The Rizing Equality Summit – in partnership with the British High Commission – brought together women leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, professionals and investors from various sectors to inspire, collaborate and empower each other.
This was held on 23rd February 2024 at the Radisson Mumbai Andheri MIDC in Mumbai.
And the speakers and panellists of The Rizing Equality Summit wield innovation, resilience, courage and wisdom. They’ve broken barriers, carved new pathway and set out to successfully create an impact.
The Speakers:
Dr Alka Walavalkar, Founder at Resonance L Nutrition
Alka is a clinical dietitian & nutrition scientist with over two decades of experience. A certified diabetes educator, she believes & works for disease reversal through lifestyle interventions. She specializes further in Integrative Health and Medicine from the University of Minnesota and is a Life Member of the Indian Dietetic Association.
Anooja Bashir – CEO & Co-Founder at FlexiCloud
With over 20 years of corporate experience in sales and marketing, Anooja is the co-founder and CEO of FlexiCloud, a managed cloud solutions provider that aims to be the top global player in the cloud industry. She is, also, the founder of Ourea, a branding and design agency that enhances brand visibility and customer engagement for various clients. She is a serial entrepreneur, a startup mentor, a DEI evangelist and an investor, with multiple awards and recognitions for her achievements.
Ashwani Singh – Managing Partner at 35North Ventures
Ashwani has more than two decades of investment and advisory experience in various global markets. He, also, has Senior management and Board level experience with financial services, like Private Banking, Investment Management, Private Equity, Operational Risk Management and more.
Avani Agasti – Founder at ASK Foundation24
Avani is a philanthropist, educationalist and businesswoman who has worked in the rural and urban transformation in the fields of education, health, sports and societal upliftment of women and children. She has, also, graduated in Philosophy.
Bijal Ajinkya – Partner at Khaitan & Co
Bijal is a partner in the Direct Tax, Private Client and Investment Funds practice groups in the Mumbai office with over 23 years of experience. On the tax side, Bijal primarily focuses on international tax, structuring of inbound and outbound investments, tax structuring of flip, SPAC transactions, complex M&A tax negotiations, tax insurance, WNI insurance, providing opinions on complex tax issues on international tax, GAAR, POEM, PE & MFN and more.
Bhavini Parikh, Founder & CEO at Bunko Junko
Bhavini is a social entrepreneur, serving as the driving force behind Bunko Junko & Dezinelife, a foundation dedicated to social welfare. As a textile Artist and fashion designer, she integrates garment ornamentation and embroidery to address community challenges, empowering thousands of women through employment opportunities.
Deena Mehta – Managing Director at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd.
Deena is a businesswoman, broker, investor, financial adviser, chartered accountant and social activist. She was one of the first female members of the Bombay Stock Exchange Mumbai and became its first woman President.
Garima Bharadwaj – Co-Founder at Enlite
Garima is said to be driving technological innovation at the forefront of the real estate industry and spearheading the development of disruptive solutions that have the potential to revolutionize the real estate industry and build a safer and more sustainable future.
Harneet Hariharan – Chairperson & Managing Director at Pace Setters Business Solutions
Harneet also, operates NGOs, like Samatol Seva Foundation and Children Reunited Foundation. She has embarked on a spiritual journey, as well, delving into various spiritual paths, while also being part of many philanthropic initiatives.
Jignesh Dawda of Bandhan Mutual Fund
Jignesh is a brand custodian with over 2 decades of experience in building and
leading high-performance marketing and digital teams that aligns with
business objectives and brand identity.
Lathika Pai – Country Head, Venture Capital & Private Equity Partnerships at Microsoft
Lathika has been a proven leader in the global startup, corporate, angel investing and non-profit arenas with expertise in the MENA, APAC and India/SAARC regions.
Ketul Acharya – President at GAME (Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship)
Ketul has about 25 years of professional learning journey with a demonstrated track record of working in corporate, startup and not-for-profit environments. He has held leadership roles and has been involved in the end-to-end learning cycle of building, growing & scaling organizations, driving P&L, operational excellence, building strategic partnerships, policy advocacy and leading cross-functional & multi-skilled large teams.
Manisha Girotra – Chief Executive Officer at Moelis India
Manisha is an Indian business executive and is the country head of India for Moelis & Company. Mindtree had appointed Manisha Girotra to its board of directors. She has, also, been the CEO of UBS India and Head of North India of Barclays Bank.
Pradyumna Bora – Senior Programme & Relationship Manager at The British High Commission In India
Pradyumna is the Senior Programme and Relations Manager for the UK Government’s flagship scholarship Chevening at the British High Commission. Prior to this, he was the Senior Political and Programme manager at the British High Commission.
Rahul Gupta – Founder & Managing Partner At ValuAble
Rahul has more than 17 years of rich banking experience across customer segments, both in India & the UK. His company, ValuAble, aims to create value, delivering via values and a belief in abilities. He was accredited as 40 Under 40 by Business World in 2021 under the “Disrupt” Category.
Rathna Mala L V – Senior Vice President & Zonal Head, Corporate and Institutional Banking at Federal Bank
Rathna Mala is a seasoned banking professional with over 23 years of experience in banking across various geographies specializing in Corporate Banking, Relationship Management, Credit Risk and Trade & Transaction Banking. She brings a wealth of expertise in developing and executing strategies to drive business growth and enhance customer relationships & has a strong background in Relationship Management and Credit Risk Assessment.
Dr Sangeeta Roychaudhuri – Founder & CEO at Edudha
Sangeeta has more than 20+ years of management experience across large corporate houses & multinational companies. She is on the board of advisors and mentors across various companies.
Satabdi Jena – Founder & Creative Director at The Strange Co
Satabdi’s journey into the world of art began with classical dancing, where she learned to appreciate the beauty and expressiveness of movement. However, it was her love for the nature of clay – its rawness and ability to bring out emotions – that ultimately inspired her to create products, marking the beginning of The Strange Co. She has, also, done projects for Shell India, The Birla Group, Amazon Prime India, Abbott Pharmaceutical and Goa Brewing Co, to name a few, while, also, curating events for Bumble, Google India and WeWork.
Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva – Founder & CEO at India Alternatives
Shivani has over 15 years of private equity experience in the USA and in India at top-notch private equity funds, including IDFC Private Equity, Lightyear Capital and GE Equity where she has been responsible for deal sourcing, execution and monitoring companies across various sectors. Shivani has helped shape strategy at various companies through board-level involvement and been instrumental in generating superior returns for her investors.
Smita Jha – Partner at Khaitan & Co
Smita has extensive experience in dealing with key stakeholders in financial services and FinTech together with conventional banking and finance areas such as domestic and cross border debt raising, structured finance, project finance, acquisition finance, debt restructuring, distressed assets, recovery and enforcement, bankruptcy and liquidation advisory and securitization.
Sonam Srivastava – Founder & CEO at Wright Research
Sonam is an IIT graduate and has used her expertise in quant finance to establish the firm, which leverages scientific and data-driven methods to manage over 250 crore INR in assets and serve more than 40,000 clients.
Supriya Chawla – Head at Chevening Scholarships India, British High Commission
Supriya is the Country Head for the UK Government’s flagship scholarship, Chevening at the British High Commission. She has over 25 years of leadership experience driving and strengthening the socio-economic scope of higher education and culture. She has been involved in numerous projects for women in politics, STEM & entrepreneurship with a primary focus on marginalised sections and first generation learners. She is passionate about education, equality and inclusion.
The Agenda: https://rizingtv.com/bringing-together-women-entrepreneurs-of-india-the-rizing-equality-summit/
And Rizing embodies this quote by Ayn Rand: “The question isn’t who’s going to let me, it’s who’s going to stop me.”
