Directors’ Institute – World Council of Directors Recognises 10 Distinguished Alumni from Saïd Business School

There is something special about recognising leaders who have quietly built impact over decades.

The Directors’ Institute – World Council of Directors proudly celebrates another distinguished group of alumni from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, recognised through the International Corporate Directorship Programme.

These are professionals who have led transformations, managed complexity, built institutions, and navigated industries that are constantly evolving. Their careers reflect resilience, discipline, innovation, and above all — responsibility.

Today, we recognise them not just for what they have achieved, but for the trust they carry into the boardroom.

1. Mr Nilay Mardikar

Nilay Mardikar brings over 30 years of experience in IT in roles of strategy, cloud transformation, and enterprise program leadership. Currently focused on Own startup driving Transformation and strategic consulting of Enterprise IT and Core Engineering, he aligns complex technology initiatives with long-term business goals. He has managed multimillion-dollar global accounts, led large-scale strategic digital and cloud transformations, and converted technical capabilities into revenue-generating solutions. His blend of cloud expertise, operational discipline, and board-level strategic thinking, solution driven supports informed oversight of digital risk, innovation, and sustainable growth.

2. Ms Deepa Goyal

Deepa Goyal’s 25+ years of experience span finance, consulting and international business advisory. As Founder and Director of Macramé Consultants Private Limited and Director at MTEKPRO Technologies, she works closely with leadership teams on investments, compliance and growth initiatives. This exposure supports board-level oversight that balances financial prudence, ethical responsibility and long-term organizational resilience.

3. Ms Lakshmi Srinath

Lakshmi Srinath is a governance and compliance professional with over 13 years of experience across regulatory advisory, internal audit and enterprise risk roles. Currently working as a Compliance Consultant, she supports organizations on audit planning, risk assessment and internal control frameworks. Her background spans global financial services, education and advisory environments, bringing a well-rounded governance lens. She brings a balanced perspective to board deliberations by connecting regulatory discipline with long-term strategic oversight.

4. Mr Shachindra Bhat

Mr Shachindra Bhat brings over 30 years of leadership experience across large-scale infrastructure and construction projects. Currently serving as Senior Vice President at BSR Infratech India Limited, he has led complex dam, tunnel and power projects involving high technical, financial and regulatory complexity. His depth in P&L oversight, contract negotiations and dispute resolution reflects disciplined decision-making in high-stakes environments. He brings a practical governance lens shaped by decades of managing high-value assets, contracts and complex stakeholder environments. 

5. Mr Santanu Das

Santanu Das brings over four decades of leadership experience across B2B sales, service, and operations in the office automation industry. As General Manager – B2B Office Automation at Al Mulla Group, Kuwait, he leads revenue growth, profitability, digital transformation initiatives, and complex multi-brand operations serving enterprise and government clients. His ability to integrate technology, service governance, and customer outcomes demonstrates seasoned judgment in risk management, accountability, and long-term value creation— capabilities shaped by decades of driving performance across scaled operations.

6. Mr Ravinder Bolangdy

Ravinder Bolangdy brings over 45 years of leadership across global aviation and cargo ecosystems, spanning Asia Pacific, India and international markets. In his previous role as General Manager – Cargo, Asia Pacific at Swissport, he led regional strategy, complex airport operations and technology-led cargo transformation. His career reflects deep P&L oversight, regulatory navigation and infrastructure scaling in asset-intensive environments. Backed by decades of global experience and principled leadership, he brings to the boardroom a strong blend of operational depth, technological insight and strategic clarity suited to future-focused boards.

7. Mr Deepak Tanna

 Deepak Tanna brings over 27 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, spanning silicon architecture, SoC design, and large-scale technology delivery. He is a Senior Technology Leader at Intel India Private Limited, serving as a Principal Engineer and Soft IP Product Owner, with long-term leadership across multiple IP architectures, including ground-up definition and development of new IPs, and deep exposure to multi-core CPU programs. His work is characterised by a strong focus on technology definition, risk, scalability, and execution discipline, alongside mentoring global engineering teams across geographies. This combination of hands-on technical depth and systems-level thinking reflects a mature leadership approach aligned with strategic decision-making and governance-oriented perspectives on innovation and technology.

8. Ms Renu Arora

Renu Arora’s professional journey spans more than 30 years of managing audits, taxation and institutional finance across education, utilities,manufacturing and trading sectors as well as working for the well being of society also. She is currently serving on the Board of the JCBL Group. Earlier as Partner at M/S Minocha and Minocha, she oversees statutory audits, ISO-led process reviews and regulatory compliance. Her experience across advisory and directorship roles reflects a steady capacity to guide organisations through financial complexity with clarity and discipline.

9. Mr Ashwani Kumar Baweja

Ashwani Baweja’s 24+ years in global corporate finance reflect steady leadership across scale and complexity. His experience spans healthcare, FMCG, retail, manufacturing, and agri-commodities across Africa, APAC, and the Middle East. As Group Corporate Finance Head at ETC Group, he oversees finance, audits, treasury, tax and M&A across 300+ entities in over 50 countries. His work in restructuring, digital finance transformation and cross-border governance supports decisions that demand financial discipline, risk awareness and long-term capital clarity.

10. Mr Dheeraj Puri

Dheeraj Puri is a senior banking leader with over 27 years of experience across retail and consumer banking, currently working at the intersection of banking, artificial intelligence, risk management and cybersecurity. His career reflects deep expertise in scaling businesses, strengthening governance frameworks and leading large, distributed teams with execution discipline. His exposure to AI, cybersecurity and core banking operations strengthens boardroom judgement on digital risk, compliance and long-term institutional resilience.

A Moment Worth Celebrating

Recognitions like this matter because they shine a light on journeys that are built over years of commitment and responsibility.

Each of these leaders represents experience backed by action. They have led teams, handled risk, built systems, and strengthened organisations. Their inclusion through the International Corporate Directorship Programme reflects readiness — readiness to guide, to question, to contribute and to protect long-term value.

Today, we celebrate their achievements.

Tomorrow, they will continue shaping boardrooms, institutions and industries.

And that is something worth being proud of.