Atalanta Diaries Breakthrough Women in Conversation with Enma Popli

Abha Narain Lambah is a practicing Conservation Architect and a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship, Charles Wallace Fellowship (U.K.), Sankriti Award, Architect of the Year Award 2019 Architectural Digest and Architect of the Year Award CNBC Awaaz 2017. Her firm was awarded the Architectural Digest Architect of the Year in  2019 and has been included in the AD100 Architects List and the WoW List of 20 projects by Architectural Digest.

Abha's architectural practice includes the restoration of 15th Century temples in Ladakh and Hampi, mosques, historic palaces, forts and caravansarais in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. She has worked on Mughal gardens in Kashmir, urban and regional conservation in Kancheepuram and Shekhawati and conserving colonial heritage in Delhi, Nainital and Mumbai. She has prepared the UNESCO Nomination Dossier for the ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath as well as management plans for UNESCO sites of Ajanta, and Bodh Gaya, Amer Fort as well as modern heritage of Corbusier’s Capitol Complex and Mumbai’s Art Deco & Victorian ensembles.

Abha is a consultant to ICCROM, Global Heritage Fund and World Monuments Fund and has served on the heritage committees of both Delhi and Mumbai. Her practice has won 11 UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for heritage conservation.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

Connect with Enma Popli on Linkedin:

>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/enmapopli/

Visit Enma Popli’s website

>> http://www.enmapopli.com/

Dr Monalisa Sur is a  Professor in the department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and an associate member of Department of Oncology, Juravinski Cancer Centre and Hospital in Ontario, Canada.

She is a Practising Diagnostic Anatomical Pathologist with expertise in Gynaecological Oncologic Pathology and Malignant Hematopathology and is the Chair of the Mentorship Committee in McMaster University and the Anatomical Pathology Specialty Chair and Exam Board Member at Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

In her role as Country Advisor and Co-Chair of Policy, Advocacy and Communications for the International Committee of the Royal College of Pathologists of U.K (R.C. Path), Monalisa collaborated with leaders in informatics to bring Pathology within the reach of many training programs in third world countries. She has over 120 publications in National and International medical journals.

Among many laurels, Monalisa has been honoured with the leadership in Education Award from the Canadian Association of Pathologists in 2016, the Clinical Teaching Award nominated by the resident trainees in the Anatomical Pathology Program from the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University and the Distinguished Service Award in Pathology for her contributions to the field of Diagnostic Pathology in 2022.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

Connect with Enma Popli on Linkedin:

>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/enmapopli/

Visit Enma Popli’s website

>> http://www.enmapopli.com/

Archana Chandra is a Board Member & CEO of Jai Vakeel Foundation & Research Centre, one of the oldest & largest NGOs serving those impacted by intellectual disabilities. She is a Trustee of SRCC, which operates the largest super specialty pediatric hospital in the country in partnership with Narayana Hrudayalaya.

She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Annamrita, one of the largest NGOs in the country serving mid-day meals, and of Antarang Foundation, which provides skilling and employment opportunities to less privileged youth.

Archana serves on the Board of the A.T.E.Chandra Foundation, which focuses on Rural Development and Capacity Building of the Social Sector.  She & her husband Amit were named by Forbes on “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” List in 2016.  She was also awarded the Corporate Citizens of the Year Award by the All India Management Association with him in 2017.

Prior to moving full-time to the social sector, Archana worked in the corporate sector for Informix (a division of IBM) and Bennett & Coleman.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

Connect with Enma Popli on Linkedin:

>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/enmapopli/

Visit Enma Popli’s website

>> http://www.enmapopli.com/

Dona Kay Rule is a cowgirl, wife, mother and grandmother and at an age when most rodeo champions decide to retire, Dona decided to jump right in and now 65 year old Dona is among the top barrel racers in the world and has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) four times. Dona Kay travels with her horse Valor and Rosie. It’s hard to say who is more famous, Valor, Dona Kay, or Rodeo Rosie, a miniature Australian Shepherd.

I was fortunate to meet Dona at the National Final Rodeo in Vegas where my husband hosted a breakfast for the team they sponsored. I instantly gravitated towards Dona's humility and positive demeanor and invited her to be my guest at Atalanta Diaries to share her inspiring journey and Dona was very gracious.

The year gone by has been Dona’s best rodeo season so far, even though it hasn’t been the easiest. At the 2021 NFR she was struggling with hip pain and soon after setting a new arena record at 13.96 seconds she made the decision to have surgery. Within 7 weeks of a total hip replacement, Dona loaded up her great horse, High Valor, and headed to Canada, won the 2nd at the Calgary stampede and proceeded to lock in the No. 2 position in the WPRA World Standings.

This trio has put smiles on the faces of rodeo fans across North America since she qualified for her first Wrangler NFR in 2019.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

www.enmapopli.com

Manisha Girotra is Chief Executive Officer of Moelis & Company in India. She was previously Chairperson and Country Head for UBS in India, with a career spanning 30 years with UBS in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Delhi and London and with Moelis in India. She was the youngest CEO of a global investment bank in India at the age of 32.

Manisha has advised over US$ 500 Bn of mergers and acquisitions and equity and debt fundraisings through her career. Some of the landmark transactions include Vodafone US$ 12 Bn acquisition of Hutch’s telecom business, and US$ 65 Bn merger of HDFC-HDFC Bank.

Manisha is on the Global Board of Naspers and Prosus, a US$ 200 Bn market cap technology investor. She is also on the Boards of Ashok Leyland and Mindspace Business Parks REIT.

Manisha graduated in Economics from St Stephen's College, Delhi and was awarded the Dr. Manmohan Singh Gold Medal for academic excellence for her Masters Degree from the Delhi School of Economics.

Manisha is passionate about encouraging the younger generation of women to move forward in the corporate world and is a strong proponent of female education and mental wellness. She supports education of the girl child through Not for profit,  ‘Nanhi Kali’ and two Balwadis (small primary schools) in Uttar Pradesh.

Among many laurels, Manisha was honored as a Young Global Leader in 2010 by the World Economic Forum. She has been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Business in India by Business Today for the past six years.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

NASA’s first South Asian female flight director, Pooja Jesrani has a unique lens on building inclusive environments in high stakes circumstances.

As one of the 24 NASA Flight Directors, apart from guiding mission control Pooja is responsible for managing operations for all human spaceflight programs including the International Space Station (ISS), a habitable artificial satellite and microgravity laboratory that is maintained as a multinational collaborative project.

Pooja has managed life support and motion control systems on the ISS and has also been a capsule communicator (CAPCOM), speaking directly with the astronauts in space.

Recently, Pooja has been working to integrate mission operations for the upcoming commercial crew flights.

Key topics you’ll here in this episode:

Dusica H Lukac is Partner and Managing Director of DL Capital Partners. She crossed from Money Street to Tech Street after decades in investment banking and millions under management and M&A deals.

Dusica has worked with multiple PE/VC funds and other institutional investors, and technology companies in the growth stage founded her own companies and invested as an angel, as well as Non-Executive Director or Advisor in multiple boards.

Her core expertise is Financial services and Fintechs.

Apart from emerging technologies, she has a keen interest in financial innovations. She also provides focused Transaction advisory, and her team fondly calls her Transaction Diva.

In 2018 Dusica was awarded as best Fintech Consultant in CEE, and in 2019 she took part in a blockchain panel at Cannes Film Festival.

Apart from working and living in 5 countries and speaking 5 languages, Dusica loves traveling. …and chanced upon an app which made her realize the current count is 78.

Some insights from this episode:

Swati Shetty is a producer based in Los Angeles and the Founder & Director of Samosa Stories. She is a Pharmacist and MBA by education.

Swati began her entertainment career at StarTV, followed by Disney. Earlier, as President of Balaji Motion Pictures, Swati put together a successful slate of films, starting with The Dirty Picture, the first-ever female-driven film that had extraordinary success at the box office. She also produced Umrika, a drama that won India's first Sundance award (2015).

Prior to launching her own company, Samosa stories, Swati was Executive Vice President at Imagine Entertainment and moved to the US in 2016 as Netflix's first employee from India. Her most recent success is the release of the much-loved Netflix Original movie, The Wedding Season.

In this episode, Swati shares her courageous leadership journey as a film producer, her experience working and living in the US, and how she creates a brave and beautiful life for herself.

Some insights from this episode:

Ettie has served as an educator and school leader at international schools in Israel, Singapore, China, Guatemala, Spain, and the USA and has also served as Adjunct Professor for various universities.

She has served as Secretary on the Board of the Academy of International School Heads and ECIS and participated on the Advisory Council for AAIE.

As a consultant to internationally mobile communities, she is passionate about sharing her experience, research, and strategies with communities worldwide and assisting them to thrive in a multicultural and multilingual world. After retiring from full-time work in international schools, Ettie devoted her time to Holocaust Education and published a book about her family's Holocaust experiences. She teaches about the Holocaust in schools, universities, and community centers in the USA and internationally.

Ettie has been married for 48 years and has 3 wonderful children and 3 delightful grandchildren, who all share her passion for the big wide world.

Some insights from this episode:

Grab the book A Holocaust Memoir of Love & Resilience: Mama's Survival from Lithuania to America by Dr. Ettie Zilber

Claude Pellerin, owner of ‘The French Lady’,  a charming French restaurant in Birmingham, Michigan  was born in Nord-Pas-de-Calais.  Claude is well-versed in the diverse cuisines from her home country, and  provides authentic tastes of France. Cooking, baking and entertaining are her passions and she prepares each meal from scratch with not just love and care, but with technique and expertise.

Claude is a classically trained harpist who has performed internationally, and had a musical career that spanned decades.

Talented and hardworking, Claude is selfless and goes out of her way to make people feel welcome, at home, and appreciated and holds herself, her food, and her restaurant to consistently high standards.

After spending some years of her twenties in Boston, she moved back to France, always knowing deep down that she wanted to be in the States.

Her menu has names of the women who crafted her cuisine: her grandmother Germaine, her mother Danièle, sisters Agnès and Estelle, and Lucie, and many more.

Taking pride in respecting tradition and family heirloom to the letter, Claude doesn’t shop in wholesale houses but prefers local stores and farms, choosing quality and love over profit and standardization.

Her biggest joy is in connecting with people.

Some insights from this episode: