Rohini Dey, ph.d.

A leading restaurateur, a proponent of Indian cuisine with her unique Latin twist, and an avid supporter of women – former World Bank economist and McKinsey & Co. management consultant Rohini Dey straddles the worlds of business and philanthropy across the US and India. Rohini’s career spans several phases: - She taught in Academia and has a Master’s degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and a Doctorate in Management Science from the University of Texas. - She worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. where she managed projects in foreign investment policy and coauthored a book on infrastructure privatization. - At McKinsey & Co., her management consulting project experience and knowledge development spanned a range of industries (primarily hi-tech and telecom) with a focus on growth. - As an Entrepreneur, Dey combines her business credentials with her passion for food by establishing two urbane restaurants in Chicago and the heart of Manhattan. She also advocates actively for women. - As a Writer, she has written for the Chicago Sun Times, Huffington Post, op-eds for Crain’s Business NYC & Chicago, for McKinsey & Co. and for The World Bank Rohini was inspired to break away from her management consulting career by a desire to go entrepreneurial and a conviction that Indian cuisine in the United States was confined to stereotypes, or timid and washed out. She created and developed the Vermilion indian-latin concept and cuisine. Apart from leading the gamut of entrepreneurial activities across her NYC & Chicago entities, Rohini directs the culinary evolution of her restaurants. Since inception, Vermilion has been acclaimed as “Best New Restaurant” by Chicago Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, USA Today, Bon Appetit, Wine Enthusiast, 3 stars Vetel/Tribune, 4 Stars NY Daily News among others. Rohini has been profiled in The Financial Times, Time magazine, Oprah Magazine, Fortune, FSB, Business Week, Esquire, Crain’s Business, Sante, Shelter, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC World among others. Rohini was awarded the “Woman of Distinction” award by Children’s Hope, Philanthropy Award by American India Foundation, and “Entrepreneur of the year – India” by the City of Chicago. She is on the Board of Trustees of the James Beard Foundation and Advisory Council of the Illinois Restaurateurs Association. Rohini is a staunch supporter of women in business and the education of girls on a global level. She has her own non-profit (MSEdG – Educate Girls Globally) and is a senior donor of the American India Foundation (AIF). To redress the “gastro-ceiling” paucity of women leaders in her industry, she cofounded the James Beard Foundation Women in Culinary Leadership program, which she leads with the JBF. She is an active member of The Chicago Network (TCN), International Women’s Forum (IWF) and the Women’s Forum of New York (WFNY). She hosts and has served as a keynote speaker for business conferences and lifestyle events across innovation, culinary, entrepreneurship, and women in business. Rohini stays connected to academia by engaging actively with the Entrepreneurial departments of leading Chicago and New York Business Schools (University of Chicago, Kellogg, Columbia). She was one of the ten Chicagoans featured on the City of Chicago’s video to welcome NATO delegates and invited to present to the international press at the NATO summit. Rohini was recently featured in CNBC’s “Consumed,” a business series on restaurateurs in NYC. On a personal level, Rohini is equally passionate about all four of her babies (both her daughters, plus both restaurants), is an avid reader, still loves to dine out, enjoys travel, running (the Chicago Marathon, Half Ironman), amateur chess and squash, and has accomplished a personal dream - climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.