Avtar and Seramount Launch Circle of Inclusive Cultures at Chennai Conference
Chennai: Avtar Career Creators Limited and Seramount launched the Circle of Inclusive Cultures (CIC), a corporate membership initiative, at the Best of Best (BoB) Conference & Awards 2026 held at ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.
The initiative aims to bring organisations together to share workplace practices, exchange experiences and strengthen inclusive workplace cultures through industry-wide collaboration.
The virtual launch was conducted by Dr. S. Vijayakumar, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu Government’s Industries Department. He highlighted the importance of creating equal opportunities for women as Tamil Nadu expands into new economic sectors.
The CIC initiative builds on Avtar and Seramount’s existing workplace benchmarking programmes, including Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI), Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI) and Best Companies for ESG (BCESG). This year’s conference also recognised organisations under the Best Companies for Workplace Wellness (BCWW) category.
According to Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Managing Director of Avtar Career Creators Limited, CIC will provide opportunities for organisations at different stages of their inclusion journey to exchange practical insights throughout the year.
The platform will facilitate peer-learning groups for CEOs, Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs), inclusion leaders and other key stakeholders. Membership will be open to organisations irrespective of their participation in Avtar and Seramount’s benchmarking studies.
The conference, themed ‘Culture as Capital’, featured discussions on ESG, workplace inclusion, AI-era leadership and the role of organisational culture in business performance.
Mr. R. Seshasayee, Chairman of Asian Paints and former Chairman of Infosys and IndusInd Bank, presented awards to the winning organisations during the evening ceremony. He emphasised the role of workplace culture, leadership accountability and benchmarking in improving business performance.
Singai G. Ramachandran, Chairman of StartupTN, also attended as Guest of Honour and highlighted the importance of inclusive workplaces in strengthening Tamil Nadu’s industrial competitiveness.
The event also presented the Male Ally Legacy Award (MALA), recognising male leaders who have contributed to creating inclusive workplaces for women. Sudhakar Dokare, Regional Director, Tata Starbucks Private Limited, received this year’s award.
Jaison Thomas, Managing Director – India, Encore Capital Group Inc., and Sibasish Guha, Head of Department – Digital Office, HDFC ERGO, were recognised as the Jury’s Choice awardees.
