Technology has always played a big role in Anamita’s life. Anamita was born in Kolkata, India, and her family immigrated to Kansas when she was 2, where she got her first exposure to computers. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area at age 3, Anamita was up and running on her own computer. And by age 9, she was designing websites online as a side hustle. Out of this early digital relationship, Anamita developed, almost intrinsically, an understanding of the power technology has to connect people and change the world.
Over time, Anamita became increasingly intrigued by people– and how they process information and make decisions. This led her to study the human brain and mind at the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Cognitive Science, conducted research on child and human development, and danced with a professional contemporary dance company.
Anamita is currently an entrepreneurial product leader at Meta (formerly Facebook) where she innovates ways to protect people’s data using machine learning. Her current focus: shifting how the tech industry handles user data and closing the gender gap in STEM.
Previously, Anamita served as Global Lead of Product Management at IBM where she worked on quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and AR/VR. She led a team of 40+ product managers and research scientists across four continents, and launched IBM Watson’s first start-up incubator for AI developers. Prior to IBM, she spent most of her career at early to mid-stage startups, including launching and selling her own analytics company in 2014.
Anamita strives to inspire the next generation of women innovators and pioneers. She serves as a national ambassador and advisory board member for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Anamita continues her work as a board member for Hot Bread Kitchen, a NYC non-profit focused on economic mobility for immigrant women through food entrepreneurship.
She has addressed the United Nations and delivered keynotes at TEDx and SXSW. She’s also collaborated with law and policy makers to launch artificial intelligence initiatives, and ensure no bias towards women or others exists.
The media has noticed. Anamita and her work have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, Marie Claire, Lifehacker, and more. She was named as one of the “Top 25 Software Product Executives Of 2020”, “9 Millennial AI Leaders to follow” in 2019, and included in “6 Women in STEM to watch out for” in 2018.
Anamita currently lives in New York, New York, with her rescue puppy, Denali. In her free time, Anamita studies positive psychology, practices yoga and meditation, hosts trivia nights, and listens to rap music.