For Manisha Girotra, golf, banking... nothing's a male bastion

Banking may have come easy to India’s hotshot financier Manisha Girotra, CEO of the Indian unit of investment bank Moelis, but golf did not. She had to work hard at it from childhood. “In the middle of a cold white winter in Shimla, my dad would force my brother and me to the Naldhera Golf Course. Not golfing was never an option.”

Later, as she moved to St Stephen’s College and then the Delhi School of Economics in the capital, Delhi Golf Club became the golfing haunt.

The golf links have trained Girotra to take the rough in her stride and so she is often better prepared for sudden market changes such as the ones we have seen lately. “The worst though is behind us and stock markets have of late over-reacted to the rupee and other news triggers.”

Girotra expects a few big deals done months ago to kick in their funds in the next few weeks like the Jet-Etihad deal, the Mylan buyout of Agila as well. But the rest of the year will depend on the fundamentals of growth. “Can we get the pending infra projects off the ground?” She dismisses the notion that when the markets are down so should be golf and instead considers them independent in their own right.

But both golf and investment banking had initially been male bastions and she had no choice but to take them on. “I don’t know many women in India Inc who are up for golf. It’s so time-consuming I guess.” And so, competition was more than level as the young female banker skipped tea parties for tee offs, mostly with male colleagues or clients.

In a couple of months, she is headed off to Pebble Beach in Monterey Bay, California, a course she has gotten familiar with, thanks to a game she played with Tiger Woods. “The good part of these pro-ams is that your pro doesn’t ever let you feel inferior about your golf. Tiger was helpful and gave me plenty of advice on the posture and swing when I played with him on an outing during my UBS days.”

Girotra has been playing tournaments across India and the world as her former employer UBS and now Moelis both hold annual golf tournaments and galas for clients.

Golf, like the economy, is also facing the brunt of a yo-yo-ing rupee but Girotra admits the bottom of the weak cycle may have been already witnessed, although she is realistic about investments right now, given that the country is going to elections next year.

“Job creation, bigger reforms, manufacturing push... now, all of them are going to be in focus only after the elections.”

Gloved and clubbed up, she is certainly the most glamorous banker on Indian courses, but that shouldn’t underestimate her skill-set; for, she doesn’t wait to get suited-booted in boardrooms before she can putt a few deals on the greens.

Shaili Chopra is an award-winning business journalist and founder of www.golfingindian.com