FutureFemaleForward | Radhika Gupta on the fear of facing rejection

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Powerful personalitis make for compelling stories, and few have a more compelling story than Radhika Gupta, MD and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund. Gupta, who suffered a broken neck due to complications during birth, and has had to suffer through sveeral struggle on both personal and professional fronts. 

Her father’s role in the Indian Foreign Service made for frequent relocations, including to Nigeria and the USA. When she was a child, she was bullied at school for speaking with an Indian accent and for her crooked neck. Once she grew up, she had to deal with several job rejections. After her seventh rejection, Gupta comtemplated suicide by jumping out of a window from the 19th floor.

Her friend came to her help and took her to a psychiatrist, and she was diagnosed with depression. But she grit her teeth and appeared for her eighth job interview, and was hired by McKinsey. Fast forward 11 years, and Gupta became one of the youngest CEOs in India when she took the reins at Edelweiss.

Now, at 36, Gupta recollects her journey with stoicism. Speaking during a panel discussion as part of CNBC-TV18’s campain, FutureFemaleForward, Gupta recalled how a talk she once gave to a 500-member audience gave her newfound confidence and also helped her tell others, suffering from insecurities arising out of physical imperfections, that, “It’s okay.”

“…one day, as a part of an Edelweiss leadership session, I learned about storytelling. And something spoke to me in that and I told the story that I told on stage to a number of colleagues of mine. And when I did, and I saw their reactions, I said, ‘You know, the world actually loves you for your imperfections,” she said. 

That boost of self-confidence led her to deliver the talk that would “change her life radically”.

“I took a day off, I didn’t tell anybody in my family or my office that I was going to go to that talk. And I spoke to a group of 500 strangers about that story … everything —  much of the public impact I’ve been able to have — has been a result of that talk and coming out with my vulnerabilities,” she said.

The talk further skyrocketed her self-confidence, Gupta said, moreso when people around the world started contacting her to tell her how much of a positive impact she had on them. 

“I have people write to me saying, ‘I’m a guy in Bangladesh. You spoke about your broken neck, I have a cleft in my left cheek. Your talk made me feel better.’ A girl in Mumbai will write, ‘I have a bald patch on my head. I saw that talk. I feel a little bit better.’ And today I got a note from a reader of my
book, and she said empowerment isn’t just providing resources. It is also sharing stories in providing inspiration, because for many women, we didn’t grow up with role models beyond the traditional faces in media,” Gupta added. 

Gupta’s story serves as a powerful reminder that even in our darkest hours, hope and support can lead us to brighter days.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow