Gowri Mukherjee, CMO & Co-founder, CreditMantri

“Play it by the ear!”

 Gowri Mukherjee, CMO and Co-founder, CreditMantri

The challenges of being a woman executive in a top role

I spent the first 16 years of my career in large organisations and the last 14 months have been at CreditMantri, a Fintech start up. The highs and lows between these 2 lives has been very different. In my corporate hat, while work was a large and important part of my life, it did not consume me. During the last 14 months at CreditMantri, I have had more night outs and longer work hours and I find CreditMantri occupying a lot of my mind space. But the creative high of a start-up and the impact one’s output delivers makes it all feel worthwhile. I have been lucky to have a great set of co-founders and a super team who take the edge off the hard stuff.

I grew up in a household where my parents had a busy and sometimes punishing schedule. For them, work and family were integral facets of their personality and they seamlessly managed to integrate the two.  This grounding makes me accept periods of intense work and intense family time as par for the course and not as two things I need to necessarily balance on an every-day basis.

Educational Background

Graduate of  BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta

Family Background

I am married to Surojit Mukherjee, my classmate from college. Have 2 kids – Ishani and Dhruv: 11 and 8 years old. I grew up in a traditional south Indian household where there was a lot of emphasis on academics and classical music. Both Surojit and I have a pretty hectic schedule and survive, thanks to the tremendous support from our parents and extended family.

Working in Male-dominated field of IT

Well, I work in a FINTECH start up and historically financial services in India have been very good at embracing and helping women build careers

Does a Glass ceiling exist?

Yes but largely for those who are searching and seeking it. More seriously, the “old boys network” is real and it does take extra effort and initiative on the woman’s part to make herself included.

Hobbies

Reading, hindi music. Honestly with kids and work, don’t have much time for much else.

Future plan

Play it by the ear.

High-Five: 

-Your Fitness Mantra: On paper, bootcamp thrice a week and yoga thrice a week.  The reality – am the most inconsistent team member both at The Quad and in my yoga class.

-Your De-stressing Mantra:   Hang-out with my kids

-Where you like to shop?     Shilpi, my favourite store in Chennai.

-Your favorite holiday destination:  our home at Kotagiri

-5 things you cannot live without:  family and friends