Meet the TSG Team

Chacko Thomas

Group Chief Sustainability Officer,
Tata Sons

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Shrirang Dhavale

Cluster Head,
Social Services Cluster

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Abhishek Goyal

General Manager,
Environment Services

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Naimish Upadhyay

Deputy General Manager,
Sustainability Services

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Gauri Rajadhyaksha

Deputy General Manager,
Community Services

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Ipsita Das

Senior Manager,
Community Services

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Shabdendu Pathak

Senior Manager,
Environment Service

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Aditi Misra

Senior Manager,
Sustainability Services

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Parameswaran R

Senior Manager,
Environment Services

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Aruna Parimi

Manager,
Sustainability Services

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Sumedh Patil

Manager,
Community Services

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Supriya Ramachandran

Manager,
Community Services

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Harsh Pandey

Manager,
Community Services

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Jasmin Pani

Manager,
Sustainability Services

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Aparna Shukla

Manager,
Communications

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Khushroo Tata

Assistant Manager,
Accounts & Administration

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Trupti Prabhu

Assistant Manager,
Community Services

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Rashika Saini

Assistant Manager,
Community Services

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Vijayalaxmi Amin (Viji)

Executive Secretary
to Group CSO

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Alka Upadhyay

Assistant Vice President,
Sustainability & Environment Services

Alka heads the Sustainability and Environment Services Team and is responsible for promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship across the Tata group of companies.

She drives multiple subjects, including sustainability governance and disclosures, climate strategy, water stewardship, circular economy, biodiversity and supply chain sustainability. Her work essentially involves providing advisory to Tata companies which entails seeking out and meeting C-suite executives, identifying and developing improvement plans and securing senior-level commitment for their implementation.

She is a metallurgist by discipline and has spent over 14 years in the steel industry. She has been responsible for conceptualisation and facilitation of technological improvements in the area of iron making in Tata Steel. She has been felicitated with the Young Metallurgist award in 2005 in ferrous category by the Ministry of Steel. Alka is also a Harvard Business School alumna.

She has over 7 years of experience in the field of Climate Change and Sustainability. Before joining the Tata Sustainability Group, she was a part of the Climate Change and Sustainability cluster at Tata Quality Management Services.

She enjoys reading biographies, fiction, and running half marathons.

Shrirang Dhavale

Cluster Head,
Social Services Cluster

Shrirang heads the Social Services Cluster at the Tata Sustainability Group. Shrirang and his team anchor the ONE Tata response to disasters, build group capability on disaster risk reduction and for the response during ‘peace time’.

The Tata group volunteering programme, one of the largest in the corporate world, is driven by him and his volunteering team. His key responsibilities also include providing CSR advisory and knowledge services to Tata companies and working with them to help develop and deploy a ‘business and human rights’ (BHR) framework. He was the Member Secretary of the Working Group that authored the ‘Tata BHR Guidelines’. He oversees the administration and accounts functions at TSG. He joined the TSG in 2015.

As a representative of the Tata group, Shrirang serves as ‘At large board member’ of the International Association for Volunteer Effort.

Shrirang has over two and half decades of professional experience and has worked with only two employers to date. Shrirang joined the Tata group through Tata Motors, Pune (2008) where along with coordinating CSR and Tata Motors Grihini, he was the Secretary for the Sumant Moolgaokar Development Foundation and Tata Motors Employees' Education Trust. He was a Lead Assessor for Tata Affirmative Action Programme. As a Tata representative, Shrirang held many positions at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Shrirang’s first assignment was with ActionAid International (1997) where he learnt from and worked closely with few of the most disadvantaged communities staying in remote areas of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh; and on key humanitarian responses to significant disasters like tsunami, earthquake, drought and floods.

Shrirang holds an MA (Urban and Rural Community Development) from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and has participated in the Leadership Development Programme by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).

Shrirang likes playing badminton, long-distance drives and listening to music.

Abhishek Goyal

General Manager, Environment Services

Abhishek is a part of the Environment Services team at TSG. He has a Master's degree in Environment Economics and Management from University of York, UK, and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Indore University.

Prior to joining TSG, Abhishek was with McKinsey & Company as an Analytics Specialist in their Sustainability and Resource Productivity practice. He has significant experience in the area of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement cost curves for countries, cities and corporations. He has also worked with Ernst & Young's Climate Change and Sustainability Services, where he was working on developing carbon reducing projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. Abhishek has also worked on multiple projects related to sustainability reporting advisory, assurance, training and capacity building programmes across varied industry sectors.

Gauri Rajadhyaksha

Deputy General Manager, Community Services

Gauri leads the Volunteering portfolio at the Tata Sustainability Group. Her key responsibilities include driving the Tata volunteering strategy across the Tata Group, capacity building of Tata Group of companies in the area of volunteering and managing Tata Engage, the flagship volunteering programme of the Tata Group. Additionally, she actively supports the community services team in it's CSR and Disaster Response function.

Gauri has 17 years of diverse work experience in strategic positions with both Non-Government Organizations and Corporate Foundations. Prior to joining TSG, Gauri was the Dy. General Manager, CSR at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. where she spent over a decade steering programs in the education and livelihoods verticals, along with being responsible for statutory compliance, building synergy across Mahindra Group companies and reporting on CSR to internal and external stakeholders. Gauri has also worked with Save The Children, India as a Program Officer for the USAID and SARIQ supported ‘Prevention of human trafficking programme’ and ‘Livelihood training & rehabilitation programme for survivors of sex trafficking’.

Gauri holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and a Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.

Gauri is a music enthusiast, a passionate cook and baker and an avid traveller interested in exploring different cultures.

Dr Anurag Priyadarshi

Deputy General Manager, Community Services

Dr Anurag Priyadarshi is a part of the Community Services team and leads the Corporate Social Responsibility, Business and Human Rights (BHR) and Nature Based Solutions areas at Tata Sustainability Group.

Anurag has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable agriculture and sustainability in industries such as food & beverages, textiles and electronics. He has been on the Boards of Rainforest Alliance USA, Ethical Tea Partnership UK, and India Plastics Pact, and is a founding member of Trustea – the India sustainable tea program.

He is the winner of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Award for Chemical Leasing in 2010 and the Tata Innovista in 2016. Before joining the Tata Sustainability Group, Anurag was the Director - Sustainability at Tata Consumer Products. His areas of work are sustainable sourcing, managing ESG and human rights risks, climate leadership and resilient supply chain, product stewardship and carbon neutral products, circular economy of plastics and creating shared values for the tea communities.

Anurag holds Master’s degrees in Chemistry and International Relations, and a doctorate degree in Sustainable Development and Environmental Management from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Dhanesh Chandra

Senior Manager, Sustainability Services

Dhanesh is part of the Environment & Sustainability Services team at TSG.
His work involves creating sustainability strategies for Tata companies, supporting the thrust areas of sustainability governance and disclosures and supply chain sustainability.

A sustainability professional with more than 7 years of experience in corporate sustainability strategy, supply chain sustainability, ESG policy and standard development across diverse sectors such as Energy, Power & Utilities, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Automotive and others. He brings with him a diverse experience in Electric Vehicles, Clean Energy Transition, Life Cycle Analysis and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Prior to TSG, he worked with EY and led projects on developing corporate sustainability strategies, sustainability reporting, GHG Accounting and independent assurance of non-financial disclosures across diverse sectors. He was also associated with Bharat Electronics Limited, where he contributed significantly in the areas of EHS compliances, Due Diligence and Supply Chain Sustainability.

Dhanesh holds a post-graduate from IIM, Lucknow in Sustainable Management and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication from BIT MESRA.

Shabdendu Pathak

Senior Manager, Environment Service

Shabdendu is a part of the Environment & Sustainability Services team at TSG. Shabdendu is tasked with managing the critical matter of corporate engagement on Biodiversity in addition to various environmental sustainability issues related to energy, carbon, water, etc.

He comes with over 15 years of experience in research, consultancy, industry and infrastructure space. Prior to joining TSG, Shabdendu was associated with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. in the ESG function and was based in Ahmedabad. He has also worked with NEERI, Detox Corporation Pvt Ltd, ABG Cement Ltd and Aditya Birla Group. He comes with significant experience in ESG and sustainability strategy and disclosures, statutory permissions and compliances, biodiversity, environment and social governance, systems, impact assessments, and due-diligence. He is a member of IUCN-CEM (Commission on Ecosystem Management).

A post-graduate in Environment Management from Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Shabdendu also holds a graduate degree in Agriculture Science & Technology from Allahabad Agriculture Institute. He has a diploma in environment law and industrial safety and holds several certifications in human rights, CSR and Sustainability.

Aditi Misra

Senior Manager, Sustainability Services

Aditi is a part of the Sustainability Services team at TSG. Her key responsibilities include supporting development of sustainability strategies for Tata companies and engaging with companies on sustainability governance and disclosures, product stewardship and supply chain sustainability.

Aditi has close to 10 years of work experience. She joined Tata Sustainability Group from Tata Steel, where she worked for 8 years across Risk Research and Treasury functions within the Finance Department. In the Treasury Function, she looked after market research, cash management and worked on automation of key processes. Prior to Tata Steel, she was an Associate Consultant at Boston Analytics – where she worked on projects for International/MNC clients. Prior to joining the workforce, she worked as an intern with Planning Commission of India in the Project Appraisal and Management Department. As part of her Masters of Economics Dissertation, she was also a guest lecturer on experimental economics at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai for a brief stint.

Aditi has an MBA in International Management from Cardiff Business School, UK, a Masters in Economics (PG Dip) from University of Warwick, UK. She completed her Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

She enjoys cooking, reading and watching documentaries about outer space.

Parameswaran R

Senior Manager, Environment Services

Parameswaran is a part of the Environment Services team at TSG. His primary responsibilities include driving the net-zero pillar under the group’s environmental stewardship project - Aalingana.

Before joining TSG, Parameswaran worked with Snowkap, where he played a pivotal role in building digital products for B2B sustainability solutions. His expertise spans greenhouse gas emission (GHG) accounting, carbon markets, and product management. Prior to Snowkap, he worked with Holcim India, specialising in waste management, business systems, and strategy. Additionally, he has a rich research background, collaborating with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on projects related to GHG emissions inventory, climate change, and sustainability. His philosophy is "Teach to learn, and keep advocating the learnings."

Parameswaran holds a Master's degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad and a Bachelors in Civil and Environment from VJTI, Mumbai.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Parameswaran enjoys playing badminton and staying updated on interesting tech innovations through his reading pursuits.

Aparna Shukla

Manager, Communications

Aparna leads communications at Tata Sustainability Group. Her role involves driving TSG’s group-wide communication campaigns, managing its digital properties and crafting and telling sustainability stories from the Tata group.

Before joining Tata Sustainability Group, Aparna served at Reliance Foundation, where she focused on digital strategy, women empowerment communications, and event management. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in promoting applications for the SBI Youth for India fellowship and led communication, WASH and volunteering initiatives for Unilever's Prabhat initiative.

Aparna's interest in communication for development was sparked during her time at a community radio station in a disaster-prone area of rural Tamil Nadu, where she served as a station Director. Prior to this, she worked as a journalist for three years.

Aparna has a Master’s degree in Social Communications Media from SCM Sophia, Mumbai and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from MSU, Vadodara, Gujarat.

Outside of her professional responsibilities, Aparna likes to spend her time teaching film and photography to teenage girls from Mumbai’s slums and enjoys travelling.

Trupti Prabhu

Assistant Manager, Community Services

Trupti is part of the Community Services team at Tata Sustainability Group. She is entrusted with managing ProEngage, Tata Group's flagship skill-based volunteering programme under the Tata Engage umbrella and steering the social media communication for Tata Engage.

In addition, she supports companies in implementing their specific volunteering strategies and supports the volunteering team at TSG in managing the Tata Engage programme.

Trupti's journey in social service began at 19 with U&I Trust Mumbai. Following her graduation, she served as a Teach Manager for U&I Trust. Progressing to the role of Cluster Manager, she oversaw operations in Mumbai, Pune, and Surat. Later, she joined Atma Education, leading the pilot Atma Change Leader Fellowship.

Trupti holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Mumbai University.

Beyond her professional commitments, Trupti finds joy in cheering for Chennai Super Kings, watching television series, and making new furry friends.

Rashika Saini

Assistant Manager, Community Services

Rashika is part of the Community Services team at Tata Sustainability Group. She leads ProEngage, the flagship skill-based volunteering programme under the Tata Engage umbrella.

She also provides vital support to companies in developing and implementing volunteering strategies and supports the volunteering team in managing the Tata Engage programme.

Previously, as a Project Officer at CBM India Trust and a Project Coordinator at Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development, she led numerous projects, in the areas of women empowerment and inclusive livelihood.

Armed with a Master's in Disaster Management from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Rashika brings a strategic perspective to her work, having collaborated with esteemed organisations such as the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society.

Outside of her professional endeavours, Rashika enjoys reading, engaging on social media, and exploring new destinations through travel.

Ipsita Das

Senior Manager, Community Services

Ipsita is a part of the Disaster Response team at TSG. Her work involves liaising with Tata group companies to devise and implement the disaster response initiatives. Her key responsibilities include building and strengthening capacities within the Tata group to respond to adversities, developing multi and bilateral partnerships and executing / coordinating disaster response programmes as per the Tata Disaster Response Guidelines.

With over 18 years of experience in the social development sector, Ipsita strongly advocates the promotion of rights of adolescents and youth. Prior to TSG, she has worked on various disaster relief projects across different states in India. Ipsita has also been instrumental in leading the humanitarian response work during Covid-19 in Maharashtra. She has been associated with Seva Mandir, Rajasthan and Save the Children and has briefly worked with the Tata Steel Family Initiatives Foundation in Jharkhand and has participated at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 2004 as a youth delegate in London. Additionally, she played a significant role in developing the guidelines on Adolescent Friendly Youth Services together with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India.

Ipsita holds a Master’s degree from Delhi School of Social Work and specializes in urban and rural community development. She has been a fellow of the Visionary Leadership in Reproductive Health supported by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, a professional exchange program that recognizes emerging leaders.

She is a trained classical dancer and loves travelling.

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Sumedh Patil

Manager, Community Services

Sumedh is a part of the Disaster Response team at TSG. His work involves preparedness and coordination of disaster response initiatives of Tata group companies as per the Tata Disaster Response Guidelines.

He assists the team in enhancing capacities of Program Managers, Procurement Managers and Volunteers to facilitate disaster response programmes.

Prior to joining TSG, Sumedh has worked for over eight years in the field of Disaster Management with government and inter-governmental agencies such as SAARC Disaster Management Centre (IU), Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority and Haryana Institute of Public Administration. He is a certified regional instructor of Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE) by Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and is experienced in capacity development of varied stakeholders including senior officers from ministries of SAARC member states, government departments, NGOs, community workers and volunteers.

He holds a master’s degree in Disaster Management with specialization in Governance, Public Health and Conflict from Tata Institute of Social Science.

Aruna Parimi

Manager, Sustainability Services

Aruna is part of the Sustainability Services Team at TSG and leads the subject of sustainability disclosures and supports in sustainability advisory services for Tata companies. She brings with her strong research & analytical proficiencies.

Prior to joining TSG, she worked as a Senior Economist in the Economics and Statistics division of Tata Services. She has diverse experience in supporting company operations in the areas of strategy, corporate planning and competitor analysis. Prior to that, she was a journalist for five years with The Economic Times.

She possesses a post graduate degree in Economics and an Advanced Diploma in French. Her hobbies include reading and travelling.

Ritu Yellaram

Manager, Communications

Ritu is a communications professional with an experience in both internal and external communications. She develops sustainability communication products at the group level, such as corporate sustainability films and brochures.

Her role is to devise the communication strategy for the Tata Sustainability Group including internal and external communication campaigns for TSG's programmes like Tata Engage, Tata Sustainability Month and managing TSG's digital platforms.

Prior to TSG, Ritu has worked with Siemens in the Marketing Communications team. She has significant experience in content development, branding, planning and executing thought leadership events, campaign management, digital and internal communications. She was also part of the core team to deliver strategic corporate communications projects like Employer Value Proposition Programme, Brand to Business Impact Programme and various IP events driven by CxO's of the company.

Ritu holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Media from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and is a post graduate in business administration from Indo-German training Centre, Mumbai.

Her hobbies are sketching, dancing and reading.

Aahna Srikanth

Deputy Manager, Community Services

Aahna is a member of the Disaster Response team at Tata Sustainability Group. Her roles and responsibilities include coordinating response programmes and building company capabilities to respond to disasters.

Aahna holds a BA (Hons) degree in Geography from Delhi University and has completed her MA in Disaster Management from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She has worked in the field of disaster risk reduction for over five years. Prior to working at TSG, she has worked with RedR India and has disaster response experience in Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar.

Aahna loves to crochet and paint. She also likes the company of a good book.

Jasmin Pani

Manager, Sustainability Services

Jasmin is part of the Environment & Sustainability Services team at TSG.

Jasmin has more than 5 years of experience in sustainability and corporate social responsibility space. Prior to joining TSG, Jasmin has worked with the Government of Odisha’s ‘Odisha Livelihoods Mission’, ITC Limited and with KPMG. She has worked on sustainability reporting and audits, impact assessment, and circular economy strategies around waste and water with corporates. In addition, she is also an expert in stake holder management, program design as well as monitoring and evaluation of large scale government projects. Jasmin has led and has been part of several public-private partnerships with central government (National Rural Livelihoods Mission), State Governments (Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra), corporates and non-governmental organizations.

Jasmin holds an MBA in Sustainability Management from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela. She has an active interest in travelling, urban gardening as well as in arts and crafts.

Harsh Pandey

Manager, Community Services

Mr Harsh Pandey is a part of the Community Services team and manages the Corporate Social Responsibility & Business and Human Rights (BHR) areas at Tata Sustainability Group.

Harsh has more than 5 years of experience in the development space. Prior to TSG, Harsh worked as Assistant Manager CSR with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). He has rich experience in managing CSR compliance, project management and strategy. He has worked with various stakeholders such as CxOs & board members, the Government of India and State Governments including bodies such as Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, District Collectors, Municipal and Police Commissioners, institutes such as IITB, NSDC, Oil & Gas SDIs, and several consulting firms and high performing non-profits.

Harsh has a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com) with an HR specialization from Maharaja Sayajirao University. He has also qualified for the UGC National Eligibility Test in Social Work.

Supriya Ramachandran

Manager, Community Services

Supriya is part of the Community Services team at Tata Sustainability Group. Her key responsibilities include providing support to companies to implement their company specific volunteering strategy, knowledge management for the volunteering function and managing Tata Engage, the flagship volunteering programme of the Tata Group.

She has over 8 years of diverse domain experience in Product Development, Scrum & Agile Technologies, Program Management, Impact Measurement and Strategic Initiatives. Prior to joining TSG, Supriya worked as a Senior Program Associate at Tata Trusts, where she spent over 6 years managing development and execution of long-term portfolio strategy, efficiency improvement initiatives and building strategic partnerships. She was also responsible for anchoring design, implementation and monitoring of several skill-development programs in collaboration with NGOs across geographies.

Supriya holds Master’s degree in Business Administration from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. She is currently undergoing her Executive management program with London Business School as part of the Tata Blue mint program.

She is a yoga and music enthusiast and is also an avid traveller, who loves to explore new locations, culture and meet new people.

Khushroo Tata

Assistant Manager, Accounts & Administration

Khushroo is responsible for end-to-end management of finance and administration-related tasks, budget realization, reconciliation, monthly financial statements, addressing audit queries, managing centralized database/s, travel bookings, contracting, TSG events, vendor/s and procurement support. He also liaises with finance and accounts, legal, human resources, information and technology departments.

In addition to his financial and administrative duties, he also operates as the financial point person for all Disaster Response (DR) initiatives undertaken by Tata Sustainability Group (TSG). While anchoring this responsibility he coordinates with the Tata Community Initiatives Trust, Tata Relief Committee, and TCS Foundation & supports the cadre of project managers and procurement officers in the relief operations of the group.

Prior to joining TSG, he worked as an Accounts Assistant with Tata Trusts and as an Officer and Senior Officer in the accounts and finance department at Tata Sons Private Limited.

A certified professional with 13 years of experience in multiple fields, with a specialization in finance and administration, his expertise lies in financial analysis, planning, and management. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Finance Management from S. P. Mandal's Welingkar Institute of Management and Research, as well as a Certification on Capital Markets from BSE Training Institute jointly with Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Additionally, he holds a Certification from Arena Animation for the Arena Animation Academy Specialist Program (AAASP) and a Certificate of Introduction to Oracle 9I-SQL and Programming using C++ from Oracle & NIIT. He is currently enrolled with the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing programme.

Outside of work, he is a cinephile, swimmer, shutterbug, and gamer, always seeking to broaden his horizons.

Vijayalaxmi Amin (Viji)

Executive Secretary to Group CSO

Viji is Executive Secretary to the Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Mr. Siddharth Sharma. Her key responsibilities include providing administrative support to the Group CSO.

Viji holds a BA (Hons) degree in Economics & Commerce. She has a Diploma in Business Management (D.B.M) from NMIMS College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Sikkim Manipal University, with specialization in HR.

Prior to TSG, she was part of the Tata Sons Group Corporate Communications and Ethics Departments. Over her career, she has worked at Tata Industries Limited, Rallis India Limited and Morgan Stanley.

Viji's interests include cooking different cuisines, music and singing, dancing classical & semi-classical fusion of Bharatanatyam & Kathak. She is also a Governing Council member of the Indian Association of Secretaries & Administrative Professionals (IASAP)