Mayuri Ramanan ( )
An evening at Tiamo in Conrad in Bengaluru recently was the setting for an event that was a powerhouse of sales and business leaders from the industry.
PhonePe and YourStory’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ was a platform for discussing the dynamic role of sales for organisations in this digital economy, sharing incredibly inspiring journeys, and networking with women from similar backgrounds.
The impact of women-only networks across the world is a growing phenomenon. Women-led communities are safe spaces that make it easier for candid, original, and authentic conversations. These communities also facilitate access to information, education, support, and integrated services.
Increasing representation
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the vital contribution that women can make in sales and business roles. Many organisations are now actively seeking to increase the representation of women in their sales and business teams.
Leaders who participated in ‘Bridging the Gap’
- Abhilasha Srivastava, Associate Vice President Sales, Unacademy
- Aparna Gopalaswamy, Director – FMCG Category, Own Brands (Private Label), Swiggy
- Eva Saiwal, Practice Leader, Liability, Cyber & Financial Risk, Policybazaar
- Hiral Saraiya, Business Lead, Food, Dunzo
- Isha Kakkar, Category Manager, Private Brands, Amazon
- Kanika Orera, Ex-Vice President, Digital Partnerships, Induslnd
- Medha Gautam, Manager, Category Management, Amazon
- Priya Zacharia, Vertical Head, Hotstar
- Rashi Chandgothia, Senior Manager Corporate Strategy, Reliance
- Rashi Garg, Business Head, Velocity
- Shubhi, Regional Sales Manager, ITC
- Manmeet Sandhu, Chief People Officer, PhonePe
- Gargi Singh, Director and Head, Entrepreneur Business, PhonePe
- Nikita Karira, Business Head, PhonePe
- Smita Hanji, Business Leader, Growth Marketing and Product Management, PhonePe
- Vivek Lohcheb, Vice President- Offline Business, PhonePe
An evening of insightful conversations and networking
The event kicked off with a keynote by Vivek Lohcheb, Head of Offline Business at PhonePe. He took the women leaders through PhonePe’s trajectory over the last few years and how the organisation has been revolutionising the fintech space.
He further explained how the largest fintech company in India was able to leverage its offline sales team to build an industry-leading network. This was followed by an interactive discussion where the attendees discussed their growth journeys, experiences, and shared knowledge from their current positions.
Many invigorating conversations later, the leaders came to the conclusion that technology can never replace the human touch, managing teams with empathy is critical and a strong team can get you through anything. A few of the sales leaders also shared very interesting experiences of being the only women in their respective teams. Strategies for dealing with merchants and dealers, while navigating a sales career were also a part of the discussion.
Manmeet Sandhu, Head of HR, PhonePe, shared the company’s interest in exploring such events and building them out in multiple ways. “This is our first experiment with trying to build a community of women who are passionate about what they do. It’s a starting point to bring together people with expertise and those willing to give back to the community. The quality of conversations and engagements they got to have through ‘Bridging the Gap’ has many of them really excited about events like these in the future,” she added.