John Hoffmire: Smita, it is always a pleasure to have the chance to talk with you. You’ve been such an all-star in the Oxford alumni community. Thank you for that.
Let me start with a little context: You currently serve as an Independent Woman Director on several corporate boards, including Fabindia Limited, the Mahindra Group across the automotive sector, renewable energy and finance; the Bajaj Group on both the auto and finance side of the business, , Imperial Auto Ltd., Subros Ltd. both auto component companies, and have served on Compact India Pvt. Ltd., a company in the area of international humanitarian aid that produces rescue food for children suffering from malnutrition, as well as DSP Asset Managers offshore mutual fund at GIFT City Gujarat. GIFT City in Gujarat is India’s first operational smart city and hosts India’s first and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
DSP Mutual Fund made history by launching India’s first retail-focused offshore mutual fund, the DSP Global Equity Fund, from GIFT City, Gujarat’s International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) linking Indian retail investors directly to global markets for the first time.
You are also on the boards of Women on Wings (WOW) Foundation in the Netherlands and India—an Indo-Dutch organization with the goal of creating one million jobs for women in rural India—TARSHI, an NGO that works on creating safe spaces for young people, Purkal Youth Development Foundation (PYDS) a school for underprivileged children, and Red Dot Foundation that built Safe City, a crowdsourcing platform that documents sexual and gender based violence in public spaces
You have such a diverse career spanning corporate, social, and government sectors. How has this unique combination shaped your approach to leadership and decision-making?
Smita Mankad: Having worked across these sectors, I’ve developed a well-rounded perspective that allows me to balance commercial viability with social impact. My corporate experience has instilled a structured and strategic mindset, while my grassroots and nonprofit work has deepened my understanding of systemic challenges.
In leadership, I focus on inclusive and sustainable solutions, ensuring that business decisions contribute positively to society.
I also believe it is important to stay connected to the reality on the ground, to better inform the decisions we make in the board room. My grassroots work allows me this invaluable insight.
John: You’ve been deeply involved in artisan and craft enterprises, especially through Fabindia and Creative Dignity. What inspired you to take on these initiatives, and what impact have they had?
Smita: Creative Dignity was born out of a need to support artisans and craftspeople affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Having worked with Fabindia and Artisans Micro Finance, I understood the struggles of rural artisans firsthand.
We launched Creative Dignity as a collaborative volunteer movement to provide relief, rehabilitation, and long-term sustainability for artisans. It has helped bring systemic change by fostering partnerships, promoting digital access, and amplifying the voices of craftspeople.
Fabindia has existed for generations. I was incredibly fortunate to have led this organization through some important changes. I am also lucky to have seen tens of thousands of women benefit from the access to markets that Fabindia made available to them. In addition, I was able to learn a great deal about employee ownership through Fabindia. The average artisan made handsome returns when the employee ownership was unwound several years ago because of a corporate transition. Most importantly, for the first time they owned an asset like a share and earned a share of the profits – this ownership had a profound impact on their relationship with the company – their pride and commitment deepened our bond.
John: As an Independent Director on multiple corporate boards, how do you integrate social responsibility into business strategy?
Smita: I strongly believe that businesses must be profitable and actively contribute to social good. To me, these are not mutually exclusive goals. On the boards I serve, I advocate for ethical sourcing, sustainability, diversity, and community engagement.
I encourage companies to align with SDG goals and adopt models where economic growth is intertwined with social impact, such as Fabindia’s unique community-owned supply chain.
Good governance is a subject that is very close to my heart, and as a director on boards I feel privileged to be in a position to build, implement and uphold the highest levels of corporate governance, contributing to the reputation of the boards I serve on, and the trust of our stakeholders.
John: You’ve worked in government, in both policy and implementation, as part of your role with the Food Fortification Resource Centre at FSSAI. What challenges did you face in implementing large-scale public health initiatives?
Smita: One of the biggest challenges was building awareness and aligning multiple stakeholders, from policymakers to industry players and consumers.
Food fortification is a critical intervention to tackle micronutrient malnutrition, but adoption requires clear communication, regulatory support, and trust. We focused on evidence-based advocacy, capacity-building, and cross-sector collaborations to drive impact.
Its importance cannot be overstated as food fortificiation addresses the issue of micronutrient malnutrition (vitamin and mineral deficiencies) which is a silent epidemic in India. This directly impacts women and children most and addresses India’s national statistics on health and nutrition – 53% of all women in the reproductive age (15 – 49 years) group and 58.4% of children (6 – 59 months) in India are anemic.
Implementing large scale food fortification across the entire 1.4 billion population of India was a unique challenge and a first-time experience for me. Nowhere else could I have had the experience of working to build a solution at this scale, and for all sections of society.
John: I first met and got to know you while you were a Chevening Research, Science, and Innovation Leadership Fellow in 2022 at St. Cross College, Oxford. Tell me about your experience as a Chevening CRISP Fellow and how it has shaped your aspirations for the future.
Smita: My time at Oxford was incredibly rich and rewarding in many ways – intellectually, culturally, personally and professionally. The programming of the CRISP Fellowship was true to its word spanning research, science and innovation. It was diverse and multi-dimensional, much like me, and I thrived on it! As I have many varied interests, I found it engaging to have industry leaders from across business, government, academia and civil society come at speak with us on topics ranging from business planning and simulations, vaccine and obesity research, tech start-ups, space and deeps sea research, cutting edge agriculture, music, history, architecture, photography and even politics, police and defense. Our time with you and other mentors was invaluable in helping us hone not just our projects but our futures. Most of all, it offered us time and space to pause, think about the future and yet be fully present and engage. The friendships I built then remain some of my closest; and staying in beautiful and historical Oxford was an incredible treat and a privilege.
John: Any final words?
Smita: I am excited to pay it forward through CSV and am incredibly honoured and humbled to be appointed the President of our alumni association for 2025-26. I look forward to building on the work done and extending it forward, reaching out to young women in STEM education and encouraging them to build careers, especially in smaller towns and cities in India. It is important to me that they consider social impact and sustainability alongside any career they choose, and find not just their purpose but build wholesome and balanced lives and careers for themselves.
I am also looking forward to building the case for employee ownership in India – both in the corporate and social sectors. India has a long and rich history of cooperatives, and more recently social enterprises with producer owners. Raising awareness about the benefits of employee ownership for both commercial and social impact aligns perfectly with my personal mantra.
Smita Mankad is an Independent Director for Fabindia Limited and several other enterprises, as well as the Co-Creator of Creative Dignity, an innovative collaborative network within the Indian handmade sector.
Interviewer: Dr. John Hoffmire is the Chair of the Center on Business and Poverty and a Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Mutual and Co-owned Business.
