India Summit
Shaping for Change
November 20, 2025
Learn | Explore | Network
NOTE: All times noted are in India Standard Time.
The agenda may be subject to change.
India Summit Sessions
November 20th
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Registration and refreshments
2025 India Summit: Shaping for Change
Welcome!
Speaker Details
Full Name
Alison Main
Job Title
Director
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Alison Main, Director, based in France, leads the international practice, consulting, and learning academy. She has held various roles in International Benefits and Rewards and has a particular passion for well-being. In her spare time she enjoys the Great Outdoors and entertaining friends with French and Asian cuisine.
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
Coming soon
Presented by WTW
Speaker Details
Full Name
Surinder Bhagat
Job Title
Vice President & Head the Employee Benefits Practice and Employee Benefits Claims
Company
Prudent Brokers
Biography
Surinder Bhagat is Vice President & Head the Employee Benefits Practice and Employee Benefits Claims at Prudent Insurance Brokers. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad and has vast experience in the general insurance space in India. With a cumulative experience of over 15 years, he has held vital positions in organisations such as Marsh India Insurance Company as National Head Corporate and ICICI Lombard as National Head SME, to name a few.
He started the SME vertical at ICICI Lombard, which grew to approximately INR 10 BN+ premium for the company during his tenure. He collaborated with Pavanjit Singh Dhingra of Prudent Insurance Brokers to launch the first OTC group health cover in India in 2008.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Geetika Kapur
Job Title
Vice President - Employee Benefits
Company
Prudent Brokers
Biography
Geetika Kapur is Vice President - Employee Benefits at Prudent Insurance Brokers. She has over 14 years of industry experience in Employee Benefits with specialisation in advising, designing, implementing and managing flexible benefits programs for clients.
In her role, she is responsible for health and benefits consulting and broking. She works closely with her team in preparing analysis of client’s requirements, marketing specifications, and innovative, sustainable solutions.
Prior to joining Prudent, she worked at Marsh & McLennan Companies and Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited.
She is adept at project management, team management, and problem solving.
9:50 AM - 10:30 AM
Adobe’s Wellbeing Playbook: Building for Health, Wealth & Family Support
Presented by Adobe
Explore how Adobe India is evolving its wellbeing strategy to meet the full spectrum of employee needs—from physical and mental health to financial wellness and family care. This session will dive into how Adobe designed and scaled an integrated wellbeing framework, the key metrics guiding its success, and real stories of impact from employees. Learn how thoughtful programs—like financial wellbeing tools, elder care services, and digital health platforms—support Adobe’s workforce in living healthier, more secure, and more connected lives.
Key goals and takeaways:
- Understand the overview of wellbeing at Adobe and how it is built into the company culture and values.
- Key principles and pillars of Adobe’s wellbeing framework or strategy.
- Outcomes of programs that supported Adobe’s wellbeing strategy and goals.
- What success was, and how Adobe used data to measure its goals.
- Real stories and impact: How Adobe is making a positive impact.
Speaker Details
Full Name
B S Chandrashekarr
Job Title
Total Rewards Leader
Company
Adobe
Biography
Chandrashekarr B S is the Director & Head – Total Rewards, India at Adobe. He brings over two decades of extensive experience in the field of Total Rewards, having held leadership roles in renowned organizations such as Dell, Société Générale, Mphasis, IBM, iGATE (Capgemini), and Motorola.
Chandrashekarr holds a Postgraduate Certification in Human Resource Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur, and a master’s degree in human resource management from Pondicherry University. His professional journey is marked by deep expertise not only in Compensation and Benefits, but also in Change Management and Mergers & Acquisitions, where he has successfully led and supported several large-scale transformations.
10:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Networking Break
10:50AM - 11:20 AM
The New Benefits Standard
Presented by Plum and Twilio
What does the new gold standard in employee health benefits look like in India?
This session explores how leading companies are designing benefits that go beyond compliance to deliver real value and push the boundaries of innovation—balancing employee needs, cost management, and measurable ROI. Gain insights into benchmarks from unicorns and GCCs, the nuances of India’s healthcare landscape, and how data can guide smarter decisions. Whether you’re scaling locally or globally, learn how to build benefits that truly work for your teams—and your business.
Key takeaways:
- Understand how India’s top companies are redefining employee benefits to improve wellbeing and retention.
- Learn to benchmark your programs against unicorns and GCCs in the Indian market.
- Discover how to use data and metrics to align benefits with talent and business goals.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Abishek Poddar
Job Title
Co-founder and CEO
Company
Plum
Biography
Abhishek Poddar is the co-founder and CEO of Plum, one of India’s leading insurtech and employee benefits startups.
An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Stanford, Abhishek spent his early years at McKinsey and Google. In 2019, during the pandemic, Abhishek founded Plum along with Saurabh Arora with one simple mission in mind – to positively impact the health and well-being of every Indian. Today, Plum’s offerings help over 500,000 lives across 5,000 companies like Atlassian, Notion, Zerodha, Twilio, Zomato and Tinder. Abhishek believes businesses are built on two moats, people and brand, and investing in these two areas has been instrumental to Plum’s success.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Suprajha Suhas
Job Title
Senior Total Rewards Leader
Company
Twilio
Biography
Suprajha Suhas is a senior Total Rewards leader with nearly two decades of global experience in Compensation & Benefits across multiple industries.
As Senior Director of Total Rewards for APJ & LATAM at Twilio, she drives regional strategies that enable business and talent growth. Her career includes leadership roles at Twilio, Avery Dennison, and Flextronics.
11:25 AM - 11:55 PM
Panel Discussion
Evolving the Benefits Strategy for Business Impact
Presented by SAP, HPE & Microsoft
As India’s workforce evolves, so too must the approach to employee benefits. In this panel discussion, senior total rewards leaders from SAP, HPE, and Microsoft share how their organizations are shifting the perception of benefits—from a line item on the budget to a strategic lever that shapes culture, drives engagement, and delivers business value.
Learn how these global companies are aligning benefits with the expectations of today’s multi-generational workforce, embedding them into their employer value proposition, and using data to demonstrate tangible ROI. This session offers actionable insights for reimagining benefits as tools for competitive advantage in a changing Indian market.
Key Takeaways:
- How to align benefits with company culture, values, and employee expectations.
- Strategies for balancing cost control with meaningful employee impact.
- Ways to measure and communicate the ROI of a modern benefits strategy.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Amar Grandhi
Job Title
Head of Total Rewards
Company
SAP
Biography
Seasoned HR professional with two decades of experience in Total Rewards across Big 4, Banking GICs and Hitech Product Organizations. Consensus builder who supports leadership with market perspective and guidance to make educated decisions in attraction and retention of high performing talent.
Leading Total Rewards (Compensation, Benefits, Recognition & Well-being) for all SAP entities in India, span of 17,000 employees working in Software Development, Consulting, Sales & Pre-Sales Functions. Global Lead for Equity Programs.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Shweta Raghunath
Job Title
Company
Microsoft
Biography
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Networking Lunch
1:05 PM - 2:15 PM
Employer Breakout Session
Transforming AI & Benefits
Presented by Google
Harnessing AI and the impact on employee benefits.
Rahul Jindal, Director, Strategy & Transformation and Head, AI Garage, Google takes an innovative and holistic approach across the People team. Hear about Google’s strategy and vision for how AI will transform the People function, and what key implications you will want to consider in employee benefits.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Rahul Jindal
Job Title
Director, Strategy & Transformation and Head, AI Garage
Company
Google
Biography
Rahul Jindal is Director of Strategy & Transformation in People Operations at Google and Global Director of AI Garage.
Previously, he spent about 11 years setting up new teams and capabilities to transform Google's Ads Operations.
Rahul has more than 22 years of experience across industry verticals, functions and regions focused on setting up and transforming business functions and he enjoys the challenges in the 0 to 1 and 1 to 1000
stage of business building.
Outside of work, Rahul is an active advisor & investor in startups, a Buddhist leader and an advocate of Neurodiversity & Disability allyship.
2:20 PM - 2:35 PM
Networking Break
2:40 PM - 3:10 PM
How Effective Benefits Communications Resonate at Airbnb
Presented by Airbnb
In today’s noisy, fast-paced work environment, even the best benefits programs can go unnoticed without the right communication strategy. In this session, Vandana Mukherji shares how Airbnb has crafted clear, compelling, and culturally aware benefits messaging that connects with employees across geographies, languages, and backgrounds.
Drawing from real campaigns and lessons learned, Vandana will explore how Airbnb has driven meaningful engagement and understanding of its offerings—transforming benefits from a back-end HR function into a valued part of the employee experience. Attendees will walk away with a roadmap to build communication strategies that cut through the clutter and truly resonate.
Key Takeaways:
- How to craft benefits messages that connect across cultures, regions, and languages.
- Practical tactics for increasing employee awareness, understanding, and trust.
- Real-world examples of communication campaigns that boost engagement and program uptake.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Vandana Mukherji
Job Title
Total Rewards Leader
Company
Airbnb
Biography
With over two decades of progressive experience in Human Resources in Technology & Capability Centers organizations, I specialize in Total Rewards strategy—designing inclusive, data-driven compensation and benefits programs that align with business objectives and foster a culture of fairness and transparency.
As the Total Rewards Leader at Airbnb in India, I lead developing and managing comprehensive reward programs across diverse markets in collaboration with global teams. My focus includes compensation design, benchmarking, benefits management, and policy governance—ensuring our systems are competitive, equitable, and aligned with Airbnb’s mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. I partner closely with business leaders to provide guidance on all total rewards matters, enabling data-informed talent decisions.
Before joining Airbnb, I served as Associate Director, Compensation & Benefits at Concentrix India, overseeing total rewards across the EMEA, APAC, and ANZ regions. I led regional compensation planning, benefits strategy, budgeting, and the execution of large-scale projects, including digitization efforts and M&A integrations.
3:10 PM - 3:45 PM
Oracle India’s Health and Wellness Evolution
Presented by Oracle
Join Vish Melinamane (Director – Compensation & Benefits, India) and Kumar Vinit (Senior Manager – Compensation & Benefits, India) as they share how Oracle India is shifting from a treatment-based healthcare model to a proactive, prevention-focused approach.
With a strong focus on outpatient benefits and preventive care, Oracle has redesigned its wellness programs to better support the everyday health needs of its diverse workforce. Using data insights, employee feedback, and a people-first mindset, the team has launched innovative initiatives that go beyond traditional insurance—enhancing employee well-being and productivity.
In this session attendees will explore:
- How to Lead the Shift to Preventive Care: How Oracle India is prioritizing early detection and wellness over reactive treatment.
- Advantages of Offering Enhanced OPD Benefits: Expanding the benefits to improve access to primary healthcare through technology-enabled solutions.
- How to Design with a Strategic Well-being Focus: Aligning employee health initiatives with overall engagement goals.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Vish Melinamane
Job Title
Director – Compensation & Benefits
Company
Oracle
Biography
With over 25 years of industry experience, Vish Melinamane is a seasoned leader in the realm of Human Resources, specializing in Compensation & Benefits, M&A Integration, Wellbeing, and Job & Pay Architecture. As the Director of Compensation & Benefits at Oracle India, Vish has been at the forefront of transforming Oracle India’s healthcare and wellness offerings, aligning them with the company’s commitment to employee well-being and organizational success.
Vish has spearheaded innovative initiatives that blend data-driven insights with a people-first approach. His deep expertise spans across multiple areas, including Retirement Plan management, Labor laws, Compensation Consulting, and Oracle's evolving approach to holistic employee wellness. Vish’s strategic vision has positioned Oracle India as a prominent organization in developing benefits packages that support both the health and wellbeing of its diverse workforce.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Vinit Kumar
Job Title
Senior Manager – Compensation & Benefits
Company
Oracle
Biography
Vinit Kumar is a Senior Manager – Compensation & Benefits at Oracle India, with over 10 years of experience across Oracle, Wipro, and Accenture. He leads key initiatives in compensation strategy, employee benefits, and wellbeing for Oracle’s India operations. A SHRM–SCP certified professional and XLRI alumnus, Vinit combines deep technical expertise with a people-first approach to Total Rewards. He is passionate about creating data-driven, inclusive, and impactful HR solutions.
3:50 PM - 4:00 PM
Closing remarks
Speaker Details
Full Name
Lisa Yee
Job Title
President and CEO
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Lisa Yee is the President and CEO of SVEF, based in Northern California, leads and engages with employers and partners to drive change in global benefits. She enjoys spending time with her family and two rescue dogs, Daisy & Gryffin, volunteering with animal rescue organizations, traveling, and baking.