How This Gen Next Shepreneur is Spearheading Her Father-in-Law's Business The precedent was set by her mother-in-law, who managed the company for more than two decades

In India, there doesn't exist a culture wherein we see a daughter-in-law spearheading family-business. But, there are always exceptions! One such superwoman is Brahmani Nara, the Executive Director of Heritage Foods.

She is also the daughter-in-law of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Brahmani was exposed to the entrepreneurial environment at a very early age.

While completing her electrical engineering and her job at Singapore-based venture capital firm, that gave her insights into innovation, fundraising and team building, she understood what it takes to start and grow a business.

Soon after completing her MBA from Stanford University, and following her mother-in-law Bhuvaneswari Nara's footsteps, she joined Heritage Foods, which was founded by N. Chandrababu Naidu.

She shares, "The precedent was set by my mother-in-law, who managed the company for more than two decades. They encouraged me to work in the non-dairy domain before joining the business so that I could add value to the organization. In the process, I became an independent thinker."

Post Nara's entry, Heritage's approach to processes, like marketing, technology, human resources to improve employee engagement and development etc. was renewed.

However, she believes some of the existing practices, such as visiting procurement centre, wearing uniforms or meeting the farmers regularly should remain unchanged; as the staff develops a sense of belonging and professionalism and more importantly, it breaks the hierarchy.

Presently, her focus is on Heritage's mission 2022 - becoming a pan-India player with revenue of Rs 6,000 crore and increasing the revenue share of value-added dairy products to 40 per cent.

(This article was first published in the June issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. To subscribe, click here)