Women to Watch Awards: Celebrating excellence and inspiring future leaders — The Noel D’Cunha Sunday Column

The Women to Watch Awards, an initiative by the PrintWeek and WhatPackaging? magazines, celebrates the exceptional women who lead, inspire, and foster greatness within India's dynamic printing and packaging sectors.

As part of PrintWeek's commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equality, these awards honour the achievements of India’s business leaders, change-makers, trailblazers, and rising stars.

Presented across 15 categories, the awards recognise a diverse range of contributions, including Educator of the Year, Business Leader of the Year, Factory Champion of the Year, R&D Captain, Rising Star of the Year, Fintech Leader, Designer of the Year, Mentor of the Year, Sales Champion of the Year, Young Business Leader, Packaging Person of the Year, Publishing Person of the Year, and All-Women Team of the Year.

This year’s edition features two new categories: HR Leader of the Year and Execution Excellence.

Educator of the Year
This award acknowledges women who have made significant contributions to print and packaging education. Open to educators and professionals, the jury seeks individuals who have gone above and beyond their role to support students.

In 2024, Rageshree Niyogi, director of product and marketing for Collins Learning at HarperCollins Publishers, was the winner. The jury was particularly impressed by how seven-million students utilise Collins resources, 1.5-million educators benefit from their training programmes, and 35,000 schools participate in educational initiatives. Niyogi joined Collins in 2017 and has since focused on nurturing students' skills through meaningful, play-based activities, including scrabble, spelling bee competitions, SDG championships, and creative writing workshops. She noted, “We have witnessed an overwhelming response from schools, students, and parents. The education sector often has limited voices when it comes to initiatives that will help elevate the status of a teacher's role. Good teachers make good students, and consequently a better nation, so investing in advancing the quality of teachers is the first step to ensuring a better future.”

Business Leader of the Year
This award celebrates women in executive or top management roles who have demonstrated leadership critical to their organisation's success. It is open to all leaders, owners, entrepreneurs, founders, and employed professionals who promote excellence and high professional standards. The jury seeks individuals with strong leadership qualities, strategic acumen, and a drive for business growth.

Priya Singh, senior vice president of production, digital resources, and press logistics at Hachette India was a joint winner in 2024. According to Singh, equality extends beyond a single aspect, encompassing factors like demand and delivery. She advocated for every company to have a clearly stated governance and equal opportunities code, pledging to hire eligible candidates as an equal opportunity employer.

Additionally, Singh stressed the importance of making all employees, both men and women, aware of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, and the company’s commitment to compliance, integrating it into all induction programmes to foster a culture of equality and mutual respect.

Sheetal Dandekar, assistant vice president at JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, was the other joint winner. She believes that building a high-quality healthcare business requires compassion towards patients, customers, and employees. Dandekar stated, “Women are naturally compassionate, able to multitask, hardworking, and balanced. This is why they make an apt fit for the healthcare business. They can drive profit with purpose. The healthcare industry offers more opportunities for women in areas such as medicine and pharmacy at all levels. There are many women in boardrooms at pharma and healthcare companies. I urge women to join the healthcare sector, do meaningful work, and make a significant impact on society.”

Factory Champion of the Year
This award recognises women whose work and ideas have driven excellence in factory management. The winner sets and raises the standard for factory operations, demonstrating the ability to connect all departments on the shopfloor for optimal production. The jury looks for someone whose absence would significantly impact the factory's daily workflow.

Srishti Kaushik, senior manager of production planning and control at Nutech Print Services, was the 2024 winner. The jury was impressed by Kaushik’s problem-solving abilities, evidenced by a 30% turnover increase over the past three years and a reduction in turnaround time from 30 days to 15 days. Kaushik attributed this success to a concerted effort to streamline processes, focusing on team training and embracing technology. Regular performance reviews allowed her to identify areas for improvement and adapt strategies accordingly. She explained, “To optimise production, I begin with a comprehensive analysis of all tasks involved. This analysis is translated into a clear flowchart that maps the entire production process. Throughout the process, I closely monitor actual performance and compare it with the set target.”

R&D Captain
This award recognises women whose work and ideas have generated excitement through top-tier R&D.

Mamta Garg, director of Brijbasi Art Press, and head of design at Hello Friend Books, received this award in 2024. Brijbasi has been exporting children's books for 25 years. Noticing a demand for fresh content in the international market, the company leveraged its printing background to venture into children's book publishing, aiming to produce books that rival international publications. For Garg, this journey has been both extensive and rewarding. “Tailoring to specific needs is key,” she stated. “Each publisher we partner with for co-editions has unique specifications that we follow closely. It is fascinating to see how every publisher from different countries has specific requirements tailored to their market.”

Rising Star of the Year
This award recognises individuals who have demonstrated exemplary growth traits. The jury looks at new entrants, freshers, interns, or new employees who, in their short tenure, have shown a rare aptitude for growth within their department and the organisation as a whole.

Ritu Jain, managing director of Paperdom, was the winner in this category. From the outset, Jain aimed to innovate and pioneer unique creations, rather than simply running a factory that met market demand. “I tailored all the equipment to support this vision, assembled a capable team, and embraced experimentation at every turn. My aim wasn’t just to manufacture handmade paper — I envisioned establishing a brand known for specialty papers and products,” Jain explained. She added, “From day one, I established a small prototyping lab to fuel our ongoing innovation. I prioritised continuous learning, starting with a full diploma course in paper-making. Even today, you’ll find me on the workshop floor, hands-on with every new creation.”

Designer of the Year
This award recognises individual women who have led a design innovation in print or packaging, initiated, launched, and developed during the eligibility period. The recipient must boost knowledge about the creative possibilities of print.

Priyanka Karyekar, creative director at Elephant Design, was the 2024 winner. For Karyekar, winning the award was a transformative and memorable experience. “It is an acknowledgement of skill, innovation, creativity, and hard work. I have a strong feeling of pride — especially for female designers breaking barriers and setting new standards in the industry. I am happy to bring it back to my Elephant family the second time in a row,” she said.

Karyekar’s design philosophy emphasises clarity: “The design should be clear and should communicate the brand without any complexity. The packaging should facilitate ease in decision-making, communicate ease of use, and should enhance the overall user experience. Functionality is essential, alongside aesthetic appeal. Great design always tells a story and stays in the mind of the consumer after the first interaction.”

Mentor of the Year
This award recognises outstanding leadership and the implementation of mentorship programmes and personal development. It also celebrates individuals who are innovative and drive change through excellent leadership, communication, and strategic planning to achieve results and transformation.

Arpita Das, founder and publisher of Yoda Press, was the 2024 winner. According to Das, both women and queer individuals bring invaluable nuance to editorial work, noting their ability to listen without overshadowing the author’s voice. She also expressed a desire for more senior industry figures to engage in mentoring. “It is not just rewarding in the sense of fulfilment in thinking that you are making a difference to your industry, but also in terms of reverse mentoring — by which I mean that I too have learnt a lot from my mentees,” she shared.

Sales Champion of the Year
This award recognises outstanding women who have managed or been part of a sales team to exceed business expectations for their company. The jury looks for exceptional salespeople who have positively impacted their company’s business, demonstrating excellent customer coordination, internal fulfilment coordination, industry knowledge, passion, and work excellence.
 

Bharti Aggarwal, director of sales at NBG Printographic Machinery, was the 2024 winner. “It was an incredibly gratifying and humbling experience for me. I was deliriously happy when I received the news, because it symbolised the culmination of hard work, dedication, and the support from my mentors and family,” Aggarwal remarked.

Young Business Leader
This award recognises women, aged 40 or under as of 31 December 2024, who hold a managerial position and have demonstrated business growth, strategic direction, and leadership competencies through honed business acumen and strong industry networks during the eligibility period.

Isha Deshpande, director, Trigon Digipack, was the 2024 winner. She said, “For me, this was a win for the entire Trigon family and for the customers we serve. At Trigon, every win is a celebration — not just because it is another victory but because our hard work is being recognised. I had a small celebration with my Delhi team because I am based there. I definitely look forward to celebrating with my Mumbai team when I’m there next.”

Packaging Person of the Year
This award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated excellent skill and vision within the packaging industry. The jury seeks someone with vision who thinks innovatively and has contributed to a more inventive packaging industry in India.

Suman Singh Gaikwad, assistant professor at the VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Dehradun, was the 2024 winner. Gaikwad shared, “This achievement sparks a sense of responsibility to mentor and uplift others, share knowledge and experiences to foster the next generation of leaders in packaging. It is a moment of celebration that highlights the importance of dedication, innovation, and the impact of leading by example in driving positive change.”

Publishing Person of the Year
This award recognises individuals who have displayed excellent skill and vision within the publishing industry. The jury looks for someone with a clear vision for the printed book as a popular format, along with examples of creativity and expertise in producing beautiful books that exemplify the thriving publishing sector.

Poulomi Chatterjee, executive publisher and rights director at HarperCollins Publishers India, was the 2024 winner. Chatterjee noted, “Publishing for the trade market in India has always been something of a challenge and remains that way, especially since readers are now exposed to various other forms of entertainment and distractions that require less investment of time and effort than reading. We also remain a low-priced market compared to other publishing territories. With growing material and production costs, pricing books to the market is an everyday challenge.” However, she added, “it’s also an exciting time, because homegrown writers are really coming into their own, becoming more experimental within traditional genres and exploring newer ones, and there are newer voices to publish and showcase. The readership too is becoming more aware and open-minded about what they’re reading and how they are consuming content, so there’s much more to explore in terms of topics and publishing platforms and mediums too.”

All-Women Team of the Year
This category applauds the exceptional accomplishments of women in the printing and packaging fraternity, recognising collaborative brilliance and teamwork. The award aims to inspire gender diversity and celebrates the transformative power of female leadership in an industry traditionally dominated by men.

Sangeetha Kannan, partner at KK Packaging, was the winner in 2024. Kannan stated, “We strive towards a path of gender equality where women excel at par with men. This happens when women are given equal opportunity and that’s what we have done. Treating an employee as a member of the family — personally, financially, and socially is the secret of achieving this, and is one way in which we can rewrite the rules of the industry.”

The company’s recruitment policy is unique, focusing on transforming uneducated, economically disadvantaged, and underprivileged women into capable employees and respectful citizens. “Our workplace habits are designed through a 5S policy: a spiritual way of living through yoga, smartness in learning through products and productivity, strengthening tech skills through experts, establishing work practices through standards and SOPs, and smiling with confidence through quality delivery,” she explained.

The 2025 Women to Watch Awards are open for submissions. If you know a woman, or an all-woman team, who is making a significant impact in the Indian print and packaging industries, we encourage you to nominate them today. Let's continue to celebrate and recognise the trailblazers shaping the future of our industry.

Organised by PrintWeek and WhatPackaging?, and powered by Bindwel, the Women to Watch Awards celebrate women shaping the future of print and packaging.

If you’ve made a mark or know someone who has, let us know. Express interest. For any queries or assistance during the process, entrants can reach out to Avinash Bhakre via email at avinash.bhakre@haymarket.co.in or call +91 99303 51282.