A Message from the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
It is my pleasure as the founder of the newly formed Canadian South Asian Women's Chamber of Commerce (CSAWCC) to welcome you.
Canadian South Asian Women represent a strong, equal, and growing population. South Asian women entrepreneurs and professionals need equal representation and support in business. We need to set an example for our future generation of young women that they can succeed and bridge the gap in all professions.
It is time that we begin to break the barriers, to promote and reinforce South Asian women in their work, in their entrepreneurship and in their success. The CSAWCC seeks to do just that. We strive to create a center to foster and promote South Asian women professional excellence.
Let’s set an example for the next generation of young women.
Saminder (Sam) Bhalesar
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Our team
Our team consists of highly qualified and motivated professionals, who are all experts in their field. With many years of experience in the industry, they have the expertise to provide comprehensive, first-rate services to our clients.
Saminder Bhalesar, MA
President & CEO, Founder
Bio - Coming soon
Saguna Roy, PEng, Meng, PMP, CMS
National Board Member
Meet Saguna Roy, a highly accomplished Mechanical Engineer and Professional Project Manager with a Master's degree from the University of Toronto. With an exceptional track record in streamlining processes, enhancing organizational efficiency, and consistently delivering measurable results, Saguna is an expert in people-centric process improvement, operational excellence, and change management.
Saguna's expertise is supported by her numerous certifications, including a Professional Engineering designation from APEGA, a Project Management Professional certification from PMI, a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma, and a Change Management Specialist Certification. She has applied her skills in various industries over the past 12 years, including oil and gas, retail, aerospace, and beverage manufacturing.
As a co-chair of Women at the City employee resource network, Saguna is an advocate for creating inclusive and supportive work environments that empower women to perform their best work every day. She led efforts to promote mentorship and is dedicated to fostering diversity and effective leadership. As a mother of two young children, Saguna understands the importance of balancing work and family life.
Saguna's passion for diversity and inclusion in the workplace is matched only by her enthusiasm for exploring new cultures and cuisines. She is an avid traveler who embraces new perspectives and is always looking for ways to expand her horizons.
Mamta Sethi
National Board Member
Mamta Sethi is the Chief Information Officer for Group Functions Technology at Manulife. In her role, Mamta is responsible for setting, leading and executing our internal technology working with our executive leadership from global group functions technology.
Mamta has had over 18 years of experience in Banking and Consulting. Most recently, she was the Vice President of Global Technology Strategy & Transformation where she worked with Segment CIOs and executive leadership to set the strategic technology direction for Manulife. Prior to that, she worked at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) where she held multiple senior leadership roles in Application Development, Technology Infrastructure, Operations, Strategy & Transformation, Product implementation and Core Banking. Mamta was also a Management Consultant at Deloitte focusing on Risk Management, M&A, Strategy & Organizational Development, delivering these services to clients in various industries locally and internationally.
She holds a BBA from University of Toronto, and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Outside of work, Mamta participates on many boards, advisory committees actively involved with charities, has a strong passion for running and spending time with her two children and family.
Dr. Abha Kiran Padhye
National Board Member
Having pursued a unique career path, Dr. Abha Kiran has gained extensive experience in the fields of dentistry and healthcare management through a wide arena of leadership positions and entrepreneurial initiatives within the healthcare sector.
With a proven track record of success in various leadership roles, Dr. Abha Kiran is also an alumnus of the prestigious IE Business School and Queen's University - Smith School of Business.
Her personal and professional journey is clad with accomplishments across the geographical borders and she has an extensive experience of working with women in business on a global scale.
She is a highly motivated individual and thrives on challenges against all odds. Her motivations are rooted in the belief that each effort made through one’s lifetime should be with an intention to serve a purpose, irrespective of the scalability of it.
As she dedicates her professional life in the field of healthcare leadership, her personal goal is to support and encourage women to recognize their potential, nourish their abilities, flourish in their field of interest and to achieve milestones of success to their optimal potential.
Rina Gill
National Board Member
A combination of passion, positive attitude and strong work ethic are the characteristics that
have allowed Rina Gill to become the dynamic community leader she is today. For almost
two decades, she has been volunteering and doing extensive community work with 80+
non-profits and organizations across Canada.
As an entrepreneur for the past 16 years, Rina fully understands the business community
and wants to make the process smoother for those who are aspiring to start their own or
interested in expanding their existing business. She runs her own full-service boutique
marketing agency, co-hosts a Health podcast and publishes a Health magazine for the
community. Rina also organizes a variety of community events including the South Asian
Health Expo, which is a FREE tradeshow that focuses on educating South Asians across
Canada on how to take control of their health and live a healthy lifestyle.
As a well-rounded individual who takes pride in being committed and connected to the
community, Rina is looking forward to working with the CSAWCC team on this exciting
initiative.
Surpreet Kaur Malhotra, LSO Candidate
National Board Member
Bio - Coming soon
Manpreet Kaur Juneja
National Board Member
Manpreet is a Senior Economist at the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub): a G20 initiative to advance the delivery of sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure.
Manpreet brings nearly a decade of experience in economic analysis, public policy recommendations and reforms advocacy to the CSAWCC. She has worked closely with data providers, subject matter experts and market stakeholders to enable evidence-based policymaking and generate thought leadership. Prior to the GI Hub, Manpreet was a Senior Consultant on a number of advisory projects delivered to various government departments and business associations at the PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Manpreet holds Masters in Economics with Distinction in all subjects from the London School of Economics.
Monica Rai Dua
National Board Member
Growing up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Monica Rai Dua has always been an active member of her local community, starting with youth mentor and leadership activities as a teen and later heading the Indian Students Association of Nova Scotia. After moving to Ottawa, Ontario, Monica joined the federal government in communications where she worked on such high profile projects such as supporting the Syrian refugee portfolio, the Global Energy Summit, and the Impact Canada Clean Energy challenge. In 2019, Monica and her family decided to move back to Nova Scotia, settling in Halifax this time, and bringing her knowledge and skills to the growing Atlantic region. As she continues to grow professionally, Monica is once again engaged with the local community as a board member of the Indo-Canadian Association of Nova Scotia, working with the consulate general of India to support the growing South Asian community in the Atlantic region. Monica is fortunate enough to be surrounded by a large, loving family in Halifax, including her husband and daughter. As a dedicated and proud mother, Monica works to instill the same sense of civic action and community engagement into her daughter to ensure a diverse and prosperous Canada in the future.
The Canadian South Asian Women's Chamber of Commerce
THE CENTER FOR
Canadian-South Asian women excellence
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