Chitra Anand

Dr. Chitra Anand is an award-winning communications and marketing executive with extensive experience in the technology sector. She has held significant roles such as the Head of Communications for Microsoft Canada, Director of Marketing at TELUS Corporation, and Director of Operations at Open Text. Throughout her career, Anand's leadership has been instrumental in earning her projects accolades like IABC Gold Quill Awards, Canadian Public Relations Society Awards of Excellence, and the Corporate IT Hero award from the Information Technology Association of Canada.

Anand is a leading advocate for intrapreneurship—a movement that champions entrepreneurial spirit within established organizations. She has extensively researched and spoken on fostering innovation and creative thinking in corporate settings. Her insights delve into adapting to market disruptions, maintaining competitiveness, and reimagining operations to cultivate groundswell innovative thinking. Anand’s keynote speaker program, "GreenHouse Thinking: How to Cultivate Groundswell Innovative Thinking from Within," addresses these themes directly.

In addition to her corporate roles, Anand is an accomplished author, educator, and speaker. She wrote "The Greenhouse Approach: How to Cultivate Deliberate Innovation in Organizations," a piece that explores breakthrough innovation within companies and is a required read in the Forbes School of Business MBA program. Anand has also served as a professor, teaching courses at Humber and Sheridan College, and her writings have been featured in The Globe and Mail and HuffPost. Recently, she was named a “Changemaker” by The Globe and Mail for her bold leadership and innovative approaches in business. Currently, Anand is a Managing Director with Clariti Strategic Advisors™, focusing on environmental, social, governance (ESG), and social impact, particularly in the technology and healthcare sectors.