In Gratitude - S5.3 : Paying my homage through years of my life || My Career || By Anupama Vaidya

Series Part 5.3… towards my big milestone - 2021 - Golden Celebrations.

Published on Facebook: 22-Oct-2021

As the countdown clock ticks towards my big milestone, my third part on my professional career… an expression of appreciation for all the learning and contributions across the next few years, each one… unique in itself…

Movement to Geometric software imbibed entrepreneurship in me, while moving to Colgate, provided a managerial perspective on global deployment of people frameworks. This role I see as an investment in terms of a professional to see a wonderful multi-national in Colgate and work with very good colleagues, including Debashish Roy as my India reporting, Ruth Williams as Global HR head for our Division, and Tom Greene, the Global Business Head of our line of business who stood by me through the stint at Colgate. Building lasting relationships, like Dhananjay Parchure, who has always been an excellent sounding board and still continues to be so… and several friends whom I remember so pleasantly. Bala, our CFO, who always was so wonderful a personality to interact and will always remain a very respected leader for me. Ritalee Jadhav, it wonderful to see you blossom into a such a wonderful HR head… and so many of you who are in touch through the social media! The list is endless to thank…

The restless entrepreneur in me, made me move ahead towards more entrepreneurial oriented and creation, change oriented roles, rather than managerial roles…; it was a progression to utilize my potential and bandwidth, feeling of under utilizing myself, and to keep up with my thought of ensuring my competence, learning and contributions far exceed the monetary rewards that I get… learning in every role mattered, and a sense of realization that I can built, operate and transfer set on me, rather than run-run-run!

Hinduja Group and this phase of career, Oh Wow, the best part was my seating cabin facing the Haji Ali and the lovely sea, and every evening getting to see the wonderful sunset across the beautiful grey sea, the hues of colors adorning the sky and refreshing me after a long day. The drive did not matter even if meant a long way from Powai to Worli, with the amazing quality of work that I got to do.

In Sudhanshu Tripathi, I was blessed to have met a leader, who believed in my abilities and empowered me with amazing assignments through the stint. I will always remember Mr. Tripathi for all the short anecdotal stories he shared and believe me he needs to write a book on the same. His leadership, his ways of approaching things gave me tremendous insights into what a leader at that level goes through. It is Mr. Tripathi, who further sharpened and literally sharpened my communication skills. Even one mail on some critical initiatives, we both used to review it multiple times, every word counted, its meaning, placement, representation mattered. Today when I drive so many change management assignments, these lessons with Mr. Tripathi have been lasting learning for me!

In Mr. AK Das as the Vice Chairman, we had a fatherly figure with whom I could openly discuss observations; an amazing leader and so respectable. Miss his aura in my life!

And wonderful colleagues and lifetime relations…. Apoorva ! You became my bestie and buddy… such a wonderful time of work and fun together, Debra, miss Geeta (we lost her too early), Violet, Kaenaz, Jayaraman, the batches of the Leadership Program that I drove and institutionalised… leaders across the group businesses, late Shekhar Arora, as a colleague and senior HR, was such a wonderful partner to drive group interventions. Mr. V.G Gurnani, the Administrative team at the Group and all colleagues… list again gets endless, and so take this opportunity to really express my gratitude to each one of you, though haven’t mentioned every name, a real expression of gratitude to those wonderful years, dil se!!!

I still reflect back and wonder what were the drivers to move to Lodha Group at this juncture, but it happened and whatever decisions happen, there are reasons behind it!

Lodha once again brought me so close to the memory of my Geometric days. An extremely entrepreneurial oriented organization, a platform to make a mark…, I can’t still believe the amount of work that I could do in this stint with Lodha, as one of my colleagues who was taking an handover, said, he thought this was 3-4 years work you were handing over and not work of just 15 months. Yes it was a short stint, but believe me when I say it was surely a “Power Packed” one.

A great opportunity to report to Shaleen Madan, who is now a great friend for life, we shared so much together to build the HR and Organization Transformation, what an excellent encouragement to me in whatever I did with my team and to take on more and more, me with a hunger to do more and he with an encouragement to back me up! Colleagues in Jharna Prabhu, Amit Kadwe, Brigadier, Martin, Vishal Nagda, Team in Sneha, Snehal, Ashwini and so many lovely colleagues. Leaders in Mr. Tidke, who as a COO only kept in inspiring. And to top it all, a visionary in Abhisheck Lodha, an amazing entrepreneur with a such big dreams and belief in professionals.

Remember the drive from Powai to Lower Parel and back and yet so fresh after coming home even late evening or almost at night, a lesson preserved – when you enjoy what you are doing and with the people who mean so much, there is nothing called as a tiring day – the real time experience of engagement… and that memory of my last day where Shaleen had to literally get me out of some meetings that I was closing only to surprise me with such a wonderful Wada Pav Party for the entire 60-65 HR team members… (it was to remind me of the wonderful rainy days in June 2011 that we had the first party with wada pav as a team); to the hard core work in talent management, capability building and a driving real-time change management interventions.

And the funniest part ! Till Lodha I almost had 5-day work week in all other organizations… At Lodha we used to have 1st Saturday working, and imagine me rushing out first few months where I used to almost forget to get to office on these Saturday’s… Dad would remind me – don’t you have to go today, its first Saturday! Till the time I left, I actually couldn’t get over this Saturday working !!!

Shaleen, a deep appreciation for being able to work with you even if it was for a short stint, learnt such amazing leadership skills of empowerment and being supportive from you, and its great to remain in touch with a leader I so well respect and appreciate.

As I carried amazing memories, the next part of the journey, and I think, I will do that in 5.4 part of this series…. an organization so well a part of me - Saint-Gobain and the GNO Days…. So wait for tomorrow; while you appreciate these 3 organizations, my reporting heads at each place, Special mention to Sudhanshu Tripathi and Shaleen Madan for their leadership… and all my colleagues to help me grow through these phases of my career….

As I look back and ponder on these movements, I can only say, every place had a reason to join and to move ahead, to be able to gather relations which otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make…; to learn and contribute in my way and leave a mark on the way...

Blessed to meet so many wonderful people over years and be friends as I walk my life’s journey !!!

At this juncture, also really appreciate all of you who are reading my sharing and in gratitude series and sending me such lovey messages… makes me feel so blessed in this life ! a gift of life!