In this segment, RELX’s Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, Dr Márcia Balisciano, talks to Kanika Dewan, President of Bramco Group, Founder of Ka Design Atelier and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Recognised as one of the top 40 Global Leaders by The Wharton School of Business and selected as a ‘Young Global Leader’ (YGL) for the World Economic Forum, Kanika Dewan is a leading entrepreneur who has been awarded several international Entrepreneur Of The Year accolades and has been recognized by the "Guinness Book of World Records" for her design work in stone.
Kanika hails from a uniquely diverse background; she was born in India, spent her childhood in the Middle East, and attended the prestigious Cheltenham Ladies College in England before graduating with a concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School in the United States. Kanika started her journey as an Investment Banker at Citigroup and, driven by a desire change global paradigms, left banking for the male-dominated construction industry and is now pioneering innovative design and construction on a global level.
As one of the few women at the forefront of major infrastructure projects in Asia, Kanika has been lauded for the build & design of the stone works and finishes at some of the world's largest airports: New Delhi International Airport: T3 and Mumbai International Airport. As Chairperson of Ka Design Atelier, Kanika’s technical and design expertise includes work with Philippe Starck, art work in stone for the world’s largest yachts including Abromovich's "Pelorus" and the King of Oman’s vessel where she innovated a proprietary light-weight stone system. Kanika's commitment to the environment was behind her design of a state-of-the-art eco-friendly paneling system for the 7-star Leela Palace Resort in Delhi. Her work is now expanding into creating construction materials to combat climate change and the creation of museum spaces that exist at the intersection of art, technology and education within public infrastructure in order to communicate a message of empowerment and unity for a diverse society.
Kanika has spoken publicly about the need to tackle sexism and corruption in the design and construction sectors and is a vocal advocate of anti-bribery and pro-whistleblower policies.
