Ms. Karuna Gopal, is an Internationally acclaimed Thought Leader, Columnist, Keynote Speaker and Advisor on SMART CITIES. She is the Founder President of Foundation for Futuristic Cities. Inspired by the vision "VIBRANT CITIES for a VIBRANT INDIA" her Think Tank has been influencing Urban Transformation in the country.

Ms. Gopal serves on the :

• International Jury for Intelligent City Awards (ICF, New York) - a Global Think Tank that identifies and awards ‘Smart & Intelligent Communities’ around the   world.

• Advisory Board “Green World City Organization” (Australia) – A Global alliance of CEOs, senior executives and experts involved in creating a sustainable   world • Advisory Boards of o Asia Pacific CXO Forum o IIM (Bangalore) Business Fest o IIT (Mumbai) Tech Fest In the past, she served on the Chief Minister's Advisory Council of Andhra Pradesh (erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh) India andas City Representative, India - Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat (CTBUH, Illinois, USA).

As a member of the US Government's flagship Foreign Leaders Program on Sustainable Cities ( IVLP) , Ms Gopalparticipated in roundtables with key officials of US Federal Departments and leaders fromSweden, UK ,Finland, China, ,Singapore etc. Back in the year 2010 she played a key role in forging a Sister StatePartnership between Washington State, USA and Andhra Pradesh, India.. She teaches senior IAS officers at theWBI (World Bank Institute) programs and at India’s Premier Academy at (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. She contributes to International Publications and has been Interviewed widely by both National and InternationalMedia. Her articles have been incorporated into Parliamentary Documentation of LokSabha for their policy relevance. She chairs and addresses conferences around the world and is a special invitee to meetings of FII (Foreign Institutional Investors) exploring investments into India. She has contributed to the design of SMART CITIES MISSION of Government of India and is currently developing a"SMART CITY Protocol"& Smart Cities Index for India in partnership with Government, Industry and Academia. Ms. Gopal has been inducted into BJP ,(BharatiyaJanata Party) by ShriVenkaiah Naidu Union Minister of Urban Development. She hails from a family of freedom fighters and IAS officers.