Janaka Pushpanathan currently leads British Council’s work in South India, and she has over 20 years of experience in the Arts, Education & Enterprise sectors. 

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and Project Zero at Harvard University, Janaka is among the top 100 most influential in building UK-India relations and she’s part of the India Inc. list, which is the first ever all women’s power list to celebrate the immense contribution of women from all walks of life driving a glorious future relationship between UK and India. 

Janaka is a STEM major and is passionate about the arts, equality, girls’ education and the environment and is on the advisory board of women led non-profits, early to mid-stage education start-ups, and the State of Tamil Nadu’s skills and education sectors. She also sits on the Government formed Task Force for Internationalisation of Higher Education, for the State of Karnataka.

In her free time, Janaka is re-learning Indian classical music and is working towards her goal to sight 50 tigers in the wild, in India, by 2030.