WOMEN'S BUSINESS FORUM
Empowering Leaders: Conditioning, Conscious Choice and Calling it out TUESDAY OCT 5, 2021 | 6.00 PM
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Ms Vishakha R M To Join, Click...
MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd
FOUNTAINHEAD OF EXCELLENCE
SYNOPSIS The talk will focus on: Conditioning : Recognise the impact Conscious Choice: Born out of clarity of thought Calling it out: To make an impact!
6:00 PM
Welcome Address
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM Executive Director Madras Management Association
Opening Remarks by the Chairperson Address by the Speaker Discussion and Q&A with the Special Invitees
Ms Babita Baruah Managing Partner, GTB India. A WPP Unit
Ms Vishakha R M MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd
Ms Mythili Chandrasekar Consumer Behaviour and Brand Strategy Enthusiast
Dr Lata Rajagopalan Kumar Consultant - Communication for Development Member - IAICS
Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson 7:15 PM
Ms Babita Baruah
Vote of Thanks
Vishakha RM has helmed IndiaFirst Life as its MD & CEO since March 2015. Under her strong leadership, the company has recorded a significant growth rate and steadily risen in industry
Speaker
ranking. Leading from the front, Vishakha spearheaded the seamless transition of shareholding from former partner, Legal andGeneral to Warburg Pincus.
Vishakha has ranked among the Top 50 of Fortune India’s ‘Most Powerful Women’ in business three times in a row (2017, 2018 and 2019). Shehas also been bestowed with ‘Most Influential Woman’
by
theBusiness
World
magazine.
Recognising
her
achievements,
ICAI
bestowed
Vishakha with the prestigious award of CA Business Leader – Women (2017). Vishakha has been enlisted as a trailblazer amongst contemporaries across industries by prestigious publications such as Forbes India and Business Today.
A thought leader, Vishakha co-chairs the Pension and Insurance committee of CII. She is also an esteemed member of National Council on Insurance (ASSOCHAM), a committee member of FICCI, and a CharterMember of Exqualifi by AIWMI. She is an independent Director on the
VISHAKHA R M
board of NRB Bearings Private Limited. Shealso has been on the executive committee of Life Insurance Council.
Vishakha continues to guide and mentor the upcoming generation ofthinkers and leaders. Some of her prestigious mentorship associations include International Insurance Society (IIS) Mentor
program,
WWB
Leadership
and
Diversity
for
Innovation
Program,
RGA
Leaders
for
Tomorrow and WILL Forum.
A
Chartered
Accountant
equipped
with
a
Post
Graduate
Vishakha is also a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India.
Diploma
in
Computer
Systems,
In her 24th year in the industry and with WPP, Babita Baruah now leads GTB India as Managing Partner. She joined HTA ( Wunderman Thompson ) in Kolkata in 1996. Over the years, she took on roles in the agency’s Mumbai and Delhi offices, as well as working with the Wunderman Thompson Unilever team in Bangkok on Sunsilk and Lux. Her portfolio and experience extends across categories in FMCG, Finance, Technology. Besides being part of global agency teams on Nestle, Johnson and Johnson and Radiant & Knorr in Unilever. She led the team on Nokia India, before moving on to setting up a dedicated integrated solutions team for PepsiCo, India, in 2016. Babita is passionate about the intersection of consumer behaviour, culture and technology, leading to creative solutions that shift the needle for the brand and business. Collaboration with WPP and non WPP partners has been key to her business relationships. She believes in the power of influence of the communication industry towards a purposive future.
Babita Baruah
In 2004, Babita was one of the 12 Indian women to be selected for the prestigious British Chevening scholarship in the U.K, on Women and Leadership. In 2016, she was invited to Harvard Business School as a speaker on Trends in India Marketing, in the India Conference. In 2017, Babita was invited to speak on Women as Professionals, at the Women Influence Forum in Geneva. Babita
is
driven
by
her
efforts
on
diversity,
mentoring
young
professionals,
engagement
with
management institutes, initiatives for making the workplace culture conducive to inspired talent and strong partnerships. She has initiated programmes like SheHour, with her team, to connect and empower women at work in her workplace. She lives in Gurgaon with her husband, and her fifteen year old daughter, Joya.
Over 35 years in Consumer Behaviour and Brand Strategy. Recently retired as Senior VP and National
Special Invitees
Planning
Director,
J
Walter
Thompson,
India.
Currently
freelance
Strategy
and
Research Consultant. Work spans cities across India, and categories ranging from talcum powder, deodorants and shampoos, through pesticides, sanitary ware and education to foods, beverages, telecom and cars. Clients include Ford, ITC, Unilever, Hero Motocorp and PepsiCo among many others.
Career Highlights: Created thinking frameworks, models and brainstorming tools in a variety of verticals: food and
beverage,
personal
products,
education,
technology,
automotive;
new
product
development, premiumisation, portfolio planning and digital strategy. Created over 80 hours of training material. Initiated and steered Coffee and Donuts with JWT Planning. Published
Mythili Chandrasekar
over
75
articles
in
leading
Indian,
US
and
UK
media.
Repository
at
www.povfromindia.blogspot.com Created Brand Chakras ™ a first-of-its-kind proprietary toolkit. Won the Patricia Mann Award for Women Marketers, UK, 2008, winning a bursary to the Executive Marketing Programme, in Stanford. Co-authored "Voices Within"(with two leading South Indian musicians) a coffee table book on the maestroes of carnatic music. Took short breaks from advertising to write for UNICEF and in dotcom
Specialties: cultural
and
Brand
strategy,
ethnography
integrated
research,
marketing
new
product
communication, development
knowledge curation, content creation, writing, teaching.
insight
and
mining,
portfolio
socio-
planning,
EDUCATION -PhD - Communication, Dept of Mass Media & Comm. Studies, University of Madras, 2007 -Research Methods, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, 2004 -M.A. Communication, University of Madras – 1988
EXPERIENCE 2014 onwards: Founder – Director, Curious People (a C4D project) and free-lance advertising/ communication consultant 2001 onwards in Academia: Guest Faculty at CEG, Anna University, Dept of Science & Tech Communication, Madras University, WCC, Loyola, NIFT and MOP colleges. Subjects: branding, communication, advertising and creative strategy 1988-
2001
agencies
in
Advertising
industry:
Chennai,
Bangalore,
Worked Delhi,
in
the
creative
Coimbatore
&
departments Hyderabad
of
leading
across
advertising
leading
agencies
including Artig, Insight, Euro RSCG and Mudra Communications. Held leadership positions in the
Dr Lata Rajagopalan Kumar
creative depts. Handled national accounts like Henkel, Cavin Care, TI Cycles, Kurlon, ICI, Wipro, Pricol, Nalli Silks, ITC,
Mysore
Silks,
Crocodile
and
HMT.
Won
awards
at
the
regional
and
national
levels
for
advertising creativity and brand communication.
PAPERS PUBLISHED Written and published papers in Communication, CSR & Marketing/Advertising for Development within India at national and international conferences.
OTHER INTERESTS Sports- Former ranked tennis player, represented Madras University and TN State. Won All India Inter University tournament & Bronze at the National Games. Keen interest in classical arts and reading.
CONNECT WITH US
Email Address mma@mmachennai.org
Phone Number 044 - 28291133 / 28291166
Website www.mmachennai.org
MADRAS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
TEMPLE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND WI SDOM