C J Meadows: Where Great Ideas Come From

Lakshmi Pratury

Lakshmi Pratury is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, public speaker, master interviewer, and writer. She is the founder and CEO of INKTalks, a transformative platform and community launched in 2010, where she curates stories and a community of global thought-leaders and game-changers.

Lakshmi is a sought-after public speaker and curator – addressing a wide range of leadership topics, including redefining success, future technologies and their role in shaping the workforce, women’s roles in the workplace, and the transformative power of storytelling in business. Alongside her speaking engagements, Lakshmi writes on a range of topics spanning business and life, and has contributed to several leading publications. She is on the board of several startups and initiatives, shaping and guiding teams on scaling globally and building communities. 

With over two decades of experience in the United States, Lakshmi held pivotal roles at Intel, where she helped shape the tech giant’s foray into end user marketing and business development. She worked in venture capital with Global Catalyst Partners and drove impactful projects in leadership roles for the non-profit American India Foundation.

Lakshmi is credited for co-hosting TED’s first and only conference in India in 2009 and bringing Singularity University’s international summit to India in 2015. Continuing her mission with INK and the non-profit INK Global Foundation (IGF), Lakshmi is committed to amplifying India’s narrative on the global stage, bringing the best of the world to India, and vice versa. She champions the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and storytelling to ignite innovation, foster resilience, and shape our collective destiny. Her journey from mathematics gold medalist to business and theater graduate underscores her multifaceted expertise and passion for driving change.

Archana Dutta

As CEO of INK Women, Archana Dutta leads a dynamic platform dedicated to empowering women leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers. INK Women fosters mentorship, networking, and knowledge-sharing, creating a thriving ecosystem where women can connect, collaborate, and thrive. Under Archana’s leadership, the platform champions visibility, inclusion, and growth, ensuring more women have access to opportunities that help them excel.

Before INK Women, Archana spent 28 years in leadership roles at Hyatt Hotels and Lufthansa German Airlines. She then founded SecondAct, a platform for personal and professional transformation, and hosts the Discover Your SecondAct podcast, featuring over 150 inspiring stories. Her social impact initiative, Pedal On, focuses on skill-building and sustainable livelihoods for underprivileged women, creating over 10,000 eco-friendly products. Across all her ventures, Archana remains committed to driving meaningful change, empowering individuals to embrace reinvention and step into their next act with purpose.

Anshulika Dubey

Anshulika is a media & technology entrepreneur. After her stint at the management consulting firm McKinsey, she started Wishberry – India’s first crowdfunding platform for creative artists, backed by India’s top angel investors and Reliance Entertainment.

Wishberry helped over 600 creative artists fundraise ~$3 million (~Rs. 26 crore) from 1 lakh+ people across the world through philanthropy and equity capital. Wishberry also produced 6 regional feature films currently streaming on the top OTT platforms such as Netflix and Sony Liv. The films went on to garner several international awards and one of them called ‘Mandela’ also went on to be shortlisted in the Oscar list from India.

Anshulika has now launched The Writers INK Institute, India’s premier skillbuilding initiative for upcoming writers in India, incubated and supported by the INK Global Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Writers INK aims to become a premium institution that provides global writing education and a visible career pathway to budding writers in India.

Neha Kanitkar

Neha Kanitkar is the co-founder of The Wayfarers, an exclusive, off-radar slow travel community that is redefining travel in India by harnessing the power of behavioral sciences and generative AI. The mission is to enable a seamless journey from discovery to adventure, while promoting sustainable and mindful travel planning and fostering meaningful connections, both with destinations and fellow explorers.

In addition to her role at The Wayfarers, Neha is a partner at UXDesignlabs, a product design and venture studio. Previously, she led the implementation of an Indo-German bilateral project for GIZ, focused on improving framework conditions for women-led enterprises in India. Her professional experience also includes roles at the Consulate General of the United States of America in Hyderabad and at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in Wellington.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Neha is passionate about food, travel, and community building.

Aparajita Jain

Aparajita Jain is a leading figure in the Indian contemporary art world, known for her efforts in promoting Indian art on the global stage. In 2005, she founded Seven Art Limited, a gallery dedicated to showcasing innovative Indian artists, such as Asim Waqif and Aakash Nihalani. The gallery played a pivotal role in placing Indian contemporary art in the international arena, notably hosting the first Indian contemporary art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Shanghai and facilitating Indian participation in the Lisbon Biennale.

Jain is currently the co-founder of Nature Morte, one of Delhi’s most avant-garde art spaces, which has become renowned for showcasing leading contemporary Indian artists like Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat, and Anita Dube. Her influence extends beyond the commercial art scene into philanthropy. She established the Saat Saath Arts Foundation (SSAF), a nonprofit aimed at fostering international art exchanges. One of SSAF’s landmark projects is the creation of India’s first permanent international art space at Nahargarh Fort in collaboration with the Rajasthan government.

Aparajita Jain’s contributions have earned her recognition as one of the 50 icons of Indian art by *Platform* magazine. She is also actively involved in global business leadership circles as a board member of the Delhi Chapter of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) and is a founding member of the Harvard South Asia Institute Arts Program. Her vision continues to shape the future of contemporary art in India and abroad.

Neha Bagaria

INK Fellow Neha Bagaria is the Founder & CEO of HerKey, a platform dedicated to helping women re-skill and re-enter the workforce after taking career breaks for reasons such as marriage, motherhood, or elderly care. Inspired by her own journey of stepping away from her career to focus on her family, Neha recognized the challenges faced by educated women seeking to return to work. This personal experience led her to launch HerKey on International Women’s Day in 2015, with the goal of reversing the female brain drain in India.

HerKey provides women with access to resources, training, and opportunities to restart their careers, while also helping companies recruit experienced female talent. Neha’s vision is not only about supporting women in their return to the workforce but also about empowering them to rediscover their identity and make meaningful contributions to society.

Through her leadership, Neha has created a vibrant community of women who are confidently navigating the transition back to work, proving that it is possible to balance personal fulfillment with professional growth.

Vidya Shah

Vidya Shah is the Executive Chairperson of EdelGive Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Edelweiss Group, a leading financial services company in India. After a successful career in investment banking, Vidya transitioned into philanthropy, driven by a passion to address India’s most pressing development challenges. She founded EdelGive Foundation in 2008 and, over the years, has transformed it into a strategic platform that supports grassroots NGOs across India. The foundation has provided both financial and non-financial resources to over 150 organizations, significantly scaling their impact.

Under Vidya’s leadership, EdelGive has emerged as a trusted philanthropic fund manager and advisor, connecting Indian and international funders with credible NGOs. Her innovative approach to grant-making focuses on placing NGOs at the center of funding decisions, allowing them to access sustainable support from various institutional and corporate partners. This model has established EdelGive as a go-to resource for those looking to engage with India’s development sector.

In addition to her role at EdelGive, Vidya Shah serves on the boards of several prominent civil society organizations such as Akshaya Patra Foundation, Janaagraha, and Mann Deshi Foundation. She also holds positions with international organizations like WINGS and Empower Families for Innovative Philanthropy, and recently joined the Asia Gender Network. Vidya holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and previously worked in investment banking with firms such as ICICI and NM Rothschild before becoming CFO of Edelweiss.

Dr. Susan Lim

Dr. Susan Lim is a pioneering surgeon, scientist, and creative visionary with a multifaceted career that spans medical breakthroughs and the arts. Notably, she performed Singapore’s first successful cadaveric liver transplant, marking a milestone in the country’s medical history. Her expertise in robotic surgery and transplantation, honed through studies under world-renowned surgeons like Sir Roy Calne and Professor Thomas Starzl, has earned her international recognition in the medical field. She has also delivered impactful talks on organ replacement, including a TED Talk exploring the future of cell transplantation.

Beyond her medical achievements, Dr. Lim has expanded into the arts, co-creating and writing the musical *ALAN* and two orchestral pieces: *Lim Fantasy of Companionship for Piano and Orchestra* and *Lim Cosmic Rhapsody*, both recorded with the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra. These works explore the intersections of artificial intelligence, robotics, and human emotion, reflecting her forward-thinking approach to science and art. Dr. Lim continues to push boundaries in both fields, earning recognition at global forums like the World Economic Forum and various international film and music festivals.

Her work epitomizes a unique blend of scientific rigor and artistic creativity, reflecting her commitment to innovation and the pursuit of knowledge across multiple disciplines.