Ms. Smita Affinwalla , an Economics Graduate and MBA, is the Founder and Managing Director of Illuminos Consulting Private Limited, a consulting firm focussed on enhancing organisational and individual performance through the development of human capability using Neuroscience. She also consults in the space of Leadership evaluation and succession as well as building Purposeful organisations and leaders.

Ms. Smita has served as an Independent Director on the Boards of prestigious institutions viz., HDB Financial Services Limited, Prime Securities and SICOM where she has been a Chair/ Member of various Board Committees. Ms. Smita is a member of the Industry Advisory Committee of the Indian Institute of Management, Indore and a member of the National Network for Human Resources (NHRD) Mumbai Chapter. She was previously the Co- Chairperson, HR Committee, Indian Merchants’ Chamber. Ms. Smita has served as a Senior Fellow, Human Capital with The Conference Board, USA from 2013 to 2018.

During her career of over 34 years she has worked in the fields of Financial Services and Human Resources. In the field of Finance she has worked on setting up and growth of businesses in Retail as well as Wholesale sectors and as a consultant she has helped her clients to structure and raise capital, through both debt and equity instruments. On the other side, in the field of HR, Ms. Smita set up and ran the BFSI SBU for the erstwhile Hewitt Associates (now Aon) in the Talent and Organisational Consulting practice where she managed large HR & OD consulting projects in the BFSI sector both in India as well as South East Asia and the Middle East. Ms. Smita has served also as Head of Consulting with Development Dimensions International (DDI) India and as Group Director HR&OD for Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited.