Sangeeta Gawali | Marks & Spencer
People call me fighter (Sangeeta Manohar Gawali). I lost my father at very early age when I was 5 yrs old. I had to start earning when I was just 14 yrs old because i had to feed my family.
I didn't lose hope and continued studying. I completed HSC and joined M&S. Working with retail learnt about fashion and wanted to make my carrier in Visual Merchandising but I didn't had any professional qualification in that.
Facing all those challenges and learning in and out about VM I proved at all the point that i can do it, and finally I did it.
I have to go long way ahead and i am working everyday on my plan. I believe in myself and my dedication and passion is helping to achieve my goals. Everything can be dreamt of eventually will be built, i have strong commitment and belief in this proverbs.
Akansha Goyal | Barclays
Hi. I am Akansha Goyal. I graduated in 2016 with a B.E. degree in Computer Engineering from College of Engineering, Pune. I have been working at Barclays Technology Centre India as a graduate analyst since then. I had interned with BTCI in 2015, after which they offered me a full time role.
While pursuing my Bachelors degree, I had co-founded my own bespoke shoe company - The Joota in 2016 where I was also playing the role of the COO. I was also a board member at Youth for Youth, Pune - a NGO started by college students in 2014. I was also an active participant at Inara (NGO, Dubai). I have published a research paper in IEEE Conference at Anna University, Chennai in 2016.
Prior to Pune, I lived in Dubai (UAE) where I have completed my senior secondary education. I was among the top 5% of the batch in HSC in 2012. I was House Captain in 2012 and Vice House Captain 2011 in school.
I have always organized and led various events right from school till my corporate life. I also have an interest in playing sports. I was a part of the first football team at BTCI in 2016. I was a part of the basketball team at COEP from 2012-2014. I was a part of the basketball team and girls cricket team where we won the Sharjah Cricket Council Tournament in 2011.
I am also an avid reader and a travel junkie. My hobbies also include art and crafts and dancing.
Smitha Hemmigae | ThoughtWorks
Highly motivated, visionary, and performance driven marketing executive with over 13 years of success in developing highly successful and award winning marketing programs for the technology services industry. I have consistently succeeded in conducting domestic and international market research and developing comprehensive strategies to position services, IPs, and marketing to achieve targeted sales growth, while maintaining corporate and brand integrity. I have been recognized for utilizing innovative approaches and smart business decisions to achieve market positioning and sales targets.
Currently, I am the Head of Marketing at ThoughtWorks India.
Prior to Joining ThoughtWorks, I used to be Sr. Director, Marketing at CSS Corp. In this role, I used to head influencer relations (analyst and public relation), content and digital marketing.
Prior to joining CSS Corp, I was senior marketing manager at Unisys Corporation. In this role, I used to drive strategic marketing programs for all large and strategic deals over $70 million globally. I used to run the account based marketing initiatives for Top 5 IT Infrastructure Services accounts in Europe.
Prior to joining Unisys, I used to head marketing for Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences vertical at Infosys. Prior to Infosys, I used to be the Global Marketing Manager for all Outsourcing Services at Logica (now part of CGI).
As a seasoned marketing professional, I have experience of working across various industries. I bring relevant marketing experience in the Public Sector, Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences industries.
In Jan 2016, I co-founded a platform called Your Philanthropy Story (YPS), to cover dynamic and innovative stories of philanthropy through interviews of common people and corporate.
I am very active with a few colleges in Bangalore offering services as an industry expert for all management courses. I am on the Board of Studies at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore for the BBA program
Zahiwa Huzoor | Marks & Spencer
Khushboo Kapoor | Khushboo Kapoor Global
Celebrity DJ, Well Accomplished Master of Ceremonies, TV Host, Singer, Radio Jockey, Voice Over artist and Advertising Professional Dr. Khushboo Kapoor is known for her excellent work profile with high end clients. She is a well Accomplished Media Professional with more than 12 years of work experience in various Genres of Media including Television, Print, Radio and Events.
Globally, Khushboo Kapoor is the only one and First Youngest Female DJ (Disc Jockey) from the whole world who is a doctor and who is also working as a most accomplished Anchor, Deejay and Singer
Having done more than 3000 concerts and shows worldwide for almost 1500+ Corporates, Khushboo is all set to release her first Debut album as a singer.
Her skills in anchoring, Djing and Singing has got her featured in world renowned magazine FEMINA in its anniversary Issue in the cover story as the most sought after Female Anchor & DJ of India. She has also been covered as the Most Desirable Corporate Speaker of India in a reputed Magazine for weddings called as Shubh Weddings.
She has hosted for BCCI in all their cricket matches held at Rajasthan in the last 2 years. She has been the official compere for Champions league-Twenty Twenty, One Day International Cricket Matches and IPL official events. She has been the Show Host for all seasons of the most visited shows of Rajasthan, like Rajasthan Fashion Week, Jaipur Couture Show, Jaipur Fashion Week, Rajasthan International Film Festival, Jaipur International Film Festival and many more.
Moreover, she has hosted shows with Indian Cricket Team Captain Mr Mahendra Singh Dhoni under the patronage of his company Rhitiz Sportz. She has been the official emcee and Deejay for shows for BMW pan India in 2016.
She has anchored International Events across the Globe with eminent Bollywood Personalities. She is the only one Corporate Speaker from Rajasthan who has done shows with maximum of the celebs from Bollywood, Sports, Arts, Literature, Music and Politics. Khushboo is counted as first and foremost emcee for Highly reputed Government events. She is the one who handled the complete show of Jaipur Metro Launch at Rajasthan in the presence of Honourable CM Smt. Vasundhra Raje Ji.
She has performed as an anchor for more than 2500 episodes of different programs of different TV Channels like Doordarshan, ETV, Discovery, Star Cricket, Star Sports, National Geography. She has done extensive social work as a corporate speaker for Documentaries for National Rural Health Mission, Department of Social welfare, AMIC INDIA and many more.
She has rendered her voice for more than 4500+ Voice Overs, Jingles, Radio and TV Spots of variety of Commercial products and Documentaries. Khushboo has been interviewed widely in National Dailies and Blogs of repute like Times of India, Amar Ujala , Mid Day , Afternoon DC , Punjab Kesari , Bollywoodhungama.com, Bollywoodtrade.com and many more
Her growing achievements in Mass Media and Corporate sector grew her fan base too. She has more than 1 lac views on her youtube channel, 20000 followers on her Facebook account with 5000 likes on her FB page. In addition to this In 2016, she has got 5 lacs hits on her website.
Awards Received
Khushboo is a recipient of Young Achiever of India Award by Whistling Woods International. Felicitated by Showman of Bollywood (Indian Film Industry), Mr. Subhash Ghai .
Khushboo has recently received Future Woman of the Year Award at BM BIRLA Auditorium by National Health Mission, Government of India
She has been honored as the Best Youngest Achiever in Anchoring and
Djing by PRCI (Public Relation Council of India)
She has been awarded by Skilled India Entrepreneurs as Best Corporate Anchor & DJ at Delhi
She is the First winner of Rajasthan’s Best Anchor Award held at Hotel Marriott, Jaipur by BITA
She is the Recipient of Samaj Ratna by Rajasthan Jan Manch , Jaipur
Khushboo is Triple Gold medalist from Two Central Universities.
Khushboo’s profile on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khushboo_Kapoor
Aruna Kumaraswamy | Ernst & Young
I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and started my career in S.R.Batliboi & Associates (member firm of Ernst & Young Global) as an intern in 2001. Through my journey from an intern to Director, I have strived hard to achieve success and earned a reputation of delivering consistently high quality work which is trusted by my seniors and clients. My consistent high performance has enabled me to achieve a fast track career progression.
With my ability to lead from the front and passion to succeed, I have led large teams on several complex assignments with stringent timelines. My clients trust me with my work and I have received written appreciations from them at several occasions. I have been awarded the Managerial Excellence award for my work twice. My teams have nominated me as the D&I role model for two consecutive years. My seniors believe in my leadership potential and I have been selected to be a part of the Global next gen leadership programme which involves working on strategic initiatives of the organisation and focussed leadership training for 2 years.
I believe in empowering my teams and have led several training programmes. I have also developed content for internal training programmes. I have lived in different parts of the country since childhood which has made be adaptable to change and appreciate different view points. I have also relocated as part of work and have been able to establish myself at new location within a short span of time.
I also mentor women as part of our internal D&I network and help them achieve their professional aspirations. Apart from work, I love reading books, have a passion for travel and actively pursue dance fitness routines like Zumba. I strongly believe that literacy and financial independence are extremely important for progression of women. While it is important for women to learn to say No when required, it is also equally important to say yes to new opportunities - Say YES to Life!
Reetu Uday Kugaji | Plattershare
I am presently working as a Speciality Chef with www.Percept Knorigin.com, www.cinecurry.com, Oxygen Infotainment and www.chefsutra.com and as a Food Author with www.pioneerchef.com, theurbanspice.com ,www.pinksworth.com , www.tanyamunshi.com, http://www.mangobunch.com/ and Hospitality and Food Consultant, Speciality Chef and Food Author at www.plattershare.com, Chef, Food Author & Food Expert at http://womenpla.net/ Food Author & Food expert at http://www.mangobunch.com/ Chef Consultant and Culinary Expert at “FITMAG” http://www.fitmag.in/
I own my personal website : http://www.chefreetuudaykugaji.com/
I run a Facebook page “Food For Thought by Chef Mrs Reetu Uday Kugaji”. https://www.facebook.com/chefreetuudaykugaji/
I also have a Facebook group “Knowledge is Wisdom” https://www.facebook.com/groups/471652423010057/ wherein my students and I share a lot of Current / Latest trends in Hospitality, Food, Food Styling, Food Plating and Food Photography.
I am a member of Western India Culinary Association (WICA)
Also, I am into writing recipes both Desi that’s Indian & Videshi that’s International and articles for various online and offline publications.
In the past ,I have worked as a Program Head- Culinary Arts, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh at the ITM Institute of Hotel Management, Nerul, Navi Mumbai.
In the past, I have also contributed as an Associate Professor at D. Y. Patil University, School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies, Navi Mumbai. At the D.Y.Patil University and Stadium, I had been into the menu planning and have prepared the most delectable and exotic cuisines for the Former Hon. President Of India Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Tai Patil, “The God of Cricket”Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, “The Great Wall of Indian Cricket” Mr. Rahul Dravid and various other dignitaries and eminent personalities. Intricately prepared cuisine designed to capture a delicious and exciting range of flavours, textures and aromas. Handled Special Food Preparations for IPL matches, T 20-20, International Cricket Matches at the D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. So I have cooked the most delectable cuisines for small to very large numbers.
With 20 + years of experience in the world of culinary, I believe that food is like oxygen to me. Food for me is God. I am privileged to be a Chef and a Mentor.I believe that the food that I cook / prepare should not only touch the hearts but also the souls of the people relishing it.
Megha Pande | Barclays
I have been working for last 8 years in the Corporate communications department doing varied roles ranging from communication specialist, event organiser to handling the brand. In these eight years I have diligently worked to hone my skills by working on a range of projects - campus branding, running a newsletter, bringing online game to spread risk awareness, conducting chat sessions, writing blogs, organising events for more than 2000 people - to name a few.
Some of the projects undertaken have surpassed industry standards and have been rewarded on various platforms. What distinguishes me as a comms. professional is the marketing angle that I bring to my work while conducting internal campaigns. With each of the campaign been measured against client expectations and market standards I can proudly say that most of the projects have been a success.
For certain projects such as using online game, I had to break the cliches and bring forth the millennial sensitivity in order to make the campaign relevant.
I have also brought in out of the box thinking while running social campaigns which helped the team to garner support and participation. Most recent example is driving financial literacy campaign where we had the motto of each one teach one. Under this campaign we were able to teach 5000 people digital ways of handling money. This numbers includes both colleagues and people in communities we interact with. Using colleagues as the face of the campaign and with interesting slogans we attracted more than 30% of our colleagues from the entire database to be a part of the programme.
Along side I work with CEOs and manage their engagement strategies and work towards their branding within the organisation. This includes striking a fine balance between positioning them as thought leaders and being closely connected with colleagues.
All these projects have helped me have both an over arching view of the strategy at the same time be conscious towards nitty gritty involved in making it a success. The journey continues and hope to continue experimenting and challenging my limits.
Ratri Parida | Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur
Dr. Ratri Parida is presently working as Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur.
She has obtained her B Tech in Mechanical Engineering in the year 2005 and M Tech in Industrial Engineering in the year 2007 from Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Odisha.
She completed her PhD from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in the year 2013.
She is a recipient of the MHRD fellowship for Ph.D. at IIT Kharagpur (2008- 2012). Her research interest focuses specifically on ergonomics/human factors engineering, biomechanics, operations management and design of experiment (DOE). She has around 10 publications in Scopus-indexed International Journals and published in more than 20 International Conferences in India and abroad. Paper titled “Insights on Italian and Indian Health Care Systems” has been chosen by the judging panel as a finalist in the 2012/2013 Emerald/EMRBI Business Research Award for Emerging Researchers.
She got a travel grant from the Department of Science and Technology for attending IEA 2012, Brazil and NICMAR for attending and chairing a session at AHFE 2015, Las Vegas, USA.
She is a Topper (Gold Medalist) in M Tech (Industrial Engineering) at the University level with CGPA 8.61. She is the reviewer of International Journal of Neurocomputing (Elsevier), Safety and Health at Work (Elsevier), Euromed Journal of Business (Emerald), International Journal of Automation and Logistics (IJAL) (Inderscience), Journal of Transportation Safety & Security (Taylor & Francis), International Journal of Operations Research (IJOR) (Inderscience), International Journal of Services and Operations Management (Inderscience), etc.
Bina Pillai | Poet
Bina Pillai is an Author, crusader for peace and social issues. She is passionate about life, love and nature. Her article ‘We are Happy Because” was published in Infinithoughts. Her poems were selected for Anthologies and in the International poetry sections.
She had a dream to become a writer but it was snatched away when she was married off to a person from an orthodox family. She was not allowed to complete her graduation. After thirteen she secured a job in a corporate. On weekends she took the role of the librarian in her housing complex, as a social service.
Soon she became the manager of a reputed travel agency that gave her the opportunity to travel far and wide. She did a citizen journalist show for CNNIBN to get a special school for children with Learning Difficulty in Central Mumbai.
She was in the managing committee of her housing society for eight years, doing exemplary work.
At the age of 62, battling Angina and By-pass surgery she saw her dream come true. She published a book “Lyrical Rhythms of My Heart.” Her dream is now to become the voice of the voiceless through her socially inclined poems.