Nandini Piramal, Executive Director of Piramal Enterprises (runs strategy, HR and IT for its pharma business), draws lessons from challenges faced. Working in McKinsey as an analyst taught her the importance of structured thinking and processes. “You also learn to work really hard,” she smiles. In Newcastle, taking care of the Piramal Healthcare factory making API and formulations, she learnt that exposure to a different culture helped “when we worked on cross-border transactions”. Covid took ‘challenge’ to a different level, where she lost some employees to the virus, yet the pharma business had to run non-stop. What’s the biggest learning of all? “It is really about how to influence people without using authority.” Shades of a good leader.