Jury 2019

Dr. Rajan is the Chairman of ECube Investment Advisors, which is launching in partnership with Quantum Advisors a new Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) fund, the Q-ECube India ESG Fund, which will invest in the Indian public markets. Prior to this, he held a number of senior executive positions through his 23 year career with the Tata group, including Chief Ethics Officer of the Tata group, the first Brand Custodian of the Tata group, head of the foreign offices of Tata Sons, Chair of the Tata Global Sustainability Council, Member of the Group Executive Council at Tata Sons, Head of Private Equity at Tata Capital, and Managing Director of one of the group’s listed telecom businesses. He served on the boards of various Tata companies including Tata Teleservices, Tata Communications, Roots Corporation, Piem Hotels, Tata SIA Airlines, Tata AIG, and the TCS Foundation. He serves as the Chairperson of the Environment Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and has previously served as the Chair of the India@75 Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chair of the CII Core Group on China.In 2007, the World Economic Forum honoured Dr. Rajan as a Young Global Leader. He was also part of the inaugural class of the CII-Aspen Institute India Leadership Initiative.

Dr. Rajan graduated from the Bachelor of Technology program at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1989. He received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he completed a Masters and Doctorate in International Relations. His doctoral dissertation titled “Global Environmental Politics – India and the North-South Politics of Global Environmental Issues” was published by Oxford University Press in 1996, and his second book, “The Brand Custodian” was published by HarperCollins in 2019.

Alex Malouf is a marketing communications executive who has spent the last 12 years in the Middle East. Alex has lived across the region, in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. He holds the position of Corporate Communications Manager for the Arabian Peninsula at Procter & Gamble.A journalist by training and with a cultural mix that is both European and Arabic, Alex’s expertise spans communications and media, public relations and marketing for both multinationals in the energy, technology and FMCG space as well as several Gulf-based government institutions. When he’s not putting pen to paper, Alex can be found advocating for the region’s media and public relations business.

Alex is passionate about promoting sustainability in the communications sector by highlighting the profession’s potential to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals. He works with not-for-profit organizations such as IABC to shape and support training and awareness initiatives for those wishing to pursue a career in public relations.

Aman heads the Corporate Communications function at Policybazaar.com Group of Companies. With more than 14 years of experience in journalism, sports, development sector and marketing communications, Aman has played a pivotal role in building the brand from the ground up for the group entity, PaisaBazaar.com when it started in 2014. While relationships are important in external and internal communications, Aman believes that content is the driver for rich communication that makes one stand-out in the crowd.Prior to starting his leadership role with PolicyBazaar.com group, Aman was an entrepreneur and ran a sport development venture for three years. He started his career as a journalist with The Times of India Group where he worked through different editorial roles between 2005 & 2010. His last role was with The Economic Times managing the personal finance pages for the weekend edition and writing on the BFSI sector. He later moved on to work in different consulting roles in the sports industry.

Aman has studied B.Com (H) from Delhi University and holds a post-graduate diploma in journalism as well a masters degree in commerce. He also holds a specialised masters degree in sport management from Loughborough University, UK. Aman has a keen interest in sports and is a former national-level table tennis player. He played for England’s Leicestershire County in 2010-11 during his time in the UK.

Amandeep has been leading Corporate Communication and CSR functions of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) – India’s largest CNG distribution company, since 2005. A post graduate in management as well as Mass Communication, he possesses an experience of over 26 years in areas of Marketing, Communication and CSR.

Amandeep has successfully led the design, development and execution of communication strategy of IGL over the years, resulting in popularity and growth of environment friendly clean fuels – CNG and PNG, across Delhi NCR region. He has also been spearheading a large number of award winning CSR initiatives in areas of health, education, empowerment and skill development, which have been developed as a result of proactive anticipation and responsiveness on social issues.

Amandeep had been the recipient of ‘In- House Professional’ Award in Services category at Fulcrum Awards 2017, in addition to many other individual honours received by him in the areas of Communication and CSR.

Amit Chaudhery is a Communications and Public Diplomacy professional with a focus on corporate reputation management. Since 1990 he has served as in-house counsel and practitioner of integrated communications and public affairs across healthcare, building materials, management consulting, technology, direct selling, tobacco, media for Indian and transnational companies. Chaudhery is also a panellist and representative (neutral) for global expert groups. He held a board position for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), besides serving on various expert committees of the Government of India.

With wide experience in social equity, Chaudhery is a naturalist, conservationist, besides being a widely referenced writer. Some of his honours include: 100 Most Impactful CSR Leaders (Global Ranking) by the World CSR Congress, citation by Ashoka University and Singularity University NASA campus; Gold Award from Association of Business Communicators of India; Sanctuary – ABM AMRO Natural History Writer Award. Chaudhery was co-opted as an honorary member by the Bishnoi community for his work in wildlife conservation.

Amit Chaudhery attended Modern School, New Delhi, studied History at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. He holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Punjab University Chandigarh, and a diploma in Journalism from the London School, of Journalism. Chaudhery is an elected member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, U.K.

Aparna Thomas is a communications professional with expertise in the healthcare sector. She leads the Communications and CSR function to build and manage the image and reputation of Sanofi in India and South Asia. At Sanofi, a global healthcare leader in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, consumer healthcare, rare diseases and specialty medicines, Aparna is a strong contributor to the business’ success and has been an integral part of the senior leadership for over a decade. In fact, she was the youngest woman member to join the country leadership team.

Prior to this, Aparna was the Communications & CSR head for Pfizer (India) Limited and Tata Teleservices Limited, respectively. She has a strong foundation in marketing communications and strategic partnerships across different sectors including healthcare, technology, FMCG and tourism from her tenure at Weber Shandwick, where she began her career.

In the last two decades, Aparna has individually, and with her team won many international and domestic awards for excellence in communications and integrated campaigns. She is amongst the first professionals from India to win international awards for healthcare communications. She has also been a part of several speaker panels and a jury member for PR awards.

With two Masters degrees in English Literature and Mass Communication from the Maharaja Sayajirao University, today, Aparna is lauded as a woman leader, diversity champion and a respected business leader.

Archana Muthappa is currently the Head of Corporate Communications at Bangalore International Airport Ltd. – operator of the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru – and what is today the second-fastest growing airport in the world. With over two decades of experience in both Corporate and Consulting communications, Archana has been a part of several organisations, including Satyam Computer Services, The UB Group, Adfactors PR and Good Relations.She has consulted across industry verticals and geographies and brings to the table deep experience of building brands using public relations and non-paid mediums. Having been part of the team that dealt with the Satyam Computers crisis, Archana has hands-on experience of crisis communication.

Archana has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mysore and is currently pursuing the study of Transactional Analysis.

Arpan has been with Coca Cola since 2015 and is responsible for building communication strategies that support business objectives and drive growth. Having spent over fifteen years working as a Corporate Communications / Marketing Communications specialist, Arpan has vast experience across reputation management, executive branding, crisis communication and advocacy. Further, he has handled the entire gamut of external and internal communications for the companies he has worked for. In his previous stint with Max Life Insurance, he successfully implemented an integrated communications and rebranding campaign of ‘Max Life Insurance’ from the earlier ‘Max New York Life’. His work has received many accolades, some worth mentioning are the recent recognitions by Reputation Today where he was recognized as a leading professional under 40. He was also recognized for Excellence in Financial PR at the SABRE AWARDS SOUTH ASIA 2014.

Arpan has worked across industries such as Life Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Public Relations and Chamber of Commerce. Since his work profile requires thorough understanding of the business and its functioning, he has gained insightful knowledge not only about the company but also about the industries he has worked in. A testimony to this was being recognized amongst the top 5 “Outstanding young insurance Executive” in Asia in the “Aeon Benfield Scholarship” conducted by Asia Insurance Review. Arpan holds a degree in Master’s in Business Administration from Ohio University and a Bachelor’s in Commerce degree from Calcutta University.

Chhavi has over 20 years of hands-on experience in handling a gamut of activities encompassing customer marketing & engagement, driving digital marketing, brand strategy, global events & campaign management, media communication, internal communications & crisis communications, investor relations, public affairs, brand strategy and CSR. She is an experienced customer marketing, brand-building and corporate communications professional with a proven track record of managing leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies spanning across B2B and B2C verticals.

Prior to joining InterGlobe Aviation, where she is currently heading the corporate communications and brand marketing functions , she was with Nokia India as Head of Marketing and Communications where her role included setting the direction and leading Nokia’s marketing strategy, demand generations, brand strategy, event management, advertising, external/internal communications, corporate affairs & CSR. Chhavi has also worked with Uber India as Consulting Director of Communications and also served a stint at Spice Global as Group President, Brand and Corporate Communications.

She has been a trusted advisor to corporate leaders and CXOs; mentor and coach to high-performing teams; rewarded for industry-leading campaigns and projects with the latest being featured in the 100 Most Talented Global Marketing Leaders Listing by World Marketing Congress along with CMO Council USA & CMO Asia.

An award-winning creative executive, Gabriela has more than 20 years of experience in communications that she now uses to help other professionals soar. She is the founder of WINGS Creative Leadership Lab, a nomadic training firm that works with PR companies from all over the globe to incite creativity and innovation.

Gabriela has proven creative results – more than 150 awards & nominations, including coveted trophies such as PR Cannes LIONS, Platinum and Global SABRE Awards etc. She has been the PR jury chair of both the iconic CLIO Awards and the Dubai LYNX, and a juror for many top international competitions including Cannes LIONS, D&AD etc. In 2018, she was a speaker at Cannes Lions School, ICCO Global PR Summit, and Festival of Marketing. She is the 2018 winner of the “Independent Consultant of the Year” at Women in Marketing Global Awards.

Before launching her WINGS, Gabriela has worked for top firms in advertising and PR, more recently in the UK where she was Creative Partner with TBWA\London, and Chief Creative Officer UK & EMEA of Weber Shandwick.

Entrepreneurial and with strong management experience, she successfully ran two consultancies; The European office of Ogilvy PR Worldwide, and her own firm, The Practice, that was acquired by the global network Publicis Groupe in 2013 when the firm was ranked as one of the most creative PR firms in the world (it is now an MSL office).

Heena heads the corporate communication function at Cipla, a multi-billion-dollar pharma company.

Prior to joining Cipla, Heena had a long stint of seven years with Marico where she was heading Corporate Communication and Managing the Global COE PR for Marico in India, Middle East, North Africa, Bangladesh, Vietnam & South Africa. Her responsibilities included creation of positioning and managing the Marico Corporate brand, Brand PR (for all Marico brands), Investor Communications and CSR Communication. She even looked after the Internal Communication and Digital Communication for Marico Corporate.

With over 21 years of experience in Public Relations, Heena has also worked with Patni Computers System Ltd, Capgemini and 20:20 Media.

In her current role, Kushboo is responsible for managing brand reputation and counselling senior management in communication strategy. Khushboo is also responsible for launching the Kia brand in India and driving Corporate Social Marketing at Kia Motors India.An integrated communications professional, Khushboo comes with a rich experience of 13 years and holds experience in Corporate Communication, Strategic Marketing and Brand Building, Brand Advocacy, Content Marketing and Managing Corporate Intellectual Properties. She has an affinity towards automobile and the sports industry and has driven many successful associations especially in Motorsports. She has worked on diverse subjects and sectors and has been involved across various communication business functions and successfully led different campaigns across media, influencers and decision makers.

She has a keen ability to adopt a 360-degree approach to integrated corporate and marketing communication through effective use of traditional and new age tools. In her previous roles, she has been associated with JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, Tecnova and Foton Motors.

She holds a PG Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Modern Management, Pune and a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from Digital Marketing Institute, Ireland.

Outside of work, she is a travel enthusiast and enjoys watching movies.

Mona oversees India corporate communications, including corporate brand and reputation management, public and media relations, crisis and issues management, social media and digital communications for Diageo India, Indian leading beverage alcohol company.

Prior to joining Diageo India, she was with Edelweiss as the Group Head for communications. Mona was responsible for the firm’s reputation and oversaw the Group’s diversified financial services strategy positioning across retail, wholesale, credit and advisory. She successfully promoted a unified work culture via robust internal communications & branding. Mona was associated with Bank of America Merrill Lynch for 12 years. Her last role there was that of Head – Marketing & Communications for India.

Paresh has set value benchmarks in the field of Global Corporate Communication with a profound expertise in the areas of marketing, brand communications and reputation management spanning multiple industries. For over three decades, he has been part of strategic communication endeavours at Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Smith Kline Beecham and Wockhardt.

Paresh is currently Group President – Corporate Brand Custodian of the Adani Group for its global operations. In his current role, Paresh will bring in a key strategic communication shift, as the group is poised to grow rapidly.

Prior to joining the Adani Group, Paresh was Chief Executive Officer of Madison Public Relations, a unit of Madison World, one of India’s largest 360-degree communication consultancy, employing over 1,000 communication professional across cities in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Paresh is the founder President of Indian Forum of Corporate Communicators (IFCC), a large group of practicing Corporate Communications professionals from leading corporates across the country. He was a Board Member of PRCAI. Besides, Paresh has been a distinguished Jury Member at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, France 2015; Jury Member, PR Asia Week, Singapore, 2015; Jury Chair at Goa Fest, ABBY’s Awards, 2015; Jury Member, Lions Dubai Lynx, Dubai 2014; Jury Member, Sabre Asia & South Asia, 2014. He was also the Conference Chair at Global Marketing & Advertising Week (GMAW), New Delhi, 2015. He is an active member of Round Table India, a social, non-political, cultural International organization for more than 20 years.

Pooja Sabharwal is the Head of Communications at PayPal India and the firm’s technology centers across Bengaluru and Chennai – the largest outside the US. She leads the external and internal communications for the firm in India.

Through her career, spanning over two decades, Pooja has spent a considerable part in strategizing communication plans for a wide range of financial services firms ranging from retail banking to private equity. Pooja’s strengths include developing pragmatic communication strategies, well entrenched media awareness and superior analytical skills.

Prior to PayPal she has worked with Standard Chartered Bank and Genesis BCW. During her stint at Genesis BCW she was a partner and managed the top Indian corporates that include but are not limited to Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Temasek and TPG.

Rohan leads the Marketing & Communications team at Omidyar Network India Advisors where he drives the development of strategic marketing programs, public relations campaigns, and content initiatives.

Prior to joining the firm, he was deputy managing director at Stepathlon Lifestyle, where he worked to drive sustainable behavior change within global organizations and for consumer brands.
As head of communications at Twitter India, Rohan led the roll out of Twitter Samvad, a government initiative that aimed to deliver communications to mobile users via SMS. Before Twitter, Rohan worked at Red Bull India, where he drove disruption in the Advertiser Funded Programming (AFP) model to help Red Bull monetize its own branded content through deals with Asian television and digital networks. In addition, Rohan co-founded Argonium, an integrated brand communications company focused on building narratives across industries and geographies, and he has also worked as journalist at New Delhi Television (NDTV) as well as Voice of America in Washington, DC.

Rohan received a B.A. in economics from the University of Mumbai and an M.S. in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University.

An INSEAD alum, Ruchika Mehta is recognized as a global marketing and communications specialist with over 18 years of experience. She has actively worked in complex environments, with multiple teams and on numerous projects, having a rich base in Brand Management as well as in Digital sphere with exemplary communication skills. She takes pride in labelling herself a digital immigrant, who has built herself up from what we today refer to as conventional marketing solutions.

In the past she has launched the Asian hospitality giant Shangri- La Hotels into India in 2005 and has worked with Hyatt and ITC hotels. In her current role Ruchika spearheads Corporate Communications and Brand Marketing for the ApeejaySurrendra Park Hotels Limited (THE Park Hotels, THE Park Collection, Zone by The Park, Flurys and Apeejay Hospitality institute)

She leads the global marketing communications strategy including CSR with national and global PR and advertising agencies that represent different geographies as well as overlooks annual budget for advertising and promotions for the group. A social media influencer herself, she is known as a social media star. She is one of the pioneers to use Influencer Marketing in her industry and is also sought after at various industry summits for her able know how on influencer marketing. In her journey, Ruchika has shown entrepreneurial, disruptive and profit oriented approach with demonstrated success in launching brands using innovation, leading cross functional teams and fostering productivity.

Ruchika was recently awarded as the ‘Best in Public Relations’ by the Times Travel Awards 2019 and was also inducted as 40 under 40 Corporate Communications professionals in India by Reputation Management for class of 2018. She was also awarded ‘Women Super Achiever in Marketing and Communications’ at the prestigious Femina’s World Women Leadership Awards 2017, ‘Most Admired PR professional’ of the year by the prestigious Lonely Planet Travel & Lifestyle Leadership Awards 2017`. She was also awarded as ‘Corporate Communication Professional of the Year’ by World Brand Organization at its Global Excellence in Branding and Marketing Award 2013 as well as ‘Corporate Communications Professional of the year in Asia’ awarded at 4th CMO Asia Awards 2013 for Branding and Excellence. Also was conferred ‘StarYouth Achiever Award 2011- 12’by Star News and Global Youth Marketing Forum.

Subir Moitra is a Marketing and Communications professional with an experience spanning two decades. He is currently with Pratt & Whitney, a leading US based aviation company as Director – Marketing & Communications for India, since April 2017. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut and it provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries.

Prior to joining Pratt & Whitney, he was the Vice President – Marketing & Communications for KPMG in India for almost five years. He also worked as Director – Corporate Communications for United Technologies in India – a US-based Fortune 50 conglomerate.

He started his career with Perfect Relations as an executive in the Media team in January 1995 and thereafter worked with leading PR consultancies in India such as Genesis BCW as Head of their special media intelligence department – The Media Resource and Business Wire.

A media and advertising industry professional, Sumeet’s experience spans across India’s leading advertising agencies – JWT, Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy, the publicly-listed FM entertainment channel Radio Mirchi and in India’s first integrated sports and entertainment complex, Trans-Stadia.Since 2012 Sumeet has been spearheading Corporate Brand and Group Communications at the RPG Group. He has played an active role in crafting the corporate brand strategy, the new tagline ‘Hello Happiness’ and communication architecture for the group companies.

He has also written for Hindi Business Line, First Post and The Times of India. A running enthusiast, paragliding newbie, he serves on the Board of The Minds Foundation, a Waltham-Massachusetts based non-profit working in the area of mental health in the state of Gujarat.

Sunita Venugopal is Director – Corporate Communications, at Walmart Labs. In her current role, she advises senior management on corporate brand and reputation. Reporting to the Managing Director she ensures alignment from India to the overall Walmart branding guidelines and goals. Additionally, Sunita extensively supports the employment brand strategy and community relations through contemporary communications practices.

Sunita strategizes and drives industry body relationships and has successfully worked with organizations like NASSCOM, Zinnov, AMCHAM, IMA, Anita Borg and WeTech among others. She is passionate to learn more on digitization and how it influences the role of corporate communications. She also guest lectures in Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications on vast range of topics.

With over 19 years of experience, Sunita specializes in public relations, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, risk mitigation, crisis communications, campaign development, speech writing, CEO communications and social media. She comes with an experience of working across industries with leading organizations like Target Corporation, IBM, WeP Peripherals, Good Relations and Enterprise Public Relations.

Sunita holds a post graduate diploma in Public Relations and an Executive General Management Certification Program from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. She is also a Master Neuro Linguistic Programing practitioner and a certified life and executive coach.

When not at work, she enjoys reading, watching films and travelling with her family.