Sruti Bajoria who was recently announced as one of the 2023 Governance HOT 100 winners in the Future Leader category, sat down with David Press to discuss her achievements and her career journey to date.
Sruti is currently the Senior Assistant Company Secretary at Easy Jet, where she has been for the past four years. Prior to this, she worked at IG Group.
How did you become a company secretary/governance professional?
My governance journey started back in 2006 when I was doing my university degree. I was keen on taking up an additional qualification when I graduated, so explored a number of options and
discovered the governance profession and the variety and scope it offered. I decided to go for it and embarked on my studies after graduating.
I did an internship for 15 months at a listed company in India where I developed some of the skills, knowledge, and experience required to become a governance professional. It is during that time I learned what it takes to run a company and the importance of this profession in bridging the gap between the management and Board, as well as the Board and key stakeholders, which was fascinating.
In 2013, I relocated to London and completed my ICSA exams, following which I joined IG Group Holdings plc where I spent 4 years getting involved in a wide variety of CoSec projects, before joining easyJet in 2019.
What has been your biggest career achievement to date?
Difficult to pick just one!
Other than being on the Hot 100 list, a recent achievement was leading the onboarding and induction of three Non-Executive Directors simultaneously. It was complex and involved meeting the demands of different stakeholders. I was able to leverage my management skills and collaborate with different teams within easyJet as well as the directors themselves, to ensure their onboarding was successful and they received a comprehensive introduction to the business.
Looking ahead, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing the governance profession?
As governance professionals, we are responsible for ensuring that companies operate in an ethical, legal, and sustainable matter. I think some of the biggest challenges facing the profession include:
- Diversity and Inclusion – We need to ensure that companies are committed to improving Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of their operations. This includes creating an inclusive and respectful culture for all individuals as well as clear and meaningful reporting on the workforce and diversity as a proxy for good governance.
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) - The ESG landscape has shifted significantly with mandatory disclosures and increased stakeholder scrutiny. We are instrumental in supporting companies to meet the evolving ESG requirements and tackle the underlying environmental and social challenges.
- Regulatory compliance – With ever-increasing regulatory compliance requirements, ensuring that we are up to date on the latest changes and can interpret how best to implement them within our own business is one of the challenges we face on a daily basis.
What does winning in this category mean to you?
I am absolutely honored to have been featured in this category alongside such an impressive group of people. This category reflects my development within easyJet over the last few years as well as my commitment to grow and stretch myself for personal and professional development. It has given me the confidence to continue pushing myself to be the best I can be and to inspire and motivate others.
Posted 04/05/2023 By David Press