Top of the Table
In less than three years, Chandigarh-based insurance adviser Naini Nanda has collected more than Rs 3 crore as premium. Nirupama Dutt meets the former beauty queen who has carved out a successful career in finance.
IF there are still some who have depressing visions of dowdy and morose insurance agents doing the rounds with awful briefcases in hand, the antidote is a date with Chandigarh-bred Naini Krishan who has earned a reputation as well as a lot of money in her three-year stint as Insurance Adviser, that is the name given to the comely wealthy women who have made a place for themselves with the privitisation of insurance.

Making waves
Nooyi in the middle of a storm
MANY Indians but only a few women have been able to break the glass ceiling to make a place for themselves in the rarefied American stratosphere. Indra Nooyi, rated the fourth most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine, is one woman who has gone through the school of hard knocks to become President and Chief Financial Officer of Pepsico.

In less than three years, Chandigarh-based insurance adviser Naini Nanda has collected more than Rs 3 crore as premium. Nirupama Dutt meets the former beauty queen who has carved out a successful career in finance.

IF there are still some who have depressing visions of dowdy and morose insurance agents doing the rounds with awful briefcases in hand, the antidote is a date with Chandigarh-bred Naini Krishan who has earned a reputation as well as a lot of money in her three-year stint as Insurance Adviser, that is the name given to the comely wealthy women who have made a place for themselves with the privitisation of insurance. Last year she won international titles like member of the Million Dollar Round Table and assistant leader, Gold Club. This year she got the highest insurance award called Top of the Table (TOT). "I have already crossed the limit set for TOT. At the end of the last financial year I was on position three in of all-India ranking for premium collection, " says the pretty young lady with a winsome smile

Schooled in Vivek High in Chandigarh, this former beauty queen has certainly found her way round the world of big money and finance while running her home and taking care of two small children. Eldest of three children, Naini was always keen to make something of her life. She was pursuing a successful career in public relations with leading corporate companies in Delhi, when cupid struck and she married Vineet Krishan, a leading income tax practitioner. "I was busy with home and family when my husband one day asked me if I would like to take on insurance and handle the Krishan Investments. He warned me that it would be a lot of hard work but I got ready to take the challenge."

The challenge she took and in three years she has collected premiums almost touching three crore and in the process earned a pretty packet herself. The 27-year-old says, "It is not an easy task and I make it a point to call up, fix appointments and meet the client personally and convince him about the merits of the insurance cover offered. The approach I use is not one of painting a gloomy picture but telling a client how secure the lives of her/his dependents can be." Her company has grown and she has appointed two managers and other staff. "I go by the time of the client and never slack on follow-ups and this combined with the support of my husband and the grace of God has been my success mantra, " says this 27-year-young achiever. Such is the mood of the bright new ladies of the largest service industry in the country.

Making waves
Nooyi in the middle of a storm

MANY Indians but only a few women have been able to break the glass ceiling to make a place for themselves in the rarefied American stratosphere. Indra Nooyi, rated the fourth most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine, is one woman who has gone through the school of hard knocks to become President and Chief Financial Officer of Pepsico. She is the highest-ranking India-born woman in corporate America.

Nooyi, who, on her way up, turned many heads, recently unleashed a tidal wave that reached heights beyond her control. In the course of a speech for graduating students of the Columbia Business School, she came up with an analogy of the five fingers representing the five major continents of the world. Africa’s the little finger, small and insignificant. When hurt, the entire hand hurts with it. She termed Asia as the thumb, strong and powerful, yearning to become a bigger player on the world stage. Europe was the index finger, pointing the way. South America was the ring finger, symbolising love and sensualness. Finally, the USA, and not North America, was the middle finger. She went on to tell a captive audience how the USA was perceived across the world. Listing US strengths and weaknesses, she asserted it was the responsibility of the longest finger to make the other fingers rise in unison with it.

She reportedly exhorted the USA to reclaim its greatness with deeds, not mere rhetoric. The speech became the talking point everywhere. The blogosphere was choked with reactions and overreactions in her defence and others who took umbrage at her audacity to preach to Americans.

As she made an impassioned plea for her adoptive country setting right its course, she was attacked for being condescending. With question marks being raised about her patriotism, it was not long before she came out with an apology.

Nooyi’s remarks, for all the furore they seem to have caused, need a rethink. As an intelligent woman known for her wit and candour, she could not have given a speech at one of America’s premier business schools without weighing the pros and cons of its contents. All she wanted to say was that in a changing world a global view encompassing all nations was the need of the hour. One can only hope that caught as Nooyi is in the middle of a crisis, thanks to the middle finger, her remarks would be treated with tolerance. She may not be a native American but is certainly a potent symbol of the rewards that America ensures to hard-working individuals.

On a visit to her alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Nooyi had said a great leader had a voracious appetite for learning, was highly result-oriented and possessed great communication skills. But what does it take to make Indra Nooyi? Candidness, confidence, boundless energy, unending hope and an energising vision encapsulated in a compassionate world view.

The journey from Chennai, where she grew up, to the portals of corporate America has, through her own admission, been via the school of hard knocks.

Nooyi has attributed her success to upbringing, sound values, staying motivated and loads of hard work. She has gone on record to say that her parents taught her: "If you do a job, do it better than anybody else."And, to engineer maximum growth in a company the best people need to be made a part of a work culture that is supportive of family and life besides work.

On India, she has forcefully said the country urgently needs to improve its adverse image besides ensuring a hard sell on telling the world what it is all about beyond IT. India, "the world’s best-kept secret", needs to unravel its mystique to outsiders. We need to capture world attention while proclaiming our assets at our loudest. India, long in the habit of taking a leisurely stroll, needs to match speed with a galloping world. She says India just needs to match its traditional Indian values with the dynamics of the 21st century to build a brighter future. As she attends many functions in a traditional sari, she fervently believes in just being herself.