Download the Profiles of the Panelists

IACC WBC Panel Discussion on
“ Re-Thinking Women in Leadership : An Indo US Perspective”
March 9 th , 2012 in Chennai
Profiles of Panelists
Consul General Jennifer A. McIntyre
Jennifer McIntyre was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in the town of Havre de Grace in
northern Maryland. She joined the U.S. Department of State in 1992 and became a career member
of the Senior Foreign Service in 2009.
Ms. McIntyre’s prior foreign assignments include tours as Vice Consul and General Services Officer in
Baku, Azerbaijan; as Vice Consul and Management Officer in Adana, Turkey; as Management Officer
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; as Deputy Chief of Mission in Asmara, Eritrea; and most recently as
Deputy Management Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Ms. McIntyre’s Washington experience has included service in the State Department’s Operations
Center; as a Post Management Officer in the Executive Office for the Bureau of European and
Eurasian Affairs; as a Special Assistant to Under Secretary for Management Grant Green; and as
Supervisory Post Management Officer in the Executive Office for the Bureaus of Near Eastern and
South and Central Asian Affairs.
Ms. McIntyre earned a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies from the University of Virginia in 1991 and
a Masters of National Security during a year’s study at the National War College in 2006. In 2005,
she was awarded the State Department’s Leamon R. Hunt Award for Management Excellence. Ms.
McIntyre began her duties as Consul General in August 2011.

MR.RAVI SHANKAR
SENIOR VP , HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTD
Ravi currently heads the People & Culture and HR Innovation Lab at HCL Technologies Ltd., a 6.2
billion USD corporation with strength of 88000 employees.
With over 30 years of varied experience across multiple fields in HR, ranging from founding a
company (Lister Technologies) to heading HR at Crompton Greaves Ltd & Deutsche software Limited.
Ravi is well known in the industry for this expertise in HR and also has a tremendous breadth and
insight on broad range of subjects - Business Strategy, Information Technology, TQM & Service
Quality.
An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and Harvard Business School in Information technology, Ravi is an
Executive Coach at ISB, Hyderabad for their Senior Management Leadership Program.
Ravi is also a great listener, a keen reader, an avid traveller and a connoisseur of food

RANJINI MANIAN
CEO, GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS PVT LTD
RANJINI MANIAN has dedicated her career to addressing Indian cultural behaviour vis-à-vis the
world and what actually works here. Fluent in French and English, her 17 years of experience as an
entrepreneur running India’s premier relocation and cross-cultural services company – Global
Adjustments, editor of India’s only cultural magazine for expatriates Culturama, creator of a unique
cultural hub for expatriates and Indians to link, learn and leave a legacy – the India Immersion
Center, writer and experienced speaker at Indian and international forums, she has synthesized the
lessons learned from interacting with over 75 nationalities, and across companies, sectors, cultures
and geographies to identify the essence of successful cultural interactions for Global Citizens in the
21 st century. Ranjini looks at culture not merely as heritage to be proud of but as Cultural
Intelligence – a tool to use for strengthening Indian roots, and fly on global wings. As she helps FDI
succeed in India, she tells MNCs: “What India lacks in infrastructure, it makes up in the warmth of its
culture and people”.
In her role as an author, cross-cultural consultant and speaker, Ranjini has many achievements to
her credit. To name a few – she has written “Doing Business in India for Dummies” and “Upworldy
Mobile” – Behavioural and Business skills for the New Indian manager by Penguin. She has
contributed articles to various international publications and is a regular columnist in Business Line,
India’s premier business daily newspaper. Her vast experience in cross-cultural issues has made her a
sought-after panellist and speaker on any issue connected with inter-cultural relations, gender issues
and entrepreneurship, both in India and abroad. In particular she is a renowned speaker on Indian
business culture for C-suite expatriates and on the topic of Gender Intelligence, as she has been
certified by American expert Barbara Annis. Her style is interactive, anecdotal and peppered with
humour, with practical takeaways.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and French literature from Elphinstone College in Mumbai
and a Diploma in French Civilisation from the University of Sorbonne, Paris. She is certified in
Mastering Negotiations from Harvard University and served on the Harvard Women’s leadership
Board.

RAJ BIYANI
MANAGING DIRECTOR, MICROSOFT IT ( INDIA )
Raj Biyani is the head of India operations for Microsoft IT and the CIO/Product Group Strategic
Initiatives organization. Microsoft IT-India is Microsoft's largest IT operation outside of corporate
headquarters in Redmond, Washington - an eight year old organization with talented IT
professionals who consider it a great place to build their career dreams and aspirations.
Raj is an entrepreneur with a string of high-impact incubations at Microsoft. In his 12 year career at
Microsoft, he has worked in the Office, Developer Division, Windows and Online Services business
groups. As General Manager for CIO/Product Group Strategic Initiatives, he is helping shape the
cloud adoption strategy for Microsoft IT in moving the first generation of enterprise applications on
the cloud.
Raj has demonstrated an ability to see opportunities early and generate executive support for
initiatives to capitalize on those opportunities. Raj led the envisioning and successful creation of the
Windows Marketplace - an electronic software delivery platform for Microsoft.
Raj uses a fact-based, analytical approach to complex business challenges, but is quick to credit his
accomplishments to the high-performance teams he has built over the years. By combining cutting
edge management thinking with a start-up mindset, he has led nimble teams to deliver results. A
living example of 'servant leadership', Raj is consistently ranked as a top people leader at Microsoft.
Raj holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Accounting from Goshen College, Indiana,
where he serves on the President's Advisory Council. Raj has an MBA with Honors from the
University of Chicago. He is an avid consumer of cutting-edge business thinking reflected in his vast
collection of business books, many autographed by their authors. He holds one EU and seven US
patents.
Raj recognizes the role that the educational institutions have played in his life and considers it his
privilege and duty to give back. He has set up endowed scholarships at his alma mater that have
benefited students from twelve countries.
Raj loves racket sports and enjoys his time on the tennis and squash courts. During his school days in
Pilani, he was a table-tennis champion. He has moved from Bellevue, Washington to Hyderabad with
his wife and their two young children.

JAYA VAIDHYANATHAN
EXECUTIVE VP & HEAD – GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION, STANDARD CHARTERED
BANK – SCOPE INTERNATIONAL
Ms. Jaya Vaidhyanathan is one of the most recent generations of leaders heading the Technology
and global Strategy Transformation of the organization.
Jaya holds a Management degree from Cornell University and is a Computer Engineering graduate
and is also a CFA Charter holder.
With over two decades of international experience in leading and driving a whole gamut of
functions - Corp Finance, M&A and Risk management in the Investment Banking arena, Jaya comes
with a prior experience as a Managing Partner with Accenture leading their consulting and financial
services businesses. Jaya has a strong business acumen having handled larger global projects and has
handled multi-billion dollar portfolio of several Fortune 100 companies generating revenues of over
$90 million. She has spent a major part of her career in the USA, in the Wall Street Investment
Banking and her speciality has been in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions. She has also driven
several lucrative deals in the Technology and Telecom spaces. She has a good range of experience as
a COO of a Corporate specializing in Banking & Financial Services and Products.
With her extensive experience overseas, particularly in the USA, UK, she infuses global knowledge
into the Technology arm of Standard Chartered Bank. She leads the Global Technology and Strategy
for Scope, which services Standard Chartered Bank, the world over.
In 2006, she was voted the ‘Outstanding Manager of the Year’ by the All India Management
Association and “IT Person of the Year” by the “Dataquest” Weekly.
A seasoned professional, she sets standards in the organization for professional and ethical work
culture. Jaya is passionate about Leadership values & Technology oriented innovations which have
made her a much sought-after speaker in national and international conferences, forums and
seminars. Her views and insight on ‘Reverse Technology’, ‘Technology in Globalization’ has been
well-received in various forums.
Jaya also is involved in women empowerment and inclusion in the Organization and various other
CSR activities of the Organization. In her spare time, Jaya likes to read, catch up on movies and travel
and she is an avid classical singer.