Employer of the Year Awards Judging Committee

Chair: 
Kifaya Abu-Thallam 
HR Executive Advisor
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Kifaya Abu-Thallam is a trusted Executive HR Advisor to business leaders and boards of directors in HR Transformation & Organization Design in the United Arab Emirates. With 20+ years of experience in government, semi-government and private sectors, she has served in some of the most significant industries including defense, telecommunications, banking, energy, and infrastructure development.  Kifaya is accredited by many recognized international Human Resources organizations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the United Kingdom, a certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute, CPHR Canada, a Certified Organization Development Professional (USA), and CINS.

Kifaya has focused experience in designing HR models that drive organizational and employee performance through digital transformation, building effective HR strategies, workforce capabilities building programs, human-centric organizational cultures (employees’ happiness, D&I strategies), and Agile performance management systems. Kifaya is also a regular speaker and moderator at HR Summits locally and internationally.

On being asked to Chair, Kifaya commented: “The Stevie® Awards for Great Employers are a global symbol of excellence in workplace culture and people-first leadership. They shine the spotlight on organizations that set the standard for how great employers attract, engage, and support their teams — shaping a better future for employees everywhere. I’m honored to serve as Chair of this year’s Judging Committee and help celebrate the companies and leaders driving positive change in the world of work.”

Committee:
 

Saurabh Agarwal, Senior Manager  
Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Illinois, United States
A results-oriented PMP-certified professional with 19+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, Cloud Management, Technical Program Management, Change Management, Release Management, Account & Bid Management, and People Management. Saurabh is adept at mentoring teams, overseeing performance evaluations, and HR collaborations and has successfully led a $500M global digital transformation program across five countries.

Yetunde Amodu, Associate
Gowling WLG, Toronto, Ontario, Canada       
Yetunde is an associate in the Real Estate and Financial Services Group in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. Her practice focuses on advising development finance banks, multinational financial institutions and corporate entities on project, corporate and real estate financings. A Nigerian native, she holds a law degree from Cardiff University in Wales.


 

Gergana Ancheva 
Sofia, Bulgaria
Gergana is an Employer Branding leader and a growth-driven person. Professionally, she is committed to shaping strong brands through compelling stories and innovative content. Gergana holds a BSc degree in Marketing and Management from the University of Sussex, UK and a MSc degree in International Marketing from King’s College London.

 

Deepak Chandran, Chief Innovation Officer
Emergence Technologies LLC, Willowgrove, Pennsylvania, United States
Deepak specializes in building scalable, intelligent ecosystems across the domains of energy, sustainable aquaculture, industrial AI, automotive, EV charging, Solid State Transformers, Analytics, and cloud-based prescriptive monitoring.

 

Rinita Datta, Director of Marketing
Cisco, Fremont, California, United States
Rinita is a marketing leader who thrives at the intersection of product strategy, customer value, and innovation. As Director of Marketing at Splunk, a Cisco company, she leads global initiatives across product adoption, developer engagement, and community growth. Rinita combines technical fluency, systems thinking, and business storytelling to drive innovation.

Betty Encinales, Global Talent Acquisition Partner
Becruit London, London, United Kingdom
Betty is Global Corporate Talent Acquisition Partner; she has spent over a decade connecting, building, and developing relationships with organizations and sector-leading experts in fintech, finance, and media. Betty has worked with major brands like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander, Financial Times, and Newsweek, providing valuable insights to their organizations.

Joann Hizon, Vice President for HR, Facilities & Admin (retired)
SM Investments Corp Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Joann has over 25 years of leadership experience in HR, Training, Operations, and Facilities culled from the telecommunications, BPO, semiconductors, IT, pharmaceutical, property, and mining industries. She's a seasoned resource speaker on career counseling, succession planning, workforce planning, workplace diversity, organizational transformation, crisis management, business continuity planning, and sustainability.

Jaidev Jayakumar Jay, Manager     
Deloitte & Touche Llp, Boston, Massachusetts, United States   
Jaidev (Jay) Jayakumar is a management consultant with experience supporting Fortune 500 companies in digital transformation, Mergers and Acquisitions and enabling next-generation solutions. Jay is a Project Management Professional (PMP), holds a Masters in Biotechnology Management from University of California Irvine and a Gold medalist from Anna University, Chennai.

Franklin Kamnang Ngansop, Cofounder and Certified Business Coach
Vitamin CS Coaching, Douala, Littoral, Cameroon
Franklin, an energetic Startup and Business Coach whose mission is to unlock the immense potential within entrepreneurs and businesses. His expertise in business strategy and innovation, coupled with a profound understanding of industry dynamics, makes him a powerhouse for nurturing growth in budding enterprises. Franklin has a commendable history of assisting startups.

Inderpal Khanuja Inder, Engagement Manager
McKinsey and Company, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Seasoned management consultant with 15+ years of expertise serving clients across 10+ countries to propel growth and create long term value for companies across the spectrum, from Fortune 100 companies to small-medium companies. Industry and consulting experience with proven ability to deliver results and create sustainable, tangible value for companies.

Amit Mishra, Senior Director of Engineering
Fox Corporation, Los Angeles, California, United States
Amit is an internationally recognized technology executive with over two decades of excellence in software engineering, large-scale distributed systems, and AI-driven digital innovation. As Sr. Director of Engineering at Fox Corporation, he leads high-performing global teams responsible for architecting and delivering world-class consumer platforms, including Fox Sports, FoxNow, and Fox Nation.

Priyank Mishra, Senior Manager, Supply Chain
Lam Research, Fremont, California, United States
Priyank is a Supply Chain Professional with more than 10 years of industry experience. He is currently working as a Senior Manager at Lam Research, where he has been a thirteen-time recipient of Above and Beyond awards and a one-time recipient of Standing Ovation awards. He holds a Master's from Duke University in Engineering Management.

Ruhir Nath, Senior Consultant Product Marketing
Dell Technologies, Round Rock, Texas, United States
Ruchir Nath, a thought leader with 17+ years of experience, excels in building high-performing teams and managing complex projects. At Dell Technologies, he drives business development and AI initiatives. Previously, he led sales strategy at Dell and worked on finance transformation at AMD. Member of Forbes Council and Fast Company.

Sudheer Obbu, Vice President - Senior Lead Software Engineer
JPMorgan Chase, Delaware, Ohio, United States
Sudheer is an accomplished DevSecOps, Cloud, and platform engineering service lead with 19 years of expertise in architecting, securing, and optimizing complex multi-cloud infrastructures. His focus includes innovating FinOps solutions, integrating advanced technologies like GenAI for AIOps, driving efficiency through automation initiatives, and a track record in enhancing security and reducing costs.
 

Anastasii Shakula, Senior Staff Accountant
Ashton Woods Homes, Alpharetta, Georgia, United States     
Anastasiia Shakula is a Senior Staff Accountant at Ashton Woods Homes with international experience in audit and accounting. She holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and Taxation and specializes in financial reporting, corporate accounting and process improvement, bringing both strong analytical skills and a global perspective to her professional expertise.
 

Amber Hussain Siddique, Director - Finance Controlling & Planning
Dr Reddy's Laboratories INC, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Specializes in the generics pharmaceutical industry and is currently heading the finance controlling function of Dr. Reddy's North America business. Amber is a Chartered Accountant from India with proven expertise in financial controlling and planning, business analytics, and a deep understanding of pharmaceutical supply chain operations, including inventory management and cost optimization.
 

Guanwei (Rachel) Tao, Manager, New Business & Customer Strategy
TriMas, Los Angeles, California, United States
Rachel Tao is a seasoned product strategist and innovation leader with over 18 years of experience in the global medical device industry. She has successfully launched more than 27 products across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her career spans from sales at Johnson & Johnson to senior product management roles at Abbott. 

Abhaya Uprety, Co-Founder & CTO
ParkStash Inc. , San Jose, California, United States
Abhaya is the Cofounder & CTO at ParkStash - an Intelligent Transportation and Parking Asset Management platform. ParkStash helps property owners monetize, enforce, and monitor their parking assets with a suite of products and integrations: automatic license plate recognition, permit management, gate access control, and parking enforcement. We partner with other service providers to cater to custom solutions.

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