The Stevie® Awards for Great EmployersEmployer of the Year | The Stevie® Awards for Great Employers

Employer of the Year Awards Judging Committee

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Kifaya Abu-Thallam

HR Executive Advisor, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Kifaya Abu-Thallam is a trusted Executive HR Advisor to business leaders and boards of directors in HR Transformation & Organization Design in the United Arab Emirates. With 20+ years of experience in government, semi-government, and private sectors, she has served in some of the most significant industries, including defense, telecommunications, banking, energy, and infrastructure development. Kifaya is accredited by many recognized international Human Resources organizations, such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the United Kingdom, a certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute, CPHR Canada, a Certified Organization Development Professional (USA), and CINS. Kifaya has focused experience in designing HR models that drive organizational and employee performance through digital transformation, building effective HR strategies, workforce capabilities building programs, human-centric organizational cultures (employee0 happiness, D&I strategies), and Agile performance management systems. Kifaya is also a regular speaker and moderator at HR Summits locally and internationally. On being asked to Chair, Kifaya commented: “The Stevie® Awards for Great Employers are a global symbol of excellence in workplace culture and people-first leadership. They shine the spotlight on organizations that set the standard for how great employers attract, engage, and support their teams — shaping a better future for employees everywhere. I’m honored to serve as Chair of this year’s Judging Committee and help celebrate the companies and leaders driving positive change in the world of work.”

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Saurabh Agarwal

Senior Manager, Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, Illinois, United States

A results-oriented PMP-certified professional with 19+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, Cloud Management, Technical Program Management, Change Management, Release Management, Account & Bid Management, and People Management. Saurabh is adept at mentoring teams, overseeing performance evaluations and HR collaborations, and has successfully led a $500M global digital transformation program across five countries.

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Yetunde Amodu

Associate Gowling WLG, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Yetunde is an associate in the Real Estate and Financial Services Group in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. Her practice focuses on advising development finance banks, multinational financial institutions and corporate entities on project, corporate and real estate financings. A Nigerian native, she holds a law degree from Cardiff University in Wales.

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Gergana Ancheva

Sofia, Bulgaria

Gergana is an Employer Branding leader and a growth-driven person. Professionally, she is committed to shaping strong brands through compelling stories and innovative content. Gergana holds a BSc degree in Marketing and Management from the University of Sussex, UK and a MSc degree in International Marketing from King’s College London.

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Deepak Chandran

Chief Innovation Officer, Emergence Technologies LLC, Willowgrove, Pennsylvania, United States

Deepak specializes in building scalable, intelligent ecosystems across the domains of energy, sustainable aquaculture, industrial AI, automotive, EV charging, Solid State Transformers, Analytics, and cloud-based prescriptive monitoring.

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Rinita Datta

Director of Marketing, Cisco, Fremont, California, United States

Rinita is a marketing leader who thrives at the intersection of product strategy, customer value, and innovation. As Director of Marketing at Splunk, a Cisco company, she leads global initiatives across product adoption, developer engagement, and community growth. Rinita combines technical fluency, systems thinking, and business storytelling to drive innovation.

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Abdul Jaleel Dudekula

Vice President, Goldman Sachs, Dallas, Texas, United States

Abdul Jaleel Dudekula is Vice President of Platform Engineering with 15 years of experience delivering enterprise-grade, cloud-native data platforms. He has led transformative initiatives at Goldman Sachs, Capital One Auto Finance, and The Home Depot, with deep expertise in real-time data, streaming, infrastructure, and large-scale platform modernization.

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Betty Encinales

Global Talent Acquisition Partner, Becruit London, London, United Kingdom

Betty is Global Corporate Talent Acquisition Partner; she has spent over a decade connecting, building, and developing relationships with organizations and sector-leading experts in fintech, finance, and media. Betty has worked with major brands like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander, Financial Times, and Newsweek, providing valuable insights to their organizations.

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Eric Hards

Senior Creative Director, Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale, California, United States

Eric Hards is a creative leader and storyteller who turns complex ideas into impactful narratives. With 25+ years in design and communication, he currently serves as Creative Director at Lockheed Martin Space. Eric also mentors emerging creatives through teaching, inspiring others to lead with curiosity, clarity, and purpose.

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Joann Hizon

Vice President for HR, Facilities & Admin (retired), SM Investments Corp, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Joann has over 25 years of leadership experience in HR, Training, Operations, and Facilities culled from the telecommunications, BPO, semiconductors, IT, pharmaceutical, property, and mining industries. She's a seasoned resource speaker on career counseling, succession planning, workforce planning, workplace diversity, organizational transformation, crisis management, business continuity planning, and sustainability.

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Abd Elkareem Hmedan

Senior HR Consultant, HD Group, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dr. Abd Elkareem Hmedan is a Senior HR Consultant with ten years' experience delivering strategic people solutions. A PhD in HR Management complements Chartered MCIPD, SHRM-SCP and SPHRi credentials. A certified Level A&B psychometric assessor, he combines analytical rigor and insight to evaluate innovation and recognize excellence as a Stevie Awards judge.

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Jaidev Jayakumar Jay

Manager, Deloitte & Touche Llp, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Jaidev (Jay) Jayakumar is a management consultant with experience supporting Fortune 500 companies in digital transformation, Mergers and Acquisitions and enabling next-generation solutions. Jay is a Project Management Professional (PMP), holds a Master's in Biotechnology Management from University of California, Irvine and is a Gold medalist from Anna University, Chennai.

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Franklin Kamnang Ngansop

Co-Founder and Certified Business Coach, Vitamin CS Coaching, Douala, Littoral, Cameroon

Franklin is an energetic Startup and Business Coach whose mission is to unlock the immense potential within entrepreneurs and businesses. His expertise in business strategy and innovation, coupled with a profound understanding of industry dynamics, makes him a powerhouse for nurturing growth in budding enterprises. Franklin has a commendable history of assisting startups.

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Venkatesh Kanneganti

Senior Quality Assurance Manager, Gilead Sciences, Dublin, California, United States

Venkatesh is an experienced quality and validation expert and a published author in life sciences. He has over 12 years’ experience leading digital quality systems, compliance frameworks, and enterprise transformation. He combines technical depth with strategic insight to support innovation and regulatory success across global biotech and pharma environments.

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Inderpal Khanuja

Engagement Manager, McKinsey and Company, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Seasoned management consultant with 15+ years of expertise serving clients across 10+ countries to propel growth and create long-term value for companies across the spectrum, from Fortune 100 companies to small-medium companies. Industry and consulting experience with proven ability to deliver results and create sustainable, tangible value for companies.

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Akhil Khunger

VP Quantitative Analytics, Barclays, New York City, New York, United States

Akhil is a seasoned professional in financial engineering and risk management. He currently serves as a QA financial modeling specialist at Barclays. With over a decade of experience, roles at institutions like Citibank and HSBC. His expertise in AI, time series analysis and statistical modeling has led to the creation of sophisticated financial models.

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Amit Mishra

Senior Director of Engineering, Fox Corporation, Los Angeles, California, United States

Amit is an internationally recognized technology executive with over two decades of excellence in software engineering, large-scale distributed systems, and AI-driven digital innovation. As Sr. Director of Engineering at Fox Corporation, he leads high-performing global teams responsible for architecting and delivering world-class consumer platforms, including Fox Sports, FoxNow, and Fox Nation.

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Priyank Mishra

Senior Manager, Supply Chain Lam Research, Fremont, California, United States

Priyank is a Supply Chain Professional with more than 10 years of industry experience. He is currently working as a Senior Manager at Lam Research, where he has been a thirteen-time recipient of Above and Beyond awards and a one-time recipient of Standing Ovation awards. He holds a Master's from Duke University in Engineering Management.

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Palanivel Rajan Mylsamy

Director of Engineering Program Management, Cisco Systems INC, Milpitas, California, United States

Results-driven Engineering Program Management and Business Operations Leader with over 19 years of extensive experience in Networking, Technology, and Globalization. Recognized for a strategic approach to transforming business operations in the digital era, specializing in digital operations, program and portfolio management, and change management. Proven track record in successfully delivering complex transformational projects.

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Ruhir Nath

Senior Consultant Product Marketing, Dell Technologies, Round Rock, Texas, United States

Ruchir Nath, a thought leader with 17+ years of experience, excels in building high-performing teams and managing complex projects. At Dell Technologies, he drives business development and AI initiatives. Previously, he led sales strategy at Dell and worked on finance transformation at AMD. Member of Forbes Council and Fast Company.

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Prajwal S Nayak

Co-Founder, Koino, San Francisco, California, United States

Prajwal Nayak is an accomplished technology leader specializing in cloud architecture, artificial intelligence, and full-stack software engineering. As CTO at KOINO, he spearheaded the development of an autonomous AI CFO agent now trusted by numerous CFOs and agencies. Previously, Prajwal co-founded stacksy.ai and led engineering teams at Swiggy, where he was instrumental in scaling products to support millions of users.

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Santosh Nazare

Director of Data Science, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Healthcare data science leader blending clinical expertise and advanced analytics. At BCBSM, Santosh spearheaded AI-driven solutions improving payment integrity, care management, and member satisfaction, driving cost savings and enhanced CMS STAR ratings, contributing to healthcare affordability. Proven in scaling analytics teams, delivering strategic impact, and innovating healthcare with data science.

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Sudheer Obbu

Vice President - Senior Lead Software Engineer, JPMorgan Chase, Delaware, Ohio, United States

Sudheer is an accomplished DevSecOps, Cloud, and platform engineering service lead with 19 years of expertise in architecting, securing, and optimizing complex multi-cloud infrastructures. His focus includes innovating FinOps solutions, integrating advanced technologies like GenAI for AIOps, driving efficiency through automation initiatives, and a track record in enhancing security and reducing costs.

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Brian Phifer

CEO, Phifer & Company LLC, New York City, New York, United States

As Founder and CEO of Phifer & Company, Brian has over 28 years of experience leading global executive recruitment initiatives in marketing, communications, and corporate branding. His firm excels in fostering personalized client relationships to deliver tailored recruitment strategies that align with unique management styles, company cultures, and business goals.

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Dr. Akhil Raj

Manager, Application Development Engineering, Centene Corporation, Austin, Texas, United States

Application solutions leader with a Ph.D. in Business Administration and over 17 years of experience in business process reengineering, project management, and software development. Strong record overseeing all facets of the SDLC, guiding strategic decisions, and leading high-performing teams.

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Jagdish Ramchandani

Business Analytics Manager, Premier Dental Product Company, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Jagdish is an accomplished professional with over 18 years of experience in Business Intelligence, Data Analytics, and Business Analytics. His expertise lies in manipulating large data sets, crafting actionable reports, and leading a team of data analysts and engineers. Jagdish is skilled at simplifying complex processes and delivering insightful, data-driven solutions.

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Anastasii Shakula

Senior Staff Accountant, Ashton Woods Homes, Alpharetta, Georgia, United States

Anastasiia Shakula is a Senior Staff Accountant at Ashton Woods Homes with international experience in audit and accounting. She holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and Taxation and specializes in financial reporting, corporate accounting and process improvement, bringing both strong analytical skills and a global perspective to her professional expertise.

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Amber Hussain Siddique

Director - Finance Controlling & Planning, Dr Reddy's Laboratories INC, Princeton, New Jersey, United States

Specializes in the generics pharmaceutical industry and is currently heading the finance controlling function of Dr. Reddy's North America business. Amber is a Chartered Accountant from India with proven expertise in financial controlling and planning, business analytics, and a deep understanding of pharmaceutical supply chain operations, including inventory management and cost optimization.

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Nitin Singh

Chief Value Advisor and Practice Leader- Cloud ERP, SAP AMERICA, INC., Newtown Square, United States

Nitin Singh, serving as the Chief Value Advisor and Practice Leader at SAP America, is a seasoned digital transformation expert. His proven track record spans the enterprise application Industry, where he has spearheaded digital transformation initiatives for numerous Fortune 500 companies. Recognized as a thought leader in his field, Singh boasts multiple publications.

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Guanwei (Rachel) Tao

Manager, New Business & Customer Strategy, TriMas, Los Angeles, California, United States

Rachel Tao is a seasoned product strategist and innovation leader with over 18 years of experience in the global medical device industry. She has successfully launched more than 27 products across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her career spans from sales at Johnson & Johnson to senior product management roles at Abbott.

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Naveen Thangaraj

Delivery Executive, Capgemini America Inc, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Delivery Executive with 18 years in IT, holding a Bachelor's in Computer Science & IT from India. Experienced across Oracle and SAP ERP systems, led 4 greenfield implementations, digital transformation, and managed services. Progressed from Programmer to Executive, mentoring grads and delivering value across diverse client engagements since relocating to the U.S. in 2014.

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Abhaya Uprety

Co-Founder & CTO, ParkStash Inc., San Jose, California, United States

Abhaya is the Co-Founder & CTO at ParkStash - an Intelligent Transportation and Parking Asset Management platform. ParkStash helps property owners monetize, enforce, and monitor their parking assets with a suite of products and integrations: automatic license plate recognition, permit management, gate access control, and parking enforcement. We partner with other service providers to cater to custom solutions.

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Vivek Vishal

Senior Director, Honeywell Safety Products USA, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Vivek is Senior Director of Sales Excellence at Honeywell Safety Products USA, Inc., leading PPE Safety and Sales Strategy. Formerly at Dell Technologies, he drove sales planning and merger integrations. A thought leader in AI-driven RevOps, he advises on safety via the World Economic Forum and Forbes Business Development Council.