Rinika started her career as a volunteer working for an NGO in India. Later she pursued a post-graduation programme to become a special educator for differently-abled children. She worked as a special educator and also counseled children’s parents.

She moved to the United Kingdom to pursue her Masters in Management and Information Systems at the University of Manchester. In the UK, she undertook programmes in Change Management (APMG-practitioner), Strategic Programme and Project Management (MSP and Prince 2 - practitioner level). She also completed a programme in Climate Change Policy and Public Health from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

She spent a substantial part of her career working with one of the oldest and biggest Children’s Charity in the UK, NSPCC. After working for over a decade overseas, she moved back to India in a CSR role with Apollo Tyres in 2014.

Corporate Social Responsibility at Apollo Tyres is a key business practice for over 19 years. In the last six years, she has concentrated the work in the area of Healthcare for Trucking Community, Solid Waste Management and Sanitation, Livelihood for underprivileged women, and Biodiversity. Rinika also leads the Sustainability function at Apollo Tyres Ltd and works with her team to drive the Sustainability Management Framework initiative as per ISO26000 implementation. She is a member of CII National Council and Gujarat Chapter on CSR, and FICCI Environment Committee.

In the interview, she answers the following questions:

1. From being a volunteer and then as a special educator for differently-abled children. How did the same enrich your understanding of the development sector?

2. As your current role at Apollo Tyres, what are some of the key thematic areas that you are working on and how did you select the same?

3. How have you been able to align the corporate practices with the CSR initiatives to create a symbiotic relationship around it?

4. How are you leveraging collaboration to bring scale and add sustainability to these programs?

5. What do you do to make sure the engagement from the community is garnered for each of your initiatives and how do you sustain the same?

6. What are some future interventions you are working on and how are you adapting the same to the current scenario?

Impact-Talk is a series of views and interviews of CSR heads, impact leaders and change-makers, addressing development challenges in India. If you have an impact-maker in your network, please suggest/share details at csr@ngobox.org