Joining us for this episode is Ulta Beauty's first-ever Chief Digital Officer, Prama Bhatt. Prama brings 20 years of digital expertise to this role, having brought to life innovative experiences and initiatives like Virtual Beauty Advisor, Skin Analysis, GLAMLab, real-time recommendations and more to meaningfully disrupt and drive the industry forward. Before serving as CDO, Prama was senior vice president and vice president of digital and e-commerce at Ulta Beauty. Prior to that, she led...

At 23-years-old, Ziad Ahmed is our youngest trailblazer to date. In this episode, Simi catches up with the CEO/Co-Founder of JUV Consulting, a purpose-driven Generation Z consultancy that works with clients (small businesses, non-profits, and major corporations) to help them authentically reach young people. To date, the company has worked with 20+ Fortune 500 companies (Unilever, VF Group), has been profiled by the New York Times, and has established full-time offices around the U.S.  A...

Simi speaks with Megha Desai, President of the Desai Foundation. The Desai Foundation empowers women and children through community programming that elevates health, livelihood and menstrual health, primarily in India. Initially established by her parents 25+ years ago, the public foundation has impacted 5 million+ lives across 2500 communities to date. Before pivoting to the nonprofit world, Megha had a formative, decade-long career in the advertising industry. She previously founded MSD...

In this episode, Simi is joined by a legend in the media business: Raju Narisetti, Global Publishing Leader at McKinsey. Raju grew up in India where he studied business and journalism. He immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s, earning his Masters in Journalism from Indiana University. Here he kickstarted his career in local news in Dayton, Ohio. In 1994, he was recruited to the Wall Street Journal, where he climbed the ranks, becoming Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal Global...

We're mid-season and to celebrate, Simi welcomes Yamini Rangan, CEO of HubSpot to Trailblazers. HubSpot is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform and publicly-traded company. Prior to becoming CEO, Yamini served as the company's first-ever Chief Customer Officer. In September 2021, she succeeded CEO Brian Halligan, the co-founder of HubSpot who had served as CEO for the 15 years since the company's inception. A tech industry veteran, Yamini has more than 25 years of...

Beck, Paul McCartney, Troye Sivan, Maggie Rogers, Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Halsey, Masego, Doechii, Norah Jones — just a few of the greats on Arjun Pulijal’s star-powered artist roster. In our latest episode, Simi speaks with the esteemed President of Capitol Music Group. Capitol Music Group is a premier American front line umbrella label owned by Universal Music Group. As President, Arjun oversees the company’s multiple labels and all areas of artist development including creative, marketing,...

In this episode, Simi catches up with a legend in the League, Sean Desai, Associate Head Coach-Defense for the Seattle Seahawks.  Sean has over a decade of experience as a coach at the NFL and collegiate levels. When he became defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2021, he became the first Indian-American NFL coordinator in U.S. history. Sean joined the Bears in 2013, where he served on staff for 8 years, initially as a defensive quality control coach, before coaching safeties....

In this episode, Simi sits down with a familiar face, Seema Mody, CNBC Global Markets Reporter. A leading business journalist, Seema is CNBC’s FIRST South Asian on-air personality. She joined the network in 2011 and currently focuses on the intersection of foreign policy and Wall Street, as well as the travel industry. She also hosts European Close, a daily segment that keeps U.S. investors informed on European market happenings. Seema has appeared on several additional CNBC shows including...

To kick off Season 5, Simi sits down with Kal Penn, esteemed Actor, Author, and former White House Staffer. Kal jumpstarted his acting career in the early 2000s, with performances in The Namesake and Harold & Kumar franchise. He has also starred in a host of other fan favorites: Designated Survivor, House, and How I Met Your Mother to name a few. In 2009, Kalpen made a left turn out of acting and into the Obama Administration where he served as the Principal Associate Director in the...

For our Season 4 finale, Simi sits down with Megha Rao, Fashion Designer and Founder of holiCHIC. A renowned global fashion brand, holiChic offers South Asian-inspired fashion ensembles with a Western twist. Megha’s brand made its runway premiere at New York Fashion Week in 2021, and was also featured in the iconic Jalebi Baby remix video with Tesher and Jason Derulo. Before starting holiChic in 2014, Megha spent a decade modeling for iconic Indian fashion brands. She also spent 15 years in...

Simi sits down with Dr. Sreekanth Chaguturu, Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health. Shortly after this episode was recorded, Sree ascended to this role, becoming CMO for all of CVS Health. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for CVS Caremark — the patient benefits arm of CVS Health that ensures that patients have access to safe and affordable prescriptions. Before joining the company in 2019, Sree was the Chief Population Health Officer for Massachusetts...

Simi welcomes our first trailblazer in fitness, Aditi Shah, Instructor at Peloton and Global Ambassador for PUMA. Aditi joined Peloton in 2018, having been recruited to help launch their Yoga and Meditation practice. She first discovered her love of yoga while living in Mumbai after graduating from Rutgers University, where she studied math. While in India, she pursued modeling, appearing in campaigns for Garnier, Revlon, and BareMinerals. Some years later, she moved to New York, where she...

In our latest episode, Simi is joined by Maneesh Goyal, Founder & Partner of NY-based restaurant SONA. Maneesh is a serial entrepreneur. In 2003, he launched his own event marketing company called MKG, where he worked with the likes of Google, Target, Delta, and other high-profile clients before selling the company in 2019. He’s since founded 3 other companies: Live in the Grey, a company culture consultancy; Pink Sparrow Scenic, a design and fabrication shop; and 214, a brand strategy...

In this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers, Simi sits down with Aparna Shewakramani in front of a live audience, hosting our first-ever live podcast at the World Trade Center in New York City. Aparna is the breakout star of Netflix’s hit series Indian Matchmaking — where she went from controversial character to overnight ambassador for women demanding to be heard. This conversation marked the launch of Aparna's highly-anticipated memoir, She's Unlikeable: And Other Lies That Bring...

Simi catches up with Shilpa Shah, Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer of Cuyana. Founded in 2011, Cuyana is a direct-to-consumer luxury fashion brand founded on the philosophy of “fewer, better” to encourage customers to invest in fewer, but higher-quality essentials. Over the past decade, the brand has become a favorite among celebrities like Jessica Alba, Ayesha Curry, Poorna Jagannathan. In addition, the  company has grown to encompass 7 brick-and-mortar locations and over 150...

Simi speaks with Usman Ahmed, Head of Global Public Policy and Research at PayPal. Usman began his career in public service at non-profits focused on voting rights and good governance. Eventually, he decided to pursue his law degree at the University of Michigan. While there, he pursued a legal fellowship at eBay, quickly ascending to the role of Policy Counsel just a few years after graduating.  In 2015, after PayPal was spun off of eBay, he decided to joined the newly-separated company as...

In this episode, Simi catches up with Sushma Dwivedi, Head of Communications and Brand Marketing at Daily Harvest and Founder of the Purple Pundit Project.  Sushma spent the early innings of her career with major global communications firms including Edelman and Fleishman Hillard. Focused on food and beverage space early on, she worked closely with companies like Chobani, Dannon, and Perdue Farms.  In 2020, she joined Daily Harvest, a food startup that makes ready-to-blend smoothies, soups,...

Simi speaks with Saeed Ahmed, Director of Digital News at NPR. Prior to joining NPR in 2021, Saeed served as Assistant Managing Editor of CNN Digital. He began his 13-year career at CNN as a news desk editor for The CNN Wire, and went on to spearhead content diversity efforts and create the top two newsletters in CNN's portfolio: 5 Things and The Good Stuff. Prior to CNN, Saeed spent seven years at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution,  where he was a part of the breaking-news team that became a...

To kick off Season 4, Simi welcomes Payal Kadakia, Founder of ClassPass, Artist, and Author. ClassPass is a subscription-based platform that enables people to book a variety of fitness classes without paying for individual memberships. After founding the company in 2013, Payal served as CEO of the company until 2017, at which point she became Executive Chairman. By 2020, ClassPass became the first unicorn of the decade and in late 2021, the company was acquired by MindBody in an all-stock...

For our Season 3 finale, Simi catches up with Sunayna Tuteja, the first-ever Chief Innovation Officer of the Federal Reserve. Prior to joining the Fed in February of 2021, Sunayna served as the Global Head of Emerging Tech & Strategic Partnerships at TD Ameritrade. She spent a number of years building out their cryptocurrency and blockchain practices as Head of Digital Assets. Prior to TD Ameritrade, she was at TD Bank, leading digital transformation. She brings 10+ years of experience...

In this episode, Simi speaks with Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises & Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Paraag is no stranger to football — he is in his 21st year with the 49ers. And previously, he served as team president and Chief Operating Officer. On the football side, Paraag serves as the team’s chief contract negotiator and salary cap architect, while overseeing the team’s football analytics department. Paraag has played an integral role in rebuilding...

Simi welcomes a founder trio to the podcast. Mythili Sankaran, Chitra Nayak, and Sruthi Ramaswami are the co-founders of Neythri, an organization dedicated to creating a network of South Asian professional women. Most recently, they launched the Neythri Futures Fund, a startup investment fund with an investor base of primarily South Asian women. Now a little more about the women behind Neythri. Chitra Nayak is currently an independent board member at companies like Infosys, and LifeWorks....

Simi catches up with Dhanusha Sivajee, Chief Marketing Officer at Angi. In her role, Dhanusha is responsible for brand and marketing strategy. Angi, previously known as Angie’s List, is an online resource for finding vetted, local providers for various home services. Prior to Angi, Dhanusha served as Chief Marketing Officer of The Knot, a platform providing content and services to couples planning weddings and starting their lives together. She also previously served as Chief Marketing...

Simi welcomes Brinda Adhikari, Executive Producer and Showrunner of The Problem with Jon Stewart. This new AppleTV show marks the famed Jon Stewart’s return to television as he tackles a new societal issue in every episode. And Brinda — she's at the helm. Brinda joined The Problem  from CBS News, where she was a senior broadcast producer for segments anchored by major TV personalities like Norah O’Donnell and Scott Pelley. She began her career in broadcast television at ABC news, where she...

Simi sits down with Reshma Saujani — Founder of Girls Who Code. Reshma is also an international bestselling author, attorney, and activist.  The daughter of Indian refugees, Reshma studied political science and eventually went on to pursue her Masters in Public Policy and J.D. After graduating from Yale Law, Reshma worked as a corporate attorney on Wall Street. But soon, she pivoted to politics. She founded South Asians for Kerry, during John Kerry’s 2004 presidential election run. She also...