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Bangalore Regional | Empower to Be – Recognize the Leader Within to be Powerful and Brave Leaders

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February 4th, 2026
11:00 am - 4:30 pm
UTC+5.5

Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru at Embassy One
8, Bellary Road, Ganganagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560032

February 4 @ 11:00 am 4:30 pm UTC+5.5

Registration is now closed. Visit our Events Calendar to discover more ways to connect and get involved.

 

Empower to Be – Recognize the Leader Within to be Powerful and Brave Leaders

Hosted by Target in partnership with HCLTech and Deloitte

This event is designed to create space for leaders to reflect, learn, and step into their full potential with confidence and purpose. Through leadership insights, industry perspectives, and founder journeys, the forum focuses on building leadership from within—spanning strategic decision-making, technical and business fluency, personal branding, and conscious career growth. Empower to Be is an invitation to own one’s voice and lead with courage, clarity, and authentic impact in today’s dynamic business environment.

CPE certified for up to 3.00 ISC2 credits and 3.5 ISACA credits.

 

Event Agenda

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Registration


12:00 – 12:45 PM

Networking Lunch


12:45 – 1:10 PM

Kick Off

Saloni Verma – Sr. Engineering Manager, Cybersecurity | Target- India

Andrea Zimmerman – SVP & President | Target- India

Sunny Athwal – Chief Privacy Officer | HCLTech & Board of Advisors | EWF


1:10 – 1:25 PM

Leadership Keynote | Empower to Be: Leadership When It Matters Most

An important truth: leadership isn’t about having all the answers. Every leader experiences doubt. Bravery comes from acting, speaking up, and seeking alignment anyway.

Brenda Bjerke – Sr. Director, Cybersecurity | Target & Board of Advisors | EWF


1:25 – 1:40 PM

From Data to Decisions : Securing AI across its life cycle

Discuss how enterprises can securely adopt and scale AI.  Explore key security pillars from governance and data protection to identity controls, and monitoring. Discuss practical controls and best practices needed to protect AI systems while enabling innovation at scale.

Shilpa Gadre – Global Director – BISO | HCLTech


1:40 – 2:05 PM

Building Leadership from Within: From High Performance to Board Readiness

Building leadership from within is a journey of depth and direction. In this panel, seasoned women leaders share how intentional growth, trusted guidance, and industry presence shape the path from high performance to board-level impact.

Moderator: Neha Bhat Sharma – Head – GRC, Privacy & Business Continuity | Tredence Inc.

Kowsalya Kodamagani – Director | Service Now

Piyasa Biswas – Vice President – IAM | State Street Bank

Mohanna Saraswathi K – Associate General Manager – Risk & Compliance | HCL Tech

Visagan Subburayalu – VP Infrastructure and Cybersecurity | Target


2:05 – 2:50 PM

Tech Trends 2026 – Cutting through the noise : From experimentation to impact

Tech Trends 2026 is about cutting through the hype. If your AI strategy is still experimental, it’s already outdated. Tech Trends 2026 demands execution at scale—where technology is embedded into the business, measured by outcomes, not excitement. It is all about operationalizing AI with clear ownership, security, trust, and ROI—turning innovation into sustained advantage.

Pragati Chakraborty – Partner | Deloitte India


2:50 – 3:15 PM

Founders’ Dialogue: Navigating Change with Confidence, Complexity and the Leader Within

Leading a startup is a journey shaped by change, complexity, and constant reinvention. In a candid, founder-led dialogue, women founders share how they navigate uncertainty with confidence, stay anchored to purpose, and lead from within as they build and scale their ventures.

Pooja Agrawalla – Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer | Kreesalis

Aditi Bhatnagar – Founder & CEO | Offgrid Security

Rakshitha R Rao – Co-Founder | Seezo.io


3:15 – 3:25 PM

Cultivating the Leader Within

Learn more about EWF’s “The Leader Within” program which is a 6-month blended learning virtual leadership development program and other EWF Leadership Academy’s offerings. Understand how The Leader Within program helps professional women at all levels recognize and optimize their individual strengths, hone their authentic leadership presence, and confidently contribute to their organization. As part of this session, there will be interaction with the participants to invite reflections.

Prachi Gupta – Leadership Coach and Facilitator | EWF


3:25 – 3:50 PM

Your Questions, Their Journeys: An Open Q&A with Executive Leaders

Leadership journeys are shaped as much by the questions we ask as the experiences we gather. In this Q&A session, executive leaders respond to participant-curated questions, sharing honest reflections on career growth, leadership choices, and navigating transitions.
So, what would you like to ask our executive leaders? Go ahead and Register to submit your question.

Visagan Subburayalu – VP Infrastructure and Cybersecurity | Target

Brenda Bjerke – Sr. Director | Target

Rishi Mehta – CISO | HCLTech

Deepa Seshadri – Partner & CIO Program Leader | Deloitte India


3:50 – 4:00 PM

Closing Remarks, Awards & Announcements


4:00 – 4:30 PM

Hi-Tea & Networking


Speakers and Panelists

  • Pooja Agrawalla
    Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer | Kreesalis
  • Sunny Athwal
    Chief Privacy Officer | HCLTech & Board of Advisors | EWF
  • Neha Bhat Sharma
    Head – GRC, Privacy & Business Continuity | Tredence Inc.
  • Aditi Bhatnagar
    Founder & CEO | Offgrid Security
  • Piyasa Biswas
    Vice President – IAM | State Street Bank
  • Brenda Bjerke
    Sr. Director, Cybersecurity | Target & Board of Advisors | EWF
  • Pragati Chakraborty
    Partner | Deloitte India
  • Shilpa Gadre
    Global Director – BISO | HCLTech
  • Prachi Gupta
    Leadership Coach and Facilitator | EWF
  • Kowsalya Kodamagani
    Director | Service Now
  • Rishi Mehta
    CISO | HCLTech
  • Rakshitha R Rao
    Co-Founder | Seezo.io
  • Mohanna Saraswathi K
    Associate General Manager – Risk & Compliance | HCL Tech
  • Deepa Seshadri
    Partner & CIO Program Leader | Deloitte India
  • Visagan Subburayalu
    VP Infrastructure and Cybersecurity | Target
  • Saloni Verma
    Sr. Engineering Manager, Cybersecurity | Target- India
  • Andrea Zimmerman
    SVP & President | Target- India