Three APAC executives recognized at 2025 Inclusive Channel Leaders Awards

The 2025 Inclusive Channel Awards by CRN recognize leaders across the channel who are dedicated to building an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential.

The 2025 Inclusive Channel Awards recognizes over 80 individuals across the channel who are dedicated to building an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential. This year’s list includes three individuals that are based in Asia Pacific.

This year’s Inclusive Leaders share what it takes to build a diverse team, ensuring people feel valued and respected, celebrating everyone’s unique strengths, embracing differences and inspiring others to find their voice. They also are not only looking at today’s teams but at tomorrow’s, remembering their own experiences and the mentors who paved their way and turning those into lessons to lift up those who are just beginning their careers.

From the Asia Pacific region, here are the three individuals recognized on the list.

Manish Gupta, President, Managing Director, India, Dell Technologies

As Vice President of Global Alliances & Partner Ecosystem at Dell Technologies, Manish Gupta leads the execution of the company's partnership strategy in the Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China region. In this role, Manish helps to extend the reach of Dell Technologies' capabilities, combining the company's technology with its partners' expertise to deliver solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, Manish has established a reputation as a visionary leader, skilled at building and maintaining strong relationships.

What does inclusive leadership mean to you?

Inclusive leadership means creating an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to their unique perspectives without fear of judgment or discrimination. It requires a deep commitment to embracing diversity - whether in experiences, cultural backgrounds, or ways of thinking - and ensuring that all voices are heard and considered. Inclusive leadership is not just about representation; it is about fostering a culture of belonging, empathy, and psychological safety.

This means actively challenging biases, advocating for equity, and creating opportunities for underrepresented groups to thrive. It also involves continuous learning, listening, and adapting to build stronger, more innovative teams. My own personal journey as a business leader has reinforced the belief that true leadership is not just about acknowledging diversity but actively embedding inclusivity into every decision, interaction, and strategy. By doing so, we build stronger, more innovative teams and a workplace where everyone can succeed.

Please describe why inclusive leadership is important to you and what motivates you to act as an inclusive leader.

Inclusive leadership is important to me because I believe it is both a responsibility and an opportunity to create a workplace where everyone can thrive. I am motivated by the need to extend our efforts beyond business success and contribute to a more inclusive society. My commitment is also deeply personal; shaped by my strong belief in equality and the evolving demographics of the workplace. By fostering inclusivity, we empower diverse perspectives, drive innovation, and create lasting impact within and beyond our organizations.

Sudip Saha, Senior Director, Global Partner Marketing Programs & Campaigns, Dell Technologies

With over 25 years of experience in strategy, marketing, business consulting, and finance, Sudip Saha is a marketing leader driving innovation in the tech industry. As Senior Director of Global Partner Marketing Campaigns and Programs at Dell Technologies, he leads global content and campaign marketing for the Dell Technologies Partner Program, delivering impactful messaging and enabling partners worldwide. His expertise spans field and partner marketing, integrated marketing, marketing strategy, operations, and analytics, with leadership experience at global, regional (EMEA, APJ), and sub-regional (Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) levels

What does inclusive leadership mean to you?

From a team structure and culture perspective, I understand inclusive leadership to require developing an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and understood. It is about recognizing the unique strengths and perspectives that everyone brings to the table and ensuring that all voices are included in decision-making processes. Not only is it about respecting and appreciating everyone's backgrounds and voices, but also about actively listening and actioning based on perspectives.

From a personal leadership perspective, inclusive leadership goes beyond accepting diversity. It involves actively seeking diverse perspectives, learning from them, and using them to drive growth and innovation within the team. It also means inspiring the team to embrace diversity and challenge their own biases. Inclusive leadership is rooted in empathy, fairness, compassion, and open-mindedness that inspires trust, clear communication, and free sharing of ideas.

To me, inclusive leadership requires a consistent commitment to personal growth through self-reflection and continuous learning to create the best environment I possibly can for my team to show up as their best true selves. From a business and innovation perspective, inclusive leadership means recognizing that diversity is a strength and actively leveraging it to drive innovation and solve problems in new ways.

Please describe why inclusive leadership is important to you and what motivates you to act as an inclusive leader.

I am deeply motivated by the idea that leadership is about service and paying it forward, and inclusive leaders are privileged in their position and responsibility to uplift and grow others personally and professionally. As a mentor and leader, I have benefited greatly from my mentors and inclusive leaders. I have seen firsthand how diverse perspectives drive innovation and lead to better decision-making. They also enhance team performance, confidence, chemistry, and engagement, both overall and at the individual team member level.

Jing Liu, Channel Sales Director, APAC, Zebra Technologies

Jing has over 20 years of experience in the Telecommunications, Data Storage, Enterprise Mobile Computing, Barcode Printing, and Data Capture Solutions sectors. She holds expertise in sales management, sales-oriented marketing, operational responsibility, and multimedia production across the European and APAC marketplaces. Jing played a pivotal role in building an EMEA PAN Inside Sales function, focusing on channel, sales development representative (SDR), and specialist group initiatives aimed at market expansion, new products, and vertical solutions.

What does inclusive leadership mean to you?

Inclusive leadership is essential in any thriving organization, and at Zebra, we center our efforts around our customers and partners to achieve mutual growth. This approach reflects the diverse markets we serve and the wide array of individuals we interact with - spanning different ages, genders, personalities, religions, and individual characteristics. To truly excel, it is crucial for us to foster an environment where every voice is heard, opinions are respected, and decisions are made collaboratively. This requires a commitment to developing myself and our teams to ensure that we cast a vision of inclusivity. Given the diversity of languages and backgrounds, it's important to recognize that aligning everyone might take additional time. Therefore, we must prioritize creating extra opportunities to ensure everyone feels included and valued.

Please describe why inclusive leadership is important to you and what motivates you to act as an inclusive leader.

In my opinion, by embracing an inclusive leadership approach, we will not only strengthen our internal culture but also enhance our ability to serve our diverse customer base more effectively, ultimately driving our shared success. Additionally, it fosters a healthier working environment. Personally, I have greatly enjoyed the experiences throughout my entire career that have contributed to this understanding.

The full list featuring all the leaders can be found here.