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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Influencers

The DE&I Influencers list honors individuals who are advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizations and across the workforce solutions ecosystem at large. 

2024 DE&I Influencers

Ranjini Poddar

Co-Founder and CEO | Artech

Honoree profile

Around 20 years ago, Ranjini Poddar experienced a pivotal moment in her career: Her company won an important contract, despite being a fraction of the size of its billion-dollar competition. “The decision to take a chance on us not only changed the trajectory of our company but also impacted countless lives, including my own,” she says. “It’s a reminder of the importance of challenging unconscious bias and giving opportunities to the underdog who may not otherwise have a chance.”

Today, Poddar is giving a chance to countless people as the CEO of Artech, the largest woman-owned IT staffing firm in the US. Thanks to her visionary leadership, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Artech’s operations, offering workforce solutions, IT consulting and outsourced project services to Fortune and Global 500 companies and government clients worldwide.

Poddar has focused Artech’s reach in diversity in two main areas: increasing the size of its diverse contractor candidate pool as well as nurturing other diversity organizations (subcontractors) through initiatives like its Vendors-in-Partnership program. This program identifies, qualifies and develops diverse suppliers, supporting clients’ goals while providing a wider breadth of services and skill sets.

[A client’s] decision to take a chance on us [over a billion-dollar competitor] not only changed the trajectory of our company but also impacted countless lives, including my own.

She led Artech’s most recent investment in an emerging talent model called LiftUp, where DE&I objectives are built into the sourcing and recruiting function. This end-to-end talent delivery service identifies and hires high-potential college graduates, provides them paid training customized to client specifications and deploys them into entry-level assignments.

Poddar also funds initiatives like the Artech-Dalmia Center for IT at Banasthali Vidyapith University in Rajasthan, India, which provides training in software, hardware and communication technologies to women, enabling 1,200 female students to graduate with IT degrees every year.

Through ongoing support of women’s education and professional development in technology-related fields, Poddar contributes to creating a more inclusive ecosystem within the IT industry. Accolades recognizing her contributions to the field, such as SIA’s Global Power 150 Women in Staffing, underscore her status as a true champion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the broader ecosystem.

“As a woman and a minority, diversity has always been part of my DNA,” she says.