Leadership by Proxy” by Poonam Barua is a pioneering book that lays an archival milestone for creating a “brave new mindset” in corporate India and businesses worldwide -- that will genuinely embrace “balanced leadership” as a true goal of corporate enterprise, validate and verify equal opportunity with meritocracy, respect inclusive growth for women who form 50% of the world population, and best practices in the workplace that will reject homogenous all-male corporate leadership as a fundamental economic function – to bring optimum rewards of diversity to business growth and societal progress.
The book is a steady and seminal personal narrative – with compelling corporate anecdotes and case studies – that provide a multi-faceted kaleidascope of how the women of corporate India have been progressively finding their voices in an unequal corporate world, collectively redefining gender-sensitive leadership, and aspiring for board positions – in hallways that have kept the women out of decision-making for over 100 years.
The book is recommended reading for all business leaders, professionals, academics, acitivists, ngo’s, women and men– who are looking for insights, perspectives, and roadmaps to build a vibrant common future – where differences are respected, and conservative leadership paradigms are re-defined by real-time changing, dynamic and vibrant stakeholders. “Its my time now !
Author Biography:
Poonam Barua is Founder Director, PAMASIA -- an independent firm specializing in corporate and institutional diplomacy, global corporate advisory services, and building leadership across a range of diverse stakeholders, based in New Delhi.
Ms. Barua is also Founder-Chairman of the distinguished “Forum for Women in Leadership” WILL Forum India -- that brings together senior women executives from leading companies in India and multinationals for leveraging the vast talent-pool of women, sharing best practices for women in the workplace, and mentoring women for leadership positions. Over 6,000 senior women and men executives from across 250 companies, and over 500 WILL Mentees -- have participated in the WILL Forum since its launch in 2007, that are redefining “balanced leadership” for future business success. Founding members of the WILL Forum India include Tata Consultancy Services, KPMG, and Infosys Technologies.
Ms. Barua has authored several WILL Research Reports and surveys on “WILL Handbook: 50-Best Practices for Women in the Workplace,” “Differentiating Styles of Women in Leadership,” “WILL User’s Guide: Mentoring Women for Best Rewards,” “WILL-KPMG Report: Women and Enterprise Risk Management” and “WILL-KPMG Report: In Pursuit of Balanced Leadership.”
For over a decade, Ms. Barua has been Regional Director - India, The Conference Board, New York, providing thought-leadership on best business practices for top-management, CEO’s, HR leaders, and Board Directors. She has also launched the highly successful "Human Resources Council- India” and "Council on Corporate Governance & Risk Management” in India. Ms. Barua is fully committed to bringing transparency and corporate governance to business India, and serves as an independent director on the Board of Walchand PeopleFirst Ltd. in Mumbai, leads the pioneering “WILL Women on Corporate Boards” series in India, and is a Member of the Joint Electricity Regulation Commission Advisory Board, of the Indian government.
Ms. Barua has been awarded a Visiting Scholarship at The Wharton School Advanced Management Program for her work on women in leadership, and is a member of the IFC/ World Bank “Global Roundtable on Board Diversity.” She also holds a Ford Fellowship at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, for her work on conflict resolution in South Asia. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center (Washington D.C.) and the Salzburg Seminar in Austria. Ms. Barua has also served as Special Consultant for distinguished international institutions – including the Eisenhower Fellowships, London Business School, Financial Markets International Inc., and East-West Center.
Ms. Barua is a trained economist with a Master’s Degree from the prestigious Delhi School of Economics, and has served as Chief Program Specialist for over a decade at the United States Information Service in New Delhi. She has also been a Lecturer in Economics at Delhi University and Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Public Administration.
