Ms. Ameera Shah is the Promoter & Managing Director of Metropolis Healthcare Ltd., a highly respected and multinational chain of diagnostic centers.
Ms. Shah has evolved Metropolis from its single pathology laboratory status to a fully integrated multinational chain of 150 diagnostic centers and 1000 collection centers across the globe. Metropolis delivers over 30 million tests a year, catering to more than 20,000 Laboratories, Hospitals, Nursing homes and 2,00,000 Consultants. With 34 years of experience in delivering accurate reports, Metropolis has earned the reputation of being India’s leading and only multinational chain of diagnostic centres with presence in Sri Lanka, Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia and Ghana.
She has revolutionized the pathology industry from being a doctor led practice to a professional corporate group in an extremely unregulated, competitive and fragmented market. Under her leadership, Metropolis has been the first to create a sustainable business model for pathology, the first to traverse in to emerging markets & the first to implement global standards of quality in all its processes & systems.
Ms. Shah received a degree in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and has also completed the prestigious Owner-President Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Ms. Shah is an eminent industry spokesperson and has been featured as a speaker in various National and International forums, industry events and conclaves. She has been a key-speaker at prestigious events organized by IIM- Ahmedabad, Harvard Business School, TedX, CII and many such reputed institutions. She has also been elected the Secretary of the IAPL (Indian Association of Pathology Laboratories) and is the Chairperson of the ‘FICCI Health services Western Subgroup’ that drives policy decisions at the Center. Ms. Shah is an independent director on the board of several reputed companies and she is also an advisor to many educational institutions.
An International & National award winner, She was conferred with ‘The Young entrepreneur of the Year Award’ by GE in 2006 and ‘The Young Achiever of the Year Award’ at the CMO Asia Awards in 2011. She was also the recipient of the prestigious ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2011 organized by Entrepreneur India and Bloomberg. She has been honored with ‘Exemplary Women Leadership award’ at the World Women Leadership and Congress awards 2014. She has been chosen as one of the most respected leaders under 40 years by Economic Times & Spencer Stuart (2014). Recently Forbes Asia listed Ms. Shah in the Asia’s Most Powerful Women 2015 for powering the rise of Metropolis Healthcare and brining a significant shift in the diagnostics industry. She is one among the only 12 Indian Women to be featured in this globally acclaimed list. Ms Shah has also been featured in the acclaimed ‘Young Global Leader’ list brought out by the prestigious ‘World Economic Forum’ in 2015. She recently won the Best Leaders in Healthcare Award by CMO Asia. She was also featured in the ‘Inspiring Business Leaders of India’ by the Economic Times. Additionally she was also honored with the coveted Corporate Champion Award by US India Business Council.
Ankita Vashistha
Founder & CEO - SAHA Fund
SAHA Fund is India’s first SEBI registered venture capital fund to promote and invest in women entrepreneurship. SAHA fund invests in companies run by women founders/ senior management, companies hiring 50% or more women, or companies creating a service or product for women consumers. We want to promote women entrepreneurship, employment and engagement. SAHA fund has a 100 Crore corpus to invest in companies in India with a small global carve out. SAHA Fund is investing in companies in the pre-series A stage, which are leveraging technology to scale up and address the larger markets to create a quantifiable impact. Investments are across e-commerce, healthcare, education, tech platforms, food tech, mobile, data analytics, enterprise solutions, artificial intelligence, cloud etc. Some of the fund’s investments are Fitternity, MyAlly, InnerChef, Shoptimize, Joules to Watts to name a few. The fund currently has leading industry icons, family offices and SIDBI as investors. Some of whom also play an integral role and are part of the Advisory Board.
The SAHA Fund is run by CEO & Founder, Ankita Vashistha, who has over a decade of experience in private equity and venture capital across UK, US and Asia. Ankita works very actively in the start-up ecosystem in India, Philippines, Singapore, UK, USA to source, evaluate, mentor and invest in early stage technology enabled and focused companies. Ankita works closely with portfolio companies to help them create value, scale and expand leveraging technology across health-tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, food tech, media, ecommerce and enterprise-tech. Ankita is very passionate about promoting gender equality at the workplace across the emerging markets. Previously worked at Tholons capital, Wavemaker Labs, Aureos Capital and Abraaj Group. At Aureos Capital, Ankita was part of the global investor relations and portfolio management team based in London and was part of the team to raise 700M USD from cornerstone investors like CDC, Norfund, FMO, ADB for the group’s regional funds. Ankita has experience working with a diverse investor set across Institutional investors, Development Finance Institutions, Banks, Fund of Funds, Family Offices and HNI’s. She is an active member of the ecosystem and is part of the Indian Angel Network. Ankita is an electronics and communication engineering graduate from VTU and Masters in Finance and Management from UK’s top business school, Cranfield school of Management, UK
Ashish Malani
MediAceso Healthcare
Back in 2009 Ashish Malani was busy building his career as a CA in London when his aunt died of cervical cancer. It came as a jolt for Ashish and his elder brother Manish. Eager to do something about improving women’s health, the siblings, after studying products and services in the West for months, came up with Shecup, the first brand of a reusable menstrual cup designed and marketed for Indian women. In 2010, they began manufacturing the cups in Palghar, near Mumbai. Made of health-grade, non-toxic silicone, the cup is inserted into the vagina during menstruation. It costs Rs 695, and can be used for years, says Ashish, who also works as a CA for a Pune firm.
MediAceso Healthcare is a social enterprise based in Mumbai working in the field of Menstrual Hygiene Management for over 7 years. It conducts Health & Environment Awareness programs for girls & women in both the rural and the urban sectors. Such programs are conducted in Schools, Colleges, medical institutes, women social groups, residential complexes and corporate offices (like Jet Airways, TAJ, Indigo Airlines, Tata motors etc).
Ansoo Gupta
COO - Pinstorm
Ansoo Gupta is a highly qualified marketing professional. She has been in the media industry for about 20 years working with brands like Star TV, National Geographic Channel, The History Channel etc. She is currently the COO of India’s largest independent digital marketing firm Pinstorm. In her marketing career, Ansoo has launched and nurtured many successful brands across various product categories.
She was awarded ‘Achiever of Excellence in Marketing’ by Bombay Management Association and Bhujbal Knowledge City in the year 2011.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management Alumni Association conferred a ‘Corporate Excellence’ award upon her in February 2013.
A prolific speaker, she has spoken at various national and international conferences on topics of branding and marketing, digital marketing, starting-up, women empowerment and of course on travelling as a way of life.
Apurva Purohit
President - Jagran Group
Apurva Purohit is currently the President of the Jagran group, handling several of their business verticals in media including Radio City India’s leading FM network, Midday and Jagran New Media. She was recently judged one of the Top 30 most powerful women in in Indian Business by the India Today Group.
Apurva’s experience of over 27 years ranges across partnering private equity players in building superior organizations and creating valuable businesses, and handling media businesses and brands. Prior to her entry into radio she has been part of the television space where she worked with BCCL & Zee Telefilms
While she is passionate about diversity and inclusion, Apurva’s session focuses on empowering all individuals through her personal stories and experiences, both as a CEO, and as a woman in the workplace. Warm, funny and approachable, Apurva is a gifted storyteller whose session will encourage audiences to leverage their inherent potential, in order to become the best version of themselves. Her best-selling book, ‘Lady You Are Not a Man- the Adventures of a Woman at Work,’ is an invaluable tool in this process, providing practical insights and guidance which can be referred to on an ongoing basis.
Her vibrant and uplifting insights are fuelled by a deep desire to give back to society, both through wisdom drawn from her life and role as a leader, and her philanthropic endeavors.
Ambi Parameswaran
Founder Brand-Building.com
M G Parameswaran, or Ambi as he is known is a Brand Strategist and Founder Brand-Building.com. In a career spanning over three decades Ambi has handled assignments in marketing, sales and advertising with companies like Rediffusion DY&R, Boots Company and UDI Yellow Pages before dropping anchor at Ulka Advertising over two decades ago. He has helped build numerous brands including Digene, Brufen, Santoor Soap, Sundrop Cooking Oil, TCS, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Indica Cars, Zee TV among others.
He served as VP, then as CEO of FCB Ulka from 2003 to 2013, and as Advisor before moving out to set his own Brand Advisory unit Brand-Building.com.
Ambi has been contributing articles to premier business publications, has conducted seminars and branding workshops for Indian/ MNC organizations and industry bodies like CII, FICCI, AIMA etc.; he has spoken at international forums including the Kellogg India Summit at Northwestern University and Cornell University; he has also been a guest faculty at several business schools in Mumbai and at his alma mater, IIM Calcutta.
Ambi now has seven books to his credit including : “FCB-Ulka Brand Building Advertising – Concepts and Cases I & II”; “Understanding Consumers – Building Powerful Brands Using Consumer Research”; “Building Brand Value – Five Steps to Building Powerful Brands” (Winner of 2007 NTPC – DMA Book Prize). His book “For God’s Sake – An Adman on the Business of Religion” was published by Penguin in 2014. June 2016 saw the launch of his book “Nawabs Nudes Noodles – India Through 50 Years of Advertising”, published by Pan Macmillan.
Ambi is currently serving as the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India [2014-16]; he was President of Ad Club Bombay [2003–05]. He was inducted into the Board of Governors of IIMC in 2007 and he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras in April 2009.He successfully completed his PhD from Mumbai University in 2012 and AMP from HBS in 2014.
Chandni Jafri
CEO - Mumbai Angels Network
ChandniJafri is a Triple Bottomline Advocate, StartUp Evangelist, Advisor, Mentor, Business Head and theatre producer & actor.
An MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai (1995-1997), the key mandate in her two decade professional experience has been to kick start projects/divisions/startup media enterprises. Her core skill areas are business strategy, sales, marketing, research & brand building. She has been part of the Founding team & Business Head of The VCCircle Network, VJive Networks, Gettyimages India, Web 18, CNBC-TV18 & Madison World.As a member of Indo-Canadian Business Chamber,her mandate is to focus on mutually beneficial trade, investment & alliance opportunities in the Indo-Canada corridor. She founded Sound & Light Social Ventures in 2013, which is a CSR Advisory, fundraising, Media & Ecommerce platform focussed on the Indian Social Sector.
Chhavi Rajawat
Sarpanch of Soda Village, Rajasthan
After doing an MBA from Pune, Chhavi Rajawat worked for companies such as Times of India, Carlson Group of Hotels, and Airtel, before she realised the need to bring about a change in the grass-root level if she wants to bring about a real difference. She went back to her village, Soda, in Rajasthan’s Tonk district to become India’s first woman Sarpanch with an MBA degree. Since then, she has been working to bring better water, solar power, paved roads, toilets and a bank to her village.
Despite being an elected representative, Chhavi is not affiliated to any political party. She has provided a regular supply of drinking water to her village and facilitated the construction of more than 40 roads. “If India continues to make progress at the same pace as it has for the past 65 years since independence, it just won’t be good enough. We’ll be failing people who dream about having water, electricity, toilets, schools and jobs. I am convinced we can do it differently and do it faster,” Chhavi said in an interview with NDTV
Even before the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan started in its current form, Chhavi had worked with the residents of her village to build toilets through community participation. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, she said, “Out of the total 900 houses at Soda, toilets have been constructed in 800 houses. A soft drink company spent Rs 20 lakh for cleanliness of a pond, the only source of drinking water in the village.”
Dr. Indu Shahani
Chair Academic Council, ISDI
Dr. Indu Shahani, Chair Academic Council, ISDI, Dr. Indu Shahani, Principal of H.R. College of commerce & Economics was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai in 2008 and 2009. She launched the 1298 Women’s Helpline against domestic violence and harassment with the help of leading NGO’s. She was also a Member of the University Grants Commission from 2011 – 2014. Dr. Indu Shahani who is the first Indian to be appointed Vice – Chair on the Board of the Governors of the International Baccalaureate and has over a decade of experience with the IB worldwide 2001 – 2010. She was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Westminster in London on November 16, 2009.
While Dr. Shahani continues to be Chief Mentor of colleges of the HSNC Board, from August 1, 2016, Dr. Shahani has taken on new responsibilities as President & Chair – Academics of the Indian School of Design & Innovation (ISDI), ISDI | WPP School of Communication and the Indian School of Management & Entrepreneurship (ISME); and is the Founding Dean of ISME.
She has been acknowledged worldwide as a visionary thought leader for her significant contribution to education and value-based leadership. Dr. Shahani has received many awards, prominent among them are ‘Roll of Honor’ award towards her outstanding contributions in leadership and to Education and Partnerships with Deakin University in India; ‘Excellence Award for Humanitarian Service’ by the Rotary Club of Bombay; ‘Women of the Decade Achievers Award’ by ASSOCHAM Ladies League Mumbai; ‘Citizen of Mumbai Award’ by Rotary Club of Bombay; ‘Excellence in Education Award’ at the FLO Great Women Achiever Awards; and ‘Achiever of Excellence – Women Achievers 2012’ by Bombay Management Association recognising her contribution to society at large.
Harjeet Khanduja
Vice President HR - Reliance Jio Infocomm
Harjeet is an International speaker, writer, poet and a HR Leader. He is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee and INSEAD. He is currently working as Vice President HR at Reliance Jio Infocomm. He is awarded for his “Outstanding contribution to Global Learning” by World HRD Congress. He is among the Top 50 HR Tech Leaders for 2017. He received HR Leadership Award from Asia HRD Congress and is recognized as HR Power Profile by LinkedIn.
Harjeet is a TEDx speaker, SAP HCM Solution consultant, Six Sigma Green Belt, White Belt in Executive Coaching, Assessor for Predictive Index, visiting faculty at NMIMS and Corporate Advisory Board Member for Chandigarh University. This Chicken Soup writer is published in leading HR Magazines.
Harish Sadani
Co Founder - MAVA
Harish Sadani has been passionately running multi-sector developmental programs on gender and health, for over 26 years. He is Co-founder and Chief Functionary of Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), India’s first organization of sensitive and concerned men working since 1993 to stop and prevent gender-based violence on women. Harish, who has done his Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, has been engaging and mentoring thousands of adolescent boys and young men across Maharashtra state to communicate with peers on healthy relationships, masculinity and sexuality-related matters, using out-of-the-box methods. Currently, he is also a Consultant and Trainer to Corporates, Universities and NGOs on anti-sexual harassment at workplace and other gender matters. In recognition of his pioneering and significant work in India on gender and masculinity, Harish has been awarded with the Ashoka Changemakers’ (US) Award, Maharashtra Foundation (US) Award, Civil Society Karmaveer Puraskar, Muktaa Sanmaan Award by IBN Lokmat news-channel and the Gender Diversity Award by Swedish Company Sandvik India. He has been invited by local, national and international bodies like UN Women and UNFPA to share insights and build capacities of various stakeholders on addressing issues of gender-based violence against women.
Jay Krishnan
CEO T-Hub
A passionate entrepreneur, thinker–doer, who believes in turning ideas into reality.
Jay Krishnan is a serial entrepreneur and investor with two successful million dollar exits in the US and India. In a career spanning over two decades, Jay has donned many hats. He has held leadership responsibility in Fortune 100 companies, managed large transformational initiatives, built new products offerings and helped create scale. In the startup space, Jay has successfully founded and exited multiple companies in the IoT space across the world.
In the capacity of CEO of T-Hub, Jay is responsible for its overall growth. He is the brain behind several tech innovations that has aided T-Hub to become amongst the most coveted incubator in India. It is due to his foresightedness that T-Hub works on a technology enabled platform for all startups/entrepreneurs across verticals. He has been instrumental in fostering innovation through technology platforms like Sandbox and Playbook to empower entrepreneurs with solutions at every stage of their journey.
Jay is a MS in Electrical Engineering from University of Hartford, Connecticut and an alumnus of IIM, Bangalore where he did his executive MBA in General Management.
Prior to becoming the CEO T-Hub, he has worked with various organizations at leadership positions including CISCO Systems, Radifinity Information Systems Pvt. Ltd. amongst others.
Jay is an avid reader with deep interests in emerging technologies. In his free time Jay enjoys reading and traveling.
Lubeina Shahpurwala
Co-Founder, Mustang Socks
Mustang Socks was founded by Naazneen Katrak in 1986. Back then, she understood the need of cotton socks, which compelled her to single-handedly set-up Mustang. As the brand grew, a significant turning point in Mustang’s journey was Naazneen and Lubeina’s partnership. Their goal was to deliver value products to their customers, employees and the society, starting with superior quality, warm and comfortable socks.
In 2004, Lubeina Shahpurwala took up the mantel of Co-Founder at Mustang Socks. An entrepreneur and fashion enthusiast, she broke away from the trodden path to boost Mustang Socks to new heights. Drawing from her natural love for fashion and keen sense of business, Lubeina has been instrumental in making Mustang an aspirational brand in fashion apparel in India. With a combination of sharp business acumen, a hands-on approach in Mustang and a compelling desire to grow, Lubeina complements Naazneen’s passion perfectly. Her need to keep up with the latest trends has ensured that Mustang stays ahead in terms of product design and technology – whether it be their character range, vibrant seasonal collections, their health socks or the classy footlets.
Recently, she was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year in Manufacturing Business
at the 5th Entrepreneur India Awards 2015.
Together, Naazneen and Lubeina have taken Mustang to a whole new level. At a time when socks were only seen as a commodity, they made Mustang into a brand – breaking into the Indian fashion sector as one of the first fashion apparel companies.
Mustang today manufactures more than 1 million pairs of socks every month, and has 36 distributors across India. With a consistent and impresssive growth rate, they have tie-ups with some of the largest International Brands, Retailers and E-Retailers, including Amazon, FirstCry, Hopscotch, etc. They are also expanding to include other apparel products like scarves, vests and briefs for kids, etc
They recently launched their own e-commerce website and have also opened up their first wholesale store.
Founder & Creative Director - Miss Malini Entertainment.
Malini Agarwal a.k.a MissMalini is the Founder & Creative Director of MissMalini Entertainment, a leading new media network that creates highly engaging, multi-platform content geared towards India’s Internet Generation. Malini is India’s first and most famous celebrity blogger & social media personality, having pioneered Indian lifestyle blogging with MissMalini.com in 2008. The website today reaches over 4 Million organic monthly visitors from over 200 countries, more than 80% of which are women, and has a social media following of over 7.5 Million.
A regular speaker at CMO forums on digital brand building, she was ranked #1 on IMPACT’s 50 Most Influential Women in Media, Marketing and Advertising 2017, and listed among business leaders to watch in Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 List in 2017. She was also recognized as one of the Top 10 Young Business Women of 2016 by CNBC-TV18 at the Young Turks Summit, and declared as the #1 Digital Influencer in the world on SERMO’s Digital Influencer Index 2016.
Named India’s most famous blogger by the The Huffington Post and Forbes, Malini has been profiled by various international media outlets including BBC World (UK), Reuters, CNN (USA), DW (Germany), TV5 (France) and The Globe & Mail (Canada). She is also a regular feature in local publications such as Vogue India, Elle India, Grazia India, Hello! India, India Today, The Economic Times, Business Standard, NDTV Profit, among many others, and was even featured on CNBC’s Young Turks as a fast-growing media start-
up to watch.
Expanding on her digital leadership, Malini made her first foray into television in 2014 with the reality entertainment TV series, MissMalini’s World on TLC. She went on to also host Kya Seen Hai @MissMalini on ZOOM, one of India’s leading Bollywood & Entertainment TV channels and Vh1 Inside Access with MissMalini on Vh1 India.
Her 15 year career in media & entertainment includes stints as a vertical head at MTV, a popular RJ and Programming Director at Radio One, and as the Head of Digital Content for Channel [v]. MissMalini Publishing is backed by seasoned investors such as Rajan Anandan, MD of Google India, as well as the founders of Match.com, Chegg.com, SherSingh/Exclusively.in, and the Asia Director of TA Associates.
Naiyya Saggi
CEO and Founder – BabyChakra
Naiyya Saggi is the CEO and founder of BabyChakra. BabyChakra is the fastest growing & largest platforms for young parents to discover local services & products in India. It has been awarded as one of the top tech ventures by Google, BusinessWorld, Wharton University & The Exhibit Awards.
Prior to Babychakra, Naiyya was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and at the Bridgespan group (Boston) where she worked extensively on her areas of passion: maternal & child health and education. Naiyya is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA 2012) where she was a Fulbright and J.N.Tata scholar. She received her BALLB (Hons.) from National Law School, India.
Paromita Vohra
Filmmaker & Founder, Agents of Ishq
Paromita Vohra is a filmmaker, writer and committed antakshari player whose work focuses on feminism, urban life, love, desire and popular culture and spans various forms including documentary, fiction, print, video and sound installation. She has made several landmark documentaries including Unlimited Girls and Q2P as well as Partners in Crime, Morality TV and the Loving Jehad, Where’ Sandra, Cosmopolis:Two Tales of A CityandA Woman’s Place. Time Out magazine listed her as one of ten Indians to have changed the way we watch films.She directed the cutting-edge prime time TV series Connected Hum Tum. She has written the internationally released Pakistani film Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) and the comic Priya’s Mirror. Her writing has been published in various anthologies including Bombay Meri Jaan:Writings on Mumbai, Electric Feather:The Tranquebar Book of Indian Erotica, Mumbai Noir, Recess:The Penguin Book of Schooldays and First Proof.
She writes popular weekly columns in Sunday Mid-day and Mumbai Mirror and is the founder and creative director of Agents of Ishq a first of its kind multi-media, digital project about sex, love and desire with a 100% desi vibe.
Priya Naik
CEO – Samhita Social Ventures
Priya set up Samhita Social Ventures, in 2009 to bring together companies, donor organizations and high net-worth individuals to collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social enterprises. Samhita is fully supported by Mr.N.S.Raghavan, the co-founder of Infosys.
Samhita works with companies and foundations to shape their social initiatives, facilitate program implementation, run cause-related marketing campaigns and assess impact created. Samhita’s unique advantage lies in its extensive grassroots network of NGOs and social enterprises, which results in a deep understanding of and strong relationships with social organizations.
Prior to setting up Samhita Social Ventures, Priya co-founded The Spark Group, an education company that delivered affordable education to low income communities.
Priya’s interest in social entrepreneurship began when she worked as a Researcher at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. At MIT, Priya was part of two student-led start-ups that won several awards at MIT.
Priya has graduate degrees in Economics from Yale University, in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and in Commerce from Mumbai University where she stood first in the University. She also completed an Executive Education course from Harvard Business School.
Rahul Narvekar
Founder - The India Network
Rahul Narvekar, Founder The India Network. Born in a small room in a chawl in Mumbai, Rahul’s father was an orphan who was raised in an orphanage and worked in a factory to support his family. He also did odd jobs so that he could provide simple “luxuries” to his family.They were the most well-off family in the chawl and were the owners of the solitary television in their chawl community. Rahul’s father ensured that despite their modest earnings, they never missed simple pleasures like a birthday celebration. The celebrations could not last long though. He lost his job due to factory lock-out. The following 10 to 12 years were a struggle with his father picking odd jobs to support his family and his mother sewing clothes for a living. Rahul’s parents ensured that his education was taken care of albeit not from a very fancy school called Sardarni Pratap Singh Janta Vidyalaya. Rahul was a topper all along and was into theatre, athletics, debates and was a voracious reader. He shares “I could not afford to buy Time and Fortune magazines in those days and would scurry the same from the “raddiwala’s” cache of magazines and books. These magazines were my source of inspiration and they gave me hope. I never stopped dreaming”.
Revathi Roy
CEO - Hey Deedee
Meet Revathi Roy, from taxi driver to serial entrepreneur. Taxi driver-turned-serial entrepreneur Revathi Roy is skilling women to become last-mile delivery associates and, more importantly, self-reliant. Here’s what our Forbes listed speaker has to say.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Revathi Roy picked up the pieces of her broken life and turned her passion into a business . Today, at 57, Roy is CEO of India’s first all-female hyperlocal delivery startup Hey Deedee. Incorporated as Zaffiro Learning, she set it up a year ago along with financial investor Jagdish Gothi of Kamdhenu stores. Hey Deedee mobilises women from low-income communities, trains them to drive two-wheelers and has them undertake last-mile delivery for companies like Amazon, Pizza Hut, Subway and logistics provider Shadowfax among others. “The ecommerce sector in India is set to explode. Our entire business model is based on fulfilling their logistical needs,” Roy says. That’s not all. Her business hinges on the empowerment of women. “The ladies we train come from backgrounds where everyday is a fight for survival. I want to empower them with a skill so that they can become financially independent and earn respect. If I could do it, so can they,” she says.
Ritu Soni Srivastava
Founder - Obino, Health & Weight Loss Coach
A successful entrepreneur is a life-long learner. Her success is cobbled together with bits and pieces of learning picked up from every notable experience she’s ever had. And Ritu has over the last 15 years has had an eclectic career to draw inspiration and learning from!
She’s been a primetime Radio Jockey, launched & run Radio Stations in the top metros of India as well as handled award-winning stints in Product Development and Brand Management for industry giants like Airtel and Wipro, in addition to being a wife and mother.
She has often been accused of building Obino for herself and she doesn’t deny the charge. Her post-baby weight loss struggle was a traumatic one and sparked off the idea of Obino so that people struggling with health and weight loss issues could get the right kind of help to take back control over their lives and bodies.
Under Ritu’s guidance, Obino has raised three rounds of funding and grown from a 5 member to a 60 member team with offices in Delhi and Mumbai, that has touched over half-a-million lives across the world. Supported by a US-based Healthcare VC RoundGlass Partners, Obino’s vision is to build a sustainable and innovative health technology company with a heart.
Sasha Mirchandani
Founder & MD - Kae Capital
Sasha is Founder & Managing Director at Kae Capital, an early seed stage fund. He is a Co-founder of Mumbai Angels, India’s first Angel Investment group. Prior to this Sasha was the Managing Director for Blue Run Ventures where he focused on consumer, internet, mobile, media, entertainment and knowledge process outsourcing. Earlier Sasha was at Mirc Electronics (Onida) where he was Head of Corporate Affairs and new business. Prior to that he was CEO and Founder of Imercius Technologies, a BPO focused on Healthcare. Sasha sits on the Board of Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited, Ador Welding and Mumbai Angels Venture Mentors among others. He is also a past President of EO Mumbai and is a member of the Mumbai Chapter of the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO). He is also on the Board of Governors of the Universal Business School. He is passionate about working with startups and also interested in the development of entrepreneurship in India.
Shruti Mishra
Anchor & Features Producer
Shruti Mishra is a Features Producer and Anchor with CNBC-TV18’s Special Projects. She has produced India’s longest running show on entrepreneurship –‘Young Turks’, a 5-time award winning show. She has handled international shoots for Young Turks and anchored events like the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2012 from Australia and moderated Young Turks Tutorials with Dr Trehan of Medanta and Raghu Krishnamoorthy of GE. As part of her work with CNBC-TV18’s Special Projects, she has co-anchored ‘Lessons In Marketing Excellence’ Season 5, ‘India@75’ with KV Kamath and Adi Godrej and also co-anchored Financial Advisor Awards, Healthcare Awards & Investothons. Shruti has also co-produced flagship shows like ‘Heart of Business’, ‘India Inc’, ‘Gen Next’ and ‘Ministers of Change’. Shruti is an MBA in marketing from Symbiosis and has completed her Bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication from IP University, New Delhi.
Tara Sharma
Actress & Producer
Tara is an actor and producer and more importantly as she says, a devoted Mum! She has done about 15 films as an actress, some of which like Page 3, Masti and Khosla Ka Ghosla have been big hits. She has also done several ads. Tara and her husband Roopak have 2 small children, Zen and Kai. When they were born she started writing a blog (www.tarasharmashow.com) about what she describes as ‘the most incredible journey of my life – bringing up our kids’. In an attempt to be a hands on mum and get back to work, Tara successfully turned her blog into a multi platform show which she has conceptualized, hosts and co-produces with www.sooperfly.com . Her show, ‘The Tara Sharma Show”, has had four successful Seasons on TV. The Tara Sharma Show Seasons 1 and 2 were her diary as a new Mum and Season 3 and 4 of the show widened to become a platform to discuss topical family, parenting, women’s and children’s issues with a view to helping bring about positive change. She has celebrity and non celebrity guests on the show and aired on Star World and her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/tarasharmashow Her multi platform show has been getting great response and they are soon going into Season 5. Tara plays the role of a non patronizing moderator and she and her guests debate, discuss, perhaps laugh and learn as they grow together. Some of the celebrity guests so far have been Aamir Khan, Kajol, John Abraham, Virat Kohli, Mary Kom, Shilpa Shetty, Konkona, Matthew Hayden, Juhi Chawla and others. And also many digitally infuential non celeb guests. An alumni of the Bombay International School, United World College Italy and the London School of Economics, Tara worked at Accenture before following her passion to act and create in the entertainment world. She is also committed to various social causes, especially for children, and tries to help where she can. She is grateful that she has found a way of being with her family and working and encourages all young mums to do what works for them. A strong believer in each to their own, and do what works for you, she applauds women who go back to work, those who chose not to or those who balance both, the main breakthrough she feels is women having the choice! What they chose is up to them. Tara is also a fitness enthusiast and believes good health for us all touch woodJ is most important. She runs and practices yoga regularly and believes in consistency as opposed to quantity, and a balanced approach to exercise.
Trisha Shetty aims to end gender based discrimination and advance women’s rights in India by engaging with the youth and activating them as agents of social change to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Equality, Safety and Autonomy should be a guaranteed right and reality for women around the world. At SheSays Trisha believes in achievement of SDG 5- Gender Equality through investment in strong partnerships and institutional building. Recognising the need for interdependency, their ethos is to build a nexus of support in domains of sanitation, education, healthcare, public safety and public policy.
Trisha Shetty is one of the most prolific social activists of India who at a very young age has started to fight against the prevalent sexual abuse in India. She has launched an online platform exclusively for rehabilitation, empowerment and educating women about sexual abuse. She is more than just a women right activist. She is a friend for innumerable women. She was recognized by the United Nations where she was selected among 17 UN Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals. The Secretary General of UN said that these young leaders are expected to become beacon of fight against poverty, all forms of injustice and inequality.
The infamous Delhi Rape case of Nirbhaya in 2012 changed the heart of Trisha. She was no more looking forward to earn big bucks through proper legal channel. She wanted to do something for women who are being sexually abused and because of social pressure don’t disclose molestation. There was no proper platform available that can educate these women about legal rights and how to access them.
Trisha along with her sister Neha launched an online portal for the same purpose. She named the portal – SheSays (shesays.com) indicating a will to give voice to women who have been sexually exploited. This platform started to get lots of eyeballs and thousands of volunteers also come forward to help other women.
Trisha’s novel attempt has been recognized and appreciated by every right minded people. She has, in fact, become a voice for women who have to face sexual molestation in one or other forms daily.
Lubeina Shahpurwala
Co-Founder, Mustang Socks
Mustang Socks was founded by Naazneen Katrak in 1986. Back then, she understood the need of cotton socks, which compelled her to single-handedly set-up Mustang. As the brand grew, a significant turning point in Mustang’s journey was Naazneen and Lubeina’s partnership. Their goal was to deliver value products to their customers, employees and the society, starting with superior quality, warm and comfortable socks.
In 2004, Lubeina Shahpurwala took up the mantel of Co-Founder at Mustang Socks. An entrepreneur and fashion enthusiast, she broke away from the trodden path to boost Mustang Socks to new heights. Drawing from her natural love for fashion and keen sense of business, Lubeina has been instrumental in making Mustang an aspirational brand in fashion apparel in India. With a combination of sharp business acumen, a hands-on approach in Mustang and a compelling desire to grow, Lubeina complements Naazneen’s passion perfectly. Her need to keep up with the latest trends has ensured that Mustang stays ahead in terms of product design and technology – whether it be their character range, vibrant seasonal collections, their health socks or the classy footlets.
Recently, she was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year in Manufacturing Business
at the 5th Entrepreneur India Awards 2015.
Together, Naazneen and Lubeina have taken Mustang to a whole new level. At a time when socks were only seen as a commodity, they made Mustang into a brand – breaking into the Indian fashion sector as one of the first fashion apparel companies.
Mustang today manufactures more than 1 million pairs of socks every month, and has 36 distributors across India. With a consistent and impresssive growth rate, they have tie-ups with some of the largest International Brands, Retailers and E-Retailers, including Amazon, FirstCry, Hopscotch, etc. They are also expanding to include other apparel products like scarves, vests and briefs for kids, etc
They recently launched their own e-commerce website and have also opened up their first wholesale store.
Upasana’s mission is to simplify payment acceptance for Indian merchants/retailers. Her focus is ontaking the MobiKwik Wallet to millions of retailers, bank partnerships, and talent acquisition. Upasana comes with a strong payments background as a senior product manager with PayPal (an eBay company) in Silicon Valley and prior to that with HSBC at San Diego. She graduated with a Bachelors in Engineering from NIT Jalandhar and a Masters in Management Science from Stanford University.
Neha Upadhyay
CEO and Founder Guna Organics
Neha Upadhyay is the CEO and Founder of Guna Organics. She is a Macrobiotic coach who graduated from King’s College London & trained in organic, macrobiotic cooking from Daylesford Organic Cookery School & Whole Food Harmony (UK), is presently a certified organic macrobiotic coach in New Delhi. After having worked in the education sector in the UK, where she worked with several children suffering from Juvenile diabetes, Autism, ADHD and other neuro motor problems, she was reluctant to treat them with western medication and hence trained in Macrobiotics and Organics which have proven to be alternative healing practices.
Guna works with farmer producer organisations that include over 650 farmers from Afghanistan and different states of India such as Ladakh, Kerala, Goa and Uttarakhand to promote eco-positive eating by marketing handmade organic products and conducting Macrobiotic food workshops.
Priyanka Gill
Founder POPxo.com
Combining her experience in lifestyle journalism with a flair for fashion, Priyanka Gill created POPxo in 2014 as a digital content platform for engaging content lifestyle content for young Indian women. In 2015, 1.2 billion people saw POPxo posts on Facebook, with 212,000 daily fan interactions. The website got 19 million unique views and over 3.5 million video views. It is available in Hindi and English, engaging audience via both video and text. She keeps the brand ahead of the curve with initiatives such as the POPxo Style Council, the POPxo Blog Network and The POPxo Campus Ambassador Programme.
After graduating with honours from Lady Sri Ram College in Delhi, Priyanka went on to contribute to Vogue India, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure and Grazia.in. She is a Contributing Editor to Harper’s Bazaar India and guest-edited the India special issue of the Mayfair Times magazine in June 2013.
As an investor, Priyanka works with early stage tech startups and food concepts, such as Bea’s of Bloomsbury, Campanja, SoundOut, Yieldify and Raptor Supplies, as an investor, board member or advisor. She extends time and support to several charities. She co-chaired the Pratham UK gala in 2009-2010, raising over GBP 2 million for the charity. She also advises Akshayapatra UK, and the Savitri Waney trust as an advisory board member.
A busy mother of two young children, Priyanka juggles a demanding family life with her passion for work and travel. She is a recipient of the FICCI Women’s Achiever’s Award 2015 and the Digital Women Awards for Content Creation in 2015.
Taru Kapoor
Head of Indian Operations at Tinder
Ms. Taru Kapoor has been Head of Indian Operations at Tinder, Inc. since January 2016. Ms. Kapoor focuses on establishing the Tinder brand in India, steering its user growth and user engagement by focusing on local user needs. Ms. Kapoor was an Investment Analyst at Sequoia Capital India and focused on early stage. Prior to joining Sequoia Capital India, Ms. Kapoor was a Strategy Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, where she worked in the banking, insurance, and consumer goods sectors. She was an active member of start-ups and VC community in Harvard Business School. She has extensive experience in business development, product and growth strategy and financial modeling and planning. She worked with Sequoia Capital India. She is a Harvard MBA graduate. Ms. Kapoor graduated with Bachelors and Masters in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where she was awarded the Alok Saxena Memorial award for being the second best all-round graduating student of the year.
Ishita Anand
Founder BitGiving
Ishita is the Founder and CEO of BitGiving, India’s leading crowdfunding platform which helps raise funds online and gives wings to entrepreneurial ideas, creative minds and social issues.
A self confessed geek, Anand was quick to be bitten by the technology startup bug and started her first venture at the age of 22. Passionate about making impossible dreams come true through her venture, she envisions revolutionising crowdfunding in India. Anand’s infectious energy, perseverance and foresightedness has helped BitGiving grow from a two member company to a leader in the crowdfunding niche.
An erstwhile film-maker, Anand is an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College. She is also affiliated with the Lean In Foundation and is heading the circles for Women Entrepreneurs in India.
Jaiveer Shergill
lawyer - Supreme Court of India
Jaiveer Shergill is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and a politician belonging to the Indian National Congress party. Graduating in 2006 from West Bengal University of Jurisdical Sciences, Jaiveer went to the UC Berkeley School of Law, University of California,USA, and took a master’s degree in Law. In 2006, after graduating from law school, Jaiveer enrolled in the Delhi Bar and began his career as a law associate with “Economic Laws Practice,” a reputed law firm specializing in tax and commercial cases. In 2008, Jaiveer was accepted into the Chambers ofAbhishek Singhvi, who is Senior Advocate, a Rajya Sabha MP, and a spokesman of the Indian National Congress party. As a practicing advocate at the Supreme Court of India, Jaiveer has been involved in various high profile cases.
Currently serving as the National Media Panelist for the Indian National Congress Party, Spokesperson of the Punjab Pradesh Congress and Co-Chairman of the Legal Cell, Congress (Punjab). As a unique initiative, Jaiveer launched a 24×7 legal toll-free helpline number to provide legal assistance to congress workers who are victims of political vendetta and facing false cases slapped by the Akali-BJP Government. Jaiveer has been instrumental in voicing various economic and social issues in the media including but not limited to foreign direct investment, depleted conditions of schools in Punjab, alarming drug use, women safety etc.
He is the youngest National Media Panelist of the Indian National Congress. He is also one of the youngest spokespersons of the Congress Party for Punjab (Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee) and also the youngest person to be appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Congress Legal Cell for Punjab. He has also served as the Young India Representative for the International Bar Association (the most prestigious Lawyers Organization of the world) for a period of two years (2008–09).
Jaiveer also regularly writes on issues of terrorism, parliamentary functioning, government policies relating to digital infrastructure, financial planning, employment generation, impacts of rampant drug use, governance etc
Anand Chandrasekaran
Chief Product Officer @ Snapdeal
Anand is Chief Product Officer @ Snapdeal, one of India’s pre-eminent Internet franchises (Snapdeal, Freecharge, Shopo, Exclusively.In, Unicommerce, GoJavas etc.) with over 100 million combined registered users and with over 1000 engineers.
Previously, he was CPO at Bharti Airtel, the #3 mobile operator globally with over 210 million subscribers driving a new subscription music and video service Wynk Music, Airtel Money etc. and leading their e-commerce business. Earlier, Anand was with Yahoo in Silicon Valley, where he was Sr. Director for Mobile. Previously, he co-founded Aeroprise Inc. Under Anand’s leadership, Aeroprise became the most-deployed solution worldwide for mobile service management, raised $7M in funding and was acquired by BMC Software.
Anand holds a M.S. in Electrical Engg. from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Communications Engg. from PSG College of Technology (India). In 2010, he was named by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.
Suchi Mukherjee
Founder & CEO LimeRoad.com
The only Indian to receive the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship for studying Economics at Cambridge University in 1994, Suchi graduated from St. Stephens College, Delhi University and procured her master’s degree in Finance & Economics from the London School of Economics where she won the British Chevening Scholarship.
Creating and scaling businesses which impact people’s lives deeply using technology has been her sole passion. Starting from the early years in finance, where she was part of teams that designed India’s first special purpose financing vehicle, and then the world’s largest aviation insurance company via a transatlantic merger, Suchi has had an illustrious career.
Her successful stint at eBay encapsulated Suchi as a part of the relatively early team building out the UK business, creating earning opportunities for millions of sellers. UK ultimately went on to become the second largest eBay market in the world. Subsequently, as an executive management team member at Skype, she led teams that designed and launched the biggest upgrade in Skype’s history since launch, thus enabling free peer-to-peer multiparty video and screen share. Finally there was Gumtree – UK’s largest online classifieds business, where Suchi was Managing Director & CEO, helping millions of women and men find incredibly useful daily life savers.
Suchi calls herself a Delhi girl who has come home after over 15 years to build LimeRoad.com, a venture conceived after the birth of her second child, while snatching a few minutes of me-time flipping through a magazine. Nothing, she felt, gave unhindered access to a rich breadth of product across South-East Asia, in an interface that was as easy as flipping a magazine. Thus grew the idea of the platform, the proposition and the interface. Driving for lasting impact has been a core theme for her.
She has also been selected as one of 15 women worldwide – high potential leaders under 40 for driving change and impact, showcased & celebrated at the World Women’s Forum in Deauville, Paris, 2010. Recently, she was one amongst the few entrepreneurs chosen to address the Startup India Standup India Event in New Delhi and share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She has great admiration for people who have questioned status quo and made lasting change happen in their own contexts, and all her core partners reflect the same grain.
About Limeroad.com
LimeRoad is a fun and exciting way to discover, share and shop. Limeroad.com is today reimagining e-commerce as we know it today with a social-commerce platform. Targeted at the intelligent woman of today, it has an incredible width of carefully selected retailers, enabling customers to discover the best of lifestyle products across categories like apparel, accessories, and home. LimeRoad.com is a brand owned by A.M. Marketplaces Pvt Ltd.
Priya Sachdev
Founder RockNShop.com
Priya Sachdev is a double major in Mathematics and began her professional career as an investment banker in London.
Post her specialization as a Financial Analyst, she implemented her knowledge & expertise in the family enterprise – The Sachdev Group (TSG), a leading automobile dealer representing Ford, Toyota & Hyundai in North India. Priya is also the Founder & CEO of Harpreet Insurance Pvt. Ltd., a company specializing in General Insurance & Motor Insurance.
As the Co Founder of TSG International, Priya along with her sister Charu were the pioneers in bringing fashion luxury labels to India with their first standalone store Moschino in Mumbai launched in 2005. In 2008, she launched her multi-brand store called Kitsch in New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai retailing world’s most sought after luxury labels such as Stella Mc Cartney, Lanvin, DVF etc.
Priya Sachdev launched Rock N Shop in 2015, which showcases over 100 labels and is dedicated to supporting retailers and brands to reach out to a highly affluent audience in India.
Ruchi Agarwal
Director Partner Strategy and Marketing, Microsoft
Ruchi Aggarwal is a Marketing and Strategy professional with over 2 decades of multi-industry, cross cultural experience in India and UK, with a track record of success and innovation.
Ruchi has worked with diverse industry sectors – Scottish Rugby at Edinburgh; Vodafone in India; Healthcare, with Bausch and Lomb and now IT with Microsoft, in India.
Apart from her corporate responsibilities @ Microsoft, Ruchi is a keen speaker at Industry events both internationally and in India. She speaks on a range of topics – some which you may expect like Marketing Strategy, Digital Marketing, Innovation – but also some that are close to her heart like Personal Branding and Creating Women Leadership under the Diversity and Inclusion umbrella. She is Microsoft India’s representative to the Anita Borg Institute which runs the renowned Grace Hopper event for Women in IT.
Ruchi has received many awards and accolades for her work over the course of her career and continues to do so, at Microsoft India. Most recently she has been awarded with the ‘Most Influential Marketing Leaders Award’ – at Mumbai and ‘Women Leadership award’ for her work in inspiring women across levels to wire themselves for success!
Radha Kizhanattam
Principal at Unitus Seed Fund
Radha has deep operational experience in building and commercializing technology products for global markets. As a member of the screening committee at Mumbai Angels, Radha helped evaluate and make early stage technology venture investments.
She is also a mentor at NSRCEL @ IIM Bangalore working with very early stage entrepreneurs. Previously, she led marketing at GupShup, a mobile social space startup. Prior to that, at Texas Instruments she built and managed diverse teams to deliver chipsets across multiple industry verticals. An expert in the mobile and telecommunications space, she architected, developed and deployed wireless infrastructure systems and applications for Motorola. Radha has a Masters in Computer Science from NITK and an MBA from IIM Bangalore.
Naiyya Saggi
Co-Founder BabyChakra
Naiyya Saggi is the CEO and founder of BabyChakra. BabyChakra is the fastest growing & largest platforms for young parents to discover local services & products in India. It has been awarded as one of the top tech ventures by Google, BusinessWorld, Wharton University & The Exhibit Awards.
Prior to Babychakra, Naiyya was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and at the Bridgespan group (Boston) where she worked extensively on her areas of passion: maternal & child health and education. Naiyya is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA 2012) where she was a Fulbright and J.N.Tata scholar. She received her BALLB (Hons.) from National Law School, India.
Priya Maheshwari
Co-Founder & CEO - Properji
Priya is Co-Founder and CEO of Properji which is India’s leading pro-buyer real-estate research analytics start-up. In less than two years, Properji has established itself as the go-to place for millions of home buyers to get honest objective advice for their life’s biggest financial decision of investing in real estate.
Priya holds a master’s degree from University of Pennsylvania and has worked in the field of International Business and Management Consultancy in the US and in India.”
Lakshmi Rebecca
Blogger & Filmmaker
Lakshmi Rebecca is an award-winning video blogger and filmmaker. Her production house, Red Bangle, has made over 300 films for global and fast-growing companies across India. Lakshmi runs an active vlog on Youtube and caters to an engaged online fan base, celebrating daily life and inclusive ideas. Her talk show, ‘Chai with Lakshmi’, was one of the first high-quality original talk shows on Youtube from India.
Lakshmi has been featured in books and news articles in appreciation of her digital content and leadership. She is known for being an inspirational speaker and one of the early female motorbikers in India to ride sole across cities. She is also a professional event anchor who sometimes dabbles with modelling.
Kalpana Saroj
Chairperson Kamani Tubes
You don’t need wings to fly. The resolve to achieve your goals and the willingness to give it more than your 100% can help you soar high. The person whose life inspires such philosophy is Kalpana Saroj.
Her humble and tough early life wouldn’t have indicated a future so bright. But Kalpana Saroj was determined to break the shackles of her reality and write her own destiny. She was fighting a lone battle but her indomitable spirit was her greatest asset. From being a daughter from an underprivileged background and a child wife armed with just basic education, she went on to become a successful entrepreneur and a devoted social worker. She grew her business empire from three to seven companies with a net worth of more than 1000 crores under the Kalpana Saroj Group. Her business interests span across manufacturing, real estate, agriculture, exports and film production. To her credit, she has revived a company “Kamani Tubes Ltd” which was sick for more than 20years ,Now the company had turned networth positive under her leadership. She also holds commanding positions in several organisations including the Dalit Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rashtriya Ekta Yuva Manchand was the Ex-Director of Bhartiya Mahila Bank, India’s first bank exclusively for women.
Kalpana Saroj can’t be defined by her business accomplishments alone. Her work for social causes, like women empowerment, education and health care,is equally noteworthy. She has organised activities to protect the rights of downtrodden women, workshops for the unemployed youth and health awareness programs and blood donation camps in tribal areas, distributed books toneedy students and provided food, medicines and financial help to underprivileged patients.
Kalpana Saroj has also been on the world stage and contributed towards making a difference on important global issues. She has represented India in the World Peace Conference, discussed world peace with eminent spiritual and other leaders in Singapore and visited Buddha Viharas in London to discuss social and cultural issues with its Hon. Mayor. Now, she is working on developing a charitable collaboration with The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies (OCBS). Her work and commitment to social causes may have taken her all over world, but she remains firmly rooted in the Indian soil. When her country’s soldiers were bravely fighting the Kargil war, she visited the battlefield to encourage them.
By leading such an exemplary life, Kalpana Saroj has attracted a lot of recognition in the form of prestigious awards and accolades. She was even honoured with the Padmashree Award in 2013 in the field of Industry and Trade.
Her achievements are as much a result of her efforts as her principles. Strength in adversity, honesty above profitability, betterment of the downtrodden and action rather than oration are the values she lives by. And it is her life’s mission to work for world peace, women empowerment, social justice for the downtrodden and self-employment. Women like Kalpana Saroj are rare and truly a nation’s pride.
Swati Bhargava
Founder CashKaro.com
Swati Bhargava is the Co-founder of CashKaro.com- India’s largest Cashback & Coupons site. She is honored amongst top 10 women entrepreneurs in India and is also an acclaimed Social Media influencer. Swati is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and has worked at Goldman Sachs in London for 5 years before starting UK Cashback business Pouring Pounds along with her husband & Co-Founder, Rohan. She has also represented India at the coveted Blackbox Connect – Female Founders Edition – powered by Google in Silicon Valley, California and is an active keynote speaker in India and internationally.
Swati has being instrumental in establishing Cashback and Affiliate Marketing as one of the best performing marketing channels for retailers in India. This can be validated as CashKaro.com is the only venture capital backed cashback site and has recently raised Rs 25 crore in Series A funding from Kalaari Capital and also have the backing of India’s biggest businessman, Mr. Ratan Tata as an investor & supporter.
Dilshad Master
Director Mercury Himalayan Explorations Ltd.
Dilshad has worked in the media and entertainment space for over 22 years. The broadcasting space was her playground and she has several television channel launches to her credit. Her last held broadcasting responsibility was as COO of UTV Entertainment and prior to that she was the Senior Vice President of National Geographic Channel and The History Channel, heading marketing and programming. As Senior Vice President of STAR TV, she was responsible for the launch of the STAR brand in UK.
Her stints in senior positions at STAR TV, National Geographic Channel, and UTV Entertainment saw her gain deep insight into branding and positioning products in the entertainment space. “Of all the TV channels I worked with, the stint I enjoyed the most was at National Geographic Channel. As the head of programming and marketing, I devised show concepts and marketing strategies that made me wish I was sitting on the other side of the desk. I didn’t want to send production crews across India, I wanted to go myself; I didn’t want to select locations sitting behind a desk, I wanted to see them first-hand. I then I realized it was really very simple to do that. I quit. I took up my next best passion after TV – travel and joined Mercury Himalaya Explorations Ltd. as their head of marketing and business development – the best career decision of my life!”, she says.
Malini Agarwal
Founder MissMalini.com
MissMalini.com was founded as a hobby blog in 2008, as a natural extension to the gossip column Agarwal had been writing on the side for many years, with Mumbai tabloid MidDay. Following a surge in readership, she decided to leave Channel V to focus full-time on the blog. The blog draws inspiration from international sites such as PerezHilton and PopSugar covering all aspects of Bollywood and celebrity life. It also covers the latest in Indian and international fashion trends, along with lifestyle content such as Travel, Food, and Nightlife. MisMalini.com’s popularity has allowed it to become the official blogging partner for leading fashion properties in India including Lakme Fashion Week, Blender’s Pride Fashion Tour, and India Resort Fashion Week.The blog has also been invited to cover fashion events outside of India, most recently Cape Town Fashion Week 2012.
Debjani Ghosh
VP - SMG, MD - Intel South Asia
Debjani Ghosh is the Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group, Managing Director South Asia for Intel and is responsible for establishing new growth areas for Intel in the region. One of her key charters and passion is to accelerate technology adoption as an enabler of inclusive growth and development and she works closely with governments and industry across South Asia to make this happen.
In a career spanning over 2 decades, Ms. Ghosh has worked in different geographies and functions ranging from education, advertising, marketing and finally sales. However one thing that has remained constant is her love for technology.
Ms Ghosh dons many hats and apart from her leadership role at Intel is currently the President of MAIT, an active member of NASSCOM Executive Council and the Chairperson of FICCI’s IT Committee. An alumnus of S.P Jain Mumbai, Ms. Ghosh is an active proponent of diversity and inclusion. She promotes growth & leadership agendas for women at the work place and has featured in Naina Lal KIdwai’s 30 women in power and Aparna Jain’s ‘Own It-Leadership lessons from Women who do’. Ms Ghosh has been ranked as one of the top 20 most powerful women in business by Fortune India for three years in a row.
Outside work, Ms. Ghosh enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, travelling and discovering new places, cultures and cuisines.
Kiran Bedi
First Women IPS Officer
Dr Kiran Bedi is the first woman in India to have joined the officer ranks of Indian Police Service. She served in it for 35 years and moved up to the highest rank, as Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Government of India.
Dr Bedi served as Police Advisor to SG in United Nations, in the Department of Peace Keeping Operations in New York.
She is recipient of The Ramon Magsaysay Award, also called Asia’s Nobel Peace Award for bringing about a positive relationship between Police and the People.
Dr Bedi is a Law graduate, Masters, and a PhD Scholar with post doctoral Nehru Fellowship.
She is an author of several books such as I Dare, it’s Always Possible, Creating Leadership and more…
Dr Bedi has been voted as the most admired and trusted woman in India by Readers Digest, The Week Magazine, and others over the years.
She has a biopic on her life called, Yes Madam Sir, made by an Australian film maker.
She is running two NGOs which reach out to marginalized sections of society in education, skills development, in urban and rural areas. Including prisons.
She is a social commentator and a trainer…
As of now she has a following of around 7 million followers on social networks. (Twitter and FB) Her Twitter handle is @thekiranbedi
Naiyya Saggi
CEO and Founder – BabyChakra
Naiyya Saggi is the CEO and founder of BabyChakra. BabyChakra is the fastest growing & largest platforms for young parents to discover local services & products in India. It has been awarded as one of the top tech ventures by Google, BusinessWorld, Wharton University & The Exhibit Awards.
Prior to Babychakra, Naiyya was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and at the Bridgespan group (Boston) where she worked extensively on her areas of passion: maternal & child health and education. Naiyya is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA 2012) where she was a Fulbright and J.N.Tata scholar. She received her BALLB (Hons.) from National Law School, India.
Priya Naik
CEO – Samhita Social Ventures
Priya set up Samhita Social Ventures, in 2009 to bring together companies, donor organizations and high net-worth individuals to collaborate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social enterprises. Samhita is fully supported by Mr.N.S.Raghavan, the co-founder of Infosys.
Samhita works with companies and foundations to shape their social initiatives, facilitate program implementation, run cause-related marketing campaigns and assess impact created. Samhita’s unique advantage lies in its extensive grassroots network of NGOs and social enterprises, which results in a deep understanding of and strong relationships with social organizations.
Prior to setting up Samhita Social Ventures, Priya co-founded The Spark Group, an education company that delivered affordable education to low income communities.
Priya’s interest in social entrepreneurship began when she worked as a Researcher at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. At MIT, Priya was part of two student-led start-ups that won several awards at MIT.
Priya has graduate degrees in Economics from Yale University, in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and in Commerce from Mumbai University where she stood first in the University. She also completed an Executive Education course from Harvard Business School.
Dr. Renu Khanna
Global Head-Leadership Development, Tech Mahindra
Renu is a Learning and Development professional with over 25 years of rich experience in ITES/IT, Consulting and Manufacturing organizations. She is a learning strategist and has worked in areas of Organization Development, Change Management, Leadership Development, People development, Associate engagement and Diversity. She is a learning consultant and has the natural ability to provide learning solutions that align directly with the strategic needs of the business.
In her 17 years career Renu has led the learning for streams like Leadership which includes people leadership and business leadership. In the area of people leadership she has worked on initiatives like Global leadership, Building high performance teams, Mentoring and Coaching. In the area of business leadership she has worked on Sales leadership and Delivery leadership. She has provided integrated solutions in the area of leadership by focusing on key issues and challenges in business. She has led many action learning projects which attempt to look at CXO challenges. She interfaces with HR and has led integrated projects like Building a leadership pipeline, Transition programs, Game Changers and Improving retention of associates.
Renu also managed the Learning Alliances with global universities. Renu has travelled across the globe for consulting and training both customers and employees and also initiated virtualization in leadership education through various mediums. She has developed various learning products which are reusable assets for the organization on the learning management system. She has incubated the concept of leaders as teachers and customers as teachers in the organization.
She is fond of research and has collaborated with Gallup and Wharton on specific projects. She has organized many conferences within the organization both for the employees within and outside. She is a part of the Leadership council, Diversity council and Green initiative council.
Renu has also worked at Tecumseh (previously known as Sriram Refrigeration), a multinational manufacturing company, as head of learning and development. She was instrumental in setting up the learning center and expanding it for workers, supervisors and executives. Her achievements at Tecumseh included bringing a learning focus across the organization and setting up a roadmap for learning in the old and new environment.
Renu has a Doctorate in Sociology as a fellow from Indian Council for Social Science and Research (ICSSR) and a double masters in Sociology and Education. She was the President of ISTD Hyderabad chapter from 2008-2010. She is on the board of various institutes and is a member of several committees and has been a speaker in various forums.
She is married to Madhusudan Khanna and they have one daughter, Spanya.
Vanita Datla
Executive Director & CFO at Elico Ltd
Vanitha Datla is the Executive Director & CFO at Elico Ltd, a 50-year-old company that is a pioneer in the Analytical Instruments Industry, ‘Innovating to connect Science with Lab’ and Managing Director Elico Healthcare Services Ltd, a service provider to the Health-Care Industry in countries like USA, UK, Middle East etc.
Her initial career days saw her working as a financial assistant to an Insurance Agent with Farmers Insurance, one of the top 5 Insurance companies in the US. She then joined Raasi Finance & Investment Ltd, as Executive Director & later became its Managing Director. During her tenure, the company achieved a commendable turnaround into a profitable & dividend paying company. In 1999, she joined her family & associates in taking over a non-operational cement company, Anjani Portland Cement Ltd, and was part of the driving team that helped convert the company into a profit making & dividend-paying venture. In her role as Director Finance, she was actively engaged in the cement, power & security printing verticals.
Vasu Primlani
International Standup Comedian, EMCEE & Comic
Vasu Primlani is an internationally celebrated speaker, emcee and comic.
Vasu is a professional comic, has performed/headlined variously in the US (San Francisco, New York, Miami) and India (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore). She has also performed at over 200 shows, and is probably the only comic in the world to perform during a light in the US (Southwest Airlines).
Some of these venues are: the Comedy Store Mumbai, New York Comedy Club, Taj Hotel Delhi, Capgemini, the Alila Bangalore, the Lalit Bangalore, Stanford University, India Habitat Center Delhi, Epicentre Gurgaon, Ashoka Innovators Bangalore, Rooster T Feathers, Tommy T’s, the Punchline Park Hotel, Movenpick Bangalore, and the Blue Frog Delhi.
She has produced the First ever all female comedy show in India: That’s What She Said, her one woman show: Outlawed! and a national tour California Comedy Invasion with Raj Sharma of 15 shows across India.
She has performed in Dubai, the US and India, and has been featured on national and international media and television including NDTV, NPR, CBS, KCSM TV, Delhi Doordarshan, SF Bay Guardian, SF Chronicle, KPFA, VOA, ABC News and the BBC.
Uma Rani
Senior Vice President SAP Labs India
Uma Rani TM is the Senior Vice President of SAP Labs India, a subsidiary of SAP SE, the world leader in enterprise applications in terms of software and software-related service revenue. Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP operates in over 130 countries and has an employee base of over 74,000. Uma Heads the Maintenance and Support for SAP’s On Premise Applications with teams in 11 countries covering all the time zones.
In 2010, Uma Rani was awarded the “Leader of the Year” at SAP Labs India, which is among the largest research, development and support centers for SAP. Uma has the distinction of being the first and only woman employee from SAP Labs India in the SAP Global Senior Leadership Team. She is the recipient of the CMO Asia Women Leadership Award in Technology and Exemplary Woman Leadership Excellence in 2014. She is an inspiring leader who believes in applying the “management by empowerment” strategy. Uma has been associated with SAP for the past 18 years and has been representing SAP in various internal and external forums besides this Uma has driven several SAP technology events like SAP technology summit, SAP teched over multiple years.
Uma holds a B Tech in Electrical and Electronics from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, and has done Post Graduation in Management from IIM Bangalore. Uma has also done several Executive Programs at INSEAD Singapore and Harvard Business School. Uma is a business and leadership coach at SAP certified by ICF.
Swati Lakra
Additional Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad
Swati Lakra is an Indian Police Service officer who joined the service in 1995. As of 2015, she is working as the Additional Commissioner of Police for the city of Hyderabad. She is the chief of the ‘She’ teams that are operating in Hyderabad to combat the harassment of women and increase their safety. She was born in Jharkhand. She worked as Deputy Inspector General of Visakhapatnam Range, before joining the Hyderabad city police.
Swati Lakra was key in setting up 100 special teams to check harassment of women in public places. To be called ‘She’ teams, their members will keep a tight vigil at places where sexual harassment is common. Each team comprises five police personnel and they have been provided small cameras to record the movements of suspects, including women to keep an eye on the suspects. These teams are aimed at dealing with all cases of harassment of women including physical and mental abuse. The teams, which will work under the direct supervision of additional commissioner Swathi Lakra, will act swiftly on the complaints of harassment of women in public places.
Shweta Singh
Co-Founder & Managing Partner – Sol Primero
Shweta is a co-founder and a Managing Partner at Sol Primero. Prior to Sol Primero, Shweta worked with the restaurant discovery platform, Zomato, in the International Operations team where she successfully launched the business into several new geographies. She has 5 years of Investment Banking experience at UBS Investment Bank in their London office and has worked across both the Equity Capital Markets and Mergers and Acquisitions teams. Shweta holds an MBA in Operations and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
Smita Sabharwal
IAS – Addl.Secretary to the Chief Minister of Telangana
Smita Sabharwal (born 19 June 1977), is an Indian Administrative Service Officer of 2001 batch borne to the Telangana cadre. She is popularly known as “Peoples Officer”. She is the first lady IAS officer to be appointed to the Chief Minister’s Office.
Awards
Indian Express Devi Award – 2015, for Innovation and Dynamism
e-India (e-Health Category) Government Digital Initiative – 2013
Chief Minister’s Award for best district in 20 Point Flagship Programme in 2011
Chief Minister’s Award for best district in 20 Point Flagship Programme in 2012
Recipient of “Platinum Award” worth Rs.10.00 Lakhs under District Category sponsored by Information Technology & Communication Department for the best e-Governance initiatives taken up in the district for the year 2012-13.
Nominated for Prime Minister’s award under individual category for excellence in public administration in best district initiative “Ammalalana” programme from erstwhile united Government of Andhra Pradesh
Nishtha Satyam
United Nations Women
Nishtha brings extensive experience in advising Boards and Senior Management Teams on organizational approaches to establish strategic partnerships and institutional engagement with traditional and non-traditional allies, positioning the organization as a thought leader on key policy issues. Her current role at the United Nations (UN) principally focuses on developing and implementing strategies aimed at securing a diversified partnership portfolio and building a community of commitment leading to sustained support for the organization, both financial and non-financial. At the UN Women Multi Country office in India that also services Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan, Nishtha is responsible for spearheading and executing the strategy for building innovative, strategic and technical partnerships with the Government of India, both Centre and State, the Private Sector and Foundations. Prior to this, Nishtha has served the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRC) as an advisor on partnerships with the Private Sector through well-designed, multi-stakeholder platforms that address shared goals covering business’s role in development, including the MDGs and SDGs, ethics and governance, democratization of the ICT arena, impact of ICT on development and the impact of the regulatory and policy environment on businesses. Her competencies include advising and informing organizations of approaches to leverage CSR, building inclusive business models, consensus building and developing multi-stakeholder policy advocacy models.
Prior to her career with UN, she has spent about a decade working with the Private Sector with leading firms such as KPMG, The Corporate Executive Board and American Express as an economist.
Nishtha has authored many articles on the business value of diversity and balanced leadership and was the key author of the WILL-KPMG reports on the value of balanced leadership to the business performance of a firm. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from the University of Nottingham, UK and a Bachelors in Economics from Delhi University.
Mamata Vegunta
Director – Human Resources at Invesco
Mamata is a seasoned management professional with 20 + years of working experience. She is currently the Director – Human Resources at Invesco Hyderabad.
Her teaching and research interests include a wide variety of topics related to management and leadership. She is also an artist and writer. She is a champion of ‘Renaissance Leadership’, a personal leadership philosophy that draws from the creativity of arts and the precision of the sciences.
Mamata is the Joint Secretary of the Society for Cyberabad Security Council, and the leader for it’s Women’s Forum. The SCSC Women’s Forum is focused on creating awareness and executing interventions on issues of women’s safety in Cyberabad. Mamata has a Master’s degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and has a Ph.D from Osmania University, Hyderabad.
Mary Kom
International Boxer
“Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, (born 1 March 1983), also known as MC Mary Kom, Magnificent Mary or simply Mary Kom, is an Indian boxer belonging to Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of Manipur. She is a five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. She is the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, competing in the flyweight (51 kg) category and winning the bronze medal. She has also been ranked as No. 4 AIBA World Women’s Ranking Flyweight category.”
Her autobiography, Unbreakable, was co-authored by Dina Serto and published by Harper Collins in late 2013.
In 2014, Priyanka Chopra played the main role as Mary Kom in the biographical film about her life. The movie is directed by Omung Kumar and was released on 5 September 2014.
Lavanya Ashok
Executive Director – Goldman Sachs & Co.
Lavanya Ashok is an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division (MBD) in India, where she heads private equity coverage for South India. She serves on the board of Global Consumer Products, Nova Medical, Pepperfry.com and Azure Hospitality. Lavanya is on the Mumbai Diversity Committee for Goldman Sachs and has co-headed the Mumbai Women’s Network for the past five years. Previously, Lavanya worked at SPO Partners & Company, a $10bn California-based hedge fund focused on value-oriented investing.
Lavanya earned a BS in Economics and Finance summa cum laude from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 where she was a Beta Gamma Sigma scholar. She also received an MBA in 2010 from Stanford University where she was a Barrett Fellow and President of the South Asia Students’ Association.
Lavanya is passionate about investing, social entrepreneurship, dance, photography, books and long meandering conversations with family and friends. She lives with her husband Arjun in Mumbai.
Lakshmi Manchu
Actor & Producer
Lakshmi Manchu, is an Actor producer and a Humanitarian.
As a television presenter she is known for her works in American Television. She acted in the American television series Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives, Late Nights with my Lover and Mystery ER.
She has bagged three Filmfare awards in a short span in Indian Cinema and also her recent movie won the National Award.
Lakshmi is very active in social and political movements across the country. She has been advocating for various causes like Education reforms in Primary Education, Cancer Awareness and Women empowerment. The Government of India has nominated her as the Swach Bharat Ambassador for the state of Telangana
Kavitha Kalvakuntla
Member of Parliament
Kalvakuntla Kavitha (born 13 March 1978) is an Indian Member of Parliament and Telangana Rashtra Samithi party member. She is a daughter of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K. Chandrasekhar Rao and was active in the agitation for the separate statehood for Telangana. She elected as Chief Commissioner for Bharath Scouts and Guides in 2015. On July 15 2015, special Indian Postal covers of kavitha came into existence on the occasion of Pushkaram.
Kavitha runs a non-governmental organisation called Telangana Jagruthi’. In the General Elections 2014, Kavitha was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from the Nizamabad constituency.
Kavitha has mentioned her interests as representing the aspirations of the Telangana people and the Jammu and Kashmir issue. She supports resolving the Kashmir dispute and moving on. She has come out in support of a uniform civil code.
Jeroo Mulla
Head – Sophia Institute of Social Communications Media
Jeroo Mulla was the Head of the Sophia Institute of Social Communications Media, Mumbai from 2012 -2013 and the Head of the Social Communications Media Department, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai from 1986 – 2012. She has been teaching film appreciation, photography and the Fundamental Concepts of Communications, and supervising student documentaries at the Sophia Polytechnic for over thirty years since 1979. Currently she continues to teach film and photography as a visiting faculty at Sophia Polytechnic and at various other media institutes such as Xavier’s Institute of Communications and Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communications and at St Xavier’s College. She is also a media consultant, and on the advisory boards of the Xavier’s BMM course and the Haridev University of Communications in Jaipur.
At Sophia Polytechnic she has supervised the student productions of over eighty audio-visuals and twenty-four video documentaries on human development issues. In 2004 she was awarded a Gold Medal for her 25 years of service and dedication to the Sophia Polytechnic. In September 2014 she was given the Professor Satish Bahadur Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film Studies in South Asia at the Alpaviram Film Festival at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
In April 2007 she was awarded a Fellowship and a Gold Medal, by the Association of Business Communicators of India in recognition of her “long and distinguished career in the communication practice.”
In 2010 she served as a Jury member for the National Film Awards. She was also on the Selection Committee for the International Children’s Film Festival Hyderabad 2011 and 2013.
In 2003 she served on the Advisory Panel of the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. She was appointed to the Film Censor Board as an Advisory Panel member in 1987 where she served for three years. She is currently on the advisory board of WIFT (Women in Film and Television) and on the advisory board of the Asia Society for their New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters. Jeroo Mulla is also an accomplished Bharatnatyam exponent who has trained under the renowned guru Acharya Parvatikumar,
Haleem Khan
International Dancer
Dancing is Haleem Khan’s passion. It is also a language that he speak best as an artist. To him all art is an attempt to create beautiful things. “To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim”, Haleem is impressed by these famous words, and constantly aims to realize that. With stage as a canvas, music giving form and rhythm, Classical Dance is an essay and outpouring of feelings – at once a performance but also as an art form comes very close to life.
Right from his childhood days, Classical dance form of Kuchipudi fascinated Haleem. Movies were his primary source of inspiration. Long before he fully comprehended the obstacles that had to be faced, Haleem had set his goals to pursue learning Kuchipudi. Obstacles were many cornered – personal, family, religious bias, financial and conservative milieu surrounding this classical art form. He was fortunate to have found his guru, Sri Kaza Venkata Subhramanyam garu, who spotted him and gave guidance to his passion.
Haleem has performed in more than 800 solo and group dance shows in India and abroad. Besides shows and performances, he has a vast experience in teaching dance, choreographing both conventional and fusion, conducting workshops for grips both private and corporate. Haleem enjoyed immense success on his recent road shows in the United States and Malaysia, and immensely enjoy travelling and continuous learning that comes from that.
More recently he was handpicked as an artist / speaker / performer by INK – to open and interact in their recent conference in Mumbai. A renowned film maker has produced a documentary on Haleem’s life – bringing out the diversity he has in him – passion for dance, religious background, and people in his life. This would be premiered at a film festival in Calcutta this month.
The passion, innovation and excellence of dance is ingrained in him. His innovation can be seen through many of his performances where he has intertwined poetry and music (both English and Urdu) with dance, or he has fused ballet with Kuchipudi. Haleem can effortlessly bring out the aggression of Lord Shiva as he does the Thandavam, or can take the audience inside a woman’s heart who is romancing her man through his Jaavali!
Natural as he is in preforming arts, Haleem has acted in films very successfully.
Haleem had been passionate in looking at a broad canvas. To look inside the psyche of this artist, and what drives him, is perhaps the innate desire to in many ways preserve this ancient dance form. Where dance cannot reach many due to the pressures of modern day life, constraints in access to resources; Haleem has produced a sophisticated Dance Instructional DVD. Haleem has taken upon himself the shades and nuances to hold on to and propagate the ancient tradition when female dancers did not take to stage, and female impersonation was popular; Haleem is amongst the few male dancers who can don the female role effortlessly leaving the audience mesmerized. The jig saw puzzle fits – Haleem’s passion as a male dancer to preserve and propagate this this centuries old dance.
Ambition has no end, and Haleem has been blessed by many gurus and very senior artists and veterans, that he will go a long way. The sky is the limit.
Aruna Reddy
Head – Entrepreneurship Centre at ISB
Aruna Reddy heads the Entrepreneurship Centre at ISB. She is responsible for developing, building and refining the ICE strategic plan to further the ISB vision and mission in the area of Entrepreneurship. She has over 17 years of entrepreneurial and professional experience with the Indian School of Business and Oracle Corporation, USA, and as a successful entrepreneur.
Archana Doshi
Founder – Archana’s Kitchen
Archana is the founder of Archana’s Kitchen which is among India’s top Recipe and Food websites with over 7.2 Million users a year and with lakhs of fan following over social media. The website publishes high quality curated recipes and video recipes and works with top bloggers around the country to curate the content. The curated recipes with menu meals, dinner ideas, lunch boxes and more along with videos, has inspired millions of people from around the world to start cooking, eating healthy and lead a fit lifestyle. Archana was the inspiration behind Google Chrome’s first TV Adin India and was also featured as the Google Entrepreneur on the Web.
Links to some of the videos that featured her work at Archana’s Kitchen.
Apart from this, She has also been on National Television at the Fit Foodie Channel cooking up with Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna and gets featured in a lot more media who continue to get inspired with the work Archana does.
Anu Acharya
CEO – Mapmygenome India
Ms. Anu Acharya is the CEO of Mapmygenome India, a Genomics company whose vision is “Better Health using technology”. In 2013, she introduced the concept of improved healthcare through personal genomics in India. Ever since, she has successfully pioneered the company through growing product lines, expanding affiliate network, and a Pre-Series A round of funding. She is a Co-Founder of Ocimum Biosolutions, which she led as the CEO (2000-March 2013). She is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and University of Illinois where she has two Post Graduate degrees in Physics and MIS.
Awards and honors include ET Start-up Women Ahead award 2015, member of Young Leaders Forum (British High Commission, 2013), Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum (WEF) 2011), Entrepreneur of the Year (Biospectrum, 2008), Astia Life Science Innovators Award (2008), and 25 Tech Titans under 35 (Red Herring, 2006).
Current Board positions include Global Agenda Council on Genetics for WEF (Vice Chair), NIBMG (Governing Board Member), ABLE (Board Member), Action for India (Advisory Board Member), IvyCap Ventures (Board of Mentors) and KIIT (Advisory Board Member). Past Board positions include Hyderabad chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization (Past President) and CSIR (Governing Board Member).
Ameera ShahMD - Metropolis Healthcare Ltd
Ankita VashisthaFounder & CEO - SAHA Fund
Ashish MalaniMediAceso Healthcare
Ansoo GuptaCOO - Pinstorm
Apurva PurohitPresident - Jagran Group
Ambi ParameswaranFounder Brand-Building.com
Chandni JafriCEO - Mumbai Angels Network
Chhavi RajawatSarpanch of Soda Village, Rajasthan
Dr. Indu ShahaniChair Academic Council, ISDI
Harjeet KhandujaVice President HR - Reliance Jio Infocomm
Harish SadaniCo Founder - MAVA
Jay KrishnanCEO T-Hub
Lubeina ShahpurwalaCo-Founder, Mustang Socks
Malini AgarwalFounder & Creative Director - Miss Malini Entertainment.
Naiyya SaggiCEO and Founder – BabyChakra
Paromita VohraFilmmaker & Founder, Agents of Ishq
Priya NaikCEO – Samhita Social Ventures
Rahul NarvekarFounder - The India Network
Revathi RoyCEO - Hey Deedee
Ritu Soni SrivastavaFounder - Obino, Health & Weight Loss Coach
Sasha MirchandaniFounder & MD - Kae Capital
Shruti MishraAnchor & Features Producer
Tara SharmaActress & Producer
Trisha ShettyFounder & CEO - SheSays
Upasana TakuCo-Founder & Director MobiKwik
Neha UpadhyayCEO and Founder Guna Organics
Priyanka GillFounder POPxo.com
Taru KapoorHead of Indian Operations at Tinder
Ishita AnandFounder BitGiving
Jaiveer Shergilllawyer - Supreme Court of India
Anand ChandrasekaranChief Product Officer @ Snapdeal
Suchi MukherjeeFounder & CEO LimeRoad.com
Priya SachdevFounder RockNShop.com
Ruchi AgarwalDirector Partner Strategy and Marketing, Microsoft
Radha KizhanattamPrincipal at Unitus Seed Fund
Naiyya SaggiCo-Founder BabyChakra
Priya MaheshwariCo-Founder & CEO - Properji
Lakshmi RebeccaBlogger & Filmmaker
Kalpana SarojChairperson Kamani Tubes
Swati BhargavaFounder CashKaro.com
Dilshad MasterDirector Mercury Himalayan Explorations Ltd.
Malini AgarwalFounder MissMalini.com
Debjani GhoshVP - SMG, MD - Intel South Asia
Kiran BediFirst Women IPS Officer
Dr. Renu KhannaGlobal Head-Leadership Development, Tech Mahindra
Vanita DatlaExecutive Director & CFO at Elico Ltd
Vasu PrimlaniInternational Standup Comedian, EMCEE & Comic
Uma RaniSenior Vice President SAP Labs India
Swati LakraAdditional Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad
Shweta SinghCo-Founder & Managing Partner – Sol Primero
Smita SabharwalIAS – Addl.Secretary to the Chief Minister of Telangana
Nishtha SatyamUnited Nations Women
Mamata VeguntaDirector – Human Resources at Invesco
Mary KomInternational Boxer
Lavanya AshokExecutive Director – Goldman Sachs & Co.
Lakshmi ManchuActor & Producer
Kavitha KalvakuntlaMember of Parliament
Jeroo MullaHead – Sophia Institute of Social Communications Media
Haleem KhanInternational Dancer
Aruna ReddyHead – Entrepreneurship Centre at ISB
Archana DoshiFounder – Archana’s Kitchen
Anu AcharyaCEO – Mapmygenome India
