Diversity & Inclusion Forum

Dr. Abha Rishi

With 22 years of experience in the field of international trade – in industry and academics; Dr. Abha Rishi is currently an Associate Professor in International Business at BIMTECH. An advocate of promoting inclusion in the space of education and entrepreneurial ecosystem; she is working with students and young entrepreneurs to innovate and build skills which result in more inclusive and diverse human resources. Presently she is also the Chairperson for the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (CIED) at BIMTECH. She has recently been conferred the Entrepreneurship Education Champion’s Award from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), along with NEN in partnership with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), the British Council and Intel.

Senior Journalist | Editor at-large, SheThePeople.TV

A writer and journalist with about 15 years of experience, Amrita is presently working on two major passion projects — a book, and The Health Collective (India).

She is the Editor-at-large at the digital media platform SheThePeople.TV and consulting on several projects including short films on child abuse survivors, girl’s education, and a project on leaders in India’s startup ecosystem.

Director HR at SKF India Ltd

Anjali is Director Human Resources at SKF India. She has made significant contributions including multiple Business Partnership programs, implementation of a culture based HR Strategy, capability building, Six Sigma and diversity initiatives. She has also championed multiple change management programs. Her experience in HR spans across manufacturing, insurance and R&D companies, as well as start-up and turn-around companies.

SVP & COO – Banking & Financial Services at GENPACT

Anjali has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services across many roles in Operations; Relationship Management; HR & Training; Strategy and PnL Management.  She has worked with broad range of Global clients primarily in the Banking and Financial Services domain.

Managing Director, Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi, South Asia

Anuranjita is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Citi South Asia. She has worked across Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and USA.  Anuranjita was recently declared as the LinkedIn’s most viewed CEO’s in India.

President at Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

Apurva Purohit is the President of the Jagran Group, one of India’s largest multi-media conglomerates. As part of her mandate she handles the group’s portfolio across several verticals including print, radio, digital and outdoor. She was responsible for one of the most significant M&A’s in the media space last year when, Radio City which she ran successfully for a decade; got acquired by the group.

Vice President – Sustainability Initiatives at The Lemon Tree Hotel Company

As a Vice President – Sustainability Initiatives of Lemon Tree Hotel Company, she leads the development and execution of a broad-based, company-wide strategic sustainability initiative. Aradhna ensures that the company’s sustainability effort enhances business performance and supports the long-term interests of the company.

Head Employee Relations, Standard Chartered Global Business Services

Arti is an accomplished leader, and currently heads Employee Relation function and D&I initiatives for APAC at Standard Chartered, GBS. For close to two decades, she has been working as a versatile HR professional.  Her successes in D & I and talent work have been embedded in various aspects of culture building including setting up conduct and compliance agenda for financial institutes.

Director – Human Resources at Accenture

Dhanya leads Talent Strategy for India GU (India, Bangladesh and Srilanka) alongside leading the Human Capital and Diversity Function for the largest geography at Accenture.

Prior to this, she was leading the global Inclusion and Diversity Strategy for Accenture. She worked with the Global Inclusion & Diversity Director and the Chief Leadership Officer in driving an ‘inclusive and diverse’ organization and have designed and executed on a 5 year global strategy to achieve very specific metrics outcomes on diversity across the countries.

Country Head HR Royal Bank Of Scotland

Dipali is currently the Country Head of HR in RBS and her role encompasses overseeing HR across all businesses and Geographies in India

She is a seasoned HR professional with previous experience in Standard Chartered Bank where she joined in Learning and Development, moved onto Head Resourcing and Talent, Head HR Wholesale Bank and included experience in the Standard Chartered acquisition of Grindlays.

CEO at JLL

Gagan have been an Independent Director on the board of Timex Group India since 2006 and have recently been inducted on the Board of Future Retail Ltd.

In addition to being the Chairperson & heading the Sri Lanka business which operates as a stand-alone entity, Gagan is also the CEO – Business for Jones Lang LaSalle India. Gagan has recently been nominated to the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Gender Diversity for a 2 year period.

Diversity and Inclusiveness Head at EY Global Delivery Services

Jaya heads the Diversity and Inclusiveness strategy and agenda for EY’s (Ernst & Young) Global Delivery Network in India. Jaya in her role focuses on initiatives that promote cross-cultural teaming and inclusive leadership, eliminate unconscious biases, and create an ecosystem that supports gender equity in senior leadership positions. She works closely with the talent acquisition team to attract, retain and develop people with disabilities.

Vice President, Global Risk Oversight , American Express

Kalpana is an experienced executive with a distinguished track record as a business and people leader in the financial services industry. She has proven success in launching new ventures, entering new markets and driving major change initiatives. Kalpana is creative and strategic thinker with excellent communications skills and ability to engage with C-level executives within an organization.

Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Google APAC

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Diversity therefore is a critical and integral part of Google’s DNA and business strategy. The Asia pacific region at Google has offices across 13 countries, 10+ languages and a multitude of cultural nuances. Keerthana provides leadership to the design and creation of a thoughtful and bespoke diversity strategy and leadership support and coach the teams in the delivery of the same with measurable and meaningful business impact.

Head, Diversity & Inclusion  ,
Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

Madhumita is an HR professional with experience working across corporate and consulting roles. She has worked in areas of business partnering, setting up HR practices, leadership development and has also worked extensively in the space of diversity and inclusion with consulting organisations, corporates, NGOs and social enterprises to create an impact.

Head of Diversity & Inclusion, APAC, AIG

Magdalena has over 10 years of diversified and multinational experience in a mix of country and regional roles. She has extensive cross-functional experience collaborating with stakeholders at various levels and organizations, developing engagement programs and building strategies based on historical, research data and metrics. She has a strong background in HR, nonprofit sector, project & program management and communications.

Head, D & I Functions, Cummins Group of Companies India

Nandini Sarkar is a Thought Leader. She brings in with her a rich and blended experience in the domain of Diversity & Inclusion, Learning & Development, Leadership Excellence, Mentoring and Project Management, earned through 18+ years of her professional career.

Professor at IIM

Neharika Vohra is a Professor in the Organizational Behaviour Area at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Her research interests are in the area of leadership, gender, cross-cultural behavior, educational administration, and organizational attitudes. She has guided several doctoral students and has several papers in international and national journals.

D & I Leader,  India, Middle East, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe & France at Microsoft

Nidhi is a senior HR Professional with experience across various sectors, including Financial Services & Information Technology. She is skilled in Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership, Talent Development & HR Business Partnership and is experienced in consulting to senior business leaders globally.

In her role at Microsoft as the D&I Leader for India, Middle East, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe and France, Nidhi believes that designing for inclusivity not only opens up our products and experiences to more people with a wider range of abilities. It also reflects how people really are. All humans are growing, changing, and adapting to the world around them every day. Microsoft wants its products and solutions to reflect that diversity. Every decision we make can raise or lower barriers to participation in society. It’s our collective responsibility to lower these barriers though inclusive products, services, environments, and experiences.

Co – Founder & CEO at The Nipman Foundation

Nipun Malhotra is co-founder and CEO of the Nipman Foundation that works in the area of health and advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. He is a visiting Research Fellow at World Enabled,the brand ambassador of Umoja Travels, India’s first accessible travel company.  And is on the board of Directors at Vishwas, a non-profit working on disability and development.

CHRO at Welspun Global Brands Ltd

Nisha is an HR Professional with experience of Global HR Business Partnering , leading COEs in Corporate HR in large Engineering, IT , Advance Textiles & Telecom companies in India, US , EMEA with employee strength of 15,000+. She is global Head of HR for Welspun with 20,000+ workforce spread across US, Europe and India, providing strategic direction to the human resources function to align with Welspun 2.0.

General Manager – Leadership & Organisation Development, South Asia, Hindustan Unilever Limited

Pallavi is handling Learning and Organizational Development, South Asia domain with Hindustan Unilever Limited. She has been associated with HUL for over a decade and prior to this Pallavi was with Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Head, Global Leadership & Diversity at Goldman Sachs

Pooja is an international, dynamic, corporate responsibility, inclusion and diversity professional working with a wide range of MNCs in Hong Kong and India for 5 years. Her strength is in assisting organizations in developing shared value strategies with their local communities. Her expertise is to build new projects from planning and designing to implementation stages.

Director, DEOC – Diversity & Equal Opportunity Centre

Rama Chari has more than two decades of work experience in the field of disability inclusion and equality.

She has specialised in the area of disability policy and has undertaken several studies on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its application in various aspects. She has developed the disability inclusion framework for employment in the corporate sector which has been recognised nationally and internationally. She lead the development of HR Manual, called Values Route to Business Success – The why and How of Employing people with Disabilities in 2007, which was published by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Head of Diversity & Inclusion & HR Business Partner, Support Functions at Vodafone India

Ritika is an HR professional with rich experience in multinational firms spanning several key domains such as Business Partnering, Learning & Organisation Development, Talent and Performance Management, Employee Engagement and Resourcing. She holds a passionate belief in people development and building a diverse and inclusive work place being core to organizational success and bring valued skills of creative approach, collaborative working, leadership and disciplined execution.

India Diversity Leader at IBM

Roopa is currently the diversity and inclusion lead for IBM India. Her role includes partnering with Talent and Business Units to ensure IBM at every level is as diverse as the countries and communities in which the firms operate and from which we draw talent and ensure Diversity programs, messages, metrics, and accountability are integrated in all of IBM’s HR and Talent activity.

Chief Executive Officer at KPMG Global Services (KGS)

Sameer is CEO of KPMG Global Services, He has twenty three years of experience, predominantly in financial services. Sameer has held leadership roles in Lehman Brothers, FirstSource Solutions (a leading third party outsourcer in India), Bank of America and ABN AMRO, and started his career with Nestle. Sameer is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelors of Commerce degree from Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi.  

VP and Head – Human Resources at Ericsson India Private Limited

Sameer Khanna an inquisitive and experimental student, studied science at school and went on to study commerce at university level thereby obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in commerce before he completed his MBA in HR. He has diverse industrial experience ranging from FMCG to IT. Sameer has been conscious about constantly learning and developing himself as well as contributing more to the field of HR and society.

Managing Director , APAC & Middle East at Monster.com

Sanjay Modi with his dynamism and foresight has carved a leadership position for Monster in India, Middle East, Hong Kong and South East Asia within the online recruitment space. This has had a significant impact on the company’s global footprint. He has a deep understanding of the business and of the region. Sanjay’s rich experience of over 25 years has seen him in leadership roles at Indiaconstruction.com NIIT and Ingersoll Rand (India). He holds a master’s degree in Business Management and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Asia Pacific & Japan at Dell

Sophie is bilingual, diversity & business development professional with extensive experience in developing strategy and building localized programs for international clients in Greater China and across Asia Pacific. She is skilled in leveraging strategic partnerships and engaging with multiple stakeholders to achieve measurable results.

Chief of Staff, Intuit India

Srini is a thought leader with global experience, Srini works to raise awareness and increase understanding on the importance of embracing diversity & value inclusion. He is a champion for each individual’s uniqueness, values, skills, and contributions, promoting respect, personal achievement and stewardship.

Associate Director – Inclusion & Diversity, KPMG India & KPMG Global Services

Sumit is Head of Inclusion & Diversity at KPMG India & KPMG Global Services and leads the D&I initiatives for the organization. Prior to KPMG, Sumit was Lead Diversity & Inclusion for India at Barclays Shared Services. He was responsible for driving D&I across Barclays entities. His skills entails team management, Corporate communications, D&I and Human Resources.

Certified business storytelling coach

Tanvi works with leaders across the globe to create more authentic, engaged and inclusive cultures. She is one of less than one hundred certified story coaches worldwide using this powerful medium for transformational leadership for leaders, senior partners, sales directors, CEOs and more. The list of clients include firms like Microsoft, Exxon, Dell, Medtronics, TNT, Accenture, Verizon among others.

Senior Research Manager, Ashoka University

Udayan is a Diversity and Talent expert with experience in a cross-section of large organizations accross industries- Godrej group, Cummins, Capgemini, BHEL and Infosys with a keen interest in Leadership development and Industrial Psychology research. Udayan has managed diversity and inclusion mandates across Godrej Industries group of companies- with a focus on gender, LGBT and people with disabilities. Currently, Udayan is the Senior Research Manager at Ashoka University. He is also an HR subject matter expert at People Matters magazine, and Editor-in-Chief of Pink Pages, India’s National LGBT Magazine.

Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Shared Services (BSS) India

Uma Ratnam Krishnan is the Chief Executive Officer of BSS India. She joined Barclays in June 2015 as the Head of Finance, India and took on the role of CEO in 2016. Uma has a diverse experience and started her professional life as a diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service. A degree in Business Management in Finance and Marketing from IIM Bangalore followed and she started her career in financial services. Having spent most of her the time in commercial roles for ANZ Grindlays Bank, HDFC Bank and more recently RBS in India and the UK, she also had a brief entrepreneurial stint as CEO of a Business Services start up for a financial services technology company.

Program Director, Organizational Development at Mindtree. 

Vidya is responsible for leading , designing and championing initiatives in the areas of Leadership Onboarding, Transition and Development, Talent Assessments  and Performance management for the organization. Vidya is the interface with the Senior Leadership team and external partners in designing leadership development initiatives for building future leaders.

Trustee/CEO, The Humsafar Trust

Vivek Anand works as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Humsafar Trust (HST) which is India’s first CBO (Community Based Organisation) of sexual minorities. He has been responsible for setting up MIS, an Institutional Review Board (IRB), developed Human Resources Policy, Operations Manual, set up a Community Advisory Board (CAB) and an International Health Advisory Board (IHAB) for Humsafar Trust and these systems are considered as model practices in community based settings.

Chief Human Resource Officer , Make My Trip

Yuvraj is a focused & positive HR professional having quantitative as well as qualitative learning experience in diversified cultures & states with Telecom, Service & Retail sectors.  He played a key role of a seasoned HR professional with the interest areas being Talent Aquisition, PMS & Compensation, Manpower Planning & Budgeting & Employee Relations.

Head of Marketing – SAP

Zarina Stanford is a seasoned marketing and sales leader with software and systems solutions experience, serving clients of all sizes around the world. A critical thinker and a global citizen, Zarina is currently Head of Marketing APJ at SAP. Prior to SAP, Zarina led several transformational executive assignments at IBM and two other U.S. based companies. Zarina embraces opportunities to advance partnership with clients, making markets while delivering profit and revenue growth.