Parle Agro's Nadia Chauhan (L) and Aditya Birla Group's Suraj Bahirwani
By Glynda Alves and Shannon Tellis
The winners of The Economic Times 40 Under Forty are the rising stars of today. Their journey to the top comes with pearls of wisdom — and a lot of it from their personal experience.
Nadia Chauhan, Joint MD, Parle Agro Pvt Ltd “Your youth is filled with a certain light and energy and you should always try to retain that passion. In my mind that sometimes can be the toughest thing to do because as you get older, you realise the realities sometimes sour down the passion. So, try to keep that energy alive.”
“At my first job at Intel, a very senior person told me that the ones who came into the company young were the ones who invented the most, not the people who were sitting there with 20 years of experience. I learnt that ignorance or lack of experience can be a weapon in itself. When you are young, lack of experience helps you question and do things that most people won’t. You don’t need to know how a business or the world works to change the game.”
Shashwat Goenka, Sector head, Spencer’s Retail “I would like to believe that I am still young. But over the years, one of the lessons that has stuck with me is not to be afraid of failure and keep on trying. Some things work, and some things don’t, but you should never stop trying.”
Suraj Bahirwani, President, Pulp & Fibre Business, Aditya Birla Group “Rather than react, it’s always better to respond. When you choose to respond, you don’t let your emotions overpower the situation. It was a series of experiences, when I was younger, that helped me realise how important it is to be mindful of your reactions to situations or people. I’ve always seen that if I have held myself back, counted to five and then responded, things have been far better than if I were impulsive.”
“The one thing that my youth has taught me is that one should never stop being silly. Also, always be ready to challenge status quo. I absolutely still live by that.”
