IIM Calcutta Innovation Park appoints former defence veteran V K Rai as new CEO

IIM Calcutta Innovation Park appoints former defence veteran V K Rai as new CEO

03 Dec 2025, 05:28 PM

Prior to this appointment, Rai held several critical positions in the Indian Navy, including Joint Director at the Directorate of Marine Engineering.

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IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, a startup incubator promoted by IIM Calcutta, has appointed V K Rai as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Rai has nearly three decades of experience in defence engineering, technology development, and startup ecosystem building, as per a statement.

Prior to this appointment, Rai held several critical positions in the Indian Navy, including Joint Director at the Directorate of Marine Engineering. In 2019, he became the Founding Programme Director of iDEX-DIO, an initiative of DDP/Ministry of Defence, where he was involved in the identification, funding and mentoring of startups. He also served as Scientist F & Project Head at the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology.

In the statement, Rai said that he aims to expand the startup incubator's footprint and use its position in the eastern region as a gateway to fostering entrepreneurship in the northeastern states.

"Dr Rai’s exemplary career, spanning defence technology, strategic government assignments and deep engagement with startup innovation, makes him the ideal leader for IIMCIP at this juncture," said Ajay Jain, chairman, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park.

The IIM Calcutta Innovation Park has mentored more than 2,000 startups and seed-funded more than 130 ventures. The startups it has backed have raised a total of Rs 2000 crore. Some of the startups it has backed include agri tech firm Dehaat and medical AI startup 5C Network.

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