Lavanya Selvaraj's Blog

Are women taking charge of their fathers’ businesses because there are no sons around or Are they really up for the bigger role ???

She was enjoying her job in a leading retail house in London when the call from her father came. ” Dad asked me to return to India and join the family business,” says Shradha Suri Marwah. Eleven years later, 33- year- old Shradha, a post graduate from the London School of Economics, has settled into her role as the managing director of her dad Ramesh Suri’s Subros Group.

The Suri sisters are no exception. Today many young women are stepping into their dad’s shoes in the Indian corporate world. A quick Google search will reveal an exhaustive list of Super Successful dad- daughter duos:

• Roshni and Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies
• Divya and B Modi of the Spice Group
• Ashni and Kishore Biyani of the Future Group
• Jayanti and Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri
• Sminu and Prithvi Jindal of the Jindal Group

to name a few.

No Sons or what?

This gives rise to an obvious question of why so many women are being enrolled in family businesses all of a sudden.

Is it because there are no sons in the family or Are today’s women more capable of handling the show?

Perhaps it’s a mix of factors.

Some entered the business because there were no brothers, such as Sangita Reddy who has been in Dad Prathap C Reddy’s healthcare business for the last 27 years along with her sisters Preetha, Suneeta and Shobana.

Today Sangita is the executive director, operations, Apollo Group of Hospitals. ” Since my childhood, I heard people referring my father ” poor” Mr Reddy because he had no son,” she says. ” I realised this was a perfect opportunity to prove your mettle and change the tag to ” lucky” Mr Reddy,” she says.

Though things may have been different if Sangita had a brother, Mr Reddy’s decision to rope in his daughters into the business was still rare at the time. In the absence of a son, businessmen would often rope involve nephews or sons- in- law into the group rather than their daughters.

But today many families are doing away with the gender bias and pulling daughters into the fray along with sons. Harish Mariwala, chairman of Maricos, has also brought both his daughter and son into the business. Similarly, Adi Godrej’s daughters Tanya Dubash and Nisha are as much part of the Godrej Group as his son, Pirojsha.

HCL Corporation

Roshni Nadar, the only daughter of Indian tech billionaire Shiv Nadar, is the Executive Director and the CEO of HCL Corporation. Roshni Nadar did her graduation from the Northwestern University majoring in radio, television and film and did internships with CNBC and CNN.

Her first job was at Sky News in London. Her father however wanted her to go to the B-school and made the point that she could never be a Rupert Murdoch unless she learned how to manage a business. She accordingly completed her MBA in Social Enterprise Management and Strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

In B-School young business tycoon acquired a separate set of skills. Her family foundation already being active in the field of education, she felt that she could use those skills best in that sphere. This is something that she really wants to do and it is like her own entrepreneurial venture. Biography of Roshni Nadar is very interesting and reader can learn from her.

Shiv Nadar & Roshini…

Before becoming CEO of the HCL Corp., Roshni Nadar was trained by her father to take charge of Shiv Nadar Foundation, the family’s philanthropic arm. She had been serving as the trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which runs the not-for-profit Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Chennai.

She had also been involved in brand building across the HCL Group. Roshni Nadar is overseeing the education initiatives of the Shiv Nadar Foundation. These initiatives include the proposed Shiv Nadar University and the VidyaGyan rural schools aimed at the poor rural children with free education.

Her appointment in April as chief executive of HCL, the holding company that has stakes in Nadar’s two listed flagships, HCL Technologies (India’s fourth-largest software firm) and hardware outfit HCL Info systems, was publicly announced in July 2009.

In 2010, Roshni Nadar was listed among Forbes magazine’s list of ‘a breed of heiresses who choose to live a lower-key life and working to make a difference behind the scenes.’

The young heiress spoke to Forbes’ Mumbai Bureau Chief Naazneen Karmali about the joys (plentiful) and sorrows (none, so far) of her new role and working with daddy dearest.

Forbes: You’re 27, just a year out of B-school and already CEO. Isn’t that too much, too soon?

Roshini Nadar: I’ve been living quietly, away from it all for 27 years. All this sudden media attention is slightly overwhelming. I guess I should be scared! Since coming back last year, I’ve been involved with the holding company’s treasury operations, in brand-building and our social initiatives. My dad had already made me part of the strategic decision-making process relating to the family portfolio.

What made you give up your media career and come back to join the family business?

Media really excited me. As an undergrad, I majored in radio, television and film and did internships with CNBC and CNN. My first job was at Sky News in London. While I was working there, my dad and I had a serious chat about my future career. He was keen that I go to B-school and made the point that I could never be a Rupert Murdoch unless I learned how to manage a business. He also made me realize that there were a lot of responsibilities back home which I could inherit and make something of. That clinched it.

Why aren’t you involved in the tech firms and only in the holding company?

In B-School I discovered social-enterprise management and acquired a separate set of skills. Our family foundation was already active in the field of education, and I felt I could use those skills best in that sphere. This is something I really want to do; it’s like my own entrepreneurial venture. My contribution in the tech companies would have been incremental, as I have so much still to learn. I’m not IT-inclined.

Who’s been the biggest influence in your life?

Along with my dad, my mother’s pretty high up there. She’s a star! Her interests are so diverse–she’s an art collector and a sports enthusiast. She’s an accomplished bridge player and will be representing India next month at the World Bridge Championship in Sao Paulo. In January, we’ll be opening the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi to showcase the family’s art collection, which is mainly her handiwork.

Are you intimidated by your parents’ achievements?

Having such high-profile parents could be intimidating, but really they’ve let me do my own thing and evolve as a person. When I changed my major from economics to film, they were cool about it. I’m inspired, not intimidated!

What are the lessons you’ve learned from your dad, and what’s the one thing about him you’d like to change?

I’m still learning. He wants me to focus on the long-term picture, on sustainability. He always insists that I have a Plan B–not just a second option, but a viable one. He’s infinitely more patient than I am! His only weakness is that he tends to micromanage a fair bit.

How do you view the prospect of inheriting the vast family fortune?

I’m just learning how to manage it! Honestly, life is totally normal. Nothing has changed except now I’m more in the spotlight.

You’re getting married soon, so that will be a big change, won’t it?

Not really, because I’ve known my fiancé for 10 years. We met through common friends in Delhi. We’ve had a long-distance relationship for seven years, so coming back home was rather nice. His name is Shikhar Malhotra and he’s a distributor for Honda. His family also has a food distribution business in Kuwait.

Does this article proves, “Fathers love their daughter not because of no sons. They love their daughter, so they are not in need of sons”… ???

There is a popular saying, “A son is a son till he gets a wife; a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life”. Father Daughter Relationship is the one which never fades. Fathers always treat their little girl as princesses and No relation in this world would have loved a girl as such as her Father does. Daughter is like angel to him. 

Every chapter of woman’s life will always fragrance the kindness & affection of her FIRST SUPER HERO…..

WISH YOU ALL VERY HAPPYYY FATHER’S DAY…..