These are the Women on Wings Supervisory Board members. Find information below on their backgrounds including their additional positions.
Maria van der Heijden | Member of the Supervisory Board, co-founder, chair
Maria van der Heijden is the former Director at MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands), the national knowledge and network organization for corporate social responsibility.
Added value for the supervisory board and Women on Wings:
- Experienced in job creating business models for women in rural India
- Knowledge of change management, CSR, governance
- Broad network with stakeholders in India/NL trade lane
- Specialized in business administration, change management and CSR
Additional positions:
- Chair Supervisory Board, Rabobank West-Brabant Noord
- Owner of ComVerander
- Partner, VOF Van der Heijden, farming company
- Member, Supervisory Board at Het Groene Brein
- Radar partner, Springtij
Smita Mankad | Member of the Supervisory Board as of 2017
Smita is Independent Director and Consultant to Social Enterprises and former Managing Partner at Fabindia.
Added value for the supervisory board and Women on Wings:
- Knowledge of the corporate, government and development sector
- A combination of both grassroots level work and board level governance
- Experience in social impact interventions
Additional positions:
- Independent Director, Mahindra Waste to Energy Solution
- Independent Director, Mahindra Heavy Engines Limited
- Non-executive Director, TARSHI
- Independent Director, Fabindia Limited
- Independent Director, Imperial Auto Industries Limited
- Independent Director, Swaraj Engines Limited
- Independent Director, DSP IFSC board
- Chevening Fellow, University of Oxford 2022
- Core member of the team and Governing Council of Creative Dignity
- Leader, various Vital Voices (USA) programs
- Member, the Lady Shri Ram College Alumni Association – Executive Committee
- Mentor for students of the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University and the Vedica Scholars
program for women in New Delhi - Actively engaged in women’s leadership development
Wout Dekker | Member of the Supervisory Board as of 2018
Wout Dekker is the former Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Nutreco N.V. and the former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rabobank. Wout is also former Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Randstad N.V. & Co-Chair of the Remuneration and
Nomination Committee (Nomination) and a member of the Audit Committee.
Added value for the supervisory board and Women on Wings:
- Extensive (international) knowledge of Governance, Business Development
- Strategic leadership experience
- International network
Additional positions:
- Member, Supervisory Board at SHV Holdings NV
- Member, Supervisory Board at Pon Holdings BV
- Member, Supervisory Board at Hendrix Genetics
- Member, Wageningen Ambassadors at Wageningen University and Research
- Member, Paine Schwartz Partners Food Chain Advisory Board
Neelima Khetan | Member of the Supervisory Board as of 2022
Neelima Khetan is a senior CSR and social sector expert with over three decades of experience in this space. Currently, she is partner of Nous Consultants, an organization that co-designs and co-executes strategic and long-lasting solutions for social impact.
Added value for the supervisory board and Women on Wings:
- Wealth of expertise from across the profit and nonprofit sectors
- Immense network in the profit and nonprofit space
- She is an experienced CSR professional with a demonstrated history of working in the philanthropy
industry
Additional positions:
- Former Visiting Fellow, Brookings India
- Founding Governor, Aspire Circle
- Board member, Arghyam, Charities Aid Foundation, Sadhna
- Co-founder, Seniors in Seva
Girish Ramachandran | Member of the Supervisory Board as of June 2024
Girish Ramachandran is President of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Growth Markets. Girish brings a wealth of knowledge, leadership expertise and has shown unwavering belief in and enthusiasm for Women on Wings since its inception. He has also previously served on the Supervisory Board of the esteemed Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for the past six years, the pioneer in sustainability reporting standards, where he chaired its Audit, Risk and Compensation committee.
Added value for the supervisory board and Women on Wings:
- Deep commitment to social impact
- Vast leadership expertise: driving sustainable strategies, optimizing operations, leading business transformations, and fostering collaborative cultures
- Proven outcomes: consistently drives excellence in (ESG) initiatives and sustainability efforts.
Additional positions:
- Member of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) International Council, chairing its National Committee on ASEAN and Oceania.
- Chair, CII-India Business Forum (CII-IBF), Singapore chapter
- Business Champion, India-Australia relations appointed by the Australian Government
