Kiran Sharma

Kiran Sharma

Direcator, ITE India Pvt Ltd

India

Born, Brought up and married in a business family, I have always been surrounded by entrepreneurs, new ideas, creative vision and willingness to lead change. Having achieved success and carving a name for myself in the entrepreneurial world, I am looking forward to new opportunities to give back to society the warmth and courtesies extended towards me.

Born in a small town at Gobind Garh in Ludhiana in 1953 as a daughter to Shri Hari Chand Goyal, a renowned industrialist, manufacturing RMI bicycles, Milk Products, Ghee and Steel Strips, etc. and graduated in Master of Psychology from Punjab University, Chandigarh, I got married to Mr. Mukesh Sharma of Interads Group, Delhi. Since childhood, I had an urge to change lives, make a difference and make a mark for my family and myself.

Being the wife of a visionary and ambitious man, mother to 3 God Gifted Children (One Daughter and Two sons) and now a grand mother, has given me strength and inspiration to achieve what I have and yearn for more.

Assisting my husband during his start up in the exhibition industry in the earlier years, while bringing up three children, in tough financial times, was a challenge we accepted with a smile and new hope. Starting from a one-bedroom house on rent in Lajpat Nagar, I have helped my husband grow and prosper to owning various properties in India, UK, and living a comfortable and secure life.

I have run a Small Scale industry of manufacturing paint brushes, household brushes and industrial brushes for leading government organizations, such as railways, defense, where goods were also exported to Russia and other countries and raw material were procured from Saharanpur and Bijnour, etc. The unit also succeeded in winning supply of Binaca toothbrushes and Harpic toilet brushes, which are being supplied to Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd till date.

Even during handling production and expanding brush manufacturing plant in the 1980s, I knew my main area of interest was in Fashion and Lifestyle, a term not so well known at that time. My first step into the world of Fashion was my brainchild of opening a Fashion boutique catering to the Higher and Upper Middle Class under the name and style of Flair, and since then there was no looking back. Running a successful fashion boutique in the heart of New Delhi caught the attention of Shehnaz Herbals, who approached me to add a beauty parlor division to Flair. By mid 90’s, my name was synonymous with Fashion industry.

While the boutique and beauty parlor were running smoothly, I was assisting my husband in pioneering the Exhibition industry by organizing the first ever Delhi International Motor Show, First India International Travel & Tourism Exhibition, First India Healthcare Exhibition, Power Generation, Oil And Gas Exhibition in 1994 – 1996. These shows gained a lot of popularity and became annual events. Starting with initially 10 staff members, the organization has grown to strength of 200 workers today, attributable to the dedication and hard work of my husband and myself.

In 1996, I initiated a new theme, never before tested in the exhibition industry. I led a team of young marketers to organize the first ever Jewellery Show, which attracted the leading jewellers from all over the world making the show a mega success. The year after the first show witnessed 100% retained clients, with an additional flow of interested exhibitors and visitors waiting eagerly for the future editions. The success in these endeavors opened new avenues and inspired me to further widen the spread of Fashion and Lifestyle.

With the support of my daughter in 2000, beautiful ideas of a Complete Wedding Show erupted, to which my daughter gave a wonderful title “Bride & Groom”. The theme of the show was anything to everything connected to the Wedding industry displayed under single roof, from clothes to jewellery, from wedding cards to party dresses.

The grand success of the show and persuasion of the participants convinced me launch the show subsequently in other states of India as well as internationally, and since then Bride and Groom has become a regular show in 5 – 6 different venues i.e. Delhi, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Bangalore, Bangkok, London, Malaysia and Jakarta. We have been constantly conquering new venues every year, trying to spread the Indian Wedding industry all over the world. Bride & Groom has brought enormous name and fame to ITE.

After the success of Bride & Groom, I was still looking for more exposure and opportunities to grow. I set up a fashion village, which I always wanted to since the time of Flair. After winning the Management & Operational contract for Garden of Five Senses – a prime property in South Delhi, a beautiful piece of land lying as a deserted place, I set up a fashion village with hand picked designers, who set up their studios at the “ITE Designerville”.

During this time, my Daughter wanted to pursue publishing as she is a creative writer and we established a Lifestyle magazine by the name of “Bride & Style” magazine. It has carved a special place for itself in a very short time being the most popular wedding magazine, answering all questions of people planning a wedding.

My husband for the last 7-8 years has moved into the Exhibition venue industry, creating and managing Expo Centres and left the organization of Exhibitions and events on my shoulders independently. Since then, I have created a team of young women who have become my friends and family and have supported me in managing and expanding my Exhibition, Fashion Village, Magazine business and helped me enter into new paths.

While single handedly I have been managing my business, it has never hindered my social commitments and my responsibilities to give back what I have taken from the society. I am involved in various social projects like Blood Donation Camps, and assisting in upgrading the lives of down trodden by making them self-employed and creating self-confidence.

My plans for the future involve further such social endeavors to improve the quality of life for women all over and promote rights for women. Self-employment amongst women might be a dream difficult to achieve, but I believe it is not impossible, and if right support, guidance and confidence is imparted to the women, wonderful things can happen. I believe knowledge and awareness is the key to change and perhaps, a revolution. Being a part of FICCI Ladies Organization has made me proud to witness and be a part of the achievements of the organization, as well as of my fellow members. I truly believe FLO has set foot in the right direction and with able leadership and guidance, there are lot more battles to win and forts to conquer.

I am also working with NGOs for various projects like fund raising, blood donations camps. I have been involved in such social activities since my college days, which gives me a sense of internal satisfaction and motivation to do more. My future plans also involve setting up a college for vocation training for needy women and children for them to be able to support themselves, and also setting an old age home.
With regard to my business, I have plans to further explore newer markets and spread the Indian culture and heritage around the globe. I wish to take the Bride & Groom exhibition to Mauritius, Canada, Japan and other cities around the world to promote Indian designers all over.

Even though life has showed my family and myself various ups and downs, we have always emerged as stronger and successful through the difficult times and motivated and confident through the good times. Starting with nothing in 1980 and gaining respect through the years, I believe God has been very kind and our friends and families have been very supportive. Although, I have achieved so much in life, made a name for myself, I still have more ambitions and dreams that I want to fulfill and battles to win.