![]() “I travelled to every nook and corner of India to propagate awareness about Shriram Group’s fixed deposit schemes, building associations with brokers and through ads and promotional campaigns. At that time it was not very common for married women from orthodox Brahmin families to take up marketing,” she laughs. ![]() Fixed deposits were key in raising resources for non-banking financial companies at that time. Armed with an MPhil in economics, Akhila applied for and joined as marketing manager, responsible for raising funds through fixed deposit mobilisations. The assets under the management of this company should amount to over Rs 3,200 crore.”Īkhila’s journey started three decades ago when she responded to an advertisement in the newspaper inviting executive trainees to apply to the Shriram Group, then a transport finance business. Today, at the beginning of the tenth year, we have the highest cumulative profit over a five-year period. We are the only company in India to make profits in the first three years of operations. Compared to the big players who started in 2000 when the market opened up, we started only in 2006. Our clientele is middle class, so we are keen that the social purpose of life insurance is met.” The strategy has clearly paid off and the pride in her voice is palpable when Akhila recounts the highlights of her plucky team’s efforts over the past nine years. We didn’t want to build a big brand overnight and open branches everywhere. This has been our philosophy and outlook. We still have a huge task in front of us-to take the risk protection message to the common man. ![]() “In India, the penetration of life insurance as a percentage of the GDP is less than four per cent. We had very cost-effective operations.”Īkhila’s focus was on reaching the target market, which is the middle class, as she believes that these are the people who really need insurance protection today. Not spend huge monies like the bigger players-setting up infrastructure, promotional campaigns and so on. So to differentiate, she capitalised on one of their main advantages-their bank of 80,000 chit fund agents, of whom at least 20,000 actively worked towards life insurance. ![]() She realised very early that as far as products go, all insurance companies cater to all sections of the community. She built a team and the secured business through agents who had to be trained. When the company entered the life insurance segment in 2005, Akhila was asked to lead the new business. I joined in 1986 and today it is one of the largest players in the financial services space and has credibility in the market.” “The recognition is a great privilege and honour,” she says of her inclusion in the Forbes list, “and I owe it to the Shriram Group collectively. As she ushered me into her cabin on the dot, I realised it was probably this commitment to every promise she makes that has seen Akhila grow from strength to strength. The managing director of Shriram Life Insurance Company responded politely to my request for an interview, decided on a time that worked for both of us, and actually stuck to it. She’s deeply engaged in making change happen in India’s villages, particularly for its women and children.Īkhila Srinivasan is a breath of fresh air in the frenetic corporate setup we have come to expect today. Akhila Srinivasan is considered to be one of Asia’s 50 most powerful businesswomen.
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