- ALL
- Afghanistan
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- Brazil
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Batul Dadabhai
Owner Arabian Neon
Bahrain
Mrs. Batul is a prominent businesswomen and a known personality in Bahrain , board member of many private and semi private organizations and committees in Bahrain. She studied at Lahore University of Management Sciences
Jennifer Lu
Tianjiu Happiness Holding Group
China
Lu Xingyu, English name Jennifer Lu, female, born in 1987, with a constellation of Leo.Children?s Loving Sister Jennifer, Graduated from California State University, and advanced study in Harvard, Oxford, and MIT. She is the First Professional Philanthropist in China. She is now the Chairwoman of Jennifer Lu?s Charity Foundation, Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador of TOJOY Holding Group , Executive Chairwoman and Secretary General of China-Africa Project Hope , Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador of Global Confederation of Chambers of Commerce (GCCC).
At present, China-Africa Project Hope has constructed and donated 23 Hope primary schools, 23 libraries in five African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Namibia. She is the advocate of ?the Benevolent Second Generation? and ?Genuine Philanthropy? , and decided to devote her whole life to HumanItalian and Philanthropy Work. Her mission is to Make the World Happy Together.
She has friendly relationships with numerous heads of state, government leaders, and business leaders including former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, King of
Cambodia, Queen of Bahrain Kingdom, President of Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi, and Malawi, and Prime Minister of Rwanda, Mozambique, Thailand and Albania and so on. President of Coca-Cola, Microsoft Chairman, President of Ericsson etc. She is well known as the China?s youngest international Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador and Social Activist.
H.E. Monica Lanzetta Mutis
Ambassador of Colombia
Colombia
H.E. Monica Lanzetta Mutis is Ambassador of Colombia
Dr. Aliaa R. Rafea
Professor at Ain Shams University
Egypt
Professor Rafea founded the Human Foundation in 2011. She is a professor of Anthropology at Ain Shams University, Womens College. She makes use of anthropological perspectives for understanding issues related to religion, politics and culture. She wrote and edited books, that were published in India, Japan, Morocco, Canada, and USA. She worked as an expert for an Arab League Project that aimed at empowering Arab Youth. She is active in several Egyptian NGOs. She is a co-founder of the womens group at the Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research. Prof. Rafea wrote tens of opinion pieces in Egyptian Newspapers. In 2002 she was a visiting professor at Randolph-Macon Women College. She is a member in various academic societies. She joined the Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) in 2011, and traveled with them to different parts of the world, and joined the Spirit of Humanity Forum gathering in Iceland in April 2014.
Marie-Claude Machon
BPW International Permanent Representative to UNESCO
France
Marie-Claude Machon-Honore has a long-time experience in education and a doctorate in Anglophone studies. She researched “The role of education in the development of women in the Anglophone Caribbean in the 21st century” for her PhD (Sorbonne University, France). She is a graduate of the Caribbean Institute in Gender and Development Studies (UWI). She presented her research at the Commonwealth Institute and the University of Paris-Diderot and reviewed a book on Caribbean women in politics for the Round Table Journal. She has been the permanent representative for BPW International to UNESCO since 2012 and contributed to the first international UNESCO NGO-Liaison Committee forum on Education in September 2013 and NGOs Literacy Day in September 2014; she co-organized the 4th forum on the role of women in fighting poverty in June 2015; she was a panellist at COP 21 in December 2015 on behalf of the group of NGOs in partnership with UNESCO and for BPWI and Women for Water Partnership. She is the co-leader of the current follow-up to the 4th forum on women in fighting poverty.
Catherine Cullen
Deputy Mayor for Culture for the City of Lille
France
Catherine Cullen was Deputy Mayor for Culture for the City of Lille, France, from 2001 to 2014. In 2008, she also became councillor in charge of Culture for the Metropole Europeenne de Lille (MEL). For over ten years she was a board member of the Culture Committee of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), its President for three years (2012-2015), and she is presently its Special Advisor on Culture in Sustainable Cities. She is also an independent international consultant in culture and sustainable development, a subject she teaches at the Political Science Institute of Lille.
Emilie Schmitt
Co-fondatrice chez Activ Action
France
Marie-Noelle Besancon
President of guests
France
Psychiatrist:
Liberal -Exercise for 20 years in Besan?on (France). Assistant doctor at the day hospital of Velotte, pilot founded by Dr. Paul-Claude Racamier at Besan?on, on psychoanalytic principles, from 1993 to 1998.
Social Entrepreneur:
-Fondatrice Association Guests at The Feast in 1990, an alternative innovative experience of citizen psychiatry in Besancon, France manages two living areas, a day care, a group of mutual aid (GEM), a service accompanying social and medico international development network: IAF network (15 ongoing projects).
She lived there with her husband and resident for 10 years, and it always ensures that ?living with? a weekend in two.
-Fellow Ashoka since 2006 and winner ?France is committed? since 2015.
-The IAF are the source also of the Regional Association of citizen psychiatry (CPRA), in September 2012.
-Publications Three books on citizen psychiatry Editions de l?Atelier Paris.
Haddy Badjie
Gambia
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 1975 -Teacher, Kinteh Kunda Primary School North Bank Division, The Gambia Duties: Responsible for curriculum of standard IV. 1976-1977 -Accounts Clerk, Chellbeck & Company, Ltd. Banjul, The Gambia -Duties: Issued motor-vehicle spare parts, recorded receipts, opened job cards, controlled cardexes, handled billing. 1978 -Accounts Clerk, Gambia Ports Authority Banjul, The Gambia Duties: Responsible for bookkeeping pertaining to service Charges, salaries and purchase of equipment and Supplies Conducted inventory, prepared reports. 1978-1987 -Asst. Chief Cashier, Gambia Commercial & Development Bank, Banjul, The Gambia Duties: Processed foreign-exchange requests for 2 years, handled commercial transactions for 3 years, and for 4 years, verified and issued civil-servant salaries, processed Public transactions, recorded receipts and posted journal Entries. BUSINESS ENTERPRISE: 1992 -CEO/Proprietor Badjie Basseng Enterprises specialist in Design and fashion, General Goods supplies 1992-2016 -Import/export of fashion goods with links in Dubai, India, USA, China 2013-2016 -Import of motor spares, furniture, electronics 2016 -Committee President, Association of Spouses of African Heads of Missions (ASAHOM)
Marilyn Heib
CEO of Bettervest GmbH
Germany
Marilyn Heib is a graduated mechanical engineer with specialization in renewable energies and energy efficiency. End of 2012 she founded together with additional three colleagues the crowdfunding platform bettervest, which enables german citizens the financing of projects in the field of climate saving, sustainability and social development. So far the platform financed 36 projects worldwide in a total sum of ca. 3 Mio. She is CEO of bettervest. Additionally Marilyn is founder and president of the non-profit association Go For Climate e.V., which is active in the field of social justice and environmental protection (mainly creates climate saving jobs for the scavengers on the landfill in Olongapo or Philippines).
Chitra Jha
Holistic Health Coach
India
Chitra Jha is a Holistic Healing Coach, who has authored four books.
1) Achieve your highest potential: Be the best you can be
2) The art and science of meditation
3) Stress-O-Paedia: A detailed guide to a stress-free life
4) The art of Conscious Parenting
Currently she is writing two books ? simultaneously;
a) Marriage: A spiritual Partnership
b) Memoirs of an Army General?s wife
Chitra has been grounded in Allopathic, Homeopathic, and Ayurveda principles. She has also mastered the art of Reiki, past life regression, inner child work, re-birthing breath work, emotional freedom technique, family constellation, trans-generational healing, and non-violent communication.
Wanitha Ashok
Fitness Expert
India
Wanitha Ashok, Bangalore?s Fitness Queen and Youth Icon is a Certified Fitness Expert and a Global Fitfluencial Ambassador. Fitness course trainer .She has introduced many novel fitness regimes in the country.
? She is a Motivational speaker for fitness and Environment
? Media presenter for Fitness content on television, radio and print.
? She does daily fitness shows on Fever 104 called Wanitha Mantra
? Writes a fitness column for ?Udayavani ?every Wednesday
? Soon a show called ? Weekend with Wanitha ? will be aired on BN channel.
? She also gives fitness quotes for various publications and magazines pan India.
? Apart from that she is a Recycled craft designer ,Socio- Environment activist and a socialite
? She has also released a easy to follow Home workout DVD.
? She has authored a bilingual Fitness Book called ? You have an excuse I have an exercise?
? She was Mrs. India finalist 2009.
? A Vigilante who supports various causes.
? She is a Recipient of many national and International Award for community services. Her very recent being, ?The Mahilla Rattan? for her outstanding contribution in various fields towards society. And ALL ladies league award for ? leading iconic women in holistic health ? Her favorite saying by ?Make your trip to planet Earth a memorable one ? and lives by it .
Naina Lal Kidwai
Chairman, Max Financial Services
India
Naina Lal Kidwai is Chairman, Max Financial Services and Senior Advisor, Advent Private Equity. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Nestle SA and CIPLA Ltd and has been Past President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry). She retired on December 2015 as Executive Director from the board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman HSBC India. She is Chairman of the Harvard Business School, South Asia Board. An MBA from Harvard Business School, she makes a regular appearance on listings by Fortune since 2002 and others of international women in business. She has received many awards and honours in India and was awarded the Padma Shri, for her contribution to Trade & Industry, from the Government of India in 2007. She has edited two books ?Contemporary Banking in India? and ?30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories?. Her interest in water and the environment and empowerment of women are reflected in her board positions of not-for-profit institutions like Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, The Energy Resources Institute, International Advisory Council of the Inquiry of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Commissioner for the Global Commission on Economy & Climate, Chair of FICCI?s Water Mission and FICCI?s Inclusive Governance Council and Chair of the India Sanitation Coalition. She is one of India?s representatives on the BRICS Business Council and India Malaysia CEO Forum, and is on the Governing Boards of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and ICRIER and also a member of Rajasthan Chief Minister?s Advisory Council. She has been a member of the Government of India?s Industry Task Force, the Prime Minister?s Trade and Industry Council, the National Manufacturing Council, the National Trade Council, and on the Working Group on Banking, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and the National Institute of Bank Management
Mira Kulkarni
Mountain Valley Springs India Pvt. Ltd.
India
Mira Kulkarni graduated in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai. With interests varying from painting in watercolours, journalism, organic plants and herbal culture, she has been exposed to the Ayurvedic way to life early in life having a home in the Tehri Garhwal region of Uttaranchal which is the Ayurvedic hub in India.
She used her knowledge of Ayurveda and natural products to source local herbs, oils and medicinal roots from the Tehri Garhwal region for many years which were then made in Ashrams according to ancient Ayurvedic formulations. She had realized a gap in the market for user-friendly Ayurvedic products as against the traditional Ayurvedic products available, which were too strongly scented and though effective, not very pleasant to use.
Mrs. Kulkarni worked for many years with Vaids and modern Biochemists to produce a range of products, which while keeping the inherent properties of Ayurveda intact, are wonderfully scented and pleasurable to use. The products range from handmade soaps made with pure essential oils and natural spring water to sensual body oils which are not only delightful to use, but actually work to firm and tone the body, to many high performance facial care products based on traditional Ayurvedic recipes.
In 2008, Forest Essentials formed a strategic alliance with Estee Lauder Companies where the latter acquired a minority stake in the brand Forest Essentials. This formed a relationship of great significance in the India beauty market, being the first Indian company to have interest from a global beauty conglomerate of that size and pedigree.
As a successful entrepreneur and leader, Mrs. Kulkarni has been repeatedly honoured with prestigious awards and commendations including, Fortune India?s ?Most powerful women in business? for consecutive years since 2011 ? 2016.
About The Brand
Forest Essentials is an Authentic traditional, Luxury Ayurvedic skin care Brand with its foundations in the ancient science of Ayurveda. A pioneer in the Luxury Ayurvedic segment, today it has become the quintessential Indian Beauty Brand where secrets of ancient Ayurveda have been brought to life through pain-staking research and made available to modern day customers.
It is the only Indian brand which is involved in the conception, formulation, manufacturing, bottling and sale of the products in its own Company owned stores.
Forest Essentials is also the leading supplier to the majority of the Luxury hotel chains in India including the iconic Taj Group of Hotels and The Oberoi Hotels. Today, since its inception in the year 2001, Forest Essentials retails from 44 Company owned retail stores across the country.
Shallu Jindal
President of Openspace Jindal Foundation
India
Shallu Jindal is a New Delhi based multitalented, charismatic and accomplished personality of subtle substance and sophisticated style. She believes and excels in meaningful and wide ranging, ?direct to the deserving? social, charitable and welfare activity and is a philanthropist in her own right. This doe-eyed and slender beauty appreciates art, promotes culture and has worked relentlessly towards becoming arguably, one of the leading exponents of the great Indian classical dance of Kuchipudi.
Priya Hingorani
Lawyer at Hingorani n Associates
India
Priya Hingorani was born on March 27, 1967 in New Delhi to lawyer parents, Late Mrs. Kapila Hingorani, Barrister, and Mr. N.H. Hingorani, Senior Advocate.
She completed her schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi. Thereafter, she graduated in B.A. English (Hons.) from I.P. College for Women, University of Delhi and completed her Bachelors in Law (LL.B.) from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.Has always been a keen sportsperson and has represented the Delhi State as well as the University of Delhi in Basketball. Her other interests include music, theatre and travelling.
Has been in active law practice since the year 1990 when she was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi. Her primary practice has been in the Supreme Court of India, and has also appeared in the High Courts of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Punjab & Haryana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir as also Tribunals and subordinate Courts. Has handled matters pertaining to diverse fields of law, including taxation, customs and excise, insurance, family and matrimonial law, commercial law, labour and service law, human rights and constitutional law. A list of some of the reported judgments of the Supreme Court of India is annexed hereto. Has worked with Dr. Debi Prasad Pal, Senior Advocate, and former Minister of State for Finance. Assisted Dr. Pal on important matters relating to taxation (direct and indirect), customs and excise before the Hon?ble Supreme Court and various High Courts in India.
Rita Vyas Nagarkar
Author, Trainer, Consultant & Entrepreneur
India
Sonal Kalra
National Editor, Hindustan Times
India
Sonal Kalra is an Indian journalist and National Editor ? Entertainment & Lifestyle at the Hindustan Times, India?s second largest national English daily, whose Delhi edition alone has a circulation of over 1 million ? the largest in India and among the largest in the world. She heads Entertainment, Art and Lifestyle for the publication?s popular daily supplement HT City, nationally. She also writes a popular weekly column A Calmer You in HT City, focusing on simple calmness techniques to counter day to day stress in modern day urban life. A professional features-writer and journalist since 1996, Kalra has previously edited a tech magazine and contributed to lifestyle publications on decor, health, wellness, fashion, food, beauty fitness and travel. She has co-authored a book E-Government Toolkit for Developing Countries published by the United Nations. Also co-authored a paper India.gov.in: India?s answer to single entry portals presented and published at the International Conference on Digital Government Research 2008, Montreal, Canada. Kalra is a gold medallist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and recipient of the Public Relations Society of India award, Best Content award for National Portal by Government of India and the Manthan Award for exemplary content practices.
Shereen Bhan
CNBC TV 18 ,India
India
Shereen Bhan has an experience of 15 years, 14 of which were spent in tracking corporate, policy news and events that defined the business landscape in India. She began her career working as a news-researcher for Karan Thapar in his production house Infotainment Television. She joined UTV?s News and Current Affairs division and produced shows like We the People for Star TV and Line of Fire for SAB TV. She joinedCNBC-TV18 in December 2000. She has been responsible for breaking a range of news stories that have redefined the Indian economic landscape in recent times and has also interviewed some of the biggest names in business and politics, both domestic and global. Shereen is also the Anchor & Editor of Young Turks, one of India?s longest running shows on entrepreneurs ? a section that over the last 13 years has successfully built a niche category in business news programming. She hosts Overdrive[ which won the News Television Award for the ?Best Auto Show? for three consecutive years. She heads the channel?s special feature programming that carries several pioneering shows such as Ministers of Change and What Women Want. Over the course of her 14-year tryst with business journalism, Shereen has been the recipient of the ?Best Business Talk Show? award at the News Television awards for two years consecutively. She also won the ?FICCI Woman of the Year? award for her contribution to the Media in 2005, and was named a ?Young Global Leader? by the World Economic Forum. She won the ?Best Business Anchor Award? at the ?News Television Awards? in 2013.
Bhan anchors and produces several shows like Young Turks, India Business Hour, The Nation?s Business and Power Turks. She also anchors and puts together CNBC-TV18?s ground events like the Managing India brainstorm and the CNBC Industry Vectors.
Anisha Singh
Founder & CEO mydala.com
India
Anisha Singh is a noted entrepreneur, leading one of India?s largest marketing platforms for local services. She is also an international speaker on entrepreneurship and passionate about women?s rights and issues at the workplace. Anisha Singh is the Founder and CEO of mydala.com. The company started under her leadership in 2009 and since then mydala has grown to become India?s largest local services marketing platform. Anisha began her career with the Clinton administration in Capitol Hill, helping women entrepreneurs raise funding for innovative women-led businesses. She then joined Centra Software in Boston where she facilitated the setting up of e-learning ecosystems for Fortune 500 companies. After returning to India, she launched Kinis Software Solutions, which provides digital solutions for real estate companies in the US. mydala is her second company and has worked with more than 130,000 merchants and 38 million registered users across 209 cities. mydala leads the market with 200,000 transactions per day and 85% of the traffic comes from mobile channels. She won the Zee TV Outstanding Young Entrepreneur 2016 and the e-INC / eTales Awards for e-Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year 2016. She is a noted expert on entrepreneurship, women equality at the workplace and e-commerce, having spoken at international conferences like the Mobile World Congress, Wired, Tedx, the Boao Forum, SeedStars Summit and Start-up India. Anisha sits on the advisory council for the Kogod School of Business, American University, of which she is also an alumna. She is on the jury of the Cartier Women Initiative Awards and Station F, a business incubator for start-ups. She is also a judge on the start-up reality show called Dropout Pvt Ltd. on MTV. Her focus now is towards building a future where women?s success stories are accepted as the norm and not the exception. An active mentor and angel investor, she is currently planning operation Recast, an event that will provide a platform for shortlisted female entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to angel and venture capitalists. Anisha holds a Master?s degree in political communication and MBA in Information Systems from American University, Washington DC.
Niurati Rai
India
Pallavi Gupta
Co-Founder of Mast Kalandar
India
Retail industry professional with rich experience of consumer side Retail processes and systems. Worked extensively with top 5 International Retailers as a consultant for their merchandising and supply chain systems.
Currently persuing a new concept in Fresh Food Retailing ? Quick Service Chain of Restaurants as an entrepreneur.
Faith Gonsalves
Founder of Idea, India
India
Faith Gonsalves is the Executive Director for Integrated Development Education Association (IDEA), and is the founder of the project ?Music Basti?. Set up in 2008, Music Basti connects at-risk children, youth and artists, with the aim to inspire growth and a sense of community through a creative and joyful music learning experience. Faith works with the conceptualisation, planning and program management of arts and media projects for social development.
Shubha Sekhar
Heading W orkplace Supply Chain compliance for Eurasia,Coca-Cola
India
Shubha Sekhar is the new Director – CSR & Sustainability for India and South West India BU. She is responsible for leading the implementation of the Sustainability framework for Coca-Cola South Asia to enable and achieve Sustainability 2020 goals. In her most recent role as Human & Workplace Rights Director for Eurasia and North Africa, Shubha was part of the global team responsible for implementing Coca-Cola’s Human and Workplace Rights policies for the Company, bottling partners and key supplier partners across Eurasia, Africa and Asia. Some of her key achievements include laying the foundation of human rights and responsible sourcing programs in these areas for Coca-Cola in this region, setting up India CEO’s Forum on Business & Human Rights, building land rights capability for our bottling partners, setting up AIM PROGRESS India Regional Forum, and initiating India country sugar studies. Shubha has over 20 years of international and cross-functional experience in Indian Government, Law, HR, Human Rights and Supply Chain. She joined Coca-Cola in 2004 and worked in Legal and HR functions before moving to a Corporate role in Global Workplace Rights. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, she has worked with the Supreme Court of India, Indian Government and Norton Rose. Shubha holds a Masters in Law (LLM) from Delhi University and is a Solicitor England & Wales. She also has degrees in Human Resource Management and Commerce.
Preetha Reddy
Chairperson at Apollo Hospital
India
Preetha Reddy, managing director of one of the largest healthcare conglomerates of India, Apollo Hospitals , is one of the pioneer businesswomen of India in the industrial segment of healthcare.In September 2012, she was elected to the board as independent director of medical technology company Medtronic.
Supriya Sule
India
Mairead Healy
CEO, Future Voices
Ireland
Founder of Future Voices, an innovative award winning Irish youth human rights organisation, empowering the most at-risk young people in Ireland to transform their lives. Background in law, human rights, policy/research and youth empowerment. Experience working in the public sector for the European Commission, experience working in political policy working for a senior British politician and also working for NGOs in the social justice and public interest law sector, including representing Irish Travellers and Gypsies. Aside from legal/advocacy background, have been involved in policy development- authored high level reports and have appeared before the UN and EU bodies, including drafting a National country report with the London School of Economics which was commissioned for the European Commission and authoring the first ever report on Irish Travellers/Gypsies in the UK to the UN Committee on Race Discrimination, in which my recommendations were adopted by the UN. Board member of various organisations. Recent accolades include: -Newstalk/WMB Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2015, -Ray Murphy CEO Award for leadership 2015. -Listed in Tatlers Most influential women in the media 2015, -Licensee of TEDx conference and awarded a TED scholarship to attend TED Global conference in Geneva in 2015. -Appointed an Ashoka Fellow in 2014 -Social Entrepreneur Ireland Awardee 2014, -Featured in Image Magazine Irish Women Game Changers 2014 -Finalist Image magazine Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014 -Awardee for Bank of Ireland Social Enterprise Award 2014 Media contributor on inequality, youth and marginalized groups. Have appeared on many national shows including Prime Time, Morning Ireland, George Hook, Matt Cooper, RTE Drivetime etc. Regularly write columns for publications including The Irish Times and Journal.ie on issues of inequality, youth and diversity.
Anat Bernstein-Reich
Israel-India Chamber of Commerce
Israel
A business development specialist for Emerging Markets. Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Israeli office of A&G Partners, an investment banking and advisory firm operating on the axis of Israel, India and Sri Lanka. Serves as the executive producer of ?The Bharati Show, the wonder that is India?, a mega-show with 70 artists from India on stage, performing since 2005. A frequent speaker about doing business in India. The Chairperson of the Israel-India, Sri Lanka and Nepal Chamber of Commerce. President of TiE Israel chapter. Representative of WIL Group for interim management in Israel.
Netta Ness
Owner, The Chance Management Company
Israel
Netta Ness is an entrepreneur, speaker, and sought after expert in Chance Management? for leaders, startups, and corporations.
Netta developed the Chance Management process for capitalizing on chance following her work as Vice President for a Hedge firm in the risk management industry. She holds a portfolio of clients with a demonstrated record in turning their respected potential, trends, and patterns into innovative strategies for optimizing performance.
Along her Chance Management practice, Netta serves as the Senior Vice President of Novatrans Group where she works collaboratively with strategic partners, industry experts and the global investment community on Terahertz business initiatives.
Netta is a columnist for Epoch Times Magazine where she features Chance Stories. She is a licensed mediator, the co-founder of several startups, and as part of her social activities supports the Shanti House ? a home for youth in risk.
Netta holds a B.S. in political science, public communications and journalism from Bar Ilan University in Israel, and a Master?s degree in Global Marketing, Communications and Advertising from Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts.
She resides in Tel Aviv, Israel with her husband and children.
Emanuela Donetti
Co-Founder and Scientific Director of Urbano Creativo srl
Italy
Co-Founder and Scientific Director of Urbano Creativo srl, the system integrator of innovation in the Smart City.Professor of Innovation and Geopolitics at the Geneva University of Applied Research HEPIA in the fields of Smart Building, she is scientific coordinator of Connected City Council. Her research and teaching are focused on innovation, smart&green city and tools to improve social communication. Her research appears amongst other in DataManager and Agorá – Codice Edizioni. Responsible of the All – All Ladies League Rome Chapter. She coordinates several groups focused on the future of towns.on innovation and mobility. Specialties: Innovation management, Smart City Technologies, Urban Planning, Mobility Management, Town Marketing, Town Brand Strategies.
Reiko Abe
President of ORIENTAL Consultants Part of ACKG ltd
Japan
I have been involved in various overseas projects, starting from Norway Undersea Tunnel Project, Taiwan Shinkansen (bullet train) project, Qatar National Master Plan Study, Delhi Metro India and Bangalore Metro Projects, Kiev Metro Projects Ukraine and many others, currently working for Jakarta Metro, Indonesia.
Especially from 2007 I was involved in large-scale yen loan projects in India as an expert in charge of quality control of underground construction. In India, there are many problems that are unimaginable to happen in Japan. This is exactly why we can show our strength as consultants. Although it is important to complete the project by making full use of technology, it is also our task to convey the importance of not only the technology but also the maintenance and management. In addition, although India is rather acquisitive in learning new technology, many places are unconcerned about the safety management and environmental improvement. Japan is a world-class country for safety and environmental management; we are also responsible for the important task to continue to teach it.
Furthermore, I was appointed to be the President of OC Global India?s office since October 1st, 2014. Isn?t it a rare opportunity for a woman to be the president in this field? In our company, even though there is no precedent, if a person is considered qualified, there is the chance to press forward. I have used this chance to let myself grow.
In India, there are many large-scale projects of roads and energy-related such as railway. Indian Subsidiaries are planning to hire more than 100 local engineers for Dedicated Freight Corridor Project and I am in charge of leading this organization. Moreover, we shall also strive in getting new projects and exploring new fields. Here in India, difficulties and challenges are back-to-back. I am looking for fellow challengers whom are interested in this large market, India.
Dr. Shiekha Hissah Saad
Princess of Kuwait
Kuwait
Sheikha Hissah is the second daughter of the late HH 14th Amir of Kuwait Shiekh Saad Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. Upon her graduation from AUB Lebanon she started her retail company in Fashion to be the first lady in business in Kuwait from then on she went on to get her Masters in hospital administration & worked at the military hospital as head of Medical Services. In 1992 she started her own gallery to promote Arab artists & in 1999 established the Council for Arab Businesswomen to promote Arab women in business. She has succeeded as president for the last 15 years to bring Arab women from 19 countries in a full force of economic power. She has received a doctorate in Humane Letters.
Antonieta Beguerisse
Founder of Beguerisse Consultores
Mexico
Tone Beguerisse, is a social relation consultant, and the founder of Beguerisse Consultores, SC a noted business expert in the field of social management in Mexico and in the USMexico trans-border region. She works to bring together private and government sectors to identify chronic social issues, to promote social cohesion, teaches conflict resolutions, family communication skills, planning and leadership.
Nezha Alaoui
Founder, Mayshad Woman Lifestyle Concept
Morocco
Nezha Alaoui is an Entrepreneur who lives and thinks as an Artist.
She places PHOTOGRAPHY in the center of her expression, but also explores creative sectors such as fashion and design. Her travels and international life experiences are the essential components which have influenced the course of her life.
As a producer and photographer, she carried out missions on the behalf of the World Food Program, (the United Nations), in Haiti, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Mauritania. In 2011
In love with the desert and its inhabitants, Nezha Alaoui dedicates the essence of her time to the Moroccan Sahara.
From this passion rises several works:
?Moroccan Sahara, ground of inspiration?,
Published in France with the famous publisher ?Editions du Cherche Midi?. 2013
?Women, Secrets of the Moroccan Sahara?, that she carries out as a publisher,
with the texts of Emmanuel Dierckx de Casterl?. 2015
(Writer and former ambassador of UN in Morocco).
In 2015, she has launched the MAYSHAD WOMAN LIFEStYLE CONCEPT.
Tanya Chernova
Best selling author
Netherlands
Tanya Chernova is an accomplished, inspiring and passionate professional speaker and coach who has presented before audiences in over 30 countries. On December 4th 2013, Tanya was awarded Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada as a trendsetter and trailblazer for her proven track record for transforming companies and people with the mindset, skill set and systems to succeed. Click here to see Top 100 Business savvy, analytical and street smart, she understands how to help people be their best and what it takes to make business work. Her engaging and insightful breakthrough presentations are in the area of Business Growth, Emotional Intelligence and Empowerment. Over 30 topics that include: Embracing Change, Communicating with Diplomacy, Leading with E.I., Power Speaking, Resilience under Pressure and Vision for Success are timely, pertinent ? and known for having a direct impact on bottom line results. Tanya combines her honors degree in business and psychology with her experience as an entrepreneur and industry executive. Her amazing career began in 1989, when she worked as a skin specialist and manager of a leading clinic in Winnipeg. In 1995, she joined a top Canadian skin care distributor as account representative and national educator, she hired and trained staff, secured new clients, established product lines and drove sales 316% above target. In 1999, she moved to France to join an international manufacturer and distributor of seaweed cosmetics and spent four years overseeing a worldwide distribution network. As an international educator, Tanya wrote 3 books advancing the aesthetics industry in the areas of stress recovery, immune system and lifestyle therapy. She also created a winning formula to turn sales teams into consultative business representatives and transformed the relationship between distributors and salons to be partners in profit. She was acclaimed as one of the top 10 speakers in Europe. Upon her return to North America Tanya founded Time Reverse Inc, a manufacturer and distributor of a non-surgical facelift and anti-aging cosmetics. She formulated a winning product line and branding strategy to bring in over $1 million in sales in the first year. While in this role, she was a live presenter on more than 50 prime-time sell-out shows on shopping channels in the US, Canada, Australia, UK and Russia. Currently Tanya is a professional speaker, NLP strategic business coach and co-founder of Courageous Living; a company committed to providing experiential education, tools and resources for a life of unyielding passion, purpose and boundless creativity. She is a regular contributor to magazines and sought after guest on radio and television. More than a dynamic leader, top producing sales executive and highly successful product innovator, Tanya is a master at emotional intelligence, communication and vitality. She is a people motivator with a reputation for consistently delivering cutting edge principles in down-to-earth content with a sense of urgency and ? most important ? a focus on bottom line results. You?ll love her warm and engaging style. And you?ll get excited about the lessons she shares ? valuable lessons everyone can easily apply and quickly benefit from.
Parmjeet Parmar
Member of Parliament from the ruling party at WEF
New Zealand
Kushmiita Parmjeet Kaur Parmar is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. She hails from the village Nodalon in Punjab, India.
Jo Pennycuick
Managing Director Redesign Group
New Zealand
Jo founded Redesign in 1998. Starting as a freelance operator, Jo has built the company into a leading design practice with work in many regions around the world. Jo is committed to each client with a personal drive for fulfilling every requirement on every project. Known for her professionalism, creativity and strong management style this combination has made both Jo and Redesign a success.
Jo works with the Indian team to assist with business development and design work for new and existing clients. Jo travels to India frequently to reinforce the commitment to the clients.
Annu Sharma
CEO and Founder- I am Woman
New Zealand
Annu Sharma is a writer, motivational speaker and social worker, founder and CEO of I Am Woman. She is passionate about helping everyday women become the best versions of themselves. She has worked in the Criminal Justice system in New Zealand for just under a decade, working in the areas of domestic and sexual violence; including other offences. She specialises in crimes involving children, youth and women. She is a trainer in the field of safety within the community. Annu has been practicing, studying and delivering workshops and trainings on life philosophy, inspiring people to live lives to their fullest potential for the past 25 years.
Shukoor Ghammari
Oman
Worked at Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Diplomat from 1975 to 1981 in the department of conferences & organization. I was one of the first three women to be selected.
a. During this tenure I attended the first International Womens Conference in Mexico City in the year 1975.
b. I had the honor of representing Oman in Red Cross & Crescent international Organization in the year 1978 in Bucharest.
1. Was elected as one of the first two women in the entire Gulf Region in ASHURA Council representing the Capital Area from the year 1995 till 2000.
a. Represented Oman inBeijing 3rdInternational world women conference in 1995.
b. Official Visit to America and Japan to discuss various issues relating to Politics, Social Issues etc.
2. Was appointed in State Council by Royal Decree from the year 2000 til1 2012 for three consecutive terms.
a. Was part of Oman Delegation to Europe, Austria & Russia discussing various topics ranging from Womens role in Omna, Political issues etc.
3. Presently I am a chairperson at the Al Manar Institute for Training.
4. I am a Director in private company SADEN LLC dealing in Interiors and Furnishings.
SOCIAL WORK
1. Started social work as becoming a member to Omani Women Association from 1975. Then in the year I was Deputy Chairperson from the year 1985. Later in the year 1995, 2008 & 2010 I was elected the Chairperson.
2. I was a member of board in association for Handicapped Children.
3. I was a member of National Committee for the disabled.
4. I am a Board Member in the Head Committee for the disabled for GCC countries
5. I was a member in committee of Issuing the Children Rights laws.
6. I founded an association for early intervention for the Handicapped children. Initially I was a deputy chairperson & later became the Chairperson of this association.
7. I was also one of the founder member of the association of Anti Drugs called AL HAYA
Received the Award for Social work in Oman from the ministry of Social Affairs.
Received an Award in Kuwait for the Arab woman of the Decade in 2007.
I have been Awarded from GCC countries in Doha as a pioneer in Social work in the Region in 2014.
I have been awarded from Arab League in Cairo as a pioneer in Social and Diplomatic affairs in 1996.
Mehr Tarar
Journalist
Pakistan
Mehr Tarar, the woman whose name is at the heart of the Tharoor storm, is a Pakistani journalist.
A graduate of West Virginia University, the 45-year-old Lahore-based journalist is mother of a 13 year old boy. She is reported to be separated from her husband, a rich businessman based out of Bahrain. She used to work with a Pakistani daily, but quit recently. It?s reported that she now works with the group?s business channel. Another Lahore-based journo, who has worked with Mehr, describes her as ?competitive?.
Did she know Shashi Tharoor? Well, in an interview to an Indian media publication, she said, ?I met him in April last year for an interview in India. Then I met him in June in Dubai at a social gathering. Yes, I have been in touch with him once in a while on Twitter and email.?
Tarar had come to New Delhi in December last year to interview Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. He told Hindustan Times that he agreed to the interview because there was a request from Tharoor?s office. However, on her December visit, she didn?t get to meet Tharoor who was in his constituency in Kerala.
Mehr has also told a publication that she kept in touch with the minister because she wanted to write a book on Kerala. ?I used to send him my articles and he used to send me his comments, etc. But that was all,? she said.
Another Indian media website reports that in her Pakistan newspaper column, My Corner, dated October 20, 2013, she wrote: ?Whether they read my tweets or not is immaterial to the secret glee that at any given time I can gush over Amitabh Bachchan?s latest movie, swoon over Channing Tatum?s eyes, eulogise Nicholas Kristof?s wisdom, retweet Imran Khan?s wishes for Pakistan, smile reading Ronan Farrow?s inimitable wry humour (his movie star looks are just an added bonus), be moved by Christiane Amanpour?s heartfelt words on Syrian refugees, awww at SRK?s love for life, or praise Shashi Tharoor for his very cool words (man, his voice is mesmerizing!).?
Interestingly, in the same column, she also hinted at the presence of a ?special person? in her life without naming him: ??here?s to that special one (you know who you are!) who makes Twitter an experience to cherish?forever. Thank you?,? reports the website.
Tarar was quite upset with the whole Twitter face-off, but what hurt her most was Pushkar calling her an ?ISI agent?. On Thursday, Mehr told Hindustan Times, ?Please tell Sunanda she can call me anything but not an ISI agent. My son is very upset.?
Maria L. Navarro
Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation
Panama
Mrs. Navarro studied International Affairs, Economics and Latin American Studies at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. In March 2015 she was appointed Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation. Since July 2014 she had served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to her position in the Government of the Republic of Panama, she served as Executive Director of Swiss ARIFA Trust Company. In this company, Navarro focused on trust and corporate services, family consulting and estate planning. She had previously worked in investment and private banking. Navarro is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and the Central American Leadership Initiative. She is married, with three children.
Raisa Gisela Banfield Rengifo
Vice Mayor of the District of Panama
Panama
Raisa Banfield was recently elected as Vice Mayor of Panama. Formerly, she was director of the Environmental Advocacy Center. She offers conferences on civil participation, conservation, and development in order to provide information access to communities. She has created workshops and expert exchanges on urban and environmental topics as well as published diverse opinion articles in various news organs. In 2007, she won a scholarship from the US government to train in topics related to urbanism and the environment. Recently, she was invited by the Environmental Leadership Training Initiative, a program of the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research and the Yale University School of Forestry to take part in the conference ?Financing for the Conservation of Nature in the Americas.? She is a Fellow of the fourth class of the Central America Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Valenice Balance
CEO Peekawoo, Philippines
Philippines
Peekawoo founder and CEO Valenice Balace says Peekawoo was born out of her want to create an app that would have less competition in the Philippines. She was single during that time, She admits to trying some of the dating apps out there and wanted a more friendly version. She says:
Some of us will not admit to trying dating sites, I myself have tried some and I have to admit I felt a little bit desperate while trying it because it was either you upload a photo and guys go through every girl like a catalogue or, like one of the apps I tried, which had location-based service. Within minutes someone wanted to go to my house.
We are a fully-operated female team and has a more wholesome and friendly approach to dating.We?re working on an aim for actual legit first dates and not hook ups nor marriage. Our main goal is to create an environment where people can meet online, go on first dates and not feel desperate or cheap. It?s just really about expanding your network, meeting people and enjoying your 20s.
Tatyana Zrelova
The Committee of 20.
Russia
Director General, Joint Venture ?Dialogue? (a holding company including more than 30 branches of different types of businesses: computer technologies and IT, electronics and office equipment, real estate and construction, manufacturing and transportation, import and trading, distribution and retailing, financial services and others).
Website: https://kom20.ru/68.html
Elaine Tan
Village Cheif at Urban Kampong
Singapore
Elaine has built her career through years in large, global media, branding and broadcasting companies. Her focus through much of her career has been in the women and children space having led in global FMCG brands and children categories like, Hong Kong Disneyland and Nickelodeon Television Networks. As the head of the Nickdelodeon brand in Asia, she was responsible for the development of childrent’s content, distrbution, licensing, and digital developments. She has worked and lived in markets like China, US, Canada, Hong Kong, South America and Singapore, and continues to focus on women and children initiative through her company, Urban Kampong.
Debra Langley
Fashion Retail Consultant
Singapore
Debra Langley is an experienced international brand builder and strategist who provides consulting services to fashion, retail and related technology brands. She is also a partner with Full Circle Partners, an investment and advisory firm that supports high growth companies with funding, advice, and specialist services; and an advisor to Start Today Ventures, a specialized fund based in Asia that focuses on companies that are reinventing the business of fashion. Debra was previously the founder and CEO of Inverted Edge, an integrated fashion retail platform; and before that, President, DKNY JEANS International; President, Asia-Pacific for Borderlinx, a global ecommerce enabler; and executive director at Blackrun Ventures, a global investment company. Debra has also worked in development roles in New York and Hong Kong for The Economist Group, and the international division of Hearst Magazines. She is based in Singapore.
Savannah Maziya
CEO at Bunengi Group,South Africa
South Africa
Savannah is the Chairman and CEO of The Bunengi Group, a company that operates in Infrastructure, Mining and Agriculture and is fully owned and operated by women. Savannah has served on various boards including the largest regulator boards in construction, water, finance, food and drug administration in Africa. She chairs the Bunengi Board and is director and shareholder of the largest construction company in Africa. Savannah holds a degree in Finance and Broadcast Science from Bridgewater University in Massachusetts in the USA and an MBA from DeMontford University in the UK.
Miriam Preckler
Advisor To The Minister of Social Policies & Family Affairs
Spain
Miriam Preckler Galguera was born in Madrid. She holds three bachelor degrees (on Economy and Business Administration, Primary Education and Foreign Language Education) and two master degrees (Master on International Cooperation for Development and Master on Quality on Education). Ms. Preckler has a vast experience on Public Policies, International Cooperation for Development and Education areas, she has worked for several International Organizations as the European Union, United Nations? She has several publications and participated as speaker in national and international conferences for the last years. In July 2015, she joined Madrid Regional Government as an advisor to the Minister of Social Policies and Family Affairs, providing a special support on Gender Policies and Gender Equality issues among other tasks.
Maria Dolores Moreno Molinos
Director General for Gender Equality at Madrids Regional Government
Spain
Ndieme Ndao
Switzerland
Demet Sabanci Cetindogan
Chairwoman of MediaSa
Turkey
Demet Sabancı Cetindogan as the daughter of late Hacı Sabancı and Ozcan Sabancı. Growing up in Adana, she always took care to reflect the qualities common to women of her homeland. After completing her secondary education in Adana, she studied business in Richmond College in London. Following her return to Turkey, she developed a great interest in textile business which she was highly familiar with since her childhood thanks to her familys involvement in the field and this interest led her to take part in her family’s textile investments.
Huda Al Matroushi
Abu Dhabi Business Women Council
UAE
Ms. Huda Al Matroushi is one of those individuals, and ?getting things done? and driving results through collaboration, partnerships, and relationships.
She has dedicated her professional career from being a young graduate who joined Gasco in 1991 to become the first female member of the Extended Leadership Team of Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (Gasco). She started her career in Public relation department and then diversified to corporate excellence department manager position. Later on she has been promoted and at this current day, she is employed as the Vice President of the General Services Division in Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO). Besides being a vice president, she is also appointed as the chairwoman of Gasco recreation committee and member of Gasco Tender Board Member.
In addition to that she also serves number of roles at various governmental entities, including but not limited to: Member of Board of Trustees at ADNOC School, Board Member of Abu Dhabi Business Women Council, Emirates Business Women Council; Board Member of UAE Fencing Group and Executive Advisory Board Member of Abu Dhabi University?s College of Business Administration.
She has been so passionate about restructuring strategies, business management and systems. As a support to advance her knowledge and public, she has been taken the opportunity of being a part time faculty member at Abu Dhabi University. She has presented research paper titled ?Developing framework for SMEs in Tourism sector in UAE?, during the ?international conference on Tourism Milestones preparing for Tomorrow? conducted by Skyline Sharjah University. Also presented research paper titled ?Analyzing the factors promoting innovation in Emirati women owned SMEs: AHP approach? during the international conference on organization and Management organized by Abu Dhabi University. The article titled ?Prioritising the factors promoting innovation in Emirati female owned SMEs: AHP Approach? prepared by Ms. Huda has been accepted to publish in the international Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management.
Ms. Huda has written and published a book ?Thank You Khalifa? in 2014, in order to express her gratitude for the support who is a pioneer in empowering potential National women to higher responsibilities.
With an enthusiastic and genuinely friendly attitude, Ms. Huda radiates a sincere passion for delivering value and benefits to her surrounding people. She had been rewarded with various awards and recognitions throughout the years and holds a Masters Degree in Cultural & Creative Industries, currently pursuing Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and is determined to continue her career advancement in future.
Batul Dadabhai
Owner Arabian Neon
Bahrain
Mrs. Batul is a prominent businesswomen and a known personality in Bahrain , board member of many private and semi private organizations and committees in Bahrain. She studied at Lahore University of Management Sciences
Jennifer Lu
Tianjiu Happiness Holding Group
China
Lu Xingyu, English name Jennifer Lu, female, born in 1987, with a constellation of Leo.Children?s Loving Sister Jennifer, Graduated from California State University, and advanced study in Harvard, Oxford, and MIT. She is the First Professional Philanthropist in China. She is now the Chairwoman of Jennifer Lu?s Charity Foundation, Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador of TOJOY Holding Group , Executive Chairwoman and Secretary General of China-Africa Project Hope , Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador of Global Confederation of Chambers of Commerce (GCCC).
At present, China-Africa Project Hope has constructed and donated 23 Hope primary schools, 23 libraries in five African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Namibia. She is the advocate of ?the Benevolent Second Generation? and ?Genuine Philanthropy? , and decided to devote her whole life to HumanItalian and Philanthropy Work. Her mission is to Make the World Happy Together.
She has friendly relationships with numerous heads of state, government leaders, and business leaders including former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, King of
Cambodia, Queen of Bahrain Kingdom, President of Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Burundi, and Malawi, and Prime Minister of Rwanda, Mozambique, Thailand and Albania and so on. President of Coca-Cola, Microsoft Chairman, President of Ericsson etc. She is well known as the China?s youngest international Charity and Philanthropy Ambassador and Social Activist.
Chitra Jha
Holistic Health Coach
India
Chitra Jha is a Holistic Healing Coach, who has authored four books.
1) Achieve your highest potential: Be the best you can be
2) The art and science of meditation
3) Stress-O-Paedia: A detailed guide to a stress-free life
4) The art of Conscious Parenting
Currently she is writing two books ? simultaneously;
a) Marriage: A spiritual Partnership
b) Memoirs of an Army General?s wife
Chitra has been grounded in Allopathic, Homeopathic, and Ayurveda principles. She has also mastered the art of Reiki, past life regression, inner child work, re-birthing breath work, emotional freedom technique, family constellation, trans-generational healing, and non-violent communication.
Wanitha Ashok
Fitness Expert
India
Wanitha Ashok, Bangalore?s Fitness Queen and Youth Icon is a Certified Fitness Expert and a Global Fitfluencial Ambassador. Fitness course trainer .She has introduced many novel fitness regimes in the country.
? She is a Motivational speaker for fitness and Environment
? Media presenter for Fitness content on television, radio and print.
? She does daily fitness shows on Fever 104 called Wanitha Mantra
? Writes a fitness column for ?Udayavani ?every Wednesday
? Soon a show called ? Weekend with Wanitha ? will be aired on BN channel.
? She also gives fitness quotes for various publications and magazines pan India.
? Apart from that she is a Recycled craft designer ,Socio- Environment activist and a socialite
? She has also released a easy to follow Home workout DVD.
? She has authored a bilingual Fitness Book called ? You have an excuse I have an exercise?
? She was Mrs. India finalist 2009.
? A Vigilante who supports various causes.
? She is a Recipient of many national and International Award for community services. Her very recent being, ?The Mahilla Rattan? for her outstanding contribution in various fields towards society. And ALL ladies league award for ? leading iconic women in holistic health ? Her favorite saying by ?Make your trip to planet Earth a memorable one ? and lives by it .
Naina Lal Kidwai
Chairman, Max Financial Services
India
Naina Lal Kidwai is Chairman, Max Financial Services and Senior Advisor, Advent Private Equity. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Nestle SA and CIPLA Ltd and has been Past President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry). She retired on December 2015 as Executive Director from the board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman HSBC India. She is Chairman of the Harvard Business School, South Asia Board. An MBA from Harvard Business School, she makes a regular appearance on listings by Fortune since 2002 and others of international women in business. She has received many awards and honours in India and was awarded the Padma Shri, for her contribution to Trade & Industry, from the Government of India in 2007. She has edited two books ?Contemporary Banking in India? and ?30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories?. Her interest in water and the environment and empowerment of women are reflected in her board positions of not-for-profit institutions like Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, The Energy Resources Institute, International Advisory Council of the Inquiry of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Commissioner for the Global Commission on Economy & Climate, Chair of FICCI?s Water Mission and FICCI?s Inclusive Governance Council and Chair of the India Sanitation Coalition. She is one of India?s representatives on the BRICS Business Council and India Malaysia CEO Forum, and is on the Governing Boards of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and ICRIER and also a member of Rajasthan Chief Minister?s Advisory Council. She has been a member of the Government of India?s Industry Task Force, the Prime Minister?s Trade and Industry Council, the National Manufacturing Council, the National Trade Council, and on the Working Group on Banking, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and the National Institute of Bank Management
Faith Gonsalves
Founder of Idea, India
India
Faith Gonsalves is the Executive Director for Integrated Development Education Association (IDEA), and is the founder of the project ?Music Basti?. Set up in 2008, Music Basti connects at-risk children, youth and artists, with the aim to inspire growth and a sense of community through a creative and joyful music learning experience. Faith works with the conceptualisation, planning and program management of arts and media projects for social development.
Supriya Sule
India
Anat Bernstein-Reich
Israel-India Chamber of Commerce
Israel
A business development specialist for Emerging Markets. Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Israeli office of A&G Partners, an investment banking and advisory firm operating on the axis of Israel, India and Sri Lanka. Serves as the executive producer of ?The Bharati Show, the wonder that is India?, a mega-show with 70 artists from India on stage, performing since 2005. A frequent speaker about doing business in India. The Chairperson of the Israel-India, Sri Lanka and Nepal Chamber of Commerce. President of TiE Israel chapter. Representative of WIL Group for interim management in Israel.
Netta Ness
Owner, The Chance Management Company
Israel
Netta Ness is an entrepreneur, speaker, and sought after expert in Chance Management? for leaders, startups, and corporations.
Netta developed the Chance Management process for capitalizing on chance following her work as Vice President for a Hedge firm in the risk management industry. She holds a portfolio of clients with a demonstrated record in turning their respected potential, trends, and patterns into innovative strategies for optimizing performance.
Along her Chance Management practice, Netta serves as the Senior Vice President of Novatrans Group where she works collaboratively with strategic partners, industry experts and the global investment community on Terahertz business initiatives.
Netta is a columnist for Epoch Times Magazine where she features Chance Stories. She is a licensed mediator, the co-founder of several startups, and as part of her social activities supports the Shanti House ? a home for youth in risk.
Netta holds a B.S. in political science, public communications and journalism from Bar Ilan University in Israel, and a Master?s degree in Global Marketing, Communications and Advertising from Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts.
She resides in Tel Aviv, Israel with her husband and children.
Antonieta Beguerisse
Founder of Beguerisse Consultores
Mexico
Tone Beguerisse, is a social relation consultant, and the founder of Beguerisse Consultores, SC a noted business expert in the field of social management in Mexico and in the USMexico trans-border region. She works to bring together private and government sectors to identify chronic social issues, to promote social cohesion, teaches conflict resolutions, family communication skills, planning and leadership.
Nezha Alaoui
Founder, Mayshad Woman Lifestyle Concept
Morocco
Nezha Alaoui is an Entrepreneur who lives and thinks as an Artist.
She places PHOTOGRAPHY in the center of her expression, but also explores creative sectors such as fashion and design. Her travels and international life experiences are the essential components which have influenced the course of her life.
As a producer and photographer, she carried out missions on the behalf of the World Food Program, (the United Nations), in Haiti, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Mauritania. In 2011
In love with the desert and its inhabitants, Nezha Alaoui dedicates the essence of her time to the Moroccan Sahara.
From this passion rises several works:
?Moroccan Sahara, ground of inspiration?,
Published in France with the famous publisher ?Editions du Cherche Midi?. 2013
?Women, Secrets of the Moroccan Sahara?, that she carries out as a publisher,
with the texts of Emmanuel Dierckx de Casterl?. 2015
(Writer and former ambassador of UN in Morocco).
In 2015, she has launched the MAYSHAD WOMAN LIFEStYLE CONCEPT.
Tanya Chernova
Best selling author
Netherlands
Tanya Chernova is an accomplished, inspiring and passionate professional speaker and coach who has presented before audiences in over 30 countries. On December 4th 2013, Tanya was awarded Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada as a trendsetter and trailblazer for her proven track record for transforming companies and people with the mindset, skill set and systems to succeed. Click here to see Top 100 Business savvy, analytical and street smart, she understands how to help people be their best and what it takes to make business work. Her engaging and insightful breakthrough presentations are in the area of Business Growth, Emotional Intelligence and Empowerment. Over 30 topics that include: Embracing Change, Communicating with Diplomacy, Leading with E.I., Power Speaking, Resilience under Pressure and Vision for Success are timely, pertinent ? and known for having a direct impact on bottom line results. Tanya combines her honors degree in business and psychology with her experience as an entrepreneur and industry executive. Her amazing career began in 1989, when she worked as a skin specialist and manager of a leading clinic in Winnipeg. In 1995, she joined a top Canadian skin care distributor as account representative and national educator, she hired and trained staff, secured new clients, established product lines and drove sales 316% above target. In 1999, she moved to France to join an international manufacturer and distributor of seaweed cosmetics and spent four years overseeing a worldwide distribution network. As an international educator, Tanya wrote 3 books advancing the aesthetics industry in the areas of stress recovery, immune system and lifestyle therapy. She also created a winning formula to turn sales teams into consultative business representatives and transformed the relationship between distributors and salons to be partners in profit. She was acclaimed as one of the top 10 speakers in Europe. Upon her return to North America Tanya founded Time Reverse Inc, a manufacturer and distributor of a non-surgical facelift and anti-aging cosmetics. She formulated a winning product line and branding strategy to bring in over $1 million in sales in the first year. While in this role, she was a live presenter on more than 50 prime-time sell-out shows on shopping channels in the US, Canada, Australia, UK and Russia. Currently Tanya is a professional speaker, NLP strategic business coach and co-founder of Courageous Living; a company committed to providing experiential education, tools and resources for a life of unyielding passion, purpose and boundless creativity. She is a regular contributor to magazines and sought after guest on radio and television. More than a dynamic leader, top producing sales executive and highly successful product innovator, Tanya is a master at emotional intelligence, communication and vitality. She is a people motivator with a reputation for consistently delivering cutting edge principles in down-to-earth content with a sense of urgency and ? most important ? a focus on bottom line results. You?ll love her warm and engaging style. And you?ll get excited about the lessons she shares ? valuable lessons everyone can easily apply and quickly benefit from.
Jo Pennycuick
Managing Director Redesign Group
New Zealand
Jo founded Redesign in 1998. Starting as a freelance operator, Jo has built the company into a leading design practice with work in many regions around the world. Jo is committed to each client with a personal drive for fulfilling every requirement on every project. Known for her professionalism, creativity and strong management style this combination has made both Jo and Redesign a success.
Jo works with the Indian team to assist with business development and design work for new and existing clients. Jo travels to India frequently to reinforce the commitment to the clients.
Annu Sharma
CEO and Founder- I am Woman
New Zealand
Annu Sharma is a writer, motivational speaker and social worker, founder and CEO of I Am Woman. She is passionate about helping everyday women become the best versions of themselves. She has worked in the Criminal Justice system in New Zealand for just under a decade, working in the areas of domestic and sexual violence; including other offences. She specialises in crimes involving children, youth and women. She is a trainer in the field of safety within the community. Annu has been practicing, studying and delivering workshops and trainings on life philosophy, inspiring people to live lives to their fullest potential for the past 25 years.
Mehr Tarar
Journalist
Pakistan
Mehr Tarar, the woman whose name is at the heart of the Tharoor storm, is a Pakistani journalist.
A graduate of West Virginia University, the 45-year-old Lahore-based journalist is mother of a 13 year old boy. She is reported to be separated from her husband, a rich businessman based out of Bahrain. She used to work with a Pakistani daily, but quit recently. It?s reported that she now works with the group?s business channel. Another Lahore-based journo, who has worked with Mehr, describes her as ?competitive?.
Did she know Shashi Tharoor? Well, in an interview to an Indian media publication, she said, ?I met him in April last year for an interview in India. Then I met him in June in Dubai at a social gathering. Yes, I have been in touch with him once in a while on Twitter and email.?
Tarar had come to New Delhi in December last year to interview Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah. He told Hindustan Times that he agreed to the interview because there was a request from Tharoor?s office. However, on her December visit, she didn?t get to meet Tharoor who was in his constituency in Kerala.
Mehr has also told a publication that she kept in touch with the minister because she wanted to write a book on Kerala. ?I used to send him my articles and he used to send me his comments, etc. But that was all,? she said.
Another Indian media website reports that in her Pakistan newspaper column, My Corner, dated October 20, 2013, she wrote: ?Whether they read my tweets or not is immaterial to the secret glee that at any given time I can gush over Amitabh Bachchan?s latest movie, swoon over Channing Tatum?s eyes, eulogise Nicholas Kristof?s wisdom, retweet Imran Khan?s wishes for Pakistan, smile reading Ronan Farrow?s inimitable wry humour (his movie star looks are just an added bonus), be moved by Christiane Amanpour?s heartfelt words on Syrian refugees, awww at SRK?s love for life, or praise Shashi Tharoor for his very cool words (man, his voice is mesmerizing!).?
Interestingly, in the same column, she also hinted at the presence of a ?special person? in her life without naming him: ??here?s to that special one (you know who you are!) who makes Twitter an experience to cherish?forever. Thank you?,? reports the website.
Tarar was quite upset with the whole Twitter face-off, but what hurt her most was Pushkar calling her an ?ISI agent?. On Thursday, Mehr told Hindustan Times, ?Please tell Sunanda she can call me anything but not an ISI agent. My son is very upset.?
Maria L. Navarro
Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation
Panama
Mrs. Navarro studied International Affairs, Economics and Latin American Studies at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. In March 2015 she was appointed Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation. Since July 2014 she had served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to her position in the Government of the Republic of Panama, she served as Executive Director of Swiss ARIFA Trust Company. In this company, Navarro focused on trust and corporate services, family consulting and estate planning. She had previously worked in investment and private banking. Navarro is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and the Central American Leadership Initiative. She is married, with three children.
Raisa Gisela Banfield Rengifo
Vice Mayor of the District of Panama
Panama
Raisa Banfield was recently elected as Vice Mayor of Panama. Formerly, she was director of the Environmental Advocacy Center. She offers conferences on civil participation, conservation, and development in order to provide information access to communities. She has created workshops and expert exchanges on urban and environmental topics as well as published diverse opinion articles in various news organs. In 2007, she won a scholarship from the US government to train in topics related to urbanism and the environment. Recently, she was invited by the Environmental Leadership Training Initiative, a program of the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research and the Yale University School of Forestry to take part in the conference ?Financing for the Conservation of Nature in the Americas.? She is a Fellow of the fourth class of the Central America Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Valenice Balance
CEO Peekawoo, Philippines
Philippines
Peekawoo founder and CEO Valenice Balace says Peekawoo was born out of her want to create an app that would have less competition in the Philippines. She was single during that time, She admits to trying some of the dating apps out there and wanted a more friendly version. She says:
Some of us will not admit to trying dating sites, I myself have tried some and I have to admit I felt a little bit desperate while trying it because it was either you upload a photo and guys go through every girl like a catalogue or, like one of the apps I tried, which had location-based service. Within minutes someone wanted to go to my house.
We are a fully-operated female team and has a more wholesome and friendly approach to dating.We?re working on an aim for actual legit first dates and not hook ups nor marriage. Our main goal is to create an environment where people can meet online, go on first dates and not feel desperate or cheap. It?s just really about expanding your network, meeting people and enjoying your 20s.
Tatyana Zrelova
The Committee of 20.
Russia
Director General, Joint Venture ?Dialogue? (a holding company including more than 30 branches of different types of businesses: computer technologies and IT, electronics and office equipment, real estate and construction, manufacturing and transportation, import and trading, distribution and retailing, financial services and others).
Website: https://kom20.ru/68.html
Debra Langley
Fashion Retail Consultant
Singapore
Debra Langley is an experienced international brand builder and strategist who provides consulting services to fashion, retail and related technology brands. She is also a partner with Full Circle Partners, an investment and advisory firm that supports high growth companies with funding, advice, and specialist services; and an advisor to Start Today Ventures, a specialized fund based in Asia that focuses on companies that are reinventing the business of fashion. Debra was previously the founder and CEO of Inverted Edge, an integrated fashion retail platform; and before that, President, DKNY JEANS International; President, Asia-Pacific for Borderlinx, a global ecommerce enabler; and executive director at Blackrun Ventures, a global investment company. Debra has also worked in development roles in New York and Hong Kong for The Economist Group, and the international division of Hearst Magazines. She is based in Singapore.
Savannah Maziya
CEO at Bunengi Group,South Africa
South Africa
Savannah is the Chairman and CEO of The Bunengi Group, a company that operates in Infrastructure, Mining and Agriculture and is fully owned and operated by women. Savannah has served on various boards including the largest regulator boards in construction, water, finance, food and drug administration in Africa. She chairs the Bunengi Board and is director and shareholder of the largest construction company in Africa. Savannah holds a degree in Finance and Broadcast Science from Bridgewater University in Massachusetts in the USA and an MBA from DeMontford University in the UK.
Miriam Preckler
Advisor To The Minister of Social Policies & Family Affairs
Spain
Miriam Preckler Galguera was born in Madrid. She holds three bachelor degrees (on Economy and Business Administration, Primary Education and Foreign Language Education) and two master degrees (Master on International Cooperation for Development and Master on Quality on Education). Ms. Preckler has a vast experience on Public Policies, International Cooperation for Development and Education areas, she has worked for several International Organizations as the European Union, United Nations? She has several publications and participated as speaker in national and international conferences for the last years. In July 2015, she joined Madrid Regional Government as an advisor to the Minister of Social Policies and Family Affairs, providing a special support on Gender Policies and Gender Equality issues among other tasks.
Ndieme Ndao
Switzerland
Huda Al Matroushi
Abu Dhabi Business Women Council
UAE
Ms. Huda Al Matroushi is one of those individuals, and ?getting things done? and driving results through collaboration, partnerships, and relationships.
She has dedicated her professional career from being a young graduate who joined Gasco in 1991 to become the first female member of the Extended Leadership Team of Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (Gasco). She started her career in Public relation department and then diversified to corporate excellence department manager position. Later on she has been promoted and at this current day, she is employed as the Vice President of the General Services Division in Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO). Besides being a vice president, she is also appointed as the chairwoman of Gasco recreation committee and member of Gasco Tender Board Member.
In addition to that she also serves number of roles at various governmental entities, including but not limited to: Member of Board of Trustees at ADNOC School, Board Member of Abu Dhabi Business Women Council, Emirates Business Women Council; Board Member of UAE Fencing Group and Executive Advisory Board Member of Abu Dhabi University?s College of Business Administration.
She has been so passionate about restructuring strategies, business management and systems. As a support to advance her knowledge and public, she has been taken the opportunity of being a part time faculty member at Abu Dhabi University. She has presented research paper titled ?Developing framework for SMEs in Tourism sector in UAE?, during the ?international conference on Tourism Milestones preparing for Tomorrow? conducted by Skyline Sharjah University. Also presented research paper titled ?Analyzing the factors promoting innovation in Emirati women owned SMEs: AHP approach? during the international conference on organization and Management organized by Abu Dhabi University. The article titled ?Prioritising the factors promoting innovation in Emirati female owned SMEs: AHP Approach? prepared by Ms. Huda has been accepted to publish in the international Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management.
Ms. Huda has written and published a book ?Thank You Khalifa? in 2014, in order to express her gratitude for the support who is a pioneer in empowering potential National women to higher responsibilities.
With an enthusiastic and genuinely friendly attitude, Ms. Huda radiates a sincere passion for delivering value and benefits to her surrounding people. She had been rewarded with various awards and recognitions throughout the years and holds a Masters Degree in Cultural & Creative Industries, currently pursuing Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and is determined to continue her career advancement in future.
Justina Mutale
UK
Yaina Samuels
UK
Florence Norman
UK
Jacquie Johnston-Lynch
Head of Service, Tom Harrison House
UK
Jacquie is renowned for creating UK firsts. Most notably she created the UKs first Dry Bar and more recently, the UKs first military veteran addiction treatment centre. She is driven by her own family history of addiction/alcoholism and by her brother being killed by an alcoholic drink driver. Her focus is to transform all pain into purpose. Jacquie is now working with business and organisational leaders developing a model of Vulnerable Leadership, a new way of showing up and connecting in the lonely world of leadership. Jacquie leads with heart, creating love and legacy in all her personal and business relationships.
Yanina Taneva
Yanina Taneva is Director of Ideas Factory
UK
Yanina Taneva is Director of Ideas Factory
Lily Zhou
Founder of Global Innovation Center GIC 501C3
USA
Lily Zhou also launched her new company, theZmedia to inspire young minds to become the future entrepreneurs and leaders through essay contest, inspiring stories, dream projects and mentorship programs. Lily is also a licensed real estate broker in the state of California and was a licensed Series 7 broker.
Ms. Lily Zhou was the co-founder and President of Content Asia Network (CAN). CAN has been the global leader in Asian media for mobile, IP and television distribution. CAN premiered the first Asian language mobile television channels in the US in Oct. 2005. Lily was also the founder of ABR, a successful custom jewelry design, manufacturing and retail company. Ms. Zhou has provided successful business development and funding support for International Environmental Solutions (IES) now APS IP. She is launching her new company foodmade.co in Oct. 2015. .
Ms. Zhou was born and raised in China and enjoys a wide network of senior business and government contacts with deep experience in the Asian market. Lily is an active member of the Chinese community in the US. She has been the President for House of China Balboa Park for two years and currently a board member and vice president. Currently, she serves as the Host and Planning committee member for the prestige Kyoto Prize Symposium San Diego which she brought Apple Founder Steve Wozniak to the 2014 Gala: .
https://www.bloomberg.com/article/2014-03-20/aHza2g1xRK8c.html https://www.cnbc.com/id/101510763.
Ms. Zhou travels regularly to Asia has a reputation as leading market connector and deal maker as well as bridging the east and west?s culture and economic for greater prosperity. Her annual Chinese Culture Night at MLB Petco park has brought TV network attention as well as local news. Lily has been featured in many articles on mobile technology, media and green technology in the World Journal, the leading Chinese language publication in the U.S. .
Ms. Zhou currently teaches at SDSU. She completed her EMBA at SDSU in 2009 and received many awards in both business world and community services
Tia Walker
Business Consultant, Author & Speaker
USA
Tia founded The Inspired CEO? an executive coaching and consulting firm. Through projects with fortune 500 companies such as Du Pont, Levi, Goretex, Platinum Guild and others, Tia brings her feminine leadership as her signature. Tia is passionate about working with non-profits to assist them with creating sustainability by taking a more entrepreneurial approach. Her development work has raised thousands for NGO?s. She is the author of The Inspired Caregiver, a facilitator and international speaker. Tia is the founder the ARWEY & ISPIRIQUE Awards which celebrates women philanthropist, entrepreneurs and community leaders globally. As a member of Oprah?s Belief team, Tia supported the landmark tv series with signature events across the country. Her embodiment and teaching of feminine leadership has inspired, trained and connected women globally. www.theinspiredceo.com
Ann Webb
Founder of Global LifeVision
USA
Ann Webb is the founder and creator of the Ideal LifeVision System and is referred as ?The Clarity Queen?. She trains successful entrepreneurs and guide them how to balance their lives by setting not only business goals but also relationship, fitness, personal development, and spiritual aspiration. Her expertise lies in training network marketers and coaches for setting up a thriving coaching practice. Ann is author and creator of the book ?Creating Your Ideal LifeVision? and guided thousands of students from around the world to explosive results leveraging the Ideal LifeVision System. She has also created a new program (beta) called the ?Business LifeVision? for those who are serious about taking their Life and business to the next level while experiencing happiness and balance in the process. A great humanitarian, Ann is also the President of Global LifeVision, a humanitarian outreach program that involves facilitating adventures for those who want to serve and make a difference for the developing countries. Further, she regularly goes out on expeditions to countries like Africa and India to teach, train and serve women and encourage them to work on their self growth.
Neeta Bhushan
CEO of NeetaBhushan.com
USA
Dr. Neeta Bhushan embodies the voice of the future. Multi-dimensional with abounding promise to inspire millions to step into greatness by owning their emotional wellness, by recognizing their truth & unique abilities to ultimately reveal their best self and therefore elevate the world around them.
Isabel Londono Polo
USA
M. Bridget Cook-Burch
CEO Inspired Legacy, LLC
USA
M. Bridget Cook-Burch is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, transformational speaker, and is best known for her riveting tales of transformation. Her gift is her courage to bring light into the darkest places of humanity, and illuminating paths that awaken audiences to their own magnificent journey. Her powerful work has been showcased on Oprah, CNN, Good Morning America, and in People among others. Co-author of The Witness Wore Red, she tells the courageous life story of a woman who escaped from the insidious organized crime ring of the FLDS church. She also wrote best-selling Shattered Silence, the Untold Story of a Serial Killer?s Daughter with Melissa G. Moore, and Skinhead Confessions: From Hate to Hope with former neo-Nazi TJ Leyden. Bridget is a serial entrepreneur who has owned and operated two trucking companies, a publishing company and a PR agency. She is now writing, speaking and training full-time as CEO of Inspired Legacy, LLC and is an internationally sought-after speaker and human rights activist as Executive Director of SHEROESUnited.org, a women?s empowerment and human rights group. Bridget wows audiences on the subjects of radical transformation, conscious business, and how to leave the footprints of an inspired legacy.
Rita Henley Jensen
Founder & editor in chief Women?s eNews
USA
Rita Henley Jensen is founder of Women?s eNews, a daily nonprofit news service based in New York City that covers issues of a particular concern to women and girls. A former senior writer for the National Law Journal and columnist for The New York Times Syndicate, Henley Jensen has more than 35 years of experience in journalism and an armload of awards, including the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Alumni award, the Hunter College Presidential Grant for Innovative Uses of Technology in Teaching, the Alicia Patterson fellowship and the Lloyd P. Burns Public Service prize. Women?s eNews has won more than 40 journalism awards, including the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Henley Jensen is a survivor of domestic violence who earned degrees from Ohio State University and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She is the grandmother of four; two granddaughters and two grandsons.
Gina Otto
Award Winning Author of Cassandra?s Angel
USA
Gina Otto, the award-winning author of Cassandra?s Angel, international speaker, producer, social entrepreneur, and children?s advocate, is currently pioneering a movement to inspire individuals around the globe with her Change My World Now Initiative. Gina is the Founder & CEO of Gina?s Ink, a mission-driven media and entertainment social enterprise designed to create a foundation of self-esteem, leadership, and self-acceptance that connects and empowers children around the world creating a more thoughtful, informed, articulate and compassionate generation of thought leaders.
Website:-
https://www.cassandrasangel.com/
https://www.changemyworldnow.com/
Kaushalya Siriwardana
Minister of Peace Monte e Agrella
USA
Helping Hands Inc. was founded in 2003 by Kaushalya Siriwardana. A native of Sri Lanka, ?Kausha? has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the needs of impoverished children through out the world. Growing up in Sri Lanka, Kausha saw firsthand the disastrous conditions of poverty and the manner in which it can harm the lives of children. As a child she would freely share all she had with disadvantaged children and the needy within her young reach. That generous heart and genuine love for children is what continues to fuel her passion.
Although she has been a citizen of the United States for well over 30 years, Kausha has never forgotten what she saw during her early years. She has made it her life?s mission to combat these conditions and shepherd children across the globe toward a brighter future.
Marty Mauzy
Executive Director at Ash Center for Democratic Governance & Innovation
USA
Marty Mauzy is the Executive Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. She has worked as Assistant Dean to Dean Drew Faust at the Radcliffe Insitute for Advanced Study and Executive Director of Radcliffe?s Murray Research Center for the Study of Women?s Lives. Before Radcliffe, Mauzy was Deputy Director of Harvard?s Institute for the Arts and Civic Dialogue directed by Anna Deveare Smith. She holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of California.
Maleea Barnet
USA
Breege O Donoghue
Executive Director of Penneys
USA
Breege is a highly experienced Board Member at Primark, with a strong focus on strategy, people and product, Corporate PR and CSR. She has an extremely successful track record of 37 years of her executive career across many functions, with considerable expertise in 11 markets, significant experience of leadership, diverse teams, complex cross functional business projects, and is presently Group Director, Business Development & New Markets.
A Non-Executive Director of C&C, a manufacturer, marketer and a distributor of branded cider, beer, wine and soft drinks, headquartered in Dublin, with manufacturing operations in Ireland, Scotland, England and Vermont, USA. Breege chairs the Remuneration Committee at C&C.
Breege has also sat as Non-Executive Director on 2 commercial state boards, chaired two Government bodies, and has experience of chairing Audit and Remuneration committees, as well as being a member of a Nominations committee.
Areas of expertise:
? Leadership of major business projects, decision making and strategic thinking skills, strong negotiation skills
? Corporate PR
? Deep international multi-site retail experience
? 17 years in hospitality sector in Ireland and Internationally
Key achievements:
? Managed, with others, a business through significant growth and expansion from 17 stores to over 300 in 11 markets.
? International experience developing and operating in markets such as Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and the U.S.
? Spearheaded Primark?s entry into the US market after successfully capturing continental Europe, including the opening of our first store in Italy in April 2016.
? Established and developed the Human Resources function at Board level and led the organisation people strategy, as well as large scale operational delivery for Primark across the markets.
? Breege has considerable experience outside Primark in the private sector, public commercial sector and in education at university level.
Daryl Rand
President & CEO at HarrisonRand Advertising
USA
Daryl Harrison Rand is the President of HarrisonRand Advertising, Inc., a Women?s Business Enterprise Corporation, fully certified by the State of New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the State of New York. In 2009, her sons Jason and David Rand joined her in the family agency founded by her father, Harold Harrison, in 1941. Since then, the agency has won an impressive roster of awards on behalf of a wide variety of clients in the NJ/ NY region.
Her work on behalf of the International Advertising Association (IAA) dates back to 1994. Since then, she has served four World Presidents, been a member of the World Board, held the position of Vice President/Internships, and subsequently Professional Development, and assumed the Presidency of the New York Chapter, one of the organization?s largest and most active.
Rand?s career has incorporated four decades of active volunteerism by serving as a board member of business trade associations, health care facilities, cultural arts organizations and educational institutions. Since 2005, she has led six delegations of North American Business Women to India to forge dialogue and linkages with members of the Indian business communities in Mumbai and Delhi. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Children?s Hope India, Inc., from which she received the prestigious Lotus Award in 2011 for her leadership and philanthropy.
In 2008, NJBiz named Rand as one of New Jersey?s Best 50 Women in Business. Later that year, the NJ Ad Club inducted her into its Hall of Fame. She serves the organization as a member of the Board of Directors. She is also Chairman of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce which honored her in 2009 as a LEGEND
Alka Dhillon
CEO of Technalink,Inc
USA
Alka Dhillon is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Technalink, Inc., a leading Technology company in North America. She is a Conscious Leadership Expert and International Speaker.
In addition to her responsibilities as CEO of Technalink, Ms. Dhillon uses her passion for technology as platform to give back. She is a keynote speaker to the Girls in Technology organization (GIT) on Entrepreneurship and STEM to inspire more girls to pursue STEM related careers. Ms. Dhillon is actively involved in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and serves as a board member.
Ms. Dhillon has been honored with numerous awards not only for her professional achievements, but also for her commitment to serving her community. Her accolades include receiving the 2012 BRAVA! Women Business Achievement Award presented by SmartCEO, the Top 100 Women Leaders in STEM, the 2013 Locally Grown honor by Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and the Abe Veneable Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement presented by the U.S. Department of Commerce?s Minority Business Agency (MBDA).
Ms. Dhillon is the author of the book ?The OM Factor?: A Woman?s Spiritual Guide to Leadership: 7 Essential Tools and 7 Key Traits to Cultivate for Your Success and Well-Being. This book provides you with essential tools to deal with stressful situations in the workplace real-time, and also teaches how to cultivate key traits to limit those scenarios from arising so often. The OM Factor has received the Bronze Medal from Axiom Business Book Awards as one of the Best Business Books of 2016 in North America.
She contributes to The Huffington Post, Today.com & NBC Universal, blogs and offers OM Factor related merchandise and advice at www.alkadhillon.com.
Connect with her on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Charity C Lumpa
Board Chairperson, Zanaco Plc
Zambia
A highly motivated and experienced executive with a successful track record and accomplishments at Managing Director level in private, public and international organizations. Has strong intellectual and analytical skills and easily establishes and maintains effective relationships and strategic alliances with key business and regulatory influencers. Successfully leads inter-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams operating in diverse and competitive environments. Excellent exposure to banking, tourism and telecommunication sectors and has functional expertise in credit risk, retail banking, marketing, managing people and performance. Currently serves as the Board Chairperson for one of the top 4 banks in Zambia, Zanaco Plc as well as chairing the boards of SOS Children’s Villages Zambia and the government owned Hostels Board of Management. Enjoys travelling. cooking and looking after her well being. Twitter: @CClumpa; Facebook: Chanda Charity Lumpa; LinkedIn: Charity C Lumpa
HE Shaida Mohammad Abdali
Afghanistan Ambassador to India
Afghanistan
Shaida Mohammad Abdali is the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Republic of India. He is also the non-resident Ambassador of Afghanistan to Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. He formerly served as the Deputy National Security Advisor and Special Assistant to the former President of Afghanistan, H.E. Hamid Karzai. Ambassador Abdali provided the President with policy and oversight advice on national security issues. He administered the National Security Council meetings and chaired the Deputies Committee Meetings of the National Security Council, which facilitated strategic coordination and communication among Afghan and international stakeholders to help address Afghanistan’s security and development needs. Moreover, Ambassador Abdali served as one of the key negotiators of the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between Afghanistan and the United States. Under the leadership of President Hamid Karzai, Ambassador Abdali took part in the early resistance movement against the Taliban and its foreign backers. In 2001, President Karzai appointed him as his Personal Secretary. This and other assignments since 2001 have earned him a sound understanding of the domestic and foreign policies of the Afghan government. He previously worked with a number of international humanitarian relief organizations in and outside Afghanistan. Ambassador Abdali has represented Afghanistan in major international conferences to discuss Afghan affairs and regional security issues. He is author of several publications, among which have been articles published by Washington Times; Foreign Policy; Foreign Affairs; The Diplomat; Diplomatic Courier; The Hindu; The Indian Express; and the research paper titled “Weak Governance And Instability In Afghanistan: The Way Forward” published by Delhi Policy Group (DPG). He has B.A. degrees in Political Sciences and Natural Sciences, an M.A. in Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense University of the United States, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. program at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Ambassador Abdali was awarded the High State Medal of Wazir Mohammed Akbar Khan in 2014 by President Karzai for his tireless and dedicated services as Deputy National Security Adviser (2009-2012), Special Assistant to the President (2001-2008), as well as for his hard efforts to further promote and expand Indo-Afghan relations as Ambassador of Afghanistan to India (2012-Present). The other awards Ambassador Abdali has received includes a certificate of appreciation by the Afghan Senate for his devoted public services as Afghan Ambassador to India in 2014; a medal for his contribution in the convening of the Constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) in 2004; an Afghan Presidential Certificate of Appreciation in 2005 and the Achievement and Excellence Award in 2007. Internationally, he has been honoured with the CCI Technology Education Excellence Award in 2014 for initiating and promoting education ties between India and Afghanistan; the Honorary Texan Award in the United States of America; the World Green Diplomacy Award in New Delhi in 2013; a Gold Medal for fostering diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and India by Amity University; and a Life Time Achievement Award by the Lions International Club. Ambassador Abdali was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is married and has four children.
HE Carlos Sergio Sobral Duarte
Brazil
H.E. Mr Nadir Patel
High Commissioner for Canada to India
Canada
Nadir Patel (BA, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1993; MBA, New York University, London School of Economics and Political Science and HEC Paris, 2009) began his career in 1990 at the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, serving in progressively more senior positions in the agency’s offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa and Montreal. From 1997 to 2003, he served as departmental assistant to the minister, director of ministerial services, agency adviser to the minister and secretary to the Board of Management. In 2003, he transferred to the Privy Council Office, serving as chief of staff to the national security advisor to the prime minister, associate secretary to the Cabinet, and deputy minister to the deputy prime minister. From 2005 to 2006, he served as senior policy adviser to the clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet. In 2006, he was appointed by the minister of international trade and the minister of transport as Canada’s chief air negotiator. Mr. Patel served as consul general in Shanghai from 2009 to 2011. Until recently he served as assistant deputy minister for corporate planning, finance and information technology, and as chief financial officer at Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Mr. Patel succeeds Stewart Beck.
Shekhar Gupta
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ThePrint,
India
Shekhar Gupta is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ThePrint, an exciting news media start-up. He is a prolific columnist, with the highly influential column National Interest, which is translated into several languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati and Marathi. He is a senior prime-time anchor at NDTV.
Over the past two decades, National Interest has been regarded as the sharpest, most perceptive analysis of current events as they unfold. These columns were recently collected in the bestselling book, ?Anticipating India?. Currently, National Interest appears in Business Standard every Saturday.
Shekhar hosts Off the Cuff ? an offering from ThePrint ? which sees him in conversation with an eminent guest every month. Off the Cuff is telecast on NDTV 24X7 and NDTV Prime at the end of each month. He also hosts ?Walk the Talk? on NDTV 24?7 every week. A collection of his news-making interviews will be published soon. He does a second weekly show in Hindi, ?Chalte Chalte?, telecast on NDTV India.
During a 38-year career, Shekhar has reported on key Indian and international events, including the Nellie massacre in Assam, Operation Blue Star, the student uprising in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first Gulf War from Baghdad, the first ?jihad? in Afghanistan, and the many twists and turns in the troubled 1983-1993 decade in Sri Lanka?s Tamil North.
In June 2014, Shekhar concluded a 19-year stint at the Indian Express and the Express Group of publications. As Editor-in-Chief, he led the country?s largest network of award-winning journalists.
Dr. Pradeep Bhardwaj
CEO of Six Sigma Health Care
India
pradeep
Dr. Pradeep Bhardwaj
CEO of Six Sigma Health Care
India
Dr. Pradeep Bhardwaj alumnus of world famous Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad., recipient of many prestigious national & international awards like ? Limca Records holder for being the ?Youngest Medical Superintendent? at the age of 26 years, Rajiv Gandhi Award -2010, Padma Award-2012 Nominated by Delhi CM, Youth Idol & Youth Icon Award : Delhi University, Indian Achiever Award, Medical Excellence Award, Listed India?s TOP-10 Doctors in Hospital Administration, India?s Most Influential people in Healthcare- 2014, Healthcare Personality of the year 2014 and Rashtriya Ratan Award-2009. He has created several landmarks in healthcare sector and has written more than 10 reference book on hospital management. A 360 degree achiever, Dr. Bhardwaj is one of the few young leaders who have made a mark for themselves, without having a godfather in the industry. He started his career from DDU Hospital, Delhi, Apollo Hospitals Group, Fortis Healthcare Group, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital & Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi. He is an expertise Management Leader in Healthcare, Medico Legal Expert, Prolific Author?s ? Editor and Visiting Professor & Faculty in leading Healthcare Management Colleges / Universities like Harvard, IIM ? Lucknow, IIM-Ahmedabad, ISB ? Hyderabad, Global Institute, Amity University, Symbiosis International University, AIIMS, National Board of Examinations etc. He is also Board of Advisory, Jury in many healthcare organizations / management institutes / universities. He participated in over 245 symposia as ?Jury, Faculty, Chairperson, Key Note Speaker Chief Guest and panelist? at National & International Level. He is currently making waves in healthcare industry at Six Sigma Accreditation Board, Six Sigma Star Healthcare Limited, Delhi? (India?s 1st & World 4th largest healthcare management company). Recently Dr. Bhardwaj organized First of its Kind High Altitude Medical Services at Holy Amarnathji Yatra ? 2014 at Sheshnag (JK), and previously he organized ?Medical Rescue Operations? at Kaidarnath, Gaurikund, Badrinath and saved 511 people.
Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
India
Honble Shri Venkaiah Naidu was born on 1 July 1949 at Chavatapalem, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.He completed his schooling from V.R. High School, Nellore & pursued his Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and Diplomatic Studies from V.R. College. Later, he acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Law with specialisation in International Law from Law College, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.[4] Having been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from his childhood, he started his career in politics as a student leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in the year 1973–74 after being elected as the president of the students union of Andhra University Colleges. He came into spotlight for his prominent role in the Jai Andhra Movement of 1972. While Kakani Venkataratnam led the movement from Vijayawada, Venkaiah Naidu took active part in the agitation in Nellore, until it was called off a year later. In 1974, he became the convener of the anti corruption Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan Kshatra Sangharsha Samiti of Andhra Pradesh. He took to streets in protest against the emergency and was imprisoned. From 1977–80, he was President of the Youth Wing.
Prakash Javadekar
Minister of Human Resource Development
India
Prakash Javadekar (born 30 January 1951) is an Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician and is the incumbent Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra in 2008, and re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in 2014.
Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Indian General Election, he was appointed Minister State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is also a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, and briefly held the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting.
Mr. Javadekar is an official spokesperson of the BJP.
Prannoy Lal Roy
Indian Journalist
India
Prannoy Lal Roy (born 15 October 1949) is an Indian journalist and media personality. He is the co-founder and executive co-chairperson of New Delhi Television (NDTV) along with his wife Radhika Roy.
Prabhu Chawla
Editorial Director of The New Indian Express
India
Chawla did his education in Delhi and studied economics at Delhi School of Economics. He started his career as an economics lecturer in Delhi Univesity.
One of India?s finest political journalists, Chawla is known for his sharp political analysis and investigative reports. In his 40 years as reporter and editor, he has written extensively on events that changed the political course of India and people who engineered them. He is credited with launching the regional editions of the India Today magazine in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. He has hosted a weekly talk show ?Seedhi Baat? on Aaj Tak, India?s most popular television channel.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President for 2003. He has also won several national awards including The Hero Honda-Indian Television Academy (ITA) Best Anchor award for `Seedhi Baat? 2005; TV News Anchor of the year ? Telly Awards 2003; TSR Kalapeetham Life Time Achievement Award for 1998; the GK Reddy Memorial Award for investigative reporting and current affairs-1989; and the Feroze Gandhi Memorial Award for excellence in journalism 1985-86.
He was also the Editor of India Today & Editorial Director of the India Today Group of publications; Editor of Indian Express and Financial Express from 1991 to 1996.
Today he is one of the most authoritative and credible voices in print as well as the visual media.
S Venkat Narayan
Multimedia journalist, India
India
An active journalist since 1968, Mr Venkat Narayan was Executive Editor and Senior Editor of India Today in 1979-84; interviewed a large number of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings and other dignitaries, including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and is the author of NTR: A Biography in 1982. He has travelled in 65 countries across all continents. Beginning his journalistic career in The Times of India as a reporter in Ahmedabad in Gujarat in 1968, he worked in The Sunday Times, London, as a Summer Scholar in 1975 and as a guest writer at The Boston Globe in Boston in the US in 1978. He currently freelances and writes for a number of international publications.
Siddharth Zarabi
Executive Editor at Bloomberg TV India
India
Siddharth Zarabi is the Executive Editor of Bloomberg TV India and responsible for all editorial and programming content for the channel. A technology enthusiast, Zarabi is a Masters in Business Administration, who chose journalism as his calling in life.
Bhupendra Chaubey
Managing Editor CNN- Network 18 India
India
Bhupendra Chaubey has been a TV journalist since the year 2000, when he started his career with NDTV. In 2005, he left NDTV and was a part of the team that started CNN IBN. As a political journalist he has travelled the length and breadth of the country and has covered three general elections and assembly elections of most states.
A graduate in Mathematics and postgraduate in films, Bhupendra has been among the finest political journalists of his generation. He has that unique ability to grasp things at a micro level and then present them with a macro level understanding. He is amongst those journalists who depend more on their ground political awareness supplementing it with academic awareness of issues that confront the nation.
Bhupendra was the Executive Editor of CNN IBN and used to host the prime time broadcast ?India at 9? before turning a Consulting Editor to try his hand at new journalistic platforms.
He now hosts a weekend interview show ?Hot Seat? where he puts tough questions to key newsmakers.
He regularly writes with columns for various English and Hindi newspapers and magazines. He also writes for several digital platforms.
He lives in the national capital with his wife and two children.
Yashish Dahiya
CEO & Co-Founder of Policy Bazaar, India
India
Yashish Dahiya is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co- Founder at PolicyBazaar.com ? the largest online insurance aggregator in the country. His long-term vision and leadership skills have turned this financial start-up into a thriving successful brand in the short span of 7 years. An expert in the field of insurance, Yashish holds extensive knowledge on the consumer financial space in India.
Before starting his entrepreneurial journey with PolicyBazaar.com, he worked with First Europa (a Global Online Insurance Broker) as their CEO. At First Europa, he was responsible for leading its global expansion and managing the business of the company across nine geographical locations. Prior to this, Yashish has been associated with an online travel aggregator, ebookers.com, a leading pan-European online travel agency and led their business as the Managing Director. He has also worked in various capacities at Illinios Tool Works and Bain & Co..
Yashish holds a Bachelor?s Degree in Engineering from IIT Delhi, a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad, and an MBA from INSEAD.
Dhruv Agarwala
Co-Founder of PropTiger.com
India
Dhruv brings along with him several years of experience. Before PropTiger came into being, Dhruv was the CEO of GE`s Infrastructure business in India, and also led Institutional Sales for GE in the country. He has previously held various senior roles with GE in the US and has world-class operating and general management experience.Dhruv had previously started a highly successful iron-ore mining company in India, and he also started and exited an education business offering management training. Dhruv holds a B.S. in Materials Science from Northwestern University, an M.S. from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard.
Mukul Singhal
SAIF Partners India
India
Mukul Singhal is Principal at SAIF Partners and focuses on early stage investments. His interests lie in high growth sectors like Consumer Internet, Mobile VAS, Enterprise Products, Retail and Media. He is on Board of SAIF portfolio companies like Toppr, UrbanClap, Industrybuying, AutoNinja, TravelTriangle, GoZoomo, NoBroker and BobbleApp. He is also angel in Chaayos, Aspiring Minds, 91Mobiles and Tracxn. Mukul is B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and received his MBA from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
Ketan Makwana
CEO of Enterprise Lab
India
Ketan Makwana is CEO of Enterprise Lab
Naveen Jindal
Chairman,Jindal Steel & Power Limited
India
Naveen Jindal has many facets to his personality. He has represented Kurukshetra in the 14th and 15th Lok Sabha, is the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), President of the Flag Foundation of India (FFI), a sports enthusiast and a family man. The youngest son of Shri O.P. Jindal, the steel visionary and former Member of Parliament and Minister for Power in the Government of Haryana, Mr. Naveen Jindal is the man behind the transformation of a moderately performing company into a world class organisation. After consolidating its position as a leading player in the steel, power, mining and infrastructure sectors domestically, JSPL has now international operations in Africa, Oman, Australia and Indonesia besides its wide spread presence in India. He has been ranked amongst the Asia’s 25 Hottest People in Business by the Fortune Asia magazine for turning a struggling steel company into an Asian blue-chip giant. He has also been ranked as India’s Best CEO by Business Today based on a BT-INSEAD-HBR study of top value creators for the period 1995 to 2011. JSPL has been rated the Second Highest Value Creator in the world by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) of USA. Also, in 2011 he figured in the Economic Times-Corporate Dossier list of India Inc’s most Powerful CEO’s. India Today named him among the Most Influential People in the state of Haryana and Ernst & Young conferred upon him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the field of Energy and Infrastructure in 2010. He is not only a successful entrepreneur but also a caring politician, a compassionate social servant and an effective parliamentarian. He represented Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituency (which has a population in excess of 2 million) in the 14th and 15th Lok Sabha. He started his active participation in politics during his college days, during which he was the President of the Student Government and recipient of the ‘Student Leader of the Year Award’ at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). He is a management graduate from the UTD and was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2010 by the University for his contribution to public service, being a responsible corporate citizen and guiding his company in becoming a global player. In recognition of his exceptional distinction in the fields of entrepreneurship and public service, unqualified reputation for honesty, personal integrity and high standards of personal and professional character, the UTD’s school of management has been christened as the Naveen Jindal School of Management. This recognition has led to the establishment of the Naveen Jindal Institute for Indo-American Business Studies. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to legal education and corporate philanthropy, Mr. Naveen Jindal who is also the Founding Chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University was conferred with the Justice P.N. Bhagwati Award by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India. The dominant themes in his public agenda reflect his determination to work for a cleaner, safer and more equitable world, free of hunger, corruption, population instability and gender biases. Equally he is committed to issues like women’s empowerment and promotion of sports at all levels. His ideology is to incorporate the best practices of business management into politics. As issues of national pride and self-esteem have always been of utmost interest to him, he single-handedly took up the cause of restoring in Indians a national pride, choosing the Tricolour as his symbol. His decade long crusade culminated in a historic judgement by the Supreme Court of India, on January 23, 2004 that upheld the right of every Indian citizen to fly the National Flag freely, with respect and dignity. Following this, in response to his continuing campaign, the Home Ministry agreed in December 2009 to allow the flag to be flown at night when it is installed on a monumental flagpole with proper illumination. Further, on February 18, 2010 he got the Rules Committee of Indian Parliament to allow Members of Parliament to wear the National Flag on their lapels while seated in the House. He is currently putting up 100 feet and 207 feet high monumental flags across the country. Over 61 monumental flags have been hoisted so far. Also, he is a national record holder in skeet shooting and an accomplished polo player. He and his wife Shallu Jindal along with their children, Venkatesh and Yashasvini, reside in New Delhi where they are active in the local community and support education and the performing arts. Mrs. Shallu Jindal is an accomplished Kuchipudi danseuse
N.R. Narayana Murthy
Indian IT industrialist & The Co-Founder of Infosys
India
N.R. Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946), commonly referred to as Narayana Murthy, is an Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services. Murthy studied electrical engineering at the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore, and M. Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Before starting Infosys, Murthy worked with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as chief systems programmer and Patni Computer Systems in Pune (Maharashtra). He started Infosys in 1981 and served as its CEO from 1981 to 2002 and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. In 2011, he stepped down from the board and became Chairman Emeritus. On 1 June 2013, Murthy was appointed as Additional Director and Executive Chairman of the board for a period of five years.
Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine He has been described as Father of Indian IT sector by Time magazine due to his contribution to outsourcing in India . Murthy has also been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards.
Harsh Goenka
Chairman of RPG Enterprises, India
India
Harsh Goenka (born December 1957) has been the chairman of RPG Enterprises, one of India?s largest business groups, since 1988, when he took over from his father R. P. Goenka. Today RPG is a major player in domains like power generation and distribution, information technology, infrastructure, tyres, plantations and pharmaceuticals, with an annual turnover of around US $2 billion.
Anurag Batra
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief BW
India
Mr. Annurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech in Computer Sciences, a degree, which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, one of India’s leading BusinessSchool. He is a first generation entrepreneur and after acquiring the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld Chairman of BW | Businessworld, a 35 year strong media brand as well as most respected business publication in the country. Since taking over BW Businessworld 13 months back Mr. Batra has expanded BW Businessworld into digital, events and BW communities and has taken into its fold www.digitalmarket.asia, asia a leading website on digital marketing , www.everythingexperiential.com India s leading experiential marketing website and launch BW hotelier in partnership with hotelier international. BW smart cities an editorial platform in a 360 degree format is to be launched in mid February Mr. Batra is building the BW Businessworld business aggressively Mr. Batra also founded the exchange4media group and he serves as the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com-India’s leading media industry website, PITCH – India’s only Advertising, Marketing and Media Magazine, IMPACT-The Marketing Weekly, Franchisee Plus – Business Opportunity Magazine, Realty Plus- India’s leading monthly real estate magazine and samachar4media.com/-leading media industry website in Hindi. Mr. Batra is also appointed by Government of India as the Chairman of an industry committee formed to come up with a vocational training framework for the media, communication and entertainment industry. He mentors many budding entrepreneurs and enjoys the process of reverse mentoring as in what he learns from these young entrepreneurs. At BW Businessworld BW Accelerate is an initiative to provide a structured platform to entrepreneurs for mentorship and growth. An honorary advisor to , https://www.stylekandy.com/, a household name in the fashion industry and and also cofounder the auto website www.wheelsunplugged.com which he exited out of three tears back after selling to helion backed trivone. He is also a regular speaker on National and International Conferences on Media, Internet, Television, Media policy and Entrepreneurship. As a member of the Sales & Marketing committee of the Delhi Management Association and President of the Franchising Association of India, Northern chapter, he has a vital role to play in the decision making processes of the industry circles. He is passionate about Magazines and is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM). He also wants to give back to the industry and his love for teaching comes into play in his position as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of FMCC (Futuristic Media Communication Centre), a leading Media and Communication School in India. In 2006, the prestigious Management Development Institute (MDI) and Mr. Batras Alma mater awarded him the Most Distinguished Alumni of the Decade Award. Mr. Batra believes if you make your hobby your profession, you do not have to work and life is a blessing.
H.E. Mr. Daniel Carmon
Ambassador of Israel to India
Israel
Ambassador Carmon joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973. From 1978 to 1982, he served as Embassy Attaché in Washington, DC. This was followed by a posting as Consul and Administrative Officer in Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires, and then one as Deputy Chief of Mission there. From 1996 to 2000, he served as Head of the Information and Internet Division in the Department of Public Affairs. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Head of the Bureau for Coordination, and Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Director General’s Bureau. From 2005 to 2010, he served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at Israel’s Mission to the United Nations in New York. In 2011, Ambassador Daniel Carmon was as appointed Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.
H.E. Mr. Nils Ragnar Kamsvag
Ambassador of Norway to India
Norway
H.E. Mr. Nils Ragnar Kamsvag is Ambassador of Norway to India
H.E. Mr. Harald Sandberg
Sweden
H.E. Dr. Burak Akcapar
Ambassador of Turkey to India
Turkey
Dr. Burak Akçapar is Turkey’s Ambassador to India, Nepal, and Maldives. Ambassador Akçapar is a career diplomat since 1987 who also served in the US and Qatar as Deputy Head of Mission, NATO as International Civil Servant, and Germany. Immediately before India, he was Deputy Director General for Political Affairs focusing on South Asia at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2011. Simultaneously, he was also the Turkish Representative to the International Contact Group on Afghanistan and the Co-Chairman of that body’s Working Group on Regional Cooperation. In that capacity, Ambassador Akçapar took leading part in the design and negotiation of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan and concurrently the 2010 Turkey-Brazil-Iran agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. At NATO International Staff, Dr. Akçapar worked in the Defence Planning and Operations Division. He is the author of NATO’s Training and Education Enhancement Program, the Concept for NATO Training Center. He served as the NATO Secretary General’s Facilitator for the South East European regional cooperation initiatives. He received the Award for Excellence in 2002 for his lasting contributions to the NATO Alliance, mainly for his work on regional cooperation in the Balkans, training and education in NATO as well as the Alliance’s role against terrorism. Burak Akçapar has received his Doctorate in International Law from the University of Hamburg in Germany with High Distinction. In his academic capacity, he was awarded the rank of Associate Professor of International Relations from the Turkish Higher Education Board in 2011. As an scholar/author, his latest book, “People’s Mission to the Ottoman Empire: Dr. Ansari and the Indian Medical Mission, 1912-13”, was published by the Oxford University Press in 2014. Other two books and several book chapters and articles have focused inter alia on Turkish foreign policy, democratization in the Middle East, international security, arms control, as well as global systemic change. Burak Akçapar writes a monthly column named Theory and Practice to The New Indian Express and the Sunday Standard. He also does philanthropic work and is on the Non-Executive Board of the international NGO entitled The Global Thinkers Forum. Ambassador Dr. Akçapar has lectured extensively around the world including at Harvard University, Oxford University, Middle East Technical University, Turkish Armed Forces Academy, NATO Defence College in Rome, NATO School in Oberammergau, JNU, Jamia Milliya, and many other universities and institutions.
H.E. Mr. Augusto Montiel
Venezuela
RESIDENTIAL ENVOY TO COMANDER HUGO CHAVEZ Carrying his message to Presidents and Prime Ministers of diverse countries in Asia, Africa (11 countries) to negotiate support to the candidature of Venezuela in the Security Council of UN — 2007. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Seychelles Islands, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Responsible for political attention to English-speaking delegations from diverse countries who attended international events in Venezuela and meetings with the President of the Republic and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2007 — 2008. ENVOY FOR THE FOREIGN MINISTER, NICOLAS MADURO For Special Assignments to promote and support Solidarity Movements with Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution, 2006 — 2009. City Hall of London, UK. Advisor in the Exchange Convention “London’s transport fuel in urban development.”, 2007. New Delhi, India. Mission to represent the Venezuelan government for the Meeting with the Indian Government for the International Celebration in completion of 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi Movement of National Liberation “Satyagraha” with the motive of Pace Non Violence and Empowerment. Gandhian Philosophy in the XXI Century. Meeting with Doctor Mammohan Singh, Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi, Congress President of India, 2007 Constitutional Reform, 2007. International Envoy. Construction of the foundation of public opinion regarding the true about the Referendum for the Constitutional Reform, to the governments and parliaments of: United Kingdom European Commission (Brussels) Belgian Spain International Support Platform for the Constitutional Amendment, 2009. Meetings and Conferences with governments and parliaments and social forces (Labor Unions, Students, Academic Sector, Women) of: Canada France United Kingdom ACTIVITY AS MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group United Kingdom — Venezuela, 2006 — 2011. INTERPARLAMENTARY UNION: Member of the Inter-Parlamentary Union, 2006 — 2010. Institutional and Parliamentary Exchange Visit to England and Scotland, 2008. Parliamentary Conference on Participatory Democracy and better parliaments, La Paz, Bolivia, 2009. Working visit of President Chavez. Member of the Programmer Organizing Committee, 2006. Peoples Summit, Interconnecting Alternatives, 2010. Speaker: People Diplomacy and Struggle against social exclusion”. Madrid, Spain. 1st European Meeting of Movements and Organizations in Solidarity with Venezuela, 2009, Organizer and speaker, London, United Kingdom. Founding Member and Cooperating permanent Movement of Friendship and Mutual Solidarity Cuba — Venezuela, 2003 — current. “Constitution and Peace Forum”, Social Organization of Revolutionary Activism, 2002 — 2006.
Shar Moore
CEO & Founder, YMag?
Australia
Shar Moore is a renowned Keynote Speaker, Multi-International Award-Winning Mentor, Author and CEO/Founder of YMag?, the first National publication of it?s kind dedicated to empowering YOU to find your ?Y?, your purpose and passion in life.
Shar has dedicated her life to helping people realize their innate abilities and overcome the obstacles to success many of us put in our own way. She is an accomplished, compelling and much sought-after speaker, helping people build or re-create a business from the ground up in order to finally enjoy the success and happiness they deserve.
Shar explains how to break out of the endless treadmill of despair, depression, and living from one paycheck to the next with no hope of enjoyment. She uncovers the secrets of highly successful entrepreneurs to help her audience find and live their true purpose in life.
Tanja Wehsely
Member of the Vienna City Council and the Vienna State Parliament
Austria
Tanja Wehsely is a member of the Vienna City Council and the Vienna State Parliament. Since 2009 she is deputy chairwoman of the SPO Rathausklub (responsible for the organisation, coordination and communication concerning the social democratic members of the Vienna State Parliament and Vienna City Council) and chairwoman of SP? 20. As member of the Vienna City Council Tanja Wehsely presides over the board of Economics, Finance and International Affairs. Since 2010 she is also the deputy chairwoman of the waff (labour market promotion fund). Moreover she is not only active in the field of educating adults, but she also focuses on youth education. As such Tanja Wehsely is chairwoman of the Association for Vienna?s Youth Centers. Since 2008 Tanja Wehsely gives lectures in Public Relations as well as Lobbying and Public Affairs as part of the Bachelor degree course for social work and Master Degree courses at the FH Campus Wien.
Sabiha Nahar Begum
Members of Parliament
Bangladesh
Sabiha Nahar Begum, (M.P) born on 15th January, 1950 graduated from Chittagong Bangladesh is an Honorable Member of the National Parliament-349 and Women Constitution No. 49 of Bangladesh National Parliament Govt. Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. She is also the Member of Parliamentary Committee of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Transportation & Tourism Bangladesh.
She was the Former President of North District Women Awami League, Counselor Chittagong City Corporation, Joint Secretary & Advisor of Chittagong Writers Association, Former President & Chairman of Mamata Seba Project, Former Member of Executive Committee Chittagong Divisional Organization of Sports.
She is a successful women entrepreneur and also the owner of Tulip Print & Accessories Ltd.
She is a life Member of many social & charitable organizations Chittagong Maa O Shishu Hospital, Chittagong Diabetic Association, Bangladesh Women?s Association, and BWA Planning Association & Chittagong Academy.
Mrs. Sabiha Nahar is the Founder President of Golfaham-Nurul Alam Distressed Foundation. She is also one of the Founder Members of Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CWCCI).
She has also participated in many national and international conference & seminar on tourism. She has visited many countries in home and abroad.
She is also the author of a reader worth book titled -?Balaka Maan?.
She is happily married and blessed with two sons and one daughter.
Monowara Hakim Ali
President, Chittagong Women Chamber Of Commerce & Industry
Bangladesh
Monowara Hakim Ali, is a successful leading woman entrepreneur in Bangladesh, Born in Chittagong, graduated from City of London College, U.K. in Hospitality Management. She is a NDC Fellow: completed prestigious Capstone Course from National Defense College Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was the former Honorary Consul of the Republic of Indonesia in Chittagong and the first elected women as First Vice President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI) as a Woman to achieve this honor in the history of FBCCI. She was also the former Vice President of SAARC Chamber of commerce & Industry and Director of SME Foundation (SMEF), Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Electric General Company Bangladesh Ltd (EGCBL). Mrs. Ali is the Founder of Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CWCCI), Chittagong Women Entrepreneurs Association, International Women SME Expo Bangladesh and Women Cooperative Society Ltd. Chairman, Bangladesh Foundation for Tourism Development (BFTD) and Editor Tourism International. She is the Chairman and founder of Genetica Bd. Ltd. and First Eco-friendly Butterfly Park in Bangladesh. Vice Chairman Intraco Group. Under the umbrella of her family business, she has successfully diversified the business into various sectors like commodities, power, energy, renewable energy, real estate, tourism & hospitality, Medicine, Food and Beverage, Agri-business and Organic Fertilizer. She is also one of the owner of the pioneer family owned renowned Four Star hotel, in Chittagong, Hotel Agrabad.
Sabiha Nahar
Members of Parliament
Bangladesh
Sabiha Nahar Begum, (M.P) born on 15th January, 1950 graduated from Chittagong Bangladesh is an Honorable Member of the National Parliament-349 and Women Constitution No. 49 of Bangladesh National Parliament Govt. Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. She is also the Member of Parliamentary Committee of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Transportation & Tourism Bangladesh.
She was the Former President of North District Women Awami League, Counselor Chittagong City Corporation, Joint Secretary & Advisor of Chittagong Writers Association, Former President & Chairman of Mamata Seba Project, Former Member of Executive Committee Chittagong Divisional Organization of Sports.
She is a successful women entrepreneur and also the owner of Tulip Print & Accessories Ltd.
She is a life Member of many social & charitable organizations Chittagong Maa O Shishu Hospital, Chittagong Diabetic Association, Bangladesh Women?s Association, and BWA Planning Association & Chittagong Academy.
Mrs. Sabiha Nahar is the Founder President of Golfaham-Nurul Alam Distressed Foundation. She is also one of the Founder Members of Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CWCCI).
She has also participated in many national and international conference & seminar on tourism. She has visited many countries in home and abroad.
She is also the author of a reader worth book titled -?Balaka Maan?.
She is happily married and blessed with two sons and one daughter.
Farzana Chowdhury
Managing Director & CEO, Green Delta Insurance
Bangladesh
Ms. Farzana Chowdhury ACII (UK), Chartered Insurer, is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Green Delta Insurance Company Limited. She is the first and youngest female CEO in the industry and is recognized by UN Global Compact as a Local SDG Pioneer for Women?s Economic Security for her initiatives through Nibedita which is a comprehensive insurance scheme for women. After receiving the prestigious recognition, she has driven her team more effectively which resulted in sharp rise in Nibedita policy holders in a short period of time on top of adding values through holistic approach in ensuring gender equality and women empowerment. Recently she has received awards from EO Global, Bangladesh Brand Forum and SAARC Women Association for her progressive works in this arena. She is also the Executive Committee Member of Bangladesh Insurance Association; Vice President of Bangladesh Insurance Forum; President Elect and Forum Chair in EO Bangladesh (Entrepreneurs? Organization); Member of Advisory Board in AIESEC, the largest global youth network; Board of Trustee in Global Youth Fund, JCI ; Member, Advisory Board in CSR Centre ,Executive Committee member of Bangladesh Employers federation.
Rosalind Lockyer
Executive Director & CEO, PARO Centre For Women?s Enterprise
Canada
Rosalind Lockyer has dedicated most of her working lifetime towards supporting gender equality and building sustainable livelihoods for thousands of women who need it most. Important to her work as founder of PARO Centre for Women?s Enterprise and co-founder of the national group, the Women?s Economic Council, (WEC) has been supporting women and families who are disadvantaged by the intersection of poverty, race, sexism, ageism and disability. She has assisted individuals and management of enterprises and organizations, whether non-profit, private business, social enterprises or professional sector organizations with strategic planning, project and organization management, fund and policy development, evaluation, human resources, leadership, social enterprise and business development and public relations. Her shining achievement as founding Executive Director of PARO Centre for Women?s Enterprise, has been inspiring and growing a unique, sustainable model of women-centred community economic development based on the grassroots development of ?North America?s strongest peer lending network supporting over 100+ Circles? across Northern and Eastern Ontario. Recognized for her notable efforts in building PARO Centre for Women?s Enterprise, working with diverse populations, especially those most challenged, such as indigenous people, people with disabilities, seniors, and youth at risk with particular emphasis on women, Rosalind has been called, ?one of the most remarkable social entrepreneurs in the world? by the Office of Social Enterprise, MEDEI, Ontario government, for more info see, page 27, IMPACT: https://www.ontario.ca/document/impact-social-enterprise-strategy-ontario.
Iris Almeida Cote
CEO, Innova Connect
Canada
Iris Almeida-Cote, ICD.D/IAS.A., LL.M., M.A. is President and Chief Executive Officer at INNOVACONNECT Inc. offering strategic management services to organisations in Executive leadership, governance, public affairs, strategic communications, branding and audit processes. She also assists corporations setting up international business partnerships in Asia, Africa, Middle East and the Americas with training in inter-cultural preparedness and risk management. She has initiated major economic development initiatives and strategic partnerships in eighty countries. Strategic agility, flexibility and resilience are her hallmarks.
Iris is a Corporate Director (ICD.D) having completed the Director Education training at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2016. She is trained in Financial Management and Governance at the Universite Laval, Coll?ge des Adminstrateurs de Societes (CAS) as well as in Health Sector Governance at the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP). She also received her advanced management training at the McGill Executive Institute, Desautel Faculty of Management, McGill University and at the Canadian Centre for Management. Iris holds a Master?s Degree in International Law from the Universite du Quebec ? Montreal (2001) as well as a Master?s Degree in Sociology from the University of Bombay (1982). She is proficient in English, French, Spanish, Hindi and Marathi.
In 2014, Iris received the Prix de la Reconnaissance (Outstanding Alumni Award) from l?Universite de Quebec ? Montreal (UQAM), and in 2012 the SME Passport Award from the Caisse de Depot et de placement du Quebec and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. Iris was Canada?s Top 100 Most Powerful Women laureate in 2008 and again in 2011, an award presented by the Women?s Executive Network. Iris received the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2009 and the Prix d?Excellence presented by the Reseau des femmes d?affaires du Quebec in 2007. She was selected in the first cohort of Diversity 50, an initiative of the Canadian Board Diversity Council, encouraging the inclusion of women from diverse cultures with specialised expertise in governance, to join corporate boards.
Caroline Codsi
Founder & President, Women in Governance
Canada
A passionate and strategic leader, Caroline Codsi has had a successful career in the corporate world of over 25 years including the past decade in VP and SVP roles within major organizations. Caroline founded Women in Governance in 2010 (aka La Gouvernance au F?minin), a non-for-profit organization with mission to encourage women to develop their leadership, advance their career and sit on boards. She dedicates her life to all matters relating to the access of women to executive roles and board positions in the corporate world in Canada as well as women?s equality rights everywhere in the world. Some of Women in Governance?s programs that have a deep impact in the Canadian society include: 1) major events with inspiring local and international speakers, 2) a very robust mentoring program for women at the VP level looking to reach the C-Suite and the Board 3) governance courses 4) a corporate parity certification A graduate in Human Resources from HEC Montr?al as well as in languages and foreign civilizations from l?Universit? Paris-Diderot (Paris-VII), Caroline also completed the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)?s Program at McGill. She is a Scholar, Valedictorian, Ambassador and Examiner for the ICD. Born in Beirut, Caroline was only 7 years old when the war started and 22 when it ended. A Citizen of the world having lived on three continents, Caroline is fluent in 4 languages and can understand 6. A highly sought-after speaker, Caroline is the recipient of Awards from the Quebec Business Women Network, the Arab Women Trophy and Premi?res en Affaires among others. She was recognized as a Top 20 Diversity Leading Figures in Quebec, Top 75 Canadian Immigrants and Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She is also the recipient of a Gender Equality Award by the United Nations Women National Committee as well as the ?Mercure Leadership Germaine-Gibara? Award, at the Mercuriades awards ceremony held by the F?d?ration des chambres de commerce du Qu?bec (FCCQ). Some of the distinguished guests that Caroline has interviewed in a public setting include Hillary Clinton, Former Democratic Party Candidate (United States) interviewed in both Toronto and Montreal, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Princess Sarah Zeid (Jordan), Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International Executive Director (Uganda/United Kingdom), Anne-Marie Leroy, SVP of the World Bank (Washington), Fan?ois Perol, CEO of Banque Populaire et Caisse d?Epargne (2nd largest bank in France), Marie-Jo Zimmermann, French Member of Parliament, author of quotas Law Cop?-Zimmermann, Maggie Henriquez, CEO of Krug Champagne, LVMH division (Paris), Aldo Bensadoun, Founder of ALDO Shoes, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, CEO of VIA Rail, Fran?ois Jean Coutu, CEO of PJC Jean Coutu, Robert Tessier, Chairman of the board of the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Qu?bec, Monique F. Leroux, President of the International Cooperative Alliance and Chairperson of Investissement Qu?bec, Dr. Joanne Liu, International President of Doctors without borders (Geneva), Katja Iversen, CEO of Women Deliver (New York), Dr. Joanie Bewa (Benin), Jean Charest, former Prime Minister of Quebec, Monique J?r?me-Forget, former Minister of Finance of Quebec, Louise Fr?chette, Former Vice-secretary general of the United Nations, Fran?oise Bertrand, Chairperson of the Board of VIA Rail and former Chairperson of Quebecor, Katie Taylor, Chairperson of the Board of the Royal Bank of Canada, H?l?ne Fortin, Chairperson of Loto-Qu?bec, Kim Thuy, acclaimed author, Dominique Anglade, CEO of Montreal International, now Vice-Minister of Quebec, M?lanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Etc.
Anu Vittal
CEO of AVC Inc.,
Canada
Anu Vittal is the CEO of AVC Inc and believes in empowering people to create, connect and celebrate. With over 23 years of corporate experience in the fields of marketing & supply chain she brings expertise in process improvement as a certified Six Sigma Specialist and ISO-9001 Auditor. Her greatest strength lies in being a successful entrepreneur who has built and sold businesses. As a practising artist and arts administrator she believes that artists directly benefit the eco-cultural balance of a country. As ALL Canada Chairperson for Social Change and Networks and a community leader she always inspires everyone to share their unique gift and contribute to the world. Lastly, Anu advocates the importance of volunteering and has worked and served on boards of non-profit organisations in North America. This work in the not-for-profit world won her the prestigious Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2009. She is a loving humanitarian with a pure passion for the arts and an ARTepreneur with a purpose.
Dr. Andrea Koblizkova
Vice-Rector, University of Pardubice
Czech Republic
Andrea Koblizkova, PhD. is the vice-rector of the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic Her background, combining management, marketing and English studies brought her naturally to the issues of communication important to professionals in business, including socio-pragmatic aspects of intercultural interaction. For fourteen years she worked as the head of the Language Centre of the University of Pardubice. As the member of the Executive Board of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS) and the chair of the Committee of the Czech and Slovak Association of Language Centres, she has been involved in the issues of tertiary language education and language policy in international context. She ran several European and numerous national projects and has been active in intercultural research.
Dr. Maya Morsy
President, The National Council for Women in Egypt
Egypt
Dr. Maya Morsi took office as President of Egypt?s National Council for Women (NCW) on 1 February 2016. Upon re-formation of the NCW on 19 January 2016, members of the council elected her to serve as the third president of the NCW since it was established in 2000. The NCW is the highest national machinery entrusted with formulating and monitoring national plans for the advancement of women in Egypt, and providing policy options and advice in all fields related to the development and empowerment of women to enable them to play their rightful and essential roles in society and integrate their efforts in comprehensive national development programs. Prior to joining the NCW, Maya Morsi had served, since 2013, As Regional Advisor on Gender Policies and Programmes in the United Nations Development Programme?s (UNDP) Regional Centre for Arab States in Cairo. She was responsible for providing policy advice and technical support for women?s empowerment and gender mainstreaming in planning and public budgets, as well as the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of regional and national strategies and plans for the advancement of women acrossthe Arab region. Maya Morsi?s career spans more than twenty years of dedicated service to the advancement of women and defending their fundamental rights. She served as Head of the Egypt Country Office of the United Nations Fund For Women ? UNIFEM (2000-2013); UNIFEM Project Coordinator (1999-2000); Consultant for the Girls Education and Empowerment Project of the Ministry of Education in Egypt (1998-1999); and Project Officer in the Sustainable Human Development Platform for Action and Monitoring, implemented by UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Administration in Egypt (1995-1998). Prior to that she served as Academic Facilitator in the Public Administration and Communication Joint Program between City University of Seattle and the Arab Academy of Science and Technology of the League of Arab States (1997-1998). In 2008, Maya Morsi received a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a focus on the human security of Arab women from the Institute of Arab Studies and Research of the League of Arab States. She completed two Master?s degrees at the City University of Seattle, USA, in Business Administration (1998) and Public Administration (1997), after receiving a Bachelor?s of Arts degree in Political Science from the American University in Cairo (1995), with a minor in Mass Communication (Journalism).
Bogaletch Gebre
Founder & Executive Director, KMG Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ms. Gebre grew up in a small village in Ethiopia. Boge was like any typical Ethiopian girl ?she fetched water and helped her mother with cooking and chores. And, like any typical Ethiopian girl of that time, she suffered FGM where she nearly bled to death. But, unlike a typical Ethiopian girl, Boge attended school in secret, leaving her house to ?fetch water?. She went on to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies abroad. In 1997, Boge returned to Ethiopia in order to help change the lives of women and girls in her community: KMG Ethiopia was born. Boge strongly believes that communities, women and men working harmoniously together, have the power to make great change for themselves. With multi-multipronged programs centered in southern Ethiopia, KMG now reaches millions of people each year ? 70 percent women and girls ? and has helped directly or indirectly an estimated 9 million people since it began its work.
Kamilla Sultanova
Global dignity Girls & Boys
Finland
Kamilla Sultanova is a 33-year-old global and local networking powerhouse and a fearless social entrepreneur that makes a world feel like a little village. Born and raised in Uzbekistan, Kamilla has left family and home at age of 18 to study and work in Denmark and now lives in Finland. She builds unique partnerships between public, civic and business leaders in advancing youth rights, equality, entrepreneurship and 21st century skills. She is a member of the European Young Leaders ?40 under 40? and GMF Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders networks and with her genuine interest in people, she builds trust in the society and hope in a fractured and polarised world. Along with a successful sales career in Scandinavian shipping companies including Maersk Line, during last 10 years Kamilla has taken a lead in many social impact initiatives in Denmark, Finland and across Europe. In Finland, Kamilla initiated over 9 community-focused events (similar to TedTalks) for teenagers in the local chapter of Global Dignity Finland where topics are: ?how to dream big, embrace future as who you are and believe in yourself.? Global Dignity is present in over 60 countries and is co-founded by philosopher Pekka Himanen, HRH crown prince of Norway Haakon and CEO of Hope Foundation John Hope Bryant. With her ability to build cooperation and involve people early in the process she dares to try new approaches to find solutions to complex problems as an insider and outsider.
She welcomes to cooperation all who want to wake up to a day where each teacher is a hero of today while each teenager can feel s/he can be a change-maker!
Salma Abdulai
CEOUnique Quality Product Enterprise Tamale
Ghana
Has her background in agriculture science from her senior high school level, continued with her university education at university for development studies,she offered BSc. Agriculture Technology and majored in Economics and extension. She further proceeded to do her postgraduate degree in MPhil Agricultural Economics. Since her graduation from her first degree, she has been working on different projects in the international non-profit organization close to 6 years. She has extensive experience in the agriculture sector, particularly working with small scale rural farmers and women groups.
Srija Chatterjee
Managing Director , Publicis Worldwide India
India
Srija Chatterjee is Managing Director at Publicis Worldwide?s India operations, that include Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital, Publicis Beehive, Publicis Health and Publicis Business. She oversees growth & strategy at the agency and manages a plethora of brands including L?Oreal, Nestle, ZEE, Bharti AXA, Heineken, Sanofi, Unilever, Citibank, UB Group, HDFC MF among others. Her industry experience spans over 20 years and includes leadership roles across India and Singapore managing key regional and multinational brands across markets.
Srija is an award-winner in her own right, having led integrated cross-disciplinary teams across digital, PR, shopper and activation for local, regional and global brands alike.
Princess Asharaje Gaekwad
Maharani of Baroda
India
?Real power is when you intrinsically make efforts to educate, feed and enable the less privileged to lead a better life?.
Princess hails from the Legendary Rana family of Nepal who ruled Nepal for 104 years. Her Great Grandfather was HH Maharaja Chander Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana who was considered the most enlightened and benevolent Prime Minster of his time.
The Princess did her education from India and Nepal. She married into the Royal family of Baroda to Prince Sangramsinh Gaekwad, the son of HH Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad.
Shobana Kamineni
President, CII, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.
India
Shobana Kamineni is the Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited and a member of its founding family. Apollo Hospitals is the pioneer of private healthcare in India and is Asia?s foremost healthcare conglomerate. Championing Special Initiatives for over seven years, Shobana had steered the organization?s emergence as a proponent of integrated healthcare in India. She heads Apollo Pharmacy, India?s largest pharmacy chain with a pan-India network of over 3000 stores, 19000 employees; it serves 3,00,000 customers a day. She is a founder and a Whole Time Director on the Board of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, acknowledged as India?s best specialized Health Insurance Company for 6 years, consecutively. As lead director in Apollo?s research and innovation activities and cognizant of the convergence between Healthcare, pharmaceutical & biotech industries and the Academia, Shobana championed the creation and Incubation of a Biobank ? a catalogued library of Ethically consented, anonymised bio-samples. The Biobank was recognized as one of the top 10 ideas in Life sciences by the Time Magazine for the decade. She is an Independent Director on the Boards of Blue Star Limited and Hero MotoCorp. Shobana also served on the Advisory Council of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). In addition, Shobana is Vice-Chairperson of the KEI Group, a diversified logistics, leisure & infrastructure business, that she founded with her husband. An active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Shobana was elected as President for the year 2017-18. She is the first woman to become the President of CII since it began in 1895. Dedicated to ensuring that more women enter the workforce, she has launched the Power of Parity Initiative. Passionate about inculcating a culture of wellness, Shobana had championed the establishment of ?Billion Hearts Beating? ? an NGO dedicated to educating fellow Indians about preventing heart disease and staying heart-healthy. Shobana has been a recipient of prestigious national awards for Entrepreneurship and Leadership. She was conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Science by the prestigious Bryant University, USA, in recognition of her life?s work in healthcare & pharmaceuticals and her Leadership role in business expansion in India.
Ira Singhal
S.D.M., Government of NCT of Delhi
India
Ira Singhal, an IAS Officer, is the first person with disability to top the prestigious Civil Services Examination of India which happens to be the toughest exam of India and supposed to be among the 3 toughest exams in the world. She has B.E. and MBA degrees from 2 of the most prestigious colleges of the country and has worked as a Strategy Manager for Cadbury India Limited. While she enjoyed working in the corporate sector, she wanted to work for the society and hence decided to change her career path. Before her selection as an IAS officer in 2015, she was rejected thrice by the government as an IRS officer in the same exam despite clearing it, due to her disability. She decided to fight the rejection in Central Administrative Tribunal and won
after a long battle of 3 years. While waiting her joining as an IRS officer, she gave the exam again and this time she got selected as an IAS officer. She currently serves as SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate) of Alipur sub-division in North Delhi district and gets to work for the betterment of the region.
Priyanka Mittal
Director, KRBL Limited
India
Ms. Priyanka Mittal, a whole time Director on the board of KRBL Limited. International Division Head also handling investor relations, government relations and corporate affairs of KRBL. Responsible for brand development of India Gate rice globally. She is graduate of Harvard Business School?s OPM programme and an undergraduate of University of Southern California. She is on the Board of the University of Southern California Veterbi School of Engineering. She is a member of YPO, CII, ASSOCHAM, FICCI and FIEO. Given her interest in promoting women leadership she is also a Special Advisor to the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (formally known as Women in Parliament, a European Parliament Initiative). She is Northern Region, Chairperson of FIEO, Ministry of Commerce, and Government of India. She is also the co-chairperson of Foreign Trade & Investment Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She has given presentation to the President of Nigeria and key political heads of state on Nigeria?s potential on rice self-sufficiency with the collaboration with KRBL. She also represented the Indian Rice industry in a CII delegation to Malaysia for open market access on agriculture commodities from India. Besides, she had also put forward India?s interest to BERNAS, Malaysia?s Rice controlling body. Ms Mittal?s recent subjects of interest and talks have been food security and sustainability, hunger and malnutrition issues, supply chain management and food storage and wastage.
Abha Dalmia
Past President, FLO & President,
India
Mrs Abha Dalmia is co-founder of FICCI Ladies Organisation . Along with Mrs Indu Jain, she was responsible in initiating the birth of FLO in 1983 and became its President in 1984. FLO, with its strong setup , has grown to become the leading business organisation for women in India with 13 Chapters and a membership of more than 4000. She is very active in the Past President?s Council and acts as a Mentor for FLO.
The Dalmias have been a pioneer family in India with its roots in pre-partition. The Dalmia Group , known earlier as the Dalmia Jain Group , was founded by Late Shri Ramkrishna Dalmia and his brother Late Shri Jaidayal Dalmia in early 1920s. The legacy is being taken forward by the next 2 generations.
Neeru Sharma
Director, Platform Business, Infibeam Incorporation Ltd
India
Neeru Sharma is Director, Platform Business, Infibeam Incorporation Ltd
Mansi Madan Tripathy
Country Head, Shell Lubricants India Cluster
India
A seasoned business leader with 20 + years of experience across industries, business models and markets, Mansi Tripathy is currently the Country Head- Shell Lubricants India Cluster and responsible for managing leading all business activities across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, which combined, form the 3rd largest lubricants market in the world. Her current responsibilities entail driving a business with a 300+ FTE strong cross-functional team responsible for manufacturing, selling & marketing of lubricants to automotive and industrial customers in the region.Her previous roles include Chief Marketing Officer at Shell Lubricants, Global Director for Global Gillette, Asia Pacific Head for Consumer & Market Knowledge at Procter and Gamble and various roles across Asia pacific in Sales, Strategy, Operations, Marketing and Insights. She has a track record of growing market share, brand equity and organization capability and leadership. She has been a pioneer behind Foresight capability, thought leadership in Influencer and sports marketing, expertise in spotting insights for business growth and coaching larger teams. She has lived in India, Geneva, Singapore and Boston; and worked across diverse product categories, business models, channels, consumer segments and culture. Mansi is a B.Tech degree holder in Electronics and communication from National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra and an MBA in Marketing from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research. With a strong belief in making a positive impact on people and work, Mansi?s passions include fitness (50+half/full marathons), dancing (Indian classical) and mentoring/teaching (@ SPJIMR, Harvard, Babson College, Great Lakes, Biz Divas). She has been on the jury of many national and international business awards, speaker / panel speaker at conferences and B schools and recipient of cross marketing and industry awards. She is married with two children and lives in Gurgaon currently.
Megha Tata
COO, Business Television India
India
With nearly 27 years of experience; she brings expertise in management of television network operations in the Media and Entertainment industry. She worked as part of the leadership team at Star, Turner and HBO. She has had a consistent record of increasing business performances in the companies she has worked in. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of BTVI (Business Television India)? India?s Premiere English Business News Channel, part of Reliance ADA Group. Her efforts were validated when she was recognized as ?Next 30? most powerful women to look out in 2010; and was also adjudged as one of India?s hottest young executives of the media industry in 2009 by Business Today. She is amongst the top 50 influential women in media, marketing and advertising in the country as judged by a leading industry magazine ? IMPACT. She has also received Women Leadership award by World Women Leadership Congress in 2014. She was judged amongst India?s top 100 important people in the industry by Digital Studio a leading publication. She is also the Vice President of the International Advertising Association, India Chapter and was a committee member for ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) 2013-2015. She has been part of Jury of leading Industry awards like International Emmys, Promax, Children?s Film Festival , Golden Mikes Awards , International Women in Sales Awards , Impacts 30 under 30 and many more. Besides being involved in industry initiatives, she loves to interact with young minds and does that by giving guest lectures in leading Educational Institutes of the Country like IIT, IIM, ISB, UBS, Rims International, Jamnabai Narsee School , Wellingkar Institute of Management etc. She is also involved as a Volunteer for Isha Foundation ? a non-profit organisation started by Sadhguru.
Mansi Bhatnagar
Managing Director, Templatolio, a 360?
India
Mansi Bhatnagar is Managing Director of Templatolio, a 360? marketing consultancy that specializes in the hospitality industry. Having worked in India, Americas & Europe, Mansi has over 24 years of international hospitality experience in operations, pre-ops, training, marketing, communications and brand development. Not only has she worked with renowned hospitality brands like the Oberoi, Starwood, IHG and Radisson Hotels Group, her 10+ years of experience with HVS empowers her to provide essential and viable brand strategies to domestic and international hotel operators and owners alike. Her passion for quality and constant drive to find creative solutions for every strategic problem is a philosophy that she imparts to all. Her ability to proactively conceptualize positioning and marketing strategies and deliver their creative implementation, all with a focus on return on investment is well appreciated by friends and clients alike. ?
Ritu Bhatia Kler
Managing Director, Total Integrated Design (India) PVT LTD.
India
RITU started the India office of M/S TID International, Singapore in January 1995. Her passion for design and hotels started in Singapore where she lived for several years. Her career started at Taj Mahal Hotel, Delhi thereby getting insight to hotel operations. Designing for hotels was therefore the natural course and TID India
was born. Ritu?s journey of twenty three years has been a great challenge yet satisfying experience. Alongwith a young team of design professionals, s h e h a s j o u r n e y e d a c r o s s I n d i a t o w o r k o n h o t e l p r o j e c t s r a n g i n g f r o m budget , business to luxury hotels and resorts, from new build to renovation and also specialised areas such as Spas and fitness clubs. She has worked with top hotel brands in the country, such as Taj, ITC Fortune, International brands such as Starwood, Accor, IHG; Marriott and various Spa Operators . Besides India she has interacted with consultants and guided the team to take on projects internationally ? Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more. Alongwith the team, she works closely with HQ in Singapore. Ritu believes that ?The best experience in interior design comes with traveling, observing and expanding ones horizon to new ideas. Interior Design is not just about what is within the 4 walls , it is about integration, creativity and thinking out of the box ?
Suman Gahlot
General Manager at Aloft New Delhi Aerocity
India
Dynamic and Charismatic, an industry veteran with old?world learnings and new-age thinking, is what describes, Suman Gahlot, the Lady GM at Aloft New Delhi Aerocity.
Mentored by the best in the business, Suman Gahlot has, today, hand-picked and curated a bastion of the finest and bestowed with an energetic and dynamic personality, Leadership, comes naturally to Suman. The Lady, is recognized in the industry, as an adroit business woman, meticulous in her execution and prudent with her resources. Suman possesses great fortitude and vision which made her the perfect choice for a leadership role of this magnitude.
Coming from a great legacy and lineage- The Taj Group- Suman has curated many a strong hospitality brands in India. Along her journey, she has won many an accolades and honors for her exemplary work.
Alakananda Das
Founder,TOGORR
India
Founder *TOGORR* A social entrepreneurship enterprise. Togor0r stands for TRADITIONAL OPPORTUNITY GROWTH OF RURAL RESOURCES . Being a designer by profession and a social activist mentorship of the rural artisan was the need of the day. A graduate from Miranda House Delhi university married early at an age of 20 to a family of lawyers . Started her career as teacher later founded a kindergarten school tried her hand at network marketing and running a designer label for assamese traditional wear for the last six years .
At present togorr has partnered with cards (char and rural development society) together with them various livelihood projects are undertaken wherein togor is providing metorship and market linkages Togor is working on one village one product and opening of an artsian store on the lines of fabindia
Dr. Shalini Rajneesh
Principal Secretary to Government Education Department
India
Dr. Shalini Rajneesh is Principal Secretary to Government Education Department (Primary and Secondary Education)
Dr. Rukmani Krishnamurthy
India
Rupa Raje Gupta
Operations Management & Decision Sciences
India
Dr.Rupa Raje Gupta,is a New Delhi based architect and educator.An alumnus of the prestigious,Chandigarh College of Architecture,and an M.Phil,PhD from the Welsh School of Architecture,Cardiff University,UK, Rupa brings together an interesting range of projects and career experience.Rupa is a member of the Deccan Research Group and has presented a paper in Slovakia in mid June 2010.Her work profile includes design and construction of institutional projects across the geographical zones in the country,as well as their corporate office.
Deepanwita Chattopadhyay
Chairman and CEO,IKP Knowledge Park
India
Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, Chairman & CEO of IKP Knowledge Park, is responsible for developing the first Life Science Research Park in India at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, and establishing a sustainable innovation cluster around a science park. She pioneered a Hardware Product Incubator and Makerspace, IKP-Engineering Design & Entrepreneurship Network (IKP EDEN), in Bangalore to fuel the maker movement in India and works with global and Indian partners to nurture and fund over 250 innovators and early startups. IKP won the National Entrepreneurship Award 2017 for Incubation and Mentorship from the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India. After brief stints as faculty in electronics engineering at BITS, Pilani and as writer of science material for children, Deepanwita joined the telecom advisory practice of ICICI Bank in 1994. She advised both government and the private sector on telecom regulation & policy, convergence issues, market forecasts and entry strategies. She was deputed as CEO of IKP in 2001. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay is the Founder Chairman of Support Elders Pvt. Ltd. She is the President of IKP EDEN and a Director on the Board of IKP Trust and IKP Investment Management Company. She is a Governing Body member of the National Institute of Immunology, Lucknow Biotech Park, Society for Technology Managers, NCR Biotech Science Cluster and TiE Hyderabad Chapter, and member of several national and state government committees.
Rachna Chhachhi
Nutritional Therapist, Holistic Cancer Coach
India
Rachna Chhachhi is a certified Nutritional Therapist, Holistic Cancer Coach and WHO Certified in Malnutrition for Infants & Children.Rachna herself suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, an incurable autoimmune condition, which left her bed ridden 12 years ago with deformities, when she was heading business development for a Fortune 50 multinational company. She took a break from her corporate career to heal herself, and then got certified to begin her life to help people. Rachna practices across 21 countries to help prevent, manage and reverse cancer and lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, hormonal imbalances, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, acne etc. She uses the power of balanced nutrition, oxygenation, functional training, yoga and meditation as her mainline treatment with success in clinically reversing conditions. However, she is best known for her work with autoimmune patients, and she helps them reverse their disease, which rheumatologists say is impossible. Through her and her patients? example, Rachna has proven in the last 11 years that you can have a pain free, symptom free and medication free life full of energy if you were diagnosed with an autoimmune condition.Rachna has a health column with BusinessWorld magazine and is the author of the book RESTORE. Rachna has conducted over 500 health awareness workshops and sessions for organisations like Google, GE, Marico, Nomura, Accenture, Honeywell, Dunnhumby, Aon Hewitt, Aon Consulting, Cargill etc and for groups for doctors, communities for a cause and cancer associations. Rachna has been writing on health and wellness for 20 years. She has had health columns with Business Today, Outlook Business Magazine and TOI blogs. She has earlier worked with GE Consumer Finance, India Today, Business Today and PPC Worldwide, a United Healthcare group company.
Poonam Dhillon
Bollywood Actress
India
Poonam Dhillon (born 18 April 1962) is an Indian Hindi film, theatre and TV actress. A former Femina Miss India (1977), Dhillon has acted in over 80 films.[1] She is best known for her 1979 film Noorie, for her six films with Rajesh Khanna; Red Rose, Dard, Nishaan, Zamana (1985 film), Awam (from 1980 to 1987) and Jai Shiv Shankar (1990) and other films; Romance (1983), Sohni Mahiwal (1984), Teri Meharbaniyan (1985)Samundar (1986), Saveray Wali Gaadi (1986), Karma (1986), Naam (1986), Maalamaal (1988) etc.
Kanika Hasrat
General Manager, Taj Hotels , Resorts & Palaces
India
Ms. Kanika Hasrat is the General Manager of Vivanta by Taj Dwarka, New Delhi. In her current role she is responsible for the hotels performance, business growth while driving overall guest satisfaction. Kanika is committed in working closely with the team and drives performance across verticals in the hotel.
Kanika has worked in diverse areas of operation within the industry including Housekeeping, Front Office and Rooms. Her expertise includes in improving standards, bringing innovation in day to day tasks and driving overall performance of the hotel. With a keen eye for detail, Kanika is very particular about her hotel rounds, looking for scopes for improvement and interacting with her guests and associates.
Kanika has always been a strong believer of harnessing ones strengths and loves to work in a planned and organized manner. She believes that it is vital to work strategically and be number driven
Maulina Gupta
General Manager, Hyatt Place Gurugram
India
With a career spanning almost 20 years and having worked across the country, Maulina Gupta brings with her an intense understanding of the hospitality industry in India. Having been associated with Hyatt Hotels Corporation for more than 8 years, she embraces the values of the organization and dynamically leads the young, vibrant and promising team of Hyatt Place Gurgaon/Udyog Vihar, She has been successful in engaging the staff at all levels thereby, creating an environment wherein everyone is comfortable and at their best leading to elevated employee satisfaction. Maulina Gupta is a dynamic and accomplished executive with outstanding records in a vast array of professional endeavors encompassing start-up, turnaround and new business development in the Service Industry. Hailing from a defense family background, Maulina Gupta is a gypsy at heart, who loves travelling with her son.
Manjeet K Bansal
India
Harjinder Kaur Talwar
MD & CEO , Comvision India Pvt Ltd
India
Ms. Kaur has 20 years of successful experience behind her, is a dynamic, result-oriented entrepreneurial leader with a strong track record and with good interpersonal skills who resolves multiple or complex issues as well as motivates staff to deliver maximum potential. She is MD & CEO of Comvision (India) PVT Ltd and Comvision Q Free, leading companies in system integration, e-governance as well as proven hardware/software solutions for automated toll management respectively. Harjinder founded her $5.0 million business in 1995 in India. In the last 21 years she has provided one stop shop for IT solutions in e-governance arena of India as well as Intelligent transport solutions and free flow traffic solutions.
The company has done international strategic partnerships to give specialized solutions in Indian roads and highways sector apart from being a domain expert in implementing solutions for Govt. sector in India.
Meghna Tare
Executive Director Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact (ISGI)
India
Meghna Tare is the Executive Director for the Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact at the University of Texas at Arlington where she works collaboratively with faculty, staff, the student body and community members to address opportunities to promote sustainability in several areas including greening facility operations, promoting innovative research, supporting and encouraging student initiatives, implementing an environmentally and sustainability-focused curriculum. She recommends policies and strategies to advance the university?s commitment to being leader in campus sustainability. She is a TEDx UTA speaker, was featured as Women in CSR, and graduated with an MBA in Sustainable Management and MS in Environmental Science.
She is a passionate and decisive change agent with proven success driving results, building teams, setting ambitious goals, guiding strategies, developing and executing plans. She is an effective and inspiring communicator, trusted team player and relentless optimist who enjoy building strong relationships and partnerships.
She serves on several boards including the Committee on Economic and Social Sustainability for Airports by the Transportation Research Board. This Board is one of seven program units of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and provides independent objective analysis and advice to the nation to help solve complex problems and inform policy decisions.
Shabeena Sultana
Deputy Chairperson, The Karnataka Region Economic Trade Organisation (KRETO)
India
Mrs. Shabeena Sultana is one of the key architects of KRETO, a revolutionary platform that is all set to transform the way businesses are conducted by Karnataka companies with the rest of the world. Shabeena has been blessed with a sharp business acumen that has guided her in her journey dotted with milestones. Not one averse to taking risks she has time and again provedher leadership qualities by excelling in various categories that she has been a part of over the years. Her interests span Energy, Education, International Relations, Trade Association, Social Causes and many more. She has donned several hats in her illustrious career. She is the Managing Director of Sapienflare Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which was born out of her understanding of the Energy Sector. This company offers a host of diversified services in the areas of ?Waste to Energy? and ?Solar Energy?. Their services include liasoning with National and International Organizations and bringing them onto a single platform, and thereafter aligning them with respective government departments. Her tryst with providing meaningful education to the youth of India especially those in Karnataka led her to associate with one of the state?s leading group of educational institutes: The HKBK Group of Institutions. She joined them as their Head of Human Resource and was also a member of their Trust. Her objective then was to provide value services in the areas of recruitment, staff communication, employee recognition schemes, efficient performance appraisal methodologies and skill training. Her altruistic passion led her to launch a non-governmental NGO called the Warmth Trust, which is dedicated towards uplifting and empowering women not only in India but across the globe. Through several schemes initiated by this NGO, Shabeena and her passionate team have been able to positively influence women who are underprivileged and impacted by other disadvantages. Her newest contribution is the ?Karnataka Region Economic Trade Organisation? ? KRETO, where she is the Deputy Chairperson championing the cause of developing trade between Karnataka and the rest of the world. With this initiative she hopes to empower Indian enterprises by inculcating global business knowledge and expertise and aims to become the catalyst for growth in a barrier-less and technologically driven global market place. She aspires to help Indian businesses upscale, align and emerge as formidable players in their respective business domains with the help of strategic assistance from KRETO. Shabeena loves travelling during her spare time. She also enjoys meeting new people and expanding her horizons of awareness and experience.
Meera Ali
Owner, Kotwara
India
Meera Ali is Owner, Kotwara
Prathibha Prahlad
Founder, Delhi International Arts Festival
India
Padmasri awardee Prathibha Prahlad is a highly respected performer, choreographer, author, scholar, arts administrator & Guru. With indefatigable energy and passion, Prathibha Prahlad has pioneered India?s most prestigious arts festival ? Delhi International Arts Festival. Her innovating efforts in creating India?s Signature Arts Festival, DIAF, has given a new dimension to India?s cultural footprints globally. A renowned culture specialist, she is a frequent invitee to international conferences.
Prathibha Prahlad heads the Prasiddha Foundation & Forum for Arts Beyond Borders, both of which she has established into premier cultural organizations of the Country. Prasiddha Dance Repertory, of which she is the Artistic Director, is frequently invited by International Festivals for performances. She has served extensively on several Government of India Committees on culture. As the convener of the Culture Committee of Commonwealth Games 2010 & designed the Opening & Closing Ceremonies and has served as a member of the Jury for National Film Awards and Dada Saheb Phalke Award. She has also designed the syllabus for dance for NCERT and contributed to MHRD?s Master?s degree program online. She is the only artiste of her generation on an Indian ?My Stamp? of Rs.5, released by the Dept. of Posts & Telegraphs, in her honour. Prathibha Prahlad has been conferred the PADMASRI & Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. She has received the Karnataka State Government Award & ?Karnataka Kalasri?.Prathibha Prahlad says -?Culture is the wealth you pass onto future generations. It is our identity and is the only truly unifying force in this divisive world. It is our collective responsibility to invest in culture?
Palak Shah
CEO, Ekaya
India
Palak Shah, the Badass female behind one of the most well known Indian labels Ekaya, synonymous with Banarasi textiles, has managed to make traditional look cool enough to appeal to the millennials while maintaining superior quality clubbed with exquisite designs to lure in the older generations
Leena Singh
Designer, Ashima Leena
India
Leena Singh of AL ? Indian Luxury (Ashima-Leena) is a veteran in the design industry and is a pioneer both on national and international level. Being one of the most senior designers and having a legacy for almost 3 decades, she has built the brand Ashima-Leena with her relentless hard work and devotion in the fashion world.
Having won many accolades and awards both on national and international level including the prestigious award from the government of India for being the official designers for ?Commonwealth Games? 2010 held in New Delhi??the journey of Ashima-Leena was unstoppable and continues to be one of the most prestigious and senior brands of the country.
Leena Singh is also responsible for building up Fashion Design Council of India along with her contemporary designers like Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya, Ashish Soni and other seniors.
She has been a former board member of FDCI for 9 years and has helped the council to grow in every possible manner.
The brand is credited to have more than 300 fashion shows both on national and international level and AL today is the name to reckon with every household of the country and widely recognized globally.
Dr. Prerna Gaur
Associate Professor
India
Dr. Prerna Gaur is presently working as Associate Professor, Instrumentation and Control Division, NSIT, Dwarka, New Delhi, India. She has completed her B Tech in Electrical Engineering from G.B.PantUniv of Technology and Agriculture, Pantnagar in 1988, M.Tech from Delhi College of Engineering in 1996 and PhD from Delhi University in in the field of Artificial Intelligence and control. She has 6 years of Industry experience and 21 years of Teaching experience in Delhi College Engineering and NSIT, Delhi. She has published More Than 70 research papers in International Journals and IEEE Conferences. She has guided more than 100 B.Tech and M.Tech Students and presently guiding eight PhD students. Besides teaching she is actively associated with IEEE, ISTE and IE. She has important positions in IEEE: Serving as Chairperson, IEEE Women in Engineering, Since Feb 2013. And as Secretary, IEEE Women in Engineering, (2008-2010) and March 2012-Feb-2013, Serving as Chairperson PELS-IES Delhi Chapter, IEEE Delhi Section since Feb 2013 and Secretary PELS-IES Delhi Chapter, IEEE Delhi Section March 2012-Feb-2013, Secretary, IEEE Delhi Section from Feb 2013-Till Date, Treasurer, IEEE Delhi Section-2011-2012 and March 2012- Feb-2013 and Jt. Secretary, IEEE Delhi Section-(2008-2010), Vice Chairman ?IEEE India Council, Student Activity in 2012, Served as Chairperson Membership Dev. Committee, IEEE Delhi Section (2008-2010). She has awarded as Outstanding Chapter award from IEEE Power Electronics Society, NJ, USA in the year 2013 as Chairperson, PELSIES Delhi Chapter, Outstanding Branch Counselor Award from Region 10 (Asia Pacific Region) in 2012, Outstanding Branch Counselor Award from IEEE Delhi Section-2008, and 2013, Exemplary in Branch Counseling Award from IEEE Delhi Section- 2009, 2011 and 2012, Outstanding Branch Counselor Award from IEEE USA in 2009, Best Affinity group of the year award from Region 10 (Asia Pacific Region) in 2014
Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra
Secretary (DARE) & Director General , ICAR, New Delhi
India
Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra is Secretary (DARE) & Director General , ICAR, New Delhi
Nandini Bhalla
Nandini Bhalla
India
Reynu Tandon
Fashion Designer
India
Some people extend their passion and make it a profession and that?s when you completely enjoy every moment of work. Such is the case with Reynu Taandon whose clothes exuberate a great deal of spirit and energy with the colors and embellishments she feels free to indulge in. She brings out a flamboyant perspective to colour and contour. The hallmark of every design is elaborate draping, exquisite construction and immaculate finish. With clean, clear silhouettes and an extraordinary sense of style, her designs speak an international language. Her couture is a perfect paean to an individual expression where each piece created enhances the identity of the wearer Reynu Taandon with a belief in high end fusion she aims at her garments being graceful and elegant which oozes femininity and sensuality. Reynu aspires to make Indian fashion more popular and affordable and she is having fun unlimited on the fashion track.Reynu has been in industry 1999 which is been 18 years of her hard work in this fashion industry also being participating in the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week since 2007 and being part of couture week last three season be also being designing for many Bollywood beauties and many industrialist, many socialists. Today, her fresh, sexy, sparkling clothes are seen on the cocktail circuit from Bombay to Dubai also being taking part in Paris from last 15 seasons. Reynu Taandon has almost 50 other International clients mainly being Harvey Nichols Riyadh RSH ? Dubai, Anthropoligie ? USA, Front Street ? Saudi Arabia and Sun Motoyama ? Japan.
Catherine Moroney
Head of Business Banking, AIB Bank
Ireland
Catherine Moroney is an experienced and customer focussed financial and banking services executive, mainly in the Irish market (with UK, USA and European Client Corporate Banking experience). Experience includes leading large teams requiring excellent interpersonal, communication and leadership skills with a proven track record in delivering commercially focussed, customer centric results and developing talent. Areas of experience include; Corporate & Business Banking, Retail Banking, Finance and Deal Structuring, Leading Business Units responsible for Personal & Business Strategy, Propositions and Product Line development. Currently Head of Business Banking at AIB Bank; Chairman of AIB Corporate Finance, Council & Board Member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce; Fellow of the Institute of Bankers and former Non-Executive Director of Aviva Health
Mariuma Ben Yosef
Founder & CEO, The Shanti House
Israel
I found the way to save a life. I was born with the knowledge ? I just needed to take the journey to discover what was inside me the entire time? Life is a combination of nature and nurture ? but I truly believe that the circumstances we are handed in life are not what forms us ? it?s our passion, our drive and rising above to connect to universal love. After suffering violence and abandonment, I became a ?child of the streets? ? spanning 2 continents. I preferred the snow and ice to the pain and suffering I endured. I chose to live my life on my terms. I knew there was a higher power that was guiding me, a purpose, a reason. It kept me warm even throughout the toughest blizzards. I found myself in the deserts of Sinai and the streets of Tel Aviv. Despite suffering unspeakable violence and rape ? I learned that every word, every action counted ? and that there was a Karmatic force in the world ? everything happens for a reason. I served in the Israeli Army as a teacher for at-risk youth. Things had come full circle ? I had been and still was one of them and felt a strong connection but still, I wasn?t seeing the signs the universe was sending me. I was about to embark on a backpacking trip upon completing my service ? but man plans and god laughs ? I got pregnant and knew that my life was taking a 180 degree turn. I needed to find work ? but I was pregnant, who would hire me? I tried to think back on the moments that I felt most connected, most alive ? and ironically it was when I was with my ?family of the streets.? I started to organize communal dinners for the children of the streets of Tel Aviv. It started informally, a handful of kids gathering, connecting, living. And quickly the word spread and tens of youth would throng to our gatherings.
Dr. Meira Levy
Senior Lecturer,
Israel
Meira Levy is a senior lecturer at the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Israel, having completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, and at Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. She received her Ph.D., M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. She has extensive experience in the software engineering industry in technical and management positions. Her research interests include: Distance learning; Knowledge engineering and management, both from human and technological perspectives, including: KM audit and requirements analysis methodologies, modeling and design of knowledge systems, embedding KM frameworks within business processes, identifying KM culture barriers and Knowledge representation; Social networks and knowledge sharing; Manifestation of the Design Thinking methodology in multidisciplinary teams of engineers and designers throughout the development processes.
Dr. Ora Setter
Lecturer, Tel Aviv university
Israel
Dr. Ora Setter, lecturer at Recanati business school in Tel Aviv University and MDI, Gurgaon, is a n organizational consultant, mindfulness and spirituatlity teacher and student, author and artist. She served as the head of the executive education center in Tel Aviv university, on board of directors of some companies and NGO?s. Her company, ?Window to the Spirit? , is a pioneer in bringing non religious spiritualiti and mindfulness into the business world. Website:-https://orasetter.com/
Dr. Segenet Kelemu
Director General & CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)
Kenya
Dr. Segenet Kelemu is the Director General of the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Nairobi, Kenya. She is the fourth Chief Executive Officer, and the first woman to lead icipe. Dr. Kelemu (a native of Ethiopia) is a molecular plant pathologist with emphasis on elucidation of molecular determinants of host-pathogen interactions, development of novel plant disease control strategies including genetic engineering, biopesticides, pathogen population genetics and dynamics, endophytic microbes and their role in plant development. She has experienced the challenges and successes associated with African agriculture first-hand, from tending the field to directing a world-class laboratories.
Alina Adomaityte
CEO & Founder, Innoera group & Innoera Global
Lithuania
Alina Adomaityte is Senior Business Development & Strategy Leader in Lithuania. Alina has a diverse experience from working in senior government roles. She is also the Founder and CEO of the Innoera Group, a leading Business Consulting Group in Lithuania. Innoera Group prides itself in structuring and attracting private investment with support from European Funding, World Bank and leading local commercial banks.
Alina, supports various government platforms: She is a Board member Board of the Lithuania Business Confederation (Agriculture); an Advisor to Parliament on promoting bilateral economic interest between Middle East and Lithuania; Member European Funding Committee (agriculture sector); Member Ministry of Agroculture for developing funding sources for European Union Grant.
Bina Silwal
Executive Director, Kopila Nepal
Nepal
Bina Silwal Executive Director of Kopila Nepal, an NGO that has worked for the rights of marginalised women and children for the past 10 years in the remote areas of Western Nepal.Bina is a natural leader. She started her career as a community worker on reproductive health and family planning which gave her a deep insight into the effects of discrimination against women and girls. During the Maoist conflict she advocated for women and children?s rights, sensitising in both government and rebel camps ? despite severe harassment and risk to her own life. The conflict left many women and traumatised which led Bina to develop Kopila?s expertise in the area of mental health.
Katarzyna Anna Nawrot
Assistant Professor , Poznan University of Economics
Poland
Katarzyna?s story in development economics began with a Trans-Siberian trip to Mongolia back in 2000, which marked the beginning of a lifelong journey trying to help resolve world?s pressing developmental challenges. Since then she has been exploring developmental issues both in academic theory and on the ground, carrying out field research and volunteering in developing countries and emerging economies. Combing her academic knowledge with first-hand experience in numerous developing countries on all the major continents has given her an in-depth understanding and comprehensive overview of developmental issues. Her global perspective intersects with a local perception of people and societies, acquired over the years in remote areas across the globe.
Mayor Dr. Anabela Freitas
Mayor of Tomar
Portugal
Anabela Gaspar de Freitas is the first woman to be Mayor of Tomar, Portugal. Born and educated in Tomar, she was for several years also a national champion in Badminton. She is passionate about motor sports, theater, music and orchestra. She was President of the General Assembly of the noted Sporting Club of Tomar. Between 2005 and 2009, she also held the position of Director of the Tomar Employment Center. She was also the representative of the Parliamentary group of the 18th Congress of the Organization International Labor Organization (ILO) and was coordinator of the Working Group of the Protected Employment (in area of disability)
Mayor Maria Do Ceu Albuquerque
Secretary of State for Regional Development
Portugal
Maria do Ceu Albuquerque is Secretary of State for Regional Development
Norah Casey
Author, Broadcaster, Publisher, Harmonia Publishing
Republic of Ireland
Norah Casey , Author , Harmonia Publishing She is currently working on a range of television and radio projects and until recently co-anchored Newstalk Breakfast. Formerly a Dragon in Dragons? Den, she presented a six part series, The Takeover, for RTE 2 in 2013 and co-hosted RTE?s Today show on Friday?s with Bl?thnaid N? Chofaigh. She is CEO (and owner) of Harmonia which prints over four million magazines annually for the Irish, British, US market and more recently in China. Harmonia?s stable includes strong women?s brands: Irish Tatler, U, Woman?s Way and www.ivenus.com; and specialist titles like Food&Wine, Auto Ireland and Ireland of the Welcomes (aimed at the Irish Diaspora). She is a founder of the London-based Women?s Irish Network.
Miriam Feiler
Co-Founder, bizzi.co
Singapore
Miriam Feiler is an Australian entrepreneur who has been based in Singapore for the past 5 years with her family, where they are permanent residents. Prior to relocating to Singapore, Miriam established a successful 15-year career in international trade and small business education, that included assisting Chambers of Commerce, Bilateral Chambers and Government, to help Australian companies start and grow import and export businesses. Miriam created a B2B learning and marketplace event, The Import Export Show, which she ran for 7 years and educated 10,000 SMEs through it.
In Singapore, Miriam became involved with the international startup movement, StartUp Nations, and co-founded Start Up Australia. In 2015, Miriam embarked on a journey to fulfil all the business ideas she wished to birth and all the life experiences she wished to have in her 40s. Her goal to ?build a business that makes a global impact? got momentum last year when she met her now co-Founder, Darren Harrison. They both shared a strong desire to help the world?s MSMEs grow beyond what they thought possible. And realised that the answer could be found in bringing business owners together to collaborate across industries and borders. They spent one year developing bizzi.co, the online collaboration platform and launched it in August 2017 bizzi works with Governments, Chambers/Bilateral of Commerce and women?s entrepreneurship organisations. There are currently businesses from 23 countries on the platform. In 2018 bizzi will continue introducing new offerings that support the journey to growth and expansion for MSMEs globally. Miriam comes to bizzi with the firm belief that collaboration is the best way forward for the world?s MSMEs.
Zarina Lam Stanford
Head of Marketing, SAP
Singapore
As Head of Marketing, Zarina Stanford is responsible for the development and implementation of SAP?s marketing strategy across the Asia Pacific and Japan region. Zarina adopts a customer-centric and insight-driven approach in her go-to-market for SAP in the region, overseeing audience, industry, and portfolio marketing across all customer segments in support of the entire SAP business. She is a recognized change agent who spearheads business and transformational initiatives through imagining the possible. A seasoned industry veteran, Zarina has held various sales and marketing executive positions in North America and Asia. Prior to joining SAP, she was VP of Marketing at IBM where she oversaw strategy, marketing, and communications for Growth Markets and Asia Pacific. A champion for industry diversity and inclusion initiatives, Zarina is currently Bilateral Committee Chairperson for Asia Pacific-India Cooperation at the global women?s chamber ALL Ladies League (www.aall.in). Zarina is a graduate of the Asian Advanced Leadership Program from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. She holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BA in Journalism from the University of North Texas.
Deputy Mayor Tjasa Ficko
Deputy Mayor, City of Ljubljana
Slovenia
Tjasa Ficko is a city councillor on the Zoran Jankovic List and a Deputy Mayor of Ljubljana since 2010. Her fields of work are culture, tourism, international relations, corporate communication, health, social security and development projects. She is a member of the Commission for Mandate Questions, Elections and Appointments and the Commission for International Relations. Among her responsibilities is strengthening international recognisability and the reputation of the city brand. She promotes the city vision, activities and achievements at many events at home and abroad, and shares good practices in numerous renowned international conferences. In 2013 she was in charge of the City Organising Committee of the European Basketball Championship, and then of the candidacy and the implementation of the European Green Capital 2016 project, which successfully put Ljubljana on the European map as a city committed to following the green vision while actively carrying out projects for improving the quality of life. Born in Murska Sobota, she attended school there until graduation, afterwards she successfully concluded her bachelor?s studies in communication science at the Faculty of Social Sciences and the master?s programme in management at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana. She fulfilled part of her study obligations at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Her career began in the Public Relations Office of the Mercator Business System, and when Zoran Jankovic won the local elections in 2006 she was entrusted with the leadership of the Section for Public Relations in the Mayor?s Cabinet and the coordination of communication officers within the big city family. She is a Cervantes Institute graduate, certified director in the Slovenian Directors? Association and a member of the Development Council of the Faculty for Social Sciences, member of the Policy Committee of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and Ljubljana?s representative in the Executive Committee of the largest network of European cities Eurocities.In addition to family and friends she devotes her free time to sports, music and books.
Dijana Galijasevic
Initiator & Co-founder, Positive Business Lab
Slovenia
Dijana finds meaning in cultivating human connections, inspiring others to bring out their true best, while being motivated to associate kind-awareness with universal human collaboration. From a governmental role to co-founding a startup, she applied her skills in innovation, creativity and kindness to create the world?s first international senior exchange. She became an organizational development enthusiast during her ESADE Master program and continued her journey at the Organizational Development program at Columbia University with the motivation to make working environments more human and companies more positively purposeful.Positive Business Lab is inspiring organizations and individuals to find their genuine positive purpose, bringing awareness to each change agent?s role in our world. Moreover, it is exploring and experimenting with ways to connect purposeful people in order to build authentic businesses.
*Sarah Collins
Founder, Wonderbag
South Africa
Since it exploded onto the local and global stage ten years ago, Sarah has worked tirelessly alongside her dynamic team to ensure the revolutionary bag reaches the right people for its far-reaching impacts to be felt. From the kitchens of suburbia to the kitchens of rural Africa, more than 1,000,000 bags have been sold worldwide and Sarah will not stop until there is one in every kitchen across the planet. An anti-apartheid activist and champion of the poor, Sarah?s extreme dedication and determination despite many obstacles earned her Fair Lady?s prestigious Woman of the Future Award last year. ?I have spent most of my life swimming against the tide of criticism, hardship and adversity. This has made me resolute that the world I came into will not be the one I depart from,? she says. Over the past decade, Sarah has adopted a fluid approach to growing her business and has become adept at intuitively seeking out opportunities that also bridge different communities and cultures. She has acquired the skills to instigate and enable culturally relevant philanthropic change in the world and this is supported by an evolving and adaptable business model. Sarah believes climate change and the empowerment of women to be among the most pressing concerns of today. ?I am now focused on using my experience to reach out across to business leaders who understand that today?s business models must not only produce sound and consistent financial results but also sustainable social and environmental
Tracey Chambers
Founder and CEO , The Clothing Bank
South Africa
Tracey is a Chartered Accountant with 25 years? experience in the corporate and social sector. Before starting The Clothing Bank she worked for Woolworths as the Head of Financial Planning and Performance Management. In 2010, she founded The Clothing Bank, a non-profit organization which empowers unemployed mothers through Enterprise Development. The Clothing Bank has grown over the last 8 years to support over 700 women (annually) who made profits of over R30 million from their businesses last year and they are pioneering a number of micro/social franchise. Tracey was awarded the prestigious international Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2016 and is now a member of the World Economic Forum community of social entrepreneurs.
Tracey Gilmore
Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer, The Clothing Bank
South Africa
Tracey Gilmore is the Co Founder of The Clothing Bank, her life?s passion has been to participate fully, be present and available to help South Africa build an inclusive society that encourages equal access to opportunities and financial freedom for all. She is an ideas person and have started various small businesses with varied success. 7 years ago her business partner Tracey Chambers and she founded The Clothing Bank. She had been working with impoverished women and felt frustrated by her lack of impact. The idea for TCB was conceptualised after Tracey and her had a conversation about how much excess ?waste?stock there is to be found within the retail supply chain and how they could use this stock as the tool to teach unemployed women how to run small trading businesses. Since inception they have replicated our model in five cities across South Africa. These hubs have the capacity to train and support 800 women a year processing in excess of 130 000 items a month between them. They have trained 1600 women in business, finance and life skills, who have collectively generated in excess of R64 million worth of profits in their small businesses. she admire the pursuit of knowledge for professional or personal development. Lifelong learning is the key to staying relevant, it encourages social inclusion and active citizenship. Over the past few years she had learned an incredible amount about what it takes to create eco systems that facilitate change. She is fiercely passionate about what she does and have further ambitions to create relevant accessible opportunities that support economic inclusion.
Hon'Ble Sophia Hebron Mwakagenda
Member Of Parliament
Tanzania
Is a Member of Parliament in the Tanzania National Assembly for 2015-2020, She has worked with civil society sector in Tanzania for more than 20 years fighting for women and girls rights. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Development Studies. He is a committed women practitioner, gender activist/analyst and a global women leader in Parliament and out of parliament. She holds one important global award i.e. Emerging Women Leader of the Global South-Coady International Institute/CIDA Canada-2012/3.
Mrs. Ouided Bouchamaoui
Nobel Peace Laureate 2015 Past President
Tanzania
Ouided Bouchamaoui is the co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015. Elected President of the Tunisian Confederacy of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) in May 2011, first woman elected to this position in the Arab World, and member of the National Dialogue Quartet, she played a historic and legendary role in helping her country navigate through a great time of crisis during the Arab spring and move Tunisia to a more transparent and collaborative society with democratic processes, constitutional framework and transparent elections. In 2013, under her presidency UTICA along with the Tunisian General Union of Labour (UGTT) launched the initiative of the National Dialogue. They were joined by the League of Human Rights and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers, forming ?The Quartet?. The Quartet initiated negotiations with all parties involved in deep political crisis in Tunisia, resulting in a peaceable solution. For this successful endeavor they were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.
Ms. Bouchamaoui is also Member of the Oslo Business for Peace Award Committee since January 2016. Ms. Bouchamaoui describes the open secret of her success as the ability to build win-win partnerships and relationships even among opponents. She is an exemplar of the creative and constructive force of women?s leadership to nurture dialogue, bring harmony and build peace. As businesswoman, Ms. Ouided Bouchamaoui is a shareholder and an administrator of the Hedi Bouchamaoui Group, a family owned business spanning more than a hundred years. Mrs. Ouided Bouchamaoui declined thrice the offer to become Prime Minister, wishing to retain her independence, and to work as a mediator to achieve social stability and help foster economic development in Tunisia. In January 2015, the Tunisian President, Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi made her Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic, and His Majesty, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, decorated her with the Royal Order of the Polar Star in November 2015. She also received in December 2015, the ?Legion d?Honneur? from the French President, Mr. Fran?ois Hollande. At the Annual Women Economic Forum (WEF) 2018 in India, she will be felicitated with the highest WEF Award of ?Legendary Peace Leaders of the Decade.?
Teresa Wickham
Co Founder, Food and Farming industry
UK
Teresa Wickham has over 30 years of business development in the food and farming industry. Co-Founded the Women?s Farming Union to rescue the UK Top Fruit industry and bring Farmers closer to Consumers. Grew the organisation to 3,000 farming members. Joined Good Relations plc as their first Senior Consultant. Headhunted to join Safeway Stores PLC as their first Woman Director responsible for Corporate Affairs and Consumer relations. Founded TWA Communications, the strategic business Consultancy in 1996 working with over 30 major companies at Board level to assist in business development and communications. Worked with the Board of Sainsbury?s Stores from 2007 to advise and set up a key stakeholder?s programme and their ?1 Billion Corporate Responsibility Programme. Chaired London Tourist Board during the two worst crisis London faced FMD and 9/11. Involved in ?40 million rescue programme to restore London Tourism.
In addition she has served on the BBSRC Expert Committee on Response to Public Concerns. Chaired O2GO Organic food /Retail Wholesale Food Company. Governor Royal Agricultural University Cirencester.(2005-2010) Chaired the influential Oxford Farming Conference (2009).She was awarded the first National Women in Farming Award (2005) .Made Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies, Honorary Fellow London City and Guilds and a Member of the Worshipful Company of Farmers. Currently: non executive Director of New Covent Garden Market Authority and Chair of Westminster Ebury Bridge Community Futures Group. She is also regular Contributor to Radio and TV Business Programmes.
Jean Shinoda Bolen
Psychiatrist and Author
USA
Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, and the author of thirteen influential books in over ninety foreign editions, notably Goddesses in Everywoman, Urgent Message From Mother, The Millionth Circle. She is an internationally known speaker and workshop leader, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, retired Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF in private practice in Mill Valley, CA. She is a former board member of the Ms, Foundation for Women, and a leading advocate for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (5WCW) India 2022 (last held Beijing, 1995), and has represented Pathways To Peace and Women?s World Summit Foundation at the UN CSW. Her advocacy of 5WCW and Forum is based on the premise that grassroots activism creates political will, and that peace and sustainability in the home and in the world begins with equality and empowerment of women. www.jeanshinodabolen.com
Dr. Farzanna S. Haffizulla
Assistant Dean
USA
Farzanna Sherene Haffizulla, MD FACP is the 2014-2015 national President of the American Medical Women?s Association (AMWA) and served as the South Florida AMWA branch President and one of its founding officers. She graduated summa cum laude and with University Honors in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from the University of Central Florida. She completed medical school at The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Her residency training was at the Cleveland Clinic Florida and at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio and she is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. As national President of the American Medical Woman?s Association, she led the organization into its centennial year. Her leadership vision is to build strong community, national and global networking by encouraging positive strides in healthcare, leadership, scholarship and academia and improving the synergy among health care and professional organizations. Under her leadership and vision, the formation of an affiliate program for AMWA was created. She continues to speak nationally on improving cohesion and communication among health care organizations and physicians. She is involved on many levels with AMWA including being the chair and founder of AMWA?s Preventive Medicine Task Force, founder of AMWA?s fellowship program and she served as the executive chair of the fundraising committee in addition to serving on Governance, Finance, Membership and Global health committees.
Dr. Haffizulla is the Assistant Dean for Community and Global Health at Nova Southeastern University?s College of Allopathic Medicine. Dr. Haffizulla joined the College of Allopathic Medicine in 2017 and provides essential leadership to the college?s faculty and staff to ensure the expansion, maintenance, and sustainability of community-engaged initiatives that promote human health and health education both domestically and abroad. These efforts will improve partnership and community engaged capacity building, as aligned with the institution?s mission and strategic plan.
Dazon Dixon Diallo
Founder & President,SisterLove, Inc
USA
Dazon Dixon Diallo is a recognized visionary and advocate in the struggle for women?s human rights and reproductive justice, and the fight against HIV/AIDS, on behalf of communities of women living with HIV and those at risk for HIV and STIs. Dr. Diallo is Founder and President of SisterLove, Inc, established in 1989, the first women?s HIV/AIDS and RJ organization in the southeastern United States. She is a proud member of In Our Own Voice: The National Black Women?s Reproductive Justice Agenda, where she advocates for sexual and reproductive justice in public health and prevention policies and programs. For 18 years she has served as adjunct faculty in women?s health at Morehouse School of Medicine?s Masters of Public Health Program in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Diallo is a co-chair of the Fulton County HIV Task Force, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Women?s Health Network. Diallo is a founding member of the 30 for 30 Campaign for Women in the National HIV AIDS Strategy, and she serves on the HIV/DV National Advisory Committee for the National Network to End Domestic Violence. D?zon was a visiting professor as the Blanche, Edith, and Irving Laurie Chair in Women?s Studies at Rutgers University for 2013-2014. She has secured deep reach into a diverse local and regional community, for more than twenty years, as she has hosted a weekly radio program focused on black women, called ?Sistas? Time? on WRFG 89.3FM and www.wrfg.org in Atlanta. Dr. Diallo holds a master?s degree in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (C?97) and bachelor?s degrees from Spelman College (C?86) in Atlanta. In 2012, Dr. Diallo had the distinct honor to receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from her alma mater, Spelman College.
Joyce Adolwa
Director, Education Programs, CARE, USA
USA
Joyce Adolwa, originally from Kenya, is CARE?s senior director for education programs, leading the organization?s global efforts to promote adolescent girls? empowerment through providing equitable, relevant and quality education while also addressing the intersectionality?s that promote the empowerment of this very vulnerable group. In this role, Joyce is responsible for providing strategic direction and intellectual leadership to global efforts that seek to elucidate the evolution of girl?s empowerment and its continuum into women?s empowerment. Joyce?s career has been dynamic, having worked in both the health and corporate sectors. She has led several global initiatives as a researcher, program designer and implementer in the fields of education, youth leadership, health, Early Childhood Development and HIV programming. Ms. Adolwa has led and supported research on the interaction of gender, education and health, she has authored/co-authored a number of articles and served on numerous expert panels on girls? education and women?s empowerment. Joyce was tapped to inform the Former First Lady Michelle Obama?s Let Girls Learn White House initiative and also received a note of commendation from former President Barack Obama for her contribution to the first United State of Women Summit convened by the White House in 2016. She has served on the technical advisory committee for the Clinton Global Initiatives, Girls CHARGE. She currently serves as CARE?s representative on the Global Advisory Committee for the UN Girls Education Initiative. Joyce has a M.S. degree in Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, USA and a B.A. in Sociology and English Literature from Egerton University, Kenya. She also has a post graduate diploma in Marketing and Public Relations from the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry. In addition to her work, Ms. Adolwa has served as a guest lecturer with the Colombia University?s Global Classroom on Gender and with the University of Minnesota. Joyce is the mother of two wonderful girls who she is raising to be the future face of women?s empowerment.
Dr. Danielle Wood
Director, Space Enabled
USA
Dr. Danielle Wood joins the Media Lab as assistant professor in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences as of January 2018. Within the Media Lab, Dr. Wood leads the Space Enabled Research Group which seeks to advance justice in earth?s complex systems using designs enabled by space. Dr. Wood is a scholar of societal development with a background that includes satellite design, earth science applications, systems engineering, and technology policy for the US and emerging nations. In her research, Dr. Wood applies these skills to design innovative systems that harness space technology to address development challenges around the world. Wood?s research also develops systems analysis tools to improve decision making during the design of complex systems. Most recently, Dr. Wood worked as the Applied Sciences Manager within the Earth Science Division of Goddard Space Flight Center. Previously, she served as Special Assistant and Advisor to the Deputy Administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Prior to working at NASA, Dr. Wood held positions at the Aerospace Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. Dr. Wood studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she earned a PhD in engineering systems, SM in aeronautics and astronautics, SM in technology policy, and SB in aerospace engineering.
Jeanne Holm
Senior Technology Advisor to the Mayor
USA
As a leader in open data, education, community-building, and civic innovation, Jeanne Holm empowers people to discover new knowledge and collaborate to improve life on Earth and beyond. Jeanne is the Deputy CIO and Senior Technology Advisor to the Mayor for the City of Los Angeles, bringing technical innovations to 4 million people. Her work in Los Angeles focuses on delivering great city services like 311, public television, and social media, and public-private collaborations for technology innovations ranging from data science to broadband. She was formerly the Evangelist for open data for the White House, the leader for African open data for the World Bank, and the Chief Knowledge Architect at NASA. She is a Distinguished Instructor at UCLA, a Fellow of the United Nations International Academy of Astronautics. She directs two startups: In Unison, a charity that promotes peace and social justice through education and music, and Open Data Collaboratives, creating education programs for innovators throughout Africa.
Ziya Ma
Vice President Of Big Data, Intel
USA
Ziya Ma is vice president in the Software and Services Group and director of Big Data Technologies at Intel Corporation. She is responsible for optimizing big data solutions on the Intel? architecture platform, leading open source efforts in the Apache community, and bringing about optimal big data analytics experiences for Intel customers. Her team works closely with internal product teams, the open source community, the industry and academia to further Intel?s efforts in the big data analytics field.
Prior to the current role, Ziya was the product development software director at Intel IT. Her team provided lifecycle management tools and infrastructure and analytics solutions to Intel software teams worldwide. Ziya spent the first 10 years of her Intel career in the Technology and Manufacturing Group, holding various management positions related to the development of embedded software for factory equipment, manufacturing execution systems, process-control systems, user interfaces and business intelligence solutions. She is also a co-founder of the Women in Big Data forum. Ziya has received her Ph.D. and M.S. in CSE from Arizona State.
Sonal Puri
CEO, Webscale Networks Inc.
USA
Sonal Puri serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. Prior to Webscale, she was the Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka Networks and led sales, marketing and alliances for the pioneer in SaaS for global enterprise networks. Sonal has more than 18 years of experience with Internet Infrastructure in sales, marketing, corporate and business development and channels. Previously, Sonal headed business development and corporate strategy for the Application Acceleration business unit, and the Western US Corporate Development team at Akamai Technologies working on partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. Sonal also ran global business operations, channels, business development and the acquisition for Speedera Networks (AKAM) and held key management roles in sales, marketing and IT at Inktomi, CAS and Euclid. Sonal holds a Master?s degree in Building Science from the University of Southern California, and an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Mumbai, India.
Dr. Lily W. Lee
USA
Janeen Uzzell
Former Head of Women in Technology.
USA
Janeen Uzzell is a Global Technology executive with extensive experience in the design and use of technology to drive impact on health outcomes for some of the world?s biggest Technology giants. She is a People Developer, Transformational Leader, Storyteller, Engineer and self-proclaimed Global Citizen ? with a passion for incubation and impact. Janeen is on a mission to use her influence and voice to lead causal work that changes lives, communities and the world.
Regarded as a pioneering global strategist and skilled in partnership modeling she is adept in identifying market barriers and conceptualizing new models to impact client performance and profitability. Additionally, Janeen uses storytelling as a way to link business models and causal solutions to engage, inspire, and ignite shifts in global policies and practices. During her 16-year tenure with GE, she held a number of technical roles, served as a global P&L leader, managed a major market customer base, and transformed the teams of people that she had leadership responsibility over.
In 2009 Janeen was tasked with building a team and strategy to determine GE?s rural health platform. She and her team were the start-up leaders who designed key partnerships, aligned core products for scalability in the emerging market and grew the Africa healthcare revenue portfolio. It is this work and her leadership as an Ex-Pat in Africa that she holds most dearly, and is most proud of in her career.
Most recently, Janeen was the Head of Women in Technology for GE where she worked across the 300,000-employee community leading a culture shift to accelerate the number of women within the Company?s technical female workforce.
Didi Wong
Motivational Speaker & Queen of Events
USA
DIDI WONG (from Hong Kong and England) is a successful serial Mompreneur, with four children under the age of eight, including a set of identical twins, and runs three businesses. Her passion has been helping entrepreneurs double their income in half the time. But prior to embarking on her AwakeningGIANTS journey in Season 1, she took the biggest solo financial and business risk in her career?and failed, losing over $250,000 all in just three days, and even being ridiculed about her worth from her own parents. She enters our series insecure about her future, unsure she can regain her confidence to start again. A mystical experience with the indigenous elders of the Waitaha Nation in New Zealand, helps her shed an ancestral curse, and heal lifetimes of pain. She?s now ready to reclaim her full power. Vulnerably sharing her past and present self-questioning and personal motivations, Didi helps us understand success and failure, and what it takes to find true fulfillment through faith in self and service to others
Maggie Chan Jones
Founder & CEO, Tenshey
USA
Maggie is a seasoned C-level executive specialized in marketing, business transformation and technology. She is also an entrepreneur, and the Founder and CEO of Tenshey, Inc., a tech-enabled startup with a mission to advance gender diversity and leadership development through executive coaching. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she was the first woman to become the global chief marketing officer (CMO) of SAP, responsible for leading SAP?s advertising and brand experience, sponsorships, digital marketing, strategic events, customer audience journey, and field and partner marketing functions across all markets. During her tenure at SAP, Maggie led the transformation of the SAP brand to becoming the world?s 21st most valuable brand, delivered double-digit growth in marketing contribution to business, and advanced people skills development to compete in the digital economy. She was also an executive sponsor for diversity and inclusion in the CEO Board Area and part of the SAP Innovation Roundtable.
Naseefa Hamid
Founder & President, Hamid Foundation Inc.
USA
Naseefa Hamid is the Director of Finance and Administration of Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. ICCR has pioneered the use of shareholder advocacy to influence companies on environmental, social, and governance issues in the U.S. Naseefa is also the Founder and President of Hamid Foundation Inc. Hamid Foundation Inc. was created to help women and children in need. The foundation donates school supplies, food, clothing and medical supplies to help underserved communities in Guyana, South America. Prior to working at ICCR; Naseefa was the Finance and Human Resource Manager for Safe Water Network, overseeing operations in Ghana and India. Naseefa was also the Controller at Trace Foundation, overseeing operations in China. Naseefa graduated with an Accounting and Information System degree from Queens College, City University of New York.
Dr. Janet L. Robb
Senior Education Advisor/Independent Consultant
USA
Dr. Janet Robb is an international development expert who has worked in education and community mobilization for more than 30 years. She has worked at all levels of development; from technical specialist to Chief of Party in developing environments and from project manager to Senior Vice President in international organizations. She has grown and managed significant business centers for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She possesses advanced skills in senior level professional development and strategic partnership building with government officials, host country implementers, and beneficiaries.
Janet has lived and worked in Botswana, Pakistan, Lesotho, and Malawi and has worked on various education development efforts in more than 30 countries. Janet?s primary passion is making certain that all children have a chance at a successful future and equitable access to education. One of the highlights of Janet?s professional career has been as the Country Director for the successful Social Mobilization Campaign for Girls? Education in Malawi. Eighteen years after the conclusion of that project, the impact can still be seen throughout Malawi ? in the girls who have finished school and grown up to be change-agents in their own right, in the successful local NGO that emerged as a key player in social mobilization throughout the region, and in the country-level professional positions now held by many of the university students who worked with her on the mobilization campaign.
Prof. Dr. Adel El-Beltagy
International Dryland Development Commission (IDDC)
Egypt
Prof. Dr. Adel El-Beltagy is currently Chair of the International Dryland Development Commission (IDDC), Professor, Arid Land Agricultural Graduate Studies & Research Institute (ALARI), Ain Shams University, Egypt. Board member, the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Chair, the Food and Agricultural Research Council, Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology. Former Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, President of the Governing Board of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), Member of the Advisory Board of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Prof. El-Beltagy has also served as Vice Chair/Member of the board, the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) (2007-2011), Member, the CGIAR change steering team (2007-2008), Council member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (2006- 2011), Chair, the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) (2006-2010), Member, the FAO High-Level Committee addressing the implementation of the UN millennium development goals (MDGs) (2006-2011), Board Member, the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board (2004-2005), Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) (1995-2006), He is Foreign member of national Academy of sciences, 1999, Russia & Georgia, 2001, Kyrgyzstan, 2002, Tajikistan, 2004, Azerbaijan, 2006, Kazakhstan. Chairman, the Scientific/Technical Council of the Int?l Sahara and Sahel Observatory (SSO) (1993-2002). He received numerous honors and awards including: 2015, Golden Medal of CIHEAM, 2014, Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit, (France) in recognition to his efforts in the Int?l Agriculture Development, particularly in the Mediterranean countries, 2009, The Sultan Qaboos ?First Class? Order for Culture, Sciences and Arts for his contribution to the development of agriculture in the dry areas, 2005, Al-Istiklal Medal by His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of Jordan, 1993, Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, U.K., and 1982, Golden Pen of the International Society for Horticultural Science.He has authored/co-authored more than 180 scientific publications. Website:
https://www.adelelbeltagy.org/
S. Sandilya
Chairman, Eicher Group
India
He started his career in 1969 with DCM group of companies at their Group Headquarters in the Finance function. After a year?s stint with DCM he joined Union Carbide where he worked for five years in three locations namely Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in Systems as well as Finance and Accounts.
Mr. Sandilya joined Eicher in 1975.
He has been a part of the growth journey of the Group and held various positions in different business units. He was the Managing Director of Eicher Motors Limited, the Commercial Vehicles Manufacturing business unit of the Group till 1998 before moving to the Group Office to take responsibility for Group Finance and Strategic Planning in addition to being the MD of Eicher Motors. He was appointed Vice Chairman in October 1999 and as Group Chairman and CEO in April 2000. The group?s portfolio at that time included Agricultural tractors, Commercial vehicles, Motorcycles, Engineering Components, Engineering Solutions, Garments, Leather Products and Business Consulting Services. He is the Non-Executive Chairman from 2006 after superannuation.
He is Chairman and Independent Director of Mastek Limited, an IT company and in addition a member on the Board of Directors of a few reputed companies in the auto components, engineering and infrastructure sectors.
Sushil Kumar Sayal
CEO & MD, Bharti Realty Limited
India
Mr. Sushil Kumar Sayal is Bharti Realty?s Managing Director and CEO since 2014, providing leadership while conceptualizing and implementing a scalable business strategy.
Mr Sayal has experience of more than 35 years in the real estate industry. He was the Founding Director and CEO of Alpha G Corp (2004-2014) and Head of Operations -Mahindra/GESCO (1993-2004) prior to that. His realty skills were honed with major developers such as DLF and Ansals in the early years in his career.
Before embarking on his illustrious career, Mr. Sayal completed his education with a Degree in Civil Engineering from the Institute of Engineers, Calcutta of which he is also an Associate Member.
Mahendra Mohan Gupta
CMD, Editorial Director, Dainik Jagran
India
Mahendra Mohan Gupta Ex.M.P.(Rajya Sabha)
Editorial Director? Dainik Jagran
Chairman & Managing Director ? Jagran Prakashan Ltd
Past Chairman ? Press Trust Of India, New Delhi(2014 )
Past President? Merchants? Chambers Of U.P., Kanpur(2012-2014)
Director ? Indian Newspaper Society, New Delhi
President (1987-88) Indian Languages Newspapers Association, Mumbai
President (1989-90) Indian Newspaper Society, New Delhi
Member (1984-91) Press Council of India, New Delhi
Chairman (2001-03) United News of India, Delhi
Member (2004-06) Film Censor Board, Mumbai
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) 2006-2012
R. C. Bhargava
Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Limited
India
Mr. RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd joined Maruti (Udyog) in 1981 and became its second managing director in 1985. He was appointed Chairman & Managing Director in 1990 and held the post till 1997. Around a year ago, he was back as Chairman of Maruti Suzuki. He has had stints with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited as Director (Commercial). He has served as Joint Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. An IAS officer from the 1956 batch, he completed his Sciences in Mathematics from Allahabad University and has a Master of Arts in Developmental Economics from Williams College, Williams town, MA, USA.
Sanjay S. Lalbhai
Executive Chairman , Arvind Limited
India
Sanjay Lalbhai is the Chairman and Managing Director of Arvind Ltd, a 1.3 Billion Dollar Indian conglomerate. It is under his leadership that Arvind has become one of the largest manufacturers of textiles in the world and one of the largest brand-houses in India. Mr. Lalbhai also serves on the board of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. ? one of India?s largest port-company.
Mr Lalbhai believes that addressing societal concerns and creating long lasting benefit to society is integral to the business strategy and he provides leadership to several educational and research institutions. He is the President of Ahmedabad Education Society and Ahmedabad University, Chairman, CEPT University, Chairman of Council of Administration of Ahmedabad Textile Industry?s Research Association, member of the Council of Management of the Physical Research Laboratory and member of Board of Governors of National Institute of Fashion Technology.
Vivek Oberoi
Actor, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
India
Vivek Oberoi was born on the 3rd of September,1976 and attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors? workshop in London he was spotted by none other than the director of NYU who (unsurprisingly) whisked Vivek off to New York, where he completed his Masters Degree in film acting. Back home in India Vivek worked as scriptwriter and bought his first car with the money he made from that. But the charmer?s big break came when noted filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma offered Vivek a role in his gangster flick, Company (2002). Quite an unusual entrance for a debutant in Bollywood, because the norm for young actors is to play good lover boys till their place in Filmdom is secure. Not Vivek. Apparently, Ram Gopal Varma was having second thoughts about casting Vivek in Company because he thought Vivek looked too cute for a gangster ? and told him so. Vivek, not to be outdone, went to the slums of Mumbai and did his homework and a couple of weeks later barged into Varma?s office dressed as Chandu the gangster, swung his feet up on the table, and landed the contract pronto.
From there the road went uphill. Vivek?s immaculate performance in Company ? in which he starred opposite Bollywood Big Bad Boy Ajay Devgn, Miss Bolly Manisha Koirala and the granddaddy of Malayalam Cinema, Mohanlal ? was more than enough to get the media singing Oberoi?s praises. Next in line was the psycho-thriller Road (2002) (opposite Company co-star and co-newcomer Antara Mali), Dum (2003) (which sank without a trace ? opposite Dia Mirza) and the next big catch, Saathiya (2002), opposite Rani Mukerji.
Anil Anand
Journalist
India
I am a journalist with experience of more than 35 years. During this period I have worked with different newspapers including Hindustan Times where I had the longest stint of nearly 20 years, DNA ( ZEE GROUP), The Tribune, National Herald, Greater Kashmir ( Delhi Bureau chief), Daily Excelsior, Kashmir Times, these are the leading newspapers of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujaratmitra, among the top Gujarati newspapers of Gujarat. Currently I am into multi-media as apart from writing for newspapers. I am also appearing on a number of news channels as an expert debating on aforesaid and other issues. Also, I am regularly contributing on broadcast media particularly All India Radio. Areas of Expertise: Political affairs, Internal Security related issues, Kashmir and Indo-Pak affairs, matters related to different aspects of governance at the Centre and in states. Qualification: B Sc ( Jammu University) , post-graduate diploma in journalism (Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan) and post-graduate diploma in journalism ( Jammu University).
I belong to Jammu city of Jammu and Kashmir where I began my journalistic career before shifting base to Delhi in 1987.
Anil Tyagi
Editor, Gfiles
India
Mr. Anil Tyagi is a graduate in law and post-graduate in commerce from University of Delhi & Diploma in Journalism, a senior journalist having spent over 35 years in print as well as electronic media. He is the Editor of Gfiles (www.gfilesindai.com) India?s exclusive magazine on governance and civil services since 2007. Mr. Tyagi was Political Editor, Jain Television from 1998 to 2004; prior to that he worked with leading media houses such as RAVIVAR, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Kolkata and Delhi Press, Delhi. Mr. Tyagi specialises in corporate and documentary films having produced over 50 such films. He has anchored more than 1,000 programmes on diverse subjects such as current affairs, elections, business and finance including live discussions on Union Budget, international affairs and so on. He was awarded the best Journalist award for covering Punjab by Hon?ble Prime Minister of India Sh. Chandrashekhar. He has also worked as Honorary Political Advisor to Haryana Government.
Siddharth Thaker
Managing Partner, Prognosis Global Consulting
India
Siddharth Thaker, MRICS is the Managing Partner at Prognosis Global Consulting; a full service Consulting, Technology and Asset Management services company focused on Hospitality, Leisure and Food Services industry in the South Asia Region.
Siddharth is a member of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In over a decade?s consulting experience in the Hospitality Industry, Siddharth has lead various Asset Management and Strategic Advisory Engagements, and conducted Feasibility Studies and Valuations for major Hotel Brands, Institutional Investors and Individual Owners across various cities in South Asia.
Prior to incubating Prognosis Global Consulting in 2011, he was Managing Director at HVS Asset Management and Strategic Advisory. Before leading the Asset Management and Strategic Advisory group, Siddharth was the Executive Director at HVS Consulting and Valuation Services.
He has also worked with Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts with engagements in the MEWA region and with the Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces.
Vijay Wanchoo
Sr. Executive Vice-President & GM, The Imperial
India
Mr. Vijay Wanchoo- SR. EXECUTIVE VP. & GM at The Imperial has been heading the hotel operations since June 2009. In his earlier tenure, as the Executive Assistant Manager from1996-99, he launched The Spice Route, Patiala Peg & Daniell?s Tavern restaurants and has experience spanning over 4 decades with other luxury hotel chains like The Oberoi Hotels and ITC Hotels. His various programs for guests & associates in his current innings, have taken the hotel to new heights, creating transformations at each stage. His thoughtful implementation of ideas has brought in strategic change while creating a memorable experience for the guests. He strongly believes in experiential luxury and says ?It is all about creating a home away from home.? From introducing Namaskar, The Imperial Culinary Club to celebrations of all major festivals with guests, his personalized initiatives have created unforgettable memories for many to come back. All his ideas have been extremely popular amidst global travelers at The Imperial and have elevated The Imperial experience.
Prashanth Rao Aroor
CEO & MD, Intellistay Hotels Pvt. Ltd. Oct 2008
India
Prashanth comes from a family business background in Real Estate Development and Serviced
Apartment Operations. He founded Intellistay Hotels and Mango Hotels in 2008. Intellistay Hotels successfully validated the Mango Hotels business model by reaching the finals of the Economic Times ? Power of Ideas 2009. Since then, Intellistay Hotels has emerged as a leading hospitality group in India with three well defined brands. i-Stay Hotels is a smart and stylish economy hotel brand. Mango Hotels are full function business and leisure hotels with focus on Food & Beverage localization. The Apodis Collection are upscale leisure resorts with bespoke services. Together, the group manages and operates 30 hotels in 21 cities with 900+ employees. Prashanth serves as the Managing Director and CEO of Intellistay Hotels. He has a Bachelors in Engineering from VTU and an MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research,
Vishal Mehra
President, Global Development
India
Vishal Mehra is the President of Sanghvi Brands, heading Global Development for all its premium international brands like L?Occitane Spas, Spa by Clarins, Rosanno Ferretti, Warren Tricomi, Elle Spas & Salons across India, Middle East, Indian Ocean and the USA. In the 5 years that Vishal has been with Sanghvi Brands since its startup stage, he has successfully signed over 70 Partnerships Globally across Luxury Hotels & Leading Luxury Residential Developers across several regions globally. Sanghvi Brands as of November 2017 is the First Spa Company Globally to be listed on a National Stock Exchange.
Dr. D. L. Maheswar
Vice Chancellor, University of Horticultural Sciences
India
Dr. D.L. Maheswar is born on 1st May, 1955 in an Agriculture family of Kamagondanahalli Village in Tumkur district, Karnataka. He completed his Bachelor of Agriculture (1975), Master of Agriculture (1977), Ph.D. Horticulture (1981) degree from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and FRHS at the United Kingdom. Starting his career as an Instructor in the department of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in 1980, later joined the Horticulture Department, GOK, Bangalore and worked in different capacities as Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture (Marketing) Lalbagh, Bangalore, District Horticulture Officer, Mandya District, Deputy Director of Horticulture, Mysore Division, Deputy Director of Horticulture (Floriculture), Bangalore, Managing Director, HOPCOMS, Bangalore, Executive Director, National Horticulture Mission, Bangalore, Managing Director, Karnataka State Co-operative Horticulture Marketing Federation, Bangalore, Additional Director of Horticulture (Oil palm Project) Lalbagh, Bangalore and rose to the position of Director of Horticulture, Lalbagh Bangalore in 2013.
In a long span of 34 years, Dr. D.L. Maheswar served as teacher, researcher and a development consultant specializing in Horticulture. He has to his credit over 10 research papers published in reputed journals, 7 extension articles and 9 books and bulletins. Dr. Maheswar has developed and promoted new variety of oil plam TARAKA and it has occupied more than 10,000 hectares in Karnataka.
He has completed 15 research projects funded from different agencies including international and national Collaborative Projects. He has visited Nepal, Srilanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Israel and China. He was responsible for establishment of centre of excellence for oil palm at Bheemanakolli in H.D. Kote block of Mysore District for the first time in the Country. Under his stewardship, Horticulture Department, GOK achieved record production of oil palm at 28 MT/ha in young plantation in Belgaum District and 58 MT/ha in matured plantation in Mysore District. As Managing Director, HOPCOMS, introduced market intervention schemes (MIS) for procurement and marketing of potato and onion for the first time in the state including computerisation in transactions.
Dr. D.L. Maheswar has been serving as a member of statutory board/societies of Karantaka State Horticulture Mission Agency (KSHMA), National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI), National Mission on Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC), Suvarna Karnataka Udyana Parishath (SKUP), University of Horticultural Sciences, KAPPEC, Food Karnataka Limited (FKL), Karnataka State Wine Board, Karnataka State Co-operative Horticulture Marketing Federation (KHF), HOPCOMS, Bangalore, Karantaka State Mango Development Co-operation (KSMDC), Institution Management Committee, Directorate of Oilpalm Research, Pedavagi, Karnataka State Seed Certificate Agency, National Mission on Food Processing Executive Committee, Karnataka State Horticulture Development Agency, Karnataka State Spices Board, Mysore Horticulture Society (MHS), Co-operative Societies (HOPCOMS & KHF).
He has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and distinctions. Business and Economic Society for Trade, New Delhi has recognized the yeomen service by presenting the Sarvshreshth Udyog Puraskar Award in 1997 and he is also the recipient of prestigious International Excellence Award for horticultural promotion in Karnataka through HOPCOMS for productivity, quality and innovativeness at Kathmandu, Nepal on 24/01/1996. Dr. D.L. Maheswar assumed the post of Second Vice-Chancellor of University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot on 28th June, 2014.
Pawan Srivastava
Founder & CEO, Smart Adventures LTD.
India
A senior professional with over 19 years of professional experience, in various industries focussed on solution sales, marketing, business development and training, he has worked on various projects in companies operating in UK, China, India and Russia. Pawan has worked with various education establishments in the UK and have helped them in developing and implementing
marketing strategy plans both at national and international levels. Due to his extensive International experience in Higher Education, he has been able to offer guidance to UK Institutions to partner with institutions overseas and vice-versa, student acquisition and offshore facilities development. In his current role, Pawan is leading Smart Adventures and is ensuring that all development, sales and profitability targets are achieved whilst maintaining the company reputation for leading edge product excellence and delivering customer
satisfaction.
Lakshmanan Ramanathan
General Manager, Westin Chennai Velachery
India
Lakshmanan Ramanathan fondly known as Lakshman, recently took over as the General Manager of The Westin Chennai Velachery. Lakshman comes with a rich and diverse experience of over 18 years in the hospitality industry, his last position being the General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Kochi Airport after 3 successful years with strong results for the hotel.
Lakshmanan began his career in the hospitality industry with Raj Vilas, Jaipur (an Oberoi resort). His association with the Marriott group commenced in 2001 and he has worked with various Marriott properties across India. Prior to Courtyard by Marriott Kochi Airport, Lakshmanan worked as the Resident Manager at the JW Marriott Bengaluru. Prior to that he was the Director of Rooms at the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments, Mumbai during which period he was also the board member of the rooms advisory for Marriott International in Asia Pacific.
Lakshman?s immense contribution has been acknowledged at various stages by Marriott International, the highlight being the ?Leader of the Year?. Lakshman takes pride in being recognized as a Pre-opening / Projects specialist. He was also involved actively in Rooms operations initiatives from Marriott International head quarters in Bethesda.
Lakshman thrives working under demanding situations and is passionate about striving for excellence. He holds a Bachelor?s degree in Hotel Management and Catering Sciences and enjoys traveling, running and reading.
Tejas Jose
General Manager Le Meridien Kochi
India
Tejus Jose, General Manager Le Meridien Kochi, is a seasoned industry veteran with close to two decades of rich experience spanning both Indian and International hotel companies. His journey through the fascinating world of hospitality commenced when he joined Institute of Hotel Management, Hyderabad. He subsequently joined as a management trainee with Oberoi Hotels. Tejus is also an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, majoring is Strategy.
Tejus has held key roles in hotel companies like The Oberoi hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Hyderabad International Convention Centre and AccorHotels.He is a recipient of the Hotelier Award for the ?General Manager of the year ? 2013? Tejus loves cycling.
Parag Amin
Founding Director at iCreate
India
An inventor and a serial entrepreneur. Parag is involved in the fields of technology, finance, real-estate, retail and hospitality. Parag is widely regarded as a visionary in the field of information technology, and was a member of the EMMY Award-winning team that pioneered development of direct to Home (DTH) digital satellite broadcasting for PRIMESTAR In 1995. He is frequent advisor on IT issues and strategy to private enterprises and governmental entities both in the United States and abroad. Parag is the President and Principal of two technology companies: Radiqal, in Horsham, PA. USA, a software products and service?s company specializing in gaming and digital television with product and service offerings in Interactive TV, Video on Demand, Gaming and Wagering, Broadcast Satellite TV, Hospitality, Carrier Class GSM Service Provisioning and B2B- B2B Commerce; and Surya Info Tech Pvt. Ltd. In Baroda, India, a state-of-the-art wholly owned subsidiary of Radiqal which provides research, development and support services to Radiqal and its clients. https://www.radigal.com Parag is a managing partner of Radiqal Properties with holdings in financial services, hotel and investment real-estate https://www.riplus.cc
Sumit Sawhney
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Renault
India
He joined Renault in India as Executive Director in September 2012 from General Motors. With strong experience of 20 years in the Indian automotive industry, He has spent a significant part of his tenure in augmenting sales, marketing, after-sales business and network development for the company. He was also part of a major transition at the US car company, which saw sales surge in India. Sumit has been instrumental in establishing the Renault brand in India and setting the company on a growth trajectory. In his tenure, Renault Duster has become one of the top selling SUV in the country. Sumit joined Renault when the automotive industry was going through a downturn and inspired, motivated the team to establish Renault brand among the top 10 automotive brands in India within three years of its operations
Satish K Bhardwaj
Delhi Legislative Assembly. Government of NCT Delhi
India
Vast experience of over 33 years in Government Administration, Parliament & Assembly, Handling of Sensitive Issues of National Security, Protocol, Security & Liaoning with different wings of Government.
He has worked in various capacities with Cabinet Secretariat between 1985 to 2004. (R&AW), Director General of Security (ARC), Special Bureau, Punjab/ Jammu Kashmir, Special Protection Group (SPG), OSD to Honble Speaker, Delhi Legislative Assembly 2004 to 2009, Secretary to Union Ministers 2009 to 2014, Private Secretary to Honorable Speaker, Delhi Assembly 2014 on wards.
Ravinder Pal Singh
Director ? Digital Cities, Cybersecurity & Healthcare (Public Sector)
India
Ravinder Pal Singh is a Senior Industry Consultant and Evangelist in Digital Transformation, IoT and Smart Connected economies. Ravinder has more than 21 years? experience in the business & technology consulting, Enterprise Architecture and solutions mainly in the areas of Industry vertical solutions (IoT, Smart Cities, Real Estate, Healthcare, Education, Media, Manufacturing, etc.), Data center, Collaboration and network technology Solutions. Ravinder has managed several roles mainly in Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture & design, Project & Program management, Service delivery and services Management.
A Certified project manager (PMP), IT Services Management (ITIL) & Enterprise Architect (TOGAF), he has extensive experience in Technology infrastructure for effective Workplace, IT service management based on ITIL framework, Information security processes (ISO27001/BS7799), quality process compliance (ISO9000), LEED certification and quality processes improvement areas based on six Sigma and DMAIC foundations.
Ravinder is a an expert in IoT and IoT based solutions especially in the areas of IoT Platforms, Gateway, EDGE Analytics, IoT Lifecycle and IoT based Vertical solutions. He has consulted and managed projects with diverse streams of segments like govt, manufacturing, R&D, Media, IT & ITES, Telcos and Retail customers. He has been part of empaneled consultants for India Smart City Mission and Delhi Mumbai Infrastructure Corridor (DMIC) projects, he has consulted on Smart City projects in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Korea and Singapore. He has 2 patent applications submitted in the areas of IoT for Data center and Security.
Ravinder is a known thought leader on Smart Cities, IoT and Digital Transformation, he is a regular speaker in national and international forums around Internet of Everything and Smart Communities. Some of his articles have been published in leading publications.
Amit Wadhwani
Director, Sai Estate Consultants
India
Amit Wadhwani, today, is one of the names to reckon with in Mumbai real estate. His career trajectory is a testimony to the power of dreams and determination. Director, Sai Estate Consultants, Amit is the driving force behind the steep growth of this small time real estate broking firm to an ISO & CRISIL certified organisation. With an aim to redefine brokers and broking industry in the minds of the consumers, Amit is surely making heads turn in one of the most dynamic industries in the country. Benefitting from his hospitality background, Amit created a differentiation for himself just by treating the customer differently. Today, he not only leads a team of young, driven and high energy sales consultants but also manages a sales turnover of Rs. 2000+ crore.] It is one of the first Consultant to be registered under RERA.
Amit Wadhwani has played a key role in making Sai Estate Consultants a force to reckon with. Amit leads the sales endeavor at Sai Estate Consultants. He has ensured SEC has grown at a frenetic pace, from a TEAM of employees (50+ IIMs). Amit started with just a couple of people in his team back in 2010. He now commands a team of nearly 200 people and by 2019, he plans to float public issue, grow to a 500-member team and have an office each in 30 countries. Cutting his teeth in secondary real estate market, Amit?s in-depth knowledge of customer needs has paved the way to tie up with international markets too. For the past few years, investors have been reaping the benefits of portfolios curated to their specific requirements while end users are wide-eyed with disbelief due to the sheer variety of choices offered; all under the watchful eye of SEC which addresses all of their primary concerns ? such as quality of construction, delivery timelines, payment schedules etc, the moment they walk in through the door.
He gets extensively quoted within lead stories across Times Group, Magic Bricks, CNBC amongst others where he talks nos. on sales, requirement, buyer behavior, myths, boons etc.
?Sai Estate Consultants? (SEC)? 1st ISO 9001 Certified & CRISIL Rated channel partners for both outright & leasing cases with emphasized focus across Mumbai and Delhi. The organization has built a reputation of being one the most reliable and trustworthy channel partners for all 60+ developers SEC works with.
Prem Kumar Sharma
Director, NDMC
India
Dr. P.K. Sharma, MBBS, MD, FISCD has been working as Director & Medical Officer of Health since 01.06.2007 in NDMC. Various units of Health Department have reached pinnacle during his tenure as MOH & Dir. (Health). NDMC was adjudged one of the best cities of India by Ministry of Urban Development, Govt. of India. The excellent quality of sanitation of NDMC has been acknowledged by Chief Secretary, Chief Minister and other Apex bodies like Supreme Court of India. Under his guidance, NDMC achieved Second Runner-Up Award by Confederation of Indian Industries for Solid Waste Management in the category of Municipal Body in June, 2010. He was institutional in bringing glory to NDMC and India during the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi, by maintaining the Commonwealth Game Village as per international standard in relation to environmental sanitation. He led a team of 700 workers over there although it was not in NDMC area. All the public health activities in NDMC area as well as various stadia in NDMC were maintained upto the optimum. None of the player or the international visitors suffered with water or vector borne diseases. The work of NDMC was acknowledged by the media and all dignitaries at all corners. For the first time an Italian Air Purifier imported from Italy was installed in Connaught Place to see the air quality and measurement of pollution in NDMC area as a Pilot Project. Under his tenure as MOH, State-of-Art Public Toilets Units (225 PTUs) were completed on BOT basis as a PPP Project for the use of general public free of cost. He has pioneered Computerization of Birth & Death Unit of NDMC. Online registration of birth and death data by various hospitals in NDMC jurisdiction has also been started under his tenure. A pollution related mortality study was done in collaboration with the World Bank USA. The research paper of this study was published in American Journal of Agriculture Economics. Extended distinguished services in Jagatsinghpur Orissa from 9th November to 24th November, 1999 after the cyclone disaster on the directions of the Hon?ble Prime Minister of India. HIV / AIDS Control Program ? Prepared HIV/AIDS prevention and control program in NDMC area. Opened a State-of-Art VCTC for diagnosis of HIV infection and counselling activities. The Centre recently got recognition from Govt. of NCT of Delhi and NACO. Under the umbrella of quality council of India, up-gradation of all health care units has been initiated. NABH Accreditation of Dispensaries is a pilot project of India. Under his guidance NABH Accreditation has awarded to the First Urban Health Centre (MCW Centre + Allopathic Dispensary) of NDMC being an example in India.
Dr. Furqan Qamar
Secretary General ? Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi
India
Professor Furqan Qamar, an internationally renowned and nationally respected Educationist has assumed his new role of the Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities on 26th June, 2014 for a term of five years. He was chosen from amongst several Vice Chancellors for this position of the Principal Executive Officer of the Association while he was serving the Central University of Himachal Pradesh as its Vice Chancellor. In his illustrious academic career spanning over three decades, Prof Qamar held the positions of Professor and Founder Director of the Centre for Management Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University in Delhi; Advisor (Education) in the Planning Commission of India; Vice Chancellor of the University of Rajasthan at Jaipur; and the first and Founder Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh at Dharamshala. His contributions in each of these assignments have been remarkable.
As a Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia he was instrumental in introducing BBS and MBA programme and eventually succeeded in establishing and nurturing the premier Centre for Management Studies in the University. Besides, he played instrumental role in the overall development of the University in various capacities viz In-charge/OSD of Development, Member Secretary of the Committee to conduct Academic & Administrative Audit of the University, NSS Programme Officer, Warden, and Provost of Halls of Residence. As Coordinator of International Affairs, he was instrumental in entering into agreements and MoUs with large number of international universities.
As Advisor in Planning Commission, Dr. Qamar played a critical and proactive role in conceptualising ideas leading to policies for expansion, inclusion and excellence in higher education during the 11th Five Year Plan. Besides, he endeared himself for his remarkable ability of winning the confidence, trust and support of all stakeholders in steering and implementing the planned programmes and agenda throughout the Country.
Dr. V. I. Benagi
Vice Chancellor, Univeristy of Agricultural Sciences(UAS), Dharwad
India
Worked as ZARS-KVK Head, handled NATP- IPM projects for 4 years, disseminated IPM technologies, about 25 farmers of me got Krishi Pandit Awards and 2 got ASPEE Awards. Showed the role of KVK in UAS. Popularized vermicompost technology and made 2 villages as organic villages.
Dr. M. B. Chetti
Agricultural Sciences & Forestry ? Agriculture
India
College of Agriculture, Dharwad, UAS, Bangalore, B.Sc. (Agri.) (1978); M.Sc.(Agri.) (1981); , IARI, New Delhi, Ph.D. (1981); Post Doctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angles, (1985-1987); Certificate of Training, McGill University, Canada (2004-2005).
Dr. Narendra Singh Rathore
Deputy Director General (Agri. Edn.), ICAR, New Delhi, Member (UGC)
India
Dr Narendra Singh Rathore is currently working as Deputy Director General Education at Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute ICAR), New Delhi. He had completed his education from IIT Delhi and RAU, Bikaner. He was the Vice Chancellor of College of Technology and Engineering from September 2013 ? September 2014 and SKNA University, Jobner, Jaipur from September 2013 ? September 2014.
Dr. Narendra Singh Rathore joined as DDG (Education), ICAR on 31 Jul. 2015, and also as the special invitee member of Executive Committee of IAUA as the ICAR representative. Born on 1 Jul. 1960, he did his B.E. (Udaipur University), M.Tech. (IIT, Delhi) and Ph.D. In Agricultural Engineering (RAU, Bikaner). He possesses 35 years of experience in SAUs, He was the founder VC of SKAU, Jobner; and DDG (Engg.), ICAR. He has been Dean, College of Dairy and Food Science Technology; Dean, Students ,Welfare; HoD in CTAE, P.I., AICRP; Project Co-ordinator TBU-IC & RBTC. He is a specialist in renewable energy in Agriculture, Post-harvest technology and Food processing. Dr Rathore attended several advanced training programmes viz. Food and Agriculture Business Management (Cornell University, the USA); Agro-forestry (University of Arizona), Bio-energy (University of Oxford); and Waste recycling (University Of Murdoch, Western Australia).
Dr. B.B. Ahuja
Director & Professor COEP, Pune (Production Engineering & Industrial Management)
India
Greetings and a very warm welcome to MITAOE!
Stellar accomplishments expand the frontiers of knowledge and scholarship every day. In this era of Globalization of education the obvious focus is on the quality of education.There is no single yardstick of quality. A good educational institution strives continuously for sustenance and enhancement of quality in every field of its activity.
As COEP works diligently to realize its mission of providing the best learning, teaching and research opportunities to students and academicians alike, it continues to supply students with the basics of modern knowledge and high values.
The research activities of our Heads of Department lead to an extraordinary enrichment of the experience of our students that is realized at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The research training provided to our graduate students creates the next generation of scholars well-prepared to advance knowledge and transfer technology. The extension of research opportunities to an ever-increasing group of undergraduate students adds a dimension of experience to the undergraduate education that simply cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Our students learn the joy as well as the rigours of new discovery, and acquire skills of inquiry, evaluation, and communication that provide a foundation for the next phases of their careers and lives.
Amongst students? creativity, collective work and competition domestically, regionally and internationally thrive. COEP stands committed to the practice of academic freedom and encourages cultural diversity as it continues to attract students and Heads of Department.
COEP is a top-tier Institute in India that boasts a 160 year culture of academic excellence, scientific breakthroughs, and high-tech innovation. I would ask you to take advantage of this great opportunity and join us in our endeavor to actively contribute to the overall improvement of this increasingly globalized society.
Kamalesh Kumar Sharma
Professor & Head, Department of ECE
India
Prof. Kamalesh Kumar Sharma received B.E. (Hons.), and M.E. (Hons.) degrees in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India respectively and Ph.D. from IIT Delhi.
From 1990 to 1997, he served as Lecturer in Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India and became Associate Professor in 2006. He has obtained first rank in the Indian Engineering Services examination conducted by U.P.S.C., New Delhi, India, and has served the Indian Telecommunication Service for a year in 1997-98 as Assistant Divisional Engineer Telecom. He was deputed to Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi from 2003 to 2006 for pursuing his Ph.D. Degree under the Quality Improvement Program (QIP) of Govt. of India. Presently, he is working as Professor and Head, Department of ECE at Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India. His research interests include sampling theory of signals, image processing, and fractional transforms. He has published about 50 research papers in international Journals and 35 Conference papers. (Paper list is available at www.mnit.ac.in in the Deptt of ECE)
Prof. Sharma is a Fellow of IETE, New Delhi, India and IE, India and his biography appears in the Marquis? Book of Who?s Who in Science and Engineering, Edition 2007.
He has been awarded the IETE-K S Krishan Memorial Award 2016 for Best system oriented co-authored Paper given by IETE New Delhi Year ? 2016, Honors status awarded to research paper published in Journal ?Computers in Biology and Medicine? in 2016, and the 2017 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime achievement Award? for Research given by Marquis Whos Who USA Year ? 2017.
Dr. Avijit Kar
Professor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (Member-AICTE), Member (UGC)
India
Dr. Avijit Kar is Professor,Jadavpur University,Kolkata (Member-AICTE),Member (UGC)
Parvinder Kaushal
Vice Chancellor,Birsa Agricultural University (BAU), Member (UGC)
India
Dr Parvinder Kaushal born on 01 .04.1957 at Village Kahnani Teh, Nalagarh, Distt. Solan. Himachal Pradesh is presently working as Regional Director/Coordinator. National Afforestation and Eco-development Board at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. Solan (HP). He has done M.Sc. Forestry from Solan and Ph.D. Forestry from Nancy. France with First Class. He has been actively involved in teaching. Research & development. Extension and administration for the last 35 years. He has served different Institutions/Universities in different capacities during this period. He has worked with Indian Council for Forestry Res. and Edu. Dehradun (1979-1981), Punjab Agri. University, Ludhiana (1981 -1992) as assistant and Associate Professor and as Dean. Faculty of Forestry at Birsa Agriculture University. Ranchi, Jharkhand (2005-2009). He is recipient of National Award for young scientist in 1989, and Himachal Shri Award in 2014. He was also awarded French Govt. Fellowship for Doctoral research 1984.
Dr.Parvinder Kaushalh as published more than 100 research papers and technical reports and has written 13 book chapters/manual. He has participated in 26 world congresses and international conferences and has handled 63 projects. He has visited France, Italy, United Kingdom. Mexico. Austria. Germany. Switzerland, Yogoslavia, Belgium. Holland. Spain. Estonia. Canada. Finland. Turkey. Malaysia and Sri Lanka for presentation of papers and in exposure visits.
Sanjeev Maheshwari
Associate Professor
India
Has assumed charge of the office of the Managing Director, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). Has done masters in Zoology and Forestry and has a doctorate in Zoology. He has extensively worked on issues related to conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the State of Odisha and the Central Government at New Delhi. He has worked in Sectors like Health, Social Development and empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. He introduced hi-tech horticulture in Odisha and extensively worked with small and marginal farmers and introduced new crops like banana, guava, vegetables, etc., besides working on strengthening the Agri-value chain to increase the returns for the farmers.After a brief stint in Ministry of Defence, he joined NAFED in June 2016 and is striving for financial turnaround of the Organization and building strong interface with farmers of the country in Pulses and Oilseeds Sector.
Sanjeev Kumar Chadha
Managing Director, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED)
India
Has assumed charge of the office of the Managing Director, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). Has done masters in Zoology and Forestry and has a doctorate in Zoology. He has extensively worked on issues related to conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the State of Odisha and the Central Government at New Delhi. He has worked in Sectors like Health, Social Development and empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. He introduced hi-tech horticulture in Odisha and extensively worked with small and marginal farmers and introduced new crops like banana, guava, vegetables, etc., besides working on strengthening the Agri-value chain to increase the returns for the farmers.After a brief stint in Ministry of Defence, he joined NAFED in June 2016 and is striving for financial turnaround of the Organization and building strong interface with farmers of the country in Pulses and Oilseeds Sector.
Kuljit Singh Popli
Chairman & Managing Director, IREDA
India
Mr. Kuljit Singh Popli is the Chairman & Managing Director of IREDA (A Govt. of India Enterprise), which is a pioneering developmental financial institution dedicated for financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in India. The company has grown from strength to strength under his leadership. IREDA has also been carrying out notable work under CSR and sustainable development. Mr. Popli has rich experience of working over 35 years in Indian Power Sector. He has served with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC), prior to joining IREDA in 2007. Mr. Popli is also on the management board of several organizations of national importance and also official member of various high level committees set up by the Government of India in the field of Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency. Mr. Popli is an Engineer by profession with added qualifications of Finance and Law. He is also Country Representative for International Solar Alliance ? Affordable Finance at Scale. His contribution to the organization, profession and society at large has been recognized by various National & International agencies through conferring various coveted awards.
Dr. Jitendra Kumar Tripathi
Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Coordinating Officer (UGC)
India
Dr. Jitendra Kumar Tripathi is Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Coordinating Officer (UGC)
Dr. Avula Damodaram
Vice-Chancellor, Sri Venkateswara University
India
Dr. Avula Damodaram took over as Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University on 31st October 2015.
Dr. Damodaram joined as faculty of Computer Science & Engineering at JNTU, Hyderabad in the year 1989. In 2 ? decades of dedicated service, Dr. Damodaram performed distinguished services for the University, as a Professor, Head of the Department, Vice Principal, Director of UGC-Academic Staff College, Director School of Continuing & Distance Education, Director, University Academic Audit Cell, and Director, Academic & Planning. Dr. Daramodaram was recently appointed as ?Acting Director General? for International Institute of Digital Technologies by the Hon?ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Damodaram has successfully guided 34 Ph.Ds. and 3 MS Scholars apart from a myriad of M. Tech projects. He is currently guiding 6 scholars for Ph.D. Dr. Damodaram is on the editorial board of 2 International Journals and a number of course materials. He was also the Chairman, Board of Studies for Computer Science & Engineering and Information Technology from 26th September 2012 to 10th October 2014. He was also acted as Panelist for the Andhra Pradesh Session ?Transforming Andhra Pradesh into a Global Education and Knowledge Hub? organized by the 12th FICCI Higher Education Summit, New Delhi.
Dr. Damodaram has been a UGC nominee for a number of expert and advisory committees of various Indian Universities. He has been associated with the conduct of many entrance tests in the state, such as, ECET and ICET. Dr. Damodaram has been a Life Member, Vice-President, Director and President of a number of core committees spread all over the country. He has served the interests of the Universities and University teachers at the University, State and National levels. He has organized one International conference, 30 Workshops, Short Term Courses and other Refresher and Orientation programmes. Dr. Damodaram has published 96 well-researched papers in national and international journals. He has also presented 84 papers at different National and International Conferences at the Universities of United States of America, Austria, the United Kingdom and other places. On the basis of his scholarly and administrative achievements and other multifarious services, Dr. Damodaram was honoured with ?MILLENIUM PLAQUES OF HONOUR AWARD? from the Hon?ble Prime Minister of India on the eve of 104th Indian Science Congress. Dr. Damodaram awarded with ?HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AWARD? by Elets World Education Summit, New Delhi. Dr. Damodaram Awarded with ?AMITY ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD? during 18thBiggest International World Summit INBUSH-ERA on 7th February 2018 by Amity Education Group India, Noida. Dr. Damodaram awarded with ?TECHNICAL EDUCATION AWARD? during Achievers Day celebrations by Arunai Engineering College. Dr. Damodaram Awarded with ?CHITTOOR DISTRICT CENTENARY VIDYA SIROMANI AWARD ? 2017? by Academy of Grassroots Studies and Research of India (AGRASRI)?. Dr. Damodaram was elected as ?FELLOW OF ANDHRA PRADESH AKADEMI OF SCIENCES ? 2016?, Dr. Damodaram was honoured with the award of ?EMINENT ENGINEER OF THE YEAR ? 2016? by the Institution of Engineers, India, Dr. Damodaram received ?STATE BEST TEACHER AWARD? from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Department of Higher Education, Hyderabad, in September 2013. He was also recipient of ?DISTINGUISHED ACADEMICIAN AWARD? by Pentagram Research Centre, India, in January 2010.
Ehud Menipaz
Chairman, The Ira Foundation of Business, Technology & Society
Israel
Prof. Ehud Menipaz, Chairman, the 2018 India-Israel WEF Academic Delegation, is the Chairman of the Ira Foundation of Business, Technology and Society and Dean, School of Industrial Engineering & Management, Shenkar, is the outgoing President, Association of GEM National Teams and Director, Global Entrepreneurship Research Association. He is Professor Emeritus at Ben Gurion University, where he served as a full professor of Engineering and full professor of Business Administration, the Founding Director of the Ira Center for Business, Technology and Society and the Abe and Sol Krok Chair of Entrepreneurship Management. During his academic career, he has served as a Full Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Industrial Engineering & Management. As well, he has served as a Full Professor of Business Administration, specializing in applications of stochastic processes, global business strategy and technological innovation. He has served as a research associate and visiting professor at New York University (NYU), Columbia University, UCLA, USA, McGill University, Canada, Deakin University, Australia, Bilkent University, Turkey, among others.
Prof. Menipaz has more than two hundred academic journal articles, lecture proceedings, book chapters and twenty three books, including Essentials of Production and Operations Management, published by Prentice Hall, USA and International Business: Theory and Practice, published by Sage Publications, U.K (https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/international-business/book227083 ). His book, Menipaz, E., Menipaz, E., Tripathi, S., S., International Business: Theory and Practice was published recently, as an India/South East Asia edition. His research is funded by national and international research foundations and he serves as an editor of a number of international scientific journals. He is an outgoing elected director of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA) that oversees the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM, https://www.gemconsortium.org/ ) research conducted annually in about 70 countries over 20 years. Prof. Menipaz serves as the GEM National Team Leader and the research results and recommendations are brought before policy makers and business leaders annually. He serves as a Founding Director of Young Entrepreneurs Israel (YEI) (https://www.yazamim.org.il/), a member of YEI?s executive committee, member, executive committee of Industrial Engineering & Management Society, The Engineers and Architects Association of Israel and the Chairman of the Ira Foundation for the Advancement of Business, Technology & Society. Prof. Menipaz is a Founding Director of an international manufacturer of digital memory devices and a former Senior Partner and Service Director of Ernst & Young International. As an academic and consultant he has specialized in operational excellence and technological innovation as well as industrial and economic development of countries, government organizations and Fortune 500?s corporations. He has served as Chairman, Industrial Engineering & Management Committee, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Government of Canada, a researcher at the American Quality Foundation, a member of the Sustainable Economic Development Forum, a member of various accreditation committees, Council of Higher Education, Government of Israel. Prof. Menipaz is married to Esther, has three children and eight grandchildren. His hobbies include tennis, downhill skiing and piano playing.
Manish Tiwari
Managing Director, Here & Now 365
UK
When it comes to diversity in communications and media in the UK ? one name stands out and that is of Manish Tiwari. Manish Tiwari founded an agency in 2005 that specialises in brand communications for an increasingly diverse audience. Called Here & Now 365, he made it the UK?s leading specialist advertising and marketing agency through his understanding of the country?s eclectic audiences and influences. In the past eight years he has constantly strived to bridge the communications gap between products and their multicultural audience; especially the South Asian diaspora in the UK. He has leveraged the product value of various South Asian brands such as Patak?s, Lebara Mobile, TRS, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Western Union, State Bank of India, ICICI and HDFC. Under his leadership Here & Now 365 is also the largest agency representing Indian media in the UK including all major networks such as Zee, Star, Sony, and Viacom 18. It is also the exclusive partner of NDTV 24?7. Through his agency he has also been responsible for launching various Indian brands in the UK such as Brooke Bond Red Label and Taj Mahal Tea. Along with that he has worked closely with the Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka tourism boards to promote the states in the UK. Manish has been appointed as the marketing and PR coordinator for the UK Welcomes Modi event, where the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed the Indian Diaspora at the Wembley Stadium. He has taken on handling publicity for the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014 held in London and also co-ordinated and published a souvenir booklet for the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) Convention in 2011 and organised the South India Melam in Southbank in 2012, promoting tourism to Kerala. During the World Tourism Market 2017 he was approached by the states of Haryana and Karnataka to promote the tourism options available. Finally, he also received support from Mark Shand, the late brother-in-law of Prince Charles, to raise awareness of elephant corridors in Kerala through charity. He is a member of the London Chamber of Commerce under the Asian Business Association and Here & Now 365 is an accredited member of the IPA Diversity Group, the premium body of advertising agencies in the UK. Manish has also been invited as a speaker at many events to talk about the Indian Diaspora in the UK. He has been the keynote speaker at the MSDUK Supplier Diversity Day 2015 in Leicester where he addressed the audience on the importance of multicultural marketing, the Asia-Pacific Technology Network ? Prospects for an Innovative India where he spoke about the impact of social media on the Indian elections and at the Doing Business in India with Essex Chamber of Commerce. He has many accolades to his name including winning the Bharat Guarav Award 2017, Small Business of the Year Award 2017 by the London English Asian Business Awards Small Business of the Year Award 2015 by the English Asian Business Awards and presented by Lloyds Banking Group, The Best Social & Charitable Campaign 2014 by Asian Media Awards 2014 presented by ITV, the Asian Lite Campaign of the Year Award for three years consecutively in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the UK Telegu Association award for outstanding contribution to the community and Sanch Foundation award from Baroness Verma in 2013. Here & Now 365 has also been awarded Best Agency of the Year by B4U and the CBS award for Best Campaign Depicting South Asians in 2012. Now heading a group of 20 people, Manish is a name to reckon with in the world of multicultural marketing by making products matter to people irrespective of caste, colour and creed but at the same time understanding each cultural group?s sensibilities.
Richard A. D Aveni
Bakala Professor Of Strategy at Tuck School of Business , Dartmouth
USA
D?Aveni is one of the foremost experts in the world on competition between individuals, teams, corporations, militaries, governments, alliances, & capitalist systems. He authored numerous articles on competitive strategy in academic journals, HBR, FT of London, WSJ, Washington Post, and MIT/Sloan Management Review, as well as the best selling book Hypercompetition, which is available in 11 languages. Since the 1990s, his writings are credited with creating a new paradigm in strategy using temporary advantages, principles of rapid & aggressive maneuvering and disruption rather than on defensive barriers & power over buyers/suppliers. His recent book, Strategic Capitalism, discusses competition between American and Chinese capitalism, how the Chinese system has flipped many American advantages into disadvantages, and how America might respond. It has gathered considerable attention in the media, prompting discussions at the top levels of the US Departments of Defense, State and Treasury. From 2007 to present day, D?Aveni is one of the Thinkers50 (see The Times of London, CNN.com, Forbes, The Times of India, and Harvard Business Review), a ranking of the 50 most influential living management thinkers in the world. Currently he is ranked #11 overall, and among the top 10 strategic thinkers. He is winner of the prestigious ATKearney Award and was named a World Economic Forum Fellow. WirtschaftsWoche, Germany?s Business Week, named him as most likely to influence the future of strategic thinking. The Corporate Strategy Board named him one of the seven most influential living strategic thinkers. He is a frequent keynote speaker at CEO & economic forums, corporate off-sites, board meetings, & conventions around the world. He has been a strategic advisor to presidents (of G-7 countries), seven Forbes 100 families, numerous Global 500 CEOs, & ruling royal families. His clients and speeches are in the USA, EU, Russia, the Mid-East, Latin Am, SE Asia, Korea, & India.
Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor
Mayor, City Of Santa Clara
USA
Lisa is a 3rd generation Santa Claran, who currently serves as Mayor in the City of Santa Clara. She has served 2 previous terms as Vice Mayor and City Council Member from 1992-2000 and 2012-2016. She operates Gillmor and Associates, a family owned real estate company in Santa Clara. She has been a Realtor and Broker since 1982, specializing in residential and commercial real estate. Lisa has been involved in many areas of government, non-profit and public benefit organizations. She was a member of the Grand Jury, County Roads Commissioner, County Assessment Appeals Board Member, City Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Santa Clara University Board of Fellows Member and Board Member of the Mission City Community Fund. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, is married, and the mother of 3 children.
Dr. Rolando A. Flores
Dean, New Mexico State University
USA
Dr. Rolando A. Flores is Dean and Chief Administrative Officer in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University. He holds a doctorate in Grain Science and Industry with specialization in international trade from Kansas State University, a master?s degree in agricultural engineering from Iowa State University and bachelor?s degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidad de Costa Rica. Prior to coming to NMSU, Dr. Flores was Professor and Head of the Department of Food Science and Technology; and Director of The Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska?Lincoln. He also served as administration director for the National Production Bureau of Costa Rica. He is a Water for Food Institute Faculty Global Fellow, and member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Cereal Chemists International. Dr. Flores is the recipient of Stanley Watson Award of the American Association of Cereal Chemists International and the USDA-ARS National Technology Transfer Award. In April of this year, he received the Kansas State University Department of Grain Science and Industry?s Outstanding Alumni Award. This award recognizes Grain Science alumni who have made a significant positive contribution to the field of grain science.
Henna Mathura Dewkinandan
President of woman organisation Sarita
Netherlands
In 2008 Henna was awarded with the Knighthood of the Order of Orange- Nassau. She received this order for her extensive volunteer work. For 23 years she has been active in the afterschool support of Hindustani parents She is the president of the Sarita foundation for 23 years and organizes various activities. Her main goal is promote diversity in higher position and to create more opportunities of day care centers so that woman have a better chance to develop themselves. For the eldery people she has been active as the secretary of the Hindu Eldery Union. Now a days she learns the seniors to use a tablet, It combat loneliness.
• Henna was famous for presenting a billingual radio programma in wich she treated topics such as domestic violence and parasuicide with the objective to move these issues out of the taboo sphere.
• Currently Henna is active at the Melania foundation, an international project for and by woman in Developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America.
• Henna is employed for 43 years as a teacher at a secondary vocational education and study career counselor, coaching and development.
Other received several awards:
• Special The Hague Pin
• Hilda v. Suylenberg- award;
• Humanistic value for diversity policy
• top 100 for the best colorful social drivers
• Foundation Sarita get a certificate for a mark
• the Kartini Award for invest woman emancipation
Stephanie Woollard
Founder & CEO, Seven Women
Australia
Stephanie Woollard is an award winning Australian social entrepreneur known for founding enterprises with social impact, such as aid organisation Seven Women, her tour company, Hands on Development and the Kathmandu Cooking School. Stephanie inspires people to adopt responsible business practices as the demand for ethical production booms in conjunction with the proven positive impact of social enterprise. In 2016, Steph was awarded the ?Rotary International Responsible Business? Award at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for her work. Steph began Seven Women at 22 after visiting Nepal and meeting seven disabled women making soaps and candles in a tiny tin shed. Being disabled, the women were ostracised by their community and lived in dire poverty. Steph, driven by the injustice of what she had experienced, paid $200 for trainers to up-skill these women empowering them to sell products abroad. 10 years later, her organisation; Seven Women, has trained and employed over 5,000 disadvantaged women in remote Nepal. Her tour company; Hands On Development, has taken hundreds of people from around the world to Nepal, and now aboriginal Australian communities, where people have the opportunity to learn, connect and contribute to; creating real and lasting change. Steph?s vision underpinning all her work, is to create a more tolerant and compassionate world knowing that this is possible in our lifetime if everyone uses their ability to make a difference within their capacity.
Gina Rinehart
Executive Chairman, Hancock Prospecting Group and Roy Hill
Australia
Mrs Rinehart was born in February 1954 in West Australia. She spent her childhood between the Pilbara, in north-west Australia, where she lived with her parents, Lang and Hope Hancock, on large sheep and cattle properties in the remote and rugged iron ore region, and boarding school at an Anglican girls? school in Perth Since becoming Executive Chairman of the Hancock Prospecting Group (HPPL) in 1992, she has been responsible for the protection and substantial growth of the company group. She applied for tenements at Roy Hill in West Australia, shortly after assuming her chairmanship, and later also the Alpha and Alpha West coal tenements in Queensland, together with adding to the company?s initial minor holding in Kevin?s corner. The earlier company holding in Kevin?s corner being too small by itself to be able to base a project given its long distance from the coast and the vast infrastructure required. Mrs Rinehart has also continued to expand the pipeline of future projects for the HPPL group, including: In 2007, Mrs Rinehart entered the Jacaranda Joint Venture Alliance, which has applied for additional tenements and holds tenements across Australia (uranium, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, diamonds and petroleum). HPPL manages the joint venture alliance. In 2011 and 2012 entering joint venture interests in extensive prospective coal tenements in Queensland, which HPPL also manages. But the focus of her efforts and investments since becoming Executive Chairman has been on Hope Downs, taking these tenements from a status of temporary titles to state agreement, then undertaking extensive expenditure and exploration and studies of them and undergoing an enormous approval process to building three mines and related facilities ? Hope North, which commenced in 2007; Hope South, which commenced in 2008; and the nearing completion Hope 4 mine. This being in conjunction with JV partner, Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) since July 2005.
Susanne Swaniker Tettey
Chief Financial Officer , Okavango Diamond Company Botswana
Botswana
Susanne?s career, which started in 1994, initially as an auditor with Deloitte, but more recently as a finance professional has exposed her to a wide range of industries. Company re-organisation and finance process design is one such area of expertise that Susanne has developed throughout her professional accounting and finance career. Susanne is currently the Chief Financial Officer with Okavango Diamond Company, a diamond trading company, wholly owned by the Government of Botswana. Susanne obtained her Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) qualification in 1998. After 10 years in the audit field; having risen to senior audit manager level, she left the audit sector to join industry. Ever-hungry for knowledge, in 2005, Susanne went on to obtain an M.Sc. in Accounting with the University of Glamorgan (Wales, UK) and in 2008, an MBA with Oxford Brooks University (Oxford, UK). Susanne has recently completed the Senior Executive Development Program at the London Business School, UK. With the last 12 of her career in the mining industry, Susanne has worked extensively across the mining sector in Botswana. Being passionate about staff development, Susanne leads, trains and motivates her team to develop into independent finance professionals. Susanne is a Fellow of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) and is a member of the BICA technical committee. As a Fellow of the ACCA, her professional progression has been featured in ACCA?s Accounting & Business (International Edition) and Accounting Futures Magazines. She has also been profiled on the section of the ACCA website specifically aimed at inspiring prospective students to become Chartered Accountants. As a family person, when she?s not ?crunching numbers? you will find her in her kitchen cooking up a storm.
Renata Broglia Mendes
Founder of Social Business Actveda
Brazil
Renata Broglia Mendes, founder of social business Actveda, is a specialist in wellbeing and self-knowledge where she has been working professionally for more than 14 years with the Yoga, Ayurveda and Meditation tools in Brazil, India and the United States. Graduate in Business at PUC-SP, p?s graduate in Yoga at FMU and in Management of Social Innovation at the Amani Institute and certified by the Non Violent Communication Community, she develops lectures and courses related to the culture of peace, conflict mediation and selfknowledge. Since 2003 she has been coordinator of the Aparigraha Project, empowering girls in juvenile incarceration in S?o Paulo through Yoga and self-management techniques. In August of 2016, she founded the Mundo Aflora Institute to create opportunities for former inmate girls to be reintegrate into society and make new choices.
Tabatha Moraes
CEO of Rede Mulheres Que Decidem
Brazil
Tabatha Moraes is a businesswoman, writer, CEO of Mulheres Que Decidem (Women Who Decide), partner-founder of the Mulheres Que Decidem publishing company, coach and female entrepreneurship expert. At 17, she began to help women with biopsychosocial problems in a religious institution as a volunteer. And it was precisely in human development that she found her true calling. Life & Professional Coaching, through the Brazilian Academy of Coaching (AbraCoaching), Tabatha is recognized by the Behavioral Coaching Institute. The female entrepreneurship Network ?Mulheres Que Decidem?, today has more than 35000 entrepreneurs across the country. She is the creator of the movement ?Tomorrow?s Entrepreneurs?, a program that aims to promote female entrepreneurship amongst teenagers aged from 12 to 17 years in public schools. Tabatha created the International Conference ?Mulheres Que Decidem?, a meeting with about 700 women entrepreneurs from all over Brazil and abroad for lectures and discussions on topics related to entrepreneurship
Shelina Mawani
Co-founder, Nanas Kitchen
Canada
Shelina was born and raised in a small town on the shores of Lake Victoria, Mwanza in East Africa. She was always interested in business growing up, and was fortunate enough to manage a series of Motels for her father in Mwanza. While managing the motels, she became involved with the Lioness club and became one of the chair persons in 1979. Shelina developed and started the leprosy project as it was a major undictated disease at the time and was spreading really fast. They had major Ear, Nose and throat camps for locals and sent eight children to England for heart surgery as they were suffering from heart murmur. She was also involved in opening a local orphanage for children which she is still involved in Watoto wa Africa. That was her first taste of the business world and what possibilities could be out there for her, and how succeeding in business would help her to continue to give back to the communities she is involved in. As an owner and co-founder of Nanas Kitchen which was established in 2000 along with her sister Nasim. Shelina has seen their company grow from a small family restaurant into a large manufacturing facility which is the only HACCP/BRC federally inspected plant in British Columbia in this category. They produce over 25,000 hand made samosas daily. Today their Convenient Comfort Foods with a Global Taste are sold in the Deli case at mainstream grocery chains across North America and as far as Alaska and Hawaii. Her vision was of a business being a safe and welcoming space for new Canadians to get their first job in Canada. We know that by having employment, new Canadians come to gain independence, learn contribution, and assimilate into the Canadian way of life. Nana?s Kitchen has employed over 45 employees, many of whom have arrived in Canada as immigrants, with minimal English language, a lack of cultural adaptation skills, and a limited understanding of Canadian culture. Seventeen years later, many are still on staff, but now are assimilated into Canadian culture and living self-directed lives. Over time, many have succeeded to become managers and supervisors on our team. Shelina is most proud of her long-term relationships with her staff, and the empowerment that she has support in new Canadian women. Shelina slogan is ?Everything with Love & respect?. Shelina is grateful for the experiences and success that she has embraced in Canada. In 2014 she won the BC Ethno Canadian Entrepreneur award, and was also a recipient of Shakti awards in 2014. Nana?s Kitchen was then nominated in 2015 for one of the Top 25 fastest growing women Businesses in Vancouver. Shelina was also the recipient of the BC Provincial award in 2015 for Multicultural business of the year. In 2016 Shelina won the Business women of the year by Times of Canada and also was awarded the 2016 Surrey Board of Trade award for best export business. Shelina has had the honor to have been featured in many local TV programs, newspaper articles, and magazines, and has recently been blessed with opportunities to speak at many different functions about her failures to her success.
Fernanda Vicente
President, Mujeres del Pacifico
Chile
She started her professional career in written media such as Elle magazine and Cosas , and then she did her undergraduate studies in Aesthetics at the Pontificia Universidad Cat?lica de Chile. In the year 2000 she obtained her graduates from the University of California, in Marketing Communication and Marketing of Products and Technology Services, in full swing of dot.com in the United States. Upon returning to Chile, she took the license of BCBG Max Azria, the world's leading retail brand. During those years,she also founded Dealart, a consulting company in art and cultural management. In 2004, she sold her share of the BCBG Max Azria Chile and Dealart property to live in Sydney, Australia, where she worked in the holdings area of Henry Schein, Australia's largest distributor of medical products. Upon returning to Chile, she joined Publicaciones Lo Castillo, publishing company of the group El Mercurio, where in a first stage she worked as a magazine editor and in 2006 she took over the marketing area of Publications Lo Castillo, from where she developed and executed Marketing strategies, communication, distribution and sales of 12 written media, gaining experience in the development, communication, distribution, positioning and loyalty of mass media and highly segmented. At the end of 2007 she founded Viral, a company that generates content for different platforms and took over the Executive Management. From there she developed the commercial area, concurring in the generation of innovative and differentiating projects for the positioning and loyalty needs of large companies. In January 2009, and in parallel with Viral, she founded Am?lie and Cocina Am?lie, a luncheon plant and catering for companies. She sold them both in mid-2013. Also that year she did the course Crecer +, in the University Adolfo Ib??ez, where she deepened her knowledge on management of innovative companies. At the beginning of 2012, she was appointed Director of the Entrepreneurs Association of Chile (Asech) and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of ASELA (Latin American Entrepreneurs Association). In 2012 she founded Inittia, a company focused on implementing innovation in companies and organizations, as well as directing the Inittia Program for the national R & D & I w In 2013, she graduated top 2 in her generation from the Founder Institute, a challenging Silicon Valley-based program to launch Global Startup.
Johanna Salgado
Outreach Partner, Zayed Future Energy Prize.
Colombia
A recognized Colombian, young entrepreneur, in the areas of sustainability, renewable energy and peace. She works as Competency Coordinator at Rosario University (Bogot?, Colombia) developing programs for the promotion of entrepreneurial skills. She is among the seventy social entrepreneurs at the World Bank. Cofounder of the Crispy Fruits Company, recognized by President Barack Obama as a company with the greatest impact on the quality of life for rural famers. She is a member of the Fundation MET (Women Business and Tecnology) mentoring women and networking and is responsible for outreach and communication strategies in Andean Community and Brazil for the Zayed Future Energy Prize (UAE). She participated as a juror in qualifying renewable and sustainable energy projects for the Program Hondas for the Colombian goverment. She was at the eighth summit of ORU Fugar and invited as a sustainability leader by Cusco, Peru .
Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou
MD at Tototheo Maritime Group
Cyprus
Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou is joint Chief Executive Officer of TOTOTHEO MARITIME, an organization offering maritime services with specialization in maritime satellite communications. She has been with the group since 2005. Since 2013, Despina is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, being the first woman ever to be elected since the Chamber?s establishment in 1989, and is chairing the Chamber?s Development and Promotion Committee since 2015. In 2011 Despina founded WISTA Cyprus ? a member of WISTA International ? and is the Association?s current President. In 2015 during the International AGM, Despina was elected Secretary of WISTA International. She also sits on the first Board of Governors of the Cyprus Maritime Academy and on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus-Germany Business Association. Despina is the national advocate for the European Commission?s ?Equality Pays Off? Initiative. She won the titles of ?Top Professional? and ?Cyprus Business Woman of the Year? at the 9th National Cyprus Business Woman of the Year Awards 2015. She is also proclaimed as an Honorary Fellow of the Cyprus Institute of Marketing (April 2017). She is frequently asked to contribute as a speaker or moderator to industry-related conferences and is often asked to speak about her experience as a young female leader in the maritime industry. Despina holds a bachelor degree in Economics from the National and Capodistrian University of Athens and an Executive MBA in Shipping and Logistics from the Copenhagen Business School. Believing in (and advocating for) continuous education, she is currently completing the Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy at the University of Oxford ? Said Business School. She is married to Socrates and they have a three- year old son, Ektoras.
Kamila Rubaninska
AT&T EMEA Women?s Network COO & AT&T EMEA Director of Operations
Czech Republic
People often talk about their achievements, but rarely discuss the motivation and drivers that took them on the journey to such accomplishments. Rather than viewing life as a series of endings, Kamila believes the journey is just as important as the end. Specifically, ongoing learning and involvement in diverse interests are opportunities to enrich one?s understanding of others and the world. On her journey so far, Kamila has played professional volleyball, achieved a PhD in Marketing and Business Management and lived in five countries on three continents far away from her home city Bratislava in Slovakia. Simultaneously, Kamila has built a strong career with AT&T based on constantly striving to make a positive difference to her teams, the company, and the people AT&T serves. In her current role, Kamila leads an operations team with around 200 individuals, focused on enhancing AT&T services and transforming the way the company serves its customers. As part of her ongoing journey, and helping others with their own, Kamila is focused on constant learning and development, including mentoring of groups and individuals. Kamila believes that intelligence, personality and capacity are something that can change, depending how much one wants it to. As a member of the board of the AT&T EMEA Women?s Network that brings around 600 members together, Kamila focuses on helping them to learn and grow, personally and professionally.
Isabel Noboa
Executive President of the NOBIS Consortium of Ecuador
Ecuador
Isabel Noboa Pont?n de Loor is Executive President of Nobis of Ecuador, a business consortium that actively and successfully participates in a range of economic sectors, including agribusiness, real estate, tourism, industrial production and commerce. With its focus on innovation and on corporate social responsibility, Nobis is one of Ecuador?s leading businesses, having been recognized through various international awards and, certifications. Nobis of Ecuador?s companies boast growing sales in excess of US $300 million per year in revenue and have some 8,000 employees, firmly establishing the Consortium among the country?s leading businesses. The Consortium, founded in 1998, is currently engaged in a strategy of diversification and internationalization, the next step in its continuing evolution and ongoing development and growth. This effort positions the Nobis Companies as Ecuador?s first business consortium with global ambitions in key sectors. Ecuador?s Vistazo Magazine recently featured a poll of 500 Ecuadorian business people which revealed that Mrs. Isabel Noboa is considered by her colleagues to be the most innovative and respected businesswoman in the country. ?The poll taken this year by Vistazo shows that her leadership role continues to grow. She won in two categories: most respected and most innovative. What?s her formula for success? It?s a mix of three key factors: betting on the financial markets as a means to finance her projects, surrounding herself with experienced executives to head the consortium?s various business ventures,? and a sharp business sense, said Vistazo. Mrs. Noboa de Loor has been involved with charitable organizations for several years, shaping her deep commitment to improving Ecuadorian society through increased access to education, healthcare and families? well being. The Nobis Foundation that she leads seeks to promote social change as a means to confront Ecuador?s development challenges. The foundation?s activities have benefitted more than 100,000 people of limited economic resources across the country. Mrs. Noboa is also active in the Luis Noboa Naranjo Foundation and the ?Seeds of Love? Foundation, and has launched several sociallyminded initiatives, including the ?Nobis Excellence Awards? which recognize Ecuador?s young professionals. Mrs. Noboa also has a deep interest in helping Latin America?s female entrepreneurs, as well as the region?s female executives, to more fully participate in the development of their companies and own businesses, and their countries? broader economies. It is with that in mind that Mrs. Noboa is embarking on a personal effort as well as through the Nobis Foundation to take an indepth look at the topic and identify public policies and actions that will help promote entrepreneurship among Latin American women. Isabel Noboa Pont?n de Loor completed her primary school studies at St. George?s School Clarens in Switzerland, where she furthered her mastery of French, English and Italian. She earned a General Certificate in Economics (GCE) from the University of London. She completed additional studies at respected institutions, including Guayaquil Catholic University, New York Marymount University and Harvard University. Outside of her business management role, she has occupied several leadership posts, including President of the Business Advisory Board on Competitiveness in 2000, President of INCAE?s Ecuador chapter from 1999 to 2005, and member of the Ecuadorian Total Quality Corporation. In 2002, she served as President of the National Competitiveness Advisory Board where she held the rank of Minister of State. She has received numerous government recognitions and the most important business awards, such as ?Ecuador?s Most Respected Business Leader? in 2007 and 2008 as determined in a poll conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the weekly Lideres of the El Comercio newspaper, organizations that had placed her earlier in second and third place, respectively, in 2005 and 2006. She was also recognized by the Ecuador?s Corporations Superintendence as the Top Businesswoman of 2006, and by Hogar Magazine as Woman of the Year in 1998, 2003, 2006 and 2009 in the Business category. Regional business and finance magazine Am?rica Econom?a considers her to be one of the most influential business leaders in the region, and El Mercurio newspaper in Santiago, Chile and El Tiempo newspaper in Bogot?, Colombia recognize Mrs. Noboa as one of Latin America?s top businesswomen.
Meenakshi Sahni
Principal, Modern School Vasant Vihar
India
Meenakshi Sahni is Principal, Modern School Vasant Vihar
Sister Janet
Superintendent, St. Patricks Junior College, Agra
India
Currently Sr. Janet is the Superintendent, St. Patricks Junior College, Agra. Sr. Janet has been a religious of Jesus and Mary and an educator for over 40 years. Sr. Janet has been a Teacher, Supervisor and Vice Principal - Convent of Jesus and Mary ? Pune and Mumbai respectively, Principal - Convent of Jesus and Mary ? Agra, Principal - Convent of Jesus and Mary ? Dehradun. Sr. Janet has been Principal of Convent of Jesus and Mary ?Delhi from June 2008 ? June 2017. She is also a Provincial Councillor, incharge of educational institutions of Convent of Jesus and Mary schools in the Delhi province. She is Manager ? Khrist Raja Sec. School as well. In her tenure as a principal Convent of Jesus and Mary schools have reached new heights. In all the schools she has worked, she has played an instrumental role in bringing innovations in teaching techniques, worked relentlessly to improve the academics and the infrastructure of the schools. She sees that there is always an amalgamation of curricular and co-curricular activities leading to the holistic development of the students. Infact Convent of Jesus and Mary school, Delhi has been awarded International School Award 2013-2016 by the British Council and the school has a Global Policy well in place. Nurturing the child with love and giving the child wings to fly towards her goals is her primary focus. She wants every child to be strong in body and mind, confident and be a societal resource. She is kind hearted, compassionate and lovable lady who cares for the underprivileged whole heartedly especially girl child. She helped so many children in financial, moral and physical support. She herself takes care of the suffering child and gives relief. She is always ready with a helping hand to the needy children with regard to their illness or accident, death and or unfortunate turn of events. Her past time is gardening which she loves and has fetched prizes for the school garden. Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi is one of the best schools in many respects especially flowers. She has deep knowledge regarding best practices in teaching and learning for students from diverse backgrounds. She has conducted and arranged training programs for her staff with an emphasis on fostering best practice based on collaborative culture. She works for the school such that it offers great opportunities for academic excellence, character development and spiritual formation. She believes in providing an environment where the girls are encouraged to discern and to challenge assumptions, becoming comfortable with uncertainty, this allows them to be reflective and open to the ideas of others, while fostering a strong sense of self. In all the Jesus and Mary schools she has worked in partnership with families to develop in her girls, the capacity to engage with and respond to their world with wisdom, imagination and integrity. She has provided academic, strategic, pastoral and operational leadership. She has commitment, resilience and integrity that a school leader must exemplify for a positive change in a progressive school community.
Anuradha Paudwal
Indian Playback Singer
India
Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India. She has been one of the leading playback singers since Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. She was the first singer to challenge the monopoly of the Mangeshkar singers, with a spate of successes in the Hindi Playback industry.
She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai (Bombay). She was married to Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant. Anuradha's career started in 1973 with the movie, Abhimaan, (starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan) in which she sang a melodious "shloka". In the same year she made her Marathi film debut with "Yashoda" (music by Datta Davjekar). In 1974, she brought out a record of Non-film Marathi songs or "bhav geeten" which became very popular.
In 1976, she got her break as a playback singer in Hindi films with Kalicharan(starring Shatrugan Sinha and Reena Roy). Her first solo was in the movie, Aap Beeti, (starring Hema Malini and Shashi Kapoor). Laxmikant-Pyarelal were the music-composer duo for that movie. She also occasionally sang songs for composers Rajesh Roshan (Des Pardes), Jaidev (Dooriyan, Laila Majnu), Kalyanji-Anandji (Kalaakar, Vidhataa), and Usha Khanna (Souten, Sajan Bina Suhagan).
Dr. Pratibha Jolly
Principal at Miranda House
India
Dr. Pratibha Jolly is Principal of Miranda House, the premiere college for women at University of Delhi. She gained Ph.D for theoretical work in Chemical Physics from University of Delhi and taught in Miranda House for eight years before joining Department of Physics at the University of Delhi as Research Scientist where she began work in the area of Physics Education Research and Curriculum Development at the tertiary level. Her research interests include computational physics; electronic instrumentation; use of computer-based technologies in education; development of locally produced low-cost equipment; teacher training; cognitive aspects of students? learning and diverse student populations. A major thrust has been to engage undergraduate students in development of a package called Science Online consisting of an indigenous low-cost data-acquisition system and comprehensive set of sensor circuits for real-time measurements in multidisciplinary contexts. Her multifaceted work has led to the establishment in 2008 of the D S Kothari Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education at Miranda House with generous funding from the Department of Science and Technology. She has recently been selected for the prestigious 2009-2010 Fulbright New Century Scholar award to work on the theme The University as Innovation Driver and Knowledge Centre. This will enable her to work with a multidisciplinary team of 36 scholars from 22 countries in the coming months. Dr. Jolly is currently Chair of the International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE), Commission 14 of the International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). She has the distinction of having been member of ICPE from 2002 to 2005; being elected as Chair from 2005 to 2008 and then, being re-elected to Chair for a further period of three years till 2011. She also served as Vice President of IUPAP for a period of three years from October 2005 to 2008. She is the National Point of Contact for the Asian Physics Education Network (ASPEN), promoted by UNESCO. Widely traveled, Dr. Jolly was awarded the Kilambi Ramavataram Fellowship by American Physical Society and the Tata-Fulbright travel fellowship in 1995 to enable work with leading Physics Education Research Groups at University of Maryland and Kansas State University. This supplemented an earlier exposure to science education at, both, school and tertiary level in the U.K. where she worked with the Science Education Group at University of York on a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship in 1987. Dr. Jolly was the General Secretary of Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT), an academic body of nearly four thousand teachers spread across the country, from 2003 to 2006. She has served on apex academic committees at the University of Delhi and is a key player in academic reforms and restructuring of the science programs. She regularly interacts with schools, colleges and other educational institutions. She was on the Board of School of Science, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Advisor for publication of school study materials by Encyclopedia Brittanica, South Asia. She is on the programme committee of the National Science Museum in Delhi. She also serves on the various Department of Science and Technology (DST) Committees on Women in Science; Science and Society, and Science Communication. She was on the National Committee for the organization of the UNESCO International Year of Physics (2005) activities in India. Dr. Jolly organized the first ever major International Conference on Physics Education titled World View on Physics Education in 2005: Focusing on Change in Delhi in August 2005. She was also the co-chair for the Physics Education segment in the World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development held in October 2005 at Durban and is member of the group responsible for implementation of its action plans. In furtherance of these plans, she is organizing, with an international team, PHYSWARE, the first in a series of collaborative workshops on low-cost equipment and appropriate technologies that promote undergraduate level, hands-on physics education throughout the developing world at the Abdul Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy, in February 2009.
Dr. Suman Sharma
Principal, Lady Shri Ram College for Women
India
Dr. Suman Sharma is Principal, Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Abha Sahgal
Former, Principal at Sanskriti School
India
I have been an educationist for 37 years and what started as an interest and profession quickly became a passion. Being with children is now as important for me as the essentials for sustenance! My journey in education started from Delhi Public School RK Puram in 1980. I taught English to age groups of 8 to 17. My students are now adults who are contributing to society and remember the days we spent together very fondly. I am especially proud of the very strong relationship I had with each class of mine. In 1995 DPS management gave me the responsibility of heading the Primary School of DPS RK Puram at Vasant Vihar. Those were the most fruitful years of my career, when I was at my creative best. We worked on a number of innovations in the pedagogy by constantly researching about the latest trends. The school during this period stood apart from others as dynamic and happening. In 2000, I left the country to start a school for DPS at Sharjah, UAE. This was the most challenging assignment of my career. I was to set up a school in a foreign land keeping in mind the local sensitivities and rules. Though a tough task, I remember this experience with a feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction. By the time I left this school in 2008, it was regarded as the top school, excelling in academic, sports and the cultural arenas. In 8 years it had grown from 180 to 4500 students! DPS Sharjah will always be a feather in my cap and I am proud of being its Founder Principal. I joined Sanskriti in 2008. The school echoed my vision and philosophy of education ? that each child is unique and the purpose of education is to understand this difference and nurture each child accordingly. After my taking over as the Principal, we have embarked on new vistas and are looking forward to new excitements ahead. The school average in Class 12 Board exams has shown a marked increase consistently since 2008. I have never let the school lose sight of its vision, which is ??to create happy, feeling and thinking Sanskritians who will be the change makers??. Values are the most important aspect in my school and I ensure that while academics gets its due, the children grow up as positive thinking, humane individuals. In Sanskriti I have constantly worked at empowering my teachers. There is always a stimulating atmosphere in the school encouraging teachers to add on to their expertise. Besides this, I have been able to give the teachers space to experiment and innovate.
Dr. Babli Moitra Saraf
Principal, Indraprastha College for Women University of Delhi
India
Principal, Babli Moitra Saraf, is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Head of the Department of Multi - Media and Mass Communication at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. She has received her M.Phil degree in English and Ph.D in Sociology. Her doctoral thesis studies language change in the advertising industry in India in the first phase of globalization (1984-94), and the emergence of the Indian urban middle class identity. Her current work focuses on orality and performance in relation to Translation Studies. She taught English at Ramjas College, University of Delhi for 29 years and continues to teach English and Mass Media and Communication in IP College. Her teaching interests include Modern Indian Literature in Translation, Classical Literature, Renaissance and Modern European Drama, Milton, The Bible, Cultural Studies, Communication Studies, Literary Theory and Literature and the Arts. Dr. Moitra Saraf has been a scholar under the Indo-Italian Cultural Exchange Program and has studied the Corso Superiore at the Universit? per Stranieri at Perugia. She has taught Italian at the Istituto Di Cultura Dell?Ambasciata Italiana at New Delhi. She has a Diploma in Spanish from the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi. She translates from several Indian languages into English and among others, has translated the Bengali activist-novelist Mahasweta Devi?s works into Italian in collaboration with Maria Federica Oddera. The two publications, La Cattura (Theoria, 1996) and La Preda e altri Racconti (Einaudi, 2004), have been highly acclaimed. Her work Rajouri Remembered (2007) is a translation from Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Orality, of a family narrative, which recounts the effects of the Partition of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It has been appreciated as an important contribution to the history of the conflict-ridden state. In that work she also engaged with the problems of recuperating memory and negotiating the translator?s position as a participant in the narrative. She has several published articles in the field of Translating and Interpreting Studies. She is on the advisory board of Translation: a transdisciplinary journal, of the NIDA School of Translation Studies, published by St. Jerome in Manchester and Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura in Rome.
Vanita Sehgal
Principal, DPS RK Puram
India
Vanita Sehgal is Principal, DPS RK Puram
Dr. Anupa Siddhu
Lady Irwin College, New Delhi
India
Introduced one new post graduate and BEd Special Education (MR) in 2007. Revised all undergraduate and post graduate courses and PG Diploma program. In last five years implementing programs into Semester mode, Four year program. BTech Food technology in Delhi University in 2013and now Choice Based Semester System in 2015. Member academic council, executive council DU since 2015. Board of research studies in several Univ. and national advisory committees.
College hosts Study abroad program, British Council research awards, Fulbright Fellowship to US senior faculty, WHO fellows from Maldives, international multicentric studies with US and Germany. Several National and International awards.
Dr. Snehal Deshpande
Visiting consultant and HOD - Pediatric physiotherapy
India
Dr. Snehal, a specialized neuro-physiotherapist holds a Bachelor?s Degree in Physiotherapy, Post Graduate diploma in Hospital and Healthcare Management from Symbiosis in 2002, certified in Neuro Developmental Therapy and Sensory Integration.
Dr. Snehal, has been passionately practicing over 25 years. Having started as an individual therapist, today has an organization with 10 fully equipped centres across the country and around 50 therapists and consultants treating children with developmental disabilities.
Dr. Snehal has trained over 1000 physiotherapists and occupational therapists through workshops and observer-ship programs.
Her organization Sneh, believes in a trans-disciplinary approach and teamwork of the healthcare professionals that enables a patient to recover faster. Hence they work in close grid with various medicos like Orthopedic Surgeons, Neurologists, Neuro-Surgeons, Pediatricians, Developmental Pediatricians, Gynecologists, Visual Rehabilitation specialists, Ophthalmologists, Dentists and so on.
Sumaya Dalmia
Ceo, Sumaya, Sd Wellness Private Limited
India
Sumaya Dalmia is one of the leading fitness and wellness professionals in the Country, and has been the pioneer of the industry since 1997. Sumaya Dalmia is the owner and founder of Delhi?s first state of the art personal training studio, which focuses on customized fitness routines with a complete focus on individual lifestyle management under the brand ?SUMAYA? (www.sumaya.in). SUMAYA operates 4 Fitness centers in North India (Shivalik, Ananda, The Manor Hotel and The Lodhi Hotel).
Sumaya Dalmia has also just launched Geo Fitness Academy - powered by Technogym of Italy, which will graduate their first batch of Geo Fitness certified Fitness Specialists in May 2017. (www.geo fitness.com)
Shilpa Shetty
Indian film actress
India
Shilpa Shetty known by her married name Shilpa Shetty Kundra,is an Indian film actress,businesswoman producer,former model and the winner of the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5 .Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Telugu,Tamil and Kannada language films.One of India's most popular and high-profile celebrities, Shetty is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Filmfare Award nominations. As a teenager, Shetty did a few modelling assignments and appeared in several television commercials. She later made her acting debut in the 1993 thriller Baazigar that earned her nominations for the Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Lux New Face of the Year. She subsequently earned wide recognition with dual roles in the 1994 action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari. After this initial success in her career, Shetty's films fared poorly at the box office for the next five years and garnered her negative reviews. The 2000 box office hit Dhadkan marked a turning point in her career, earning her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. Shetty rose to prominence by featuring as the female lead in three of India's annually top-grossing productions?the 2004 cop drama Garv, the 2005 Kannada film Auto Shankar and the 2007 family drama Apne?and received praise for her performances in the dramas Pardesi Babu (1998), Rishtey (2002) and Life in a... Metro (2007). Her acclaimed portrayal of an AIDS patient in the 2004 drama Phir Milenge garnered her several accolades, including a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Shetty became a global figure after winning the 2007 British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5, with 63% of the final vote, following an international racism controversy.
Revathi Roy
CEO , Hey Deedee & Zaffiro learning
India
Never ever imagined that my passion for driving would eventually become a bread winner career for me and many others especially women. And also that it would get created because I am a teetolaller. A challenge with my friends helped set up the 1st ever womens taxi service. Only to be followed by the giants of the industry in the years to come. 47 years of Hands on exposure spanning industries ( Print Media, Manufacturing, Womens empowerment projects, Education, Non Profit and Government bodies), and being on Mentoring Boards of various Institutes as part of their e-cell.only helped to build 2 companies 1st as Founder FORSHE CABS and 2nd Co founder VIIRA CABS. I created a motor training school like none other which was all about training women to become Taxi drivers. We learnt the entire gamut of Mobilizing, Sourcing Training, Mentoring of women to ensure that skilling for employability is achieved over various professions, mainstay being Driving and training women to become commercial Taxi drivers. In the process of building these companies and various interactions with policy makers and regulatory bodies, built several contacts which would help change a few laws and create new ones. Women taxi Drivers permits in the Government of Maharashtra being one of them. quite recently the offline arrangement for the women who wanted to become drivers. Efforts are on right now to bring down the time period of 12 month to acquire a Transport license and make it skill based and not time based. Consulting several start-ups and small businesses in the areas of Business Strategy, Sales Strategy, Branding & Marketing Strategy and Product Development. Very passionate about Women?s Empowerment. Sharing experiences and speaking to students and visiting colleges is one of the things i am proud of doing along with being the Founder- FORSHE CABS- First taxi service for women by women and co founder of VIIRA CABS. Want to see a new landscape with women driven cabs across India
Ashwini Deshpande
Founder Director & Practice Head at Elephant Design Pvt Ltd
India
A 1989 graduate of National Institute of Design, along with 2 co-founders, I lead Elephant, India's largest independent integrated design consultancy with offices in India & Singapore. Elephant was ranked as No 1 Design Agency by The Economic Times Brand Equity reckoner in 2014. Award winning work includes global brands such as Daimler, Unilever, P&G, Gillette and Indian ones such as Britannia, Piramal, Nirlep, Titan, Godrej and Paper Boat drinks. Awards include Designomics, AsiaStar Packaging Excellence & Global ReBrand. I was invited by Rockefeller Foundation to participate in Global Social Impact summit at Italy & by Danish Design Foundation for the Global Co-creation Summit at Copenhagen. I have lectured at the icograda Design week in Vancouver & Istanbul, Business of Design Week at Hong Kong. I have been a jury member for Cannes Lions, Global ReBrand 100 awards, PrintWeek Awards, Spike Asia Awards & Design for Asia Awards. I was one of the select few designers to be included in the Mumbai Melbourne Design Map project supported by the Victorian Government. My recent speaking engagements include Urban Acupuncture Conference at Bandung, Indonesia, Design for a Billion conference at IIT Gandhinagar, a Keynote at Design Congress in Puebla, Mexico & International Design Congress at Gwangju, Korea in 2015. Core Committee Member: The Design Alliance Asia. Founding Member & General Secretary (Pune Chapter): Association of Designers of India. Specialties: I have been advising a Media Conglomerate to create user-centric approach across several publications, been on the ColourNext colour forecast panel for Asian Paints since 2003. I have also been a brand ambassador for HP. My Individual publishing includes design research case studies and articles in books & national dailies. As part of tDA Asia, I was "editor" of award winning cross-cultural project "Colours of Asia" that culminated into a book published with the support of Hong Kong SAR Government.
Rakhi Sarkar
Founder, CIMA Art Gallery, Kolkata
India
Rakhi Sarkar studied at Presidency College, Calcutta and the Institute of International Relations, Trinidad and Tobago. She initiated ANANDA, a textile design unit in 1974 in Calcutta. From the 80?s to early 90?s, she was closely involved with various projects in connection with income generation for rural India and substance abuse prevention in India. She worked closely with Government of India to initiate a policy framework in narcotics control and AIDS prevention in India. In this connection, she worked closely for several years with Betty and the Betty Ford centre in California. Having learnt art from Kamala Roychoudhury (one of the pioneering women artists from India to be educated in Paris in the late 1940?s) Sarkar took to privately collecting and studying art. She curated Visions in 1986, which was one of the first art exhibitions professionally curated and catalogued, showcasing about 200 artworks of four major artists of Bengal. Subsequently, having traveled and visited most of the institutions and museums of modern contemporary art across the world, she set up and assumed the Directorship of CIMA (Centre of International Modern Art) in 1993. Since then has curated and organized more than 120 art exhibitions across India, UK, Singapore and Canada. Has served as Founder Managing Trustee of The Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA) for ten years and several government national committees of art and culture and social bodies. She is Honorary General Secretary of ICC Calcutta Foundation and also served as Chairperson of Art Council of FICCI. Rakhi Sarkar is married with two daughters and lives and works from Calcutta.
Arshia Yadav
Co-Founder of Heroes of Cancer
UAE
Arshia started her professional life at ABN Amro bank within the investment advisory team in Dubai and Amsterdam. She subsequently transitioned into the healthcare sector doing advisory and business development work. Her experience ranged from working in a leading Indian digital healthcare startup, 1mg, as a business development manager to working for Falcon and Associates, (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum?s private consulting firm) wherein she was recruited to build Dubai 100, Middle East?s first digital health pre-accelerator. She has also been working on Heroes of Cancer. It aims to help cancer patients, caregivers and survivors navigate through their lives and the healthcare system better by connecting them with resources, doctors and others who have battled cancer. In parallel, she has been the Middle East ambassador for Hello Tomorrow for over three years. Hello Tomorrow is a French non-profit organization focused on creating global science and tech innovation hubs and connecting promising startups to relevant industry leaders .
Gunjan Jain
Author,She Walks, She Leads
India
An avid reader who is also a compulsive writer; a thought leader who often shares her discernment at public forums; a principled follower of the Bhagavad Gita and the values it embodies; a keen observer of people, always connecting with, learning and evolving from the environment around her?there are many dimensions and facets to Gunjan Jain?s interests and passions. With an academic record spread across five countries and three continents, Gunjan has been privileged to have had several worlds open up fairly early. She is a graduate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA) in economics and finance, and has earned her master?s in wealth management from the Cass Business School, City University (UK). Gunjan also holds a diploma in image management from the London Image Institute as well as the Academy of Image Mastery in Singapore. She has received a diploma in international etiquette and protocol from the Institut Villa Pierrefeu in Switzerland. She also holds a Master Practitioners degree in neuro-linguistic programming from the Society of NLP (USA), making her one among very few Indians to receive such accreditation. Gunjan is currently enrolled in the general management programme from the Harvard Business School, Boston, USA. Her debut book, She Walks, She Leads, is an authorised anthology of twenty-four accomplished Indian women from varied fields?business and media to entertainment to arts and sports. Nita Ambani is one of the prominent personalities featured in the book along with other luminaries such as Parmeshwar Godrej, Sudha Murty, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar, Zia Mody, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Priyanka Chopra, Mira Nair, Shobhana Bhartia, Indu Jain, Anamika Khanna, Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom. The book bears testament to the ways in which women business, entertainment and thought leaders learn from each other's experiences, insights and wisdom and go on to scale new heights and have a much larger impact on the world around them. Capturing a panoramic range of insights and sensibilities through their stories, each personality shares her personal journey like never before. Each story is based on extensive interviews with these extraordinary women and enriched with the views of their family, friends, and professional associates including Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Azim Premji, Adi Godrej, KV Kamath, N R Narayana Murthy, Ajay Piramal, Sanjiv Goenka, Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar. Gunjan is currently working on an extensively researched book on 9 leading Men of India and her first fiction based on a love story. Gunjan hopes to work with the youth and women of India, to create a more equitable society and helping them enrich their own communities. For more information on Gunjan Jain and her work, please follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn on GunjanOfficial.
Dr. Nisha Agrawal
CEO of Oxfam India
India
Nisha Agrawal has been working on poverty, inequality and social development issues for almost 30 years. Since March 2008, she has been the CEO of Oxfam India.
During this period, she successfully led a complex change management process that integrated the programs and staff of the 6 Oxfams that had been previously operating in India. She also led the process of formulating a new strategy for Oxfam India that focuses on the most backwards states and the most marginalized groups and on closing the gaps between the haves and have-nots in India.
Pernia Qureshi
Indian fashion entrepreneur
India
Pernia Moin Qureshi is an Indian fashion entrepreneur She has worked as a stylist with Harper?s Bazaar, Elle, and Conde Nast in New York and New Delhi. She has also ventured into designing costumes for Bollywood stars, namely the film Aisha (2010). She created and launched Pernia?s Pop-Up Shop, India?s first true fashion website that showcases over a 100 designers, and is available to the global clientele. Her book, Be Stylish with Pernia Qureshi, was published by Random House Publishers in 2013.
Dr. Sumita Misra
IAS Principal Secretary Department of Tourism Govt of Haryana
India
Sumita Misra is B.A. & M.A. from Lucknow University, Lucknow. She is the Gold Medalist and topper both in B.A. & M.A. Economics. Selected in Indian Administrative Service in 1990, Women?s topper and 10th position holder in her batch.Ph.D in Economics from Kurukshetra University in 2015 on gender Economics.Currently posted as Principal Secretary - Art & Cultural Affairs, Archives and Archaeology & Museums, Government of Haryana.
Bhanumathi Narasimhan
Director of Women empowerment and child welfare programs of The Art of Living
India
Smt. Bhanumathi Narasimhan has played a key role in The Art of Living Foundation, since its inception. Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, The Art of Living Foundation is a non-profit, educational and humanitarian NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) engaged in stress-management and service initiatives. The organization operates globally in 155 countries. HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, her brother and guide, has been a constant source of support and direction for her. Bhanumathi has been instrumental in instituting the Care for-Children program, which provides education for underprivileged rural, tribal and slum children, free of cost. The first School to be supported by this program started in 1981 with 30 children in rural Bangalore, now there are there are 425 schools in 20 states of India educating over 53,000 children. She is especially focused on education for girls and empowerment of women
Sunita Kohli
President of K2INDIA
India
Sunita Kohli, in a long design career, from 1971, has had the distinction of being the first interior designer to be conferred the Padma Shri in 1992, the first Indian designer/architect to be invited to give an illustrated lecture at the prestigious National Building Museum in Washington DC in 2003, the most visited architectural museum in the world; the first women to be appointed in 2014, as the Chairperson of the School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal, a National Institute of Excellence; and the first person to be invited to launch the Culture Initiative of the Asia Scotland Institute, by delivering two illustrated lectures at the University of Edinburgh and the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland.
She has worked in several countries, notably Egypt where she has designed several resorts and luxury hotel boats on the Nile for the ?Oberoi Group?; such as the Oberoi Mena House Hotel and Casino and the Oberoi Hotels in El-Arish and Aswan, the Oberoi Philae Cruiser and two other Oberoi Cruise Ships on the Nile. She has also restored, designed and furnished Naila Fort in Jaipur, for the Chairman of the Oberoi Group. Most recently, she has been working in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. She specializes in the design of public buildings such as museums and libraries, hotels and resorts, luxury hotel boats, forts, palaces, heritage properties, aircrafts, corporate offices and private residences.
In New Delhi, Sunita Kohli has restored and decorated many British period buildings ? designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Robert Tor Russell ? notably Rashtrapati Bhawan ( 1982, 1985-89, 2010-12), the Prime Minister?s Office and Secretariat (1985) and Hyderabad House (1988-99). She has also restored No. 3 and No. 5 Racecourse Road (1984 & 2004), the Official Residence of the Prime Minister, the bungalows of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum?, among several others in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone. She is presently working as a member of the Advisory Committee of Rashtrapati Bhavan. She also interior designed the British Council Building. This is the largest of their eighty institutions worldwide which was inaugurated by the Prince of Wales in 1992. She did the interior architecture and design of the DLF Corporate Office, on the ninth floor Parliament Street
Padmaja Ruparel
President , Indian Angel Network
India
Padmaja Ruparel, an entrepreneur, an Angel Investor, is today the President of Indian Angel Network (IAN), building it from just a gleam in the eye to India?s first and Asia?s largest group of business angels, comprising the who?s who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs from India and overseas. This ?For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs? platform now has over 200 investors with a portfolio of close to 50 companies across multiple sectors and geographies; operating across 5 cities, providing exits such as 11.5x over 42 months, with over 350 entrepreneurs approaching the network month on month. She has established a unique model of an incubator, based on domain expertise and mentoring portfolio, which now has a portfolio of 36 incubatee companies, growing quickly to attract seed funding within 6 months of incubation. As a key player in the entrepreneurial eco system of India, she operationalised the TiE Universe?s best chapter ? TiE Delhi chapter and revived the Indian Venture Capital Association, India?s oldest and largest association of VC and PE firms as CFO of the organisation. Paints & piano take Padmaja to a different realm.
Rina Dhaka
Fashion Designer
India
Rina Dhaka has her collections, under the label 'Rina Dhaka', in stores like Carma-Delhi, Design Studio-Mumbai, Kimaya-Mumbai, Selfridges-London, Coin-Italy and Lord and Taylor-New York. She has also opened a studio in Hauz Khaz village for Lycra in Delhi. The clientele list of this bold designer includes eminent personalities such as Naomi Campbell, Uma Thruman, Susan Fales Hill, Molly Simns, Tara Palmen Tomkison, Lara Dutta, and Diana Hayden. Her work has been featured in publications such as Marie Claire Paris, Madame Figaro Paris, Vogue London, New York Post, Vanity Fair, etc.
Dr. Pinky Anand
Indian lawyer
India
Dr. Pinky Anand is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India with a distinguished practice in diverse areas. She is All India Incharge Legal Cell, BJP, Member of All India National Executive of Bharatiya Janata Party, Spokesperson (Panelist) BJP, and represents the party at various levels, international and national. She is recipient of French National Order of Merit by President of the French Republic, directly at the level of ?Officer?. She has received several awards for excellence in law including FICCI and Bharat Nirman. She is practicing in the Supreme Court of India and has fought numerous cases which have led to landmark judgments. Some of the leading cases fought by Ms. Anand are related to: Constitutional right of freedom and expression for South Indian Actress Khushboo wherein the Supreme Court upheld the rights in a path breaking judgment and quashed 21 cases of defamation; representing the French Government in the famous case of Clemenceau; Fighting against invidious GM food invasion; Legal battle for BJP Leader Arjun Munda to be made the Chief Minister of Jharkhand; Delimitation case in the Supreme Court leading to Implementation of the Delimitation Commission?s orders in the Country on the basis of 2001 Census; V. Ravi Chandran vs. Union of India & Ors. Private International law Case. She is an erudite speaker and writer and active in social issues. She is recipient of Women Achievers Award from the International Association of Lions Clubs. She is a member of Governing body of the Bar Association of India. She is a well known speaker at International and National Conferences.
Sumana Mukherjee
Independent Film Maker & Producer
India
An independent upcoming film maker and Social entrepreneur from Kolkata born in a rural belt of Jharkhand, her passion toward films made her opt for film making, leaving a dazzling career in advertising and started her way in films independently in year 2007 with a Bengali movie ETI and founded ?Pixel International? (www.pixelinternationalfilms.com) She made more than 100 shorts and documentary produced 3 features independently and directed some. Some of her work as producer: Eti, Atin ela & Charadhaya, voyage, Towards life, A missing Smile etc. She has been nominated for NETPAC award and won several accolades along with Golden Camera Award, Global cinema Award. Her debut film has been screened different Film Festival nationally and Internationally. She is actively involved in cultural and social issues and promotes new talents/local talents, with Culture Curry (a platform to promote local talents). Recently she curetted 1st International Spiritual Film Festival (www.isffi.co.in), at Ujjain during Kumbh- 2016 and was in organizing committee as Festival Director. She also held position of Chairperson ALL Ladies League Kolkata and West Bengal Chapter for some time. She is now Chairing Film Festival Committee ? ALL (All Ladies league) and Women Economic forum (www.wef.org.in) She is also founder members of AIFDO (www.aifdo.in) a NGO working toward capacity building in field of cinema, art and culture and community services by showcasing film for cause and organizing workshops. An avid traveller and Love to click, she has clicked more than 5000 photographs and organized Lens Paint an unique Photo Art in the capital City New Delhi with Taj Vivanta.
Ranjna Patel
Director, East Tamaki Healthcare and Nirvana Health Group
India
Nirvana Health Group director Ranjna founded the company in 1977 in Otara with her GP husband Dr Kantilal Patel There are 36 Medical Clinics and 30 Pharmacies with 1080 employees Ranjna has an extensive involvement in charitable and community groups for which she received a QSM in 2009 and ONZM in 2017 She has been a JP and Marriage celebrant since 1996 She won Indian Business Awards Businesswoman of the Year for 2011 and was awarded the QSM for Services to the Indian Community in 2008 and ONZM Officer of NZ Order of Merit in 2017 Ranjna has also been awarded the EEO Walk the Talk Award was inducted into the Co of Women NZ Hall of Fame winner of the Master category for the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year and Deloittes Visionary Leader She sits on many advisory boards including Middlemore Foundation Co of Women Global Women NZ Police National Ethnic Advisory Board CM Police advisory Board Lotteries distribution committee and many more Among many other commitments she was past chair of the NZ Central Indian Association NZCIA Women s Group Past President of the Manukau Indian Association and currently Director of Bank of Baroda
Sabina Chopra
CEO , RCI :Wyndham Group
India
Ms. Sabina Chopra is Co-Founder of Yatra Online, Inc. and serves as its Chief Operating Officer of Corporate Hotels. Ms. Chopra has over 16 years of work experience, has through knowledge of all facets of the Travel BPO Industry and an extensive network within the Indian travel community. She served as an Executive Vice President of Operations at Yatra Online, Inc. Prior to Yatra, Ms. Chopra headed India based Operations of ebookers, Europe?s largest online travel company.
Dr. Blossom Kochhar
Founder, Aroma Magic
India
A clear visionary, way ahead of her time, Dr. Blossom Kochhar is the pioneer of aromatherapy in India and is globally recognised for her work. She is the Chairperson of Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies and her name is synonymous with successful brands ? Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic and Blossom Kochhar College of Creative Arts & Design (BKCCAD).
With over 35 years of experience and a double doctorate in aromatherapy, she manufactures her own range of aromatherapy-based beauty products under the brand name ?Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic?. It is the first aromatherapy product line of the country and stands as an unparallel leader in this segment for 25 years now. With over 200 products including skin care, hair care, body care, singular essential oils and exclusive blends, Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic cosmetics include both the retail range and salon range. Her loyal customers include celebrities and Bollywood stars. Leading salons across the country use her salon range for aromatherapy treatments.
She is a name to reckon with when it comes to beauty education and she heads the country?s premier hair, beauty, make-up and spa school chain called Blossom Kochhar College of Creative Arts & Design (BKCCAD). Dr. Blossom Kochhar introduced a structured and systematic approach to hair, beauty and spa education almost 30 years ago in order to bring the Indian beauty industry to the international standards. BKCCAD, a world-class training institute, offers prestigious international certifications including Pivot Point, CIDESCO, ITEC, IHB, MUD ( make-up designory) and more. Dr. Kochhar?s and her team of educators have created winners in the industry. She is an icon to thousands of beauty professionals in India.
Krishika Lulla
Producer at Eros International
India
Krishika Lulla, who over the years has been very actively involved in making films with her husband Sunil Lulla, was recently in for a pleasant surprise. Though her films have won awards in the commercial category across functions, it was a special moment for her as a producer when Journalist Association of India decided to herald her as the Best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. In the recently held 21st JAI National Awards at New Delhi, Krishika was invited to take the stage while being honored with the award. Says Krishika, "I'm truly privileged for this recognition. It's been a wonderful journey last few years. I'm absolutely enjoying my role as a film producer and an entrepreneur. It's been a challenging yet fulfilling experience. I am honored my work has been recognized and thank the Journalist Association of India for the award." Journalist Association of India arrived at the list of prominent personalities across various fields and domain by closely studying the work done by them over the years and also the contribution made to the society. With the award under her belt, Krishika is now all the more charged and is looking forward to releasing an impressive line-up at Eros which comprises of films like 'Kochadaiiyaan', 'Dekh Tamasha Dekh', 'Puraani Jeans', 'Action Jackson', 'NH 10', 'Tevar', 'Happy Ending' and this Friday's release 'Dishkiyaoon'. With films that range from being star studded affairs to niche quality outings, the USP for Krishika's work stays on to be various genres being explored.
Rajiee M Shinde
CEO at PTC Punjabi, PTC NEWS, PTC CHAKDE
India
Dada Saheb Phalke Film Foundation Awardee for 'Woman Entrepreneur of the year for TV & Films 2016. - Ms. Rajiee M Shinde, CEO & Director ? PTC Network is a media visionary who has been associated with Punjabi Entertainment and Media for nearly 17 years. Ms. Shinde has held high profile posts with the best Punjabi Channels aired in India and across the world. Her career began with Srishti Videocorp?s Channel YES. She rose through the ranks and soon joined Home TV (of Hindustan Times) as the Head of the Promo Division. From here, she moved onto the ZEE Group, and was promoted to become the BUSINESS HEAD of ETC CHANNEL PUNJABI and ZEE PUNJABI. She was also heading the programming division for ALPHA ETC PUNJABI (in UK & USA).She currently heads GNext Media Pvt Ltd, under the aegis of which PTC Network of Channels exist in India, in the capacity of CEO & DIRECTOR. PTC Punjabi is aired across the globe, catering to the Punjabi Community worldwide. Ms. Shinde specializes in design and development of high-interest television software and entertainment events. Among the various Reality Talent Hunt Shows conceptualized and produced by her at PTC, the most prominent ones are PTC Punjabi Music Awards- a felicitation of the greatest talent in Punjabi Music Industry, PTC Punjabi Film Awards - the Annual Punjabi Film Awards, Miss PTC Punjabi? a Talent and Beauty Hunt for deserving Punjabi girls, Voice of Punjab ? a Singing Talent Hunt Show in Punjab, Laughter Da Master ? a Stand-up Talent Hunt Show, Voice of Punjab Chhota Champ - a Singing Talent Hunt Show for Kids and Mr. Punjab ? a Personality Talent Hunt Show for Punjabi Men. In 2013, she spearheaded the launch of a business vertical PTC Motion Pictures, which has already released 2 Punjabi films out of which Disco Singh was a resounding success at Box Office. Under her leadership, PTC Punjabi will also be launching Punjabi Telefilms in 2016, of which Kuknoos has been aired worldwide in March. Zorawar, a Honey Singh Film is slated to be released worldwide on 6th May 2016. Ms. Shinde has been instrumental in launching LIVE telecasts of events in various parts of India as well as abroad. Her biggest success has been organizing of grand scale events in different parts of the world including Trafalgar Square (London), New Zealand, UAE and Canada which were attended by top dignitaries of the country. Ms. Shinde has contributed her might to the progress of the Punjabi Entertainment Industry and continues to do so. She is the recipient of Magicka Women Achiever Award 2016 and Sangrur Heritage Award 2016 for her relentless contribution to Punjabi Entertainment Industry. Additionally she was conferred with Excellence in Media in the BIMSTEC - SAARC WOMEN EMPOWERMENT FORUM 2017 organized by ASSOCHAM under MEA and Vishwa Punjabi Guarav Puraskar for outstanding contribution ? Vishwa Punjabi Sahitya Sammelan Pune 2016. Ms. Shinde was conferred with Punjabi Icon Award 2017 by Punjabi Cultural Heritage Board, Mumbai. Women of the Decade in Media and Social Change by Women Economic Forum 2017 (WEF) proved to be yet another feather in her hat.
Barkha Dutt
journalist
India
Barkha Dutt is an Indian television journalist, news reporter and columnist. She is associated with NDTV as a group editor. She has won many national and international awards, including the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Barkha Dutt was born on 18 December 1971 in New Delhi, India. She has done her graduation from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with a degree in English literature. She received a master's in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia Mass Communication Research Center, New Delhi. She has also gained a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism
Anita Nayyar
CEO India & South Asia , Havas Media
India
Anita Nayyar is a veteran of Indian media being an integral part of its growth. As CEO she took on the mandate to expand the Havas Media Group footprint in these lucrative emerging SA markets in 2006. Under her leadership Havas Media Group in India has grown exponentially. It has expanded its offerings as an integrated communications group for traditional, digital, mobile, performance marketing and out-of-home. The agency has grown 10 times in 8 years. This 2015 RECMA ranked Havas Media in the Top 5 Media Agencies in its 2014 Qualitative Evaluation. Havas Media was ranked as the No.2 Indian Media Agency in the Agency Report Card 2014 by Campaign India. In 2013 RECMA graded Havas Media at No.1 in Compitches in both their preliminary reports. RECMA rated Havas Media Group as the fastest growing media agency in India at 43%, 3x the industry in 2012. Anita was voted the 2nd most influential media person in India by The Brand Equity Survey in 2006 and has always been in the top list of the most influential media personalities ever since. Much awarded she has been recognized every year for her leadership and Havas Media has won at the agency level for its work. Her 30+years in the industry have seen her passionately manage a mega portfolio of brands across sectors. A prominent speaker, moderator, panelist and judge at all major events and awards year on year; her views and opinions have been sort by both Indian and international media. She started and went on to lead leading agencies in India including Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, Initiative Media, MediaCom and Starcom Worldwide. Anita?s area of expertise is with business, brands and people as well as media, digital, mobile, entertainment, OOH and sports. She holds a Bachelors degree in Microbiology and has done her Post Graduation in Advertising and Marketing with a Masters in Management.
Seema Goswami
Journalist, Author, Columnist
India
Seema Goswami is a journalist, columnist and author. She began her career with the Anand Bazar Patrika Group, working for Sunday magazine before moving on to become Editor of The Telegraph's weekend features. She currently writes a weekly column, Spectator, for the Hindustan Times' Sunday magazine, Brunch, which has a large and dedicated following. Her book, Woman on Top, written to help women in the workplace, was one of the first titles to be published by Random House India. She is currently working on a political novel, which will be out later this year.
Shweta Punj
Senior Associate Editor, India Today Group / Co Founder at Whypoll
India
My journalism career spans 14 years across India and the United States -- I have reported and written on pretty much everything under the sun from technology, start-ups, health policy, alternate energy, debt-laden companies in the United States to real estate, politics and economic policy in India. I have worked with organisations like CNBC India, Inside Washington Publishers, Bloomberg UTV, India Today Group, besides being a news junkie and a policy wonk, I am also very interested in exploring tech-driven governance models in developing countries which will integrate citizens with government, it was to take this belief forward that I, along with a friend, started the Whypoll Foundation. Whypoll is using technology to make Indian cities safer for women -- we built the first woman safety mobile app and the first crowd-sourced safety map in India. Also wrote a book on failure last year, 'Why I Failed', which has remained on the bestseller list for a year.
Gazal Kalra
Co Founder , Rivigo
India
Gazal Kalra is the Co-Founder at Rivigo. She has Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Harvard Kennedy School of Government (Masters in Public Administration, 2014, and IIT Delhi (2003-07). She was part of the World Bank Group, 2012, Parliamentary Associate, Office of Member of Parliament, 2009-2011, and McKinsey & Co, 2007-2009
Nishi Vasudeva
Ex - Chairman & Managing Director (C&MD)
India
Ms. Nishi Vasudeva, an Indian business executive, served as Chairman & Managing Director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, India?s fourth largest corporation in terms of revenue, till end March 2016. She is the first woman in India to head a Fortune 500 company in the Energy sector and among the very few women globally to head an Oil company.
She has experience spanning over 38 years in the Oil sector across core functions including Corporate Strategy , Fuel retailing, LPG marketing, Planning and Information Systems. She has served as Chairman of the Board of several Joint Venture Companies of HPCL in partnership with reputed MNCs and Indian corporates. She was elected Vice President (Youth & Gender) on the Executive Committee of World Petroleum Congress for a three year term.
Ms. Vasudeva has played a key role in the development of several high impact strategies as well as in design and implementation of mission critical initiatives at HPCL which helped HPCL achieve industry leadership position in terms of growth in Shareholder Value, Profitability and Physical Performance. An alumnus of The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, she was featured as the ?Most Powerful Women in Asia Pacific? by FORTUNE magazine at 5th position in 2014 and Business Today featured her amongst the ?Most Powerful Women in Indian Business? for three consecutive years during her tenure on HPCL board.
She is the only Indian to be awarded as the prestigious Platts ?Global CEO of the Year" in the energy sector. She also has several other recognitions and awards to her credit ,including Platts ?Asia CEO of the Year? (2014-15), ?Outstanding Woman Manager Award? (2010-11) - by SCOPE, ?Best CEO Super Large Companies? (turnover > Rs. 1000 billion) and ?Best CEO Oil & Gas? by Business Today. In acknowledgement of her efforts, she was presented the prestigious SCOPE award in the Individual Leadership Category by the Hon?ble President of India for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution to Public Sector Management for the year 2013-14.
She is currently an Independent Director on the board of HCL Technologies Ltd. and a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun.
Radha Kapoor Khanna
Founder and Executive Director
India
Design Thinker, Innovation Evangelist, Creative Entrepreneur and Founder of Indian School of Design and Innovation, Radha Kapoor wears more than one hat in her professional endeavours. Being a right brained person, and having an eye for aesthetics and design from her early days, Radha pursued a degree in fine arts majoring in Communication Design at the Parsons School of Design New York. She is the first Parsons alumnus to have collaborated with the school to set up the Indian School of Design and Innovation in association with Parsons, New York, in 2013, here in Mumbai. With alternative careers and entrepreneurship on the rise, Radha saw this as an opportunity to cut her teeth into the education industry and set up a platform for both design and innovation to flourish. Radha?s passion for design made her push the envelope once again as she launched DO IT Creations, a holding umbrella company, to conceptualize and catalyse Design, Innovation and Creativity led Entrepreneurship (DICE), while keeping education and design thinking at the core. ISDI has branched out into specialisations with high profile partners to bring this vision of Radha?s to life. In addition to the association with Parsons, ISDI has tied up with global communication services giant, WPP, and launched the ISDI WPP School of Communications in July 2015. The school looks to nurture and bridge the creative talent gap faced in India.
Jyoti Deshpande
Group CEO & Managing Director Eros International
India
Ms. Jyoti Deshpande Group CEO & Managing Director, Eros International Ms. Jyoti Deshpande has over 24 years of experience in media and entertainment across advertising, media consulting, television and film. She has been a key member of Eros International Plc since 2001 and has contributed to driving Eros?s growth for over a decade and a half; driving Eros?s overall business strategy and operations with her vision. Ms. Deshpande drove Eros?s capital markets strategy by helping it become the first Indian entertainment company to be initially listed on the AIM, London Stock Exchange in 2006 followed by a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing in 2013. In 2010 she drove the listing of Eros?s Indian subsidiary on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Over the last 10 years she helped the company raise significant growth capital through debt and equity. She continues to help Eros tap into new areas of growth such as the digital opportunity with ErosNow or new markets such as China. Prior to joining Eros, she has worked in the field of advertising with J Walter Thompson India before moving to the UK and heading advertising sales and marketing with Zee Television Network UK. She has also gained experience as a senior media consultant with MindShare UK (WPP Group). She has been a part of the core team that founded B4U Television Network in the UK in 1998-99 and managed its expansion to other parts of the world in a span of two years. She has a Bachelor?s Degree in Commerce and Economics from Mumbai University and a Master?s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from SPJIMR, Mumbai University in 1993. Recognising her leadership capabilities, Ms Deshpande was featured in the Top 50 list of Most Powerful Women in Business by Business Today (2015) which celebrate the journeys, triumphs, perspirations and challenges of women who are powerful enough to impact their organizations and the economy in a big way. In the same year Ms. Deshpande also featured in the prestigious Fortune India magazine?s 50 most powerful women in business. When possible, Ms. Deshpande participates as guest speaker/panellist on Fortune Most Powerful Women International Summit held in Hong Kong/London and other industry forums such as FICCI.
Shikha Sharma
CEO of Axis Bank
India
Shikha Sharma is the Managing Director & CEO of Axis Bank, the third largest private sector bank in India. Sharma joined Axis Bank in 2009 and as a leader adept at managing change, she has focused on transforming Axis Bank into a Bank with strengths across a wide range of Corporate and Retail Banking products. At Axis Bank, she has focused on strengthening its retail lending franchise, enlarged its investment banking & advisory capabilities and developed a comprehensive portfolio of products in the payments space.
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Vice Chairperson, Kinetic Engineering Ltd
India
Sulajja Firodia Motwani is an Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is currently the Vice Chairperson of Kinetic Engineering Limited and Founder & CEO of Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Limited. The Kinetic Group witnessed tremendous expansion during her term. From being a mere moped manufacturer it has set its foothold in the industry as a manufacturer offering a complete range of two wheelers right from mopeds, scooters to motorcycles. She has recently restructured the group to expand group activities into automotive systems and green energy. Most notably, she has founded a company, Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions, that aims to be an expert in green mobility and electric vehicles and aims to bring this technology to the masses through launch of electric autos, buggies and small electric taxis.
Vandana Luthra
Founder,VLCC Health Care Ltd
India
Vandana Luthra is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of VLCC Health Care Ltd. a beauty and wellness conglomerate represented in Asia, the GCC and Africa. She is also the Chairperson of the Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council (B&WSSC), an initiative that provides training under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana scheme. She was honored by the Government of India in 2013 with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contribution to the fields of trade and industry. She won the Asian Business Leaders Forum Trailblazer Award in 2012 and The Enterprise Asia Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2010. She has been ranked 26th in the distinguished annual Forbes Asia 50 Power Businesswomen in the APAC region (which includes Asia, Australia and New Zealand). She has also featured in the prestigious Fortune magazine?s annual listing of the ?50 Most Powerful Women in Business in India? for five years in a row ? from 2011 to 2015
Lila Poonawalla
Founder ,Lila Poonawalla Foundation
India
Born on 16th of September, 1944 to Sindhi parents from Hyderabad. One of 5 children, life was anything but mundane for Mrs. Lila Poonawalla. It was at the age of 3 Mrs. Poonawalla lost her father. It was then that she along with her family migrated to India. Her journey to India brought her to Pune, Maharashtra, where she would spend her formative years. After completing her schooling from the Mount Caramel Covent School, Mrs. Poonawalla was determined to walk down the unusual path and carve a niche for herself. She created history by becoming the first Woman Engineer graduating from the Mechanical stream of the College of Engineering, Pune. After completing her graduation, Mrs. Poonawalla began her corporate career as an apprentice in Ruston & Hornsby, it was here that she would eventually meet and marry the love of her life Mr. Firoz Poonawalla. Since the company policy did not allow married couples to work together, Mrs. Poonawalla decided to move on, while Mr. Poonawalla stayed back. Mrs. Poonawalla joined Vulcan Laval as a trainee engineer. It was at Vulcan Laval, that Mrs. Poonawalla would get the opportunity to truly unleash her potential. After working her way up the ranks, she went on to become one of the first Woman CEOs in India. Mrs. Poonawalla?s hard work never went unnoticed, as she went on to become the chairman of Alfa Laval, soon after she took over the responsibilities of a CEO at Tetra Pak. Holding both the positions till her retirement in 2001. She started her own Consultancy Services Company ?Lila Consulting Services? in 2000 and through this set up, she works as a Corporate Advisor. Currently she is A Strategic Advisor to Erehwon Consulting and SmartCloud Infotech Private Limited, and on the Advisory Board of ThyssenKrupp Industries India Pvt. Ltd. She has been an advisor to Schlumberger of USA and Arco Safety equipment of UK. Today, Padmashree Ms. Lila Poonawalla is the Chairperson of Lila Poonawalla Foundation. Presently, a Director on the Board of KPIT Technologies, NobleTek PLM Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Pragati Leadership, Blossom Industries, Bajaj Alliance Life Insurance, Bajaj Alliance General Insurance, Volvo Escher commercial Vehicles, Impact Automotive solutions Ltd, Nihilent Technologies and Chairperson of Board of Governors? IIT Ropar.
Parul Sharma
Assistant Vice President, Star India Pvt Ltd
India
Parul Sharma is Assistant Vice President, Star India Pvt Ltd
Ofra Abramovich
Founder of Mamanet ? Mothers league
Israel
Founder of Mamanet ? Mothers league, which is the largest women?s league and the 3rd most popular sport branch in Israel. Mamanet has thousands of active mother-players who participate in close to 1000 teams located in municipalities all over Israel, Cyprus, Austria, Italy, USA, Canada and Switzerland and more. Ofra devotes her life to promote Mamanet life?s philosophy where mothers should be able to belong to a sport team and thereby lead a healthy and active life. As such, those mothers become a personal example and a role model for their children and families. Mothers who participate in Mamanet have proved their ability to build a strong community which become a platform to emphasize school pride, good sportsmanship, professional competitions and enhancing community building and mutual aid. This model was not only been adopted by mothers from around the world, but also received recognition from government agencies, the UN, sport agencies such as CSIT, the National Olympic committee, health & lifestyle companies and more. The Ministry of Science is currently conducting a 3 years research Mamanet league increases social capital & promotes health and wellbeing Ofra holds a Bachelor degree in Psychology from Queens College, NYC and lives with her husband and 2 daughters in Kfar Saba, Israel, where she is also serves as the chairwoman of the women?s Volleyball Club Hapoel Kfar Saba.
Dr. Jennifer Riria
Group CEO, Kenya Women Holding
Kenya
Dr. Jennifer Riria is the Group CEO of Kenya Women Holding. She is distinguished as Microfinance Banker and Practitioner, Researcher and Gender Specialist. She has led KWFT for over two decades, and, propelled it from unprofitable NGO to a medium sized Bank, serving low income women and their families. KWFT has served over 3 million women and disbursed over US$ 2.3 billion over a period of 20 years. She has served in many other leadership roles for which she has been recognized locally and internationally. To mention a few of these - In 2006 she was awarded the Moran of the burning spear by Kenya Government for her role in Development. In 2011 she was also recognized by the Marketing Society of Kenya and awarded ?Warrior? status Award. In addition she is a distinguished Champion of Democracy and was awarded ?Champion of Democracy? by the Ford Foundation in 2012 for her role both as a leader of the TUVUKE Initiative and Group CEO of Kenya Women Finance Trust. In 2014 she was awarded the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the year, East Africa 2013, and subsequently, the EY, Global Entrepreneur of the year Award 2014, and, got admitted to the global Hall of fame. She is an institutional builder who focuses on institutions that empower, positions and advocate for the majority, and especially low income women and their families. For this reason she was awarded The ?Most Outstanding Businesswoman of the year Award? by the Africa Economy Builders in April, 2015. In July 2015 she received 6 other awards from the CEO Global as Africa most influential women in business and Government, among them was the ?Africa Life time achiever? and ?Continental lifetime achiever?. Her leadership engagements include WWB (Chair), Jabali Microserve (Chair), Member of the Global Leadership Council of Women and Girls Lead Global, TUVUKE Initiative for Peaceful and fair electoral process in Kenya (Chair), A life Board member of Association of Microfinance institutions in Kenya, among others. In the past she played a major role in the reconstruction and re-positioning of NHIF, AMFI (Chair), Post Bank, National Bank and Institutions of Higher learning. Dr. Riria is a transformative leader who strives for results. Working with and touching people?s lives with what she does is her passion. She has just launched THE JENNIFER RIRIA FOUNDATION to enhance her quest for touching lives.
Marija Ausrine Pavilioniene
Former MP and Activist
Lithuania
Del Indijos Marija Ausrine Pavilioniene, born April 6, 1944 in Kaunas, Lithuania. Doctor of Science (Humanities), Doctor Habilitis (Humanities), Professor of Vilnius University. Fighter for women?s, children, elder people?s, LGBT rights. From 1967 till 2004 worked in the Faculty of Filology of Vilnius University. From 2004 till now member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, member of the Committees on Human Rights, European Affairs, Education, Science and Culture.Head of the parliamentary Women?s group, the group on Development Cooperation, Reproductive Health and Rights. Member of the Social democratic party. Member of the Council of the European Parliamentary Forum. Reset up Lithuanian University Women?s Association (1991), set up Women?s Study Centre, the first Feminist library in VU (1992)VU, set up, edited VU journal ?Feminism, Society, Culture? (1999-2002). Published 2 monograhs on Western literature, 2 collections of articles on political, social,cultural, religious problems: ?Hopes and Disillusions?, 2011, ?Illusions and Reality?, 2016.
Edith Nordmann
Attorney at Law & Partner
Netherlands
Edith Nordmann is a seasoned corporate and commercial lawyer and litigator. Her clients range from multinational corporations, privately held companies, to small- and medium-scale businesses. Over the years, Edith has developed an exemplary knowledge of business law, and is consistently following and analyzing current trends as well as legislative and regulatory developments. She is familiar with corporate and business law in other jurisdictions where her clients have operations or are looking to invest. She is fluent in German (native speaker and head of the German desk for 15 years), English, Dutch, French and Italian, which allows her to communicate with many of her international clients in their mother tongue and to understand the difference in mentality, culture and legal systems. This is vitally important in negotiations. Edith is ambitious, thrives on challenges and relentlessly pursues her clients? goals, while remaining mindful of their reputations and the risks. Next to her professional career she engages in many charities using her professional expertise, not only helping others, but also empowering them in their endeavors.
Penny Simmonds
CEO of the Southern Institute of Technology
New Zealand
Penelope (Penny) Simmonds was appointed as a Trustee in October 2012. Penny is Chief Executive Officer of Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), appointed in 1997. Prior to appointment as CEO, Penny was in a Management position at SIT from 1990 -1997. Penny is a Board member of New Zealand Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics, Venture Southland, Chairperson of Hockey Southland, Women's Vice President of Hockey New Zealand and a board member of Southland disAbilities Services. Penny is a former Director of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery and former member of the Southland District Health Board. Penny was a recipient of the Woolf Fisher Fellowship in 2000. Penny is married with three daughters and farms in the Te Tipua District.
H.E. Ms. Joanna Kempkers
High Commission of New Zealand
New Zealand
Originally from Christchurch, and a graduate of the University of Canterbury, Joanna has had a 23 year career in MFAT, with postings to Paris, Fiji and the Cook Islands. Her most recent assignment was as Chief of Protocol for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She is currently High Commissioner to India, with cross accreditations pending to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. She is married with three children.
Agatha Amata
CEO of Inside Out Media LTD
Nigeria
Agatha Amata is a Media Expert & Consultant, TV & Movie Producer, Seasoned Speaker, Entrepreneur and a Philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show "Inside-Out with Agatha? and "Inside-out Extra", the longest running independent talk show(s) on Nigerian television which she hosted for 20years. She is also the Managing Director of Inside-Out Media Ltd, a media consultancy and production outfit based in Lagos, Nigeria, which birthed RAVE TV (www.raveng.tv), an interactive television platform on DTT (transmitting on GOTV (CH113), Startimes (CH125), MYTV and Abuja DSO Free TV (CH 745) in Lagos and a Radio station situated in Asaba, Delta state, Nigeria: TREND FM 100.9 offering a package of audience participatory and educative content that cuts across the African borders. Her love and passion for the youths, women and humanity endeared the extension of the vision to founding a Non Governmental Organisation known as Foundation For Effective Socio-Economic Change In Africa (FESECA) through which she hopes to employ the media as an effective tool for societal moral rearmament. She is a member of the Electronic Media Content Owners Association Of Nigeria (EMCOAN), Advertising Practitioners Council Of Nigeria (APCON), Women In Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and is affiliated to the following non-governmental organisations: Project Alert, Media Concern Initiative and Gold Crest Foundation for women & Children.
Norlin Robles Sunga
Founder at NRS Business Solutions
Philippines
A forerunner in the BPO Industry, Norlin has a strong ability to prioritize. She built rudimentary systems out of minimal resources while performing many other essential responsibilities including maintaining client relationships, managing dozens of employees, implementing new processes internally, and managing multiple new projects to deadline. Her strong background of creating processes and procedures in a 24/7 operations environment is the pillar of NRS? success.
Margarida Marques
Secretary of State for European Affairs
USA
Margarida Marques was born in Bombarral, in 1954. She has a Master in Science Education - Education and Development, from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon (1991). She has a degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the Faculty of Science ? University of Lisbon (1976). She was elected Member of the National Parliament (XIII Legislature) on 4th October 2015 and member of the III Legislature in the National Parliament (1983/1985). She was an European Commission official (1994/2015), holding positions in the Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) and the Directorate General for Communication (DG COMM). She was Head of the European Commission Representation in Portugal (2005/2011). She was Deputy Director of the Technological, Artistic and Professional Education Office of the Ministry of Education (1988/1992), being responsible for the creation of professional schools. She was also a representative of the Ministry of Education in the Advisory Committee of the PETRA program in the European Commission and the National Apprenticeship Committee. She was an official of the Ministry of Education (1985/1994) and the Ministry of Transports (1976/1983). She was visiting Professor at the Aut?noma University (1983/1989), the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Nova University of Lisbon (1989/1994) and ISCTE / IUL (2004/2011). She was a member of the National Council of Education (2000/2002) and member of the Advisory Board for Equality (1986/1992). She was a member of the General Council of ISCTE / IUL (2009/2015) and its Vice President (2012/2015). She was founder of JS (Youth Socialists) and its secretary-general (1981/1984).
Lisa Robins
Managing Director , Deutsche Bank
Singapore
Lisa Robins is a managing director at Deutsche Bank and the Head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Ms. Robins is responsible for the bank?s commercial banking activities including cash management, trade finance, securities and trust services in Asia Pacific. In Jan 2016, she was appointed as Vice Chair of Corporate & Investment Bank for Asia Pacific.
Lucia Lucka Klansek
Entrepreneur, Business Developer, Investor, Philanthropist
Slovenia
Lucia Lucka Klansek is a successful, inspiring entrepreneur, innovative thinker, investor, philanthropist, a pioneering spirit whose drive paved the way for many global achievements ? she has founded, built and managed several successful companies. In 2008 she envisioned and established SLOVENIA 4 YOU FOUNDATION, with mission to inspire and open the possibilities for personal and business growth, within the fields of start-up and innovation, business development, women leadership and education. Her educational background includes undergraduate degree in Economics and Masters degree from the University of Ljubljana, MBA at IEDC Bled, Slovenia, Owner President Management (OPM31) program at Harvard Business School, Fundraising at New York University, Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University, alongside with Tony Robinson?s exclusive program and CTI Co-Active Leadership program. Through her own story, Lucia Lu?ka provides inspiration and tools to help you grow your capabilities in order to your life and business to thrive. Most importantly, she is a very proud mother of two, Niko and Nina.
Alenka Smerkolj
Minister for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion
Slovenia
Alenka Smerkolj leads Slovenia's government efforts to define and implement Slovenia's long-term vision and development strategy. She was appointed as the Minister for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion on 19 November 2014. Before that she was a State Secretary at the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy. Alenka Smerkolj has over 25 years of work experience in the field of international business and financial markets. For year she worked at the Nova Ljubljanska banka d.d. (NLB) where she held several positions, amo them also the position of the director responsible for financial markets.Throughout the years she has gained valuable experience with NLB liquidity management, she headed the communication with the Bank of Slovenia and the Treasury of the Ministry of Finance regarding NLB Group liquidity management. Moreover, she was responsible for balance sheet management, trade in financial instruments, investment banking and securities custody. She was responsible for relations with the key NLB international banking partners and was also in charge of supervision and coordination regarding the issuance of NLB debt instruments. Alenka Smerkolj was in charge of promoting the sales of capital market instruments of the Slovenian companies. She was a member of the Treasury Board at the Bank Association of Slovenia. She participated in various expert groups and gave lectures worldwide.
Candice Schultz
Managing Director at Prime Property Global
South Africa
Candice Schultz is a qualified and practicing Attorney and was the youngest person to assume a directorship position of an International Law Firm in South Africa. She subsequently joined a BEE Investment Group where she assisted in facilitating multi billion Rand transactions across various sectors. Candice has been instrumental in the creation of several successful business start-ups and is currently pursuing her interests in the property market through her involvement in innovative projects together with listed companies. Understanding the need for any investor to have a global perspective, she has recently incorporated a real estate advisory firm offering local South African investors an opportunity to diversify their portfolios by investing internationally. Candice is very passionate about empowering women by helping them break through limiting belief systems. She believes that women can become empowered leaders by tapping into their own inner power through knowing who they are and embracing their femininity.
Erika Mikaelsson
CEO and producer of NORDIC LIGHT MEDIA
Sweden
Erika Mikaelsson, born in Sorsele, Sweden, in April 12 1953 ,has an academic degree in Journalism (Gothenburg University) 1976 she became the first female sports journalist in Sweden She has worked over 20 years as a news journalist in news papers, local radio stations and at a regional TV-station, before she in 1990 entered the national late night news as an anchor woman and editor. She also worked as a news reporter and was an editor for the foreign news in the morning national TVnews broadcasts. As early as 2005 she started a good news channel that 2010 became greatpeople.tv. 2012 she travelled with her team to Uganda to educate young women as grass root reporters in constructive journalism. She has written 5 books, among them the latest titled ?Good news for an even better world?. That is a description of the big change that is taking place in the media area in Scandinavia and soon in the rest of the world. She has been a guest teacher in Halmstad University and is now a project leader for a refugee project in her town of birth, Sorsele Sweden. Back to her roots in Swedish Lapland Erika Mikaelsson has also made a documentary. The movie The Nordic Sound, is about a sami rock singer searching for the origin of music. The composer Benny Andersson, World known from the pop group ABBA is also performing in the movie. Last but not least: She is a proud mother of a 23 year old daughter, now studying to become a waldorf teacher in Stockholm.
Kurbongul Kosimova
Director NGO "Najoti kudakon"
Tajikistan
NGO Najoti kudakon and its contribution in human rights and the women's movement is my main activity. I am happy that I was able to unite like-minded people and founded PO Najoti kudakon. I am convinced that this is the beginning of a long way development and I am ready to pass through it. Programs initiative, development of mutual understanding and genuine partnership, and support of its employees, free atmosphere of creative work are the basis for coordinating my obligation as head of the organization. Only the principle of sincere cooperation and association makes it possible to help those who need our support.
Boutheina Ben Yaghlane Ben Slimane
Chief Executive Director, Caisse Des Depots Et Consignations
Tunisia
Boutheina Ben Yaghlane Ben Slimane has been General Manager of ?Caisse des D?p?ts et Consignations? since April 2016. She was Secretary of State to the Minister of Finance from February 2015 to January 2016. In the legislative elections of October 2014, she was elected as a Member of Tunisian Parliament. From May 2012 to June 2013, she was an advisor to the Minister of Regional Development and Planning. With a PhD on Management Information Systems from the Higher Institute of Management of Tunis, Boutheina Ben Yaghlane is a full professor at the Institute of Business Studies (IHEC) in Carthage, as well as at Tunisian and French institutions
Dr. Ayesha Bin Ali Al Sayyar
Assistant Vice-Minister for Educational
UAE
In 1968, three years before the information of the Union of the seven Emirates, Dr. Ayesha Bin Ali Al-Sayyar became the first UAE female citizen to acquire a university degree. To accomplish this feat, she had to travel abroad airplanes run by the protecting British authorities, as there were no formal airports in the UAE and no regular flights. In 1973, she became the first UAE citizen to hold a Master?s degree. Then in 1983, she became the first UAE citizen holding a PHD degree. Also in 1973, she became one of a handful of UAE leading youths who found the Ministry of Education. She also started the program of social service in MOE, and the program for Special Needs students. She started and supervised a program for the identification, support, and rehabilitation of special needs students in the whole country. Dr. Al-Sayyar represented the UAE in many global conferences; among them is a conference in Mexico in 1975 where Dr. Al-Sayyar presented the findings of a study she had prepared about women?s good standing in the UAE; another conference was help in Copenhagen in 1980 where Dr. Al-Sayyar presented again a paper on the progression of women in UAE society. She also attended a conference in Beijing in 1995. Dr. Al-Sayyar also represented the UAE in UNESCO conference for more than 25 years. She also participated in founding the Umm al-Moomineen Lady society in Ajman. And in 1975, she became one of the founders of the UAE General Women?s Union. She also participated in writing the statutes for the Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation. She also founded the Social Security Fund in the M.E. In 1996, Dr. Al-Sayyar wrote the statuses for the Higher Council for Children in Sharjah. Dr. Al Sayyar founded and organized the Convention of Arab Children in Sharjah. This biannual convention hosts two children from each Arab country for a week in Sharjah. The event brings cultural, scientific, sporting, and artistic activities. Charitable work by Dr. Al Sayyar: ? Donation in the value of one million dirhams for students in need of financial assistance attending the American University of Sharjah. ? Donations to Sharjah City for Humanitarian University Service since its founding. ? Donations to Rashid?s Center for the Care of People with Special Needs. ? Donations to UAE Red Crescent Association. ? Donations to the Palestinian people through different events. ? Donations to the Mariah Group for the Care Orphaned Girls in the city of Tyre in Lebanon. ? Donation to Hospital 57357 in Cairo, which is dedicated for the free treatment of children with cancer. ? Donations to the Magdy Yacoub Center for the free treatment of children with heart problems. ? Donations to the Misr El-Kheir in Egypt.
Elissa Freiha
Founder of Women
USA
Elissa is an angel investor and founder of WOMENA, a Dubai-based angel investment platform. Born and raised in Paris, the Emirati of Lebanese and American descent graduated from the American University of Paris with a BA in Global Communications and speaks 4 languages. As an active angel with over 28 investments between North America and MENA, she has been frequently listed by media outlets and most notably by Arabian Business? 100 most powerful Arab women in 2015 and 2016 as well as the 100 most influential Arabs under 40.
Dr. Neslyn Watson Druee
Prof. Executive Coach
UK
Dr Neslyn Watson-Dru?e, CBE renowned international speaker articulates the behaviours and characteristics of successful leaders. Her Unique Business System: The Leaders? Code? is used in corporate organisations to: change organisational culture, demonstrate courage, show commitment, develop creativity, challenge issues and care about people. Neslyn is highly decorated with multi-awards. Neslyn has 3 separate honours from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11. Neslyn has spearheaded a financial turn-around within the NHS of ?21.5M within two years and at the end of the two years there was a profit of ?3M. She has authored: Fly High ? Land Safe: Career Transition for Executives, Cash $1000 in 24 Hours from the Internet ? The Ultimate Guide, The Beacon Leadership Technique ? 6 Conscious Blueprints to Experience Your Joy, Authentic Choice:Be You and The Beacon Technique: Leadership from Impossible to Possible. Neslyn is currently rolling out 111 Global Leadership Academies through Neslyn.com. Her skills are further applied in executive coaching and consultancy in three core areas: Leadership, Living with Passion and Purpose and Leaving a Legacy. She is an executive coach for UK?s NHS Leadership Academy. Neslyn has broad experience in business psychology and leading health service innovation in the UK. Neslyn has presented to the European Parliament, public and private sector organisations and various charities on leadership development, emotional intelligence and creating and sustaining high performing teams
Nikki Giant
Founder of Full Circle Education
UK
Nikki is the founder of Full Circle Education, a non-profit organisation based in Wales, UK that connects children and young people to their potential through a range of educational and extra-curricular programmes to raise aspirations, attainment and school attendance. The work of Full Circle specifically seeks to empower girls and young women. Nikki is the author of three educational books produced by Jessica Kingsley Publishers: ?Surviving Girlhood: Building Positive Relationships, Attitudes and Self-Esteem to Prevent Teenage Girl Bullying?; ?E-Safety for the i-Generation: Combating the Misuse and Abuse of Technology in Schools?; and ?Life Coaching for Kids: A Practical Manual to Coach Children and Young People to Success, Well-being and Fulfilment?. Nikki was named as a ?Rising Star? by Business Insider Wales and listed as one of Wales Online?s ?35 under 35? business women in 2015. Nikki is an ambassador for the organisation Girl Rising, which seeks to empower girls across the globe.
Lee Alison Sibley
Singer, Actor & Writer
USA
Lee-Alison Sibley is an author, vocal artist, teacher, actor and social activist with international Experience spanning three decades. Having earned a Bachelors Degree in Music from Boston University and Masters degrees in Music and Education from The Manhattan school of Music and George Mason University, Lee has sung, taught, lectured and acted all over the world . Having performed everything from folk to opera to art songs to Broadway in a variety of Languages, Lee recorded the songs of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore on her album ?The Distant Near.? Her memoir about peace in the Middle East, ?Jordan?s Jewish Drama Queen,? Promotes her vison of brotherhood in today?s world. In 2014 Lee was trained by Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore to be a climate Reslity Leader.
Dr. Chiara Hensley
AVP , Eastern Michigan University
USA
Dr. Chiara Hensley, Ed.D ? A dedicated, strategic educator and leader with an emphasis on conflict resolution, collaboration, consultation, social, economic and restorative justice, continuous systemic redesign and improvement, program evaluation and assessment, retention, academic success, and personalized learner-centered growth and development Dr. Hensley currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Eastern Michigan University. Her previous work includes service at Pasadena City College in the Counseling and Student Learning Services area, holding a tenured position as Assistant Professor of Counseling. During her tenure, she also served as Counseling Department Coordinator, and Campus Diversity Coordinator. Dr. Hensley received her Doctorate degree in Higher Education Leadership and Administration from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Eastern Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the University of Michigan. Dr. Hensley is passionate about issues of economic, gender, education, and race equity and inclusion. Her service and professional work focuses on the development of women, individuals and communities of color, and the development of children and youth in the context of the advancement of civilization through unity, consultation, and the educational, spiritual, and moral development of humankind.
Shevelle Mcpherson
Attorney, Entrepreneur, Speaker and Best Selling Author
USA
Shevelle McPherson is a successful attorney, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and number one bestselling author of ?Soar! Beyond the Heels of Adversity?. Having broken down significant barriers to transform her own life, she is passionate about educating and empowering other women across the globe to do the same. Shevelle delivers a powerful message of empowerment, challenging her audience to shift their mindset, ignite their inner power and stand in their true greatness. She believes in living out loud, unapologetically. She calls her audience to action guiding them on how to apply the principles she outlines to achieve success in their personal and entrepreneurial lives. Shevelle has been selected a Rising Star Attorney, a Top 100 Trial Attorney and a Top 10 Female Criminal Attorney. She has been featured in Super Lawyers Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, South Jersey Magazine and Inspiring Lives Magazine. To learn more about Shevelle, visit www.shevellemcpherson.com
Dr. Sharon G. Mijares
Psychologist, Author & International Speaker
USA
Sharon G. Mijares, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and Author, Associate Faculty at National University, Core Faculty at the California Institute for Human Science and Adjunct Faculty at Brandman University. She is the author/editor of six books, focusing on women?s advancement as well as psychological and spiritual development. The sixth book, A Force Such As the World Has Never Known: Women Creating Change, brought women together from many nations to share their ideas and endeavors. Her work is especially focused on balancing power and beauty in order to create deep and lasting transformation. She has earned Shodan rank in Aikido, and has led workshops to empower women in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico, Scotland, Uganda, United States and Venezuela. She was one of the keynote presenters at ?Women Gathering For Change: Envisioning Ways to Create a Healthier Future? sponsored by the Library of Alexandria and the Human Foundation (March 2016, Alexandria, Egypt). On a personal level she is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and currently lives in Nevada City, CA.
Cary Carbonaro
Finance Expert
USA
Cary Carbonaro is an Award Winning, International known Personal Finance Expert. She is a Certified Financial planner professional with an MBA in finance, with over 25 years of experience in financial services. In 2014, she was named an Ambassador for the CFP? Board, one of only 50 in the United States. Cary?s book ?The Money Queen?s Guide For Women Who Want Build Wealth and Banish Fear? (Morgan James, October 2015) was an Amazon #1 Best Seller in several countries in Wealth Management. It was ranked as one of the ?Top 10 Books that Can Make You Rich? by Daily Worth. She is the recipient of the prestigious ?2016 Investment News Women to Watch? award. She is a passionate female advocate and champion of financial literary. Cary is frequently sought out for her opinions and is a leading influencer in her profession. She is listed as #2 on Twitter just behind Suze Orman. She is listed as ?The Most Influential Women in Finance on Twitter? www.moneyqueenguide.com/press
Dixie Gillaspie
Business Coach & Consultant , Dixie Gillaspie
USA
If you believe that an unlimited life, an unstoppable business, and perpetual happiness are all part of the ?impossible dream? you haven?t met Dixie Gillaspie. Ever since she was a little girl, Dixie?s least favorite word was ?can?t.? Since then, Dixie has not only been recognized as a premier business coach and consultant, working with entrepreneurs around the world, her clients have also dubbed her a firestarter, a success-booster, and a muse to genius. But most people who know her just call her ?Dynamite,? a nickname she acquired in the second grade. She is the author of Just Blow it Up ? Firepower for Living an Unlimited Life and a companion book, Doses of Dynamite ? Firepower for Capturing the Inspiration in Everyday Things. She is also a contributing author, along with Dr. Christian Guenette, Gillian Laura Roberts, Dr. Bernie Seigal, and others, to The Thought That Changed My Life Forever. Her success stories have been featured in books such as Go-Givers Sell More, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, and The Referral Engine, by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. Dixie considers herself more of a ?story teller? than a speaker, but she?s shared the stage with the likes of Zig Zigler, Bob Burg, John David Mann, Sally Hogshead, Scott Ginsberg, Mark Sanborn, and Southwest Airlines President Emerita, Coleen Barrett. She?s allergic to the word ?CAN?T? and her Blast Thru Coaching(TM) method is a process for challenging, even eliminating, that word from your vocabulary. Dixie was raised in Southeast Kansas as an only child, her two siblings were nearly grown when she was born. Her parents were members of a fundamental church with strict guidelines for behavior and dress, and no tolerance for radio, TV or other cultural influences of the time. So Dixie heard ?can?t? a lot. But she was allowed free rein of the library and the rural two-room schoolhouse. She learned to recognize words before she was five, and spent her childhood devouring stories. That love of story, and the ability to find the lessons and gifts in every tale, comes out in her own style of storytelling. Dixie still lives in the Midwest, still devours books, and still loves to share the lessons and gifts she finds in everyday occurrences and the stories that play out within us and around us if we only learn to pay attention.
Ellen Barry
Journalist
USA
Ellen Barry is a journalist at the New York Times. She has been the paper?s South Asia Bureau Chief in New Delhi, India, since August 2013. Previously she was its Moscow Bureau Chief from March 2011 to August 2013. Ellen Barry began her career as a journalist in 1993 when she was a managing board member of the Yale Daily News. From 1993 to 1995, Barry worked for The Moscow Times as a staff reporter. In 1996 she began working for the Boston Phoenix as a feature writer. In 1999 she began working for The Boston Globe. In the years of 2004 to 2006, Barry worked as the Atlanta bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.[3][4] She joined the New York Times as a Metro reporter in January 2007 and became the Moscow correspondent for The Times in June 2008
Dr. Betty Young
President, Hocking College
USA
Known to be an innovator in higher education, Dr. Young has led colleges to enrollment growth through both retention and new programming. Dr. Young has extensive experience in workforce development and has chaired the Workforce and Economic Development Commission of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) on the implementation team focused on skills gaps for the 21st Century Initiative. Prior to this position, she served as the President of the Coleman College for Health Sciences at Houston Community College, TX. Before that, she was president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in North Carolina and Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio. Her first positions within higher education were faculty and department chair for Washington State Community College, and as Dean and Assistant Vice President for Franklin University in Columbus. Dr. Young earned several degrees from Ohio University, Athens, OH, including an Associate of Science in Mathematics and Science, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting/Management, a Masters of Education in Higher Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Leadership. She also earned a Juris Doctor and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Business Law from Capital University Law School, Columbus, OH.
Cathy Engelbert
CEO , Deloitte
Australia
Catherine "Cathy" Engelbert is an American business executive. In February 2015, she was named the Chief Executive Officer of audit, accounting and consulting firm Deloitte LLP, the United States member of Deloitte, effective March 2015. The selection made her the first female U.S. CEO of a Big Four firm. News media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal highlighted Engelbert's appointment as cracking the "glass ceiling? CEO of Deloitte, Cathy Engelbert leads one of the largest professional services organizations in the United States and is responsible for nearly 80,000 professionals. Deloitte professionals provide audit, tax, consulting and advisory services, and serve over 80 percent of the Fortune 500, producing measurable and enduring impact on behalf of clients, people, communities, and society. Since 1986, Cathy has had a distinguished career serving large and complex global clients. She previously served as chairman and chief executive officer of Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she led the U.S. audit practice. Cathy is currently a member of Deloitte?s Board of Directors.
Betty Devita
CEO, MasterCard Labs
USA
Betty DeVita serves as Chief Commercial Officer of MasterCard Labs. In this role, DeVita is responsible for developing and managing strategic partnerships focused on commercializing existing and future pipeline MasterCard Labs assets. Examples of current Labs innovations being commercialized include Qkr! with MasterPass and Groceries by MasterCard. Prior to this role, DeVita served as president, MasterCard Canada. There she oversaw all aspects of the company?s operations, including regional strategy, business development, acceptance expansion, operations, regulatory, marketing and product introductions with a mandate for continued growth and innovation. Before joining MasterCard in September 2010, Ms. DeVita served as chairman and CEO of Citibank Canada for three years where she led the franchise and its 5,000 employees with accountability across all lines of business. She previously worked in Citibank divisions in Latin America, the U.S. and Asia. She also served on the Executive Council of the Canadian Bankers Association and in 2014 was inducted into the Women?s Executive Network Hall of Fame as one of Canada?s Most Powerful Women. Ms. DeVita holds a Bachelor of Science from St. John?s University in New York and is a graduate of the CEO Certificate program at Wharton-KMA in Seoul, South Korea. She earned the Institute of Corporate Directors certification from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and has served on multiple boards /committees. She is currently the chair of the Ted Rogers business school advisory council at Ryerson University; in May 2016 has joined the board of MolsonCoors as an independent director. Prior to this role, DeVita served as president, MasterCard Canada. There she oversaw all aspects of the company?s operations, including regional strategy, business development, acceptance expansion, operations, regulatory, marketing and product introductions with a mandate for continued growth and innovation. Before joining MasterCard in September 2010, Ms. DeVita served as chairman and CEO of Citibank Canada for three years where she led the franchise and its 5,000 employees with accountability across all lines of business. She previously worked in Citibank divisions in Latin America, the U.S. and Asia. She also served on the Executive Council of the Canadian Bankers Association and in 2014 was inducted into the Women?s Executive Network Hall of Fame as one of Canada?s Most Powerful Women. Ms. DeVita holds a Bachelor of Science from St. John?s University in New York and is a graduate of the CEO Certificate program at Wharton-KMA in Seoul, South Korea. She earned the Institute of Corporate Directors certification from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and has served on multiple boards /committees. She is currently the chair of the Ted Rogers business school advisory council at Ryerson University; in May 2016 has joined the board of MolsonCoors as an independent director.
Prof John Varghese
Principal, St Stephen?s College
India
Prof John Varghese, the XIII Principal of St Stephen?s College, completed his education at Loyola College, Chennai and the Madras Christian College. He has taught at Loyola College, Chennai, George Mason University?s off shore campus at Ras al Khaimah and was Head, Department of Communication at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, before taking charge of St Stephen?s College. Prof Varghese has taught in the areas of English Language, English Literature and Media & Communication, but Literature remains his favourite. His doctoral thesis was in the area of Victorian Fiction and Psychoanalysis. He has supervised research work and has also written and edited books in both Literature and English Language Teaching. He also has a special interest in Media and Language Teaching Prof Varghese brings with him substantial experience in both teaching and administration, including International Relations.
Dr. Vijay Datta
Principal, Modern School
India
A Ph. D in Education, with a background of graduation in Science and Post-Graduation in English Literature, Dr Datta with an experience of 30 years in the field of education has been awarded with GOC-IN-C commendation apart from being a receiver of ?Shiksha Rattan? Award for his remarkable contribution in the field of education and research. With his PhD topic ?Modern Trends in Education ? ?A Detailed Study of Life Skills and Emotional Intelligence, Dr Datta was a pioneer in introducing the concept of Life Skiils in Indian Education scenario besides propagating the idea of Emotional Intelligence and Scientific Attitude. A major part of his service was at Mayo College Ajmer, where he, as a Dean and Housemaster, took charge of various literary and sporting activities; his two fields of passion. He conducted debates, looked after various publications, directed plays and also supervised various games like Basketball, Athletics, Cross Country, though Horse Riding, Tennis, Golf, Parasailing and flying microlight aircrafts remain closest to his heart. A person who believes in being a hands-on person, Dr Datta, at Mayo, was not only involved with the well-being of the students but also remained actively involved with teachers? training programmes and conducted various workshops and seminars for the teachers on topics ranging from dyslexia to Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation System, where he served as the resource person as well as an expert. During this time, he also successfully completed the Skills Development Programme in Technology based learning. Dr Datta took over the reins of the residential Army Public School Dagshai in November 2011 and within no time, with his pro- active approach, Dr Datta ensured an unprecedented rise in not only academic index of the school but also sports and games, thereby giving the school a true Public School character. His efforts were recognised as the school was recognised as the No.1 Residential School in the country on the parameters of value for money, which was certainly an amazing feat in such a short period of time. Dr Datta deeply encourages the values of humanism and compassion in his wards. He initiated programmes in Adult Education and AIDS Awareness. He also nurtures the quality of empathy towards the lesser privileged. It was in recognition of his exemplary sterling service towards education and character building that Dr Datta was decorated with the Army Commander Commendation for Distinguished Service. Since July 2014, Dr Datta has been heading one of the premier institutions of the country Modern School, Barakhamba Road where as a person who believes in leading by example, Dr Datta continues to strive to maintain high standards of discipline and conduct at the school. Modern School was rated as India?s No 1 school among the Day-cum-Boarding schools by the Education World in 2016.The School also won the Jury?s Choice Award for exemplary contribution in the field of Education at the 4th National Conference K-12 Leadership and India?s School Merit Awards 2016-2017 BY Education Today.
Dr. Ashwani Chopra
Director, Aashlok Hospital Fortis Associate India
India
Dr. Ashwani Chopra, an eminent gastroenterologist of Delhi, a specialist in disease of the Digestive System, Liver & Gall Bladder. He is an alumni of St. Columbus School; graduated from Maulana Azad Medical College in 1974 and did his post-graduation (M.D.) from LNJP Hospital in 1978. He went to the United Kingdom for specialization where he worked as Registrar in Chasefarm Hospital and the Royal Post Graduate Medical School , Hammersmith Hospital. Dr. Chopra was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians, UK in 1980 and obtained his MRCP degree from London. After a short tenure as Lecturer in GB Pant Hospital, New Delhi he started his private practice in 1984. He launched Aashlok Hospital, the first private modern multi disciplinary hospital in Delhi. Everyone is familiar with the high quality , state of the art and personalized care that Aashlok has become synonymous with. It has also become synonymous with introduction of Integrative Medicine where specialists from different fields of Alternative Medicine not only attend but treat in conjunction with Allopathic doctors . Dr. Chopra is a member of various national and international societies of medicine, gastroenterology and liver disease and continues to participate and contribute in their conferences and activities. He is a visiting consultant to all major hospitals in Delhi as well as various health centres of foreign missions in India and is a Honorary Consultant to Cromwell and Hammersmith Hospital in UK. Dr. Chopra also works in an advisory capacity to various schools, magazines and para medical organizations. His interest in medicine is not limited to modern medicine but is also an expert in alternative disciplines of health and healing. He has extensively researched the latest in Neurosciences where science and spirit meets. He is a Reiki Master and Pranic Healer with a working knowledge of Naturopathy, Homeopathy , Ayurveda, Chakra Healing & Yoga Therapy. Dr. Chopra has conducted and attended various workshops in the field of Holistic Health, which deal with complementary systems of medicine and continues to promote the Integration of all these fields. He has also lectured at various organizations on his favorite topic "Mind over Medicine".
Dr. Ashok Seth
Chairman & Cardiologist in Fortis Escort, Delhi
India
Dr. Ashok Seth is the current Chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi and Head, Cardiology Council of Fortis Group of Hospitals. His contributions in the field of Cardiology, especially Interventional Cardiology have been recognised extensively in India as well as across the world. During his career span of 26-years, he has pioneered numerous angioplasty techniques Directional Atherectomy, Angioscopy, Stents, Thrombectomy devices and Drug Eluting Stents, use of Impella heart support device failing heart, Bioabsorbable Stents and TAVI and implemented it successfully both in India and other regions in Asia Pacific. He has performed one of the highest number of angiographies and angioplasties which has been mentioned in the ?LIMCA Book of Records?. He has been a part of the Focused Advisory Group and seminal studies for development and clinical applicability of Bioresorbable Scaffold (BRS) Stent which is highly recognised technique worldwide. For his unique achievements & contributions he has been honoured with the prestigious National Honour of ?Padma Bhushan? and ?Padma Shri? Award by the President of India in 2015 and 2003 respectively, the National Award of Republic of Spain ?Officer?s Cross Order of Isabella the Catholic? in 2010, ?Mason Sones Award? from SCAI (USA) in 2010 and numerous other awards. Dr. Seth has been the President of the Cardiological Society of India and Vice President of the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology. He was elected Board of Trustee of SCAI (USA) for the period 2007-2010 and is presently a member of the SCAI Nominating Committee and Voting Selector of the MSCAI Nominating Committee. He has been invited to lecture on and demonstrate complex angioplasty techniques in more than 400 international training courses and meetings across the globe including live transmissions of complex cases from India to the TCT and EuroPCR Meetings. He is on the Editorial Board of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions, CCI, Euro Intervention, Indian Heart Journal and others. He has been honoured by Doctorate from four prestigious Universities in India. He has more than 250 publications to his credit in prestigious Indian and International medical journals, written and edited chapters in 10 text books of Cardiology and Medicine & edited two books in Cardiology. He has trained more than 350 cardiologists from India and abroad in advance techniques of angioplasty
Lalit Bhasin
Managing Partner, Bhasin and
India
55 years in Law Practice (since 1962)
? President, The Bar Association of India
? President, Society of Indian Law Firms
? President, Indian Law Foundation
? Honorary Life Member, International Bar Association conferred in Melbourne in 1994
? Chairman, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators - India
? Member, International Court of Arbitration Paris
? Former Chairman, Delhi Bar Council (1973 ? 1977)
? Former Chairman, Film Certification Appellate Tribunal
Awarded Doctor of Laws (LL. D.) Honoris Causa by Jaipur University in 2013
He was awarded the Plaque of Honour by the Prime Minister of India in 2002 for outstanding contribution to the Rule of Law.
In 2007, the President of India presented the National Law Day Award to Lalit Bhasin.
Pranav Anam
Founder, The Gene Box
India
Pranav is an Innovation architect and Turnaround specialist. One of Pranav?s key strengths is his uncanny ability and agility in seeding, architecting and sustaining innovation across businesses and geographies. A geneticist by qualification, his formative experience and international exposure helped him gain invaluable insights in solution-minded selling, customer centric behaviour and cultural sensitivities at an impressionable age. Invariably thinking on his feet in any given field of action, he?s made quick inroads and remarkable breakthroughs in diverse spheres The value proposition of Pranav?s enterprise follows a need-over-hype approach. In each of the above mentioned stints and roles, based on the exact business need, he?s scripted dramatic turnarounds, fuelled vibrant value chains, built dynamic networks and bettered coveted benchmarks. In his latest achievement, he's nurtured a one-of-a-kind stem cell research & therapeutic company in India. Now he looks to establish The GENE Box as a leader in the emerging Health Tech Space
Basavaraj Rayareddy
Minister For Higher Education Govt of Karnataka
India
Basavaraj Rayareddy is an Indian Politician and a member of the Indian National Congress from the state of Karnataka. Rayareddy is a five-term member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and a one-term member of the 11th Lok Sabha. Rayareddy holds the Higher Education Ministry portfolio in the Government of Karnataka.
Rayareddy represents Yelburga constituency of Koppal district, Karnataka. Rayareddy holds the Higher Education Ministry portfolio in the Government of Karnataka. In his thirty-year political career Basavaraj has held many posts in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and the Government of Karnataka. Rayareddy was the Housing Minister in one of the previous governments
Samar Singla
CEO at Jugnoo
India
Mr. Samar Singla is a Founder/ CEO at Jugnoo from July 2014. He is also the Founder of Click Labs. From October 2009 to November 2010 he worked as a Researcher in University of Maryland. Prior to this he was Researcher at IBM from May 2008 to August 2008. He was also worked as a Scientist at CERN. Mr. Samar Singla did BTech in Physics from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and received Master degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in Chemistry.
Subhash Chandra
Chairman, Essel Group & ZEE
India
Dr. Subhash Chandra (DSC) is an independent Member of the Upper House of Parliament from the state of Haryana. He is also the Chairman of the Essel Group of Companies and is amongst the leading lights of the global media & entertainment industry. A self-made man, and a true visionary, DSC has consistently demonstrated his ability to identify new businesses and lead them on the path of success.
DSC is rightly referred to as the Media Moghul. With his pioneering vision and entrepreneurial mindset to achieve growth, he revolutionized the television industry by launching the country's first satellite television channel - Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news channel, Zee News. ZEE as a brand today, has achieved a global recognition, reaching over 1 billion viewers in 171 countries offering a rich bouquet of channels in India and internationally in general entertainment, lifestyle, movies, English and regional genres and alternative lifestyles. Aiming to achieve five times viewership growth and four times growth in content consumption by the year 2020, ZEE strives to be ranked amongst the top global media brands.
DSC also shares his rich experience on the Dr. Subhash Chandra (DSC) Show, which is watched by millions of viewers across the country. With this popular show, he is now a guiding force for the youth of the nation, enriching and empowering their lives.
For his contributions to the industry, DSC has been awarded the 2011 International Emmy Directorate Award at their 39th International Emmy Awards night in New York. DSC became the first Indian ever to receive a Directorate Award recognizing excellence in television programming outside the United States. For DSC's immense contribution to the socio-economic wellbeing, the Canada India Foundation recognized him with the Global Indian Award.
DSC has made his mark as an influential philanthropist in India. He has set up TALEEM (Transnational Alternate Learning for Emancipation and Empowerment through Multimedia) to provide access to quality education. He is also the Chairman of Ekal Global - a movement to eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India. The Foundation provides free education to over 1.4 million tribal children across more than 54,000 villages through one-teacher schools. He is the moving force behind the Global Vipassana Foundation - a trust set up to help people raise their spiritual quotient. DSC is also the Founder Chairman of Global Foundation for Civilization Harmony (India) (GFCH), an Eastern initiative for conflict avoidance and a partner of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC). The founder patrons of GFCH include His Holiness Dalai Lama and late former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, among others.
Mr. Kapil Sibal
Former Minister of Law and Justice of India
India
Kapil Sibal is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress party. A lawyer, he formerly served at the helm of various ministries in the Congress lead UPA government over the years ? beginning with the Ministry of Science & Technology, then the Ministry of Human Resource Development followed by the Ministry of Communications & IT, and the Ministry of Law & Justice. Sibal was first nominated in July 1998, as a Member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from the state of Bihar. He served as Additional Solicitor General of India (December 1989 ? December 1990) and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association on three occasions (1995?96, 1997?98 and 2001?2002).[2] In 2004 general elections, he won the Chandni Chowk constituency of New Delhi with 71% vote share. In 2014 general elections, he received 18% of the votes and trailed at third position for Chandni Chowk constituency, behind Harsh Vardhan (winner, BJP) and Ashutosh (AAP).
Dr. Prashant Sarin
Managing Director, Focus Imaging Group
India
Dr. Prashant Sarin, MBBS, MD, DNB(Radiodiagnosis) Is The Managing Director And Group Leader Of This Venture.He Has More Than A Decades Experience In Running And Establishing World Class Diagnostic Centres And Was Instrumental In The Set Up And Profitable Running Of Various Diagnostic Startups In Delhi And Ncr Region.He Is Professionally Respected In The Group Of Imaging Specialists With His Particular Area Of Interest Being Neuro-Radiology And Functional Imaging For Which He Has Had Training And Repeated Exposures In U.S.A. Along With Being A Fellow In Neuro-Radiology At Cornell Hospital New-York.He Is Overall Incharge Of The Diagnostic Operations,Administration And Along With The The Other Promoter Directors Is Instrumental In Policy Decisions And Future Project Expansion And Implementation.He Heads A Team Of Young Bright Radiologists Who Have Considerable Experience In All Diagnostic Modalities Who Help Him In Providing World Class Diagnostic Solutions.
Kartikeya Sharma
Founder and Promoter of iTV Network
India
Kartikeya Sharma is Founder and Promoter of iTV Network (Information TV Pvt Ltd) and one of the youngest and most dynamic media entrepreneurs in India. iTV Network is now India?s fastest growing news company. Its portfolio includes some of India?s finest news channels and newspapers. iTV owns and operates two national news channels, the English language NewsX and the Hindi language India News. Both have attained leadership positions within their very competitive industries over a very short span of time, an unprecedented achievement. iTV also owns three leading regional news channels in the Hindi heartland ? India News Haryana, India News Uttar Pradesh, India News Madhya Pradesh. iTV also publishes two of India?s leading newspapers. The Delhi-based Sunday Guardian is widely regarded as India?s finest Sunday paper and the Chandigarh-based Aaj Samaaj is now the fastest-growing Hindi daily in North India. Kartikeya Sharma is an Oxford graduate with Masters in Business Administration from King?s College, London.
Dr. Lalit Khaitan
Managing Director of Radico Khaitan Ltd
India
Dr. Lalit Khaitan has been the Chairman and Managing Director of Radico Khaitan Ltd., since February 20, 2003. Dr. Khaitan is leading Radico Khaitan Ltd. for more than 27 years. He has 44 years of industry experience. He is a philanthropist and has sponsored schools for underprivileged children. He serves as an Executive Director of Radico Khaitan Ltd. He has been awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies in 2005 and by Alcobev in 2008. He holds B.Com. Dr. Khaitan studied at Mayo College, Ajmer and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce and a Management Course from Harvard University, USA.
Upendra Kushwaha
Minister of State for HRD in Government of India
India
Upendra Kushwaha has been shifted as Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation to Human Resource Development during the recent reshuffle of the Narendra Modi cabinet.
Upendra Kushwaha was one of the closest associates of former Bihar Chief Minister and senior Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar. In fact, it is believed that Nitish Kumar himself elevated Kushwaha to Bihar Assembly?s Leader of Opposition position in the year 2004. This raised eyebrows of many as it was his first stint in the Legislative Assembly as MLA.
Ravi Subramanya L A
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Basavanagudi Bangalore
India
56-year-old Ravi Subramanya is the Member of the Legislative Assembly in GoK and represents Basavanagudi, a residential and commercial locality in South Bengaluru. He was the MLA who was instrumental in implementing a critical pilot project to separate the storm water lines from sewerage lines with a small budget of just 30 crores and was completed at several localities in his area. He was also instrumental in commissioning of nylon pipes to connect main water supply lines to atleast 20000 households to supply clean drinking water which arrested pilferages and illegal water connections totally.
One of his pet project is upgrading all the government schools by providing quality uniforms, learning kits and basic amenities and installed CCTV cameras to provide full securities to children especially girls. It was through his relentless efforts that Rs 1.5 crore was raised from donors to develop a model government school with adequate infra structure to cater to the needs of maid servants, auto drivers, cobblers who feel proud of sending their kids to schools managed by Government.The MLA is working very hard to over the huge challenge that he faces in providing the best road facilities to the residents of the oldest locality in Bangalore.
He is also spearheading a movement to change the govenment rules in brining fresh blood into the administration and is pushing for a Team playership amongst MLAs and ministers to create a better life for Bengalorians. Mr Ravi Subramanya's most ambitious project is to create Heritage Corridor" and to bring the oldest, famous, historical places of worship under one loop to encourage tourism.
Known for his humility and simple living, Ravi Subramanya is an epitome of a selfless social worker who is pursuing agriculture in his lands with passion.
Rajiv Yadav
IAS, Secretary & Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
India
Shri Rajiv Yadav presently Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has had his schooling in Civil Engineering from IIT, Roorkee and then Masters in Civil Engineering from IIT, Delhi. He did his MBA from University of Hull (U.K.). As a young Indian Administrative Service Officer he worked in India?s North-East, as Deputy Commissioner incharge of Nalbari District in Assam and Head of the Rural Development Department looking after various poverty eradication and nonconventional energy programmes in Assam. He was also instrumental in drafting the revised Assam Panchayati Raj Act which gave more delegated powers to the second tier of the Panchayats i.e. at the Development Block level. As Chairman& M.D. of Assam Power Distribution, Generation and transmission Companies looking after entire Power Sector in Assam, he worked to achieve a growth of 16.8% in the sector compared to national average of 7% growth. He has also been Secretary, Planning & Development Department and later Additional Chief Secretary, Planning & Development Department, Government of Assam. He has held important positions in Government of India which include Director in the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Executive Director of the India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry during which period he guided and supervised major trade exhibitions and trade promotion activities in 45 countries. He was Member, National Highways Authority of India implementing India?s ambitious Highway Infrastructure Programme. He has also worked as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Till recently, he was Secretary/Sports, Government of India. He has been a regular guest faculty with LBS National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie under Government of India since 2000. He occasionally contributes articles on scientific and cultural issues.
I.S. Jha
CMD, POWERGRID
India
Shri I. S. Jha (57 years), (DIN: 00015615) is Chairman & Managing Director of our Company. Prior to his present assignment, he successfully served as Director (Projects) of the Company from September, 2009 and was responsible for planning, engineering, project management, monitoring and implementation of all transmission and distribution projects. An Electrical Engineer from NIT, Jamshedpur, he is a well known Power System Professional having more than 35 years of rich and varied work experience. He began his professional career in 1981 as an Executive Trainee in NTPC. He has been associated with POWERGRID since its inception in 1991 and has been part of departments such as Engineering, Distribution Management System (DMS), and Corporate Monitoring Group. He has worked as Executive Director of North Eastern Region, Engineering and Corporate Monitoring Group of the Company. While working at various projects and Corporate Ofice of NTPC and POWERGRID, he was involved in conceptualization, planning, design, engineering, monitoring and implementation of projects of National importance. Apart from these, he has been a lead Member in Planning, Engineering and Execution of APDRP and RGGVY schemes in POWERGRID. He is member of Governing Body of CPRI, Bangalore and Empowered Committee of Government of India for promoting competition in Power Transmission Sector. He is also associated with professional bodies such as Institution of Engineers ? India, Power Engineering Society of IEEE ? USA, and International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) ? France. He has published/ presented numerous articles, technical papers in the ield of power system in various international and National Journal/Conferences. He has been appointed CMD of the company in November, 2015.
Priyank M. Kharge
Honorable Minister of State for Tourism
India
Priyank M. Kharge who has a background in Graphic Designs & Animation, is an Indian Politician and a member of the Indian National Congress from the state of Karnataka. Priyank holds the Information Technology and Bio-Technology, Science and Technology Department portfolio in the Government of Karnataka. At age 38 Priyank is the youngest minister to be sworn into the Karnataka Cabinet. As the Information Technology Minister Kharge has introduced a Startup Booster Kit which has facilities like access to mentors, cloud credits and incubators.
Besides holding the Information Technology and Bio-Technology, Science and Technology Department portfolio, Priyank Kharge is also holds the Independent Charge of Tourism. As the Tourism minister Kharge announced a science circuit, Bengaluru Tourism Advisory Committee, Hyderabad-Karnataka Tourism Advisory Committee,the coastal circuit and the Cauvery circuit to boost Tourism in the state.
He is a member of Government of Karnataka for many important committees like Sub-Legislation Committee, Legislative House Committee ? NICE, Simplification & Strengthening of Schemes and Library Committee. He is also a Hyderabad Karnataka Regional Development Board Member and a Member of University of Agricultural Sciences for Climate Parliament.
Indresh Kumar
Social peace Leader
India
Indresh Kumar is Social peace Leader
Anil Kumar
India
Pahlaj Nihalani
Social peace Leader
India
Bharat Lal Meena
Retd IAS officer, Founder of Apnadesh
India
Born into a very poor family as a son of a farmer in a small village called Sundari located in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, Bharat Lal Meena met all of his life?s challenges and rose up to be one of the tallest leaders the country has seen. He recently retired as a very successful and respected IAS officer of Karnataka Cadre. He is also the founder of Apna Desh a very powerful International NGO, rooted in Indian values and traditions, which is impacting the future of the world by changing the destiny of the millions, whose dawn of life has actually been eluding them.
After finishing his schooling in his home town, Meena went on to do his post-graduation in political science from Rajasthan University. He got another masters in rural development from University of East Anglia in England. He began as a clerk in the Reserve Bank of India in 1980 and four years later passed the civil services exam. The saga of Bharat Lal Meena as an IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, is one of commitment and determination to see each impoverished constituent of India fully empowered to realise one?s fullest potentials. He has worked in administrative services for more than two decades churning out one innovation after another, consecutively.
When he was posted at Karnataka, his first task was to learn the Kannada language so that he could understand his work area better. Meena has worked in different districts in Karnataka and has spent 14 years as deputy commissioner of Mangalore. In 1999, he came up with a mission called ?Apna Desh?, a self-help movement, which encouraged people to take up leadership roles in their villages, becoming their own best motivators.
Anshu Gupta
Founder Director , GOONJ
India
Popularly known as the Clothing Man, Anshu has done his Mass communications twice and masters in Economics. Starting as a freelance journalist, Anshu left a corporate job in 1998 and founded GOONJ with a mission to make clothing a matter of concern and to bring it among the list of subjects for the development sector. An Ashoka Fellow and the Global Ambassador of Ashoka, Anshu is creating a mass movement for recycling and reuse of tones of waste material by channelising it from the cities to the villages, as a resource for rural development. A powerful and inspiring speaker, Anshu addresses many national and international forums to bring clothing on the development agenda and to motivate the youth to take action. He is a regular speaker in many parts of the world on innovation, leadership, village development, power of youths and social entrepreneurship.
Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayana
MLA, Malleshwaram, Bangalore
India
Dr. C. N. Ashwathnarayan is an Indian politician. He is a Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing BJP from Malleshwaram constituency,Bangalore, Karnataka. He is often credited with Malleshwaram witnessing massive transformation in several sectors including healthcare, welfare, education, sports, infrastructure and several others under his leadership. While being firmly rooted to the traditional Indian values, culture and wisdom, he is firm believer of technology and modern techniques to enhance and uplift the ?quality of life? of a common man.
Dr. Ashwathnarayan has earned the respect of his constituency by enabling innovative ideas like introduction of Health Insurance schemes, Pension scheme for Widows, Handicaps and Senior Citizens, Day Care Centre for Senior Citizens, Seva Kendra?s in each ward. His initiatives such as Hasiru Santhe, Zero Garbage, Waste Re Cycle, Modernizing Old Establishments, Development of Parks, Gymnasiums and Aerobics Centre?s etc., are widely acknowledged.
He also holds various positions viz. Convenor of Doctors Cell - Bharatiya Janata Party, Managing Trustee of Padmashree Charitable Trust and Shushrutha Group of Institutions and Founder President of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore. He was the Vice President of Bharathiya Janatha Party, Bangalore District, senate member of Bangalore University, syndicate and senate member of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Employees Association, Bangalore.
Dr. Shakila T. Shamsu
OSD,Dept.of Higher Edu. (Ministry of HRD), Delhi
India
Dr. Shakila Shamsu is currently OSD (New Education Policy) in the Department of Higher Education, MHRD. Prior to this, she was OSD (XII Plan) Higher Education, MHRD and Joint Adviser (HRD), Planning Commission. Her activities range from educational planning & policy, higher education, teacher education, SDGs, ICTs and Open & Distance Learning. Her career spans over 35 years, with teaching, academics & government. She has contributed articles in international journals, edited publications, involved in the preparation of Plan documents and government reports and also a member of several committees. She has addressed national and international conferences on a variety of educational issues.
Ram Bilas Sharma
Cabinet Minister of Haryana
India
Ram Bilas Sharma is Cabinet Minister of Haryana
Venky Venkatesh
CEO, The Press Trust of India
India
Venky Venkatesh is new Chief Executive Officer of The Press Trust of India . Venkatesh was earlier associated with HT Media Ltd as its Chief Learning Officer. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Venkatesh began his career with Hindustan Unilever Limited and has held senior leadership positions in sales and marketing during his 35-year career. He was associated with HUL for 26 years and was credited with crafting marketing strategies to launch brands and revitalise existing brand portfolios.
S.M. Khan
Director General, Registrar of Newspapers for India
India
S.M. Khan, is a senior Indian Information Service officer of Government of India currently serving as Director General (Press Registrar and Head of Department), Registrar of Newspapers for India. Prior to his current assignment he served as the Director General of Doordarshan News for over 3 years. Khan, a 1982-batch IIS officer, had a long innings with CBI as its spokesperson and Press Secretary to then President of India A P J Abdul Kalam. During his nearly 13 years service in Central Bureau of Investigation, India?s Premier Investigation Agency, Khan was the face of the agency appearing regularly on national and international media, which at that time had been handling several high-profile cases, including Harshad Mehta finance scam, Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Bofors besides others. Khan had also served government of India?s Directorate of Film Festival(DFF) as Director for two years and was heading the coveted India International Film Festival. As Director, DFF he was also responsible for the National Film Awards and Dada Saheb Phalke Awards. He also represented India at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festival. Khan has also served at the Press Information Bureau as a Director General and he currently is serving as the Press Registrar of India. He along with the then Minister of Information&Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar released ? Press In India ?.
Amit Goel
Vice Chairman, The Pioneer
India
Amit Goel is Vice Chairman, The Pioneer
Vikram Chandra
Consulting Editor , NDTV
India
Vikram Chandra has been associated with NDTV since 1994 and is one of India's leading news personalities. He became a member of the NDTV Board in 2011 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer, NDTV Group, holding the overall authority and responsibility for all aspects of the company. After 5 years in Oct 2016 Vikram stepped down as Group CEO to return to full time journalism and continue his focus on the TV shows he has been well known for. Vikram is the Executive Chairperson of NDTV Convergence, the Group's online venture, which he helped set up in 1999, and which he subsequently took to a position of strength as its CEO. As one of India's best known anchorpersons he presents 'The Big Fight', which has long been one of India's top rated news and current affairs programmes. He also anchors 'Gadget Guru', which is the country's leading show on technology and gadgets, together with big events like elections or the Budget. Vikram is also the face of NDTV's social programming for public interest. He has anchored all editions of the NDTV Greenathon, and the Save our Tigers campaign. In addition, he is associated with the Support my School, Our Girls our Pride, and Banega Swacch India campaigns. Earlier, as a special correspondent, he has extensively covered the Siachen and Kargil wars, and the conflict in Kashmir. Vikram has been named "Global Leader for Tomorrow" and a 'Young Global Leader' by the World Economic Forum in Davos; has won the Indian Television Academy Award for "Best Anchor for a Talk Show", the Hero Honda Award for Best Anchorperson and the Teacher's Achievement Award for Communication. He was educated at St Stephen's College and the University of Oxford; and then picked up essentials of broadcasting at Stanford University.
Anurag Sharma
Owner, Baidyanath 'Herbal'
India
Anurag Sharma is a well-known management professional and a business leader in the field of Ayurveda. Born on Nov.16, 1964 in the reputed and respected family of his famous grandfather the Late Vaidyaraj Pt. Ram Narayan Sharma, founder of Baidyanath. Mr. Anurag Sharma completed his graduation in 1986. Held his first job at Shakti Press Nagpur and was later appointed C.E.O. of Baidyanath. Since then Baidyanath has grown tremendously and it is now a well-recognized brand name not just in India, but also abroad. Mr. Sharma has set up many other businesses in a variety of sectors such as packaging, transport, real estate and financial services. He is considered to be an expert on distribution and marketing in India. He is also well credited with helping Baidyanath register with the U.S. FDA. The first product from Ayurved (India) to get a US FDA Registration and a U.S. Patent on Coronary Heart Disease was ?Cardiwin? and this victory is credited to him. For the last 15 years, Mr. Anurag Sharma has been actively engaged in social work and philanthropy through the various Hindu trusts managed by him. He is also the ?President of The Bundelkhand Integration Council?.He is a well-travelled man and is a highly recognized and distinguished speaker on ?Ayurveda?. He has shared his views in a variety of seminars worldwide.
Manoj Kohli
Executive Chairman at SoftBank Energy
India
Manoj Kohli is presently the Executive Chairman of the SoftBank Energy, a joint venture formed by Japan?s SoftBank, Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn. Manoj has 38 years of industry work experience. Before taking over this project, Manoj was the Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises Limited and responsible for the growth and operations of the Bharti group of companies ? retail, insurance, agri-products, real estate, mobile internet etc. He was the Managing Director and CEO (International), Bharti Airtel, for operation across African continent spanning over 20 countries and led the business till 2013. Manoj joined Bharti Airtel in 2002 as President of Mobile Services business and became CEO and Managing Director. He led Bharti Airtel?s India operations to grow from 2 million to 150 million. Manoj was also founding member of Escotel, which he led for over 5 years as Executive Director and CEO, before coming on board at Bharti Airtel. Manoj started his career in 1979 with the DCM Shriram Group and held business leadership positions in the Foods, Chemicals and Fertilizer businesses and assignments in Engineering projects, including Shriram Honda. He started his career in HR field. Manoj led as the Chairman, Public Policy Committee of GSM Association (GSMA), was also Board Member of GSMA in 2008 and reappointed to the GSMA Board in 2012. Manoj is currently Chairman, CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business working with PMO directly to transform the investment climate in India. Prior to this he has held the post of Chairman ? Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Committee on Telecom & Broadband. He was adjudged ?Telecom Man of the Year? in 2000 and ?Telecom Person of the Year? in 2004 Manoj holds degrees in Commerce, Law and MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University. Manoj also attended the ?Executive Business Program? at the Michigan Business School and the ?Advanced Management Program? at the Wharton Business School
Umang Bedi
Managing Director ? India & South Asia at Facebook
India
Mr. Umang Bedi has been Managing Director of India at Facebook, Inc. since July 2016. Mr. Bedi has two decades of leadership experience covering sales, marketing and partnerships where he successfully built teams and grew businesses for multinational companies. He served as Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for South Asia at Adobe Systems Incorporated from May 2011 to June 24, 2016. Mr. Bedi lead Adobe?s sales and marketing operations for India and SAARC. Mr. Bedi was responsible for driving strong growth for Adobe in key verticals including education, government, enterprise and the booming Indian creative industry. Prior to joining Adobe, he served Intuit India as its managing director. Mr. Bedi has rich experience of managing leadership roles at organizations like Symantec, Sun Microsystems and Wipro. He is the recipient of the prestigious ?40 Under Forty: India?s Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014? given by The Economic Times and Spencer Stuart in 2014. He is an engineering graduate from University of Pune and an alumni of Harvard Business School.
Naresh Goyal
Founder Chairman of Jet Airways
India
Naresh Goyal, the founder Chairman of Jet Airways, India?s premier international airline, has over 40 years of experience in the Civil Aviation industry. After graduating in Commerce in 1967, Mr. Goyal joined the travel business with the GSA for Lebanese International Airlines. From 1967 to 1974, he underwent extensive training in all facets of the travel business through his association with several foreign airlines. He also travelled overseas extensively on business during this period. With the experience, expertise and technical know-how thereby acquired, in May 1974, Mr. Naresh Goyal founded Jetair (Private) Limited with the objective of providing Sales and Marketing representation to foreign airlines in India. He was involved in the development of traffic patterns, route structures, operational economics and flight scheduling, all of which has made him an authority in the world of aviation and travel. In 1991, as part of the ongoing diversification of his business activities, Mr. Goyal took advantage of the opening of the Indian economy and the enunciation of the Open Skies Policy by the Government of India to set up Jet Airways for the operation of scheduled air services on domestic sectors in India. Jet Airways commenced commercial operations on May 05, 1993. With his vast experience in the field of aviation, Mr. Goyal has been serving on the prestigious International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors? commencing with his first term between 2004 -2006. He has since been re-elected in 2008 with his tenure extending until 2019. Taking advantage of the Government of India?s recent FDI policy, Naresh Goyal led Jet Airways was able to successfully conclude a strategic partner deal with Etihad Airways. Etihad has a 24% equity stake in Jet Airways. The strategic investment is expected to deliver wide-ranging revenue growth and cost synergy opportunities for both airlines in the areas of operational synergies and cost savings including fleet acquisition, maintenance, product development and training.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founder of Paytm Mobile Solutions Private Limited
India
Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the Founder of Paytm Mobile Solutions Private Limited and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sharma Founded One97 Communications Ltd in 2000 and serves as its Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He is a Partner of One97 Mobility F