Newday

Dr. Ram Kantha Makaju Shrestha is the Founder and Executive Director of Dhulikhel Hospital, one of Nepal’s most pioneering community-based health institutions. After earning his medical degree in Vienna and specialising in surgery in Austria, Dr. Ram returned to Nepal with a vision: to deliver quality healthcare to underserved communities. Under his leadership, Dhulikhel Hospital has grown from humble beginnings into a leading tertiary-level hospital, now operating 18 rural health facilities across the country and serving as a hub for academic and research excellence in partnership with global institutions.

In 2012, Dr. Ram was appointed Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University, where he championed the motto “bringing the classroom to the community.” His transformative leadership was marked by the KU Silver Jubilee Initiatives – Vision 2030, focusing on quality, equity, innovation, and global engagement. Recognised nationally and internationally, Dr. Ram has received Nepal’s highest civilian honor and an honorary doctorate from the King of Thailand for his outstanding contributions to healthcare, education, and global collaboration.

Professor Magda Nenycz-Thiel is the Industry Growth Professor at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, where she leads pioneering research into category and industry growth. Previously, she served as the Mars Professor of Marketing and directed the Mars Marketing Lab, a research and development initiative funded by Mars Incorporated. She now heads the Industry Growth Initiative, working closely with a research team to apply evidence-based insights that enhance how organisations invest in growth.

Magda’s expertise spans category growth, e-commerce, and neuromarketing, with her work published in leading journals such as the Journal of Advertising Research, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Business Research. She also contributed two chapters to How Brands Grow Part 2, focusing on building physical availability and online shopping. A sought-after speaker, she regularly presents to both academic and industry audiences at national and international conferences.

Like many who grew up in the Khumbu (Everest region), Tashi comes from a long line of mountaineers. His grandfather died tragically in an avalanche and despite the risks Tashi’s father followed into the family business working on ascents of Everest and many other peaks.

Tashi however started out on a different path before succumbing to the call of the mountains. He was a buddhist monk for 14 years where he specialised in being a medic at Kopan monastery in Kathmandu and received a degree in community health work.

Life in the mountains was a natural fit for Tashi. He started guiding treks in 2007 and three years later he moved on to the big mountains. Since then he has summited and guided Mt. Everest seven times, several 7000m and 6000m mountains in Nepal and Europe. Tashi is a certified professional #UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide with a Diploma in Mountain and an Instructor of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association and Nepal Mountaineering Instructor Association. In 2025, Tashi lead the Nepal Academy to a historic academic summit of Himlung Himal.

Tsering Yangji Sherpa was born in the small village of Chhermading, nestled in the heart of the Everest region. While the world views these mountains with awe, for Tsering, they are home, the backdrop of her childhood, her heritage, and her dreams. Coming from a family deeply rooted in Nepal’s trekking and tourism industry, she grew up with a profound connection to the Himalayas. Yet despite living in the shadow of Everest, she saw how few Nepali women had ever stood on its summit. Determined to challenge this norm, she refused to accept that mountaineering was a space only for men.

Rather than seeking opportunity abroad, Tsering chose to stay in Nepal and rewrite the narrative for women in the mountains. On 19 May 2025, she stood on the summit of Everest — not just as a climber, but as a symbol of what is possible. For her, mountaineering is about more than reaching the top; it’s about breaking barriers, defying expectations, and inspiring a new generation of Nepali women to rise, dream bigger, and claim their place in the world.

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a trailblazing mountaineer, tech innovator, and humanitarian who became the first Peruvian woman to summit Mount Everest and one of the few women in the world to complete the Seven Summits. From leading over a million people in a march for girls’ rights in Peru to addressing world leaders at the United Nations, her life’s work has centred around empowerment, healing, and justice for vulnerable communities.

In 2014, she founded Courageous Girls, a nonprofit that helps survivors of sexual abuse heal through physical endurance, creativity, and mindfulness. Recognised by Fortune 500, CNET, and the Peruvian government for her impact in both technology and social justice, Silvia continues to inspire through her advocacy and storytelling. Her memoir, In the Shadow of the Mountain, is a powerful testament to resilience, adventure, and the strength that lies within every survivor.

His Eminence Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche was born in the Himalayan foothills and recognised as a sacred child, beginning his training as a lama at the age of four. He studied at the Buddhist university in Sarnath, India, and received transmissions from some of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist masters of the modern era.

For over three decades, Rinpoche has led retreats, empowerments, and teachings across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He is the founder of Shyalpa Monastery and Nunnery, Mipham Institute, and the Himalayan Children’s Fund in Nepal. In 2013, entrusted by the Nepalese government, he began developing a sacred site in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. His vision, the Mahasiddha Sanctuary for Universal Peace, is a spiritual refuge for all people, regardless of background, dedicated to honoring the Buddha’s legacy and fostering global harmony. With wisdom distilled from a lifetime of devotion, he offers profound yet practical guidance on awakening to the sacred potential of human life.

Ani Choying Drolma is a renowned Buddhist nun, singer, author of Singing for Freedom, and philanthropist, often referred to as the “rockstar nun” for her soul-stirring performances that have touched millions worldwide. With over 20 million views online, her voice, often described as “heavenly” and filled with compassion, has a unique ability to uplift, heal, and inspire across cultures and spiritual traditions.

Beyond her music, Ani Choying is a celebrated humanitarian and the first UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador for Nepal. She uses her voice as a tool for change, founding the Arya Tara School to educate young girls and championing causes such as women’s empowerment, children's rights, health, and education.

Born in the mountains of Nepal and the first of his generation to go to school and read, Dr Tshering Lama became a leader in his teens after discovering Where there is No Doctor. He studied the healthcare manual, which was widely used in developing countries, and was educating and mending wounds in his community by the age of 12. His work drew attention and support that enabled Tshering to attend university in the UK, where he completed a Masters of Public Health and a PhD in Telemedicine.

The generosity shown to him as a child has inspired Tshering to pay it forward and he has since cofounded the charity Childreach Nepal, which has helped more than 213,000 children, as well as Idea Studio Nepal, a platform to encourage and empower entrepreneurs to solve social and economic issues faced by the country. In 2015, Dr Tshering Lama was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.

A firm believer in the concept that helping benefits the helper more than the helped, Tshering will speak at newday about how faith, passion and hope are key to an integrated and a purposeful life.

Katrina Webb is recognised and acknowledged for her unique athleticism and outstanding success as a Paralympic athlete. She has won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in athletics at three Paralympic Games.

She was the first torch bearer to enter the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and in 2006 Katrina was selected to present on behalf of the International Paralympic Committee to the United Nations in New York.

To add to this she has walked the Kokoda track and has trekked to Basecamp Everest. Katrina was selected as one of two Paralympians Ambassadors for the International Paralympic Committee at the London and Rio Paralympic Games. She was a reporter with Seven at the Tokyo Paralympic Games and Nine at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Katrina is an international speaker, leadership and personal mastery consultant, trainer in wellbeing and resilience, a physiotherapist and also the founder and director of Newday.