If you want to see what confidence in Millennials is like, meet Manasi Kirloskar. At 27, she has already been in office six years, learning the ropes and creating her space in the multi-crore Kirloskar empire.
The daughter of industrialist Vikram Kirloskar and advertising professional Geetanjali Kirloskar is now executive director of Kirloskar Systems Ltd. (the holding company), director of Toyota Tsusho Insurance Broker Pvt Ltd(TTIBI), director of Kirloskar Technologies Pvt Ltd, CEO and Managing Trustee of her foundation - Caring With Colour.
Having studied art at Rhode Island School of Design, she made an almost hushed transition into the big bad world of business, stepping straight into a hospital project. Excerpts from an interview:
From art and paintings you stepped into a world of automotive parts and hospitals. What helped that transition?
At art school, they not only taught me how to paint and sculpt but also how to think critically. That way of thinking is what helped in business. I did the interiors of Sakra World Hospitals. It was an easier transition in that sense. I can't perceive my education in painting and my business as mutually exclusive. I just got back from Vietnam from a hike; it is what I love to do. That prepared me for this year’s challenges - mentally and emotionally. It is a great start to 2017. I believe that hobbies, education, and business may not seem to be connected, but experience in one, benefits the other.
Growing up, was it a given that you will be joining the business?
I come from a very old business family. My mum works full time. There was always shop talk at home. I’m the only child. I was aware and excited that one day I would join the business. Being the only child, who else is going to run the business? I have been roaming the Kirloskar factory floor since the age of six. It was a traditional family business earlier - now it is more professional - but in those days I could sit and watch my dad in his meetings. I was used to that environment. My parents were in completely different fields. It was a lot more fun to go to my mom’s office. My parents did not hide anything from me. I've been through the rough and success with them. That is what kept me grounded growing up. I do live in a bubble of course because I do have the privileges. But they've never worn masks at home. I've watched them struggle and overcome challenges.
Are you in the business now because it's expected of you or because you want to?
It is both. Being the fifth generation you are emotionally attached to the company — specially when the brand is your last name. It gives me a lot of pride to be a Kirloskar, a name associated with trust, ethics, principles and values. At the same time I do have my own dreams, which I am living. I'm trying to balance the two.
And when you talk of your dream, it is...
Right now I have started a rural healthcare project. We have a company in Delhi called Kirloskar Technologies which deals with servicing medical equipment in Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab. We want to start smart pharmacies with medicine vending machines and digital transferable prescriptions. We are in the testing phase. I want to start vending machines for sanitary-wear for girls and women. I have also been teaching art and craft at government schools since when I was 14. My dream was to have a non-profit foundation. It has finally happened and is called “Caring with Colour- a Manasi Kirloskar Initiative”.
It will work on an all-India level on education through art, art therapy in government schools aimed at ages five to 18, using art as a tool to diagnose mental illnesses.
The third vertical is building awareness. I believe people should be made sensitive to the idea of giving back to society from a young age.
In India giving back is mostly a post-retirement activity. But I want every school to include community service as part of high school curriculum; I have created a model.
I am also interested in real estate. My first project is completed and I am starting another one. It is a joint development with Embassy Developers.
If you had been a single male heir to this empire, would the world of business and your own organisation have perceived you differently?
I don’t think I’ve had an issue with gender. I think I’ve had an issue with my educational background in painting. I feel if I’d studied science, engineering or business, people would have viewed me in a more accepted way when I first started working.
Also, visually when they look at me, they probably think “this little girl who studied painting, she’s not going to know anything about business or construction”. But I make it a point to study what I’m doing.
Finally now I’ve been accepted for being me. People had expected me to behave, dress and speak in a certain way at first. I tried to go along but I realised this is going to make me miserable. I have to be myself. I don’t like to hide my feminine side.
Are your parents the typical traditional parents who’re looking at getting you married now?
(Squeals and laughs) Oh God! Such a horrible question. Every parent in the world looks out for their children, and I’m sure my parents are doing that too.
Is marriage on your radar in the near future?
I’ll just say that I believe in my god. I’m sure everyone wants to get married, whether you are a boy or girl. I want to have a family; I love children. So when God decides, he decides...
One big challenge facing you in the current economic situation, specially with demonetisation?
I see how dynamic the decision-making is of the Government. I’m very positive about demonetisation, but there are a lot of decisions that get made overnight.
Things like that make it difficult for us to make long-time strategies. In terms of FDI, it makes foreign investors wary and that’s a challenge. I still believe India has the highest potential in the world.
Of course there will be challenges! If things have to be cleaned up and geared to something positive, some harsh decisions have to be made.
Do you believe that women entrepreneurs bring in certain aspects to a business that men can’t?
Yes, I certainly believe that. Specially in heavy industries, there’s no emotional connect. Women bring that connect.
Women are natural multi-taskers, and I’ve seen that in my mum, a workaholic, but I never found her missing from my life. When it comes to decision making, women are quicker and more intuitive.
