Sailaja Devireddy

Published on July 17, 2020

Tell us your story.

I am the youngest of three siblings and grew up in a joint family, where my grandparents lived with us. When I look back at my childhood, I can remember (and still feel!) all the love, warmth and affection that my parents and grandparents filled the house with. They were simple, yet, strong individuals and in their own quite way, taught us how to handle life without being overwhelmed. Perhaps, this helped all of us grow up as calm and content individuals. Not that there were no challenges or issues, but, when you have a family that rallies around each other, it is easy to overcome problems.

I completed CA and CS & started my first job just a few days before my 21st birthday. I began my career with Acuity (Amba) in 2007 and it has been an amazing journey. Over the years, I have learnt a lot from my colleagues, managers, seniors and in fact, everyone I interacted with. I am not much of a “future planner” but like to do my best in every role assigned to me. I am lucky to have been with an organization where merit and talent is recognized and rewarded. In addition, I really enjoy working with my team, who are thoroughly professional and committed.

Of course, there have been challenges along the way, tough times when it is difficult to balance work and home, when you feel like giving up …… but, I have just hung in. Most of the times, when you do that, things always change; they become better and more manageable.

In my professional career, I feel proud of having built a strong team, providing opportunities for my team members to grow and nurturing a positive work culture, where everyone is treated with respect. While it is difficult to make everyone happy, the kind of value system and work culture we build is very important for me as a manager, and something that gives me happiness.

I really like reading – it could be a book, a newspaper or a magazine article. On a holiday or a weekend, after all my chores are done, I enjoy sitting down with a book – it is a form of yoga or meditation for me. I strongly feel this is a habit to pass on to future generations, in spite of all the electronic media. I started reading to my son when he was 9 months old and am glad he has taken to books.

I really like reading – it could be a book, a newspaper or a magazine article. On a holiday or a weekend, after all my chores are done, I enjoy sitting down with a book – it is a form of yoga or meditation for me. I strongly feel this is a habit to pass on to future generations, in spite of all the electronic media. I started reading to my son when he was 9 months old and am glad he has taken to books.

I think I was pretty sorted out as a youngster! Nevertheless, I have learnt that intelligence is sometimes highly overrated in our society. What really matters is discipline, dedication and commitment towards work. There will always be challenges in life and situations, which are not in our control. Hence, it is important to get your basic value system right, to be patient and believe in yourself.

Growing up, I never heard anyone differentiate or put me down because I am a girl. No one ever told me “you cannot do this because you are a girl”. Now, I realize I was part of the lucky few. I strongly believe it is important that every woman gets such support - not to prove that she is superior to someone else, but, because empowering women, letting them grow, letting them achieve will provide the much needed balance in our lives and society. Equally, we should move away from judging ourselves and others all the time.

A family friend always tells us “The future belongs to those who are physically fit, mentally strong and emotionally balanced”. I think this is true and we all need to focus on these three aspects for our next generation.

#ThisGirlCan

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