Ranjini Poddar
Ranjini Poddar
Co-Founder and CEO, Artech LLC
As a young practitioner of corporate law, Ranjini Poddar used to be the only woman and the only person of color at meetings. “It was enough for me to frame my perspective toward the world where I knew I had to find my voice to influence and excel,” she explains.
As the co-founder and CEO of Artech LLC, the largest woman-owned IT staffing firm in the US, Poddar, through her self-confidence and fierce tenacity, has paved the way to provide workforce solutions, IT consulting, and outsourced project services to Fortune and Global 500 and government clients around the world.
For Poddar, diversity includes any aspect of an individual that makes them unique and is about having an inclusive workplace that brings together a wide variety of ideas and experiences that create and drive innovation.
Having turned her being a woman of color into an advantage, Poddar has been able to successfully compete on her terms. “I acknowledge my privilege, and I view it as my duty to give back to those who are (left) behind,” she says.
One of her proudest accomplishments is the diversity of Artech’s employee base – both its corporate employees and its consulting staff. Artech’s consulting staff comprises 34% women and 20% African Americans and LatinX — compared with national averages of 25% and 16%, respectively, for IT workers. In addition, Poddar is proud of the achievement of Artech’s goal for the use of certified diverse suppliers, which currently stands at 12% of its total direct procurement spend and consisted of more than $20 million in the past year.
Poddar’s leadership has shaped Artech’s culture to be a diverse and inclusive one, leading the company to stand where it is today. She doesn’t plan to rest on any laurels but hopes to continue upward on this DE&I journey.
2023 DE&I Influencers List