REKHA M Menon heads the Geographic Services in India, one of the largest geographies for Accenture.

In her role, Rekha is responsible for manifold operations, from human resources and recruitment to finance procurement and marketing.

A gold medalist from the XLRI School of Business, Jamshedpur, she has over 18 years of industry experience and an inspirational amount of passion.

I spoke about Rekha M Menon's life and success with someone who knows her pretty well -- her husband and fellow XLRI alumnus Vijayan Menon, a successful marketing consultant who works out of Bangalore and who actively spearheads several social causes in Bengaluru.

I supplemented this with a quick chat with a few senior colleagues of hers.

In the picture: Rekha M Menon

Leading a 'portfolio life' in a man's world

Risk-taking is an important feature of Rekha's professional character. When all her classmates at XLRI were making a beeline for MNC jobs, Rekha took up an offer with the relatively low-profile Eicher Goodearth in 1981.

She began her career on the shop floor, the only woman among 500 men. The atmosphere was intimidating at times but Rekha persevered. She has said before, "It’s me who has made it in an organisation, not a woman in a man's world."

The tradition continued at Ashok Leyland, where she was again the only woman among 3,000 men!

"It's not about being a woman or claiming any privileges about that status for Rekha," says Vijayan. She competes as a professional and hence it has always been about professional competence and not a gender issue, he elaborates.

In 1997, her spirit of risk-taking enabled Rekha to work for Talisma, a small product start-up in the technology space, where she helped turn it into a recognised niche player.

She joined Accenture in January 2004, where she plays a leadership role; she guided its growth and consolidation, with a work force which grew from 3,000 to 37,000!

It's no surprise that India is an important region in the company's global presence.

Read: This firm de-perked employees

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e-mail: Ramanujam Sridhar

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