About the Winpe Leadership Awards 2025

The Winpe Leadership Awards honors firms and individuals that are breaking new ground through gender-inclusive policies in the world of private equity and venture capital.

By appreciating the efforts of high-performers to drive sustainable change, the annual awards ceremony generates incentives, builds momentum, and encouraged motivation to work towards more wide-ranging gender reform across the length and breadth of the industry.

The 2025 edition of the Winpe Awards will highlight 10 winners who have demonstrated their commitment to ensuring better prospects for women. Our award winners will be selected by a jury of eminent global leaders who possess deep industry knowledge and experience in building gender-diverse businesses.

Award Categories

This award recognizes the overall achievements of the PE firm in the calendar year 2024. The award will be given to the PE firm that has shown evidence of implementing the best gender diversity practices, aligning the firm’s culture with diversity practices while also demonstrating commercial excellence by winning new business, and investing in innovative deals.
This award recognizes the overall achievements of the VC firm in the calendar year 2024. The award will be given to the VC firm that has shown evidence of implementing the best gender diversity practices, aligning the firm’s culture with diversity practices while also demonstrating commercial excellence by winning new business, and investing in innovative deals. 
This award recognizes the innovative deals by PE firms in the calendar year of 2024. The award will be given to the specific deal executed by the PE firm that can show evidence of uniqueness in terms of gender diversity, execution, origination, approach, and impact.
This award recognizes the innovative deals by VC firms in the calendar year of 2024. The award will be given to the specific deal executed by the VC firm that can show evidence of uniqueness in terms of gender diversity, execution, origination, approach, and impact. 
This award recognizes the overall achievement of PE-backed portfolio companies in the calendar year 2024. The award will be given to the PE-backed companies that can show evidence of implementing the best gender diversity practices, aligning the firm’s culture with diversity practices, differentiated business models, and exhibiting non-linear growth. 
This award recognizes the overall achievement of VC-backed portfolio companies in the calendar year 2024. The award will be given to the VC-backed companies that can show evidence of implementing the best gender diversity practices, aligning the firm’s culture with diversity practices, differentiated business models, and exhibiting non-linear growth. 
These categories recognize the executives leading and guiding key investment decisions for a PE firm while driving gender diversity in the firm portfolio and industry. These awards celebrate lead investors who take the essential responsibility of leading organizational change by championing the cause of gender diversity. To be considered for this award, investors should demonstrate their level of transaction influence as well as the role they played in supporting their portfolio businesses with access to experience, skills, contacts, mentoring, or further finance to support their successful growth and scale-up. 
These categories recognize the executives leading and guiding key investment decisions for a VC firm while driving gender diversity in the firm . These awards celebrate lead investors who take the essential responsibility of leading organizational change by championing the cause of gender diversity. To be considered for this award, investors should demonstrate their level of transaction influence as well as the role they played in supporting their portfolio businesses with access to experience, skills, contacts, mentoring, or further finance to support their successful growth and scale-up. 
These categories recognize the executives leading and guiding key investment decisions for a PE firm while driving gender diversity in the firm portfolio and industry. These awards celebrate lead investors who take the essential responsibility of leading organizational change by championing the cause of gender diversity. To be considered for this award, investors should demonstrate their level of transaction influence as well as the role they played in supporting their portfolio businesses with access to experience, skills, contacts, mentoring, or further finance to support their successful growth and scale-up.
These categories recognize the executives leading and guiding key investment decisions for a VC firm while driving gender diversity in the firm portfolio and industry. These awards celebrate lead investors who take the essential responsibility of leading organizational change by championing the cause of gender diversity. To be considered for this award, investors should demonstrate their level of transaction influence as well as the role they played in supporting their portfolio businesses with access to experience, skills, contacts, mentoring, or further finance to support their successful growth and scale-up. 

Award Guidelines

  1.  The Awards Categories are open to all Private Equity and Venture Capital firms having an India team, and their portfolio companies based in India
  2. There are four types of awards: Firm of the year, Portfolio Company of the Year, Deal of the Year, and Investor of the year. Winners will be adjudged                      separately for private equity/ venture capital; and male/ female where applicable. You can apply for/ nominate a firm, a portfolio company or an individual        in any number of categories
  3. The scoring criteria will be based on the parameters like Diversity Commitment, Diversity Initiatives, Diversity Numbers, Policy Impact, and Business                 Performance. The idea of the award is to recognize the commitment to change and impact, it is not driven by numbers.
  4. The submitted work must state recognisable actions/steps taken in calendar year 2024 towards achieving tangible results
  5. The last date to submit entries for the Awards is 15th January 2025.
  6. Nominees are required to fill in all the mandatory fields
  7. Nominees must share a sample of the relevant work in AV, PDFs, Links, Social Media posts etc.
  8. Only those entries that are duly filled will be considered for the award
  9. Wrongly categorized entries will not be considered for shortlisting
  10. There is no application/nomination fee

2025 Jury

Debbi Sutuntivorakoon

Partner,
Axiom Asia Private Capital

Pamela C. Fung

Managing Director,
Morgan Stanley

Ralitsa Rizvanolli

Partner and Head of Investments,
Sarona Asset Management

Sunil Mishra

Partner,
Primary Investments,
Adams Street Partners

Thomas Kronsbein

Director Private Equity,
Global Markets DEG

2024 Winners

Firm of the Year
Private Equity

Firm of the Year
Venture Capital

IT Clean Mobility
Deal of the Year
Private Equity

Evolve
Deal of the Year
Venture Capital

PeopleStrong Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

PE Backed Company of the Year

NIRAMAI Health Analytix Private Limited

VC Backed Company of the Year

Ashley Menezes,
ChrysCapital

Changemaker of the Year
Private Equity

Vineet Rai,
Aavishkaar Capital

Changemaker of the Year
Venture Capital

Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva,
India Alternatives Investment Advisors
PE Leader of the Year

Padmaja Ruparel,
Indian Angel Network

VC Leader of the Year

Alka Goel,
Alkemi Growth Capital

Here to Win

2024 Jury

Amit Sachdeva

Managing Director, Co-Investments,
AlpInvest

Kunal Sood

Managing Director,
Pantheon’s Asia Investment Team

Ralph Keitel

Head of Fund of Funds,
responsAbility's

Rebecca Xu

Co-Founder & Managing Director,
Asia Alternatives

Yar-Ping Soo

Partner,
Adams Street

2023 Winners

Asian Footwears
Deal of the Year
Private Equity

String Bio
Deal of the Year
Venture Capital

Hyperface
Deal of the Year
Venture Capital

Firm of the Year
Private Equity

Firm of the Year
Venture Capital

Nithya Easwaran,
Multiples Alternate Asset
Management Private Limited
Investor of the Year
Female - Private Equity

Sushma Kaushik,
Aavishkaar Capital
Investor of the Year
Female - Venture Capital

Ashley Menezes,
ChrysCapital
Private Equity Leader of the Year - Male

Kanwaljit Singh,
Fireside Ventures
Investor of the Year
Male - Venture Capital

PeopleStrong
Portfolio Company of the Year
Private Equity

Omidyar Network
Portfolio Company of the Year
Venture Capital

2023 Jury

Harisha Koneru Haigh

Managing Director, Private Investments & Real Assets,
Northwestern University Investment Office

Hemal Mirani

Managing Director,
HarbourVest Partners

Kanchan Samtani

Managing Director & Senior Partner,
India Leader – Principal Investors & Private Equity,
Boston Consulting Group

Maninder Saluja

Partner, Head of Private Equity Funds & Co- Investments, Executive Committee Member,
Quilvest Capital Partners

Mei Ni Yang

Managing Director,
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Steven Evers

Managing Director & CEO, Head Office,
Triple Jump