Best of the Best Conference
Equity, and Inclusion Thought Leaders
Join the Best of the Best Conference
Prism of Diversity
In today’s interconnected world, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) have evolved to become fundamental pillars of organizational success. True leverage of DEI lies in the convergence of perspectives and ideologies, resulting in synergistic outcomes which in turn become critical success factors for organizations.
The theme for 2024 Best of the Best Conference (BOB) is “Prism of diversity”, symbolizing this convergence. As we view the world through the prism of diversity, the intersectional possibilities enabled by the richness and complexity of human experiences, presents itself. When embraced and celebrated, convergent DEI becomes a powerful tool for fostering innovation, nurturing creativity and enhancing employee experience.
At 2024 BOB, through #PrismofDiversity, we will embark on a journey to celebrate the varied, rich spectrum of human identities, experiences, and perspectives that together form the multi-hued tapestry of our society. We look forward to inspiring work cultures where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. This conference aims to be a catalyst for change, inspiring action towards a more inclusive and equitable future.
We invite leaders, practitioners and DEI allies to join us as we deliberate on how diversity congruence can unlock full-potential and drive meaningful change!
Discover cutting-edge best practices and transformative insights from the Best Companies for Women and the Most Inclusive Companies.
Network with some of the brightest minds in DEI, including leaders, experts, and pioneers from across the country.
Gain visibility among some of the top companies in India, and align your brand with a cause that's making a difference.
Highlights of the 2022 edition
of the Best of the Best Conference
42+
Companies
5000+
Participants
500+
Speakers
Leaders, Pioneers, and Change
Makers Meet Our Esteemed Speakers
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh
Avtar Group
Subha Barry
Seramount
Aakash Nandi
Publicis Sapient
Amber Pate
Amit Vaish
Amrita Dhupelia
Anu Sriram
Aparna Khatri
Aparna Pathak
Arijit Das
Arun Kulkarni
Capt Dileep Narayanan
Chandrakanth Nayak
Chella Pandian Pitchai
Deepali Bharadwaj
Dr Priti Amritkar
Erika Irish Brown
Citi
Garima Tyagi
Jayasheel Anand
Jyoti Singh
Hero MotoCorp
Muraleekrishnan Rajendran
Neil George
Pallavi Nanda
Pekhna Suri
Prachi Jain
Praveenkumar Chinni
Preethi Ramachandran
Preeti Jain
Sandip Patel
Sarada Srinivas
Sasidhar Ambatipudi
Shweta Verma
Urvashi Bhatnagar,
Usha Subramaniam
Vaishali Pathak
Urvashi Bhatnagar,
Prashant Gupta
Dr. Nimisha Pathare
Swati Dalal
Nalini Babu
Dr Rashmi Hegde
Siva Kumar Padmanabhan
Nisha Menzez
Subramanyeswar S
Siva Kumar Padmanabhan
Transformative Sessions on Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion
Agenda for BOB 2024
November 12th & 13th, 2024
TIME (IST)
DESCRIPTION
9.00 am – 10.00 am
Registration & Networking
10.00 am – 10.30 am
Conference Program Begins (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3)
10.30 am – 10.45 am
Inaugural Address (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3) Prism of Diversity
Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group
10.45 am – 11.00 am
Networking Break
11.00 am – 11.50 pm
BOB EXCLUSIVES – Case Study: Innovative Best Practices Towards Inclusion
The Leaders from the 2024 Best Companies for Women and Most Inclusive Companies, will share impactful stories from their transformational journey of DEI in their organizations in the Innovative Best Practices Session covering Gender, Generation, PwD, LGBTQ+
Breakout Session – 1a (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3)
Inclusive Ally
Preeti Jain, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Partner- IBM APAC .
ERGs
Sasidhar Ambatipudi, Senior Manager Global HRBP & India DEIB Leader, Pegasystems.
Breakout Session – 1b (Rajendra Hall 4)
Women in Sales
Arijit Das, People Leads, Sales – North & East, Mondelez India Foods Pvt Ltd
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Amrita Dhupelia, Business Director & Commercial Operations Lead, (Trauma), J&J.
Breakout Session – 1c (Rajendra Hall 5)
Women in Shopfloor
Jyoti Singh, Head- DE&I and HR (R&D) , Hero MotoCorp
Women in Leadership Programs.
Vaishali Phatak, Global Head (VP) – L&D, Global Head D&I, Tech Mahindra
12.00 pm – 12.45 pm
Breakout Session – 2a (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3)
PwD Best Practices
Capt Dileep Narayanan, Director HR, EPAM Systems.
Mom on Board
Pallavi Nanda, Head, DEI, Flipkart
Breakout Session – 2b (Rajendra Hall 4)
Pay Forward
Aparna Pathak, Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader, Genpact.
Accelerating difference/Mentorship coaching & Sponsorship)
Urvashi Bhatnagar, Associate Director, HR Business Partner, GSK Global Capabilities Centre.
Breakout Session – 2c (Rajendra Hall 5)
Accelerating Equality for all: Best practices in Gender Inclusion
Preethi Ramachandran
Managing Director, Accenture Advanced Technology Center, India
Building early career leadership skills
Praveenkumar Chinni , Principal Technical Professional, KBR India
12.45 pm – 2.00 pm
Lunch & Networking – Rajendra Hall 6
2.00 pm – 2.50 pm
Breakout Session – 3a
The Hues of Language: Harmonizing Workplace Communication.
- Prachi Jain, Head, HR Macquarie
- Pekhna Suri, Vice President HR, Virtusa Consulting Services Pvt Ltd
- Neil George, General Manager, Abbott.
- Dr Nandini Murali, Vice President, Learning & Research, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 3b
The Prism of Neurodiversity: Building a Neuro Inclusive Workplace.
- Muraleekrishnan Rajendran, Associate Director, Client Technology, EY.
- Garima Tyagi, Vice President, Head HRBP & DEI, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre
- Shveta Verma, Inclusion & Diversity Lead, India – APAC, PwC.
- Kannan Hariharan, Chief Strategist, Culture & Belongingness, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 3c
The Spectrum of Identity: Navigating Intersectionality in Today’s Workplaces.
- Sarada Srinivas, MD, Global Head – HR Operations & Payroll, Barclays
- Jaysheel Anand, Global Inclusion and Belonging Lead, HP Recruitment, Diversity and Culture Organization, HP
- Aakash Nandi, Program Manager, Publicis Sapient
- Chella Pandian Pitchai, Global Head of DEI, Culture, Values & Belongingness, Leadership Development & Sustainability, Biocon Biologics
- Usha Pillai, VP, Recruitment Delivery, Avtar Group
3.00 pm – 3.15 pm
Keynote Address
- Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India & South Asia.
- Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group
3.15 pm – 4.15 pm
CEO Panel Discussion (Rajendra Hall 1 -3) Wizdom in Failure: Through the Leader’s Prism.
- Chandrakanth Nayak, Country President & CEO, Dow Chemical International Pvt Ltd
- Aparna Khatri, TCI Site Director & India Programs Director, Aptiv
- Anu Sriram, Co-Founder & Joint Managing Director, Integra Software Services.
- Erika Irish Brown, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, & Global Head of Talent, Citi
4.15 pm – 5.15 pm
Networking Break
5.15 pm – 5.30 pm
Awards Ceremony Begins (Rajendra Hall 1 -3)
5.30 pm – 5.45 pm
Benchmarking India’s DEI Efforts Against Global Standards.
Subha Barry, President, Seramount (part of EAB)
5.45 pm – 6.15 pm
Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women Awards – Top
The 2024 Avtar & Seramount Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India
6.15 pm – 6.30 pm
Chief Guest Address
Halima Holland, British Deputy High Commissioner for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
6.30 pm – 7.45 pm
2024 Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women Awards
7.45 pm – 8.00 pm
Reflections & Revelations: Wrapping up and Embracing Tomorrow
Umasanker Kandaswamy, Co-founder, Senior Vice-president, Sales & Relationship, Avtar Group
8.00 pm onwards
Cocktails & Dinner
*Agenda subject to change
TIME (IST)
DESCRIPTION
9.00 am – 9.30 am
Registration & Networking
9.30 am – 9.45 am
Opening Address by Ms. Subha Barry, President, Seramount
9.45 am – 10.30 am
Panel Discussion
From Aspiration to Action
- Amber Pate, Chief Human Resources Officer, Kinaxis
- Dr Priti Amritkar, Director (Labs), Envirocare Labs Pvt Ltd.
- Usha Subramaniam, Country President, Grundfos India.
- Sriram P, Chief Strategist, DEI Transformation, Avtar Group
10.30 am – 11.00 am
2024 Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women – Emerging Icons Awards
11.00 am – 11.15 am
Networking Break
11.15 am – 12.15 pm
Open Space Technology Workshop
Navigating Stakeholder Expectations in 2025: Fostering an Inclusive Ecosystem
Anju G Parvathy, Vice President, Research & Solutions, Avtar Group
12.15 pm – 12.30 pm
2024 Male Ally Legacy Award and Social Excellence Award.
12.30 pm – 1.30 pm
CHRO Panel Discussion
Generational Synergy: Diverse Values for a Convergent Culture
- Arun Kulkarni, Vice President – HR, Target in India
- Amit Vaish, Vice President & Head, HR, Optum India
- Deepali Bharadwaj, Regional Director, Human Resources, South-West Asia , IHG Hotels & Resorts.
- Karthik Ekambaram, Co-Founder, Head of Solutions, Avtar Group
1.30pm – 2.30pm
Lunch & Networking
2.30pm – 3.00pm
Entertainment
3.00pm – 3.15pm
Unfiltered Conversations
- Dr Saundarya Rajesh, President, Avtar Group.
- Subha V Barry, President, Seramount
3.15pm – 3.45pm
Most Inclusive Companies Index Awards – Champions
2024 Avtar & Seramount Most Inclusive Companies Index – Champions
3.45pm – 4.30pm
Most Inclusive Companies Index Awards – Exemplars
2024 Avtar & Seramount Most Inclusive Companies Index – Exemplars.
4.30 pm – 4.45pm
Votes of Thanks
Eswar Balasubramanian, Vice-President, Outreach & Impact, Avtar Group
*Agenda subject to change
Our Valued Sponsors and Partners
Thank you to our partners who have supported us in our mission to promote
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace.
Vision Sponsor
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Supporting Sponsors
Social Excellence Award Sponsor
Stationery Sponsor
Photobooth Sponsor
Accessibility Sponsor
Charging Station Sponsor
Breakfast Round Table Sponsor
Gift Sponsor
Photobooth Sponsor
Accessibility Sponsor
Research Partner
Technology Partner
Anantha Radhakrishnan
CEO and MD,
Infosys BPM
Winner
Winner
Anantha Radhakrishnan (Radha)
CEO and MD - Infosys BPM
Radha has been a quiet strength and patient ally of DEI at Infosys BPM. Apart from strengthening quantifiable metrics on gender diversity, he also has added impetus to softer aspects such as bringing in transparency across selection criteria, giving a fair chance for diversity in leadership-hiring and personally mentoring women within the leadership council of Infosys BPM. Today, the leadership council of Infosys BPM has a third of women leaders from across global DCs who actively lead and execute key strategic initiatives globally. While this change is structural, the transparency of selection criteria based firmly on performance and meritocracy, has ensured there is no corridor talk on ‘tokenism’ or any flippant references to ‘diversity candidates’. There have been several instances over the years where Radha has, during discussions on awards, recognitions, and executive/ leadership program nominations, subtly brought up the glaring lack of diversity, which may have been inadvertently overlooked. This consistent nudge has, over the last few years, ensured that the equity in ensuring diverse representation is an activity that is done before it reaches Radha’s office. He maintains that ‘awareness is key’ and ‘no one deliberately tries to exclude, but we need to make a conscious and deliberate attempt to include’. Under his guidance and leadership, there are also specific DEI assessment programs (both for new joiners and existing employees) that have been rolled out where employees can test their DEI quotient. Programs on unconscious bias in hiring and performance evaluation were launched across job levels over the last couple of years. Through systematic awareness-creation that Radha spearheads, several unconscious gender biases have been weeded out and appreciation for inclusive thinking has become part of the DNA of Infosys BPM. Following in his footsteps, several of the male leaders are now staunch allies, doing ‘equity’ checks before nominating a candidate for an award or recognition, actively mentoring women leaders, counselling on career progression and sponsoring leadership development programs.
Glimpses from past sessions
Register for the
Once again thank you very much for all the support, and we look forward to a long term relationship with both of you.
I truly appreciate your efforts and look forward to continuous support and a long-lasting association with Avtar.
The quick turn around from your team helped us in closing positions with women candidates who wished to return to work after a significant break.
We at MiQ are committed to Inclusion and Diversity and your partnership has definitely helped us achieve that.
Keep working hard and best of luck to your future assignment team!
