Month: September 2015

THE LION HEARTED

We live in a perfect world and still crib about it almost every day, whereas there is another world which is dark, depressing and divulges the bitter truth of our modern-day society. We keep hearing a lot of stories on acid attacks, we empathize with them for some time and then forget, but how many of us actually walk down the road with them to see how they survive such sickening inhuman acts?

Not many of us even bother following up on that story the next day, but there is a woman who takes every dark road heading towards the not-so-mainstream culture, and brings out the same in the form of a documentary in front of the world. In 2013, the Canadian government awarded her a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the field of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honoured her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos. She is also the founder of the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, an set up for conserving Pakistan’s history.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award in 2012 for her documentary film on acid attack survivors – Saving Face. Working on many more social causes related to transgender and refugees, she wants to bring out a different, courageous, hopeful and helping side of Pakistan to the world. She picks all the sensitive subjects for her documentaries but deals with each one of them with utmost sensibility and creativity spreading the message loud and clear.

LADY OF THE RULES

When you have a parent who is a famous jurist and most of your dinner table conversations revolve around the on-going legal cases, it is quite natural to pick up the finer nuances of the art and go on to become a prolific lawyer.

Zia Mody, the daughter of the former Attorney General, Soli Sorabjee did the same and went on to become an incontrovertible leader of the corporate law in India. She is a principal authority on corporate merger and acquisition law as Managing Partner of AZB Partners, which deals the Tatas, the Ambanis and the Birlas.

Mody’s commitment to her work is admirable and her clients swear by her legal acumen and work ethics. Mody is one of the very few women in India who went abroad to study in the celebrated Harvard Law School.

But it was after returning to India that Mody faced the bitter truth. The male dominant courtroom was not very hospitable to the women folks. Mody faced the challenge head-on. She got driven by her immense desire to succeed and make a mark.

Gradually the lady, through her determination and hard work, has reached a milestone, and in our day stands at the epitome of success.

OWNER OF SJM HOLDINGS

Angela Leong On-Kei learnt how to survive at an early age of 13 when her father expired. She is very emotional about the days she used to be a dance member of a Chinese dance troupe, where by choice she would practice and dance even if she would be hurt or some skin would come off her feet.

Developing a firm belief in herself at a young age, she turned down an offer from Guangdong Television as it involved a five-year contract. Today, we know her as the wealthiest woman in Hong Kong and the fourth wife of Stanley Ho; however, she has experienced her share of struggle in life by doing four jobs at a given point of time.

She is an informed woman who keeps track of the economy and knows how to draw financial benefits out of the current scenario. It was this presence of mind which made her comprehend that Stanley Ho is a learned man and he can only be understood through business.

She has a great vision for the future, where she sees Macau transforming into a financial hub in Hong Kong, providing immense employment opportunities in the process.

DONNING SEVERAL HATS

Vinita Bali is currently serving as Director at Titan Industries, Piramal Glass and CRISIL, and as Non-Executive Director at Syngenta. She is the former Managing Director of Britannia Industries Limited and a prominent businesswoman who did not plan her career in the corporate world, yet is one of the important names in the industries across the globe.

She has worked in six countries and five continents, and has travelled to nearly 65 countries. She is considered a transformational business leader who turned several businesses around, such as Cadbury in Nigeria and South Africa, and Coke in Latin America. She showed the same leadership and vision while working with Britannia.

Her career path has been unconventional, interesting and different. She launched Rasna, the fruit drink concentrate while working with her first employer Voltas; then went to US on a fully-paid scholarship while working with Cadbury and experienced the eclectic nature of education there; then launched Wispa, world’s first aerated chocolate; then joined Coca Cola in some exciting and challenging roles; came back to a dynamic, vibrant and optimistic India after 16 years of overseas assignments to work with Britannia; and finally left Britannia to pursue her interests elsewhere.

She chose to retire as she wanted to move from one fulltime role to full-time many roles.