Mar 08 2026 to Mar 08 2026 12:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Opportunity is abundant. Outcomes, however, are strategic. 

The four women on this panel have navigated all of it. Venture capital and enterprise strategy. Global talent transformation. The slow, necessary work of making the technology industry legible to the women coming up behind them. Startups built from scratch and careers that kept becoming something new. 

They have done this inside institutions that weren’t built for them, in markets that moved before they were ready, in moments that required a decision before the picture was clear. Together they examine how signals and opportunities are recognised, and sometimes missed. How excellence is sustained over decades, not just built in a moment. How to navigate boards, capital, and institutions. How and when to seek help from the mentors, sponsors, and allies who make the difference. 

The answers come from lived experience. The lessons, hard-won as they are, turn out to be universal.

This event is a part of our programming to celebrate International Women’s Day. Music, theatre, and conversation: by women, for everyone.

Speakers

Nidhi Shanbhag
Startup Founder & Investor; formerly KKR & Sequoia
Nidhi is a stealth AI startup founder, based in the bay area. With past work ex including BCG, KKR, Sequoia. An alumnus of Harvard and IIT Bombay.

Veena Satish
GCC & Startup Leader
Veena has expertise in implementing a transformational talent plan, which includes engaging, developing, and retaining the very best talent, providing proactive and strategic guidance for organizational planning and development initiatives at scale. Before Walmart, Veena has worked in leadership roles with the Human Resource functions at Bloom Energy and Cisco, ushering in HR transformation and strategy alignment with successful business results.

Shreya Krishnan
Managing Director, AnitaB India
Shreya Krishnan currently serves as Managing Director, AnitaB.org India, and may also be recognized as a Co-Host at past Grace Hopper Celebration events. At a professional level, she was previously EVP Marketing and Communications at Aon India. She is a CSR specialist and a Corporate Grooming Consultant, and serves on the advisory boards of eight organizations and seven NGOs. Shreya is also an NLP Practitioner and Gestalt Master Therapist. That’s just one facet of who she is. A former Corporate Diva, Mrs. India Universe 2017 and Ms. Universal Empowerment 2024, she also works in the spaces of activism, dance, theatre, poetry, blogging, sustainability evangelism, modelling, and acting. She considers herself an Earth Warrior and is an event anchor and trainer.

Shreya is a champion of inclusion and diversity, and she co-authored the book Words Matter: The Language That Girls Need to Speak. The book is a compilation of forty words that encourage readers to choose their vocabulary in ways that help redefine how human beings are treated.

Smitha Hemmigae
Managing Director, ANSR
Smitha is a Managing Director at ANSR, where she orchestrates enterprise-wide growth initiatives and architects sophisticated client strategies that have positioned ANSR as the undisputed market leader in establishing and scaling Global Capability Centers (GCCs) for Fortune 500 enterprises worldwide.

Her distinguished career spans over two decades of progressive leadership across premier technology organizations including Thoughtworks, CSS Corp, Unisys, Infosys, and Logica. As a visionary marketing strategist, Smitha has consistently delivered exceptional revenue growth while elevating brand positioning and market presence for global corporations across diverse industry verticals.

Beyond her corporate achievements, Smitha’s commitment to societal advancement extends through her role as co-trustee of Belakoo Trust, where she champions nonprofit initiatives that create lasting community change.

Smitha has a bachelor degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Bangalore University. Her unique combination of marketing excellence, executing cross-functional initiatives and social entrepreneurship positions her as a catalyst for organizational transformation and sustainable growth in today’s dynamic business landscape.