TiE Event: "My Story" with Lila Poonawala January 28, 2011

Namita Shibad writes:

As the country’s first female CEO of a Multinational , Lila Poonawalla didn’t just break the glass ceiling, but trailed several new, unchartered paths to take her company, Alfa Laval to success. Lila’s tenure at Alfa Laval was marked by progress on all the business fronts - production, marketing and expansion. But her focus on the areas of industrial relations, employees’ welfare and customer service were what made the difference.
Apart from winning international awards, she procured global recognition for the company by showing progress in exports to Russia, Germany, USA, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkey, and many others. Internally she was the architect of a unique labor agreement that was a five-year agreement, the first of its kind in industrial world. Breaking the barriers of protocol was her forte and she utilized this modus operandi to the maximum – in forging better ties with customers, employees and their families and the parent company as well.
She was able to motivate the workers to better their performance and participate in the company as a family. Some of the many social activities she took up were Family Circles and welfare schemes like the Parivar (Family) Development Center and scholarships for employees’ children, in-house magazines, sports club for workers; as well as the concept of work improvement teams and quality circles, which were introduced not only to improve performance but also relations.
Her efforts towards social welfare have already made her the driving spirit behind the Lila Poonawalla Foundation, which is her private initiative and not a CSR activity and the Quality Circle Forum of India, to further the cause of education among women and contribute to People development. She has won several awards, among the many being The Lady of the Decade (1978-1988) the President’s Best Lady Executive , and above all being awarded Padmashree by the President of India way back in 1989 and an International recognition from the King of Sweden, honoring her with a Polar Star and naming her as the OFFICER of the Royal Order in 2003.But resting on her laurels is impossible. Lila, who is open to new challenges is on the boards of IDBI Bank, IDBI Intech, KPIT Cummins Infosystems, NobleTek PLM Solutions , Blossom Breweries to name a few and plays the role of Corporate Advisor, Mentor to many companies.
She will share with us her insights, experiences and opinions on her climb up the corporate ladder, the challenges she met and what it takes to be successful.
There are no charges for participation. However prior registration is desired. Please confirm your participation to:
Mrs. Vinaya Ingale (email: vinayai@mcciapune.com, tel: 25709180)/
Mrs. Madhura Chipade (email : madhurac@mcciapune.com, tel : 25709213)/
Mr. S. H. Kopardekar (email : sudhanwak@mcciapune.com, tel: 25709211) or
Ms. Namita Shibad, TiE (email : namita.shibad@gmail.com)