Acing her Profession – Shattering the glass ceiling – Meet Boss Lady I Dr. Shabnam Asthana | Empowered Solutions

Dr. Shabnam Asthana
Empowered Solutions
Indian public relations expert, speaker, and entrepreneur

In a world riddled with entrepreneurial mundanity, meet a woman who wears several hats with aplomb. A successful professional, whose journey has broken the stereotypical mould to carve a distinct entrepreneurial niche. Denizen of a world that does not follow a restrictive straight jacketed approach. Her world is dominated by dreams that quickly translate into reality and give way to newer and bigger dreams, all driven by a dynamic result -oriented approach. This modern-day Cinderella does not wait for miracles. She believes in moving with an alacrity that matches her ambition to shatter the glass ceiling with her grit and determination to succeed.

We take great pleasure in introducing you to Dr Shabnam Asthana – a multifaceted personality and the driving force behind the success story of Empowered Solutions as its’ Founder Director!

Could you delve into the initial phase of your career and give us a brief introduction of your company.

My rich career path is dotted with several milestones in diverse fields. I started off in academics, as a lecturer in the prestigious National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Pune. I had a very successful tenure of 3 years, where apart from the regular teaching, I had the privilege of being the only civilian to be chosen to compere their prestigious Passing Out Parades, Graduation Ceremony, P.T & Equestrian display. This earned me a lot of appreciation and was covered live by Doordarshan in those days. I am happy to say that even after I left NDA, I was invited for a few years to compere for those events. Interestingly enough while I was compering the Passing Out Parade, one year, I was noticed by the Chairman of a very reputed company and he offered me the position of a Public Relations Manager, in his office. Thus began my foray into the corporate world. I had seen my father Mr. Onkar Nath Panchalar heading the Public Relations Department in Bokaro Steel Plant as its Chief Public Relations Officer, and therefore, this career held a special charm for me. My corporate journey saw me taking big strides in the Public Relations world. I went on to join several large corporations, including reputed Multi Nationals in senior PR Positions.

My rich experience coupled with my dream to start my own company propelled me on the path of entrepreneurship. In October 2005, I set up my own Public Relations and Communications firm – Empowered Solutions. Within a span of 16 years, we have cemented our place in the PR and Communications industry as an innovative company with a razor-sharp focus on delivering the best and even surpassing the expectations of our valuable and loyal clients. We customize and craft a communication approach and strategy for each of our clients to keep pace with their evolving needs and it is never a “one size fits all” approach.

Today there are many caps that you wear, take us through the different roles that you play with such ease and competence to achieve success.

I have never been a conformist. I have always had a rebellious streak in me, to deviate from the trodden path and add my own zing to whatever I do. I have always believed in adding and writing my own lines in the professional script. I am happy that I have a young and vibrant team, that echoes my sentiments and ideas. We treat each assignment with a great degree of “Out of the Box’ thinking and devise ways and means that are not “run of the mill” and come up with intriguing and new concepts to address each task on hand. Our approach is appreciated by our diverse clientele from various sectors. My company Empowered Solutions offers competent Public Relations Services, Communications Training, English language training (beginners, middle, and advanced) Soft Skills Training, Media training, Content writing, newsletters, ghost writing for fiction and nonfiction books, Event Management and so on.

Apart from my primary profession of PR and Communications, I also don several other caps like you rightly mentioned. I am a visiting/ guest faculty at renowned B schools / Management Institutes. I am also invited overseas for talks and lectures. Incidentally, I was the first Indian to be invited by PRSSA (The Public Relations Students Society of America) in the year 2012 to San Francisco USA, to address their National Conference. Now I am a regular at most of the overseas conferences in Europe and USA.

I have always been fond of writing and have over 500 articles published till date. I have recently authored a book “Romancing Your Career.” This book went on to become very popular and received National & International media coverage and reader appreciation. It traces my experience in the corporate world and is interspersed with real life anecdotes.

I have also authored course content for a very reputed Management Institute/ B -School.

In a kind of a role reversal, while I was creating visibility for my clients, quite to my delight the spotlight started shining on me. I became popular with the media, and my achievements and work were covered extensively in various publications. I also went on to win several prestigious awards. Just as I start thinking that I must have now received my final award, I am pleasantly surprised with the news of receiving another prestigious accolade/recognition. This is the magic elixir that never allows me to sink into complacency and spurs me on to do my best, and outperform my yesterdays with more successful tomorrows.

Very interestingly, my career has taken a unique turn. Apart from the daily grind, I have started receiving many invitations as the Chief Guest or Guest of Honor at various well-known events and which continues unabated till date. I am also an acknowledged social media influencer, with endorsements for well-known introductory and established brands. I have a huge online presence and a verified social media Facebook page with over 110k fans and followers which is growing by the day.

I can connect with my huge fan base, spread all across the world at the click of a button.

Life is exciting and nothing gives me more happiness than a fully packed eventful day and my fully booked appointment diary. As oxymoronic as it may sound, work is a great stress buster for me.

What else keeps you going apart from the headiness and satisfaction of work?

Other ways to recharge my batteries and remain active and productive is working out! There is nothing better than exercising and treating your body to the good health and fitness that it deserves. The icing on the cake of my happiness and good health would however be, my love for dogs. I am extremely passionate about the well being of dogs. I support many animal welfare NGO’s both in India and abroad. My perennial source of joy, are my dogs, Scooby in India and Bella in Canada. They are an indispensable part of my family and have enriched me with their selfless love and affection.

Could you mention a few awards in your illustrious career so far?

1. The Highest National Award in PR – Chanakya – Hall of Fame awarded by the PRCI in 2012
2. The Indian Achievers Award by the IAF in 2017.
3. The Times Power Woman Award – Pune 2017.
4. The International Achievers Award – Dubai in 2018
5. The Times Power Woman Award in Global PR – Western Region 2018
6. Award in Global PR conferred in The British Parliament – The House of Commons in London on 25th October 2018.
7. Doctorate (Hon) conferred by The National American University (NAU) in 2019.
8. Woman Leadership Award (Pune) by CMO Asia in October 2019.
9. Iconic professionals of Maharashtra Award in October 2021 – by the largest and leading media house in Maharashtra – The Sakal Media Group.
10. The Influencer of the year award 2021 – conferred by the IAF in October 2021.

www.empoweredsolutions.in
shabnam@empoweredsolutions.in