INSEAD & Wharton Alumni Unite: A ‘Force for Good’ in Delhi

A room full of doers, no-sayers and dreamers. A room full of successful professionals, perhaps in the top 1% of the country’s talent. But also…a room full of curious minds, humble to learn and desire to create change. 

The first ‘Force for Good’ initiative in Delhi, India for Wharton-INSEAD Ivy MBA Alumni Community was held on 28 February 2025. The event brought together 35 alumni not only as professionals but as individuals passionate about creating positive change. 

Wharton alumnus and host Moneshia zu Eltz shared how this session came to fruition. INSEAD’s Alumni Association of Germany (IAAG) had been spearheading the theme of ‘Force for Good’ in Germany since 2019 and INSEAD’s Shruti Veenam (MBA’14J) wanted to bring this initiative and message to India. At the event, Dr. Vinika Devasar Rao, Director, INSEAD Hoffmann Institute gave an opening address in which she explained how the key principles of the event align with the Hoffmann Institutes’ agenda to create impact on SDG outcomes through business education.  

The speakers ignited the evening with their insights and personal stories. Here are some key takeaways from each of them: 

• Santanu Chakraborty, CEO Save the Children, India: creating models of change via private sector, to be scaled by public sector

Chakraborty threw light on the scale of the challenge to ensure child education in India. His message was to inspire public good with business skills and ventures, which can be scaled by the public sector for larger impact.

• Pranshu Singhal, Founder of Karo Sambhav – leading a life with purpose, needs grit and perseverance, but has the power to change the planet

Singhal stressed that businesses are increasingly being forced to adopt circular practices due to regulations and consumer pressure. He emphasized that there are no easy solutions in waste management or in integrating circularity into existing businesses. Nevertheless, he continues on this path, calling it his life’s purpose.

• Rakesh Gupta, Founder Routes2Roots – social stock exchange to raise money for social change using Culture as a medium to connect India to the world. 

Gupta’s work with government schools in India—bringing digital education to classrooms without teachers and introducing rigor in measuring social outcomes—demonstrated how one can unlock access to public funding through India’s Social Stock Exchange.

• Vivek Ramabhadran (MBA’08J), Founder Aulerth – sustainability as core business driver can lower CO2 emissions and yet be profitable

Ramabhadran built a sustainable jewellery brand, recognizing that gold jewellery manufacturing is one of the highest CO₂-emitting industries. By leveraging his expertise in brand building and design excellence, he aligned his work with his mission to combat climate change—an inspiring example for climate-focused entrepreneurs.

• Radhika Dubhash, Managing partner World V Fund – women entrepreneurs need positive discrimination to give them a fair playing field

Dubhash shared her experience at pitch events. She noticed that a woman co-founders after often overshadowed when placed alongside a male co-founder. Her work is providing women-dedicated funds which put the focus back on women. Her investment successes in women led rural enterprises stand as testimony to promoting women in entrepreneurship.

The speakers fielded questions from engaged participants, piqued by the myriad of possibilities they saw to create impact on communities and the planet. As expected, the attendees too brought a wealth of insight from their journeys which they shared. Some alumni were advanced in their journeys in unique ways – democratizing football at district level, providing insurance to employees, creating a textile brand to promote handweavers in smaller towns, and many more. Some other started to ask reflective questions – ‘what role can I play?’, ‘I have always wanted to help communities but didn’t know how’, ‘how can we bring ‘doing good’ to our professional roles’, etc. 

Smaller breakout groups with thematic focus gave them a chance to dig into specific themes around the topics: sustainability and recycling, transformative effect of education as a compliment to material/consumption, reducing Delhi’s air pollution, well-being and culture. During networking over dinner, attendees shared that this event was a unique learning opportunity, a special way to connect with their peers. They left inspired to drive change, equipped with resources and new connections. The repeated requests to host the event again were a signal that the journey to being a ‘Force for Good’ had begun!

A special thanks to INSEAD’s NAA India and Wharton Alumni network in India for opening their networks.  We hope they will continue to ignite more minds at future events. That brings to mind this quote by Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’

This blog was written by Shruti Veenam, MBA’14J