Legal Era Nov 2017 | Page 53

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. www . legaleraonline . com | L egal E ra | N ovember 2017 53