Management, Human Resources & Individual Awards Judging Committee

Chair: 
Jose Herrera, Co-Founder & CEO
Horatio, New York, New York, United States

Jose Herrera is the Co-Founder and CEO of Horatio, the modern outsourcing company revolutionizing CX services and the BPO industry. Under his leadership, the company has been recognized for its innovative approach to customer service. Jose is committed to delivering exceptional customer experiences and leveraging technology to drive business growth.

Horatio is the trusted partner for some of the fastest-growing startups and enterprises in the world. Their on-brand customer support teams help them leverage CX as a revenue generator through personalized customer experience support. Horatio is headquartered in New York City with main offshore offices located in Santo Domingo and Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Prior to founding Horatio, Jose spent seven years at Morgan Stanley as VP, covering Latin America and US Offshore markets, and began his career at Goldman Sachs. He attended Columbia Business School for his MBA in Entrepreneurship and Bentley University for his Bachelor’s of Science.

Committee: 
 

Oyeniyi Ajao, Director of Operations and Project Management Office
Karbak Ventures Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria   
He is an operations and project management executive with over 17 years of experience across data centers and industrial infrastructure. A Yale-trained strategist and mechanical engineer, he has led major projects across Africa and the U.S. He serves as Director of Operations at Karbak and as Project Manager at AWS.

Ashish Anand, Director of Global Network DevOps
Marriott International, Bethesda, Maryland, United States    
Ashish is a seasoned technology leader with 18+ years of experience. He drives architecture, automation, and operational excellence for Marriott's global network. Blending traditional networking with DevOps, he's led cloud migrations, built scalable microservices, and delivered enterprise solutions across banking, insurance, and hospitality to boost agility and innovation.

Ankit Chopra, Director, Financial Planning & Analytics
Neo4J Inc, Round rock, Texas, United States
Ankit Chopra is a seasoned finance and analytics leader with deep expertise in FP&A, product analytics, and strategic finance across the tech sector. He holds an MBA from Pennsylvania State University, an Executive Leadership credential from Stanford, and a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. He specializes in optimizing cloud infrastructure costs.

Uzoamara Chukwuma-Udom, Assets HRBP
Shell Chemicals Geismar, United States
Uzoamara has 15 years of experience delivering transformational people strategies and operational excellence across regions and businesses. She has led HR delivery to multiple billion-dollar businesses and managed multiple cross-border organizational effectiveness programs. Uzoamara is known for her values-based leadership and relentless advocacy for leadership integrity and psychologically safe and inclusive cultures.

Duygu Demirelöz Demir, Human Resources Leader | EMCC Accredited Professional Coach & Mentor I Ph.D. Student in Interpersonal Communication I Assessor
Arkas Denizcilik, Izmir, Turkey    
Duygu Demirelöz Demir is an HR Leader specializing in cross-cultural joint ventures. With an MA in International Logistics Management and a Ph.D. in Communication in progress, she blends academic depth with practical expertise. She also serves as a quality management assessor and university advisor, championing evidence-based, people-first leadership.

Abhishek Jain, Director, HRIS
Concentrix Corporation, Dallas, Texas, United States
Global leader in HR Technology Transformation and Service Delivery, specialize in guiding organizations through complex digital transformation journeys. Development and execution of the AI integration roadmap for HR solutions, aligning AI capabilities with business goals to drive automation, enhance employee experience, and improve decision-making.
 

Niyi Oladepo, Vice President of Finance
Pike Industries Inc (CRH Plc), Belmont, New Hampshire, United States
Niyi Oladepo is a strategic finance executive with 18+ years' experience driving business transformation across infrastructure, energy, and banking sectors. He is currently Vice President of Finance at Pike Industries Inc. (CRH PLC). Previously held finance roles at Shell, MBA from Babson College, and Fellow Chartered Accountant.

Sambit Panigrahi, Senior HRIT Analyst
Vitas Healthcare, Miami, Florida, United States
Sambit is a seasoned Digital HR Technology Expert with 13.5 years of experience in leading complex HR transformation projects, currently working with Vitas Healthcare, the largest hospice provider in the United States. He brings expertise in implementing and optimizing technology solutions to enhance HR processes and business outcomes.

Gautham Panneerselvam, Finance Manager
Google, Newark, California, United States    
Gautham is a seasoned finance leader at Google with a decade of experience; he specializes in finance, technology, and strategic leadership within Google Cloud. Transitioning from software development, Gautham leads the financial stewardship for a multi-billion dollar program. He excels at FP&A, financial systems, and automation, transforming operations into data-driven assets.

Abhay Patwardhan, Proprietor
Site Solutions, Surat, Gujarat, India  
Abhay Digamber Patwardhan is a seasoned business consultant and leadership coach with nearly 41 years of experience across chemicals, coatings, insurance, financial services, and construction sectors. A postgraduate in management and a certified trainer, he has conducted over 300 workshops, trained 15,000+ professionals, and champions ethical leadership and knowledge-sharing.

Adi Safriyanto, Organization Development Division Head    
InJourney Aviation Services, Jakarta Pusat, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia    
Adi Safriyanto is experienced in many industries, such as leasing, manufacturing, retail, and logistics, as well as the aviation services business. Currently, Adi is involved as a human capital practitioner with expertise in organizational transformation, HC strategy & roadmap, mergers & acquisitions, post-merger culture, and human capital system integration.

Oliver Sam, VP & Chief Human Resource Officer
VDart Group, Alpharetta, Georgia, United States    
Oliver Sam leads Global HR & Strategy at VDart Group shaping Leadership, Culture, Growth, Transformation and ESG. He plays a strategic partner to the CEO and conducts for the Board. Based in Atlanta, he drives business strategy and growth towards VDart's half-billion goals, shaping its future through people and purpose.

Eduardo Samayoa, Co Founder & CEO
Thinkr, San Francisco, California, United States
Eduardo Samayoa an entrepreneur, building and investing in a future where technology is deeply human-centered. He founded simplo, served as founding COO at Genie AI, and currently builds Thinkr, an AI platform for e-commerce. Double major from University of Colorado Boulder in Engineering Management and Environmental Design.

A K M Sharma, Executive Director, (Since Retired)
Rites Limited, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Electrical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the field of quality, environment, international marketing, HR, PR, design engineering, and project management. Consulting, training, auditing, certification, and accreditation of organizations. Worked for BIS, Rites, and Nabet (member of the accreditation committee).

Gayatheri Silvakumer, Vice President, People & Culture
Star Alliance, Singapore
Gayatheri is a globally respected HR executive and the Global Vice President of People & Culture at Star Alliance. She leads enterprise-wide talent and leadership strategies across 26 international member airlines, shaping future-ready HR capabilities and cultural transformation at scale. With over two decades of cross-market experience, Gayatheri is recognized for building agile career architectures.

Inna Simonova, Associate
Point Break Capital, Los Angeles, California, United States    
Inna is a business analytics specialist with 10+ years in anti-fraud, FinTech, and consulting. At Point Break Capital, she advises U.S. businesses using data-driven strategies. With a STEM M.S. in Business Analytics, her expertise spans e-commerce payments, AML, and compliance. She is a former EY consultant and CFE candidate.

Lucia Tahara, Go-to-Market & Partnerships Strategy Advisor
beta.gouv.fr, Paris, Ile de France, France    
With 20+ years in consumer tech across corporates, startups, and the public sector, Lucia has led partnerships at Google, co-founded Radar, and now mentors French Gov startups. She specializes in go-to-market and product strategy, bridging big tech and lean innovation to drive scalable impact.

Meron Aberra Tassew, Consultant
Bain & Company, Seattle, Washington, United States
A dynamic business professional with a background in startups, strategic consulting, business development, and project management.