Our People

Bunty Chand, Chief Executive Officer

Bunty is Chief Executive Officer of Asia Society India. She is a founding director of The Lok Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, created to provide specialized, local and long-term technical assistance to the Indian microfinance sector. She spent ten years with AT&T in USA and Hong Kong in the areas of Strategy and Business Development, Human Resources, and Training & Development. She worked as a teacher with the International Catholic Migration Commission at a refugee camp in the Philippines. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from George Washington University, USA and the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines, a Masters in Special Education from Florida Atlantic University, and a Bachelors degree in Education and History from Jamia Millia & Delhi University. She has lived and worked in the US, Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore.

You can connect with Bunty at bchand@asiasociety.org

Preema John, Associate Director Programmes

Preema leads the Programmes Team at the Centre, with a focus on Arts and Culture. She is a Fulbright Fellow whose core area of work is the public exhibition and reception of art. She holds a graduate degree in Philosophy from St Stephen's College, Delhi and a Masters in Arts and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. In 2014 she completed her Masters in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Preema has previously held several curatorial and arts administration positions with arts organizations including Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Kochi-Muziris Biennale. She’s also Founder Director of Studio Parallel, an arts management and consultancy company based out of New Delhi. 

You can connect with Preema at pjohn@asiasociety.org

Karishma Talwar, Programme Officer

Karishma serves as the Programme Officer for Business and Policy programmes at Asia Society India Centre. Prior to joining the organisation, she graduated with a Masters’ in International Studies and Diplomacy from School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Prior to her Masters’ she was a Consultant with Michael Page India and holds an MBA with a specialization in Marketing and Human Resources. 

You can connect with Karishma at ktalwar@asiasociety.org

Saanaee Naik, Programme Assistant

Saanaee works as a Programme Assistant for the Business and Policy programmes at Asia Society India Centre. She graduated from St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Mumbai with a major in Political Science, after which she completed her Master's degree in Political Science from University of Delhi. Prior to joining Asia Society, Saanaee completed the SBI Youth for India fellowship with Gram Vikas, a non-governmental development organization, in a tribal pocket of Odisha. She hopes to serve in the north-eastern states of India as an officer of the Indian Administrative Services.

You can connect with Saanaee at snaik@asiasociety.org

Deepashree Mahajan, Programme Assistant

Deepashree serves as the Programme Assistant for the Business and Policy programmes at Asia Society India Centre. She holds a Masters’ Degree in International Studies with a focus on Asian Studies from the Symbiosis School of International Studies. During her university years, she was a UNESCO-MGIEP Campus Ambassador and the sub-editor of the Indian Review of Global Affairs. She has a graduate degree in Mass Media with a specialization in Journalism from Jai Hind College, Mumbai.

You can connect with Deepashree at dmahajan@asiasociety.org

Rachna Shah, Administrative Officer

You can connect with Rachna at rshah@asiasociety.org

Mrunali Kedari, Administrative Assistant

You can connect with Mrunali at asiasocietyindiacentre@asiasociety.org