Jury

Abhinav Kumar heads up the Marketing and Communications divisions for Tata Consultancy Service’s 45 country international market presence, comprising North America, Europe, UK, Latin America, APAC and MEA regions. Recognised with over 70 awards for excellence in communications and branding, his team has established the company as the #1 fastest growing brand in the IT Services Industry from 2010-2020. Under his tenure, the brand value of the company has risen from US$ 2.3 billion in 2010 to US$ 13.5 billion in 2020. He oversees the company’s strategic relationships with multilateral organization such as the World Economic Forum and the European Union. In 2019, Abhinav was accorded the SABRE award in London, towards outstanding individual achievement in his career as a CMO. Abhinav has previously served in several leadership roles, including as the CMO for Europe, the CCO for Europe and as the CMO of Latin America at the company. He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and a degree in Economics. He is based out of Brussels, Belgium.

Anand leads Marketing Communications, Internal Communications and Public Relations for Ola and its various group companies globally. Having been with Ola for more than eight years, Anand has played an instrumental role in setting up the communications charter across diverse stakeholders including consumers, driver-partners, government and investors. As part of the leadership team in its earliest days, Anand has played a key role in operations including city launches, category launches and setting up the earliest customer support systems at Ola – all of which reflect the brand’s reputation and perception across the board. Anand has also spearheaded complex communications and change management programmes across various acquisitions by the group over the years, apart from being the chief spokesperson for the business.

Anand has built robust Marketing Communications in his 14+ years, for brands in EduTech, SaaS and Tech Services, including a brief stint as an entrepreneur serving early stage startups with their various marketing needs. He also works with early stage startups as an investor / advisor / mentor across Healthcare, Education, Clean-tech and F&B industries. He currently serves on the board of Clairco andGeriCare.

Anand holds a PGP in Executive Leadership from SCMLD, Pune and a Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship from CSIM, Hyderabad.

Arijit is a marketing and corporate communications professional with almost three decades of experience. He employs his expertise to solve real business challenges, foster robust relationships with stakeholders and drive thought leadership initiatives for positioning of Brands.

His earlier experience includes working with organisations such as WGC, Fidelity Investments, Ogilvy, Weber Shandwick, Euromoney and The Times of India. Arijit has worked across various geographies for his assignments during his tenure as Marketing and Communication lead for various Brands which include India, Australia, UK, Poland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He is a visiting faculty and guest speaker at various management and communications schools such as, IIM (Bangalore, Khozikode), MICA, SP Jain Institute of Management. He is also Governing Board member of Jagran Lake City University (JLU).

Arpana has over 25 years of experience in the areas of crisis/issues management, media relations, brand, product and corporate reputation building, integrated marketing communications and social media campaigns. Prior to joining Shell India, she was the Executive Vice President Strategy & Market Development at Weber Shandwick India. She has also senior leadership roles at PR Pundit and Encyclopedia Britannica.
She has served on the Board of Ideosync Media, a Non Profit working in community media domain; is part of the Advisory Board of Start Up! an Angel Investor, Incubator and Consultant to Social Entrepreneurs; and has also been a part of the faculty for ARThinkSouthAsia (ATSA). Currently, at Shell India she is responsible for external and internal communications.

Based in Mumbai, Deepa has worked across diverse industries such Media, Advertising, Airlines and Hospitality, to name a few.
With a rich experience of having worked in consultancies and corporates, Deepa brings in an eclectic mix of having led and managed various facets of communication, including Crisis Management, Brand Advocacy, Internal & External Communications and has led award winning campaigns across platforms. Over the course of her career, Deepa has worked with leading brands such as Singapore Airlines and the J. Walter Thompson group where she has led strategic communications and has helped them work through crisis, reinstated their corporate reputation and helped resolve issues across boundaries, while working with international teams.

Gaurav Bhaskar is a trusted communication leader with over two decades of experience working in the fast-paced tech industry. As Director of Global Communications and Public Affairs, Gaurav leads Corporate Communications and is responsible for driving all internal and external strategic communication campaigns for Google in India.

He joined Google in 2009 and has had first-hand experience of seeing the digital industry take off in India, helping him develop a deep understanding of consumer tech and the dynamic IT policy and regulatory landscape in India.
Prior to joining Google, he was with Rediff.com in Mumbai as head of Corporate Communications. He spent over five schooling years across PR consultancies and managed PR mandates for some of the largest technology and telecom brands in the country.

Nandini Chatterjee has over 25 years of rich exposure in product management, media relations and crisis management. In her 17 year association with PwC, Nandini has consistently managed the integrated marketing and communication function for the professional services giant, with over 15,000 employees.

She is a member of PwC’s Global Leadership communication team that is a think tank responsible for the brand’s reputation globally. Under her leadership, the PwC corporate communication team featured among the top six Corporate Communications teams in 2018 by Reputation Today magazine.

Nandini was inducted into the PR Hall of Fame in 2018 by Public Relations Council of India. She was in the recent top 100 Influential Game Changers 2019 list of Businessworld & e4m Group.

Pooja is a communications specialist with over 20 years of experience in Public Relations, Government Relations, Employee engagement, Digital PR, Crisis Management, Leadership coaching and Corporate Social Responsibility. Her current responsibilities at Panasonic India include external and internal communication strategy for Panasonic along with Digital PR for various brands and product portfolios under PI.

She comes with an extensive experience and understanding of the Indian market along with a number of Asian markets. Prior to joining PI, Pooja was part of the regional communications team for MetLife Asia supporting 10 key markets in the region. She has been part of the leadership team and led the Corporate Affairs functions at PNB MetLife and Aviva during her term. In early days of her career, she has worked with Coca-Cola, Text 100 and Clea PR.

She has been a part of and led project teams for several award winning campaigns like Aviva Great Wall of Education, PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championships during her tenure. She also successfully completed the Women Leadership Programme with Wanda Wallace of Leadership Forum.

Prasanna joined Visa in early 2017 to help reinforce Visa as India’s leading digital payment network. Prior to joining Visa, Prasanna held a senior leadership role at Edelman, where he helped corporate clients including those under the Tata group with their reputation management mandates. He has also headed the Corporate Affairs function for South & South East Asia at Western Union® Money Transfer. His responsibilities at Western Union included regulatory affairs and CSR outreach for the organization across the region.

Prasanna began his career as a Journalist with the Indian Express Group of Newspapers before moving on to join his first PR firm – leading the IT practice with Sampark Ketchum. He subsequently moved on to head Marketing & Communication roles in the corporate world, which saw him lead the marketing team at Essar Steel, followed by a stint at D-Link Corporation to lead the Marketing, Corporate Communications & IR function.

Rachana has been a communications leader for around 25 years across different brands like GE, Alstom, Alcatel Nokia, Apollo Tyres and more. In her current role, as a member of Bayer’s South.

In her previous role at GE, Rachana was a part of the leadership team where her role was to lead & champion the communications function and nurture the corporate reputation of GE in the region.

Presently she is on the board of GWPR, India (Global Women in PR) and also an active member of FICCI FLO, a forum that promotes entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women. She has been selected as a mentor of change for the Atal Innovation Mission – a govt of India initiative on building a culture of innovation in the country.

Rachana received the 2019 Outstanding Achievement SABRE Award in communications at the APAC level. She has been listed as one of the top corporate communicators and influencers in the country. She has judged campaigns at platforms such as AMEC, SABRE & various Marketing forums.

Ramya Rajagopalan currently heads Communications at Siemens India. A Communications professional with over 23 years of experience in the field of Branding and Public Relations, she has previously held senior positions at various companies including Marico, Citibank, Britannia, Himalaya and Genesis BM. Her experience and current role spans across Press, Internal Communications, Marketing Communications, Digital Media, CSR, Crisis & Leadership Communications and Events & Exhibitions.

She has an inherent interest in the way digital interaction is changing the communications landscape & the opportunities this change provides. She combines this with strengths of consumer understanding, passion for trying new ideas & bias for action to build communication programmes that deliver strong impact & business growth.

Rashmi is a communications specialist with over two decades of rich experience as a corporate communications leader and as an entrepreneur in India and APAC region. With specialization in developing and implementing communications strategy, building effective communications teams and support infrastructure, integrated storytelling, leadership communication and positioning, digital and social media, CSR initiatives and reputation management, she currently heads communications at VMWare India.

Ronit Baugh is the Communications Lead at Shiv Nadar University and is responsible for formulating and executing a multi-pronged communication strategy to position the university as an intellectual powerhouse shaping future leaders and to drive growth. Having spent over 12 years in Corporate Communications, Ronit has worked with some of the country’s leading brands across diverse sectors such as media & entertainment (M&E), telecom and aviation, and handled several communication programmes, gaining vast experience in brand building, reputation management, crisis communication and policy communications.

He has previously worked with leading Indian airline and a Tata-Singapore Airlines JV, Vistara, broadcast network STAR India, and telecom company Aircel. Ronit was trained in PR & Communications at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC) and in Corporate Branding at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

Sarah Hanel is the head of corporate communications for global cybersecurity software company OneSpan (NASDAQ: OSPN) and has spent nearly two decades in public relations, corporate communications and reputation management within the B2B enterprise technology sector. Sarah is also the Ethics and Standards Chair on the Board of Directors for the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, as well as the Accreditation and Ethics Chair for the Public Relations Society of America, Chicago Chapter. Prior to relocating to the US, Sarah was the President of the Canadian Public Relations Society and sat on the CPRS Board of Directors for six years. Sarah holds an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Executive Leadership, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Women’s Studies.

Shubham Mukherjee, a Media, Communication and Reputation Management professional, heads Corporate Communication at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company. A storyteller, Shubham uses his deep understanding of the PR, Media, Marketing, Content, Digital and Public Policy frameworks to create narratives that are brand accretive. Prior to ICICI Prudential Life, Shubham was the head of Marketing, Communication and Editorial at Bain & Company India. Before he pivoted into Communication and Marketing, Shubham was a Senior Editor and media leader for over a decade in two of India’s leading newspapers – The Economic Times and The Times of India.

A Corporate Reputation leader with over two decades of rich experience, Sudeep has worked with marquee global organizations across its multiple facets. His expertise has been honed at marquee blue chips – Tata Motors, Vodafone, Citi Group, and DBS Bank.

A strategic thinker with strong execution skills, Sudeep’s passion is building advocacy amongst stakeholders. Over the years his leadership and work has won prestigious awards and accolades.

He is an avid biker and considers trivia a powerful tool for remembering and narrating stories.

A passionate and high-energy communicator, Usha has evolved in various communication roles by maintaining a business-outcome-backwards and analysis-based approach with authentic, clear and effective messaging as key traits. Prior to Strides Pharma, Usha has had stints with Max Life Insurance, Gurgaon, and Cipla Ltd, Mumbai. Her work has ranged from demonstrable reputational impact in external communication to innovative internal communication and storytelling initiatives.

A sometime academic, Usha holds a PhD in History from the University of Central Lancashire, and is an alumna of the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick.

Varsha is a Communications and Marketing strategist with over 30 years of experience across various facets of Communications – Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Media Relations, Employee Communications and Content Management, Crisis Management, Brand Building, Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility.

She has helped industry-leading global organisations like Abbott, IBM and Indian Hotels Company Ltd work through change and achieve growth, enhance and protect reputation and build brand image.

Apart from being a speaker and jury at various national and international communications forums, Varsha is an active member of the prestigious Arthur W Page Society. She is a Life and Leadership Professional Coach who works with mid-career women supporting them to accelerate their leadership journey and excel in their careers.

Vipin Nair has 26 years of experience in the media and communications industry and is currently the Global Head of Corporate Communications at Wipro Ltd. He steers both the external and internal communications mandate for the organization.

He spent two decades as a business journalist, working in senior editorial positions in media outlets including The Economic Times, The Financial Express, Network18 and Bridge News (formerly Knight-Ridder Financial News) among others. He is credited with several news breaks and his pieces have also been published overseas. An avid reader and a sports aficionado, Vipin is based in Bangalore.

With a career spanning almost 25 years, Yuvraj is a keen planner and strategist with leadership experience in Corporate Communications, Brand Management, Crisis Communication, Digital PR, Internal Communication and Advocacy. Currently he is responsible for communication and brand management of L&T group. Prior to L&T, he has been associated with GMR, Samsung, PDIL (Govt. of India) among others in similar roles. His work has won various national and international awards such as PRCI awards, PR world award (USA), Hermes Creative Awards (USA) and the Cannes (France).
Yuvraj has been listed as India’s top 100 digital marketers and named as PRCI’s Promising PR person of the year 2017. He has served as Chairman of Indo American Chamber of Commerce for Smart City Forum and is currently part of FICCI Young Leaders Forum. He is also a regular speaker at various forums like ET Strategy Masterclass, Annual media conclave of XIMB and has been a jury member of Times Now E&Y – NRI of the Year (4). He has also been part of various government delegations and committees, such as Qatar’s High-level Ministerial Delegate to Japan and Ministry of Civil Aviation, GOI.