Sundip Arora
President, NetIP North America
Sundip@netip.org
Sundip became involved with NetIP 4 years back through the Boston Chapter and hasn’t looked back since! His passion for creating a world class organization translated into successfully co-chairing the sold-out 2008 conference in Boston. He translated his successes and lessons learned from that experience into his new role as VP of External Affairs in 2009 with new and exciting sponsorship, public relations and re-branding initiatives for the NetIP as a whole which put NetIP on the Global map, and well on it's way to becoming a household name.
Sundip took over as the President for NetIP NA in 2010. Through his team of 25 NA volunteers, and over 250 chapter leaders, he has implemented a host of ambitious measures to ensure that NetIP is recognized as the premier professional organization to support the professional, cultural, political and community needs of South Asian Professionals.
In his day job, Sundip works for a high tech startup company based out of the Boston (Metatomix) managing sales engineering activities for an exciting new technology. Prior to his new life, he was an IT Strategy Consultant with Deloitte Consulting.
His drive to help NetIP become a superlative non-profit organization in America comes from his professional experience and inspiration from fellow NetIP leaders and members.
Sri Narasimhan
VP of Finance and Administration, NetIP North America
sri@netip.org
Sri first became involved with NetIP as a member of the Los Angeles/Orange County chapter. Having witnessed the enormous potential of the organization, he led the founding of the Phoenix chapter under NetIP-NA's chapter startup pilot program. NetIP Phoenix was the first chapter to complete the rigorous new program, and serves as a model for future emerging chapters. Sri served as the first President of NetIP Phoenix through 2009. Under his leadership, NetIP Phoenix won the bid to host the Officers Leadership Conference in 2009. Sri is currently pursuing his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Sarika Punjabi
Conference Co-Chair
VP Events, NetIP North America
sarika@netip.org
Sarika Punjabi has held formal event planning roles for over 10 years, planning events for up to 2,000 people with budgets reaching into the thousands. She brings 5 years of experience in professional Sales and Marketing, including 3 years in a client-facing role at Microsoft Corporation.
As the 2009 President of NetIP Seattle, Sarika turned around the chapter. In one year, NetIP Seattle doubled its finances, doubled its membership, increased the mailing list by 25%, and had a 400% increase in membership of their Facebook group. Under her guidance and leadership, NetIP Seattle grew from 10 events per year to 3-4 events monthly.
As well as being an experienced marketer, Sarika is known for her talent in putting together large-scale events. She began planning events from the prodigious age of 5, and since then has led planning teams for a large variety of events, including professional development seminars, social events, cultural shows, fashion shows, and theater productions. Sarika gained valuable experience as a professional event planner for Wells Fargo, where she led the first ever high net-worth client appreciation event in Aspen, Colorado.
Neha Sharma
Conference Co-Chair
VP Events, NetIP North America
neha@netip.org
Neha co-founded NetIP Seattle in 2005 and has led the chapter from its initial launch through its current year of growth. During her years of leadership Neha has held a variety of different roles including: Secretary, Vice President, and Strategy Director.
Professionally, Neha is a Program Manager working for The Boeing Company throughout the past 5 years. A native of Seattle, WA. Neha attended University of Washington where she earned her Bachelor’s in Material Science and Engineering; Project Management Certificate and Business Development & Strategy Certificate. However, her skills go far beyond technology, strategy, and project management.
In and outside work she chooses to be a change agent & motivate and engage others. She launched and leads the Interiors Diversity Team and has organized & led a 400+ attendee conference for the organization. Likewise, she has launched, marketed, interviewed, and initiated the Interiors Leadership Development Program. Providing program participants an outlet for development, growth, exposure to management and the opportunity to work on special projects. She continually aspires to be a change agent and to make positive changes. Neha’s efforts at work and in the community are focused at spreading enthusiasm, building professional development, growth, and inclusion.
Gagan Luthra
Marketing Chair
gagan.luthra@netip.org
Gagan Luthra is new to NetIP and excited to be a part of hosting the conference in Seattle this year. Born and raised in Madras, India, Gagan later moved to the United States to pursue his college degree in Electrical Engineering at Washington State. He has now been working at Cypress Semiconductors as a Software and Electrical Engineer for the past four years.
Gagan is extremely passionate about and connected with the Indo-American community, which has led him to join the NetIP Conference team. As past President of the ISA (Indian Students Association) and Secretary of the SSA (Sikh Students Association) at WSU, he brings event and program management skills to the table, and is helping out this year with marketing and creative design.
Sonia Nijhawan
Marketing Chair
sonia.nijhawan@netip.org
Sonia Nijhawan is new to NetIP and the city of Seattle. She graduated from MIT in 2009 with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering, and now works at Microsoft as a Program Manager for Bing. She was born and raised in Louisville, KY, home of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In college, she was president and choreographer of MIT’s Chamak Fusion Dance Team and social chair of MIT’s South Asian American Students, both experiences that allowed her to thrive in leadership, creativity, and event planning – which she has been excited to put to use on the NetIP conference team.
Mohnish Bahl
Marketing Chair
mohnish.bahl@netip.org
Born and raised in Mumbai, Mohnish came to US in 2007 to pursue his MBA from Darden Business School, University of Virginia. Currently he is working as an Analytics consultant for a software client based out of Seattle. His hobbies include playing racquet sports and travelling. Before moving to Seattle, Mohnish was based out of Dallas (Go Cowboys!) and served as National Liaison on the Dallas NetIP board. Mohnish brings 4+ years of Sales and Marketing experience to the NetIP Conference marketing team.
Jamila Bagdadi
Public Relations Chair
jamila@netip.org
Results proven professional with 3 years of experience in Public Relations and client management combined with a graduate degree in Public Relations from University of Madras, India. Highly motivated individual who believes that there is no substitute for preparation & hard work and would approach every task with enthusiasm and a determination to excel. My interest lies in event planning and would love to relax with my books and cooking.
Kavita Kukday-Deb
Public Relations Chair
Kavita is a communications specialist and an experienced journalist with India’s most widely read daily ‘Times of India’. She possesses excellent written and verbal skills with more than 800 bylines in newspapers and magazines, including several cover stories. She is adept at developing a wide range of content and has a keen understanding and interest in social media and strategic communication issues and trends.
After moving to Seattle she was inspired by the work NetIP has been doing in the chapter and recently she took over as the e-communications specialist for the conference. She hopes to use her social media experience to spread the word about the most anticipated event of the year – the Annual NetIP conference.
Nidhi Kawatra
Logistics Chair
nidhikawatra@gmail.com
In her 5 years of professional experience in marketing communications and project management. Nidhi has managed various marketing campaigns while handling budgets in millions.
Having worked with one of the top event management company in India, Nidhi has managed many corporate conferences, product launches; live music shows with more than 5,000 attendees etc. Always up for diversity and challenges, she has successfully implemented and managed a self-owned enterprise.
Recently moved from India, Nidhi took no time to get involved with NetIP and has started handling logistics for NetIP Annual Conference 2010. She plans to make best use of her experience and help this conference become a success!
Namita Das
Volunteer Chair
namita.das@netip.org
Namita is currently working as a Program Manager at Microsoft. She was raised in Lucknow, India, spent her undergrad in Dubai, masters at Stanford, California and now finally in Seattle.
She is an Electrical and Electronic engineer by qualification. She loves to meet new people and take on new challenges. For the NetIP conference, Namita has been helping with volunteers – recruiting, training and managing them.
Amit Patel
Sponsorship Chair
Amit.patel@netip.org
Amit became involved with NetIP specifically to help with the conference and has assumed the role of Sponsorship chair.
In this role he is reaching out to organizations that might benefit from talents and credentials of the diverse South Asian crowd that the conference will bring together. He believes in the core values of the foundation especially the professional pillar and hope to continue his work after the conference ends, building professional partnerships between NetIP and companies all over the world.
Amit works as an IT consultant for Avanade working on corporate database solutions used by companies such as Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He grew up in the UK and moved here 4 years ago to work in the Seattle High tech industry.
Ema Virdi-Sehra
Legal Chair
ema.virdi-sehra@netip.org
Ema serves as the Legal Chair to the 2010 Conference Planning Team. Ema's current practice focuses on insurance defense and coverage litigation. Ema has experience with civil and commercial litigation, contract review, risk management and general compliance. Ema attended Western Washington University earning her B.A degree in Law and Diversity. Ema earned her J.D. degree from Seattle University School of Law. In addition to NETIP, Ema has been involved with the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, the South Asian Bar Association and the Sikh Coalition.
Pradnya Konnur Jagtiani
Special Events Chair
pradnya.jagtiani@netip.org
Pradnya's relocation from Toronto to Seattle inspired her involvement with Net IP, and she subsequently took on the position of Special Events Chair as a fantastic opportunity to utilize her experience in training and development, while building her professional network in Seattle.
In this role, Pradnya has been engaged in designing professional development sessions as well as coordinating CPE/CLE/CME seminars. In addition, she has been creating fun and diverse optional events for participants, in and around the Seattle area.
Not just a passion for event management, Pradnya also brings 4 years of work experience as an HR Specialist within the consulting industry (Accenture, Aon Consulting). She believes her talents, in synergy with her champion team, will put on an extraordinary conference 2010!
Tauseef Kidwai
Content Chair
tauseef.kidwai@netip.org
Tauseef Kidwai has an extremely diverse background stemming from his experiences in various corners of the globe. This experience has allowed him to learn about and embrace a wide variety of cultures, ideas and languages like Arabic, Hindi and Urdu.
Technology, volunteering and social work are his greatest passions. Tauseef works full-time for the world's largest e-tailer: Amazon.com. He is also currently the Political Director for NetIP Seattle and part of the host committee for Seattle's Green Festival.
Neha Negandhi
Special Events Chair
neha.negandhi@netip.org
Neha became involved with NetIP at the grassroots level in Seattle as the Vice President with NetIP Seattle. Recognizing it was being revived, she helped the organization grow and develop into a Seattle social beacon. Her passion for creating an amazing organization translated into successfully running for the Special Events Chair in 2007 and then President in 2008. During her tenure, the membership grew to triple-digits and received accolades for having some of the best professional development and volunteer events.
When not involved with NetIP, Neha is Marketing professional having worked at some big corporations like Turner Broadcasting, T-Mobile and Starbucks. Recently, she has started her own event planning company involved in planning work for South Asian weddings as well as corporate and nonprofits annual galas and fundraisers.
Robi Ganguly
Technology Chair
robi.ganguly@netip.org
Raised in Redmond, WA, Robi considers himself a Seattle native and is excited to show off his city to so many NetIP members this year. In addition to spending an inordinate amount of time running, Robi runs a digital communications strategy consulting firm and is building several startups with friends.
You can find him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rganguly
Harsh Bhatt
Technology Chair
harsh.bhatt@gmail.com
Harsh Bhatt, born and raised in Gujrat, India, has been living in the Seattle area for the past 10 years. He currently works as a Marketing and Biz Reporting consultant at Microsoft. Due to his passion for technology and past experience in web development, Harsh has joined the NetIP Conference team to help out with website content and creation. Harsh attended Washington State University, where he was head of the cultural chair for ISA (Indian Student Association).