StepUp Leadership Global Coaching Lab

Hear Anupama Kylash define how Art moulds leadership, sharing valuable insights on talent, fluidity, and the effort of finding clarity.



Anupama Kylash is a renowned Indian dancer and choreographer known for her expertise in Vilasini Natyam and Kuchipudi dance styles. She began her dance journey with Bharatanatyam under the guidance of Guru Jayalakshmi Narayanan, later advancing her skills in Kuchipudi under Guru Uma Rama Rao and Vilasini Natyam under Padma Bhushan awardee Swapna Sundari. Anupama earned her Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. in Dance from prestigious universities in Hyderabad. She has performed in various national and international dance festivals and also teaches the Masters Program in Kuchipudi at the University of Silicon Andhra. Anupama has also authored content for the Kuchipudi dance style syllabus for the Central Board of Secondary Education and curates 'The Thinking Cap Series' for promoting research and interaction in fine and performing arts.

In this interview, Vinutha Raja, a seasoned HR professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry, narrates her challenging journey of becoming compassionately curious towards her team members. Currently, she is the Senior Director- Human Resources at Sony India Software Centre in Bangalore, where she has been working for 11 years. Before that, she held various HR management positions at Samsung India Software Operations and Samsung for almost a decade. With her extensive experience, she has developed expertise in HR strategy, talent acquisition, employee engagement, and organizational development.

Professor, Digital Strategy, Brand Communication and Contemporary Marketing at S P Jain School of Global Management, Dr. Smitha Ranganathan has over 24 years of experience as an advertising and brand communication professional. She has donned various hats in advertising agencies and currently teaches Digital Strategy, Brand Communication and Contemporary Marketing at S P Jain School of Global Management. Dr. Smitha serves among the Board of Governors at IIM Kozhikode Laboratory for Innovation, Venturing and Entrepreneurship. Gain valuable insights on defying trends, authentic storytelling, and personal branding from the eminent Dr. Smitha Ranganathan.

Nidhi Jain is a global HR leader with over 21 years of experience, currently serving as the Global Head of Human Resources for EY Client Technology. Previously, as the Head of Corporate HR for EY India, she worked closely with the leadership team to define and implement talent strategies for all businesses within EY India. Nidhi's expertise lies in talent transformation, organization development, culture and change, DE&I, employer branding, performance and rewards, and building high-performing teams.

EY leader Hensie Bommanahal talks about how everything starts with women understanding who they are as a brand, especially in today's competitive environment. She talks about being inspired by Brene Brown's theory of vulnerability and how she thinks it is an integral power tool for every leader. "Being in the arena versus sitting on the sidelines and passing judgment is a critical part of leadership," says Hensie.



Hensie Bommanahal is the Business Management Lead for the Engineering team in Client Technology at EY. Client Technology drives revenue growth and enables market differentiation for EY through asset-powered solutions. In her role in Client Technology Engineering, Hensie is responsible for financial management, portfolio and performance management, resource management, etc.

Hear EY leader Mary Nisha Thomas talk about the superpower of empathy that every leader needs to have. Mary talks about the rare leadership quality of remaining calm amid the storm and reminds us to focus on what we accomplished instead of what we didn't achieve.


Mary Nisha Thomas, a Global Talent Development Leader in EY Client Technologies, keeps learning to help people get better with the way they treat themselves and the way they treat others through relevant pedagogy and behavioral and organizational transformation. With 22 years of leading talent and organizational development, she has assessed and applied behavioral science through real-time implementation to achieve organizational goals. She seamlessly works with global teams across EMEIA, Americas, and APAC for various organizations that specialize in telecom, insurance, shipping, manufacturing, technology, ITeS, and professional services.