How to focus on what’s most important

How do you transition from a high-flying tech career to making a meaningful impact in society? In this episode of “Rewrite the Rules,” Rajita welcomes Arpita Pal Agrawal, MD and CEO of Dia Vikas Capital, to discuss her journey from electronics engineering to leading a social impact investment firm. Arpita shares insights from her pivotal career decisions, her approach to navigating male-dominated fields, and the challenges she faced when shifting her focus towards impact investing without a concrete plan. Join us as we explore the importance of aligning career goals with personal values and the power of networking effectively!

Discussion Topics: How to focus on what’s most important

• How does a tech engineer switch to social impact investing?  
• What drove Arpita to leave a stable job without a backup plan?  
• How does impact investing differ from philanthropy and traditional investing?  
• What’s it like to navigate a male-dominated industry as a woman?  
• How can effective networking advance your career?  
• Where do you find mentors and support during career challenges?  
• How do you balance a demanding career with personal life?  
• How can organizations support women in balancing work and family life?  
• Wrapping up

Our Guest: Arpita Pal Agrawal

Arpita has a diverse background as an industry practitioner in telecom and risk management, as a strategic leader of professional services firms in consulting, an advocate for better governance at the board level, and a champion of the power of technology to transform life chances and create impact at scale. Now, through her full-time role as an Impact Investor and through her Board roles, she focuses on working with organizations that help build pathways out of poverty with smart, sustainable, resilient and scalable solutions that address the complex nature of poverty impacting millions of the excluded. She is a lifelong learner and is very passionate about gender empowerment.

Your Host: Ritu Gupta Mehrish

Ritu Gupta Mehrish is a speaker, executive coach and author, with 20 years of corporate experience working in companies such as P&G, GE Capital and GE spin-off Genpact. In her last role, Ritu ran a multimillion-dollar business vertical with 1000 people across eight countries and five continents. Throughout her extensive career, Ritu has had the opportunity to work, coach and converse with leaders across the globe from diverse industries. Her business and leadership experience has enabled her to bring in a pragmatic approach to leadership development. Her client list of Google, PayPal, Swiss Re, JP Morgan, Applied Materials, Intel, Knight Frank, Johnson & Johnson, AIA, Medtronic, Wharton Executive Education highlights the level of expertise she brings to the leadership topic.

Rajita Saxena is a leader and people manager with over 20 years of business experience in sales, sales support, strategic operations, and learning & development. She builds strong, high-performing teams and believes in being a Level 5 leader to unleash the potential and performance of teams. She thrives in an environment that provides an opportunity to problem solve or create impact, whether it is a situation that is full of change and ambiguity or one that requires creating a strategy.