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 &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, and 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 Ms. Chand on bchand@asiasociety.org.

Preema John, Associate Director Programmes

Preema heads the Programme Team at the Asia Society India Centre, with a focus on Arts and Culture. She is a Fulbright Fellow who works as an independent arts consultant and manager. Her core area of interest is the public reception and exhibition of art. Preema holds a Masters in Arts and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a Bachelors degree in Philosophy from St Stephen's College, Delhi. Previously she worked with Delhi based arts festivals like the Delhi International Arts Festival, Ananya Dance Festival, Purana Qila Festival and the Bhakti Utsav before moving to Mumbai to work at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum. On her return to India after her Fulbright Fellowship, she joined the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014's curatorial team as the Curatorial and Exhibition Manager. She writes about art and also works closely with artists to develop their practice. You can connect with Preema on 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 on ktalwar@asiasociety.org.

Ishani Shukla, Programme Assistant

Ishani holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Sciences from Sciences Po Paris. After graduation, she worked in qualitative research for two years, where she worked to unearth consumer insights for corporate clients in the FMCG space such as Mondelez, Viacom, and Tata. After a brief stint in brand consulting, Ishani made the switch to think tank and research work when she interned at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations in Mumbai. She has experience in fieldwork, research and writing. You can connect with Ishani on ishukla@asiasociety.org.

Lekha Jandhyala, Programme Assistant

Lekha is a Programme Assistant focused on arts and culture at Asia Society India Centre. Immediately after graduating from Pitzer College as a Media Studies and Art major with honors, she became one of forty 2016-2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellows from the US. During her fellowship year she traveled nine countries exploring artist identity within global and the local contexts. Born and raised in California, Lekha has worked at a variety of Los Angeles art spaces including, the Gallery at REDCAT (The Roy & Disney CALARTS Theater), The Velaslavasay Panorama, Pomona College Museum of Art and the Pitzer College Art + Environment Program. Lekha's global contemporary art world experiences have landed her firmly on the path of art production, curation, and cultural programming. You can connect with Lekha on ljandhyala@asiasociety.org.

Anurag Ram Chandran, Programme Assistant

Anurag is a Programme Assistant focused on business and policy at Asia Society India Centre. He was a 2017 Schwarzman Scholar and graduated with a Master's in Global Affairs from China's Tsinghua University. Prior to his year in Beijing, Anurag completed his undergraduate studies with honors in Economics and Political Science at the University of Missouri in the United States. He has previously worked in policy roles at the United States Senate, American Enterprise Institute, Pangoal Institution and the Missouri House of Representatives. While his family's roots are in Kerala, India, Anurag was born and raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. You can connect with Anurag on archandran@asiasociety.org.

Rachna Shah, Administrative Officer

You can connect with Rachna on rshah@asiasociety.org.

Mrunali Kedari, Administrative Assistant

You can connect with Mrunali on asiasocietyindiacentre@asiasociety.org.