From Attempting Suicide At 22 To Becoming One Of The Youngest CEOs At 33; Meet Radhika Gupta

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Just eleven years before Radhika Gupta became the CEO of Edelweiss at 33, she tried to kill herself by jumping out of the window. She was only 22 years old and had faced her seventh job rejection which prompted her to take the drastic step. Her alarmed friends took her to the psychiatric ward after the incident, and she was diagnosed with depression there.

The staff at the hospital were hesitant to let her go, but she convinced them by saying that she had a job interview and it could probably be her last attempt. And indeed it was her last attempt as she bagged a job at McKinsey USA that day. It was the beginning of an illustrious corporate career that would go on to become historic in the next eleven years. 

The Years Of Growing Up

Radhika Gupta's childhood has been very different from what we normally associate with other children. Being the daughter of a diplomat, she had to live in different countries every three years or so while growing up.

However, the biggest difficulty she faced was being born with a crooked neck or 'Torticollis' - a rare condition where the neck muscles contract, and as a result, the head twists to one side. Growing up with Torticollis while changing countries every three years meant that she frequently faced the experience of being singled out.

Speaking to Humans Of Bombay, Radhika said, "I was the awkward new kid in 7th grade, surrounded by students who judged me for my thick Indian accent. They nicknamed me Apu, after the character from Simpsons."

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While at school, her confidence took a hit when people started comparing her to her mother who worked in the same school. "People always pointed out how ugly I looked in comparison; my confidence plummeted. I learnt to bury my insecurities over the years, but they never left" Ms. Radhika Gupta said.

It was years of pent-up frustration that finally took a toll on her after she faced her seventh rejection and tried to commit suicide. However, thanks to her friends' intervention, her life changed completely after that.

Turning Her Life Around

In spite of her struggles with Torticollis early in life, Radhika has been a bright student throughout. She completed her Bachelor's in Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. She then did another Bachelor's in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

After that, she graduated from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania. In this program, Gupta graduated summa cum laude - or simply put, a special award for students with Grade Point Average between 3.8 to 4.

 

 

 

 

 

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Her first job - after the attempted suicide, was in 2005 when she joined McKinsey and Company as a Business Analyst. Soon, within two years, she was part of the crucial global asset allocation team at McKinsey (AQR Capital Management) and was leading from the front as the Portfolio Manager.

However, she was ultimately not satisfied with life in the US and decided to move back to India. Along with her husband Nalin Mozin and a friend of his, Radhika founded an asset management firm in India called Forefront Capital Management in 2009.

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"But 3 years later, after I survived the financial crisis of 2008, I felt the itch to do something new - I didn't want to become complacent," she told Humans Of Bombay. "So, at 25, I quit my job in the States and moved to India to start my own asset management business.." she said.

After a few years, Forefront Capital Management was acquired by Edelweiss MF - the Mumbai-based financial services firm. Gupta started at Edelweiss Global Asset Management Limited as the business head of multi-strategy funds.

During her stint in this role, she has been credited with setting up India's first domestic hedge fund. 

Rising To The Position Of CEO At Edelweiss

Being the head of multi-strategy funds at Edelweiss, Radhika Gupta was no longer the woman who lacked confidence and tried to jump out of the window. As she puts it, "I became the saree-clad woman in a room full of suits and I wanted to raise my hand for opportunity."

The perfect opportunity arrived when she heard that Edelweiss would be hiring a new CEO. She wanted to apply for the post and when she had second thoughts about it, her husband encouraged her saying, "You're the best person for the job."

When she went to meet her boss to tell him that she is interested in becoming the CEO, her dedication and desire took the centre stage. She told her boss, "I would like to be considered for CEO. What I lack in experience, I will make up for in passion."

Since then, she has established herself as someone to look up to. She has attended several talks where she spoke about the experiences in her life and the inspiring journey she took up. "And my talk traveled; I became known as 'the girl with a broken neck'".

"But my biggest accomplishment has been accepting myself as imperfect but beautiful. So now, when I receive comments on my appearance, I just say, 'Yes, I have a squint in the eyes, & a broken neck. What's unique about you?'" she said.

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