GETTING HER PRIORITIES RIGHT

Smita Jatia, vice chairperson of Westlife Foodworld, has donned many a hat—she is a wife, mother, grandmother, businesswoman, mentor and philosopher. While she feels there is no work-life balance for women, she believes it is important to set priorities and say no when necessary

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Her career was never by design, confesses Smita Jatia, vice chairperson of Westlife Foodworld, a fastfood restaurant holding company. “I believe in taking what life puts in front of me, and I seize the opportunity,” she says. Encouraged by her husband, she took charge of the marketing team of the company as a young mother of twin boys. Today, at a senior leadership position, mentorship takes up most of her time at work.

Jatia describes herself as a learner by nature. A subscriber to the Vedanta philosophy, which draws lessons from the Upanishads, she falls back on it for important life lessons “In Vedanta, you can never stop learning. It is an endless sea of knowledge,” she explains. 

Jatia strongly advocates empowering employees. She tells us about the time when her sons were young and the family would take off on a holiday for a month every year. “People would ask how we managed to take an entire month off. I would say, you have people in the organisation. So, if you are not able to do that, either you have the wrong people or you are not giving them the empowerment that they need,” she says.