COVER STORY
S
hukla Wassan is the Executive Director -
Legal & Corporate Affairs, South Asia of
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd
and Chairperson of International Beverages Pvt.
Ltd, Bangladesh, Bottlers Nepal Limited and
Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited, Nepal, subsidiaries
of The Coca-Cola Company plc. Shukla is a
member of The Coca-Cola Company Bottling
Investment Group Women’s Advisory Counsel
and a Founder-Member of the Indian Corporate
Counsel Association.
Shukla has had a rich and diverse career
spanning over three decades, where she has
been a part of the Corporate Management
Team of multinational companies like Reckitt
Benckiser, Xerox India & Max New York Life
Insurance Co. Her wide-ranging areas of
expertise include Joint Ventures, Strategic
Alliances,
Fund
Structuring,
Intellectual
Property, Indirect Taxation, Competition Law
and Corporate Governance & Compliances.
A prominent speaker at seminars and
international conferences; a Committee
Member of various industry forums; Shukla is
a law graduate from Calcutta University and
a Fellow Member of the Institute of Company
Secretaries of India. She is a recipient of several
awards and accolades, the most recent being
‘Corporate Lawyer of the Year’ by the Annual
Women in Compliance Awards-2017 organized
by C5 Communications Limited (formerly known
as Euroform) a subsidiary of C5 Group Inc., UK.
Describe your journey as a leading woman
lawyer?
I have been fortunate to work in organizations, each having
different complexities and challenges. The changing regulatory
and legal scenario further attributed to the complexity. This, by
default, taught me to be agile, flexible, taking accountability
including being result-oriented within the ambit of law and ethical
practices.
Emotional intelligence, astuteness and being empathetic have
helped me get into the thick of things and emerge a winner
and be accepted as a business partner more than just a legal
professional.
Describe the challenges that you have faced as
a leading woman lawyer?
I have never experienced an obstacle that was solely the result
of being a female. Generally, I have been the only woman in the
room but I have never viewed that as an obstacle. I have always
been accepted by all my seniors and peers as a professional, and
they have never differentiated against me for being a woman. My
biggest challenge, at times, has been juggling between my work
and home commitments.
Which are the cases you would say form the
silver lining of your career?
As mentioned earlier, every organization I worked with presented
different challenges in different environments. Each of these
experiences has helped shape me to be what I am today.
She is a Law graduate from Calcutta University
and a Fellow Member of Institute of Company
Secretaries of India.
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| L egal E ra | N ovember 2017
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