Meet Nivedita Desai
She is the is the Managing Trustee of Animedh Charitable Trust (ACT) which she founded in 2012.
ACT is a non-profit organization based in Mumbai, India and focuses on the transformation of underserved girls and women in India by enlisting girls and women into various educational and vocational programs, and empowering them to be educated, confident and economically independent. Till date, ACT has impacted lives of nearly 3,500 children and 35,000 women through education, skill development and vocational empowerment. It has grown from an initial family corpus of Rs. 2 lakhs in 2012 to cumulative donation, funds and grants of above Rs. 2 crores per annum. ACT has been felicitated by the Prime Minister and recognized by Dadra & Nagar Haveli Government as among the top 10 NGOs working in the adivasi villages in that region. It has also been recognised as Trusted NGO Partner and for Volunteer Engagement Excellence by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arms of IDFC FIRST Bank and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, respectively.
For her work with ACT over the years, Nivedita has been awarded Rex Karmaveer Global Fellowship 2015-16 for her ideas for action and making a difference, and Rotary Club of Bombay Juhu Beach Award 2018 for Women Empowerment through Vocational Excellence.
Prior to founding ACT in 2012, Nivedita had a successful career spanning 25+ years as a Senior Management Professional handling sales, marketing, project management, and category development in varied industries like fragrances & flavours, office automation & direct marketing. She worked in US, Singapore & India for global companies like Firmenich, International Flavours and Fragrances (IFF), Marketing Capital, etc.
The highlight of her professional career was in 2001, at the age of 36, when she was chosen to be a part of her then employer, IFF’s – a leading name in the global perfumery industry – Global CEO’s 3-month long Foresight Programme on industry leadership in New York. She got a standing ovation by IFFs Board for making a relevant presentation about the emerging markets as the next big frontier, with India and China being the jewels in the crown. As a result, she was chosen to travel to all key IFF locations worldwide to communicate the Foresight message about IFF’s next 20 years’ vision and strategy, and promoted as a Global Category Business Development Head and relocated to USA.
At 56 years of age, Nivedita proudly wears many hats – Managing Trustee ACT, Thought & Action Leader, Enabler, Teacher, Runner, Woman, Friend, Daughter, Wife, Mother, Mother-in-law and recently, a Grandmother – striving for excellence in everything she undertakes.
BUT…how did she get here?
Click on the video to know more!
