"I will chase my passion"

Pallavi Gopinath combines the heart of a poet with the mind of a businesswoman. Her father, Capt G.R. Gopinath, rewrote the rules of the aviation business in India, while her mother Bhargavi runs a popular bakery in Bangalore.

Pallavi Gopinath, 28, MBA in Aerospace, Toulouse Work experience: Internship in BBC, Birmingham, UK; Airbus and ATR, Toulouse, France. In family business : Since 2008. Now: Associate Manager, Operations, Deccan 360, Bangalore. Lesson from parents:When you really want something and work for it, the entire universe will conspire to make it happen. Fast forward 2020: Not quite sure. Will stay on in aerospace as long as it sustains my interest. Best friend/guide in India Inc.: Damien Eprinchard, ex-colleague at ATR.

Pallavi herself is not in a hurry to decide what she wants to do in life: She has studied English Literature for five years— Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot. For the past 15 months, she has been part of her dad's logistics venture, Deccan 360, overseeing the operations side, having armed herself with an MBA in aerospace from Toulouse, France, and with stints at both Airbus and ATR. Before she decided to pick up an MBA, Pallavi had done her MPhil in media studies.

She chose her dad's firm because "a start-up is a good place to learn". Soft-spoken, she is nervous before crowds, unlike her dad who can hold his audience in thrall for hours. "I get easily intimidated or influenced by people," she reveals.

Pallavi is not sure where she will see herself ten years down the line—in her dad's firm or chasing a passion of her own. Given her MPhil in media studies, don't rule out journalism!