Vedika Bhandarkar, Chief Operating Officer for Water.org, is responsible for the operating efficiency and effectiveness of Water.org and for the attainment of strategic objectives and annual organizational goals. She works closely with the CEO, the executive team, and the President of WaterEquity to support the mission and vision of Water.org. She previously served as Water.org's Chief Global Impact Officer and the Managing Director of India.

Vedika has more than 25 years of experience building teams and businesses with Indian and international financial institutions. Prior to joining Water.org in January 2016, she served as Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Credit Suisse Securities (India) Private Limited from 2010-2015. Previously, she served as the Managing Director and head of Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan, where she worked for over 10 years. She started her career with ICICI Limited in Mumbai.

Vedika serves as an Independent Director on the boards of several companies. She also serves as a board member of the Jai Vakeel Foundation, an institution focused on children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

• Attitude and Competence.

• Seeing change as an adventure.

• Joy as a leader is the definition of success.

• Recognizing that you don't have all the answers.

• Fostering Allyship, building a network of cheerleaders.

• Trusting Your Gut by listening to your intuition and instincts.

• Embracing Humility, leaving behind preconceived notions and biases.

• Managing Imposter Syndrome: it doesn't go away, but learning how to manage it.

• Not Fearing Mistakes: considering the worst-case scenario when fearing mistakes.

• Embracing Setbacks, viewing them as opportunities. Learning from mistakes and taking ownership of them.

• Learning from the Past, you can't change it, so not obsessing over it. Prioritizing the present and future.

• Prioritizing Ruthlessly by being decisive. Making conscious choices instead of compromising.

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