WOMAN LEADERS SPECIAL......... India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015 (7)

WOMAN LEADERS SPECIAL India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015 (7)

          Amisha JAIN 37

Director, Sales, Nike India

As a child, Amisha Jain was restless. “Abkya karoon? (What do I do now?)“ was a constant refrain. Her folks responded by putting her onto skating, baseball and dancing classes. It is, perhaps, the same restless energy that has seen the Jamnagar born travel across the world from Baroda (where she did her Bachelors in engineering) to Austin, Texas (where she did her Masters) to Singapore (for her MBA from INSEAD) and to Australia, US and Europe (in her role as an engagement manager at McKinsey).

Jain credits her stint with McKinsey as a turning point in her career. “It taught me the importance of taking the 30,000 ft view and at the same time taking the deep dive when required,“ says Jain, who now heads sales at Nike (India). So, what would she pick as the proudest moment in her career? “In 2006, during my engineering days (at Motorola), I was asked to lead a project which was 60% delayed on timelines and was very critical for an infrastructure customer. We were successful in delivering on time and also without defects, which was unheard of,“ recalls Jain, who received an outstanding achievement award from the customer ­ an honour reserved usually for their own teams.

The glass ceiling:

“There are organisations that are meritocracies and there are those that aren't. In the latter, it's hard for men & women.“

Advice for women:

“Be authentic“

CDET27MAR15