Inspiring Indian Women Leaders in Business
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we asked India’s females business leaders about their struggles to achieve the top-positions. The result was some inspiring stories. In this issue, we feature ‘10 Most Inspiring Indian Women Leaders in Business’ who have fought the stereotypes and made an impression by their business intelligence and social and cultural influence.
Shailini Sheth Amin, Founder, MORALFIBR
Shailini Sheth Amin’s company practices ethical sourcing and is currently supplying fabric to a UK based firm, among others. In the wide-spreading fast and disposable fashion markets, she is a successful, award-winning voice for sustainable textile fashion that supports people and the planet along with good fashion.
Dr Malini Saba, Founder & Chairman, Saba Group & Anannke Foundation
Dr Malini Saba is self-made businesswomen and the founder and chairman of Saba Group, a privately-held company headquartered in Asia that employs over 5,000 people, operates in more than 20 countries and comprises 15 companies across 10 verticals.
Kavita Viswanath, GM, JFrog India
Kavita has over 19 years of experience in leading Enterprise Sales, Alliances, Strategy & Planning for core technology & e-commerce companies. As General Manager for JFrog India, she manages India Business and Operations including R&D, Support, Sales & Marketing, Finance & Operations.
Anjali Agrawal, Founder, KotaDoriaSilk (KDS)
Innovations of Anjali Agrawal, who Founded KotaDoriaSilk (KDS), with the Kota fabric, trendy designs, and work turned KDS into a company with a turnover of four crores in less than six years.
Sonica Aron, Founder and Managing Partner, Marching Sheep
An XLRI postgraduate, Sonica has worked with companies like Pepsico, Vodafone, Roche Diagnostics and ICI paints. She started her career with a sound understanding of business, where she went route-riding with Pepsico and was part of the team that launched Pepsi 200 ml at Rs 5.
Geeta Singh, Founder & Director, The Yellow Coin Communication (TYC)
Founded by Geeta Singh, TYC Communication has established itself as a reputed communications agency in the country and are looking forward to undertaking government projects to test its mettle.
Dhwani Jaipuria, Director, SRJ Edu Services Pvt. Ltd
Dhwani Jaipuria is a bright and young personality who is taking forward the legacy of Jaipuria Group. She has done Bachelor’s in Architecture from Balwant Sheth School of Architecture, Mumbai. Her professional career began with a six-month stint at a reputed architecture firm in Seattle, the United States.
Khushboo Sharma Solanki, Founder, Zero Gravity Communications (ZGC)
Khushboo stands at the forefront of the industry as the mastermind behind one of the fastest-growing, independent, and financially self-sustained regional agencies.
Prerna Puri, Founder & CEO, Prerna’s Handcrafted Ice Cream
Prerna Puri is a mompreneur and a fashion designer from NIFT. She has worked as a fashion designer/stylist and interior design consultant before her role as a mother and entrepreneur. Driving inspiration, motivation, courage, support and constant strength from her family, Prerna has created a revolutionary product.
Malika Sadani, Founder and CEO, The Moms Co.
The Moms Co. was created by Malika Sadani to help moms make safe, natural and effective choices for themselves and their families. While The Moms Co. has established itself as a mom’s trusted partner in her motherhood journey, Malika was awarded BusinessWorld 40 Under 40 and Times She UnLTD.
Kanika Agarrwal, Co-founder and CIO, Upside AI
Kanika Agarrwal is a rank holder Chartered Accountant, a CFA charter holder and a Commerce graduate from Mumbai University. She has over 11 years of experience in finance and investing, having worked with companies including Mayfield India, Credit Suisse, and EY.
Meghna Agarwal, Co-Founder, IndiQube
Meghna Agarwal Rishi Das co-founded IndiQube, a co-working space provider that onboarded companies like Bluestone, KPMG, Freshmenu, Cohesity & TMF at the initial stages. The company secured a USD 15 Mn Series A round of funding in a matter of time, scaled up IndiQube to six cities, 3.5 Mn SQ.FT. & 50+ properties.

Jigyasa Kishore, Senior Director, Moglix
A seasoned marketing leader with 15+ years of experience in brand building and enterprise marketing, Jigyasa Kishore is the Senior Director, Brand, Growth & Excellence at Moglix.
Nidhi Marwah, Group Managing Director, The Executive Centre
Nidhi Marwah is the Group Managing Director of The Executive Centre that facilitates the growth of ambitious businesses and business professionals through high-end service, seamlessly operated workspaces, unparalleled insights from a global member network and experiences that elevate corporate culture.
Kriti Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CPO, StoreHippo
A dynamic leader with a demonstrated record for finding innovative solutions and delivering constructive business results, Kriti Aggarwal is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Hippo Innovations.
Nisha Parikh, VP – HR & Marketing, Telebu
Having spent the maximum time of her career at Telebu, Nisha Parikh has seen the company growing from bulk SMS Solutions provider to a one-stop-shop for everything to do with enterprise communication.
Gunjan Malhotra, Director, Komaki Electric Division
Gunjan Malhotra is a dedicated environmentalist and the co-founder of Komaki Electric Vehicle, one of the fastest evolving brands in the Electric Vehicle Segment.
Pooja Bedi, Founder, Happy Soul
Pooja Bedi is a well-recognised Film, TV and Media personality who founded Happy Soul - a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace that aggregates wellness products, services, and experiences. Pooja's focus is to promote emotional, physical, mental and spiritual balance and well-being the world over!
Tanvi Singla, Co-founder, Supreme Incubator
Tanvi Singla is the co-founder and CEO of Supreme Incubator, an incubator that helps early-stage startups build strong and scalable businesses
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Advisory Board
Mamta Thakur
Mamta Thakur is an accomplished business leader with 23 years of experience in P&L Management, Business Development, Sales, Account Leadership, Process Outsourcing and Service Delivery in cross-sector skills and training business as well as in Telecom, Hospitality, Insurance and BPO industries. She gained this experience while working in the fields of Learning and Development, Customer Service and Sales Operations in 30+ countries across South Asia, Middle East, South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, US and UK. Her contributions in socially-impactful business have led to be honoured with the Women Achievers’ Award by the Legal Council of India in 2019.
Associate Professor Dr.Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Varughese K. John, has got more than 35 years of teaching and research experience in the domain of commerce and management. Currently, he is a full-time faculty member of the Graduate School of eLearning (MS Program in Management and Ph.D. Program in eLM), Assumption University of Thailand. Also, he is a visiting professor of another university in Vietnam and also an adjudicator of Ph.D. dissertations of many other Universities. His specializations are financial management, banking, and managerial accounting. He did his Ph. D. on ‘Non-performing Assets of Indian commercial banks'. He has got a number of publications in world class journals and used to publish research articles in the daily ‘Bangkok Post'. He has contributed many research papers in the international conferences in Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and India - has been honored with the best paper presentation award in IPN Conferences, 2018 at Perth, Australia. He started his teaching career in the year 1983 in the colleges under the management of Malankara Syrian Catholic colleges in Kerala, India and eventually became the Principal of Pazhassiraja College, Pulpally, Wayanad, Kerala during the period 2011 to 2015. He served as a member of the Faculty of Commerce, University of Kerala for three years (2004-2007). He got industrial experience by serving in different companies in the middle-east. His educational qualifications include – Ph.D., MBA, M.Phil., M.Com. and LL.B.
Assistant Professor Dr. Kuldeep Nagi,Ph.D,MBA,BSc.
Assistant Professor Dr. Kuldeep Nagi is the Program Director of Ph.D in eLearning Methodology for Graduate School of eLearning (GSeL) at Assumption University, Thailand. He was born and educated in India but matured and flourished in Seattle, WA, USA. He is an American citizen and recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award-2006 in USA to work at Assumption University, Thailand. While working in Seattle Community College District (SCCD) in USA, he also received Dan Evans Award for Excellence in Teaching. He spent the prime of his life working at various institutions of Higher Education based in Seattle, WA, USA. After joining Assumption University in Thailand in 2006 he has written more than 3 dozen papers for international conferences, proceedings and journals. In addition to working as a Director of the Ph.D. program, he is also working as Managing Editor of Monthly eNewsletter called eLearning@AU, Managing Editor of AU-eJournal of Interdisciplinary Research http://www.ejir.au.edu/, Member-Editorial Board- ABAC Journal. Dr. Kuldeep is a writer columnist for the NATION and BANGKOKPOST, daily newspapers published in Bangkok.
Dr Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE.
Dr. Ajay has the unique distinction of bringing several global universities and institutions to the UAE such as University of Birmingham (UK), Babson College (Boston US), Inscape Education Group (South Africa) etc. through his efforts in building the market landscape knowledge, business case and supporting the local licensing, accreditation, institutional set-up and operations. He supported the establishment and growth of international student enrollments at several universities in UAE including SP Jain Institute of Business Management, Manipal Institute, Amity University, University of South Wales, Heriot Watts University, Hult International Business School, Ajman University, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Middlesex University Dubai to name a few. Dr. Ajay has built his credentials with regulators and education investors through his high quality authoritative and ethically sound work and understanding of transnational higher education deeply. Prior to his current role, Ajay served as the CEO for one of UAEs leading higher education holding company with a significant investment from the world largest private education provider, GEMS Education/Varkey Group. During his 29-year career, he has worked in direct-to-consumer business as well as B2B businesses at leadership level roles. In his early career at American Express (1989-2001), he was the head of marketing and business development for the consumer card business in India and was a significant contributor to launching a locally billed card business in India. He was awarded the Chairman’s Award for Quality for this contribution. Ajay was the founder Vice President of ABN AMRO Bank Credit Cards (2011-2004) where he built the bank’s credit card business in India from scratch to become one of the top multinational credit cards brands within two years of the launch. He has also headed Reader’s Digest (2004-2005) business in India as CEO. He was recognized by the Indian media industry as the ‘Best Media Marketer of the Year’ At McGraw-Hill Education (2005-2014) Ajay led the digital transformation of the business. For his efforts in growing the McGraw-Hill business, he was chosen from over 10,000 employees and awarded the company’s highest individual honor Excellence in Leadership Award. Ajay is passionate about education and the impact this sector has on society and economies. He is an Engineering graduate from the renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and a top-ranked from one of India’s leading business schools – Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University. He has received the prestigious National Talent Scholarship (NTS) from the Indian government throughout his secondary school and college education. Ajay serves on the advisory board of mediciinstitute.org India’s think tank for mission-focused governance. He has served as a trustee on the board of National Book Trust of India, for three years, to promote literacy and reading as a Ministry of Human Resources development nominee. Ajay has also advised National Skills Development Corporation of India to transform skills training for the youth. He was also the general secretary of the Association of Publishers in India (API) and intellectual property and copyright committee at American Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com
Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, Senior GM, Panasonic is a business leader and has over 25 years of experience the FGCG & Consumer Electronics industry. Sreedhar, an alumna of IIM Ahmedabad also held key positions in LG Electronics, Dometic, The Hindu and the Tata Group. Sreedhar also runs a charity through BMR Trust to offer "Bright Morning Rise" to the needy and suffering. He is also the author of Amazon Bestselling book “Moment of Signal”. Mr. Sreedhar was recently invited to speak in IIT Delhi & IIM Ahmedabad. An inspiring story, in true slum dog millionaire style: from street vendor to waiter, milk delivery boy to door-to-door salesman, and eventually General Manager at Panasonic Corporation, Sreedhar Bevara is a life study on how embracing your moments of signals can help you realize your full leadership potential. He grew from the bottom to find himself at the top. Learn his secrets and become the leader you truly are. He emphasizes, 'the best way to excel is not to follow the signals, but to find them for yourself'. He is passionate about the "leadership within us" and has spoken on the topic to world-class names in the region. Living currently in the vibrant city of Dubai, Sreedhar travels extensively and is obsessed with fitness.
Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi)
Amulya is heading HR as Sr. Director for the Mobile R&D Lab of Samsung with 2200+ employee. Leading 56-member team (25 core HR members). He is transformative HR leader with over 20 Years of experience in setting up new teams, offices and supporting multi business (Mfg, Services, FMCG, R&D) in multi geographical location. (India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Dubai). Amulya is an experienced change agent with strong track record in scaling businesses and supporting organisational restructuring and growth. His expertise includes: Digitization facilitator for HR Systems and Processes, Architect for employee friendly policies and great work place & Diversity champion
Dr. Manoj Varghese,Ph.D, MS, MBA, BE.
Dr. Manoj Varghese is a senior technology, education technology & innovation leader with over two decades of international experience. He is an EdTech researcher with strong knowledge of BYOD, STEM Education & 21st century learning skills. Manoj travelled over 40 countries and keep exploring. As Sr. Director at Connecta Education Ltd, Manoj leads consultancy, innovation initiatives, business strategy&strategic partnerships with schools, colleges and partners. Connecta Education is a global education innovation company focusing on School&College Audit, Consulting & Advisory, Technology Advisory and Consulting, Web Portals, Conferences, Summits & Workshops. Multinational consulting team associated with Connecta Education has over 200 man years of proven international education experience with the world’s leading organisations. Manoj worked as Sr. Director-Innovation, Strategy&Partnerships(consultancy) at Consilience earlier, where he led innovation initiatives, business strategy&strategic partnerships. Manoj was the Global Director – Technology&Risk Management at GEMS Education(World's largest private school operator) leading the Technology Strategy, Executive Strategic Planning, Technology Governance, Compliance, Security, Risk&Audit for 250+ GEMS' global and partner schools, and related businesses in 10 countries. As a Project Director at GEMS, Manoj led all aspects of Pre-Operational ICT for over 45 new International School projects in North America, UK, Europe, Africa, Middle East, India, Singapore, Malaysia&China, and two prestigious Higher Education projects for its university campuses in Dubai. He was the Project Director of GEMS’ SAP ERP project, where SAP S/4 HANA was implemented over 180 schools integrated with School Management System. He was the Architect of GEMS proprietary ERP, VLE&School Bus Management Systems. Manoj is an IT Engineering Graduate, has completed the MBA program in Systems and has an MS and PhD in E-Learning Methodology.