India New England News  honors Business Woman of the Year, Nandita Bakshi

Kicking off what it hopes will be an annual award, India New England News (INEN) honored Ms. Nandita Bakshi, banker and Senior Vice President of Fleet Boston, at the Waltham Westin Hotel on June 10.  Well attended, with over three hundred guests, at the reception and dinner hosted by the publication, the event’s main speaker, gubernatorial hopeful Ms. Shannon O‘Brien extolled the virtues of highlighting women’s achievements in business.

This is a leadership recognition program established by the INEN to honor some of NE’s women achievers for their outstanding contributions in business, and towards civic and cultural betterment. The Chapter started this event in 2001 by honoring community leaders for promoting high ideals with a definite sense of purpose, for taking pride in leadership and for enriching the community.

After a brief address by Jothi Nagia, in his welcome address, Mr. Upendra Mishra , publisher, INEN, said that he was pleased to start this tradition of honoring women in business. The publication began accepting nominations for the award five months ago and the response, he said, was tremendous. Noting that despite misgivings by certain section of INEN readers, who indicated that this might seem as a discriminatory act against women, he decided to go with the majority and institute this award.

The Mishra Group, he claimed recognizes the contributions made by women and has three women heading the sales and Marketing division.

He acknowledged the commendable work done by his team, INEN Editor in Chief, Mr. Mark Pickering and the editorial staff ,Advertising Director Stephanie Leonardi and event co-ordinators, , Ms. Anshu Bansal and Mr. Rohit Padgaonkar.

Envisioning a bright and opportunity-filled future for his ten year old daughter, Mr. Mishra thanked the audience before turning the mike over to the keynote speaker, Ms. Shannon O’Brien, MA Democratic party nominee for Governor.

Greeted by thunderous applause, Ms. O’Brien, acknowledged the recipient of the award, noting that she was greatly impressed reading about Ms. Bakshi’s accomplishments.  Women, she said have swelled the ranks of the workforce in recent years, but haven't necessarily had the same time to claw their way to the top as their male predecessors seniority and the discrepancy in the wages between men and women is appalling. She also recognized women who have made vast strides over the course of one generation, with growing numbers calling the shots in the business world, adding that more Nanditas were needed in he corporate world.

She urged all present to encourage and promote the achievements of women in all fields of occupation.  Recalling her own childhood, Ms. O’Brien credited her parents for supporting her ambitions and helping her realize her dreams. To improve educational conditions for girls,, she observed, it is necessary to raise awareness and change policies, practices, and attitudes in communities

She ended her talk with an impassioned plea seeking support for her campaign. Promising to stand by her commitment to support education reform, impose stiff penalties for child abuse and neglect and to root out corruption in the Governor’s office.

The next speaker was Ms. Jyothi Chopra, Director, Multicultural and Diversified Business Development Group of Merrill Lynch, co-sponsor of the event. She started her talk by asking the women in the room to stand up as she acknowledged all of them. She said that Merrill Lynch supports the cause of women and believe in fostering a sense of independence and strength in women. Immigrant women, far away from home, in a new country need guidance and support and she urged mentoring to help such women attain financial independence. She said that her group was glad to support INEN in recognizing, celebrating and showcasing the achievement of women by instituting this award. She ended her with an inspirational quote from ‘The Tiger Ladies’ by Sudha Kaul.

Mr. Raj Sharma, Senior Vice President, US Private Client Group spoke about women entrepreneurs and their tremendous abilities. He expressed admiration for the publication for recognizing the work done by women.

Presenting the Award to Ms. Nandita Bakshi, the editor in chief of INEN, Mr. Mark Pickering lamented the fact that only one woman could be awarded at a time. He said that he was honored and humbled by the range of talent evident in the list of women nominated for the award this year. He thanked his staff for their support and hoped that this tradition would encourage women to excel in their endeavors.

Ms. Bakshi expressing gratitude and pride at being the first ever recipient of the award, impressed all present with her tale of success. Having started work as a part time teller in a bank, she soon showed signs of excellence that had her rising through the ranks swiftly. She talked about the exciting but sometimes frustrating task of running her division in the bank.

Her expertise at dealing with ATMs and other electronic banking devices saw her becoming the director of self service /ATM Banking at the Fleet. She manages all retail deposits and money flowing through cash machines and other accounts such as checking and savings.

She said that the bank has 3,800 ATMS at branches and other locations in 12 states. Fleet bank is currently the seventh largest financial holding company in the country with assets of about $192 Billion.  She said that even though hard work played a great role in her success, help and support from her friends and peers was substantial enough to propel her way up the corporate rung.  She urged all present to work towards a goal of excellence.

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