Anup Seth elevated at Edelweiss Tokio; becomes first chief diversity officer

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, has elevated Anup Seth as its first chief diversity and inclusion officer. With this role, Seth will be overseeing two portfolios, including that of chief distribution officer as well. With the help of other senior leadership in the council, Seth will drive the conversation around building a culture of meritocracy and wellbeing at the workplace and help create a progressive work culture.

As part of the Company’s DE&I agenda, the insurer has made a diversity and inclusion framework where it has pledged to make a more inclusive and diverse environment which is free of biases such as gender, age, disabilities, political beliefs, language, religion, and sexual orientation.

As per Vikas Bansal, chief human resource officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, this is a step in the right direction towards ensuring an inclusive workforce. “We pride ourselves on being a new-age company. Creating a workplace that is attuned to the realities of today is fundamental to that goal. This marks the beginning of our journey towards an inclusive workplace that can facilitate professional growth without compromising on the individuality and aspirations of our employees,” says Bansal.

Also, with the aim of creating a diverse work culture, the Company has also identified some specific roles which can be carried out by people with disabilities. It expects a five per cent annual incremental growth in this cohort over the next five years.

As per Seth, now the Company wants to start making a conscious effort to hire diverse sets of people and promote an inclusive culture at the Company. “While there has been an invisible focus on it over the years, we want to bring it to the fore now and start a healthy discourse on what it means for us as a company.

As a life insurer, we cater to a diverse customer base with varied needs. Aside from building an equitable workplace, we believe that diversity and inclusion can also help us gain meaningful insights into the challenges our customers face and the solutions they seek from us,” shares Seth.

The Company is aiming to improve the gender ratio at the workplace. Currently, it employs about 27 per cent women at the workplace and is planning to increase this to 35 per cent in the next three years.

Seth carries more than two decade of experience. He comes from the sales & marketing side of the business. He has extensively worked in the BFSI sector , with big brands such asFuture Generali Life Insurance, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, HDFC Life and Reliance Nippon Life Insurance. He has also spent close to two years with Future Group India as
SVP, sales and marketing.