Padmini Sambasivam

Padmini Sambasivam is the Founding Principal of Shiv Nadar School Chennai. A distinguished professional with over 28 years of academic and administrative experience, she has led some of the top academic institutions in India and overseas during her extensive career.

A Zoology major from Stella Maris College with a master’s degree in Environmental Toxicology, she has successfully added an M.Phil. in Genetics, a Bachelor’s in education, and a Master’s in Education to her string of academic accomplishments. She has enjoyed an illustrious career in organizations like The Krishnamurthi Foundation, Bala Vidya Mandir, Arsha Vidya Mandir across Chennai, The Peevees Group in KSA, and most recently, The Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun.

As an instructional leader, her key areas of interest include Education in the 21st century, Military History, National Education Policy, Child Welfare, and Mental Health. She is a passionate advocate for the need to facilitate learning “by design than by default” and firmly believes that Arts and Sports hold equal weightage as theoretical subjects in a student’s academic pursuits. She has been a member of the Board for various schools like Welham Boys’ School, Vidya Devi Jindal School, Aasraa Trust, Devi Academy (Chennai), John Martyn School for the underprivileged, and the World Leading School’s Association.

She has been recognized with various awards and honors – the prestigious ‘School Leader of the Year Award’, the ‘Distinguished Service Award’, the ‘Exemplary Leadership Award’, and the ‘Best teacher Award’, to mention a few. With a philosophy focused on “thriving, rather than just surviving”, she views challenges as an opportunity to unlock her highest potential. A keen debater, Padmini is trained as a solo pilot under the NCC Air Wing and is an avid trekker and adventure enthusiast. She has represented the Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Contingent in the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.