It was an interesting beginning—from an accountant to what I am today. I did my BCom and Cost Accountant qualifications in Madras, a South Indian city now called Chennai, and MBA from IIM Kolkata. In my early 20s I worked for Unilever (Lipton) and absolutely loved my job. While the initial designation was Management Accountant/Commercial Manager, the work was much more wholistic and gave a great feel of the business. However, even that had its ups and downs, and what began in India did not end there.
I was doing work that was more on the legal and taxation side, so I remember this one fine day when I sat outside a Sales tax office for nearly eight hours, waiting to be called in for a tax case. It had come to a point where I was absolutely frustrated and done with what I was doing. I went back to the office, walked into my boss’s room, and handed in my resignation letter. It was that simple, or at least to me it was. I was expecting a stronger response but there was none. He calmly put my letter aside and asked me to join him for a coffee the next morning.
The following morning, over breakfast, he was far more casual and calmer than one would expect their boss to be. Especially after receiving a heated resignation letter from an employee. We sat down and he began drawing out a graph, an aimless line strewn across the chart. “You’re taking off like an airplane but with no sense of direction or destination,” he said. All I could do in that moment was blankly stare at the graph he had drawn and then at his face as the gravity of the words he had said dawned on me. He handed me back the resignation letter and spoke, “I see where you’re coming from but I want you to return to me with an answer, with a job in hand, and then submit to me this resignation letter.” They were words of a friend, a mentor, and one of the best breakfast companions. The words stuck with me and this is what I tell my mentees now. I did as I was advised and found a job at ANZ Grindlays Bank, handling Retail branches.
A couple of years later, I was faced with another big decision point – my husband had received a job offer and a move to the Middle East but accepting it would mean we would have to move to Bahrain. My eldest daughter was a year old and I was working hard to balance a new baby and a new job. I reasoned that moving to Bahrain would help me spend more time with her, and I was also certain I could start working part-time in a gig capacity though we didn't call it that then! I felt I would enjoy the challenge of discovering new geographies, new cultures and new work opportunities. And that started the journey into Consulting.
In 2006, we moved to HK – I fell in love with the city instantly, its buzz and its vibrancy. By this time, my daughter was 7 and my son 4 and as they began to settle into schools and the HK life, I started moving towards building my business.
Today, as I work with a Global Clientele as a Business Storytelling Coach and Organisational Consultant, I look back with gratitude at what the city of HK has given me – the ease of doing business, amazing connections I have made throughout this journey, positive attitude of people and responsive work environment.
To me, balance has been crucial, the ability to maintain my role as a mother and my passion for the work I do has allowed me to be an enthusiastic, energetic 50+ year old with a growth mindset today. Everyone has to find their own path and there is a lot of merit for some in exploring different pathways. For me, as a consultant, true fulfilment has been not just in exploration but in the commitment to things that truly matter to me.
When we reach a new place, the place can be overwhelming, we have our list of things to do to settle down. Equally, it is important to keep in mind to carry on connecting with people and community. It is only then can we truly find what we’re looking for and make space for the little footprints we leave behind in the lives of those around us. EMPOWER by The Amber Foundation has been one such venture - a program for ethnic minority university women, building a business network for career opportunities through a series of leadership workshops. What started as a mentoring opportunity showed the way to create a forum and build a community where we can all thrive. As it is said, enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy, and HK has enabled that for me.
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