The India Employer Branding & Communications Summit

Sharmila is an innovative, client-centric global marketing leader with a proven track record of delivering high-impact marketing strategies that enable growth, strengthen brands, and elevate the experience. Prior to joining CRISIL, she was at Fractal Analytics for a decade, where she was instrumental in developing brand story and experience, influencer program, and demand generation tactics that delivered results. She is a seasoned marketing leader in the B2B segment and has worked extensively in the marketing of advisory and technology services and products. 

Apurva Purohit is the Co-Founder of Aazol, a social impact venture connecting farmer communities and rural women self-help groups with urban consumers seeking healthier, traditional food products.

She is an independent director at Marico Ltd, LTI Mindtree Ltd, L&T Technology services Ltd and Navin Fluorine International Ltd. and has been a leading voice in advocating gender diversity. She is the author of the two national bestselling books Lady, You’re not a Man and Lady, You’re the Boss!  

Apurva has been named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business as per the India Today Group and Fortune India. She was amongst LinkedIn’s Top Voices and YourStory’s Top 10 digital Influencers and has won the Distinguished Alumni award from her alma mater IIM Bangalore. 

A Corporate Reputation leader with over 25-years of experience, Sudeep’s expertise is hallmarked by successfully leading public advocacy amidst disruptive competitive, technology and policy scenarios for marquee organizations – Tata Motors, Vodafone, Citi Group and DBS Bank. In his current role as Head – Corporate Communications with Tata Motors, Sudeep acts as the ambassador and official spokesperson, is responsible for leading internal & external communication, advises the company leadership and is the custodian of the corporate brand.

Baisakhi Chakraborty is a distinguished leader in the field of Employer Branding, Corporate Communication and Employee Experience currently spearheading these initiatives at TATA Realty. In this role, Baisakhi oversees and makes strategic decisions ensuring the company’s branding, communication and employee experience efforts are aligned with its vision and goals.

Baisakhi has worked with marquee brands across various industries, including Ecommerce, FMCG, Metals & Mining, and BFSI, and her contributions include shaping key Corporate Communication strategies at HDFC.

Amit is a seasoned communications leader currently heading Social Media & Internal Communications at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where he drives social media strategy, content, employee advocacy, and workplace communications. In the last 20 years, Amit has held key roles at L&T Infotech, Audi India, and DENTSU PR, managing high-profile clients like Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Singapore Airlines. Amit is also skilled in digital reputation management, influencer marketing, and paid media strategy. A passionate educator, he has taught at Xavier’s Institute of Communications and holds a diploma in Comparative Mythology.

Surbhi leads the Talent function at one of the world’s largest marketing and communications groups, with over 25 years of experience in Business and HR. She started in business management, working with top brands like Unilever and Procter & Gamble, Mondelez and Heinz before transitioning to HR within Publicis Groupe. She later moved into the HR/Talent function within Publicis Groupe, eventually becoming the first Chief Talent Officer for the Groupe in South Asia. She oversees the Talent function for all 6000+ people in Publicis Groupe’s operating companies.

Pranav is a business communications leader with over 28 years of diverse experience spanning manufacturing, R&D, marketing, and strategic communications. Holding a postgraduate degree in Petrochemical Engineering, he began his career in technical fields, but his passion for storytelling and humanizing complex technologies led him into the dynamic world of communications. He is currently leading communications for Zone India at Siemens Healthineers. Before this role, he led communications for the infrastructure sector at Siemens Limited and worked with Polymer and Chemical businesses at Reliance Industries Limited.  

Anuradda Banerjii is currently excelling in her role as the Global Head of Corporate Communications at Fulcrum Digital, a leading innovator in digital engineering and AI while navigating three time zones. Her strategic initiatives in Public Relations and Reputation management have been pivotal in establishing a robust brand identity for Fulcrum, significantly driving the organization’s growth and expanding its influence. Throughout the past decade, Anuradda has been instrumental in building effective Corporate Communication teams that span a broad spectrum of functions, including Social Media Management, Employer Branding, Change Management, and Crisis Communication.  

Gauri is a strategic HR leader with 17+ years of experience in crafting and aligning HR strategy with business goals. A passionate speaker, Gauri is also a two-time TEDx speaker, with talks focusing on fostering a possibilitarian mindset and embracing flux transcendence in HR. 

Co-author of The Power of Connections!, Gauri is the National President of the WICCI Future of Work Council and the founder of Leaders Lifting Leaders, a Lean In Circle dedicated to empowering women in leadership. 

Her achievements include being recognized among the top five women HR leaders globally, top 200 global leadership voices, HR 100 under 40, and Economic Times Young HR Leader. She has also been named LinkedIn Person of the Year and she holds the distinction of being a LinkedIn Top Voice.  

A Strategic business leader (23+ years), with a mission to help organisations build a great workplace experience, and culture that would be a competitive advantage towards attracting, engaging, retaining the best talent and win in the marketplace. Anish has led strategic programs that optimize individual and team strengths, promote engaged cultures, and grow the right capabilities from line level to the C-suite.  He has proven track record of delivering results in fast-paced, high-growth, and complex environments across various sectors, such as IT, ITES, GCC, Retail, Energy, AI and Consulting.

Chandramouli has 20+ years of experience in research-based consulting engagements in the B2B and B2B2C market spaces. He has positively impacted over 400 organizations through his work, by helping them build effective stakeholder engagements, identifying their votaries, and building a growth strategy aligned to customer expectations and business priorities. Chandramouli has been a regular speaker in various industry forums and associations such as SPIN, NASSCOM, IMTMA, etc. He believes in mentoring the next generation of MBA graduates and conducts guest lectures on B2B market research at IIM Bangalore, XIME, IFIM, Symbiosis.

An engineer from RVCE Bangalore and an MBA graduate in HRM from IIM Ranchi, Onam brings over 14 years of experience at Tata Steel with rich experience in Information Technology, HR and Corporate Communications. As a part of the HR strategy & analytics team, Onam was instrumental in driving innovation through projects such as the PeopleCare helpdesk, ZarooriHaiKya, and Moments that Matter, designed to enhance user experience and employee engagement. Currently leading Internal Communications, Onam uses her customer-centric approach to deliver impactful campaigns with maximum reach.

Auyon Acharya leads Global Employee Communications at Persistent Systems, where he drives strategic initiatives to enhance internal engagement and organizational communication. In his role, Auyon shapes communication frameworks that inspire collaboration, innovation, and a strong sense of community across the global workforce. With a strong background in content creation, digital strategy, and event management, Auyon has played a pivotal role in managing high-profile internal campaigns, orchestrating global communication initiatives, and leading creative storytelling that resonates with diverse audiences. 

Abhilasha Shukla is the Communication Leader for Cummins India, overseeing communications for all Cummins entities in the country, enhancing internal and external brand reputation, investor relations, marketing communications, social media, and public relations. Abhilasha brings 16+ years of deep expertise and experience in Industry and Management Consulting, with a specialization in Corporate Communications, Marketing, Brand Communications, and Change Management.  

Before joining Cummins, Abhilasha played pivotal roles at Tata Chemicals Limited and Accenture Strategy & Consulting, leading, designing, and implementing comprehensive 360-degree communication campaigns. 

Pravin Patil is a Corporate Communication and Brand Marketing Professional based out of Mumbai. With over 19 years of experience in the BPM, ITES, IT and Banking domain, he has successfully handled mid-management / leadership roles across various organisations such as Capgemini, NCO India and WNS.

In his various roles, Pravin has been instrumental in building and executing strategy for the Marketing and Corporate Communications domain. As Head – Internal Communications, he has played a pivotal role in setting up the internal communication ecosystem at Axis Bank. Pravin is a Statistics graduate and also holds E-PGDBM from Symbiosis International University. 

Ishmeet is a seasoned marketing and HR professional with 10+ years of experience in fields including employer branding, brand marketing, digital marketing, and online reputation management. Currently, he leads employer branding for Flipkart and is responsible for positioning the brand as an aspirational place to work. In the past, he has also played similar employer brand consulting roles for brands such as Myntra, Ab InBev India, Reliance Industries Limited, and more.   

Prior to his HR branding life, Ishmeet was an out and out brand and digital marketing specialist, having created online and offline experiences for 30+ leading brands across industries including information technology, retail, finance, real estate, education, aviation, FMCG, etc.  

Over the last 29 years, Jyoti has worked across large traditional and digital advertising & communications groups including Lintas, MediaCom, Havas Media & Omnicom Media Group/PHD. In Dec 2020, she joined Tata Power as the custodian of the Sustainability, CSR and Brand building agenda. Within 2 years, she launched path breaking initiatives like “Sustainable is Attainable”, “Pay Autention” and “Act4Biodiversity”. She then shifted her focus to only the Brand and Communications profile, reading external signals at 2 levels – the suggestions from Ministry of Corporate Affairs to keep brand and sustainability at a distance, and the exploding energy ecosystem with players of all shapes and hues becoming more active. In 7 years since launch in 2013, Jyoti built media agency PHD India to a 400M+ USD agency, delivered a hat-trick@ Cannes, 7 Cannes Lions in 5 years and built a pool of well-feted talent and blue-chip clients like Unilever, Volkswagen Group, HP, SAP, S C Johnson, HSBC, Vivo.  

With over 15 years of experience across companies like BharatPe, TATA 1MG, Sterlite Tech, General Mills, Bank of America, and WNS, Aastha specializes in Internal Communications, Employer Branding, and DEI. Known for crafting strategies that resonate with employees and align with company values, Aastha has launched impactful initiatives including BharatPe’s culture manifesto, employee engagement programs, and DEI-focused strategies. A strong strategic thinker, Aastha fosters high-performing teams and creates collaborative cultures, driving positive organizational change through engaging storytelling and purpose-driven leadership.