Steward Leaders

Mrs. Sushma Paul Berlia

Co-Founder & Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University
Chairperson, Apeejay Education
Chairperson & President, Apeejay Stya and Svran Group
Chairperson, Apeejay Stya Education Research Foundation

A multi-dimensional personality, Mrs Berlia is a leading Entrepreneur, Industrialist and Educationist who has devoted her life to nation-building with global footprints. She is a humanitarian, a worthy daughter, a caring spouse, a nurturing mother, an indulgent grandmother but above all an alchemist who performs all her roles with great ease to create a shining and inspiring story. A woman of many parts, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Mrs Berlia was the first woman to lead a multi-state apex chamber of commerce in India, serving as the President of the PHDCCI in 2005-06. She was the first woman in India to lead her own pharmaceutical company, when not yet 30 and was the first woman entrepreneur of a major educational group in India.
Mrs Berlia is a Former Member of the Board of Governors, IIT Rourkee, and Former Chairperson, Board of Governors, NIT, Jalandhar. Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia is the Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Business Facilitation and Global Competitiveness and is a member of the National Management Committees of ASSOCHAM and FICCI
In 1995, Mrs Berlia represented India at the UN World Social Summit at Copenhagen and delivered the keynote address on the ‘Role of Women at the Work Place’.
A humanitarian to the core, Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia has always championed such causes as working for the physically challenged, economically weaker sections of society and empowerment of women.
Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia has won numerous awards & accolades for her contributions towards academia and industry. These include felicitation by Skill Tree Knowledge Consortium and Mahatma Gandhi Samman at the House of Commons London, ‘Hall of Fame Award’ by Asian Leadership Awards, Dubai, ‘Udyog Rattan Award’, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Promoting Education for Social Cause’ by ASSOCHAM, ‘ET-Inspiring Entrepreneur of India’ & ‘Most Promising Business Leaders of Asia’, Life Time Achievement Award for Promoting Education for Social Cause and many more. Rotary Club of Delhi Premier felicitated Mrs Berlia as COVID WARRIOR for her philanthropic endeavours & extraordinary contribution to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was also conferred with ‘Life Time Achievement Award: Promoting Education for the Social Cause’ at Digital Education Summit by Universal Mentors Association.
She was felicitated with the Legendary Shiromani Award for Excellence in Education at the NRI World Summit 2022, United Kingdom. Very recently, she delivered a special address in the House of Lords, UK, at the ‘2022 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability, which was much appreciated and applauded.
Recently, Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia was bestowed with the Life time achievement Women Achievers Award 2023 in acknowledgement of her exemplary work and contribution for women in various fields like business, education, health care, social work etc. by ZEE news and DNA.
Mrs Sushma Paul Berlia has abiding interests beyond the realms of work. She is a voracious reader and loves to travel to new destinations. She is highly reflective and her spiritual pursuits are intertwined in her busy schedules. Indeed, she is as much focused on achieving as she is on the joy of living and giving!