Who Is Rekha M Menon? Nasscom's First Female Chairperson

Rekha M Menon, the chairperson and senior managing director of Accenture in India, was appointed as the chairperson of Nasscom for 2021-22, the IT industry's top body.

This made her the first woman ever to become the chairperson of Nasscom since the organisation came into existence 30 years ago. Earlier she worked as the vice-chairperson at Nasscom and replaced Infosys Ltd's chief operating officer U.B Pravin Rao as the chairperson.

In her statement regarding the appointment, Rekha M Menon said, "Honored to be elected as the new Chairperson of @nasscom. As we cautiously navigate the pandemic, I look forward to working with the NASSCOM Executive Council and its members to drive our industry’s long term growth."

Here's what we know of Rekha M Menon:

• Menon has been working for Accenture India for the past 17 years. Currently, she holds the position of Chairperson and Senior Managing Director in the company.
• According to her official biodata, she is also the co-founder of two tech companies and a non-profit firm. The two not-for-profit companies are Pratham Books and Akshara Foundation.
• She is an alumna of XLRI- Xaviers School of Management in Jamshedpur. She is currently on the business school's Board of Governors.
• She is also a member of the National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the co-chair of its Indian Women Network.
• In her profile on the official Accenture website, she has been called one of the top 10 LGBTQ ally Global Executives.
• She has found her name in Fortune Magazine and Business Today magazine's list on Most Powerful Women In Business. 
• On her social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, Menon frequently talks about the inclusion of persons with disability. She also posts about assistive technologies that can be used by them to find space in workforces that mostly seem inaccessible to such individuals.
• Menon is a resident of Bangalore and enjoys hiking and cycling.