10 Most Influential Women Leaders in Indian Education
We bring the untold stories of women leaders in Indian education to inspire those great teachers who are considering a move to a leadership position in the education sector.
Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High International School
Totally approachable and down to earth, with forever a cheerful smile; that is Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High School. Her leadership qualities were there for all to see, which found their true manifestation in her emergence as an entrepreneur par excellence.
Dr Vineeta K Saluja, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Mangalayatan University
Dr Saluja comes with the experience of leading an autonomous college, having a strength of 6000 girls for the last 25 years. Through this journey, she has accomplished many milestones and overcome unforeseen obstacles at various stages.
Dr Richa Arora, Head of Institution and COO, University of Stirling, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Dr Richa Arora is currently the COO and Head of the Institution at the University of Stirling, UAE campus. Dr Richa brings with her a rare combination of extensive business, leadership skills, academic and insight across various business segments and across continents.
CA Archana Jain, Chief Finance and Accounts Officer (CFAO), Jagran Lakecity University (JLU)
At JLU, Archana has always been looked upon as a leader and not just a boss. Breathing extreme passion and love for her job, she takes up each challenge or problem and resolves it with full honesty, sincerity and most importantly, by adding fun and laughter to it.
Avalanne Dsouza, School Psychologist, The Aditya Birla Integrated School (TABIS)
Avalanne Dsouza is a Psychologist and Arts-Based Therapist practicing in Mumbai. She has been working at The Aditya Birla Integrated School as a school counsellor for the last three years, giving a unique perspective on healing the emotional and behavioural needs of others.
Dr. Hemlata K. Bagla, Sr. Dean, Science and Technology, HSNC University, Principal K.C.College, Hon Director, K.C.College of Management Studies, Head, Department of Nuclear Chemistry
As a leader, Dr Hemlata ensures that she leads from the front where the challenges and the initiatives and proactive approaches she takes have to be hers too. She lets different people take the lead for different talks.
Dr Kulneet Suri, Senior Director, Institute of Management Studies (IMS) Noida
Dr Kulneet Suri, an MBA and an M.Phil in the English Language, with Doctorate in Management from LTSNU (Ukraine) is currently Senior Director-International & Business Development at Institute of Management Study (IMS) Noida.
Dr Ila Gupta, Director, Amity School of Architecture and Planning, Amity University Gurugram
At Amity University Gurugram, Dr Ila Gupta strives to achieve all-round growth with hard work, objectivity, and honesty. Her fascinating journey with architecture began at VRCE Nagpur, where the rigorous education and excellent faculty set her on the path that would define her future.
Shaheen Khan, CEO and Founder, CEDP Skill Institute
Shaheen Khan is an Indian woman entrepreneur and educationalist who has made an outstanding contribution to woman empowerment and education. She is the Founder and CEO of the Council of Education and Development Programmes (CEDP).
Dr Jyotsna Yagnik, Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Director School of Law and Justice, Adamas University
Dr Jyotsna outclasses as an ardent leader, who ceaselessly motivates her students and all women working around her. She emphasizes on organizing numerous extra-curricular activities that develop her students’ overall personality and facilitate them in brightening their career.
Ankur Goel, Managing Director, Poly India & SAARC
With 21+ years of experience in general management, sales and channel development in the UC industry, Ankur Goel has a proven track record in transforming business and leading teams to new levels of growth and profitability.
Minal Anand, CEO & Founder, GuruQ
Bridging this education gap is Minal Anand having founded GuruQ with the core objective of bringing convenience and ease in the process of tutor selection for students and their parents, and in turn, simplify the work-life for thousands of tutors across the capital in the initial stages.
Tarun Anand, Founder and Chairman, Universal Business School
Tarun Anand is a visionary leader in India’s management education diaspora. He runs the top-ranked Universal Business School, which he set up in 2009 as India’s first ‘Green Business School.’
Dr Punith Cariappa, Dean - School of Commerce Management, Dayananda Sagar University
Heading the School of Commerce and Management at Dayananda Sagar University, which has around 700 students and over 20 faculty members, Dr Punith works passionately for the School, the students, their career and future. And she makes decisions that are in the interest of the organization.
Navam Gupta, Co-Founder, WedHaven
Navam Gupta has an enriching experience of more than 7 years in the industry. Besides working in the industry as an engineering manager, he has also co-founded WedHaven, a wedding management app.
Dr. Saroj Bohra, Professor & Director, Amity Law School, Amity University Rajasthan
A strong education professional, convent educated with a distinguished academic career, Dr. Saroj received two gold medals in law during her graduation and secured the second merit in post-graduation in law.
Kartik Sharma, Co-founder, DcodeAI
Kartik Sharma has many feathers in his cap. A technology evangelist having experience in building disruptive technology products and high-performing product teams, he is an AI practitioner with expertise in leveraging Machine Learning to develop conversational bots and other RPA-related solutions.
Dr Shahwar Kazmi, Masters in Public Health from The University of Sheffield, and Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from RCP London
Dr Kazmi holds a Masters degree in Public Health from The University of Sheffield and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from RCP London. He is adept in key public health attributes and research methods.
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Advisory Board
Shanthi Rajan (MSHRM, FHEA, AMCILT)
Shanthi Rajan is a senior HR professional with 17 years of HR corporate experience and has worked predominantly in MNCs handling senior HR roles. She moved to academia in 2009 and has taught in many reputed international universities namely University of Wollongong, London School of Economics, Middlesex and University of Bolton’s campuses in Ras Al Khaimah, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. She currently works as the Director, Institution Development for the University of Stirling, RAK Campus, UAE. She holds a Master degree with specialization in Strategic Human Resources Management from the University of Wollongong, and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Emotional Intelligence from University of Bolton, UK. Her core areas of specialization and research interest includes Strategic HRM, OB, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence. She is an affiliate member of CILT (UK) and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (UK). She is a certified S+EI coach from the Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence (ISEI), Denver, Colorado and also certified in using Positive Psychology for coaching S+EI. She has completed her Postgraduate certification (PGCert) in teaching and learning from University of Bolton (UK) and also completed her Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning, Harvard.
Dr. Venus M. Alboruto, PhD
Dr. Venus is an innovative science teacher from Surigao City National High School. She finished Bachelor in Secondary Education, major in General Science, at St. Paul University Surigao as Magna cum Laude. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Science Teaching and Doctorate Degree in Educational Management from the same university. She has been teaching for 17 years and her innovative approach to teaching has been recognized by several regional, national, and international education authorities. She has won a number of awards for her work, including DOST-SEI Most Innovative Practice in Managing Large Classes, Finalist, Ki Hajar Dewantara Award for Best Science Teacher in Southeast Asia, 2016, one of the top 50 Finalists in Varkey Foundation’s Global teacher Prize 2019, and honoree of Bato Balani’s The Many Faces of the Teacher 2019. Her work is influencing teaching across the region. She has been invited to share her materials and expertise to train other teachers in their use both in the Philippines and further afield. Alboruto also presents at conferences and provides training to equip others in her field to achieve similar success.
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.
Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA
Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra is dynamic result oriented professional with vast experience of Military Service having served in Operational Areas and important Army and Tri-Services Training Establishments. He has served as Managing Director of Army Welfare Education Society that is associated with the Army School, Professional colleges, Training of teachers and Faculty development. He has also served as the Head of the Army Educational Corps - responsible for Training & Management of Human Resource Development of Indian Army and personnel of friendly foreign countries. Dr. Sunil Chandra is an expert in Project Management, System monitoring, Academic Administration and Operations including HR, Training & communication, data management, documentation and Facility Management. He holds a PhD in International Relations (Conflict Management) from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU); PG DBA from Symbiosis Pune; MA (History), M. Ed, M.Phil . Additional core competencies in Team Building, Skill Development, Innovation, Curriculum Development, Academic audit, Military Music and Foreign Languages. Dr. Sunil was responsible for Educational Training of sizable troops of Indian Army from School to Post Graduate level. He is person with holistic experience in the areas of Educational Administration and Management, Faculty Training, Development and Distance Learning. He was the Technical Advisor to Institute For Defence Orientation. Believing in networking and philanthropy, he is humane & reachable.
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.
Assistant Professor Dr.Suramya Mathai, Ph.D,M.Ed,MA,BA.
Assistant Professor Dr. Suramya Mathai, Ph.D, M.Ed, MA, BA, has got more than a decade of teaching and research experience in the domain of Teachers Training and Social Science. Currently, she is a full-time faculty member of the Titus II Teachers College, Tiruvalla, Kerala. Dr. Suramya has earlier worked as Lecturer in Social Science. She did her Ph. D. in Education from Mahatma Gandhi University. Dr. Suramya got over 21 publications in International & National journals in her credits. She has contributed chapters in many academic books. She is a regular presenter in academic conference related teachers training in India. Dr. Suramya is a member many prestigious Academic Associations in India including CTE, AKTCTA, CCEAM, KFUNAI, SIRA.