Individual & Achievement Awards Judging Committee 

Chair: 
Susan Bear, Chief Technology Officer
Grede LLC., Southfield, Michigan, United States.

Susan is responsible for accelerating and ensuring robust processes are available for Engineering, Quality Program Management, and Information Technology (IT) functions and used by the Grede centers of operations and corporate teams. In addition, she provides strategy and vision for new engineering business development and is involved with customer-related concerns in the functions of Quality, Engineering, and Program Management.

Susan joined Grede in July 2018. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at Stabilus GmbH, where she served most recently as Director of Engineering and Program Management. She also held roles in Application Engineering, Program Management, and Sales Management. Susan began her career as a Design Engineer in the manual clutch division at ZF Sachs.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, with highest honors, from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan, and a Master of Business Administration, with honors, from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Committee:

Somnath Banerjee, Engineer Lead Senior
Elevance Health, Bridgewater, New Jersey, United States
Somnath Banerjee is an IT leader with 19+ years of expertise in healthcare technology. He spearheads AI-driven data engineering solutions that optimize healthcare systems serving millions of individuals. He is an IEEE Senior Member and Forbes Technology Council member. His award-winning contributions modernize healthcare data frameworks for enhanced patient outcomes.
 

Kingsuk Chakrabarty, Director - Enterprise Architecture, A.I.
Estee Lauder Companies, New York City, New York, United States
A seasoned Technology Leader with proven experience spearheading complex IT initiatives for Fortune 500 corporations. Recognized for exceptional leadership in migrating and modernizing applications to Cloud environments, driving innovation, and consistently reducing technical debt. A champion in creating execution-focused AI strategies and delivering scalable AI solutions that drive business transformation.

Oleg Fleitman, Vice President - Executive and Regulatory Compensation
Citi, Wesley Chapel, Florida, United States

Gaurav Goel, Senior Director Cloud Modernization
NTT Data, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Gaurav Goel is the North America Leader for Cloud Modernization and Global Cloud Consumption at NTT Data. He drives large-scale transformation programs, judges global awards, and has delivered technology sessions across Chicago, Singapore and Japan - recognized for expertise in cloud strategy, innovation, and enterprise modernization.

Srinivas Raju Gottimukkala, Senior Software Analyst
Deere & Company, Johnston, Iowa, United States
Highly accomplished finance and IT professional with 25+ years of experience across diverse industries. Published author in Finance, AI, and ML, and editor on innovation in Data Science. Renowned judge for IEEE, Springer, and he is a renowned judge, leveraging expertise to drive transformation and innovation in finance and technology.

Abhiram Kandiraju, Director, Distinguished Engineer
Capital One, Glen Allen, Virginia, United States
As a Distinguished Engineer at Capital One, Abhiram is focused on reimagining banking through cloud-native solutions and modern architectures. He leads teams focused on scalable technology and a strong engineering culture, delivering impactful results through strategic technical leadership.

Puneet Khatri, Head of Services - Libelle Americas / Senior Technical Consultant
Libelle LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Puneet is a results-driven technology leader with over 16 years of experience in SAP systems, project delivery, and client engagement. As Head of Services at Libelle Americas, he manages complex SAP automation, cybersecurity, and data masking initiatives across North America. Puneet excels in delivering projects from presales through implementation and post-go-live support.


 

Vivek Madan, Director of IT Security, Governance, Risk, and Compliance
Fortinet Inc., Mountain House, California, United States
Vivek is an accomplished cybersecurity executive with over 16 years of experience in leading global governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) programs across complex, enterprise-scale environments. A global cybersecurity leader trusted by over 660,000 organizations worldwide, Vivek oversees security compliance across multiple regulatory frameworks, including ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST 800-53, and NIST 800-16.

Aniket Mishra, Founder & CEO
Born21 Media LLC, Albany, New York, United States
Aniket Mishra is the founder of Born21 Media, a New York-based YouTube growth agency. He partners with brands and media companies to build distribution engines, expand their presence, and drive meaningful audience growth and revenue on YouTube and beyond.
 

Benjamin Sisima Ofuru, Head, Corporate Planning Division
National Bureau of Statistics, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria
Benjamin is a product and service specialist, multiple award winner, gold prize winner for Best Partner for exceptional customer service delivery/quality compliance (2011 & 2012), and winner of Best Walk-In Center Customer Service Delivery South-South (2011), Highest revenue/turnover, Outstanding award for innovation, Distinguished award for leadership, integrity, and team building.
 

Dippu Kumar Singh, Senior Solutions Architect For Emerging Data & Analytics
Fujitsu North America Inc., Irving, Texas, United States
Dippu is an experienced professional and thought leader in emerging data and analytics solutions, specializing in areas like Computer Vision and Generative AI/LLMs. He has extensive experience in designing and implementing comprehensive data and analytics solutions, utilizing big data technologies like Hadoop, Kafka, and Spark. He focuses on North American sales opportunities and service development.

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