A 'creative philanthropist', Roshni, believes 'philanthropy should be taken up by young Indians unlike classical music which usually witnesses elderly people.' Making a difference through her young refreshing ideologies and ideas in education, Roshni has been an inspiration to a number of aspiring young women leaders who seeks to balance between a high-tech corporate responsibility and an equally impact-making social responsibility.
The Beginning of a Leader:An alumna of Vasant Valley School in Delhi, the quiet multi-talented and only daughter of Shiv Nadar and Kiran Nadar earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, majoring in Communication with a focus on Radio/TV/Film. For a brief period, she functioned as a news producer at Sky News in UK before she secured MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management with a focus on Social Enterprise and Management & Strategy. At Kellogg, she was a recipient of the Dean's Distinguished Service Award.
Corporate- Social Responsibility:Balanced and young mom of two boys, Armaan and Jahaan, the CEO and Executive Director of the $7 billion enterprise HCL Corporation, is responsible for strategic decisions regarding the overall direction of the organization. She is also a Director on the Board of one of the group companies, HCL Technologies, a leading global technology and IT company. Additionally, Roshni is the Chairman of the CSR Committee for the HCL Technologies Board and is responsible for providing strategic direction to all HCL Foundation initiatives.
As a trustee, she ensured the ingenuity in philanthropy through Shiv Nadar Foundation which is committed to the process of nation building by driving transformational leadership through education. To that purpose the Foundation has established the SSN Institutions, today among the top private engineering colleges in India, the interdisciplinary Shiv Nadar University, the transformational VidyaGyan Leadership Academies, the progressive Shiv Nadar Schools, the iconic Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and the innovative Shiksha, a technology-led intervention in rural education to eradicate illiteracy from India.
The Philanthropy:One who met Roshni will know that her heart lies in Vidyagyan. She is the Chairman and driving force behind VidyaGyan, a leadership academy for the meritorious, underprivileged, rural students of Uttar Pradesh. The Academy aims to nurture future leaders from rural India who can act as catalysts of change for their communities, villages and the nation. Under Roshni's leadership, VidyaGyan has started showing excellence in various fields. The first batch of VidyaGyan students graduated from the Academy in 2016 and are now pursuing their higher education at some of the best colleges and institutes in India and internationally. Roshni envisions VidyaGyan to be an aspirational platform and a beacon of hope for underprivileged meritorious students to dream big and achieve even bigger.
Global Appreciation:The 34-year old Roshni is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a unique and diverse community of the world's most outstanding, next generation leaders. She was conferred the prestigious NDTV Young Philanthropist - Indian of the Year award in 2014. In 2015 she was felicitated with The World's Most Innovative People Award for Philanthropic Innovation by The World Summit on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WSIE), in partnership with the UN. Business Today, a leading business magazine in India, has featured Roshni in its prestigious "Most Powerful Women in India Inc." in 2016.
