Smita Pillai is a global leader in the space of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with an accomplished career spanning Life Sciences, Technology, Financial Services and Media. She is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for Regeneron, one the world’s most innovative biotechnology company, based out of New York. In her role Smita is responsible for a comprehensive DE&I strategy and implementation at the company, ensuring that equity is at the heart of the company’s mission: Science to Medicine.
Prior to joining Regeneron, Smita held Global Head and CDO roles for a variety of multinational Fortune 50 and fast growing companies like Zendesk, Dow Jones, including The Wall Street Journal, Prudential Financial and Johnson & Johnson. In her career, Smita has led groundbreaking global diversity efforts and established clear metrics for DE&I measurement that have advanced this import work across multiple organizations. She has also been a founding board member for several global employee groups and has always approached this work with a trifecta impact on talent, business and community. Her holistic approach to DE&I seeks to create a climate of inclusion and belonging where innovation can thrive.
Smita is a well-recognized global thought leader and has received several awards and recognitions like the Top 100 DEI Leaders of Influence, Leadership Excellence Award Tri-State Diversity and Leadership, NY Moves Mentor, Diversity MBA Top 100 Under 50, Economic Times, Leaders executive profile, COLOR profile, for her outstanding achievements in community, leadership and education. An accomplished public speaker, Smita has led various global forums like the Women’s Economic Summit, SOCAP, Sundance Film Festival, WSJ Women In conference, WSJ CEO Council, Latina Style, HACR, Diversity Council, COLOR magazine, W.I.N Forum NY, The Conference Board, Working Mother Media, and Diversity Best Practices, among others.
Originally from India, Smita has a master’s degree in International Business from India, and a Wharton Executive Education on Strategic Management certification. She is a Certified Diversity Professional and considers herself a true global citizen, having worked across the globe and based in Mumbai, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Florida, San Francisco and New York. She loves to spend time with her family, travel, practice yoga and run trails. Smita lives with her husband, their three children and their Rottweiler in their historic barn home in Central New Jersey.