Embracing the journey of such starlets in the business world ,CIolook India's latest edition, 'India's powerful women business leaders' excels the spotlight on the prominent women leaders with their leadership skills
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders featuring Ashita Ladha
1. I N D I A
India’s
Business
Leaders
Powerful
Modern Business
Women Rede ining
Leadership
Power Benchmark
How Women
Corporate Leaders
are Overcoming the
Glass Ceiling Effect?
Breaking Barriers
Vol. 07
Issue 01
www.ciolookindia.com
2.
3.
4. Women hold their own in leadership positions,
proving their value as business executives. In
fact, women made up over half of the global
workforce as of 2022—significantly more than in previous
generations. This report highlights women's extraordinary
prowess in diversity, equity, and inclusion as well. Women
in business comprehend skills that can shift the workplace
culture, as these staunch leadership acumens display
leadership styles—leading with compassion, ethics, and
respect.
Many women leaders balance their work and family all
together with their professional lives. Therefore, they
comprehend the ability to multitask and set priorities; also,
they can encourage their employees to do the same.
Moreover, empathy allows leaders to build and nurture
healthy relationships within their teams, helping them to
understand what their executives need to improve their
productivity and feel appreciated.
Good communication skills lead to high-performing teams
and projects. It is an essential aspect of pushing up
boundaries to achieve the desired targets and exceed
expectations. Women leaders who communicate effectively
and confidently can lead their team to scale its success to
greater heights with a vote of impeccable confidence.
Adding to this, organizational changes require flexibility
and critical thinking. Executives and employees look up to
their leaders for clarity and guidance. A leader's response in
overcoming crisis situations can bring a positive change to
the work environment. Women in executive positions also
tend to enhance business opportunities.
Company performance affects revenue directly. Key
leadership skills, like collaborative decision-making and
people development, affect performance. A recent study
showcases women rank higher in five out of nine skills
necessary for optimal performance. Eminent women leaders
tend to show strong innovation, risk-taking abilities, and
empathy skills.
Embracing the journey of such starlets in the business
world, CioLook India's latest edition, ‘India’s Powerful
Women Business Leaders,’ excels the spotlight on the
prominent women leaders with their staunch leadership
skills and exceptional abilities that are transforming the
modern business arena. Flip through the pages and
comprehend how these starlets bask in the reflected glory of
their success!
Have a delightful read!
WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS
Abhishek Joshi
Deputy Editor
abhishek.joshi@insightssuccess.com
5. Ascent Insights
CIGNEX
Paw
Falguni is an experienced producer with demonstrated history of
working in the media industry. She is an expert in Content
Development, Creative Concept Design, Pre, Accounting,
Marketing, Management, and Business Relationship Management.
Deepal Mistry inherited the entrepreneurial legacy in her
spirit. Business runs into her blood since she is from a
business family. The highs and lows that came with it were
absorbed by her subconsciously from a very early age.
As Senior Vice President and Global Head of HR at CIGNEX,
Dr Ankita has over 22 years of progressive experience in
managing and leading various aspects of Human Resources
spanning across high paced business domains.
Ashita Interior
Design Studio
Aashita founded a full-service interior designer specializing
in both residential and commercial design. The design that
inspires her is a detailed part classical, part contemporary,
part gothic, and part bohemia style.
Being a dog mom Ivy Percy Dey chooses the best fabric
which will be comfortable for your paw baby. You will get
best quality at a very reasonable price.
EORTV
Brief
Company Name
Dr Ankita Singh,
Senior Vice President,
Global Head of HR,
IT, Travel and Admin
Ivy Percy Dey,
Owner and Founder
Falguni Shah,
Managing Director
Deepal Mistry,
Founder
Ashita Ladha,
Founder and CEO
Featuring
Magneton Technologies
Pvt Ltd
Magneton Technologies – a successful business with over 60
employees and numerous satisfied clients. Sarita has grown it
slowly and organically, without compromising on the values
of excellence that she personally stands for.
Sarita Devpunje,
Director
India's
Business
Leaders
Powerful
6. Ashita Ladha
Crafting A Timeless Saga of
Quintessential Spaces
c o n t e n t
Pro les
08
12
16
Dr Ankita Singh
Absolute Classification of
Transformational Leadership Intellect
Deepal Mistry
An Entrepreneurial Legend
with a Profound Legacy
7. Articles
Modern Business
Women Rede ining
Leadership
Power Benchmark
How Women Corporate
Leaders are Overcoming the
Glass Ceiling Effect?
Breaking Barriers
20 32
24
28
36
Falguni Shah
A Resolute Leadership Acumen
Ivy Percy Dey
All Your Adorable Pets' Own Fashion Designer
Saritha Devpunje
Passionately Empowering Futuristic
Digital Generation
10. As I’m an
innovative,
customer-
driven interior
designer, I
make
everything
possible to
reflect the
same in my
work.
8 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
11. Ashita Ladha
Ashita Ladha
Life goes on with the hope of success. Success
comes to those who keep toiling in the hope of
achieving their dreams with passion, compassion,
patience, hard work, and an extraordinary degree of
innovation founded on the strongest ideals of inspiration.
Those young minds, which are the rich spaces of dreams
and hopes, constantly reshape the future by redesigning the
contemporary times. And a mind of a young and hustling
interior designer will find her way even in chaos.
Ashita Ladha, the Founder and CEO of the firm well-
known by the name ‘Ashita Interior Design Studio,’ is
doing precisely that by crafting a timeless saga of
quintessential spaces since the firm’s inception in August
2020.
The first letter – Ashita, itself depicts Hope and Success. So,
with a lot of hopes and experience of three straight years in
the field of residential and commercial projects, Ashita
commenced her dream-inspiring journey as an innovative
interior designer at a very young age.
Transforming Dreams into Reality
Ashita is a full-service interior designer specializing in both
residential and commercial design. She states, “We, at our
studio, always try our best to deliver a quick refreshing
output to meet our client’s needs. We always thrive to
convert dreams into reality by not just a design but by
designing well enough to exceed expectations.”
The design that inspires her is a detailed part classical, part
contemporary, part gothic, and part bohemia style. “All
these styles stir my inner creative instinct to the core; these
styles flow out inertly in my designs with an abstract and
subtracts.”
“I always mix two styles in my designs. It looks more
attractive and elegant, and clients love the same,” feels
Ashita and continues, “My mission is to bring happiness to
my client by assisting residential and commercial clients in
creating timeless spaces.”
Battling and Winning Over the Challenging Despairs
Ashita thinks that women are that much capable of doing
anything and everything in this world. According to her,
every woman should be independent with their own
perspective. In that, she also does the same things. She just
explores herself and her skills by searching for her inner
abilities and capabilities.
“I say know thyself. I reflected a lot on what I could and
should do in my life. I noticed things in myself and was
surprised to realize who I am. Since then, I believe that a
person should know themself innately, including all of
one’s perspectives,” thinks Ashita.
When she started her company, that day she remembered
her own struggle and decided to give the opportunity to
youngsters. So that they should not suffer from the same
difficulties that she faced personally in her field.
Ashita thinks that youngsters have very much experience in
their fields, and they have the confidence to handle any
project. And they can do it easily with proper skill sets. She
felt that interior designing is a practical field. One should
have all the knowledge regarding this field, like handling
the drawings on-site. How to manage the craftsman and
labours on-site.
She worked so diligently for clients’ projects, clients who
had trusted her. Thus, she felt that it is her duty and
responsibility not to break their trust in her. And she proved
herself and the fact that giving an opportunity to youngsters
is good.
9 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders
12. Because in modern India, youngsters can think out of the
box and be more creative. And during that period, right
from her first project, she had always had the leading role in
her every interior designing project, learning all her
practical lessons on the job, in the field, and on the sites.
Ashita also feels, “People should give more opportunities to
youngsters.” Because only that way youngsters will gain
more knowledge, acquire more creative instincts, and have
more enthusiasm, greater energy to do work and more new
skills to design. Since this field is very vast and creativity to
design must be the only prerequisite to be judged.
Reflecting Customer-Centric Styles through Her
Artistry
Great designs begin with a comprehensive understanding of
clients’ needs and expectations, whether personal spaces or
commercial properties. Developing client relationships
based on respect, trust, and confidence has been the key to
Ashita’s success as a designer.
Skilled at creating beautiful designs under various budgets,
styles, timeframes, and requirements, she guides her clients
through every phase of the design process. Ashita promises,
“I remain committed to cultivating valued relationships and
helping clients reach the best version of their overall
vision.”
These are the values and the qualities of Ashita ID Studio,
which make clients more trustworthy; Ashita respects the
time and always makes the drawings and completes the
projects on time, every time, all the time.
A Colorful Symbiosis of Life’s Elements
Innovation, customer-centric approach, minimalist style and
combining all the colours of all the seasons of life in her
work and then exhibiting it through her designs are the
USPs of Ashita and her Studio.
Ashita expresses, “As I’m an innovative, customer-driven
interior designer, I make everything possible to reflect the
same in my work. I always design my style in a minimalist
style, as less is more in a contemporary style and classic
style with unique colours combination textures fabrics
quotes and lights.”
“The material I used in my design as glass is actually wood
PU paint finish which ultimately looks very refreshing to
our eyes. In my design, I always put one as a highlight wall.
It is a thumb rule in my design.”
Ashita’s main USP is the detailing part which is so fine and
accurate that it can be easily understood by a worker and
helps guide them effortlessly. She coordinates architectural
details, designs and specified custom construction elements
and creates and implements them fully in her interior
concepts. “I believe that the design must reflect our
personality and that I always focus on,” says Ashita.
Visionary Advice
As an experienced professional, Ashita’s advice to the
budding aspirants willing to enter the interior design niche
is innovative. She says that Interior designing is an area
where creativity works along with thinking out of the box.
Despite saying this, she also feels that it is a decorative
field. And if you are designing the spaces so that effective
multipurpose utilization of spaces can be done, that will
surely help you.
Thinking beyond the design and keeping a client’s desires
in mind, one can lead towards satisfaction. She believes that
interior designing is an exciting and enjoyable field. She
interacts with many people daily, which helps her know
their vision.
Being a professional interior designer, Ashita always
follows the elements and principles of design. But she also
thinks that in this field, one can design freely. “If allowed
the freedom to design, we can get innovative ideas to think
and follow, ultimately improving the final result," says
Ashita.
Augmenting Visual Surreality
Ashita thinks that emerging technologies and automated
tools are revolutionizing the business world by enabling
innovations. She says that these are game-changing things.
Using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in
interior designing takes the user to another level of virtually
experiencing the whole project live. This can even eliminate
the huge cost of purchasing the site and start building things
on it. This can help in experiencing the entire working
project right in front of eyes without even buying the raw
material to build.
As the professional world is changing at a very fast pace,
people are adopting various tech products to make work
easier and more accessible. “This definitely helps open the
door for thinking about what we have never thought so,
infinite possibilities arising out of this,” hopes Ashita and
concludes, “Soon it will become easy access to such
gadgets.”
10 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
14. Dr Ankita Singh
Dr Ankita Singh
Absolute Classification of Transformational Leadership Intellect
S
trong business leadership is a crucial part of any
organization’s success. Transformational ideas—a
team with strong and compassionate leadership is
more likely to be more productive. The goal of business
leadership is to find the guidance model that works best for
a company and its team of employees.
Several specific qualities are associated with strong leaders.
Most of the leaders involve their abilities to accomplish
tasks efficiently, influence others to perform well and
consistently meet and exceed expectations. Such effective
leaders recognize the importance of being organized in the
workplace.
If any company has an organized leader, the entire team is
more likely to perform well and function efficiently. Dr
Ankita Singh, the Senior Vice President and Global Head
of HR, IT, Travel and Admin at CIGNEX and the
Founder of the HR Association of India, is an absolute
classification of transformational leadership intellect.
As Senior Vice President and Global Head of HR at
CIGNEX, she has over 22 years of progressive experience
in managing and leading various aspects of Human
Resources spanning across high paced business domains of
ITES. In addition to all functions of HR, Ankita overseas
other enabling functions like Administration, Travel and
Resource Management.
Ankita holds a PhD in Management and is a Gold Medalist
in BBA as well as MBA. She has done HR and Business
Strategy related Executive Management Programs from
IIM-A, ISB- Hyderabad and XLRI. She is a certified PPA
(Thomas Profiling) Practitioner.
The journey so far has been challenging yet amazing. From
the last 17 years, Ankita has been working with the same
group. It has been a tremendous learning experience to
evolve with the company and grow with it. Ankita, with her
team, has progressed through all thicks and thins together. It
feels magnificent to know that there is so much to give and
get, even after many years.
An Exemplary Leader
Ankita has been fortunate enough to receive support from
everybody around her. She always had an incredible team,
outstanding mentors, and the best family to take care of all
that needed attention.
The start was, by default, Ankita just landed in HR, but it
didn't take much time for her to realize that she appreciates
being part of that function and that Ankita can sensibly
learn and contribute, and then there was no looking back.
Today, Ankita heads all business enabling functions like
admin, IT, travel, and PMO, but the core is still HR and will
remain. I have been extensively working in HR; my core
interest and expertise is to enable human capital.
The only way to
sail through
this is to stay flexible.
- Dr Ankita Singh
12 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders
15.
16. I have been part of the same group for the last 17 years. As
a Senior Vice President and Global Head of HR and other
business-enabling functions, I am responsible for enabling
business through people, processes, practices, and passion.
Overcoming the Challenges
Change! It has been a challenging journey to reach a level
where you can stop for a moment and say, “Yes, this is what
I wanted to achieve.” Everything around us is changing at a
pace that's unmanageable and uncontrollable.
The only way to sail through this is to stay flexible. Change
as many times as needed. Staying relevant is more
important than anything else. It is challenging to find a
perfect balance, and something would suffer. Still, I try to
follow the 30:40:30 rule. 30% mental and physical health,
40% work and community contribution, and 30% self-
development and family.
Pearls of Wisdom
As a piece of advice for the budding aspirants, Ankita
shared, “Stay authentic and nimble, never compare yourself
to others, never underestimate your capabilities, invest well,
and stay relevant.”
Moreover, sharing her views on promoting women’s
empowerment—Ankita expressed, “It can’t be generalized.
Should be promoted, where people still see the gap and
need to reinforce it. It's better to talk, support, and promote
whenever and wherever needed. In other places, where the
culture is more structured, unbiased, and open, we should
encourage capability and ability over gender-specific norms
and initiatives.”
Embracing the Opportunities
Being a transformational leadership intellect, Ankita shared
her opinions on the changing scenario of the world and
future opportunities for women post-pandemic, she
expressed, “I think more than the world; I have seen women
changing. They have started identifying the opportunities.
Instead of saying I can't handle this much, they came
forward and said that “I might not have eight hours to give
but let me find something where I can contribute for three
to four hours they became more adaptable to meet the need
of the time.”
“I have witnessed women employees wanting to come back
to work because of no location barrier and WFH
opportunities, and the best part is that the world happily
supports and welcomes them,” she concluded.
14 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
19. eepal Mistry
D inherited the entrepreneurial legacy
in her spirit. Business runs into her blood since she
is from a business family. The highs and lows that
came with it were absorbed by her subconsciously from a
very early age. It was in Grade 12 that Deepal’s first stint
with doing a business independently came across.
A fun thing that started with two other friends actually got
Deepal the confidence to put something out from scratch.
Deepal laughs it out, “To top it all, we (my two friends and
me) even made a profit of 3200/- rupees each.” A good start
in 1995 for a 16-year-old. “But more than the profit, it was
the process that gave me a lot of insights,” shares Deepal.
She and her friends had put up a small sale of sarees,
handicraft items and toddler accessories. Each of them had
to arrange for one of the segments. Deepal had taken
responsibility for the handicraft items and the toddler
accessories. She contacted an aunt living in her area who
made these items at home.
Deepal recollects, “So I approached her and explained my
plans. She was so elated that she just opened up her
inventory room for me and said, Beta take whatever you
wish to and can return whatever is not sold, but just ensure
to pack it differently since the presentation is very
important.”
Discovering Her Entrepreneurial Mindset
That was Deepal’s first learning, ‘Presentation is
Important.’ So, she decided to put little Handwritten
Grandma stories as a card on top of each toddler item and
gave it a different look. Even the handicraft item had its
genesis put on the label. Deepal reveals, “This was my
learning into creativity and packaging innovation. It taught
me to see beyond the price tag, one of the most important
factors in the buying decision- The buyer’s emotion.”
This pearl of wisdom, learned at the age of 16, was partially
realized when Deepal was into the B-school and fully
realized and understood its power when she got into the
corporate world, building brands from scratch to 500
Crores. (You can download the journey of the brand Telma:
Building and Defending the Market Leader on the Harvard
Business Review site:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/IMB521-PDF-ENG)
Having served at various levels in the hierarchy through her
22 years of experience, even as a Strategic Business Unit
head in Pan India, Deepal kept constantly thinking,
“Are we still done yet with the customer journey? Today’s
Gen Z are already thinking very differently; tomorrow’s
Gen T – Deepal’s connotation for Generation Technology –
would be way ahead, so how can the brands and businesses
still stay relevant? What is ‘that unique Strategy’which
would align with their needs and create value for a brand.”
Deepal shares, “Pondering upon this, sitting in the corner
cabin of one of India’s top 15 Pharmaceutical companies, I
was thinking of a way where Technology, Human
Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence can work alongside
each other rather than replacing the other to ensure a
brand’s success.” How can Human intelligence and
Artificial Intelligence play together? This idea led to the
birth of ‘Ascent Insights.’
Ascent Insights offers Business Management, Phygital
(Physical and Digital Branding Solutions) and
Communications. In Deepal’s words, “We Help Businesses
Grow Faster.”
Sailing through the Tumultuious Oceans
You must have heard the saying, ‘A smooth sea never
makes a good sailor.’ This actually fits well with growing
businesses. There are probably 150 million startups in the
world today, with 50 million new startups being launched
every year. Deepal says, “So yes, there is a myriad of
challenges that I faced when I started.”
Battling unrealistic expectations
"My crazy expectations were mostly from myself. I
expected to be Super Mom, wife of the year, and build a
successful business all in the same year.
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders
We at Ascent Insights are
working towards this vision
where Human Intelligence
and Artificial Intelligence
work alongside each other,
thereby helping Brands grow.
17 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
20. Even though I was (and am) doing great in all the key areas
of life, I often felt inadequate, which was exhausting. That
is when I realized that I needed to translate what the real
expectations are? Whether from self or in business.
Sustainability is the name of the game. And sustainability
requires consistent efforts.”
In order to succeed in a competitive business world, we
need to have high but controlled expectations, keeping a
view of the resources available, the extent of growth
potential, and other market factors as well.
Financial Management
Money begets money. When income increases, the
expenditures also increase. “Another biggest challenge was
financial management which I could navigate with the
proper re-source management, thanks to my learnings at
Glenmark of the P&L management,” Deepal shared.
Winning Trust of Customers
The customer is the king. Winning a customer’s trust is one
of the most important challenges. Deepal expresses, “We at
Ascent Insights work aggressively to implement a customer-
centric working philosophy to enable their brands to
succeed in attaining the sustainable growth and progress
they desire to achieve in this tech-savvy, challenging and
competitive business world with speed led by strategic
insights.”
Creating a passionate team
Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but
teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Creating a
team that can own and translate your passion as theirs is the
biggest asset one can have, and I am fortunate to have a
team like that,” thinks Deepal. Grounded in attitude but
reaching the universe with their ideas, her team is a group
of passionate individuals.
Last but not the least challenge was Achieving work-life
balance
“As a mom of two and owner of two businesses, my
greatest challenge as a female entrepreneur was finding
balance. It can feel like your heart and your time are being
tugged in a million different directions at once.”
The solution: “However, one thing that has helped me
achieve that balance is by creating schedules and systems,”
she added.
According to Deepal, the kind of professional values and
qualities clients value in her and Ascent Insights the most
are Insights, Innovation, Consistency and Commitment.
Brand Building USPs
When asked what USPs highlight Ascent Insights’
uniqueness, Deepal thinks that behind every growth success
story is a thoughtful strategy. She adds, “We also firmly
believe that true differentiation takes courage, especially in
an industry bound by a lot of promotional restrictions. That
is why we use fact-based reasoning to overcome objections,
build buy-in and establish critical momentum for the
brands.”
A Legendary Wisdom
As an experienced professional, Deepal’s advice to the
budding aspirants willing to enter the business world is
legendary. She says that one must stop listening to all of
these generalized “experts.” Know your own personal
strengths and weaknesses – not what everyone says they
should be as a woman. Use your strengths, address your
weaknesses and pursue your goals.
A man, tough in business dealings, is respected for being
savvy and getting things done. A woman is dismissed as
being shrewd and bossy. Taking a woman boss or
entrepreneur is not every man’s cup of tea.
Pro tip: ‘Know your stuff, real deep.’ Cliched, but you
should know your product or business like how a mother
knows her child. Nobody better than her can know. And on
a lighter note, to top it, if you can discuss cricket, you are
definitely in-to in the playing 11. (read team).
Never get scared to ask what you want to learn. And never
got stopped by emotional or surrounding forces to stop you
from learning.
Blending the Present and the Future
Regarding her envisioning Ascent Insights’ operations with
the emerging technologies and automated tools that are
revolutionizing the business world by enabling innovations,
Deepal says that in the past ten years, we have seen
technology moving at supersonic speed, probably touching
human lives in a fashion that has practically modified the
laws of Maslow’s theory. Involvement and implementation
of technology have made themselves an integral part of the
grid.
“We at Ascent Insights are working towards this vision
where Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence work
alongside each other, thereby helping brands grow,” Deepal
concludes.
18 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
21.
22. 20 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
Modern
Businesswomen
Redefining
Leadership
P o w e r B e n c h m a r k
C
an a woman become a great leader? Well, a report
by Amex OPEN State of WOBs 2015, reveals that
growth in women-owned businesses has
outperformed the overall increase in new businesses by 1.5
times. These facts are enough to indicate that how today's
women are thriving in business world and also bringing an
innovative approach to the age-old stereotype view of what
being a great leader means.
Anciently, leadership was considered a man's business, as it
required workflow with presumed masculine parameter
such as strength, competitiveness, assertiveness and risk-
taking. Even though these qualities are important but are
not enough.
If a business has to run smoothly and with prosperity, there
is also a need of empathy, good communication skills,
adaptability, intuition, and integrity. And all these innate
qualities of modern businesswomen are redefining
leadership in modern times.
The Empathetic Women
With empathy, women have been naturally serving as
caretakers and peacekeepers.
But one may ask—How empathy is important in
leadership?
Well, in a business organisation different kinds of people
work together. They often feel stressful with challenges
related to their work. In such a situation, if a leader shows
empathy towards employees, it can build positive
relationships and establish organizational cultures and drive
results.
With Intuitive Skills
Intuition, also known as sixth sense or gut feeling, is an
invaluable skill in leadership. By listening to the subtle
inner voice, gaining access to information more effectively
and making the right decisions is possible. As women goes
more with the heart than their brain, they use this power of
natural intelligence with deeper sense of knowing.
With this quality, women understand the needs of customers
and serve them on a deeper level. As intuition brings clarity
in mind, it helps to stay true to the vision. The modern
businesswomen by applying this superpower are giving
better direction to the team and emerging as a great leader.
24. 22 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
Shining with Multitasking
Women are known for being multi-tasking by balancing
careers, households and taking up the mantel of parental
guidance along with many other experiences. By being
multitasker, they can manage different kinds of
responsibilities, which helps entire team to give faster and
better results. With this ability, they are redefining
leadership with innovative perspective.
In today's highly competitive world, working professionals
need to get a large number of unavoidable tasks that needs
to be completed within the restricted set of working hours.
So, concentrating only on one task could result to lower
productivity levels that affects organizations workflow.
The Excellent Communicator
Solid communication and effective leadership go hand in
hand. In any business organisation, where people have to
work in a team, to achieve goals in a given period of time, a
leader with excellent communication skills is a must.
As women have learned the art of efficient empathy across
their social development, they can communicate well.
Successful female leaders are using this significant skill to
take responsibility of their team and convey message in
clear, unambiguous terms. They are setting the tone for the
workplace, which makes easier for the team members to
understand work expectations and getting feedback.
Using the Superpower of Emotional Intelligence
For the purpose of achieving success in a business, there is
an utmost need to making sound business decisions. It
requires an understanding of how feelings of a person are
affecting judgement, productivity, attitudes and more. This
understanding comes with emotional intelligence.
A study by Joseph & Newman, 2010; Patel 2017 suggests
than females leaders show a higher degree of EI than males
do. By using it, women leaders are able to gauge the
emotions of others. When emotions of subordinates are
valued, it builds trusted relationship with them, which
assists to bring better performance and more productivity in
long run.
Women have More Perseverance
Things are not always, the way they are expected. And, in
the business world, one has to tackle with many challenges,
like technical problems, emergence of new competitors,
changes in way of working. All these challenges can affect
the efficiency and prosperity of the organisation.
In such a situation, there is a need to possess perseverance
which is a prime key to leadership. Women are considered
more perseverant than men. They don't give up easily. With
their strong willpower to work hard and attitude of not
quitting, they are firm on achieving the goals in spite of
facing difficulties. By showing range of skills with
perseverance, today's modern businesswomen are
strengthening chances of accomplishing goals successfully.
She can care, she can conquer
Today, there is no field, where women haven't proven
themselves. When it comes to leadership also, women have
shown that they are great managers naturally. By caring for
people, they can handle and lead them well, and can make
an organisation grow exponentially. Gradually, the business
world is also realising their efforts and qualities and
bestowing them what they truly deserve in terms of
opportunities and positive acknowledgment.
30. Ivy Percy Dey
All Your Adorable Pets’ Own Fashion Designer
ll the failures one come across in life are only the
Amissteps on the path to that sweat sensational
destination of success. These missteps tell one who
is running after her dream is that she has to take a step back,
reassess the situation once again, and reevaluate her own
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
This external assessment and personal evaluation are the
basis for achieving any and every dream an individual sees
and then pursue in her life. External environment and the
world will always put challenges, obstacles, hurdles, and
even storms in one's path. It has been done by the invisible
master of natural selection to test the individual living
being's survival capacity, thriving capabilities and hunger
for winning.
Those who gets dejected from failures, and stops pursuing
their dreams becomes the example of real failures. Because
like every protagonist of every admirable story is the one
who reaches her destination of her dream by going through
her personal hell of storms of adversities, mountains of
obstacles, and seas of hurdles, and finally emerges as the
awe-inspiring leader of her own extravagantly enthralling
saga.
Meet Ivy Percy Dey, the Owner and Founder of Paw; All
Your Adorable Pets' Own Fashion Boutique.
The awe-inspiring Leader shares, “My name is Ivy Percy
Dey. Although, today, I am a successful entrepreneur, I was
always not like this. Let me tell you my story. Since class
seven, I wanted to become an entrepreneur, a fashion
designer. My goal was strong that I use to self-learn about
designing since then.
I graduated in Fashion Designing (BSc and ISD Italy) and
started working. Started working in my city for some year's,
went to other state for work for some time and then realized
that I should start my own company.
Came back to homeland and started a company, it was a
failure. After a year or two got married and tried again. It
was a failure too. So I stopped and asked myself ‘what am I
doing wrong? What can lead me to my dream?’
Then I got my answer. I wanted to be an entrepreneur so
let’s try some other which will include my skills. So I came
up with ‘Paw.’ Fashion for pet’s. I use all my fashion taste,
fabric knowledge into it and today I am who I am.
I have achieved ‘GlantorX Women Leadership Award
2022,’ ‘Fireboxx Icon Award for Best Pet Product Startup
2022,’ and ‘Fireboxx Icon Award for 'Women Entrepreneur
2022.’ This is not the end, but a modest begining; I am still
working on my business to improve our products everyday.”
Ivy spoke in an interview with CIOLOOK INDIA for its
latest edition of ‘India’s Powerful Women Business
Leaders.’ The life changing excerpts of this extraordinary
story are given here.
Please tell us about the saga of Paw since its inception.
After winning some bows from pet giveaways on
Instagram, I thought of making one for my kid. Did some
research and made one, but I was not happy with the final
product. After getting a good knowledge, I thought of
making an Instagram page to sell bow’s and bandana’s
only. I discussed it with my husband and finally made a
page on May 2021. As the days went by, I did more
research, learnt many new things and improvised my
products.
Now we sell outfit's, accessories like bow's, bandana's,
necktie, collar, leash, harness, hairclip, scrunchie, tuxedo,
bandana and what not. Our motive is to make both the pet
and owner smile every single time they wear us.
What was your inspiration behind venturing into the
business arena?
My first inspiration was my elder son – doggo – Max
28 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders
31. I have achieved ‘GlantorX Women
Leadership Award 2022,’ ‘Fireboxx
Icon Award for Best Pet Product
Startup 2022’ and ‘Fireboxx Icon
Award for ‘Women Entrepreneur
2022.’
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32. because I just like dressing him up and next was my
younger son – doggo – Benzo to whom I like to make him
wear bow's.
Even our logo is inspired from them. That cute tongue in
inspired from my baby Max because he always hangs out
his tongue and that brown color is inspired from Benzo.
What were the initial challenges that you had to
surmount to ensure your business's success rate to reach
greater heights?
I had faced some really tough challenges with fabric's and
delivery. It was hard getting a good fabric supplier with
perfect print as I want because most of my prints are
customized along with reasonable price. Secondly, it was
hard getting a good courier service which don't charge high
and deliver the parcel on time.
What professional values and qualities do you think
your clients value in you and your company the most?
Reading the valuable feedback from my customers is one of
my favorite thing to do. It helps me to improvise.
As per our customer's we have best quality products and a
wide variety of collection to shop from. I love talking to my
customer's, taking their advice or to know what products or
print's they want us to add in our collection.
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33. When they send us feedbacks like – ‘loved the product,’
‘so perfect,’ ‘just fell in lovvvveeee,’ ‘excellent quality,’
‘10000 out of 100 rating’ and so on – that is the biggest
achievement.
What are the USPs that highlight Paw's uniqueness in
the industry you are catering to?
I have started focusing more on pet outfit's. Being a former
fashion designer I thought of utilizing my skills and fashion
taste on this cute pet outfit's. I have already started selling
designer pet outfit's and people seems to love it. Planning to
launch twinning set's where pet and human can twin up the
designer collection.
As an experienced professional, what would you like to
advice the budding aspirants willing to enter the
business world?
Keep a crystal clear picture what you want to accomplish.
In a business, things will go wrong but never stop. Keep
walking the road with different steps. If you face an
obstacle take it as a challenge and try to overcome it.
Always stay positive and your attitude is one of the
important thing because that what will make your
customer's love you.
How do you envision Paw’s operations with the
emerging technologies and automated tools that are
revolutionizing the business world by enabling
innovations?
Emerging technologies and automated tools are really very
useful these days no doubt. Fortunately, the digital
technology in business are more affordable now for small
businesses than they've ever been, and organizations are
pursuing them more fervently in order to stay
competitive—across all industries.
Intelligent methods for extracting data and processing them
are another example of a modern technology solution that
can be a huge benefit to a modern business. Purchase
orders, client documents, customer records, invoices—all
and more can be quickly and easily scanned for information
in an accurate manner, improving data validation.
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How
Women
Corporate Leaders
are Overcoming the
Glass Ceiling Effect?
omen are the largest untapped reservoir of
Wtalent in the world.”
- Hillary Clinton.
Women undoubtedly bring a fresh perspective with a
plethora of experiences and viewpoints that play a
significant role in fostering innovations as varied
perspectives lead to better decision-making.
By intersecting their talent with sheer hard work, women
shine like a star in the contemporary business era and the
different aspects connected with this world. From fashion to
food, to sports to art, in every spectrum, women have been
proving the reality that nothing is actually impossible.
A Spark to Resonate
It is a verifiable truth that when women become leaders,
they bring talents and new views equal to structural and
cultural diversity to the companies they work for. These
passionate leadership charismas comprehend the essentials
and work on the minor details to observe what innovations
they can work on with a professional touch of diversified
views and a true sense of awareness.
Empathy is often considered the greatest superpower in
terms of the roles that these eminent leaders play
throughout their life. An empathic leader accepts that
everyone perceives the world differently.
They implement the same ideology in their teams and
ensure that even if the team is facing difficulty, they can
comprehend the related problems by actively listening to
their team members. Thus, preparing everyone to become
successful. Women are likely to use this form of leadership
to empower innovations in their teams and ensure that
everyone can embrace the growth opportunities.
“
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B r e a k i n g B a r r i e r s
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Building a Professional Network
Regardless of any organization in the modern industry,
strong women leaders are quintessential in providing a
much-needed perspective, empowering and creating
directions for a business to grow more. Whether it involves
seeking advice from a trusted employee or a dedicated team
in a company, strong leaders continue to seek advice from
others. This sets quality standards unlikely to find anywhere
else.
One of the essential ways to break the glass ceiling effect is
improving professional relationships with experienced
people, as it plays an integral role in scaling an
organization' success to greater heights.
A strong network of business connections opens up new
opportunities. Millennial Women leaders are prioritizing
network events to foster their career growth. By gaining
support from people in management-level positions who
have 'been there, done that,' they are experiencing valuable
insight, direction, and prosperity, in their leadership
journey.
Embracing the Opportunities
It helps them to create their own career opportunities
without any organizational bias. Sometimes, while working
in someone else's organization, women face prejudices.
However, they can enjoy more freedom in strategic
decision-making and attain success with a fresh perspective.
Even though starting a new business is challenging, many
women overcome it with their risk-taking ability. Also, they
are getting support from experts in marketing and
technology, other important aspects of business, and
experiencing limitless growth.
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome
Often, women feel they are not admired enough for their
hard work, which can create imposter syndrome. A
significant study by KPMG suggests that 75% of female
executives have faced imposter syndrome, which includes
constant feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, despite past
and current successes.
However, there is a strong presence of women who believes
in their strengths and can eliminate imposter syndrome. By
remembering their past successes and achievements, they
are regaining their confidence. They acknowledge self-
admiration's importance, celebrate their accomplishments,
and work towards their goal with extra enthusiasm.
She is Unstoppable
Women are working hard and claiming their place in the
world, looking at what they have achieved from the past to
the present. They showcase innovations through talent and
hard work and shatter the stereotype mindset. It has been a
true inspiration to see their achievements in the modern
world with a desire to climb high to the top leadership
positions.
One cannot underestimate the hidden power of women,
which can overcome this invisible barrier, like the glass
ceiling effect. With an extra dose of grit, perseverance, and
strength of purpose, today's confident, courageous,
determined, and intelligent women are surging ahead,
making it big and roaring in various fields and proving that
nothing can stop them.
37.
38. Saritha
Devpunje
Passionately Empowering
Futuristic Digital Generation
his is the story of courage,
Tpassion, facing devastating
obstacles, yet getting up after
every fall, and walking each time out
of the comfort zone and achieving
success by continuously contributing to
the social well-being, forgetting one’s
own tragedies.
This is the story of an indomitable
th
spirit, Saritha Devpunje. On 8 May
2022, on the eve of International
Women’s Day, Saritha was awarded
the Women of the Substance Award-
2022 in the Entrepreneurs Category by
SheInspire Magazine. Her
accomplishments behind this
recognition are many.
Saritha is a versatile and multi-faceted
entrepreneur who carries many roles
on her shoulders with élan. She’s an
ace technology whiz; she works as the
Director of Magneton Technologies
Pvt Ltd and the CTO of AIontheFly
Technologies Pvt Ltd and Dr Alka
Skincare and Healthcare.
Saritha is also a free spirit at heart.
She worked at CISCO for a while but
was never quite happy with just being
an employee in a company. Her vision
was always to generate employment
opportunities for others.
So, in 2014, she quit her job and
started a small training agency with
investment from her mother. This was
followed by a web design agency, in
association with her brother Shiv Sagar
Devpunje, Sister Sarika Devpunje, and
her husband, Mukesh.
The River of Strongest Beliefs
In 2018, she lost Mukesh, her husband,
in a tragic accident and was left with a
baby girl to bring up on her own.
While the incident devastated her, it
also made her stronger.
Today, she runs Magneton Tech with
over 60 employees and numerous
satisfied clients. Magneton's services
are IT Training (for colleges and
corporates), interview as a service,
recruitment, web development, mobile
app development, digital marketing,
cyber security, hosting, branding,
digital business transformation, AI and
ML VR, and MatterPort Photography.
Magneton Tech has celebrated a
decade of success, completed over 750
projects, and has over 150 regular
customers. Magneton Tech puts
together a bunch of passionate minds
to transform clients' visions into reality,
imparting an awesome digital
experience for clients' users.
From website design, development,
and scalable mobile apps to SaaS
platforms, the solution it engineers
accelerate efficiency and fuel growth
for its clients.
Saritha says, “We are committed to
achieving and pushing the level of
performance at all times. Leveraging
the power of technology, we deliver
end-to-end solutions for multi-million
dollar funded start-ups to small and
medium enterprises. Art and culture
inspire us too, and our office presence
at Bangalore, Kolhapur, and Pune is a
true reflection.”
Magneton, a Unit of Magical
Moments
Magneton technologies started in the
year 2014 as a training institute and
have today spread its stream of
services into,
● web design and development:
Magneton offers professional web
design services at affordable rates to
help your business attract more
visitors and keep them on your site.
It builds digital shopping experiences
to meet ambitious sales goals for
your e-commerce.
● Mobile app development:
Magneton’s professional app
36 | JULY | 2022 | www.ciolookindia.com
39. ““
I always
wanted to be
an employment
generator, and
that is the
only reason I
started the
business.
India’s Powerful Women Business Leaders
40. developers build custom mobile apps
to assist in the growth of your business.
● 360 Degree photography: Unique
corporate style that fits your
customer's needs and vision.
Contextual advertising on Google
and Facebook can lead to instant
customers.
● Training in IT space in both colleges
and corporates
● Interview as a service
● AI and ML consultancy
● Building franchise for UK based
dermatology brand:
Dr Alka Skincare and Healthcare:
Recently, Saritha has also branched
out into the wellness space with a
start-up - SreeAvnee, distributing
skincare products for a premium
dermatologically-approved brand
across South India - again to
generate employment opportunities
to some, and bring affordable
skincare solutions to others.
According to her, Customer
satisfaction, Customer-first approach,
24/7 availability, Honesty, and
promising less and delivering more are
Magneton Tech’s professional values
and qualities clients admire in her and
the Magneton Tech the most.
Saritha shares, “Our reviews
are on google, and I would say
they truly reflect our
accomplishments more than
anything else.”
Similarly, according to Saritha,
Magneton Tech’s USPs that
highlight its uniqueness is that it
is a growing company with a
focus on customer satisfaction
and customer needs. Saritha
adds, “We always understand
customers’ needs and suggest
solutions based on that.”
An Ocean of Inspirations
Saritha loves to hand-embroider
and has designed many saris. She
says, “I always wanted to be an
employment generator, and that is
the only reason I started the
business.”
She believes one can pursue
both scientific and artistic
interests, and the two are not
mutually exclusive.
Travelling is yet another
passion. “Over the years,
slowly the milestones
changed, and now I would
say that I love business and the passion
for growing makes me hustle,” feels
Saritha.
Her professional advice to women –
and people in general – is to get up and
walk out of their comfort zone. Only
then can one experience success.
Her philosophy is that everyone faces
hurdles in life, and no one is fortunate
enough to encounter a clear path
ahead. The initial challenges she had to
surmount to ensure Magneton’s
success were many, including Talent,
Attrition, Capital, Operating expenses,
and Societal pressure. She decided to
cross those hurdles instead of giving
up, which has kept her going.
Future’s Guide
As an experienced professional,
Saritha’s advice to the budding
aspirants willing to enter the business
world is to gauge the strengths in your
bones under the raging storms. She
says do not procrastinate; if you have
an idea, start working on it. It is never
too late to start a business.
It is of utmost importance to get out of
your comfort zone and start working.
There will be a lot of challenges and
occasions that break you. It is
important to understand that only when
we break do we understand what we
are made up of! Gather those pieces
and start again.
When asked how she envisions
Magneton Tech’s operations with the
emerging technologies and automated
tools that are revolutionising the
business world by enabling
innovations, Saritha says that the
automation and application of
emerging technologies are a must to
sustain. “It not only saves a lot of costs
but brings in a lot of discipline in the
processes we follow in the company,”
concludes Saritha.