Best of the Best Conference
Equity, and Inclusion Thought Leaders
Join the Best of the Best Conference
Together, let’s Glide to Inclusion
Gain insights into how the best companies have built inclusive cultures and empowered their employees. This is a unique opportunity to build relationships, share ideas, and collaborate with others who are just as passionate about creating inclusive workplaces.
The path to inclusion depends on where we are and where we want to go – the targeted outcome of our DEI efforts. The targeted outcome cannot be achieved by a standard, programmatic, one-size fits all approach.
Therefore, it is important to design a path that will seamlessly glide the organization to reach its goals factoring in the barriers, obstacles, challenges and opportunities that one will encounter in the journey to inclusion.
Set on the theme, #GlidetoInclusion, the 2023 Best of the Best conference will explore and experience how organizations are creating glide paths for a more inclusive future by delving into the multifaceted aspects of DEI.
The conference will enable attendees to transcend boundaries, challenge existing norms, overcome arbitrary limits or exclusions and envision an equitable future for all.
Discover cutting-edge best practices and transformative insights from the 100 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
Viswanath Ramaswamy
IBM
Jennifer Manchikanti
Praveen Kumar
Roopa Acharya
Akanksha Sane
Swati Khandelwal
Oindrila Majumdar
Arnab Goswami
Rajat Mathur
Swati Agrawal
Delnaz Desai
Punam Kadwani
Philippe Pelletier
Kirti Gupta
Subha V
Keshav Prasad
Kanakasubramaniam Krishnamurthi
Prachi Rastogi
Srinivasan Chandrasekhar
Bhaskar Prasad
Thirukkumaran (Thiru) Nagarajan,
Rakesh Ravuri
Aditya Mittal
Shobha Swarup
Harish Gudi
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 2023
TIME (IST)
DESCRIPTION
8.00 am – 9.30 am
Networking Breakfast/Registration
9.30 am – 9.45 am
Emcee Announcement, Entertainment & Lamp Lighting
9.45 am – 10.15 am
Welcome Address
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group
10.15 am – 10.30 am
Opening Keynote Address
Viswanath Ramaswamy, Vice President – Technology Sales, IBM India/South Asia with Subha Barry, President, Seramount
10.30 am – 10.45 am
Networking Break
10.45 am - 11.25 am
BOB EXCLUSIVES I – Case Study: Innovative Best Practices towards Inclusion
The Leaders from the 2023 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, People with Disabilities, LGBTQ+.
Breakout Session – 1a – (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3) LV
The diversity Howathon – Solving for sustainability
Rakesh Ravuri, CTO, SVP Engineering, Publicis Sapient
Uplift Social Equity
Jennifer Manchikanti, Associate Director – Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness, EY Global Delivery Services India
Moderator: Dr Nandini Murali, Vice President, Learning & Research, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 1b (Rajendra Hall 4) Roy
Diversity in campus hiring
Swati Agrawal, Director, Talent Acquisition, Lowe’s India
Journey of tripling gender diversity representation at senior roles over 3 years
Delnaz Desai, Senior Associate Director, Human Resources, Kellanova
Moderator: Lakshmi Jeyaraman, Divisional Manager, Training & Solutions, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 1c (Rajendra Hall 5) Gokul
WOW – Developing Next Gen Women Leaders
WTLP – Bolstering Women in Tech Leadership
Kanakasubramaniam R Krishnamurthi
Executive Director – Global Technology, Verizon
The Road Ahead: Nurturing Women’s career in logistics
Kirti Gupta, Customer Experience Head – Maersk, South Asia
Moderator: Amita Kasbekar, Principal Strategist, LGBTQ+ Practice, Avtar Group
11.30 am – 12.10 pm
Breakout Session – 2a (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3)
Inclusion & Diversity at Accenture in India
Nalini Babu, Managing Director, Advanced Technology Centers in India, Accenture
Building an Inclusive Culture to Champion Excellence
Subha V, Global Lead Third party management operations, Citi
Moderator: Dr Nandini Murali, Vice President, Learning & Research, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 2b (Rajendra Hall 4)
Connect, Inspire, Grow – Building Women Leaders of the Future
Swati Dalal, Managing Director and General Manager, Abbott
Enabling Mobility
Rajat Mathur, Managing Director and India Head of HR, Morgan Stanley
Moderator: Lakshmi Jeyaraman, Divisional Manager, Training & Solutions, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 2c (Rajendra Hall 5)
LGBTQ+ inclusion and the nuances of self -identification
Prachi Rastogi, D&I Leader, IBM – APAC & UKI
Allyship
Prashant Gupta, Sr. Director of Operations, DEI Lead, ZS India
Moderator: Amita Kasbekar, Principal Strategist, LGBTQ+ Practice, Avtar Group
11.30 am – 12.10 pm
BOB EXCLUSIVES II – Case Study: Innovative Best Practices towards Inclusion
The Leaders from the 2023 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+.
12.15 pm- 1.15 pm
Breakout Session – 4 (Rajendra Hall 1 – 3)
Unpacking DEI on the ESG canvas
We are living through more conscious times; times that require organizations to be environmentally, socially, and ethically conscious. As organizations glide towards inclusion, in this discussion, we will look at various aspects of unpacking the tenets of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on the larger ESG Canvas. The panel will deliberate on enhanced sense of social and governance responsibility that comes with intentional DEI pursuit.
- Nisha Menezes, Director, Climate & Energy consulting team, PWC
- Punam Kadwani, Director, Engineering and India Lead, Worley
- Arnab Goswami, India HR Director, Lear Corporation
- Keshav Prasad, Chief Strategist – ESG Consulting, Avtar Group
Moderator: Bhaskar Prasad, Principal Strategist, ESG Consulting, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 5 – Session sponsored by PTC Software (Rajendra Hall 4)
Microagression to Microvalidation: The Antidote
People from marginalized groups are often subject to subtle negative actions called microaggressions that can adversely affect both employee performance and well-being. Based on a wide body of research in positive psychology and management, a counterstrategy is proposed: Micro validations. These are equally subtle but powerful actions or dialogues that demonstrate affirmation, encouragement, and belief in a person’s potential. This esteemed panel will discuss how we can iron out microaggressions at the workplace that hinder DEI initiatives and create a level playing field where everyone has an opportunity to thrive.
- Akanksha Sane, Senior Director – India HR Delivery, PTC Software
- Shobha Swarup, Vice President HR – Emerging Markets & Indian Subcontinent, Diversey
- Srinivasan Chandrasekhar, Vice President, Head-Global Sales Support & Operations Integration, Tata Communications
Moderator: Sriram P, Chief Strategist, DEI Transformation, Avtar Group
Breakout Session – 6 (Rajendra Hall 5)
Data – an indispensable ‘D’ for DEI
As we usher in a new era of DEI consciousness, the transformative “D” –Data is revolutionizing the way organizations manage DEI and develop DEI strategies. From looking backwards at workforce trends, to forecasting for effective talent strategy to assessing impact of ongoing initiatives, the DEI dashboard helps organizations evaluate risks and plan for exigencies on the glide path to inclusion. This panel session, “ Data – an indispensable ‘D’ for DEI”, will bring together business leaders and Chief Diversity Officers, who are at the forefront of using data-driven insights to shape their DEI initiatives.
- Dr. Nimisha Pathare, Intellectual Capital Manager, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, Women Inclusion Network Chair, Dow India
- Roopa Acharya, Vice President, Merchandising, Target
- Dr Rashmi Hegde, Executive Vice President Medical and Country Medical Director at GSK India
- Subramanyeswar S., Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group & Chief Strategy Officer – APAC, MullenLowe Global
Moderator: Anju G Parvathy, Vice President, Research & Solutions, Avtar Group
1.15 pm – 2.15 pm
Lunch & networking
2.15 pm- 2.30 pm
Energizing Entertainment
2.30 pm – 3.30 pm
CHRO Panel Discussion
The Caring Organization
In a world of constant flux, it is imperative that organizations build their reputation and credibility for authentically espousing employee wellbeing and belongingness. Demystifying the word “Care” and interpreting it on a business landscape is key to this. Of course, in the context of large organizations, or at the societal level, it may not be possible to cater to every individual’s caring needs. But with the right intent in place, it is possible to support the aspirations of care-hood employees have including that of self-care, child-care or elder care. This panel of CHROs who drive people experience at their workplaces, will discuss these waves that glide through organizations as they build a climate of care for their employees.
- Aditya Mittal, Managing Director, Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi South Asia
- Philippe Pelletier, HR VP Transformation & Asia, India HR Head and Global Business Services Managing Director, RNTBCI
- Thirukkumaran (Thiru) Nagarajan, Vice President and Head, Human Resources, IBM India/South Asia
- Swati Khandelwal, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, R1 RCM
Moderator: Kannan Hariharan, Chief Strategist, Culture & Belongingness, Avtar Group
3.30pm – 4.30pm
CEO Panel Discussion –
The DEI Metaverse: Who are our superheroes?
Inclusion is an experience – one that is thoughtfully and carefully curated by organizations that engage with a diverse workforce. But just like any other aspect of employee experience, this requires a lot of role-modelling, consistent sources of inspiration and a great degree of accountability from people leaders across levels. As leaders navigate this glide-path of creating successful businesses that leverage the power of diversity, it is important that organizations exemplify cultural traits, that make them superheroes in the DEI “Metaverse”. This esteemed panel of CEOs will discuss and deliberate on “superdom” in the DEI world.
- Harish Gudi, Senior Vice President, Technology, Optum Global Solution (India) Pvt. Ltd.
- Oindrila Majumdar, Executive Vice President, and Chief Executive Officer, TIAA Global Capabilities Private Limited
- Praveen Kumar, CEO, Barclays Global Service Centre India
- Siva Padmanabhan, Managing Director of AstraZeneca India Private Limited
Moderator: Bhavani Balasubramanian, Chief Strategist, Diversity Evaluations, Avtar Group
4.30 pm – 5.30 pm
Networking break
5.30 pm- 5.45 pm
Awards Ceremony
Announcement & Entertainment – Kavya Muralidharan
5.45 pm- 5.55 pm
Special Address: Best Practices on Inclusion from around the Globe
Ms. Subha Barry, President, Seramount (part of EAB)
6.00 pm- 6.10 pm
Address by Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, Avtar Group
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh will throw light on the eight years of Avtar and Seramount Diversity Analytics Study – the treasure trove of data, the tremendous progress made by the Companies and what implications it could have on India Inc. in the coming decade.
6.15 pm- 6.30 pm
Male Ally Legacy Award and CSR Excellence Award for Social Inclusion of Women
The title winner and the choice of jury winners for the Male Ally Legacy Award will be awarded for their exemplary contributions to gender inclusion and creating a culture of male allyship.
The title winner and the choice of jury winners for CSR Excellence Award for Social Inclusion of Women will be recognised and awarded for their exemplary contributions towards the cause of Social Inclusion of Women.
6.30 pm – 6.45 pm
Best Companies for Women – Top 10
The eighth annual awards for the Avtar & Seramount Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India
6.45 pm – 7. 00 pm
Most Inclusive Companies Index – Champions
The Fifth annual awards for the Avtar & Seramount Most Inclusive Companies Index – Champions
7.00 pm- 7.10 pm
Chief Guest Address
Chief Guest Address – Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Honorable Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu
7.10 pm – 8.00 pm
Best Companies for Women Awards – 90 Best Companies for Women & Most Inclusive Companies Index – Exemplars of Inclusion
8.00 pm – 8.05 pm
Vote of Thanks
8.05 pm onwards
Cocktails & Dinner
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 Sponsors
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Session Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Supporting Sponsor
Delegate Kit
Stationery 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!
