‘Face’ of the family business is changing indeed.

Cheers to the real Indian Power Women ! The world of women in entrepreneurial roles !!

Yes women are entering the world of business ownership at an extraordinary pace ! Thankfully the male dominated Indian society no more believes women should sit back at home instead of entering businesses, at least when it comes to their daughters or wives. From being considered delicate, less challenging, being offered less risky jobs, and women in family businesses being mostly unrecognized, the situation has surely changed with the advancement of womens education and the growing role of government in women’s empowerment. It has not only made women aware about their rights and responsibilities but enlightened families and society towards the positive impact, that women could make in businesses in particular and in society in general.

The rate of women in family businesses has increased in recent years. Husbands and fathers now understand that to take charge of their company, their wives and daughters needs more than just good education, thus they are providing her with all the support by nurturing their strengths and talents ! This along with more independent minded and educated women are surely making it great times for power women !

Ofcourse, many women have proved the same in the past, that they can be great inspirations by the aura that they have created for themselves. From Indira Gandhi who inspired an entire generation of women to examples from the corporate like Indu Jain, who is also known by many different identities such as that of spiritualist, humanist, entrepreneur, an educationalist but most prominently who plays the role of the Chairman of Times Group, examples of awe inspiring Indian women is unmissable ! Not to miss on names like Simone Tata, who has been instrumental in changing a small subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills into the largest cosmetic brand in India – LAKME, synonymous today with Indian Fashion. Love them or hate them, you just cannot ignore Balaji serials and Ekta Kapoor is the woman who single-handedly founded and made Balaji Telefilms, the household name it is today. Known to be fiercely protective of her company and brand, Ekta is also very professional and has strong business acumen. Megha Mittal, the daughterin- law of the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, is the Executive Director of Escada, the German fashion luxury brand. She has taken some valuable lessons in turning around business from her father-in-law. She has retained the management and has empowered them in decision-making and she has set strict revenue targets and is all set to achieve the same.

Everywhere you look, there is a woman in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial dream. From being involved in small, usually home based businesses now they are more visible, they are more ambitious and mind you its not just about earning an income. They clearly want to venture out and want to take their businesses to greater heights. They want to be recognized as credible and marketable themselves so that they can create and establish their own identity apart from their family. They are all ready to take over the jobs with absolute different expectations, ideas and solutions. They value open communication and teamwork. For them people are assets and communication is the driving and motivational force. The new generation of power women in India is all set to create astounding benchmark through diversification specially if you were to consider the following examples we cover in Power Women this time !!

This young lady is someone who constantly strives to push the artistic boundaries. Belonging to a family whose roots no where was connected to jjewelry making, it comes surprise that Preeti Jain discovered her true calling and sheer joy in making art through jewels. She discovered her penchant for jewelry while working with her father. This made her realized her instinctive creative abilities and artistic temperament. She thinks that part of her creativity comes from her genes. She also owe her love for jewels and jewelry design to her mother who herself is an experienced designer She has been an in- finite and constant source of inspiration and has always helped her strive for perfection in every piece of jewelry she designs.

For this gen next woman her father has had a huge influence on her life. The mission & aim for her is to take the 115-year-old family business to youngsters across India in a big way through her new ventures. The group realized few years back that Gen-Y was no longer identifying itself with the brand name ‘Godrej’. Tanya Dubash, Adi Godrej’s eldest daughter, was given the task of fixing that perception. Tanya spearheaded the launch of a 3-D Internet portal, the first such initiative in India. She heads the Strategic Marketing Group (SMG) that guides the Godrej Masterbrand and portfolio strategy, and chairs Marketing Council comprising of Group Marketing Heads. She also heads Corporate Communications and Media for the Group and oversees Godrej Nature’s Basket, a gourmet food retailing chain.

She has been ranked in the International list of “50 Most Powerful Women in Business”, by Fortune. Works with industry bodies and the Government of India to advance policy decisions on important healthcare issues. Was invited by Dr. Manmohan Singh, to join the Indo-U.S. and Indo-Malaysia CEOs Forum, think tanks created to strengthen bilateral cooperation and trade. She is one of the pioneer businesswoman of India in the segment of Health Care Industry. Dr. Preetha Reddy has innumerable credentials attached to her. Inspired and guided by her father, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, the pioneer of corporatized healthcare in India, Preetha formally joined Apollo Hospitals as Joint Managing Director and five years later; she became the Managing Director of the Group, which is now one of the largest healthcare conglomerates of India.

She joined the family business towards the end of her teens, as Assistant Product Manager and moved her way up the ladder to be the Executive Director of the group, through her hard work and determination. She launched Parker brand in India in the year 1996, which was a huge success. Pooja Jain’s contribution to the growth of the Group has been phenomenal. She introduced Amitabh Bachchan as the ambassador to boost the brand value. She was always in awe of her father’s position among the best in the world and she knew that it would be the pinnacle or nothing else for her. She was single- minded in her determination to get there. She heads the Writing Instruments business for both Indian and International markets. Her strong foothold over her business and her passion for social service makes her an inspiration for the youth.

With the increasing number of women taking over the reigns, the ‘face’ of family businesses is changing and it’s definitely becoming more feminine. So here is an issue dedicated to the next generation of women leaders of business companies who have not only groomed themselves to be the top notch names but from being the typical home maker and daddy’s little girl, they are all set to storm the business world and are all ready to succeed the throne. Cheers to these new age power women from the world of family businesses !!