The Team

Practitioners, not lecturers.

A team of specialists with deep, lived expertise across Technical & Functional domains (IT, design, data science, and more), Leadership, Management, Compliances, Behavioural Science, Company Culture, Employee Engagement, and Well-Being.

100+years of combined L&D experience across the team

Founder & Managing Director

Three decades of turning potential into performance, first for the Air Force, then the boardroom.

Wing Commander (Dr.) R.D. Deshpande (Retd.)

Leadership Trainer / Executive Presence Coach / Productivity / Efficiency / Organisational Behaviour / Organisation Design & Development

Wing Commander (Dr.) R.D. Deshpande (Retd.) is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, National Defence Academy, Air Force Administrative College, Air Force Intelligence School, and Image Consulting Business Institute. He is also a recipient of prestigious awards, including Commendation by the Chief of Air Staff and “Excellence in Leadership Development” from the Leadership Federation. With over three decades of experience, including 22 years in the Indian Air Force and nine in the corporate sector, he has led large-scale operations, HR, and people-development mandates. As a Leadership Trainer & Mentor at the National Defence Academy, he was instrumental in transforming the future lineage of officers across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In the corporate world, he held leadership roles at Reliance Retail, BYJU'S (Head of L&D), and Confianza Consulting (India Head) before founding Skill Up Nation, to bring the same officer-grade rigour to corporate India.

Credentials

NDADella Leader's ClubAir Force Intelligence SchoolAir Force Administrative CollegeImage Consulting Business Institute

Prior

Indian Air Force · Reliance Retail · BYJU'S · Confianza Consulting

“We don't run workshops. We run transformations.”

Associate Faculty

Jyotsna Jaswal

India Head, International Visual Facilitation Hub · Communication & Confidence Coach · Executive Presence · Emotional Intelligence · Visual Facilitation

Jyotsna Jaswal is a Communication & Confidence Coach and L&D Facilitator with over 19 years across corporate training and education. She blends neurobehavioural insight with practical workplace communication strategy to build clarity, credibility, and executive presence. She is Faculty at the Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI), Country Mobilizer for the International Visual Facilitation Hub (IVFH), and a Consultant Trainer with Prepsil.

Capt. Mohit Tomar

Leadership · Team Building · Conflict Resolution · Negotiation

An ex-Army officer and IIM alumnus with a Master's in Education, Capt. Mohit Tomar has spent 13+ years unlocking human potential through experiential leadership programmes, impacting thousands of students and executives across 40+ nationalities. He led troops in the Kashmir and Ladakh sectors, founded Gestalt Adventures (now partnered with 60+ international schools), and has led student expeditions to peaks including Mt Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Fuji. His leadership book, “When Journey Becomes the Goal,” is an Amazon bestseller, and he is a TEDx speaker.

Radhika Bali

Image Consultant · Public Speaking · Presentation Skills · Grooming · Business Etiquette

Radhika Bali is an Image Consultant, author, and speaker with over 27 years in corporate training, coaching, and education. Through Aks by Radhika, she helps individuals build confidence, executive presence, and a powerful personal brand. She is Past President of the Delhi Chapter and currently Secretary of the Professional Speakers Association of India (PSAI), a visiting faculty member at Pearl Academy, and a trainer with the Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI).

Monika Dubey

Soft Skills Trainer · Image Consultant · Communication · Personal Branding

Monika Dubey is a Soft Skills Trainer, Image Consultant, and President of the Gurgaon Chapter of the Image Management Professionals Association (IMPA), with 15+ years in communication, personal branding, and professional development. She has worked with 500+ clients across IT, education, healthcare, fashion, e-commerce, and non-profits, delivering programmes for institutions including Disney, Narayana Group of Schools, Maple Bear, and Adore. Her focus spans confidence, emotional intelligence, grooming, body language, and executive presence. She holds a Master's in Marketing Management & Communication from Manipal University.

Advocate Apoorva Thakur

POSH Trainer · Compliance · EI & NLP Practitioner · Soft Skills

A Delhi-based lawyer, Advocate Apoorva Thakur is Partner at MKA Legal and Director at LAWGYSTIX Foundation, with 13+ years across advocacy, corporate compliance, soft-skill mentoring, and image management. A Springer & Taylor Francis published chapter author, she is a NET-qualified Assistant Professor (ex-faculty at DU, Jamia Hamdard, and IPU), an IPR & DPDP consultant to startups, and a certified Advanced EI & NLP practitioner.

Deepashree

Campus to Corporate · Emotional Intelligence · Growth Mindset · Diversity & Inclusion

Deepashree is a power-skills trainer and L&D professional with nearly three decades across the corporate, hospitality, education, and skills ecosystem, including The Oberoi, Taj, and Sheraton, and a stint as AGM – Learning & Development at a leading creative-arts institution. Known for building instant rapport with diverse audiences, she specialises in Campus-to-Corporate readiness, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, diversity & inclusion, and behavioural skills.

Monika Bhardwaj

Emotional Well-being Life Coach · Trauma Coaching · Conscious Parenting · Neuroscience & Psychology-driven

With over 20 years working with children in mental health and well-being, Monika Bhardwaj is an emotional-spiritual well-being life coach. Her practice blends emotional intelligence, psychology, neuroscience, and trauma-informed, integrative healing to support teens, parents, and educators, through in-school SEL workshops, educator training, and family programmes, helping people reconnect with their core and navigate life with confidence.

Ar. Monica Khialani

Wellness & Lifestyle Ambassador · Yoga Guru · Mind & Body Harmony

A multidisciplinary professional — architect, researcher, wellness advocate, and creative entrepreneur — Monica Khialani blends architecture, heritage, spirituality, and holistic living. As Founder and Principal Architect of Divine Sparsh Studio, she has built a design philosophy rooted in cultural heritage, sustainability, and timeless aesthetics, with a portfolio across luxury hospitality, commercial, residential, and media work including JW Marriott Sahar Mumbai, Cochin Marriott, NDTV, FOX TV, and 9X Media. She also serves as Wellness & Lifestyle Ambassador for UMB (United Multicultural Brands), holds a Master's in Sustainable Architecture, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Nritya Yoga Research at YUVA, Bengaluru — exploring the link between movement, consciousness, and wellness through her signature ‘Body & Mind Harmony using Movements’ programme.