Born and raised in the bustling city of New Delhi, India, Hiti learnt about surviving in a competitive environment at a very early age and benefited from the very best role models.

Her first job was at the age of 10, assisting her father in his successful business activities. “In a country where females are considered home makers, my father always treated us like sons. He instilled in me the importance of always believing in yourself and making it happen.”

“My mother was a strict mathematician. I only had to score well in maths to make her happy!”

Which she did, achieving top marks academically at school and then completing a double degree at university.

Hiti is currently IPL’s Chartering Operations Manager and was acknowledged for her achievements as part of IPL’s.

International Women’s Day 2016 celebrations. This capped off a year of career highlights, including becoming a member of NAWO’s Victorian State Committee (Sept 2015) and accepting an offer for the position of Education Officer with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in August 2015.

“I am quite amazed that the Australian shipping industry has formally recognised my talent,” is her modest response.

Hiti’s professional career commenced working for a family-owned management consultancy, PHR Consultant. In 2002 she gained her first operational role, with India’s Interocean Group of Companies. One of her key contributions was to assist them in gaining ISO 9000 certification for their ship broking and agency division. She then joined their chartering division as a post fixture operator and worked to gain Membership to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (London).

Hiti’s focus moved to chemicals and fertilisers when she took on the role of Commercial Officer with Mosaic Fertilizer. But it was the quest for better career opportunities that brought Hiti to Australia in 2006.

“To step foot into a global diversified industrial chemicals company headquartered in Australia, with no local experience, was not easy. I started with a Shipping Admin role with Incitec Pivot Limited.”

Her work again saw her inclined towards assisting the operations team, and gradually progressing upwards through different roles. “With my shipping team support and continuous guidance and empowerment by some wonderful mentors, I was able to achieve my personal goal.”

“Throughout my career I have experienced that being a young woman in a chartering role isn’t an easy ride, but I want to set an example for the future generation to always dream big, let nothing stop you.”

“As someone wisely said, ‘Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently’.”

“Coming from a culture where the man as the main bread winner is so entrenched, I don’t know that I would have enjoyed the same opportunities if I had remained in India.”

“Attending QuickBite and Professional Development Events has been great for networking and it is so inspiring to hear that other women are facing the same work issues and scenarios – it is like a sisterhood! They are also incredibly valuable for professional development. IPL has terrific internal training programs, but listening to external people and how different organisations’ approaches and ideas are working is also really helpful.”