The seventh edition of DeloitteGlobal’s Women in the boardroom report revealed that women hold 17.1 percent of the board seats in India. Women leaders contribute skills, fresh perspectives, as well as structural and cultural diversity to the organizations, leading to more effective solutions. With a variety of perspectives, women can examine more minute details to see what is happening beneath the surface. Let’s look at the women who are playing the role of change in the business ecosystem.
Sparsh Kaur, Agnext – Sparsh Kaur, AgNext’s enthusiastic Chief of Staff never settles for anything that doesn’t support the growth of ‘her people.’ As one of the founding members of AgNext, Sparsh has been instrumental in building the start-up from its inception to a 150+ people strong globally renowned agritechnology company. Ms Kaur is committed towards creating a strong foundation for an inclusive workplace for all employees. With the contribution of women in agriculture being immense but underrepresented, she is ensuring that AgNext plays a critical part in disrupting this status quo and erect structural frameworks which can identify and enable women leaders embark on enterprising journeys across the agritech sector. She believes that technology can prove to be the mighty instrument that can successfully bridge the gender gaps in the agricultural sector.
Shruti Malani, Vice President, Centuary Mattress and Co-Founder, Beddy – With a strong background in strategy and finance, she was quickly able to take Centuary to a leadership position in exports of rubberized coir, consistently being awarded by the Government of India as the largest exporter in the category. Shruti was able to sense an opportunity in the baby/child sleep solutions segment as part of her journey collaborating with Centuary’s international clientele. Specific insights into global best practices relating to the field of the baby mattresses coupled with pediatric recommendations on the right baby mattress, led to the idea of conceptualizing the PERFECT BABY MATTRESS- safe, certified natural components, firm, waterproof and gentle to the newborn’s skin. As a result, the Idea of BEDDY culminated which gave birth to India’s first branded baby mattress. With the launch of Beddy, Shruti ventured into an entrepreneurial journey with Beddy being her Brain child. Shruti is now responsible for the Product Design and Strategy, Branding, Sales and Marketing, Research & Development for Beddy.
Roma, Founder, Burgeon Law – An entrepreneurial lawyer, mentor and startup enthusiast, Roma Priya is the Founder of Burgeon Law, a new-age one-stop legal firm that supports growth, change and innovation in India’s evolving startup ecosystem. Being the brains behind the company, she advises and mentors early-stage & high-growth startups, incubators, accelerators, angel investors, family offices, and venture capital/private equity funds. Roma has been a part of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Sandhill Counsel prior to setting up Burgeon Law. It was during this period that Roma identified the legal issues and challenges faced by new-age companies at every step. She wanted to unlock synergies between conventional legal practices and the dynamic requirements of the rapidly changing business environment in India, with a view to eventually help early-stage entrepreneurs build their businesses. This was when Roma came up with the idea of Burgeon Law, a startup-focussed firm that – with innovation and collaboration as its core pillars – provides entrepreneurs with price-sensitive and quality legal advisory and support.
Jasmine Bharucha, Katharos foods- Jasmine Bharucha , Founder & CEO, of Katharos foods, she started her journey to lead a healthy plant based lifestyle and observed the lack of good quality and affordable vegan cheese in the market. This motivated her to bring plant-based dairy alternatives for people who want a high-nutrition and affordable plant based lifestyle with Katharos. After spending years in the corporate world, she started her entrepreneurial journey with Katharos in 2019. Awarded for her efforts, Jasmine was selected among the top 5 Humane Entrepreneurs in India by HSI in 2020. Under her leadership, Katharos was named the ‘Best Vegan Cheese in India’ by PETA in 2021.
Dr. VibhaTripathi, Boon- Dr. Tripathi is the founder promoter of Swajal Water, a technology driven company with a focus on social and environmental impact with respect to drinking water. She has been the key driver behind Swajal’sIoT enabled WaterATMs and WaterCubes, commercial premium drinking water machines meant for 100+ people. Each machine is driven by an IoT mechanism designed and engineered in Swajal’s in-house R&D facility, which allows the team to send and receive key information. The company collects this data through the remotest parts of the country and has built a unique water map. This remote-control mechanism also allows management to repair and update the machines effortlessly. The latest designs for b2b allow user engagement, a QR Code phone app to check water quality in real time and a dashboard for admin to monitor their usage. Many of the designs are solar ready. In her free time, Vibha loves rustling up interesting meals, preparing for marathons, and traveling to new destinations
ShubhaRawal, Director of Sourcing and Marketing, IG International-Founded in the year 1970, IG International is one of the top fresh fruit importers in India. The brand has created a reputation for itself in this niche market where it has been present for more than 50 years. Ms. ShubhaRawal is the Director of Sourcing and Marketing at IG International. Skilled in Business Planning, International Business, Strategic Planning, Business Development, and Marketing Strategy, she has held various responsible portfolios, displaying demonstrable organizational and leadership qualities that contributed to the Company’s growth; both in terms of revenue and in establishing IG as a formidable brand globally. She has represented IG International in global trade meets and events across Europe and Asia.
Dr. Somdutta Singh, Founder and CEO, Assiduus Global Inc.- A150M+ worth AI-powered cross-border, cross-marketplace Ecommerce accelerator that launches and scales D2C brands across global E-commerce marketplaces. Dr. Singh holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. She is a serial tech entrepreneur, best-selling author, and angel investor. She is also one of the Global Mentors at Google Launchpad and a Mentor of Change at Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Govt. of India. Dr. Somdutta Singh has previously helmed ventures like Unspun Group, an AdTech company, and IRA – House of Designers, a crowdsourced fashion label on e-commerce and retail, which have been successfully acquired.
Astha Almast, Chief Business Officer, The New Shop – Born in a family of industrialists, Aastha is a true-born entrepreneur. She was a student of Economics from the prestigious Hindu College of Delhi University after which she studied PGDM in Fashion Marketing from Pearl Academy of Fashion to pursue her passion in retail and branding. She is also an alumni of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. She is a serial entrepreneur, who is always looking for solutions to simplify businesses – making them more productive and efficient. Prior to launching The New Shop, Aastha spearheaded a series of startups across diverse industries such as mobile gaming, online reputation management and consumer retail. While studying for a Bachelors, she joined her father’s stock broking firm making her one of the youngest certified stock-brokers from National Stock Exchange. She has lived an adventurous life and has amassed 12 years of diversified experience in entertainment, finance, branding, and retail. Her interests and pursuits are also reflected in her well-rounded personality. Aastha has the capability of turning everything she touches into a profitable venture. Much like the Virgin Group of UK, Aastha enters every domain afresh but quickly disrupts evolves the landscape of the chosen industry.