Sulagna (Dia) Ghosh: Intergenerational Connection for Change

08/28/24 • 64 min

Sulagna (Dia) Ghosh is a Google's Women Techmakers Ambassador with a background in computational biology and over 10 years of work experience in academia and biotech. As the founder of Joint Family, she is dedicated to building an innovative, inclusive and data driven venture to connect and empower individuals across generations.

Earlier this year Joint Family held its very first multigenerational virtual series. This post The Pilot That Got Everyone Talking encapsulates some of the insights gained. To further strengthen community ties we have been hosting in person workshops. Our first session took place at the Foundry Festival and a word that resonated throughout the session was community. This video link provides a glimpse of the immersive experience. A similar sense of connectedness emerged during a gathering at the Cambridge Public Library with over 30 participants aged 9 to 75+ (video highlights) and a subsequent AI literacy workshop focused on mental health and companionship at the Woburn Public Library (SCI-Let)! Our work bridging generational divides was recently recognized by the local community in Cambridge, MA (Imagined In Cambridge).

Joint Family will be resuming programs this Fall with an in-person session at the Malden Public Library on September 14th. Beyond these one-off events, a major focus for Q4 are community specific projects that bring together local residents on a semi-regular basis. An idea we are beta testing in collaboration with the Foundry Consortium centers on intergenerational storytelling with AI + local artists culminating in a mural of lived experiences.

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Niren Chaudhary: Leading Effectively through Authenticity

Niren Chaudhary is the Chairman of the Board of Panera Brands, one of the world’s largest fast casual restaurant companies with nearly 4,000 locations in 10 countries. Prior to becoming Chairman in 2023, Niren served as CEO of Panera Brands. During his four-year tenure, he increased the company’s pace of innovation, strengthened franchisee partnerships and led the creation of a strong, people-first culture, resulting in industry-leading retention rates for GMs and associates, earning Black Box Intelligence’s Employer of Choice Award in 2022.

Niren served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Krispy Kreme where he implemented a new operating model to elevate consistency across the global brand and created a path for enterprise value growth of 3x over 5 years. Prior to that, he spent 23 years at Yum! Brands serving in global leadership positions including Global President of KFC and President of Yum! India.

Niren is guided by his deep passion for serving others and building future leaders. He spends his personal time sharing his personal and professional journey with students and professionals, often wielding a guitar to sing about his life or even a new Panera menu item. In addition, he dedicates his personal time serving on the Tufts Medical Centre Board and as an advocate for DKMS, a leading non-profit with the world’s largest stem cell donor registry.

As a lifelong learner, Niren focuses on both formal and informal education. Formally, Niren holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, an MBA in marketing from the University of Delhi, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Informally, Niren speaks 4 languages – Hindi, English, Dutch and German. He holds a black belt in Shotokan karate and is an avid golfer, tennis player and musician with his own rock band.