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Shan Jain
Independent Director at Shalimar Paints and Infra.Market
Arvind Sethi
Partner with an India member firm of EY Global
Key takeaways
Effective leadership blends wisdom and forward thinking, adapting strategies to align with evolving technological and market landscapes.
Updating traditional brands with tech-driven marketing strategies can rejuvenate their appeal and better connect with modern consumers.
Enhancing board diversity involves growing a talent pool with governance skills and fostering genuine leadership based on merit and capability.
Understanding mid-career challenges and creating supportive policies are crucial for women’s advancement.
Building a strong career foundation through hard work and strategic self-care is essential for long-term success and impactful leadership.
Organizations should empower women by bridging career gaps through supportive policies, mentoring, and a genuine belief in their capability and merit.
Shan Jain
Independent Director at Shalimar Paints and Infra.Market
For your convenience, a full text transcript of this podcast is available on the link below:
Arvind Sethi: Welcome to Inspiring Voices, an initiative by Women.Fast Forward program dedicated to building a more inclusive working world. We believe that there is a profound impact of all actions in driving monumental change, empowering individuals to spark collective change. If I were to say that further together, we are fostering an inclusive culture that unleashes a woman's potential, paving the way for societal evolution. So welcome, everyone. I am Arvind Sethi, Partner with an India member firm of EY Global. I am thrilled to host the episode of this podcast series, dedicated to celebrating and sharing the journeys of accomplished women leaders and providing encouragement and inspiration to women beginning their journeys toward success.
Come along on this journey of celebration and empowerment. Before we move forward with today's episode, it is noteworthy that the marketing industry has seen a notable increase in female representation, reaching almost 27% in 2023. While the number of female directors on boards nearly doubled from 2017 to 2023, the increase has been uneven across companies, driven by a select few exceeding mandated quotas.
As we move forward, let us take a closer look at these topics in due course. Today, we are honored to have Shan Jain with us, an Independent Director at Shalimar Paints and Infra.Market. With over three decades of experience across industry giants and startups, Shan has a track record of crafting strategies that drive growth and propel brands to success.
Shan, it is a pleasure to have you on our show. With your extensive career and truly inspiring journey, I am excited to delve into your insights and experiences. Thank you for joining us today.
Shan Jain: Hey, thank you, Arvind. I am also delighted to be here and share my insights with the audience. So yeah, let us go.
Arvind Sethi: Excellent. So, I thought we could structure our discussion into two or three segments. Maybe starting off with strategic leadership and brand growth, then moving into corporate governance and board experiences, and finally, delving more into empowerment and personal mastery. This way, we would cover a broad spectrum of experiences that you have been through.
Shan Jain: That makes sense.
Arvind Sethi: I will start with the first question in this segment on leadership and brand growth. Shan, your career has spanned some of the most iconic companies in the world. I was a bit intrigued and very impressed. Can you share with us the key lessons you learned from these experiences and how they have shaped your approach to strategy and growth?
Shan Jain: Yeah, great question, actually. No doubt, iconic companies have taught me invaluable lessons. I have been part of plenty of them over the last few decades. The influence of these multinationals has been instrumental in maturing Indian businesses and exposing them to global best practices. If you look at it, it has flipped the sides with Indian giants like Tata, Infosys, and Mahindra. They are now expanding globally instead of the other way around. These companies have taught invaluable lessons to all of us. To delve specifically into what I have learned in my career journey, I would say that complete customer obsession is a common thread across all iconic companies. You need to be able to literally walk in the shoes of your customer and understand their ways of interacting with your category. That is core to their strategy.
Another key lesson, particularly from a marketing perspective, is the strategic view that marketing is an investment, not a cost. This is a significant shift. If I were to go back to the earlier days when I started working in the corporate world, computers were viewed as a cost. It was like, let us have one or two computers. But today, computers are enablers. Everyone understands that without them, there is no way to progress. Similarly, marketing is now seen as an investment, not a cost, which drives success in various companies.
Another important aspect I have learned is balancing performance marketing with brand building. This is a significant differentiator. There are also other factors like a systematic, driven approach that ensures precision and effectiveness. My career underscores these principles, and I continuously learn, apply, and share this knowledge. Ultimately, it is about leveraging these insights to understand why some companies perform better than others and using that understanding to drive strategy, growth, and make marketing a powerhouse for business success.
Arvind Sethi: Amazing. Some very valuable lessons. I think what really stood out for me is the customer-first approach. We are in the market, and we go to the customers. Especially that phrase you mentioned—that marketing is an investment, not a cost. It is all very important, especially when building brands for the future.
Shan Jain: Yeah.
Arvind Sethi: Given that background, as a consultant specializing in digital transformation, what do you see as the most critical element for brands to succeed in this digital era?
Shan Jain: Interesting question, Arvind. When I tell you about the critical success elements, they might sound familiar. You may wonder what makes them critical if everyone knows about them. So, what I am going to do here is explain the insights that lead to these becoming critical success factors.
One of the biggest success factors in the digital era is omnichannel presence and hyper-personalization of content. These are phrases that are used loosely but let me explain how they make sense. Today, digital has become a medium that forms a bridge between the lean-back and lean-forward states of discovery. Lean-back is when you are relaxed, absorbing information that comes to you. Lean-forward is a state of discovery where you actively seek information, like going into search mode.
Earlier, the lean-forward state of discovery was satisfied by family and friends, trusted magazines, or physically going into a shop to search for information. Today, digital is that medium. When someone needs something, the first thing they do is search online. This shift means I do not need to remember the brand; I just need to know my need state.
Another crucial factor is the democratization of availability. Availability must be widespread across as many platforms as possible. This means you should be able to transact on your own website, e-commerce websites, and even social commerce platforms, depending on your category needs. Consumers feel safer when your product is available on many marketplaces because they might review you in one place, buy from another, or prefer a place with a better return policy.
Consumers often approach the digital medium with some suspicion because there is no human interface. Building trust is done by ensuring widespread availability, making consumers feel safer and more confident in their purchase decisions. That is why democratization of availability is crucial.
Lastly, blending category insights from cross-category experiences is another critical factor. For example, consider how the hospitality industry has taken cues from tech companies. Divergent industries, like hospitality and tech, have found common ground. Hotels like Marriott and Hilton have implemented digital check-ins and personalized settings based on previous stays, much like how Netflix remembers your viewing preferences or Spotify remembers your music preferences. Leveraging insights from one industry to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty in another is a crucial success factor.
As digital specialists, we often talk about these strategies, but it is crucial to understand the insights behind each recommendation. When you grasp the reasons why they are being recommended, you will implement them effectively. The problem now is that people do not always know the reasons, so they end up doing some parts or only parts of all strategies, leading to a break in the loop from discovery to purchase.
Arvind Sethi: No, no, I think those are very valid points. In the hospitality industry, I have experienced this firsthand. For example, the concept of mobile keys with Bonvoy is spot on. The absence of a human interface is something you mentioned earlier—how you used to call a friend or family member when you were not online. That is why having an omnichannel presence is so important, much like how Amazon has transformed the entire travel space.
Okay, so that was very interesting. Let us pivot into our second segment, which touches upon corporate governance and board experience. Specifically, Shan, with your role as an independent director at Shalimar Paints and Infra.Market, how do you typically approach corporate governance? What practices do you advocate for effective board leadership?
Shan Jain: Arvind, as an independent director, fiduciary oversight is the cornerstone of any governance approach. It is mandatory to ensure that all decisions are made in the best interest of the company and its shareholders, maintaining the highest standard of integrity and ethical behavior. That is an unwritten rule and the reason why we are there.
However, my approach to corporate governance is also shaped by my experience in marketing. I understand that marketing and branding play a significant role in stakeholder engagement and brand reputation management. Therefore, I advocate for transparent communication with customers, employees, and shareholders. I ensure that our marketing strategies align with the core values and long-term goals of the company. By directing a strong, positive brand image, you enhance trust and loyalty among stakeholders.
In addition to fiduciary duties, I bring empathy to my role, which is a trait I believe is essential. These are some of the practices I advocate for in effective board leadership.
Arvind Sethi: Very true. In my experience as well, board members are highly engaged, and transparency in communication—whether among board members or externally with stakeholders—is key. That is a crucial learning point for how people operate at board levels.
I did a quick search, Shan, and I see that you have been recognized with over 350 awards, including Best Client Leader of the Year 2015. You mentioned a bit about this in a previous question, but what do you attribute this recognition to, and how does it reflect in your leadership philosophy?
Shan Jain: Most of those 350 awards are team awards earned over a period of two years. When I received the Client Leader award, I was leading the GSK account. To answer your question, the bedrock of my leadership philosophy is what I call "mosaic leadership." The term "mosaic" refers to something made up of smaller pieces, which may not mean much individually but together create a beautiful picture. This collaborative leadership style is central to how I lead.
At that time, we actively built a system of trust, which was an initiative from the very beginning. It was built on three core pillars. The first was to build trust with the client by visualizing the big picture and executing it with meticulous attention to detail. Every team member understood the big picture and focused on the details to ensure excellence.
The second pillar was driving digital adoption. In 2015, digital was emerging rapidly, so we actively met with everyone at the client to understand digital as a medium. This effort brought about 15 times efficiency to the business, significantly contributing to profitability and adding to the top line.
The third pillar was infusing all internal dealings with dignity and respect, which is the human side of interactions. We often talk about the combination of people, product, and processes, but this system of trust was something I actively built on these three pillars. That is why we succeeded on the GSK account, and I believe it is what earned me the award.
Arvind Sethi: Amazing. If I look at the underlying theme here, it is all about collaboration and being a true team player. Customizing this approach and making it part of the company's DNA really makes you stand out.
Let us move on to the segment of empowerment. I read about your initiative, Sambala, which focuses on empowering women through mandala art workshops. This is something very unique. I am intrigued and excited to hear more about it. Can you tell us a little bit more about your mission to enable a million women towards personal mastery?
Shan Jain: Thank you for that question. Since 2010, my journey has been about self-exploration, guided by the philosophy of Ubuntu, which means "I am because we are." I truly believe in this, and it drives my vision of success. My personal growth is linked to uplifting others along the way. In everything I do, I always look for ways to help those I work with or interact with, even in small ways.
When it comes to women, we often live with subconscious beliefs that hold us back or drive us forward. Nudging them at any stage or bringing awareness to what holds them back is something I focus on. My mission to enable a million women is not a time-bound goal but a lifelong mission. While people might count the number of workshops I do, this mission involves a subconscious level of intervention that I continually apply to the women around me.
Mandala art holds a special place in this journey. It is an ancient Buddhist art form that uses symbols to communicate with the soul. You do not need to know the symbols; they intuitively speak to you. When faced with a mandala, it will mean something to you because it connects with your subconscious, revealing limiting beliefs that we often do not confront. These beliefs drive our internal dialogue, and by creating a mandala, participants uncover these beliefs and gain insights into their true selves.
I conduct mandala art workshops with women worldwide, including some in New York, to help them explore and overcome these subconscious limitations.
It tells the story of your inner self at that moment. When you do that, it becomes a powerful tool for listening to your inner self. Believe me, I have seen profound transformations. I have witnessed both men and women cry when they see the art they have created, realizing, "My God, I used to think this, but now it is coming out in the open."
So, to symbolize this, Sambala is the name of my website. My aim is to harness the meditative and revealing nature of mandala art to empower women and bring out those subconscious blocks that have been present since childhood. This is especially true for women. I focus on emphasizing and bringing these blocks to the surface through the creation of mandala art, so that when we are trying to overcome them, we know what we are faced with.
In a sense, this is what I do. Beyond enabling a million women through my life's journey, I aim to unlock their potential, remove their blocks, and help them in their process of self-discovery and empowerment through internal changes. I think that is what this is all about.
Arvind Sethi: Oh, man, this is amazing. I am truly inspired by "I am because we are." It is very powerful and inspiring, and I think this approach is very inspiring too, Shan. Given what I just heard, if we take this to the corporate level, in your capacity as an independent director, how do you ensure that diversity and inclusiveness are prioritized in board discussions and company policies? I mean, you are also a member of the board. I am not saying you drive it, but how do you try to ensure diversity?
Shan Jain: Arvind, I would like to step back a little bit and talk about two types of business builders. Here, I will not talk about inclusivity as it pertains to both men and women. Let us discuss business building because we are talking about boards now. There are two types of business builders: the feudal type and the mercantile type. Feudals focus on organization, brand building, stakeholder satisfaction, employee growth, talent building, and market expansion—basically business and people-related concerns. They look at running factories, employee health, safety, etc.
Mercantile builders, on the other hand, are cutthroat, focused on building profitability, cutting costs, and pricing strategies. These are two very different types of business builders. My approach involves bringing the voice and vote of both perspectives, balancing the financial success of the company with what is good for the world.
When I am in board meetings, I actively observe where decisions are heading, how they are being made, and whether we are encompassing both business-building approaches. The future of a company must fuse what is good for the world with what is good for the company. A holistic approach is crucial, and this is how I do it.
Arvind Sethi: Basically, balancing both, which is very important, correct?
Shan Jain: Yes, exactly. At the board level, when considering inclusivity, you can only guide company policies effectively if you have a mindset that incorporates both business-building types: the feudal and the mercantile. That is how you can influence company policies in terms of future directions. At the board level, you must discuss, influence management, and keep an eye on the company’s future to ensure everyone is satisfied. So, you look at a company from both the feudalistic and mercantile perspectives when making decisions, and that is how diversity comes in.
Arvind Sethi: So, Shan, can you share an example of how diverse leadership has positively impacted Shalimar Paints or Infra.Market's business strategy or outcomes?
Shan Jain: Sure. If you look at these two companies, they are very different in terms of where they stand today. Infra.Market is a very young company with young leadership that leverages technology. My wisdom and experience contribute to building investor confidence and forward-thinking strategies.
In contrast, Shalimar is an iconic, traditional brand. Here, I aim to infuse modern, contemporary thinking into marketing processes and bring in new talent that is tech-first. For example, today, you can visualize your home painted on your screen first, right? Shalimar, being a consumer-facing and traditional brand, needs to refresh its approach to thinking tech-first and embracing modern marketing strategies. This impact is evident in both their business strategies and outcomes.
Arvind Sethi: That is really interesting. Given the uneven growth of female directors across companies, what steps do you recommend for companies looking to enhance their diversity initiatives and achieve more equitable representation? Can you share some thoughts on this?
Shan Jain: You know, the growth of female independent directors will not happen overnight because the pool of senior-level women who can ensure governance while guiding businesses is challenging to create. We must grow it from the bottom up. Organizations like EY and ISB are helping women who aspire to these positions, and I am an outcome of that process. More women need to come into leadership roles and be guided and coached to become trained directors. But this change will not happen suddenly.
In 2014, SEBI introduced a governance ruling mandating board diversity, with a five-year rollover requirement. Ten years later, in 2024, the pool of female independent directors has increased, but there is still a significant gap. Especially when considering that directors today are expected to contribute to company growth and not just hold a titular position.
Understanding governance and business leadership is a difficult combination to find, so a lot of work remains for the industry and those adapting to this change. We have made progress, but there is still a long way to go. The presence of female directors helps build stakeholder trust, and this trust is crucial. If we highlight the statistics showing that companies with women on the board perform better and handle growth and governance more effectively, it will help women feel more confident about reaching these levels. It will also drive a mindset change globally when it comes to board composition and building stakeholder trust.
Arvind Sethi: I absolutely agree with you on the need for a mindset change. I am glad EY is contributing to diversity initiatives in corporate India, and I hope we continue making progress. Shan, can you share specific measures you have taken to promote inclusiveness in the companies where you serve as a director?
Shan Jain: Arvind, as an independent director in large organizations with thousands of employees, having direct, meaningful conversations is challenging. I may engage with 10 to 12 colleagues and discuss work-related matters 10 to 15 times a year. Conversations around inclusiveness and equal opportunities do not happen actively. But what do I do instead? I try to make every interaction I have with people impactful because that is what will change perceptions about women in leadership roles over time.
I also maintain a strong presence on LinkedIn, share posts, and participate in forums as much as possible to inspire others through my experiences. I aim to create replicable paths for future generations, something my mother taught me. She told me that my job is not just for me but for every person I interact with in the future. This includes my daughter and every other person who will be part of my life. So, I act as an inspiration, manage my problems, and get on with the task of being present.
One thing I emphasize, and I tell this to every woman I meet, is the difference between a career path and a job. A job is just a series of roles, while a career is something you need to plan for. It is the difference between consistently climbing a ladder and moving from one steppingstone to another without a clear destination. Understanding this distinction changes how a woman approaches her future career.
Finally, it is crucial to be seen as deserving of a position, not as someone who is being patronized. It is important to earn respect through actions and achievements, not just because you are a woman. At the board level, interactions focus on business and governance, but I ensure that every conversation is a chance to inspire and impart knowledge.
Arvind Sethi: I think that is so true, Shan. Even I discuss this with my employees: the difference between a career and a job is essential. Being equal is crucial for inclusivity. Given the challenges you have mentioned, what do you believe still needs to be addressed to achieve a more inclusive corporate culture? How are you contributing to that change?
Shan Jain: Arvind, we are all in the process of making this fight stronger. There are challenges at every level, but first, let us talk about the positives. The workplace environment is changing with work-from-home options, flexible hours, and technology as an enabler. If we use these tools well, women can return to work sooner after short breaks.
However, we need better policies for women, and companies must be willing to welcome them back rather than push them out because of life events like marriage or having a baby. Recognizing talent and having policies to welcome women back to work is essential. Internally, companies need a proactive understanding of the issues women face and how to solve them.
Arvind Sethi: In your personal capacity, how do you mentor or support the development of diverse talent to prepare them for top industry roles?
Shan Jain: When I spot young talent, I actively engage with them, advise them, groom them, and connect them with successful women leaders as role models. I discuss their challenges and help them network and gain visibility among senior professionals. It is a tough environment, and both external and internal factors come into play, so I make it a point to be there for others.
I also believe that the art of extreme self-care is something everyone needs to understand—self-care is an art in itself.
There are several other things I mentor on, but the last piece of advice I would offer is this: when you are a young woman leader, especially in the early years of your career, it is crucial to focus on your work without distractions. This is the time when you are building your reputation, which will carry you far when you want to return to work or when you are looking back at the challenges you faced and the goals you achieved.
Actively bringing these accomplishments to light is essential. These are the learnings I have tried to share with you today, based on how I have managed my career over the last 32 years. And as I mentioned earlier, I am far from hanging up my boots. These are just some of the things I advise young women leaders to focus on while they are still early in their careers.
Arvind Sethi: Amazing, Shan. Listening to you over the past 45 minutes, your breadth of knowledge and acumen is truly impressive. To our listeners, the key takeaway here is the importance of building a strong foundation in your career. It is absolutely vital.
Thank you so much for joining us on Inspiring Voices and for providing such valuable perspectives.
Shan Jain: Thank you, Arvind. It has been my pleasure, and I hope our discussion inspires more women to pursue their dreams, change their mindset, and make a difference in their respective fields.
Arvind Sethi: I completely agree. I am confident that our listeners will take a lot from today’s discussion. Thank you for tuning in. We hope today's episode has been both inspiring and informative. Be sure to catch the next episode of Inspiring Voices, where we will feature more stories of successful women leaders shaping the future.
Stay tuned for more empowering stories and invaluable wisdom from these pioneers. Until next time, keep prioritizing your growth, leading with purpose, and striving to make a meaningful difference. See you next time.
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