GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS B&WSSC

Dr. Blossom Kochhar

Dr. Blossom Kochhar is the founder of The Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies. Within the beauty industry, Dr. Kochhar is considered a pioneer as she has been practicing and researching the science of ‘Aromatherapy and Herbalism’, well over 25 years.

An icon of the hair and beauty industry, Dr. Blossom Kochhar holds high-ranking positions in several organizations. She is the President, Organisation Mondiale Coiffure (OMC) - Paris, Inter Coiffure - India and National Hair Dressers Association (NHBA). She is also the Education Director at Blossom Kochhar College of Creative Arts and Design (BKCCAD).

Mr. Sandeep Ahuja

Mr. Sandeep is a senior business leader with Board level experience and consistent track record of establishing and scaling businesses in dynamic and changing market environments. He has handled several key roles spanning over 30 years in FMCG, Consumer, Wellness, Retail Services and Communications Consultancy domains, with in-depth experience in marketing, P&L management, brand building, communications, starting and scaling international businesses, franchise network development, acquisitions, fund raising and investor management. He has led and motivated large (4000+) multinational / multicultural teams across India & South Asia, South East Asia, the GCC Region and East Africa.

Ms Gurpreet Seble

Ms Gurpreet has introduced many brands to India that have taken the industry by storm. With her team of experts & educators she is busy in education, launching Nail Spas in India & helping other Salon owners setup their own Nail bars to step up the revenue. She brings the latest Artificial Nail Technology from the birthplace of Artificial Nails – USA.

Ms. Monica Bahl

Ms Monica Bahl is a service professional with 23+ years of expérience in leadership roles involving strategic planning, organisation building, P&L management, with 15 years of multi-functional expérience in Business Management & Development.

She is a visionary with verifiable year after year progress in achieving growth objectives with start-up projects. She holds a Master’s degree in CRM&E (Community Resource Management & Extension) from Lady Irwin Collège, Delhi University with distinction & 2^nd position in the University.

She has extensively worked across India, South East Asia & Gulf region to establish & operate brands.

Ms Sheeja Nair

Senior Head - Monitoring (Market Led Program) and Partnership Management & Support, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

Ms. Richa Aggarwal

Ms Richa, an acclaimed Beauty and Wellness consultant, is a certified skin expert from City & Guilds - UK, spa expert from Watpo Thai Traditional Medical School, Thailand, hair expert from Toni & Guy academy, Singapore. She has also acquired experience and professional endorsement as Nutritionist from the esteemed PGIMER – Chandigarh. As a PRESIDENT CWMTS, E.O. BOARD MEMBER - IDA (INDIAN DIETETICS ASSOCIATION), FOUNDER MEMBER - AWAS, MEMBER - ISPA, AIA, Ms Richa Agarwal wears multiple hats.

Her vast experience is backed by incisive research base contributing to diversity and professionalism. Dynamic woman with long term vision and passion for innovation is always confident to make spa business well accepted. The success speaks for itself, as Ms Richa has expanded beyond one centre in Chandigarh, to series of centres in horizon of expansion, boasts of biggest beauty academies in North India with launch of Beauty & Wellness academy in 2004.

Mr. Sougata Roy Choudhury

Executive Director - Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and CII representative at B&WSSC Board

Mr. Vikram Bhatt

A potent combination of right and left brain thinking, Vikram is one of few business leaders that combine financial acumen with people skills required to manage the human resource function, the two broad areas he overseas at Enrich besides the key portfolios of Strategy and Growth.

Focused and highly energetic, he is someone who loves the big pictureas much as the tiniest of details – after spending hours articulating concepts in a presentation deck, he can then spend almost the same time formatting the layouts.

The last few years Vikram has largely devoted to empowering Enrich and still, he makes time to help his wide group of friends and colleagues start their own ventures or manage them better, go for off-sites. A lot of the processes that Enrich is known for have their roots in the exposure he received during this time in his day job. And that is also why Vikram is equally at ease, discussing numbers/ scaling up plans with merchant bankers as well as the styles of the season with hair stylists.

Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan

Hailing from the ‘textile city, Manchester of South India’ – Coimbatore, I started my career as an entrepreneur as early as in my college days. Day by day, I gained vast experience and learned the pros & cons of business. Later, I joined Cavin Kare in year 2000 where I conceptualized & pioneered the family salon model for the first time in India.

I am elated to convey that under my leadership following are the key success facts right from inception in 2001.

— The 1st organized company to provide our salon employees receive monthly salary on every 30th along with salary slip

— The 1st salon brand to provide PF, ESI, Gratuity & Medi-Claim benefits which greatly uplifted the value of salon professionals in society

— Succeeded in developing customized SOPs applied right from screening, training talents to delivering services

— First in the industry to implement POS software in 2005

— Statutory audit partners with KPMG (2006-15) & Ernst & Young (2016 till date)

— Implemented Ramco Marshal Payroll software in 2008

— Implemented SAP in 2008 & upgraded versions

— Developed successful biz models (COCO, FOFO & COFO)

— Trends strength defined by stable in-grown leaders & proficient technical team

— Developed more than 10,000 skilled resources on-board with Trends & associated with other brands across country contributing to the industry’s well-being & growth

Dr. Madhumita Saikia

Dr. Madhumita Saikia is a well-known name in the field of beauty and alternative health, not only in Assam but other parts of the world. She is associated with Signature Beauty & Ayurveda Institute in Assam, India, since 1998. Prior to that, she was a govt. employee in the capacity of educator of beauty, under labour & employment department, Assam for 11 years. she has toured the world to learn and educate herself in the best education establishments.

Technically, she attained her education in Beauty, Make-up, Hairstyling, Massage, Ayurveda, Alternative Medicine like Herbalism, Aromatherapy, Spa Therapy, Lomi Lomi, Chinese Medicine and Acupressure. Dr. Madhumita, later started to visit countries like Hong Kong, China, Australia, UK as expert in AyurvedIc Massage & Medicine to teach and deliver lectures. She organizes the Signature Awards - a competition on beauty, make-up and hair styles, every year since 1998, the only competition to be held annually without break.

Ms. Gayathri Vasudevan

Ms Gayathri, as Co-founder and CEO, has built LabourNet into a respected social enterprise, by anchoring on values of growth, transparency, social protection and inclusion. LabourNet has won numerous awards in the last few years for its model and contribution to society.

She has been extensively involved in policy issues & community mobilizations relating to livelihoods, social security and the informal economy. Ms Gayathri has a doctorate in development studies with more than 20 years’ experience in both national and international organizations. She has been awarded with "Entrepreneur of the Year - 2015" in Service Business - Training by Entrepreneur India Magazine.

Ms Gayathri has held several advisory posts in the govt. Presently she is a CII member, National Skill Committee & South Region Skill Committee. Before joining LabourNet, she has held senior positions at International Labour for eight organizations and other multilateral organisations for eight years.

Prior to joining ILO, she consulted with UNDP, UNICEF, NORAD, Eork Bank etc.. She has more than 30 publications in the areas of labour and employment and gender issues to her credit.

Ms. Seema Gopujkar

Ms Seema Gopujkar is a pioneer in the field of Beauty Therapy. She has been instrumental in raising the standards of education in Beauty, Body Therapy, Spa, Aromatherapy & Make-up in India. She is a highly qualified Instructor & CIDESCO examiner & has helped in opening most of the CIDESCO Schools in India. She has herself trained all over the world, namely UK, USA, Bali, Thailand.

For the past few years, she has worked very closely with the Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (India) (ABTC) in all departments since 1993 and has raised the bar of education department. After being the Chairperson of ABTC, she now handles all CIDESCO affairs in India as a consultant. The highlight of her career was organizing the International CIDESCO Congress in September 2017.

Dr. Sangeeta Chauhan

Dr. Sangeeta Chauhan is a well-known Cosmetologist, Aroma Therapist & Naturopathist and does not need an introduction for herself. With her work and personality, she is one of the most renowned names among the Makeup, beauty and hair styling experts of today’s generation. She runs her own salon "Exclusive Salon", which has a chain of outlets in Delhi & NCR. She is also the founder of an impressive academy named after her, as SCIHB (Sangeeta Chauhan's Institute of Hair & Beauty).

Dr. Vishesh Nayak

Stars Cosmetics, an organization in the business of beauty is existing for more than 5 decades. The company started as a specialized manufacturer of professional make-up products & material for theatre, film, television and salon / parlour industry.

The Stars team is dedicated to those having specific needs for professional make-up and make-overs in the theatre, film, television and parlour industry. The company is headquarters at the commercial capital of India, Mumbai, and has set of colourists and scientists continuously working on the development aspects of the products, since last 5 decades.

Mr. Sumit Israni

Mr. Sumit Israni, Creative Director & proud owner of Geetanjali Salon, he is the perfect embodiment of dualistic nature of the Art of Hairdressing. Geetanjali Salon, famous for its make-up & hair dressing, it has entered in its 27th year as the foremost beauty & style destination in Delhi.

Mr. Sumit is known for his fastest & creative haircuts, artistic colouring techniques, knowledge of hair and an ambitious growth plan for Geetanjali Salon. He has raised expectations for the clients as well as for hairdressers. To his credit, he has changed the landscape of the hairdressing industry in Delhi while staying ahead of the curve of his clients’ ever-evolving needs. He is the proud recipient of VOGUE Best Hairstylist of the Year in 2015.

Mr. Ankur Jain

Mr. Ankur Jain, Jt. Managing Director of Vibes Healthcare Limited, co-founded Vibes as a start-up company and has made it a thriving enterprise with a chain of 33 Beauty & Wellness centres across India and abroad. He did his Master’s in Business Administration from University of Leeds, UK and is the Author of book titled “5 Secrets to Conquer your Dreams”. A deeply accomplished and result driven professional, he has also started working under Skill India initiatives as a Training Partner and is empowering women by making them a part of Vibes. In his leadership, Vibes has been awarded most prominent Healthcare Brand by ET NOW and Best Beauty & Health Service provider by ABP News.

Mr. Ravi Mittal

Born in a prestigious business family, Mr. Ravi Mittal had an innate spirit of enterprise. After his initial education in India, he went to UK for his Masters and graduated with flying colours in 1997. He is playing a big role in organizing the unorganized professional make-up artistry sector, by not only bringing high quality make-up brands, but also supporting it with education, in-house demonstrations & trainings and holding regular look-n-learn seminars, workshops, and making people aware of latest trends in make-up through various means.

He started a training school in partnership with Make-up Studio, The Netherlands to impart world-class training to aspiring professionals, primarily in the field of Make-up. Named Make-up Studio Training Centre, it boasts of the best facilities and an international curriculum and is currently present in 4 cities. The practicing professionals use it to upgrade their knowledge and advance in their chosen field.

Dr. Anuj Kacker

Dr Anuj Kacker currently holds the position as President and Executive Director at Aptech. In this executive role, Dr Anuj is responsible for Individual Learning and Skill Development retail business lines for all of the brands at Aptech Ltd. including Arena Animation, Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC), Lakme Academy Powered by Aptech (LAPA), Aptech Learning, Aptech Aviation and Aptech International Preschool. Dr Kacker heads these business lines at Aptech Ltd. both for India as well as International. He has been instrumental in accelerating the company’s rapid growth and expansion, making a home-grown brand Aptech Ltd, a global entity.

Dr Kacker is an Electronics Engineer from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and has a post-graduation degree in management from Indian Institute of Management (IIM, Kolkata) - two of the most premier institutes of higher learning and research in India. In 2019, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. for his contributions to the field of Education and Training.

Mr. Ritesh Reddy Mastipuram

Mr. Reddy has worked extensively for over 8+ years in the US in fields as diverse as business development, product development, and organizational development, before relocating to India in the end of 2007 to pursue his interest. After working for so many years and having eight patents to his name in the field of mobile phone technology (semiconductor design),  he took the path less travelled, by establishing O2 Spa (in Hyderabad), making it the largest spa services chain in the country to tap the growing wellness wave in the country. Today, he operates over 110 spas across India and about 23 outlets internationally including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, making his company the number one company in the segment. He has been instrumental in getting into skill development training in the year 2013. He has successfully initiated vocational training in North Eastern States, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh with Ministry of Labour and Employment under SDI scheme, training hundreds of students. He is dedicated and committed to the goal of providing best in the field and brings years of experience and in-depth knowledge.

Mr. Vinayak Gawande

Mr. Vinayak Gawande is backed by over 30 years of experience in the taxation, law and finance industry. He has been a Whole-Time Director at Talwalkars Better Value Fitness Limited since April 24, 2003. Spreading fitness in over 70 cities, he believes in a holistic approach to wellness that addresses the full spectrum of health.

He serves as whole-time Director of Indian Cookery Private Limited. & as a Director of Radhika Hotels Pvt. Ltd., Khandala which has developed into a popular conference center. Mr. Gawande serves with board of Prathamesh Securities Pvt Ltd. He serves as a Director Gawande Consultants Private Limited, Better Value Brands Private Limited, Talwalkars Pantaloon Fitness Private Limited, Better Value Properties Private Limited, Better Value Restaurants Private Limited, Mobi apps (India) Private Limited and Better Value Leasing & Finance Limited. Mr. Gawande served as a Director of In House Productions Limited until April 24, 2007. He has been practicing as a Tax Consultant for over 12 years with Gawande & Mewavala, a firm of Tax Consultants.

Mr. Anand Dureja

Mr. Anand has 10 years of professional experience working for leading organisations in pivotal roles. His experience spans across operations, consulting, and start-ups. He has worked with ITC - one of India's leading FMCG companies, McKinsey & Company - the foremost global management consulting firm and Delhi Pain Management Centre - a healthcare start-up he founded. In his last role, he was VP - International Operations with OYO Hotels & Homes and was responsible for setting up and expanding international operations for OYO.

Mr. Anand is a graduate of IIT Delhi (Class of 2008) and Harvard Business School (Class of 2013).

Urban Company (UC) (formerly UrbanClap) is India’s and UAE’s largest home services company, offering services such as beauty and spa at home, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting, and more through mobile app and website. UC operates in 18 cities in India (including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Surat, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam) and 4 international markets (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sydney and Singapore).

Mr. Dinesh Sood

A Post Graduate in Journalism & Mass Communication, Mr. Dinesh is a high energy, passionate and a first generation entrepreneur. He is a hands on leader with a vision to expand footprint of Orane across the globe.
He co-founded Orane Enterprise in Canada in 2009. Armed with in depth knowledge of media management and operational skills, he made quick strides in expanding Orane’s operations in India and grew it to Asia’s leading status within a short span of 7 years.
As a General Body member of Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council, Mr Dinesh is contributing significantly towards policy formulation and taking key decision for the Beauty & Wellness industry. He is a vocal proponent of Skill India Mission of Government of India and has been invited as speaker at many forums and events to address the need of skilling youth to make them self-sufficient. These events have been attended by Members of Parliament, National Skill Development Corporation executives and Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council executives.

Ms. Vaishali Shah

Education Head at LTA school of Beauty

Chief Expert - Beauty Therapy – Ms Vaishali Shah represents India at WorldSkills.