The Inspiring Journey of Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani MBE, FRSA

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani advises and serves the Boards of various companies across the globe. Her roles include those of Operating Partner, Advisor to / Member of the Investment Committee, (Non-)Executive Director.

Previously, as a long-standing member of Senior Executive Management Committees (in her employer firms), Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani has managed AUM exceeding tens of billions (GBP) and instituted and led commercial & product strategy, operations, transformation and innovation – in business entities for which she has owned full P&L’s for – on behalf of the World’s most prestigious institutions (to include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, SSgA, Morgan Stanley, etc.) within the Financial Services sector across the UK, EMEA, the Americas and Asia – spanning two decades. During this tenure she has also advised firms in the domains of RegTech, Fintech and advised leadership teams of established esteemed groups such as Bank of Lichtenstein, Vienna.

Presently, in her philanthropic capacity, Bijna is an appointed member of the United Nations (UN) Women UK delegation; where she is engaged with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. She is also an ambassador for Surviving Economic Abuse, a registered UK charity and has contributed to UK-wide legislative changes for policies in this domain.

Additionally, Bijna presently holds advisory (board) roles with Cajigo, a vertical within the Global Fintech Convergence Council, the Inclusive Companies Network and FinTech Connect. She also serves as a Host / Judge for a portfolio of initiatives including the Intrapreneurship Conclave, EfMA, the Inclusive Companies Awards, Dublin Tech Summit and The Diversity in Tech Awards, powered by Microsoft.

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani is also a Brand Ambassador for Sif Jakobs, an award-winning Danish jewellery brand, and provides adjunct visiting lectures to cohorts at her alma mater.

Bijna has addressed audiences globally for some of the Worlds’ most prominent brands (such as Money20/20, etc.), as a thought-leader, and she has featured in various periodicals and interviews across geographies – to include the likes of Banking Frontiers – and has also authored various Thought Leadership papers which have been published over the years.

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani has also co-authored / features in publications including following books: Disruptors II (2023), Bias Breakers (2023), The Seamless Middle East e-book (2022), CIO NET’s Digital Transformation Cookbook (2022), Aspire To (2021), The Ultimate Professional Networker’s Guidebook Volume 1 (2019) and Women Kind: Unlocking the power of women supporting women (2018); She is also featured in the Citywire Tech Travels Podcast (2021), is a former host and presenter of the Women in Business TV show (2018) and featured on the Dream Corner podcast (2012).

Bijna has most recently been appreciated by Glantor News as one of India’s Rising 50 Dynamic Femina under 50 (2023) as a pan-India inspiration; by Fox Story News India as Woman Face of the Year (2023) for her contribution to empowering women in Business, she is recognised by Fortune India as one of the Most Dynamic (Business) Personalities (2022) and has been named Global Icon for Services to DE&I by World Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (WASME) supported by the Ministry of MSME, Government of India (2022).

She has been recognised by Yahoo Finance and Involve People as #28 of the Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives #EMPower list (2022) across all industries and sectors globally, alongside the likes of Ajay Banga and others. Furthermore, she has been awarded the title of Pride of India by NRI World across 100+ countries (2022), Advocate of the Year for Diversity and Inclusion (2021) by Morgan Stanley and was honoured in Times Square (New York) billboards for eight days.

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani was also honoured as Digital Leader of the Year (2021) by Seamless Middle East and Terrapin under the patronage of HH Sheikh Saif Bin Zayad Al Nahyan; In 2021, Bijna was also recognised by Yahoo Finance and Involve People as #40 of the Top 100 Women Executives (2021) and as one of the Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives (2021) across all industries and sectors globally.

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani is an appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (2020) by Her Majesty, (Late) Queen Elizabeth II for her services to Diversity and Inclusion in Financial Services.

Dr Bijna has also been appreciated as follows: Bijna was named Britain’s Rising Star, UK Women of Inspiration awards (2019), #29 in the World’s Top 100 Women Execs by Yahoo and HERoes (2019), one of Top 50 Women to Watch (2019) by Cranfield University, #EMRoleModels19 Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executives (2019), Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist (2019-18), one of the #TechWomen100 (2019), as ‘Business Role Model of the Year’ by the Women in IT Awards & Amazon (2019), by the Lloyds Banking Group Top 100 BAME Role Models List (2019, 2018) as a ‘Global Champion’ (#60) of the Top 100 Executive #FTHERoes18 by the Financial Times (2018) and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from De Montfort University (2018) for her ‘outstanding services to Business’.

She was honoured by felicitation at the House of Lords (UK), at the NRI Pride of India World Summit (2017) for ‘Making India Proud’. Bijna is credited as one of the Top 50 Visionary Young Leaders in Business, by Henley Business School (2017), one of 35 leading British Businesswomen under 35, by Management Today, Accenture and The Telegraph (2015) and has received recognition with 15 further honours including the National Diversity Awards (2012) and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards (2010). Bijna is also the International Women’s Day Young Achiever of the Year (2006).

Furthermore, Bijna holds qualifications from the Project Management Institute, the Securities and Investment Institute (UK) and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (UK).

Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA), and an alumnus of Oriel College, University of Oxford and Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University.