Changing lifestyles

"When I was young, my grandfather used to call me and my cousins and ask us to tell him about some good thing that we had done that day. And we always tried to outdo each other to be in his good books," says Upasana Kamineni, Executive Director, Lifetime Wellness RX, and Vice President, Apollo Charities. "His vision of touching a billion lives has stayed with me since then," she says, referring to her grandfather, Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Founder-Chairman of the Apollo Group, the country's biggest healthcare chain.

Upasana Kamineni, 23, Global Marketing Mgmt. from Regents College, London Work experience:With Apollo Group of Hospitals. In family business: Since 2008. Now: Executive Director, Lifetime Wellness RX, and Vice President, Apollo Charities. Lesson from parents: Educate, empower and liberate those in need. Fast forward 2020: Touching over a billion lives.

At a time when most women her age and background are attending champagne soirees, Upasana is deep into philanthropy. At Apollo Charities, Kamineni has supported initiatives such as Sach (Save a Child's Heart) Foundation, Sahi (for the hearing impaired) and Cure for cancer. She feels she is a perfect fit at the Apollo Group.

At Lifetime Wellness RX, she steers group activities like health talks, assessments and camps and research into lifestyle disorders. "The need to address lifestyle disorders is close to my heart as, being an overweight teenager, I was a victim myself," she says. Kamineni feels the biggest strength of Apollo Charities lies in addressing these ailments, which are also the focus areas of the hospital parent.