Meet Jaya Deshmukh, First Woman To Become Director Of Gujarat's Mudra Institute

The Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) got the first female director in its 33-year history. Jaya Deshmukh will be heading the prestigious institute starting July 2024 for a term of five years, the Indian Express reported. She was appointed by Tina Anil Ambani, the chairperson of MICA Foundation, based on a 'unanimous recommendation of the Search Committee'. She will succeed Shailendra Raj Mehta who was appointed in 2017 and again in 2020. With Deshmukh's historic appointment, the MICA Governing Council has also extended the tenure of the director by two years. 

Professor Tridip Suhrud, President of the MICA Governing Council pointed out that most leadership positions at the institute are helmed by women-- Chairperson Tina Ambani, Dean Professor Githa Heggde, Registrar Professor Shubhra Gaur and now Jaya Deshmukh as the Director. 

Jaya Deshmukh: First Women To Become Director Of MICA

Jaya Deshmukh boasts over 25 years of business strategy and digital transformation expertise. She has held leadership positions at globally acclaimed firms like Google, Microsoft, Cognizant, AT&T, and lastly Colt Technology before joining MICA. She has grasped a strong influence on the markets of India, Asia Pacific, the USA, and Europe. 

Before working with Colt as the  Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of strategy and transformation, Deshmukh was the Head of strategy for Google Cloud (EMEA). Before Google, she played a global role in leading innovation within Microsoft’s Enterprise Commercial teams, Suhrud of MICA told Indian Express.

Deshmukh is also a patented inventor and an author of several academic journals and handbooks. She has led teams to earn prestigious industry accolades-- these include the Clio award for a project led by Microsoft for actor-musician Childish Gambino, and a Webby award for her exceptional work done at Cognizant.

Speaking about her appointment at MICA, Deshmukh expressed, “I am delighted to be joining MICA at this pivotal time where AI, Robotics, Quantum Computing, and Synthetic Biology are transforming the world as we know it. For the benefits of this transformation to reach people and the planet, new ideas must be brought to the table and these ideas be communicated and executed effectively to reach all communities.”