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Entrepreneur & Thought Leadership Awards Judging Committee

Chair:
Sukhy Cheema, Founder & CEO
Branding London, London, United Kingdom

Sukhy is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, chair, branding, and marketing expert and philanthropist. He is the Founder & CEO of design agency 
Branding London. He is also Chair of the Advisory Council at the Inspiring Leadership Foundation and has several impressive accolades to his name as a successful entrepreneur, including a well-received appearance on BBC One’s ‘The Apprentice,’ and boasting some top clients over the years including Capgemini, Cisco, Harrods, HP, Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft, Panasonic, Pizza Hut, and Rolex.  The vision for Branding London was built on Sukhy’s passion for creativity, and his background in tech having obtained a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from King’s College London. His agency helps companies develop unique, market-leading brands to stand out from the crowd and supports its clients in bridging the gap between strategy, design, and tech to achieve their goals.

Sukhy has worked with and advised clients globally in the automotive, coaching, finance, healthcare, hospitality, media, retail, property, real estate, and technology industries. He has a proven track record for bringing ideas to life through branding and marketing - delivering for his clients to the highest level, leading to widespread recognition and success. Branding London has won numerous awards, most recently ‘Branding Agency of the Year 2021’ at the Greater London Enterprise Awards. Sukhy has been featured as a leading entrepreneur, business leader, and expert in the marketing & creative industry for various publications such as The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Raconteur, Metro UK, Techround, NatWest, and Royal Bank of Scotland’s RBS Business Hub. Sukhy was also named the UK’s Top ‘Branding & Design’ adviser in 2019 and ‘Creative Executive of the Year’ in 2021. In early 2022 he was featured in the Startup ‘
Successful Entrepreneur StoriesSeries, alongside some of the UK’s most talented business leaders. Sukhy was also invited to join the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals. As an advisor, he provides insight, industry experience, and feedback from the wider world of management and leadership in shaping the content produced by HBR.

As Chair of the Advisory Council for the 
Inspiring Leadership Foundation, he supports a charity helping vulnerable women and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds around the world. During his time at the ILF, Sukhy has been responsible for overseeing and driving the complete rebranding process and is now focusing his attention on building a strong advisory council to ensure the charity achieves its goals.  As a result of his creative leadership and charitable work, Sukhy has been awarded Fellowship by the Royal Society of Arts. He is an ambassador for giving back and building a sustainable future for the next generation. This is evident through his work as a mentor and inspirational speaker for The Prince’s Trust, as part of the ‘Enterprise Programme’ to guide and motivate young people through their business journey. Sukhy is also a member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, where he mentors and guides fellow marketeers.

Committee:

Ekaterina Afanasyeva, CEO & Co-founder
G.S.T. Consulting, Sheridan, Wyoming, United States
Ekaterina Afanasyeva, CEO of G.S.T. Consulting since 2019, is a recognized expert in international business development with over 20 years of experience in technology solutions. An MBA graduate, entrepreneur, and visionary, Ekaterina mentors startups, lectures, and authors the 5-factor Hybrid Work Environment Model, advancing the Future of Work.

Maysa Alabdallat, Senior Project Coordinator
Greater Amman Municipality, Amman, Jordan

Maya holds an MBA. She has experience with Project Management, Digital Transformation, Innovation Consulting, and providing business excellence.

 

 

Ufuk Balci, OCE Team Leader MIDI           
Boehringer Ingelheim Amsterdam, Boterdiepstraat, Netherlands
Ufuk is an internationally experienced leader proficient in brand management, sales, commercial excellence, omnichannel, and digital marketing. Ufuk has a proven track record in the pharmaceutical industry across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  

 

Almira Bardai, Founder & CEO
Almira Bardai PR & Consulting, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Almira is one of Canada’s leading experts in brand building and communications. Over two decades, she has created compelling narratives for domestic and global brands like Flight Centre, Nike, Best Buy, Future Shop, Molson, and TELUS. She now works with CEOs and high-growth companies on strategic brand building through PR and communications.

Zoya Brar, Founder
CORE Diagnostics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Zoya, founder of CORE Diagnostics, has expanded the company to 500+ employees and served 40 million patients in 13 countries. She transformed Southeast Asia's diagnostic industry and reimagined leadership training for Quest Diagnostics. Zoya mentors startups, champions women-led initiatives, serves as Chief of Staff at Eli Health, and is a mother of two.

Anna Gizelle Camua, VP for Community Investment & Advocacy
Pru Life UK, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Philippines

Gizelle has over 25 years of practical experience as a communications professional with acquired competence in the fields of public relations, corporate social responsibility and advocacy, marketing, corporate communication and content management, and business continuity planning. Gizelle is Vice President for Community Investment and Advocacy at British insurer Pru Life UK.

Saiteja Chatrati, Tech Consultant
Slalom, Palo Alto, California, United States

Saiteja is an author and consultant with several years of experience building applications for Fortune 500 organizations and startup clients. Her areas of expertise encompass architectural design, solution development, project management, business analysis, and quality assurance. Author of Salesforce Field Service: A Beginner's Guide to Creating, Managing, and Automating Field Service.

Rohith Sai Chetla, Founder and CEO
WarrantyMe, Houston, Texas, United States

Rohith Sai Chetla is the Founder, CEO of WarrantyMe, a SaaS company revolutionizing after sale services. He received several acclaimed startup grants for his entrepreneurial endeavours. A guest speaker of entrepreneurship and a graduate from Rice University, and the author of the book “You are a Zero.”

Kyle Dowie, CEO
Dooya (Pty) Ltd, Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Kyle is currently CEO of Dooya, a cryptocurrency arbitrage service provider operating out of South Africa. He has a career spanning almost 15 years in management, software development, and investment banking, with expertise in quantitative modeling and automated trading.


 

Kellie Dyer, Founder
Keldy, Yeronga, Queensland, Australia
Pragmatic, versatile, and adaptable, Kellie is a sought-after trainer, facilitator, on topics including business, innovation, and commercialization. She is highly sought after as a mentor and business advisor. With a focus on helping others, her goal is to help businesses build scalable, sustainable businesses and think beyond the balance sheet.

Stacey Edmonds, Founder & Director
Lively, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Stacey is a Global People, Digital and Talent Technology Leader with a broad experience base that includes big four and boutique consulting, academia and senior management roles across diverse industries and cultures.

Jan Harling, CEO
Virtus Asia Consulting, Hong Kong, Greater China
Jan, a German native, has over 15 years of experience in Asia, developing and implementing data-driven campaigns for global brands in China, Asia Pacific, and Western Europe. With expertise in communications and marketing, he has held roles in international agencies and clients. Jan focuses on driving measurable business results through strategic campaigns and effective leadership.

Yvonne Howie, Director-Government and Corporate
The CEO Instutite, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Kate Imobekhai, Technical Business Analyst
IBM, Bloomington, Illinois, United States

Kate is a certified Project Manager and Scrum Master working at IBM. She has several years of experience planning, executing, and delivering high-quality projects for clients. She is a graduate of Illinois State University and a professional mentor who is passionate about growth and helping others discover their purpose in life and career.

Sandeep Kashyap, Senior Business Development Manager
Amazon Web Services, Seattle, Washington, United States

Sandeep is a Cloud Sales and Partner Alliances executive with 20+ years of experience in business development and partner sales, building partnerships, and leading teams to grow significant revenue while penetrating new markets and white space accounts. Creates complex multi-million-dollar deals using diverse technical and business backgrounds, leveraging solutions and market synergies.

Rana Kilani, Founder and CEO
Alrana Consulting & Training, Amman, Jordan

Rana is the founder of Alrana Consulting & Training, People & Culture Consultant, and Mindset Coach with over 33 years of experience working in the MENA region. Empowers organizations to adopt a human-centered approach, improve employee engagement, and achieve sustainable growth, while helping individuals overcome limiting beliefs and achieve personal and professional aspirations.

David Mahzonni, Business Executive
Freelance Business Consultant, Oslo, Norway

David is a Senior Project Manager/Business Development Manager. He has been part of numerous successful startups. He holds a Master's degree in Business and Project Management. This is his third year participating in the Stevie Awards.

Sumit Sanwal, Senior Engineer 1
American Express, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Senior Engineer Sumit leads mission-critical initiatives with 20 years of experience in software development and IT. Expert in software architecture, scalable, multi-tiered, distributed applications, and transforming businesses for success. Sumit holds a master's in computer application and a bachelor's in science. He has coached and mentored numerous engineers, earning numerous awards. 

Mayur Shetty, Vice president SaaSOps
Curinos, New York City, New York, United States

Mayur Shetty, a SaaS evangelist, transformed Duck Creek, a P&C insurance software provider, into a leading SaaS solution. He modernized the software into a cloud-native application on Microsoft Azure, ensuring robust governance measures. Under his guidance, the SaaS business experienced remarkable growth, expanding from 3 to over 100 customers.

Raghvendra Swamy, Managing Director
Concentrix, Morgan Hill, California, United States

Raghavendra is a senior IT business leader with global experience spanning more than three decades. As a Managing Director at Concentrix, he has been spearheading the digital transformation journeys for key clients across different industry verticals. Raghavendra specializes in Product Engineering and Enterprise Solutions, helping customers migrate to the cloud.

Cristiana Tudor, Founder and CEO 
Greatness Media INC., Burbank, California, United States

With over 17 years of experience as a Storyteller, Sir. Cristiana Tudor helps entrepreneurs start or scale their businesses through Social Media and Creative Content.

Kumar Vijayendra, President
Footsteps LLC, Hollister, California, United States

Kumar Vijayendra, Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneur. Kumar Vijayendra is a thought leader in operations excellence with about two decades of experience leading diverse organizations across the US, Asia, and Europe. He is a published author and a speaker. Kumar is also the President of Footsteps LLC, a last mile delivery company.