Vinita Bali

"Companies, businesses and countries are thinking about how they can deal with global supply chains, now"

"We must distinguish between leadership and leaders"

"Leadership is about behaviour - big titles do not necessarily imply effective leadership qualities. Ultimately, effective leadership is about authenticity, character and integrity. A true leader is one who leaves the world a better place than the one they inherited"

"More women have lost jobs compared to men, and domestic violence cases have gone up considerably. I think we are a society that is not questioning our men enough. They are the ones who are perpetrating these crimes, whether it is against women or children. And somehow, society doesn't look at it that way; we don't hold them accountable"

"There are lots of interdependencies, even in our personal roles and the way we interact — at home, with friends, neighbours, and colleagues at work — is going to have to be more empathetic not just in a cognitive sense, but also in an emotional sense because people are going to experience things they have never had to before"

"I think the issue is more to do with the environment — not just in the workplace, but in their homes, in communities, and society. How much does society or the family contribute to encouraging, women to work as they encourage men to work? So, I think it's an ecosystem issue and organisations are a microcosm of that ecosystem"

"To address this issue of more women in the workplace, we have to go back to the mindsets of parents, of teachers and schools, and employers"

"I never think in terms of the glass ceiling. In my experience, I would say when you get every other chatter out of the way and focus really on your contribution than people actually forget about gender"

"There are huge biases when it comes to women in the workforce. We keep talking about diversity and inclusion, but a lot of organisations also take the easy or lazy way out and it's not as though there aren't enough qualified women to do the jobs"

"The biggest issue we have is there is a huge gap between what people say is important and what people do"

"I’m a very much a person who lives in the present. I am still in touch with the many people I worked with from around the world and the countries I lived in – like the UK, Nigeria, South Africa, USA and Chile. For me, the C-Suite was about people and shared experiences"

"The ability to make sense and sift out insights from noise will become an increasingly valuable skill"

"On the other hand, not enough has changed when you look at diversity, including, but not restricted to, gender diversity. There is more talk than action there"

"Take work seriously and responsibly, but don't put it at the centre of your life. For, it is not about how our life fits into our work, but about how our work fits into our life"

"It is about taking ownership for results, it is about accountability, about envisioning the future and ensuring the building blocks are in place to achieve it"

"Above all else, leadership is about character and work ethic. Skills and competencies are fungible and can be acquired, trained or outsourced – character is who we are and what defines us and guides our behaviour"

"I had at least two other options, but I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to work on a revered brand, and hopefully make a difference"

"Sure, money is important, she says,but I wanted to enjoy my work so I followed my sense of adventure and lived all over the world. I love to travel and love to explore new countries. By living in a country you learn so much about its history, and the culture of its people I am an experiential learner"

"but have seen other people hit it. Given the great curiosity about it, it must exist. Don’t think about any ceiling. Just do what you like and enjoy doing it. All the rest will fall into place. If there is something I cannot influence or control, why bother thinking about it? I can influence people who work with me. I can influence their performance, so I will do it. If I don’t like doing something, I’ll just go find something else to do"

"Clients get the advertising they deserve"

"Do what you enjoy doing and give it your best. Continuously raise the bar on your own performance. Be true to yourself. Then you can be true to others"

"When you give it free, the money runs out. As I see it, this is not corporate social responsibility, it’s simply corporate responsibility — which means figuring out a way to do the right thing and incorporating it into your business model"

"All these issues are in other people’s minds"

"where nobody would have thought of going, I went happily and willingly. It was a great experience"

"now this was in 1993-94 when Indians didn’t really go and work in South Africa, especially in marketing jobs"

"It wasn’t a challenge. I never want to be in a place where you grow the company seven or eight per cent and everyone is happy. I like to go in there, take things apart and put them together again"

"For instance, we don’t take deadlines as seriously as the Americans do"

"In Nigeria, when you said you want something now, it meant anytime between now and the next week. So you had to specify that you want it now, now"

"We don’t have a clear line of sight of how we go from start to finish and who does what. In fact, nutrition is an example. It sits on the fringe of many things but is not the centre of anything. We don’t even have a national nutrition strategy"

"I gave up thinking about that a long time ago. Sometimes, people make silly comments but I don’t take those things seriously. My attitude to that is if you have a problem with my gender, it’s your problem"

"That’s why I sometimes feel that when we talk about it so much we make it bigger than what it is. The core is equal access to opportunities, which women don’t have all the time"

"if we are saying there are competent women – who are getting more qualified – then we have to create more opportunities for them. In that context if you are saying competent women have to be encouraged more, then, yes, sure, they do"

"I spend time with people, read, go to the movies, am interested in classical music and dance (I learnt kathak and dabbled with the sitar for a while), love to travel and used to play tennis, squash and racket ball (no longer because I have a back injury). I don’t even think of work-life balance in the conventional sense"