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| THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS Sunday, January 08, 2006 SOMASHUKLA SINHA WALUNJKAR Breaking the glass ceiling PHDCCI’s first woman president Sushma Berlia gears up for the challenges the new job holds Sushma Berlia, vice-president of the Rs 3500-crore Apeejay Stya Group, added another feather to her crown when she took over as president of PHDCCI in December 2005. This, of course, is a first. No woman has ever led any of the apex chambers of commerce in India before her. Berlia insists that she doesn’t believe in glass ceilings for top industry positions. “When I became the vice-president last year, I never thought that I could be the president of PHDCCI. It’s a deep honour to be at the helm of the chamber, especially as we completed 100 years in 2005. I am proud to have opened doors for women. There is a feeling of elation and apprehension in me. Elation because of the new job profile, and apprehension about the many responsibilities on my shoulders now. I think it is a tribute to my colleagues who thought that I am fit for the job.” Berlia has already set goals for the chamber this year. “We want the chamber to continue working at grassroots level with states. We want to focus on SMEs as well as leading industrial houses and ensure that the small scale sector has a meaningful role in the global supply chain. For this we need an enabling atmosphere and a certain amount of handholding. We want to set up centres of xcellence in entrepreneurship for SMEs in Chandigarh. Health initiatives, educational issues and family welfare will be our major focus.” Berlia sounds upbeat about the IPEX (Indo-Pak International Expo) scheduled to be held in Pakistan this year. “Last year we had 1.5 lakh visitors at the four-day long IPEX in Amritsar, where we signed an MoU with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce to promote better ties between India and Pakistan. This time around we go to Pakistan for the IPEX.” Berlia insists that she thrives on challenges and gets restless if things run smoothly. After joining the business and industry in 1989, she has expanded and consolidated the Apeejay Stya Group into a big conglomerate, active in several sectors including life science (including pharmaceuticals), information technology, education, interna- tional trading, retail, chemicals and plastics, real estate, both in India and abroad. But in the beginning things weren’t so smooth. “The company was in red. I was a complete greenhorn but I took it upon me to change the fortunes of the company. My husband has of course always been a pillar of strength and when his business merged into Apeejay Stya and became our concern is something I don’t remember. In hindsight if I had some business experience I wouldn’t have dared to turn around our company’s fortune. But everything turned out well.” Since then, of course, it has been a long and arduous journey for Berlia. She claims to have enjoyed it immensely. “I don’t need leisure time activities. I like reading which I can do before sleeping. And my work ensures that I travel.” But the journey to the top hasn’t been very tough if you believe her. “We don’t have many women at the top, not because they are not competent but because most of them have their own priorities where the family occupies centrestage. Women need to put in a little extra when it comes to proving their worth. We just assume that a man can handle five different businesses. When that is possible, why can’t women perform the balancing act?” Berlia says that the problem in the industrial sector is that women foraying into business are not taken seriously. “Sometimes men are uncomfortable with role reversals. There is also a need to groom the girl child in a way that she learns to dream big and realise them. Her family should not perceive her gender as a handicap. Parents and schools hold the key to a better tomorrow for their girls. An ‘enabling environment will prompt women to come out of their shells and grow.” A master in business economics from Delhi University, Berlia has represented India at the UN World Social Summit and the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) in the IFPMA (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations) Internet Task Force. She has recently formed the Education Promotion Society of India, which promotes education both at the private and non-private level. “We hope we can bring a change in the Education Policy (1986).” For someone who never looks at the watch while working and has no weekends, Berlia finds the chamber responsibility “a learning experience” but she still manages time for family. “Luckily for me I am on the Stanford Parent Advisory Board which enables me to visit my children studying at Stanford University.” Berlia insists that she is not traditionally religious but spiritual in her own way : she believes in “karma and leaves the rest to God.” And the key to her success? Berlia feels that it’s “important to learn from every mistake, believe in yourself and follow your dreams.” |
