Shakti Conclave concludes with pledge to Accelerate Action for Women’s Leadership

With an ambitious vision to empower 10,000+ women leaders by FY27, WILL Education is redefining leadership for a rapidly evolving corporate landscape

New Delhi, March 4, 2025: Work Integrated Learning for Leadership (WILL), in collaboration with UPES, successfully hosted Shakti: Be the Champion for Accelerating Action at The Claridges, New Delhi, strengthening its commitment to shaping the future of women’s learning and leadership in India. The event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and changemakers to address the critical need for upskilling, future readiness, and inclusive leadership in today’s corporate landscape.

Dr. Ram Sharma, Vice Chancellor, UPES, delivered the welcome note followed by a keynote address by Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, 5F World, GTT Data Solutions, Lighthouse Communities, EPPS, and Honeywell Automation India Ltd.

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, while complimenting WILL and UPES on the Shakti initiative, said, “The time has come for women to move beyond the equality agenda and train themselves to be leaders of a new world.”

Dr. Ram Sharma, Vice Chancellor, UPES, highlighted the urgency for action, stating, “Leadership has no gender, yet cognitive biases often associate terms like CEO, CXO, or leader with men. India’s spiritual wisdom teaches that while bodies have gender, the soul does not—a perspective that, if integrated into leadership, could help redefine it as truly inclusive. Through WILL and the Shakti Leadership Program, in collaboration with UPES, we are not just equipping women for leadership roles; we are reshaping the very foundation of future-ready, inclusive organizations—ones built on the core belief that every individual, regardless of gender or identity, possesses infinite potential.”

The event featured a fireside chat ‘Turn Up the Volume’ with Nisha Narayan, Director & COO, Red FM and Magic FM, moderated by Stuti Gandhi, Senior Director, Brand Strategy and Communications, GUS Global Services.

An engaging panel discussion on Disrupting the Workforce was led by Raginie Singh, Senior Director – HR, GUS Global Services, featuring key industry voices, including Seema Anand, Senior Human Resource Leader, DLF; Renu Rohtagi, CHRO, Air Liquide; and Pooja Dagar, Chief Manager, Human Resources, Air India.

Another thought-provoking panel discussion ‘Beyond the Status Quo’ was moderated by Vinod Sood, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Hughes Systique Corporation (HSC). This session brought together distinguished speakers such as Kanta Singh, Deputy Country Representative – UN Women, India; Snehlata Shrivastava, Retired IAS and Ex-Secretary, Justice, Government of India; Reena Asthana Khair, Senior Partner & Head of International Trade and Indirect Taxation Practice, Kochhar & Co.; and Salil Lal, CHRO, Maruti Suzuki India.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Antarpreet Singh, Director (Academics), WILL Education, emphasised on the transformative role of leadership programs like Shakti, saying, “The future of leadership focuses on judiciously embracing AI. The women must be at the forefront of leading the change in an era marked with high level of complexity, fluidity, and turbulence. WILL Education’s ‘SHAKTI‘ initiative is actively bridging the gap by equipping women with the key competencies at personal, interpersonal, and strategic levels in a rapidly evolving business landscape.”

WILL’s flagship initiative equips women with the skills and strategic vision to excel in senior roles. With its hybrid model and industry-aligned curriculum, the program has already impacted women across industries, including PSUs. WILL now aims to scale it further, empowering over 10,000 women leaders by FY27 while forging global partnerships for lasting change.

With International Women’s Day approaching, the Shakti conclave was a powerful call to action, tackling barriers that hold women back from leadership. Discussions highlighted the urgent need for upskilling, mentorship, and policy support to create an ecosystem where women not only step into leadership but drive enterprise-wide transformation.