Vinika D. Rao

Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, Gender Initiative & Africa Initiative

Director, Hoffman Global Institute for Business & Society, Asia

Adjunct Professor, Singapore Management University

Dr Rao’s research is in gender diversity in leadership, male allyship and multigenerational influences in the workplace. She is frequently invited to speak on related topics and is quoted / published in leading business publications.

She started her career with an MNC bank and went on to become the Managing Director of an Asian conglomerate, before a serendipitous transition to education. Prior to INSEAD, she was Assoc Professor of Strategy at the S.P. Jain Centre of Management, Singapore. She has taught MBA, EMBA and BBA students and conducted specialised programmes for corporate clients. She has also taught at the Singapore Management University, Melbourne Institute of Technology, Deakin University, Curtin University, Lembaga Pengembangan Management, Indonesia, as well as Murdoch University and Kaplan, Singapore. She has an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a doctorate from the Singapore Management University. She currently sits on the boards of a non-profit organization and a think tank and advises Diversity & Inclusion initiatives at global organizations.

Vinika is passionate about supporting women managers to make fulfilling work-life decisions, aiming to do this through active sponsorship rather than mentorship alone. She strives to engage both men and women in the effort to foster gender balance and create equity, diversity and inclusion in their organizations and communities.