Shruti Verma Singh- Head, Strategy& BrandNDTV Prime.

Shruti is an inspiring leader and a role model for women pursuing their career in Media & Entertainment. She shares her story and tells us about her passion and achievements and how she does not let gender bias get in the way.

Shruti has spent most of her childhood in the picturesque Tea estates of Assam and Dooars (North Bengal). Being in a co-educational boarding school environment, she inculcated patience, resilience,determination, teamwork and co-operation. It was here that she realized how one can always spearhead something however he/she cannot solely take credit upon achieving it and hence it is always about team work. Growing up in the 80s meant limited media exposure with little or no access to films. She recalls a faint screening of American TV Series and Doordarshan programs that aired during the prime time and caught the attention of all family members. Her passion for the media Industry took form with her first Audio-Visual stint in Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, where she was heading the English Creative writing society. While working on her submission,she realized how pictures could evoke emotions and used that thought in taking some stills and co-writing the scripts for the debut production and that is when she knew that a9-5 desk job was not meant for her. This eventually led her to work at NDTV for she knew how her talent and potential could be recognized at this platform.

Media & Entertainment is an ever evolving field; our generation has seen journalism grow from a half an hour slot at Doordarshan to more than 50 regional dedicated news channels.Shruti has experienced a stark contrast in technology and its usage in this industry, from the 90s where computers were used without an Internet connection to a time where we cannot imagine life without technology, cellphones, internet, Google, Wi-Fi, Broadband, APPs, Facebook. Even with such a challenging environment, she considers each day to be more informative and enlightening. Media & Entertainment have given people the freedom to watch films oncell phones, consume TV programmes on social media, news from an APP and watch ads in an elevator. The industry is catering to the needs of youngsters who are dependent on Google and Wikipedia to a great extent; as is the case with her niece who cannot imagine a life without these search engines!

Shrutis role model is her husband, Karan, for his inspiring discipline, presence of mind, great humour and a positive outlook towards life. His constant support and encouragement helps her to challenge the norms at work and home and get out of her comfort zone. His discouragement towards self criticism and the support from his family have contributed immensely towards her career growth and she is deeply grateful for this support system.

Her mentors at NDTV- Mrs. Radhika Roy and Dr. Prannoy Roy (Founders- NDTV) are trail blazers who advocate mutual respect and have encouraged her to strive for the best. She considers the importance of good leaders as a contributor to the growth in ones career.

Her optimistic personality denotes failures as steps to learn. When asked if she has had any failures and how she handles them,

She admits to have failed many a times and looks forward to failing as a means to learn and grow and not get intimated by them.

It is hard to believe that a persons life is without failures and she finds it hard to trust people who claim to have never failed. Her mentors have had a similar mindset as well and always encouraged her to challenge her limits. Shrutis mother has been an anchor in her life and has always encouraged her to pursue her dreams, she has never zovirax allowed anything to stop her including her health and she has encouraged Shruti to never give up despite the odds.

Once its there in your mind, it will become a reality!

Shruti takes after her mother for being a strong woman. Going back to her boarding school, she will always be grateful to Mrs. Masand at Mt. Hermon School, Darjeeling for imparting valuable lessons and stressing over the importance of correct pronunciation of words. We surely understand the importance of that in the Media & Entertainment Industry. She has been fortunate enough to have mentors like Mrs. Radhika Roy & Dr. Prannoy Roy at work who have taught her the importance of humility and willingness at every step of the way.

You are uniquely amazing so never doubt what and who you are. Never allow anyone to make you believe otherwise. Ever. Whoever they are. Learn to love everything about yourself especially your flaws because hidden in those flaws lie your greatest strength!- Shrutis inspiring advice to young women encourages them to pursue their passion and never let societal pressure lead you to believe that your success is limited. What she loves most about work is that it is not work! She does what she loves and loves what she does and simultaneously learns something new every day! Even on a personal front, if one decides to share their life with a partner it should be based on mutual respect.

According to Shruti, India Inc.s inclusion is a matter of perspective. She thinks that if one believes that it is not inclusive for women, thenthat is what will be projected, hence she goes with a clean slate. She believes that biases may exist but it is important that women dont allow them to get affected by them. We are in a society where some women believe and propagate these biases. However, if one is good at what they do, people forget what sex they are. At NDTV, she has not been exposed to any biased behaviour.

Shrutis career has been an exciting journey, full of challenges and achievements. She pioneered the introduction of a legal segment on Good Morning India, a breakfast show on STAR produced by NDTV which focussed on citizens legal rights and creating awareness about the same. The concept was ahead of its time and she enjoyed anchoring the show on weekends. Being one of the youngest anchors for STAR News was a daunting experience which led her to set up the Pune Bureau. She broke the traditional routine of showcasing Daily news through conceptualization of a show on Advertising, Marketing & Branding for NDTV Profit called All ABOUT ADS. She has been the editorial head and anchor for this show for 10 years. Shrutis additional achievements include shows like the Lounge, which discusses personal relationship challenges and Heavy Petting, a show for pet lovers and inspired by her love for her pet dog, Frodo.

Her compassion for womens contribution to the countrys growth helped her to spearhead shows like Women on top a health show for women anchored by Manvi Dhillon on NDTV Good Times & NDTV Profit (and its Hindi version Udaan on NDTV India by Nidhi Kulpati)

Shrutis story is powerful enough to inspire women to acknowledge their passion and abilities and work towards achieving every goal through persistence and hard work. Every little achievement is important and that the word failure has a positive sound to it. Feelings of accomplishment can be as basic as helping your colleague save time on a particular task however they have a multiplier effect on Job satisfaction.

She continues to start each day with a clean slate and seek achievement in little things at work.