Meet Meenakshi Kalsi, Managing Partner at Metro & Metro Shoes, India’s leading footwear brand

Entrepreneurial Journey of Meenakshi Kalsi, Managing Partner at Metro & Metro Shoes

The Woman

Meet Meenakshi Kalsi, Managing Partner at Metro & Metro Shoes, India’s leading footwear brand that is celebrating its golden jubilee with one of the finest caretakers the company could ask for – the dynamic duo of Mr. Ajit Kalsi and his wife Meenakshi Kalsi who took over the business from founder and head of the family, Mr. Dwarka Nath Kalsi in 1998.

With the succession and years of hard work, Kalsi became one of the first women entrepreneurs to hold a position in the upper echelons of the company in the otherwise male-dominated industry, shattering the glass ceiling and plethora of conventions and stereotypes along the way.

Her Entrepreneurial Journey

Once married into the Kalsi household, Meenakshi joined the family business and took her time to not only comprehend the various functions of the business but also gradually yet confidently improvise by adding value to the product and helping in the growth of the company. Seven years later, Meenakshi finally took the Managing Partner position.

The couple, dealing in exports of men’s shoes for a while, began overseeing the project’s expansion into the domestic niche market along with plans to enter women’s shoes market. In fact, when Meenakshi joined the company, the mass production was one of the primary objectives of the company.

However, Kalsi’s strong planning, by the virtue of her administrative background, helped the expansion of the company with strength and solidarity. As a result, Meenakshi rose to the position of a central figure in Metro & Metro’s planning division.

Understanding the role of planning in efficient production, she was able to cut costs and simplify production process for increased efficiency. Meenakshi further strengthened her position in the company and established trust among customers and buyers with the introduction of transparent policies reflecting company’s motto of consistent quality.

With several years of experience in people management, Meenakshi soon undertstood that the real challenge did not lie in the shoemaking process but in the fight against the stern attitude and mindset of the massive labor force.

So she did what any accomplished woman would do, sit with the people and listen to their issues, ultimately overcoming the communication gap and resolving the conflicts to create a healthy work environment.

There are problems you can predict, and there are things that not only take your by surprise but jolt you to the core, leaving you searching for the last ounce of strength in dealing with the unpredictable. The 2011 fire incidents in the factory left the work force and management shocked and in utter dismay but the ‘tough as leather’ Kalsis fought back with vigour and spirit to not only recover but also set stage for further growth of the company and its employees,

Her roots

So where does she get her resilience and strength from? To know how she does it, we need to take a peek into her past.

Meenakshi Kalsi moved quite a bit during her elementary and middle school days due to the nature of her father’s job. While it can be challenging for children to uproot themselves frequently, young Meenakshi explored the bright side of it all, learning about different cultures and languages and understanding the sheer power of unity in diversity.

From the very beginning, Meenakshi stood out in school and always stayed ahead, participating in various sports and cultural events. A head girl in her school, Meenakshi learned the power of speech when she won various national inter-school debate competitions.

After graduating from High School, Meenakshi pursued a graduation degree at Delhi University and finished her Masters in Business Administration from Symbiosis, Pune. Growing up, her personality was shaped up under the heavy influence of sports.

Playing tennis and basketball at the national level, she represented Pune, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh teams as a Captain and set an exhilarating record of victories in five consecutive seasons. Being an ardent Federer fan, Meenakshi learned the significance of composure and calmness under pressure.

She represented Delhi University in swimming competitions too. Sports was not all she did though, her impressive extracurricular resume also includes organising seminar and heading fests and socials in IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad during her MBA days.

Soon after MBA, she completed her internship at Cadbury and continued her work with such an esteemed organisation, developing her skill set and also topped her academics with a course in forensic division.

In her spare time, she loves to pursue a variety of other interests including dance art forms like Kathak, Bharatnatyam and learning other languages. Her stint with German and Sanskrit is allowing her to explore two different cultures, particularly with Sanskrit that helps her learn more about the Upanishads and Vedas.

Her interest in Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Yoga is therefore a natural progression of what she immerses herself in on daily basis- the quest for knowledge.

Her aspirations

With her firm belief in life being a journey of constant learning and self-improvement, Meenakshi works side-by-side with husband, Ajit Kalsi to take their company global. Her strong position and knack in trying new things to success has been pivotal in handling the business so commendably.

She loves experimenting with new ideas and never shies away from taking calculated risks. Her remarkably effective communication-skills help manage skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled personnel in a professional as well as productive manner.

She has been highly focused on arranging and strategizing everything from procurement of raw materials to production planning and finally dispatch, understanding the crucial function of communication and consumer needs.

Her primary goal is to meet the deadline while maintaining the end product’s quality. Regular introductions of schemes to increase efficiency of workers helped Meenakshi considerably in achieving these targets.

Following vivid pursuits is very much an integral part of her future aspirations. Quoting one of her favourite proverbs – “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”, Meenakshi continues to keep her strong connection with sports with a belief that sports help in building a personality with a healthy competitive yet never-give-up attitude in life.

Given how her sportsmanship has shaped her into the complete personality she is today, she feels no knowledge or experience should be wasted. She introduced the annual sports week in factory featuring intra-department yoga sessions and tournaments for a variety of sports, including badminton and cricket, thereby improving the work atmosphere and allowing employees of different divisions to get to know each other well and work collectively to achieve company’s goals.

The Mother & the Philanthropist

With the third generation of Kalsis, Arushi & Vanshika already in the mix with elder daughter helping the company go global with new ventures under Meenakshi and Ajit’s watchful eyes, and younger Kalsi, Vanshika with two masters degrees from London School of Economics and Erasmus University in Rotterdam respectively, carrying on the family’s legacy in the constant involvement in philanthropic work, Meenakshi knew she’d done well to raise two exceptional daughters.

In fact, Meenakshi had a clear vision from the very beginning of the kind of upbringing she wanted to give to her daughters which is why she always encouraged Vanshika to participate in sports to amazing results.

Ms. Kalsi Junior has been an exceptional sports achiever in Table Tennis and shooting, being a national level player for 6 years. She was appointed as the Regional leader of Europe and Central Asia for Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation.

While younger sibling has been bringing glory to her family as well as country, Meenakshi’s elder daughter Arushi cherishes the family values of gratitude and humble beginnings. Despite the alternatives available, Arushi chose to use her own savings from her time spent learning the craft of shoemaking in Germany and used it to kickstart the new venture under the patronage of the parent company – Metro & Metro.

With the rest of her family occupied in projects close to their hearts, Meenakshi turned her attention to making lives of people around her a little better, starting with the recognition of the employees’ hardwork – the annual awards ceremony which felicitates employees with inspiring dedication, sincerity and punctuality in an effort to foster a sense of teamwork.

Being a mother with big dreams and aspirations for her children, Meenakshi draws inspiration from her maternal side immensely and has introduced the annual scholarship programme that supports worker’s children excel in their academics and other athletic pursuits.

The family strongly believes in the motto of “being the change one wants to see in the world” and Meenakshi always gave weightage to the same along with academic excellence and high values & ethics to cause the desired change for society’s betterment as a whole, a spirit that she shares with her family, particularly her two daughters who live by the same set of ethics that their mother has so religiously followed throughout the course of her life.

Women empowerment is another cause very close to her heart that reflects in her provisioning training female industrial workers to hone their professional skills. Since training is a requirement for all businesses, she made sure that each of her workers or employees had the necessary skills and knowledge to be productive and efficient, which are the two most crucial elements for running a successful company and being an entrepreneur.

Kalsi feels very strongly about the welfare of women and children and the social injustice that they fall prey to from time to time. Her fight against the same injustice reflects in every conversation, every discussion with the fellow employees, however little the endeavours may be, to make sure the spirit of justice and equality spreads among all around her.

Metro & Metro takes its social responsibilities very seriously and in an attempt to provide assistance in educating children with special needs, the company joined hands with a school which aims to educate 500 children in conjunction with government initiatives.

As per the 2020 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries, an unfortunate situation that was further exacerbated with the onset and spread of the pandemic. With the aim to alleviate the rising problem, Meenakshi, along with daughter Vanshika co-founded “Umeed campaign “ and started provisioning rations such as rice, lentils, wheat and refined oil to poor households in rural areas in order to curb the devastating impact of poverty and hunger.

The upliftment of MSMEs and NGOs is also the focus for the company which is why they regularly purchase their locally manufactured goods to encourage their small business.

Meenakshi Kalsi is a woman with myriad sides – A mother, an Entrepreneur, an athlete, a philanthropist, and she manages to strike a balance among all these facets of her being to continue inspiring a generation of women who look for role models to carve their own path to success.

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