INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Subhadip Sircar and Divya PatilLots of female chief executive officers have stories about conquering adversity
feature that at times had an impact on her self esteem but has now become a source of inspiration for doing things differently
childhood wherever he was serving at the time.
From studying at an international school in Nigeria with the daughters of warlords to trying
to fit in with rich adolescent girls in America, it was a steep learning curve grappling with new languages and cultures
At first, she was self-conscious about her neck, but over time she learned to accept it as part of what makes her unique.
Indian
She founded an Indian takeaway for fellow students while at the college.
Yet despite passing with top honors, when it came to campus
recruitment, she was repeatedly rejected by consulting companies
partner who happened to be a tournament-level bridge player
The game is known for its older fans, but Gupta had taken it up when she was 12 at the insistence of her parents
She and the partner bonded over their shared hobby, and she got the job.
After 1 1/2 years at the consulting company, Gupta left to join AQR
Capital Management, the $186 billion investment firm co-founded by Cliff Asness
But just as the global financial crisis was unfolding, Gupta felt an urge to start out on her own.
Investment StartupIn 2009, she, her
husband Nalin Moniz and a colleague from AQR decided to go back to India to start Forefront Capital Management, with the princely sum of 2.5
They focused on alternative investments, a new phenomenon in India at the time
with Gupta taking a post at the company and going on to become CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management in February 2017
portfolio-management services
Larger rivals such as HDFC Asset Management Co
and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co
each have more than $50 billion in mutual fund assets.
So it created a stir when the government chose Edelweiss to manage its first
corporate debt ETF, beating four larger players
Gupta said she made 50 trips to New Delhi since getting the mandate in January 2019 to speak with government officials, index providers and
state-run borrowers to get the product design right.
ETF LaunchThe ETF collected more than 120 billion rupees at launch, 1.8 times the base
subscription, with about 55,000 retail buyers
2 and has since grown in size
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for a second ETF in the budget, this time comprising government debt.
Gupta and her
running Edelweiss, Gupta has become a public speaker
Gupta speaks passionately about how she came to terms with her birth complication, saying that at one point she even feared losing weight
because it would show the tilt
She also speaks about the time she considered suicide, saying all of these moments in life, both good and bad, should be processed and
