Aditya Birla Group is a conglomerate and a household name for most of us today. From being one of the first ones to create establishments in the textile industry during the License Raj, to having so many of their group firms listed as Fortune 500 companies, Aditya Birla Group has developed beautifully and exponentially since independence.
ABG has its presence in a plethora of sectors – fashion retail, cement manufacturing – not to mention the biggest in the country, telecom, textiles, agri-business, chemicals and financial services to put forth a few.
Two of the most striking things about the group are their focus on sustainability and giving back to their society. About three percent of their profit goes to charitable causes, which is more than most others’. Mrs. Rajashree Birla oversees the welfare driven work across all the companies. Some of these initiatives include provision of education and healthcare and uplifting of the rural women through various empowerment schemes.
Because my father works in one of the companies under the Aditya Birla Group, the ways in which ABG affects me are even bigger and plenty in number. The work culture for employees, adherence to safety norms, perquisites and their focus on sustainable practices are remarkable.
The transfer culture has taken us to different ends of the country every few years, sometimes from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu to Chhattisgarh, so mingling and flowing with the current culture had never been a choice, for which I am ever so grateful. Even the very basic celebration of all the festivals in the townships will give you a masterclass in getting with the cultural diversity.
How did you overcome challenges to achieve the ambitions in your life?
Because I have been a straight A student since the beginning, my family, like any other, has had major expectations. Having lived away from home since 10th grade, I have always held being mentally and emotionally strong and independent in the highest esteem. So among so many distractions, it was a matter of prioritizing what was important.
I was a Chartered Accountancy student for the first two years of my B.Com, doing well and clearing the levels in one go. So when I announced to my family that I could not see myself being in the field, doing that work for the rest of my life anymore, it was a major disappointment for them and a directionless time for me. In hindsight, the whole experience introduced me to the world of financial management and provided my career with the missing direction.
From overcoming that setback to transitioning of fields to proving to them that I was not afraid of hard work, it has all been a matter of tireless perseverance, self-confidence, determination, family support and not giving up. And if I must add, embracing what happened and being patient helps too.