Niteash Agarwaal, DTM

Toastmasters offices held and terms of service (international and regional level):

• 2013-2014 Area Director
• 2015-2016 Division Director
• 2016-2017 Administration Manager
• 2017-2018 Public Relations Manager
• 2018-2019 Club Growth Director
• 2021-2022 Immediate Past District Director
• 2023-2025 Region Advisor

Toastmasters honors and recognition (international level):

• 2013-2014 President's Distinguished Area Governor
• 2015-2016 President's Distinguished Division Director
• 2015-2016 Division Director of the Year
• 2016-2017 Toastmaster of the Year for Division P
• 2018-2019 Excellence in Club Growth
• 2020-2021 Resilience Award
• 2020-2021 President's Extension Award

Relevant work experience and how it relates to Toastmasters and your role as a Board Member:

I have 17+ years of corporate experience with Global Payments and Coupa Software,
1) Leading teams spread across the globe bringing diverse cultures and ideas to the table, strategic planning, and operations efficiency. This has helped me bring varied solutions to a problem, keeping the talent engaged and retained, growing the brand value with positive experience.
2) I have worked on 3-year plans with executives, leading to a saving of $1M+ using lean management principles which gets more done with less by eliminating anything that waste’s time, effort and money. I used Toyota Way philosophies to create dashboards that track KPIs, ensuring success, planning and driving effective programs for the organization which also gave opportunities for the team members to grow and build their career.
3) I have led Social Committee Board and Employee Resource Group for Asian and Pacific Islander at work, celebrating and promoting diverse cultures and volunteering for causes to give back to the community.

I believe this experience will help me perform effectively as a board member.

What experience do you have in strategic planning?

Strategic planning has helped me set clear goals and expectations by aligning teams and resources towards business objectives. Throughout my professional career and 14+ years at Toastmasters in various capacities as a club leader, district leader and a Region Advisor, I have honed my ability to create effective plans, saving millions for the corporate and improving operation efficiency, ensuring goals are met proactively and learnings are applied as a continuous evolving strategic plan.
In Toastmasters, all the roles I have served in has trained and honed my ability to create success plans with measurable goals and action items that allowed me to break them down in simple quantifiable tasks with measurable outcomes, which helped empowered leaders with ownership and accountability, and emphasized both innovation and continuity. In my journey, I helped grow the program in 15+ new cities and bring Toastmasters platform to the people who can transform their lives for better.

What experience do you have in the area of finance?

At work, I managed a $25K IT risk/compliance budget. I also directed vendor SOWs, contractor deliverables.
As a District Director at Toastmasters, I oversaw a $150K District budget, ensuring compliance with Toastmasters’ financial protocols while allocating resources toward education, training, and club growth initiatives. Also being part of District Executive Committee in other roles, I participated in budget discussion and audit approval.

What experience do you have in developing policies?

During Covid times, I being a Business Unit Risk Manager created frameworks and disaster recovery exercises for 1,200+ employees. These policies helped them kept safe and ensured business continuity. I led policy making in managing team’s work life balance, compensation and providing growth opportunities outside their home working location.

What lessons did you learn from previous leadership positions?

Three key lessons stand out for me:
1) Influence over authority – For me success has come from building trust, empowering others, and adapting your style to the situation.
2) Listening reveals solutions - Often, as a leader, we feel compelled to provide answers and always set direction. But some of my most effective moments as a Region Advisor came not from giving direction, but from asking the right questions and letting leaders find their own solutions.
3) Sustainability over short term wins — I invested in leadership pipelines, ensuring continued growth beyond my term. This has shaped my leadership philosophy of building long term impact rather than chasing immediate recognition.

What experience and key strengths would you bring to the Board of Directors?

1) I bring global leadership experience, having managed diverse teams across cultures and geographies. I understand the importance of cultural intelligence for Board Members, I recognize that organizational policy must accommodate diverse needs and incorporate member needs into organizational decisions across regions.
2) I have a proven record of strategic execution, driving large scale transformation with operational excellence. I also bring governance experience, ensuring compliance while enabling growth.
3) I bring the experience necessary to serve as an ambassador of the organization through visits, which are intended to evaluate and increase the effectiveness of the program in achieving its mission, meet with leaders, and publicize the brand.
4) I have experience in ensuring that the proper focus of any conflict remains on the issue at hand and not on the individual and that disagreements can and will occur, but sound leadership requires directing that conflict constructively.

My key strengths lie in upholding core values of Toastmasters, strategic planning, policy development, financial oversight, confidentiality, risk management and leadership qualities.

Why do you want to serve as an International Officer/Director?

We live in a world where communication and leadership are more important than ever and yet people often lack safe spaces without being judged to practice and grow these skills. At the same time, Toastmasters faces challenges of relevance, retention, and reaching new audiences with the growing usage of AI.
Toastmasters transformed my life by helping me overcome fear, build confidence, and lead diverse teams both in my career and within the organization. That transformation is my motivation to serve.
I see this not only as a leadership role but as a responsibility to the of members who will come after us as done by our Founder Ralph C. Smedley and leaders who have served on the board.

What volunteer experience do you have outside of Toastmasters?

1) I volunteered at my gated community board on various initiatives like housekeeping, Security, Implementation of Green Energy.
2) I volunteered at my local trust that runs a temple and organizes activities and festival celebrations throughout the year.
3) I volunteered at Door Step School that provides education on wheels by visiting locations of under privileged kids rather than making them come to the school.
4) I volunteered at Morya Pratishthan trust that plays musical ornaments during specific festival annually and used the money made for community service.

Have you worked with other Boards of Directors outside of Toastmasters? If so, describe your experience.

I have worked extensively with corporate governance boards and steering committees in Global Payments and Coupa Software. These experiences required me to prepare business cases, present performance updates, risk management, and align strategic initiatives with organizational priorities.

In your opinion, what are Toastmasters International’s major objectives and how would you work to achieve them?

In my opinion, the major objectives of Toastmasters International can be summarized into three primary areas:
1. Empowering Individuals through Communication and Leadership Development:
The core mission is to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. To be the first-choice provider of dynamic, high-value, experiential communication and leadership skills development. I would promote evolvement of Pathways to stay relevant with modern content with AI becoming main stream in communication.

2. Expanding the Program: To increase the organization's visibility, attracting new members, and retaining existing members. Growing the members and clubs by 3% annually and having a positive retention of existing members. I would achieve this,
a) by strengthening brand presence, spotlighting member’s growth, career benefits, and community impact on social media with help of influencers and other partnerships
b) Evolving training program for Club and District Leaders to grow and retain membership and achieve club/district mission
c) Developing feedback loop within club and district central to measure member experience

3. Organizational Excellence
Toastmasters International is guided by a strong set of core values: Integrity, Respect, Service, and Excellence. The Board of Directors is responsible for upholding the mission and managing the corporation's affairs, and finances. I would,
a) Model transparent communication, ensuring members trust leadership and feel represented
b) Ensure Board decisions are guided by data, research, and member impact
c) Invest in technology and tools that make Pathways, renewals, and reporting simpler and more member-friendly
d) Invest in additional revenue stream and periodically review existing revenue streams for growth

Additional information about candidate:

- Recognized for innovation, customer service, and people-first leadership by the executives of Global Payments
- Featured in the Toastmasters International April 2019 magazine for work as Public Relations Manager
- 2021 Convention panelist on 360-degree leadership
- A family man who treasures quality time with his son and enjoys photography by capturing life’s moments with creativity and gratitude.