Brief Introduction about yourself: I would like to start with my Education ,I have completed by Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, English and History from Lucknow University, followed by a Diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in the discipline of Advertising & Public Relations. Prior to working with Gionee, I have held several senior positions in leading communication advisories like Perfect Relations, IPAN Hill & Knowlton and Concept, where I worked on reputation management mandates for leading Indian and Multinational organizations. I have also managed Corporate Communications and Branding at Bunge India and Sesame Workshop. Apart from this, I do have a keen interest in philanthropy
Tell us about your journey in Gionee. My journey in Gionee has been different, challenging and interesting at the same time. When I joined Gionee I was asked questions like what will be my strategy towards building Gionee as a brand considering it a young player, which according to me was challenging and interesting. Luckily, the experience with my mentor at Gionee came out to be very pleasant. I would also like to mention that once I started working there was a lot of freedom that was provided to us as employees. I have been fortunate to be part of the big announcements made by the company like Alia Bhatt and Virat Kohli joining the brand during my journey and along with it I also got to know these associations were not a cake walk. On a whole, it has been a very interesting journey till now.
Please share your future goals. Having worked with various brands and having gone through multiple experiences I have realized one important thing I want from life and that is to be associated with a one good cause which is also very close to my heart, is working towards helping children with Leukemia. At Gionee India we have pledged to contribute towards providing assistance to Leukemia afflicted, underprivileged children, below the age of 10. Another goal in life is to always have some kind of challenge in front of me that drives me to do better for example working with Gionee was a challenge as it was a growing brand in its inception.
What all challenges did you face and what were your strategies to overcome them? Mass communication was at a very nascent stage when I started my career and was also not considered as a preferable career option at that point of time. Being a girl who came from city like Lucknow, to actually go ahead with that choice of making a career in Mass communication in itself was a great challenge. My father like any other concerned parent was not supportive of my choice at that time. He wanted me to make my career in public services because of which I had to come back to Lucknow. In order to pursue the career of my choice, I actually had to go through the whole procedure of public service exams .Thankfully things went in my favour and I was selected by the Indian army. It was only after this that my father extended his support towards my choice and mentioned if you join the army then he will not be able to see me at all.
Do you think there is some kind of gender bias that exists in the society? In my opinion gender bias does exist to a certain extent in the Indian society. Having said that I also hold an opinion that this bias is applicable for both women and men, as we all are brought up in a certain way and also the way our society operates, I strongly feel the manner in which today’s generation is dealing with this situation is very commendable and things will change soon.
What piece of advice would you like to give to the aspiring youth who wish to pursue their dream of becoming a successful woman in the industry? I would just like to say one thing that comes from my life experiences “What you do, do it whole heartedly” and I think it applies to both men and women.
According to you, what are the top three essential skills that are needed to be successful? According to me the first and the foremost is Knowledge which is the most important skill one can possess to be successful, another essential skill I would like to mention is that one should pursue whatever they do with a lot of sincerity and last but not the least, to have that willing to learn irrespective for the stage of life or career one is at.
How have you managed the work-life balance and has the family been supportive? My family has been really supportive throughout my carrier, although there were a few challenges in the beginning. According to me the formula to maintain this balance is to know where to draw the line and try build certain rules around it and then abide by them. There might be exceptions in case of emergency though. For example when I reach home and I am with my kids I prefer not take any calls from 7:30-9:30.I also try and devote some time to health, do yoga and walk on regular basis. To sum this up I would like to say that one just needs to plan him/herself accordingly and by doing so they can strike that perfect balance needed on life.
What can best empower the women of India? I think the most important thing that can actually empower anyone is education and knowledge.
Words for IWIL IWIL is inspiring a lot of women and youth as they get to know about success stories of women who emanate from different fields and backgrounds on your portal .These stories give them insights about what these women have done and the journey they have gone through to achieve that success. These insights act like a guiding force and a medium of exposure for the reader as there are many of us who learn with help of examples.
