Ladies Who Lead is driven by the mission to equip women leaders with the right insights, and network and experiences to progress in their careers and personal lives. While this is an ongoing movement, some days call for a more concentrated effort. This International Women’s Day, we used that moment to bring together a series of conversations, sessions and experiences across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and beyond, built around a shared theme, “Give to Gain,” and designed to translate that idea into something tangible.
Across cities, the focus remained clear. Build rooms where knowledge, access and lived experience are shared with intent, and where members walk away with perspective they can actually use.
In Mumbai, we began with a Conversations Over Cocktails featuring Radhika Gupta, Managing Director & CEO, Edelweiss Mutual Fund. The conversation looked at money, leadership and access, and how sharing knowledge can meaningfully change participation and confidence in financial decision-making.
In Delhi, we hosted a session with D. Y. Chandrachud, former Chief Justice of India, and Meeran Chadha Borwankar, former Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development. The discussion unpacked how law, institutions and everyday choices intersect, and what it takes to translate rights into lived reality.
In Bangalore, a conversation with Bhakti Modi, Co-founder & CEO, Tira Beauty, and Kulsum Shadab Wahab, Founder, Ara Lumiere, brought together two distinct but connected lenses on leadership, building at scale and building with purpose, and how both can drive long-term impact.
Alongside these larger networking and learning sessions, we curated intimate sessions in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore with leaders including Manoj Kohli, Chairman & Managing Partner, MK Knowledge LLP; Rekha Menon, former Chairperson & Senior Managing Director, Accenture India; Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder, upGrad; and Aditya Ghosh, Co-founder, Akasa Air. These sessions focused on leadership, scale and decision-making, and created space for more direct, candid exchange with industry veterans.
Our mentor sessions continued to bring operator-led insight into the room across cities. Conversations with Aparna Saxena, Founder & CEO, Antinorm, the founders of Palmonas, and leaders like Rashi Sethia, CEO, Nicobar, and Sifat Khurana, Co-founder & Chief Brand Officer, Innovist, broke down what it takes to build and scale consumer businesses today, from early decisions to sustained growth.
We also ran focused sessions across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore on key leadership skills. From executive presence with Suresh Venkat and Faezah Jalali, to personal branding with Chitra Singh, and sessions on PR and performance marketing with Minari Shah and Mala Kashyap, the emphasis stayed on helping members sharpen how they communicate, position and make decisions in their roles.
Alongside this, we continued to curate experiences that support a more holistic view of leadership and growth. From the Aranyani Pavilion conversation in Delhi, which explored leadership through the lens of ecology and responsibility, to AUM Life in Mumbai, and our International Women’s Day soirées across cities, these moments created space for reflection, connection and a different kind of exchange within the community.
Taken together, this is how we approach building the LWL ecosystem. Not as isolated events, but as a mix of perspectives, formats and rooms that contribute to 360 degree growth, professional, personal and everything in between.
“Give to Gain” comes to life in what is shared in these rooms, and in what members choose to take forward from them. That will continue to shape how we curate, who we bring in, and how we build this community going forward.