Verve’s Power Women: Usha Sangwan

Usha Sangwan has been supremely successful largely because of her fortitude and out-of-the-box thinking. As the first woman to occupy the post of the managing director at the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), she had a lot to prove and has done it with great panache and forward-thinking. Not only has she taken on the challenge of turning around the housing finance arm of the insurance player, but she took the initiative to increase LIC’s customer base by making it tech- and social media-savvy. Her efforts have proved to be successful, with LIC boasting over 16 lakh connections today on Facebook alone. For her outstanding contribution to the company and the corporate world, Sangwan has been honoured with the Brand Slam Leadership Award by CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Asia and the Women Leadership Award for the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) Sector by the Institute of Public Enterprise.

ON LIC’S TECH-FRIENDLY AVATAR: They have Jeevan Akshay-VI, an immediate annuity plan online and have launched an e-Term plan. She plans to be present online in all segments, irrespective of the business LIC gets from it.

CONTEMPORARY WOMEN ACHIEVERS: ‘The new generation of women and girls are more confident and sure of themselves, and I feel they know the world better and are much better decision makers.’