Meet the Team

 
 
Sunil Misra
CEO
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Sunil Misra
CEO
 
 
Mr Misra has served Industry Associations for more than three decades. He is the CEO of the CII Foundation. He also leads CII Development Initiatives, Rural Development, Disaster Management, and Sports.

Earlier, he served as the Director General of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA).

Mr Misra has served CII is many roles over a period of time. He was Head of Public Policy. Earlier, he also served as CII Head of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh State offices and established the East Asia Office of CII at Shanghai where he was the Chief Representative of China office. As Regional Director, Eastern Region at Kolkata, he was responsible for CII operations in the States of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Other than the regular span of Industry Association work, Mr Misra is credited for his special work in the areas of Skills Development, Social Development, Disaster Management, and Delhi Commonwealth Games. Many initiatives have been on challenging terrains and in hostile geographies: Baramulla, Pattan, and Sopore in Kashmir during peak of insurgency, and with reformed insurgents; skill development in Ladakh, post the Kargil conflict; Chhindwara and in Gumla around and with Naxal presence and relief and rehabilitation work in Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau, post the earthquake.

He was nominated as the industry expert on United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programme at the Anti-Corruption Academic at Vienna.

Prior to joining CII, Mr Misra served as the Executive Director of Indian Industry Association.

Mr Misra conceptualised and led the Bangladesh China India Myanmar (BCIM) Car Rally from Kolkata to Kunming in 2013. Later, he also led a team for the INSTC Car Rally from St. Petersburg (Russia) to Chabahar Port (Iran). Both the rallies were supported by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and served the purpose of future connectivity via multi-modal transport for trade and commerce.
 
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Sarbani Chakravarty
Director, CII
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Sarbani Chakravarty
Director, CII

 
With over two decades of experience working in various social program areas, Sarbani has led advocacy efforts on industry action towards diversity & inclusion and impactful CSR. She has developed and scaled programs on grassroots women empowerment, early childhood education, and disaster relief & rehabilitation initiatives of the Foundation. She also serves as Director at the Confederation of Indian Industry, leading the Development Initiatives vertical with a focus on creating an enabling CSR ecosystem, in addition to leading the India Business and Disability Network (IBDN). Prior to CII, she served as a Young Professional in a three-year fellowship program under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Sarbani holds a postgraduate degree in Rural Management from the FMS-Indian Institute of Rural Management (Gold Medalist) and a Commerce Honors degree from Calcutta University.
 
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Shivani Kumar
Lead - Gender and Advocacy
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Shivani Kumar is a Development design, Implementation and Advocacy professional with over 15 years of experience in NGOs, International organizations, corporates and politics. At CII Foundation, Shivani leads the initiatives around women empowerment and early childhood education. She began her career as part of Child in Need Institute where she worked on development, scale and adoption of the concept of community health workers (now ASHA) in Jharkhand. She continued to work on issues of reproductive health in the Upper Himalayan regions, with Constella Futures. She explored the interplay of Gender, Development and Politics through her work with a member of Parliament in Haryana and then continued to JSW Foundation. She holds a MA in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, USA, a Master’s in social work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a BA (Hons) in History from St Stephen’s College.
 
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Chandrakant Pradhan
Lead - Climate Resilience
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Chandrakant Pradhan
Lead - Climate Resilience
 
Chandrakant has over fourteen years of project management and research experience in the areas of social development and environment. He joins us from the Aga Khan Foundation, India, where he was the livelihoods sector lead. Previously, he has worked with PRADAN; IFMR, Chennai; and UNEP, Geneva. He has experience of designing and executing large community development projects in areas of sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, wasteland rehabilitation, nonfarm livelihoods and financial inclusion. Chandrakant has completed M.A. in International Development Policy from Duke University, Durham, USA and B.Sc. in Agriculture from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneshwar. He has also attended short academic courses at Brandeis University, Waltham, USA (on ecology) and Duke Geneva Programme (on Global Policy and Governance – Environment Track). He was a recipient of the Ford Foundation International Scholarship.
 
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Megha Milan
Lead - Partnerships and Fundraising
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Megha Milan is a corporate engagement & partnership professional with over 19 years of experience. She has worked with both Multi-National and Indian companies in the corporate sector. As a Development Sector professional, using her cross-sectoral approach she specializes in driving partnerships, mobilizing resources to unlock financial and non-financial opportunities, developing and executing engagement & outreach plans, managing multi-stakeholder relationships for bridging the gap between non-profit and for-profit worlds in order to facilitate corporate alliances on high impact models that are solving socio-economic challenges of the country. She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science from Lady Sri Ram College and is a Post Graduate in Marketing Management from Times School of Marketing.
 
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Priya Shirali
Head – Communication
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Priya Shirali is a communication professional with over 20 years of experience spanning journalism, strategic & development communication, as well as branding.

At the CII Foundation, she leads Communication and conceptualises and implements a 360-degree communication strategy targeting Government, industry and local communities to strengthen the brand equity of the Foundation and increase engagement. Priya joined CII in 2009 and has worked extensively in the areas of internal and external communication. She was leading Corporate and Strategic Communication at CII and has created and curated customised, targeted communication to key stakeholders such as CII Past Presidents, select Government officials, select Industry leaders, Diplomats, and Media, amongst others. She has also been responsible for key publications such as the Annual Report and CII Policy Watch.

Priya’s academic credentials include The ILSS Leadership Program from India Leaders for Social Sector; a Master’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She holds Diplomas in Advertising and Marketing from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, and in Book Publishing from The National Book Trust, New Delhi.
 
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Anil Kumar
Finance Manager
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Anil Kumar is an accomplished Finance Manager with over 20 years of extensive experience in financial management, analysis, and strategic planning. A graduate in commerce from Delhi University, Anil has honed his expertise across various sectors, demonstrating a strong ability to drive financial performance and operational efficiency.

Anil is committed to leveraging his expertise to enhance financial performance and support the strategic objectives of the organization.
 
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Vineet Nautiyal
Deputy Finance Manager
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Vineet Nautiyal
Deputy Finance Manager
 
Vineet Nautiyal is part of Finance team with CII Foundation. His role primarily involves managing end to end finances of the CII Foundation. He is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University and is a Semi Qualified Chartered Accountant having more than 10 years of experience in the field of Finance, Accounting, and Taxation.
 
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Sukriti Tolani
Consultant - Women Leadership
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Sukriti Tolani is a part of the women empowerment team with the CII Foundation. Having worked on capacity building and Women empowerment in rural Uttar Pradesh, Sukriti has rich field work experience. Previously, she has worked for children protection and women empowerment in line with the government officials and rural communities in Basti (Uttar Pradesh). Following which, she extensively worked on menstrual hygiene management practices and breaking the taboos related to menstruation in our society in Lucknow and around. Sukriti completed her Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media (Journalism) from Mumbai University.
 
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Yukti Bhagchandani
Program Manager
Early Childhood Education (ECE)
& Gender
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Yukti Bhagchandani
Program Manager
Early Childhood Education (ECE)
& Gender
 
Yukti is currently working on Early Childhood Education and Gender Advocacy initiatives at CII Foundation. With a background in Psychology, experience in Advertising and Publishing houses, and a passion for the Development sector, she brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, creativity, and empathy to her work. Having worn many hats, Yukti’s 4+ years of experience includes problem-solving for brands like HCL, Ford, UPES and others, Editorial work for PRH and HarperCollins, and Research and Content Development for Google Arts & Culture projects. She has also briefly worked in the mental health sector to provide Psychosocial Rehabilitation to Schizophrenia patients and done Curriculum Building for children with ID. Yukti’s work as an independent Photographer, addressing various social taboos, has been featured on platforms like Buzzfeed, Alma Magazine and Hindustan Times amongst others. She’s completed her Master’s degree in Psychology from Indira Gandhi National Open University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Mumbai University.
 
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S M Tahir Hussain
Program Officer, Punjab & Haryana
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S M Tahir Hussain is a part of the Climate Change Resilience Team. He looks after the crop residue management project in Punjab and Haryana. His role primarily involves working with farmers, cooperative societies and district administration in order to create sustainable farming solutions for all stakeholders. He has an experience of about 3 years of on ground project implementation. He has also previously worked with BloodConnect, NIIT Foundation and Shanti Sahyog in different capacities. He is a commerce graduate and also holds a postgraduate degree in Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, as well as an M. Com in Finance and Marketing from Jamia Millia Islamia.
 
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Jacob Jose
Project Officer, Kerala
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Jacob Jose a passionate social worker with more than 8 years of experience in the field of Disaster Management, Educational initiatives and community development projects. He is part of the CII Foundation team in implementation of Kerala Flood Rehabilitation initiatives and other Relief works. Jacob Has previously worked with BPCL as their CSR Consultant and with several NGO’s and was instrumental in their growth. He has completed Masters in Social Work from Loyola College, Chennai and Bachelors of Social Work from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences. He has also completed short-term course in CSR from Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.
 
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P Prabu Kumar
Project Officer, Karnataka
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P Prabu Kumar
Project Officer, Karnataka
 
P Prabu Kumar looks after the implementation of the initiative enabling quality Early Childhood Education in Karnataka, working in close coordination with the Directorate of Women and Child Development, Department of the State Government. Previously, he worked with ChildFund International. He has more than 8 years of experience in different verticals of social development like Health, Education, Livelihood and Child Protection. He holds a degree in BCA from Amrita University.
 
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Hitesh Goyal
Project Associate, Punjab
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Hitesh is part of Crop Residue Management Initiative, looking after the project implementation in Patiala and Sangrur districts of Punjab. His role primarily involves working with farmers, cooperative societies and district administration in order to create sustainable farming solutions for all stakeholders. He has an experience of more than a year on ground project implementation. He is a commerce graduate and holds an MBA degree in Finance and Market operations. He also has a certification in interior design.
 
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Harpreet Singh
Project Associate, Punjab
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Harpreet Singh
Project Associate, Punjab
 
Harpreet Singh is part of the Crop Residue Management Initiative, looking after the project implementation in the Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib districts of Punjab. His role primarily involves working with farmers, cooperative societies and district administration to create sustainable farming solutions for all stakeholders. He has an experience of 5 years on ground project implementation. He holds a Postgraduate degree in Sociology from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
 
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Ankit Bagri
Associate Project Coordinator, Haryana
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Ankit Bagri
Associate Project Coordinator, Haryana
 
Ankit Bagri is part of the Crop Residue Management Initiative, looking after the project implementation in Sirsa and Fatehabad, Haryana. His role primarily includes working with farmers, Cooperative societies, District Administration, the state agricultural department, and other concerned departments to promote sustainability among paddy farmers on crop residue burning. He has experience of more than a year on the ground. Ankit holds a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Agriculture from Maharishi Markandeshwar University (MMU), Ambala. He has previously worked as an Intern on a Farmers’ Extension Project on Crop Residue Management of Nurture.farm, UPL India Ltd.
 
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Jibran Zakir
Project Associate
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Jibran Zakir
Project Associate
 
Jibran Zakir is a part of the Climate Change Resilience Team. He looks after Waste Management Initiative in Okhla, New Delhi. His role primarily involves working with waste workers, R.W.A and municipal cooperation in order to create zero waste societies. He has an experience of about 1 year of on ground project implementation. He has also previously worked with Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) and FXB India Suraksha (FXBIS) in different capacities. He has a Bachelor's degree in B.com from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi and holds a postgraduate degree in Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Amity University along with certifications in Nature-Based Solutions for Disaster & Climate Resilience from UN Environment Programme & in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne(EPFL).
 
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Abdullah Siddiqui
Associate Program Officer, Punjab & Haryana
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Abdullah Siddiqui is part of Crop Residue Management Initiative, looking after the project implementation in Ludhiana, Punjab. His role primarily includes working with farmers, cooperative societies, district administration, agricultural department and other concerned departments. Abdullah has previously worked with IIPA as a Research Assistant, where he audited two Central Government schemes. These projects gave him a micro-level understanding of the implementation of government schemes on ground. Abdullah holds an MBA from Jamia Millia Islamia.
 
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Nivedya P T
Communications Associate
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Nivedya P T is currently working as a Communications Associate at CII Foundation. With a background in journalism, she is deeply passionate about impactful communication within the social development sector. Interested in leveraging digital media for societal change, she has experience in content creation, multimedia storytelling, documentary filmmaking, research, reporting, and writing. Her portfolio includes published stories covering marginalized communities and advocating for change in various publications such as Himal Southasian, Article 14, and The New Indian Express among others. Nivedya is dedicated to driving content development, design, social media management, and effectively coordinating between teams and external agencies to fulfill communication-related requirements. She holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, and a bachelor’s degree in Multimedia and Mass Communication from Delhi University.
 
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