VISAKHAPATNAM: A serious ailment robbed
Vani Row
, an alumnus of
IIM Ahmedabad
and a native of
Visakhapatnam
, of her bright future. Instead of succumbing to despair, Vani's family chose to channel their immense loss into a beacon of hope for countless others.
With a remarkable Rs 2 crore contribution in her name, her father
Dr BRL Row
, an eminent scientist, breathed life into IIM Visakhapatnam’s flourishing startup incubation centre –
Vani Row Memorial Incubation Centre
.
It is as if her indomitable spirit has found a new home in the Incubation Centre, which was made operational on Saturday, in nurturing the entrepreneurial dreams of future generations and becoming an inspiration for budding young managers of IIMV.
Before her life was cut short by fate, Vani left an indelible mark as a consultant and investment banker both in India and the USA. Her family has also created a Rs 22 lakh corpus at IIMV to institute a gold medal in the name of Vani Row, which is given to the meritorious girl student of every MBA batch of the institute.
After completing her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Vani joined ICRA Bangalore and later left for the USA. She was associated, as a management consultant in finance, with Boeing, Columbia University, Citibank and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) for over 15 years, before returning to India. She headed Lexicon Securities as Head of South India, till Aug 2017.
Speaking to TOI after inauguration of the Vani Row Memorial Incubation Centre at IIMV campus in Gambheeram,
IIM Vizag
director Prof M Chandrasekhar said that IIM Visakhapatnam remembers with gratitude Ms Row, who recruited a student from the first batch of the Institute, as a summer intern. “Vani had an extraordinary hunger for knowledge of diverse topics beyond the class curricula. Mentored and empowered by her father Dr BRL Row, she developed into a lady of high intellect and boundless drive,” said
Prof Chandrasekhar
.
“She pleasantly surprised all by securing admission into IIM Ahmedabad in her very first attempt with a top score, despite taking no special coaching, immediately after she completed her BS degree in science. There was no stopping her after that. Her premature demise at a tender age left a big void in the life of all those to whom she was dear. We would like to reassure Dr Row that the Vani Row Memorial Incubation Centre on our permanent campus will stand tall as an icon and as an inspiration for all the budding young managers who would be the beneficiaries of the knowledge-facility,” added Prof Chandrasekhar.
Dr BRL Row, who earlier worked with HAL Bangalore and later at Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Udaipur, explained how the idea of an incubation centre has been put forward by IIMV director Prof Chandrasekhar. “With the launch of Vani Row Memorial Incubation Centre, a space is created for ideas to flourish and startups to grow, marking a significant step in fostering innovation and collaboration,” added Dr BRL Row.
IIMV FIELD director (finance) Prof Deepika Gupta, director (operations) Prof MS Jawed, and CEO Guhesh Ramanathan spoke on this occasion and explained about the activities and progress of FIELD.
English (US) ·