Our Team

Founding members of the ChampionWoman Circle (CWC) are trailblazer women of action who unite to support and empower a new generation of women, by sharing resources, knowledge, and connections.

Ranjini Manian

The Vision Holder & Entrepreneur

Dr. Ranjini Manian has spent over two decades as an entrepreneur, cultural ambassador, author, and philanthropist connecting global citizens to India. Founder of India’s premier relocation and cross‐cultural services company – Global Adjustments, Ranjini has served on the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board and authored many business books and a progressive journal “ChampionWoman Truths”.

As the Founder Chair of ChampionWoman, her vision is to empower women and girls to live out their potential. Sharing her business experience and a three-decade mindfulness practice, she works towards creating an army of self-powered women who are calm, confident, cheerful contributors to the world. She serves on various advisory boards including Apollo Hospitals.

Kirthiga Reddy

Former MD of Facebook India; CEO, Virtualness

As employee Number 1 at Facebook India, she led it to become a world market leader. Now, as an entrepreneur of Virtualness, Kirthiga makes generative AI + blockchain accessible for creators, brands and sports. She is driven by the mantra “When businesses succeed, livelihoods flourish.

Valli Arunachalam

Advocate for Women Empowerment and Girls' Education; Philanthropist

Dr. Valli Arunachalam hails from the leading industrialist family which runs the Murugappa Group. She is a nuclear scientist and semiconductor technology consultant with a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. She is committed to empowering women, and strives to create an ecosystem that nurtures education, opportunities, training and mentorship for girls and women.

Sarah Kirlew

Consul-General for Australia in Chennai

A career diplomat, Sarah Kirlew has filled various Indo-Pacific-focused foreign and economic policy roles. She is a committed advocate for women in leadership roles. In her current role, she facilitates international advancement for the cause of Indian women and girls.

Rohini Manian

Entrepreneur, CEO, Global Adjustments

As CEO of our parent company Global Adjustments, Rohini brings her international educational experience and entrepreneurial mindset to help the cause of ChampionWoman. She believes financial independence is key to women’s empowerment and provides women with ample opportunities in the workforce.

Suhasini Maniratnam

Actor and women’s activist

A National Award-winning actor who has done 400 films in all 4 South Indian languages, and an acclaimed TV host, Suhasini is known for her ability to inspire women and Gen Next. She uses her influencer standing to endorse emotional well-being promoted by the ChampionWoman movement.

Kalpana Sankar

Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Hand in Hand, India

Dr Kalpana Sankar co-founded the NGO Hand in Hand in 2004 to combat child labour rampant in the silk weaving industry. Hand in Hand India currently has an expanded holistic 5-pillar programme – women’s empowerment, skill development, education, health and environment, in 18 Indian states and 7 countries. It is instrumental in creating 6.3 million jobs for women in India. Dr. Kalpana is also the Managing Director of Belstar Microfinance, one of the top 10 MFIs in the country.

Kamini Ramani

Chief Marketing Officer, Mayfield Ventures

Kamini is a Silicon Valley marketing leader who has worked with founders like Steve Jobs to amplify their impact. She works on personal brand building that helps women articulate their superpower and accelerate their careers.

Geetha Nagu

Managing Director, VNCT Global

Geetha is a successful entrepreneur, thought leader and influencer in the real estate industry. She is well-known for her motivational videos. Her passion is to make a difference to young women as she demonstrates life leadership skills, sharing her own experiences. Respectful of traditional upbringing, she inspires a global outlook in young women.

Sushma Patankar

Director, C R Narayana Rao Architects

Sushma oversees Large Projects, Marketing & Business Development, Client Relationships and Project Management at leading Architectural & Engineering Design Company, C R Narayana Rao Consultants Pvt. Limited., which has a revenue portfolio worth millions of dollars. Her early career in Microsoft started off her passion in gender equality, which she generously supports via her charities.

Mythili Sankaran

CEO, Co-founder Neythri

Mythili has done pioneering work, offering a platform for South Asian professional women at Neythri.org. A board member at Sanmina and founding Managing Partner at Neythri Futures Fund, Saratoga, USA, she is passionate about helping organisations contribute to the social good and expanding opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

Mariazeena Johnson

Educationist and Leader, Sathyabama University

Dr. Mariazeena Johnson is a revolutionary educationist and supporter of ChampionWoman. She has a vision of redefining the education system. Under her leadership, Sathyabama College has made remarkable achievements and tops many lists. The doctorate degree conferred on her by the University of Madras for her research on Recent Developments in Women’s Entrepreneurship inspires many. She is a nationally recognised educationist, awarded by the President of India.

Roopa Arun

Head of Pedagogy & Academic Innovations at Tech Avant-Garde

Roopa has over three decades of experience in the field of education. She designs curricular learning elements, trains educationists on Level-Based Teaching, Adaptive Learning and Individualized Assessments for students and institutions in implementing the National Education Policy, 2020. Her current role in the Global Training Partners, Microsoft, is remarkable. As president of the AWWA – Army Wives Welfare Association – she champions women’s leadership.

Dr Anjana,
Diabetologist

Managing Director, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre (DMDSC)

Dr Anjana is responsible for cutting-edge work to reduce the onset of early diabetes in a country where it is rampant. As President of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), she innovates in various areas, including augmented physical activity for women and women empowerment in rural areas.

Joanne Huskey

Writer and Leadership Coach

Joanne is the co-founder of Global Adjustments in India. She has 20 years of experience in International Exchange and education, having lived in 4 continents. Additionally, she is a trainer in women’s leadership and cultural competence. As Director of Very Special Arts (VSA), she worked closely in 60 countries representing the Kennedy family. Her ILive2Lead programs for young women promote empowerment the world over.

Jayashree Sundaresan

Senior Director of Engineering, Freshworks

Jayashree is a dedicated leader who strongly believes in helping others transform beyond their perceived limitations and achieve their full potential. With two decades of experience in both technology and people leadership at companies like PayPal, Freshworks she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table.

Priya Thomas

Director, AVThomas

Priya hails from the AVT Group, business leaders in tea, rubber and more in South India. Extending her skill in interiors architecture of homes, she embellishes the inner beauty of girls via her philanthropic support for girls’ education and health.

Latha Nair

Latha Nair, a seasoned HR and business professional with 25+ years of experience, has held various key roles and been both a change agent as well as focal point for driving complex projects. She has been seen as a thoughtful & passionate leader who brings in her signature approach in all her endeavours.

Veena Kumaravel

Founder Of Naturals

Veena Kumaravel, Founder Of Naturals is the woman entrepreneur who revolutionized the beauty industry of Tamil Nadu. She started Naturals in the 2000s with the support of her husband, CKK Kumaravel, and it is now one of India’s most prominent beauty salons chain. As one of India’s most successful lady entrepreneurs, she has won national awards.

Sweta Garapati

Sweta Garapati, a dynamic young entrepreneur, moved back to lead the marketing and business development activities of family business, Old Madras Baking Company after graduating in Economica from the USA. She was instrumental in turning the start-up bakery into an expanding chain that now has 8 outlets in Chennai, 4 in Bangalore and 2 in Hyderabad.

Our advisory board has nationally and internationally acclaimed men allies and women leaders who provide strategies to guide our path forward.

Mr Kumar & Dr Vatsala Nadadur

Vatsala is a leading Cardiac doctor and Mr Kumar Nadadur is a top Immigration Attorney
Chairman of Nadadur Law Associates. Being raised in South India and contributing decades of professional leadership in LosAngeles USA, they give back to empower women and Indian culture. They guide our teams efforts across the oceans, using immense experience in both continents and cultures to guide our tax free donation initiatives.Both serve as our North America CW Ambassadors

Dr. V Sumantran

Dr V Sumantran served internationally as a business leader of General Motors, Tata Motors, and Ashok Leyland, and is a renowned author and advisor to the government. Currently serving on various boards including Chairman, Indigo Airlines, his thought-leadership guides championing women.

Dr. Lalitha Balakrishnan

Dr.Lalitha Balakrishnan – Former Principal of MOP Vaishnav college for women, passionate about youth empowerment and endorses our curriculum at the University level.

Dr.Sundarya Rajesh

Dr Saundarya Rajesh, an award-winning entrepreneur of Second Career opportunities for women in Corporate India, is on the United Nation’s “Women Transforming India” list. Her knowledge in Diversity & Inclusion is invaluable to championing women.

Schwark Satyavolu

A serial entrepreneur and inventor with 15 patents, Schwark co-founded the fintech companies Yodlee (YDLE) and Truaxis. As a general partner of Trinity Ventures, he impacts our social entrepreneurship, giving strategic digital direction to grow the foundation

Giovanna Vivoli

Giovanna has been instrumental in Co-producing the Global Adjustments Foundation whitepaper and branding ChampionWoman.

K S Manian

Infrastructure doyen of South India, building roads, airports, highways, and factories, literally built up the nation. Sought after mentor and investor in start-ups, he brings the same execution discipline to our non-profit.

Our dedicated team of coaches and professionals brings a wealth of expertise, passion, and vision ensuring that our community thrives on every level.

Lakshmi Subramanian

Executive Director

Lakshmi started her career as a banker. She brings in 18 years of experience as a senior leader in a multinational bank and 12 years of facilitation skills to the Champion Woman workshops. She enjoys enabling women to flourish in the workforce. She is a role model in this.

Sowmya Easwaran

European Ambassador

Sowmya Easwaran has worked in the energy management sector for over 28 years. She started her career in India in her family business, followed by 25 years in General Electric and ABB, in the US and Europe. Currently located in Amsterdam, she volunteers her time to scale and support Global Adjustments Foundation as the European Ambassador

Chitra Ravi

AVP Finance and audit

Chitra has 30 years of experience in managing accounts, finance and audits. She brings her administrative skills to facilitate the smooth functioning of the Foundation.

Jaishree Chandrasekar

Life Coach

Jaishree is a leader with over 28 years of corporate experience from five top tech companies. She uses her background of people and project management along with her process and executive coaching expertise to amplify the outreach of the Champion Woman workshops.

Rajee Bala

AVP Social Media

Rajee is skilled in video and photography, enhancing the digital space of championwoman. A trained yoga instructor she inspires our participants to unite mind and body through breath.

Suganya Karuppasamy

Volunteer trainer

An engineer by training and an IIM certified project manager with 20 years of experience in project and account management. She truly believes in life skilling women to achieve their dreams. She empowers young women by promoting a sense of self-worth with her excellent facilitation skills and presentation style.

Shreedevi Ramesh

Volunteer trainer

Shreedevi Ramesh is an IT professional turned entrepreneur who is following her dreams to transform transform personal and professional lives of individuals. She is a business owner, trainer, mentor, and speaker from the heart. She is passionate about giving
back to the community and creating an impact empowered by her empathy, positivity, passion, and entrepreneurship.

After undergoing our stringent train-the-trainer programs to ensure standardisation, these experienced women leaders cascade the curriculum, customising it with their own stories in different classrooms.