Kalpana Margabandhu

Kalpana Margabandhu represents IBM in the CII Women’s Empowerment Committee. With over 25 years of industry experience, she leads the WebSphere mission in IBM India's Software Lab. She strongly believes for the progress of women in the technical field to be a global priority.

Kalpana is the Chairperson of the award-winning program, Indian Women’s Leadership Council (IWLC). This program’s concern is not restricted for women to just take on higher managerial posts but also technical jobs thereby enhancing their technical, professional and personal development. And Margabandhu believes diversity can only enhance an organisation. With more women and minorities in its management ranks, she says, the company has sharply increased the amount of business it has done with a number of small and mid-sized minority and women-owned companies in the US.

She leads Adapters, WPG (WebSphere Partner Gateway), WDI (WebSphere Data Interchange) and AIM (Application Integration Management) development in India.

Along with being a member of AP Women’s Council, ASEAN Women’s Council, India Leadership Forum, and WIT (Women in Technology) Executive Steering Committee. She has done Masters in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Hard work, focus on excellence and a positive attitude are Kalpana's motto for success. She identifies being accepted as the single largest challenge to leadership in a predominantly male work environment. Kalpana’s passion reflects in her words as she says “Though it may take some time, if a woman has the required competence, and the will to stand up for it, she will be accepted as the leader…”

SOURCES:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/3379/Woman/Match+Point.html
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Margabandhu_Kalpana_271893788.aspx
http://www.avashya.com/entity/profile/kalpana-margabandhu/
http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/top_stories/2007/507101104.asp
http://www-07.ibm.com/in/isl/diversity/inclusivity.html