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    My husband complements me both professionally and personally, says EdelGive Foundation CEO

    Synopsis

    Vidya Shah, CEO, EdelGive Foundation talks about the stable and equal partnership she has forged with her husband.

    ET Bureau
    In an exclusive chat with ET, Vidya Shah, CEO, EdelGive Foundation talks about the stable and equal partnership she has forged with her husband. Read to know more.

    Rashesh and I met on campus at IIM-A.

    Two things ignited the spark — love of reading and interest in finance. We started our careers as colleagues, but charting our individual paths helped bring stability as a family. However, Rashesh (chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group) was always a lot more entrepreneurial and open to change than me. So, when Peregrine (a financial firm) shut down and we were wondering what to do for about six months, there was a bit of instability.

    When Rashesh mortgaged the house to set up Edelweiss, it was a fairly important decision we made. My father-in-law was kind enough to agree too. It was also the reason why not working — even after my son was born — was not an option for me.

    I am from Karnataka, so entering a Gujarati family was interesting. The caricature of south vs north was partially true, but Rashesh's family is extremely warm. They were open to having a daughter-in-law as educated as their son and working.

    We have helped each other grow — as individuals and professionals. His influence on my career, particularly, has been tremendous. Right from the early days — whether in ICICI, Peregrine, NM Rothschild or at Edelweiss — he has been a support and mentor.

    Sometimes you find your true vocation much later in life or chance upon it accidentally. I never thought I would be good at running the foundation. As part of my CFO duties, I was also making philanthropic allocations. So when in 2007 Edelweiss unveiled its IPO, I was hesitant to carry on as CFO and that's when the shift happened.

    I had decided that I wouldn't stop working. That was always the plan and I had our family's support. In terms of traditions, eating dinner was one thing we did together. But, as my son is overseas now, like most modern families, we have a WhatsApp group where we post something every day so that we are abreast of each other's lives.

    I am constantly rearranging the house, which annoys Rashesh terribly. He also feels that I don't ask enough questions and take everything at face value. But I have learnt to ask a lot more questions and really figure out what's driving the conversation.

    Rashesh and I have a lot of complementary qualities. On both professional and personal fronts, there have been things that I probably wouldn't have taken up but for Rashesh's influence. One of his remarkable qualities is his ability to accept challenges and then work around them. For me, being a CFO was a challenge, but I took his lead and took it up. Similarly, I am a calmer person and now he has learnt to react less out of irritation because of the influence that I have on him.

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    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

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