Atul is more boss than partner: Businesswoman Gayatri Ruia

Gayatri, along with husband Atul Ruia, has metamorphosed Mumbai’s shopping and hospitality scene over the years. After the success of High Street Phoenix, she fuelled the luxury retail scene in the city with a premium high-end shopping mall — Palladium. Her latest offering — the luxe-lit Palladium Hotel — makes her one of the potent lifestyle and hospitality force in the country to reckon with.

Gayatri is a mother, a wife and a jet-setting businesswoman. The dynamic lady straddles the world of business with a level-headed approach. Clearly that’s what makes her on top of her game. “I am lucky to be able to have choices, and as I often tell my children — privileges and choices come with responsibility. Each of the roles are interconnected with the other and one has to be very disciplined and focused on the present,” she says.

A visionary
One’s curious to know what inspires her to spearhead such mammoth ventures. “The vision for Palladium has always been to bring the international luxury experience of the greatest consumer markets of the world like Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong to Mumbai. With the Palladium hotel and mall annexed seamlessly, we have really been able to redefine luxury standards in the city and it has been a very rewarding journey,” she says. 

Partnership with husband Atul
“Let me set the record right — Atul is more of a boss than a partner at work and at home the role is reversed. It has not been easy to get this but after knowing each other for more then 25 years it has become easier! Luckily, we have a strong respect for each other and have managed mostly to not let egos come in the way,” she shares.

Work life balance
“By keeping a cool head and making daily goals. I have to be realistic, sometimes work may suffer and sometimes I may have to miss a meaningful event with my child. A quick assessment of most important tasks at hand and prioritising helps,” she says.

Integral attributes
“To constantly learn, adapt and keep taking decisions, sometimes even bad decisions are better than none. Also, getting the right team, empowering your colleagues and strong communication. An organisation can only be as good as its people from the top to the bottom. My strengths are my creativity and immense work experience and weaknesses are consistently the same at work or at home. My weakness, I would say, is trying to ambitiously give my absolute best to every job at hand, at the cost of physical strain and pressure,” she says.

The new ventures
“Offering a spectacular 360 panoramic view of Mumbai city and a luxury experience par excellence: Li Bai, the Asian Bar and Mekong, the Oriental restaurant at The Palladium Hotel, take fine dining in Mumbai to the next level of sophistication and grandeur. Mumbai finally gets the bar and lounge that puts it on the international map — a decadent jewel in the sky with 360 degree views of the glittering city at its feet,” she adds.

Role Models
“I am an extremely impressionable person and feel constantly awed, motivated and moved by various people, stories and possibilities. The point is to stay open minded and seek the best from people and situations around you,” says she.