foundation, a leading Indian group engaged in education and healthcare, where he's spearheading the establishment of one of India's largest Deep Science Translation Institutes, focused on aerospace and defense, semiconductors, biocomputational technologies, cybersecurity, composites, and nanomaterials. He also founded a technology incubator that developed predictive analytics and AI solutions for urban efficiency and pollution challenges, and established the Valluri Change Foundation, which has enabled more than 1 million meals for underprivileged children through the mid-day meal program with Akshaya Patra Foundation in Andhra Pradesh.

​He has held several national advisory and governance roles, including member of TERI's Executive Council, Chairman of CII's National Committee on Technology, board member of the Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research, and advisor on machine learning and AI initiatives for the Karnataka Knowledge Commission. He holds a bachelor's in Electronics Engineering from Andhra University and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

​​​Murali Chirala General Partner & Co-Founder, FalconX Venture

​Murali invests in early-stage companies and works closely with founders as they navigate growth and fundraising. He'll be joined by members of the investment team to bring a range of perspectives and practical feedback throughout the session.

​He was the founding architect of India's Aadhaar financial inclusion and payments platform, one of the largest fintech systems ever deployed, and now works closely with startups disrupting payments, fraud, compliance, security, and enterprise infrastructure.

​At Venture Dock, Murali helps founders identify what truly builds investor conviction, separating real signal from noise. He'll bring that same lens to this session, pushing on what actually matters to investors versus what just sounds good in a deck.

​​Agenda

​2:00 – 2:30 PM Coffee, Networking & Build From The Dock

​2:30 – 3:30 PM Fireside Chat

​3:30 – 4:00 PM Open Q&A

​Build From The Dock is Venture Dock's weekly founder experience designed to create real connections between ambitious builders, investors, operators, and ecosystem leaders.

​Unlike traditional networking events, BFTD focuses on high-value conversations where founders can engage directly with speakers and each other.

​Whether you're building an AI startup, scaling a company, raising capital, or exploring what's next in technology, this is a space designed for meaningful relationships and actionable insights.

​​What Venture Dock Offers Founders

​Beyond weekly sessions like this one, Venture Dock is built to be a real part of how founders operate day to day:

​Investor introductions ​Curated programming: roundtables, fireside chats, and working sessions with operators who've built and scaled before ​Peer network: direct access to other founders building alongside you, for the honest conversations you can't have with investors ​Visibility with visiting delegations: opportunities to meet founders and ecosystem leaders coming through Silicon Valley from other markets ​Ecosystem support: hiring, fundraising, and go-to-market help pulled from the community itself, not a generic playbook

​​Become Part of the Venture Dock Community

​Venture Dock is a founder-first community and innovation hub connecting startups with investors, operators, mentors, and strategic partners.

​If you've been looking for a high-signal founder community in Silicon Valley, we'd love to meet you.

​If you've been coming to events and want deeper access, you can apply to join the community here: https://venturedock.fillout.com/t/gHcUcf7Tz8us