Designing spaces; Laying Foundations

Sunaina Gera — Director, Gera Developments

Sunaina Gera is the Director at Gera Developments – creators of premium residential and commercial projects (www.gera.in). It is a dedicated end-to-end real estate organization with in-house architects, engineers and construction crew. The company has spread their footprint across Pune, Goa and Bangalore by meticulously constructing and delivering over 50 projects, with close to 5 million sq. ft of development.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Sunaina graduated in English Literature from St Stephens College in Delhi after which she completed her Diploma in Interior Design from Maharashtra State Board Technical Education. She completed over 100 projects as a freelance interior designer over a period of 14 years. Eventually she decided to join the family business as head of the design team. She was then given additional responsibilities of handling HR and execution as well. In addition to this, she also looked after all environment clearances and audit for the organization.

Sunaina says that exploring new options is what interests her most in her work life. She is most intrigued when it comes to researching new products or new construction techniques. This aspect of her work drives her and she considers herself fortunate to have the luxury of following her passion.

High point in career

“On days at work that I am able to bring about a change in the way things are done for a better product – to me is a high point. So I think it’s safe to say that I hit my high every few days. And given the dynamic nature of the industry this is not difficult to do at all.”

Most challenging assignment so far

“Learning to lead in a male dominated industry with limited command over the language. I started out very apprehensively with this assignment. With the passage of time, my credentials got established and I found it things become easier. While I am still on the learning curve, I certainly believe that I have successfully overcome that hurdle now.”

Greatest inspiration

“My daughter is undoubtedly my greatest inspiration. She comes with huge confidence, commitment to succeed and an ability to tactfully deal with people, which I think is key to one’s success. I have a lot to learn from her. “

Most important milestone in life

“I think this happened when I successfully completed one of our larger projects as developers, leading the execution team. Since I had started working in the family business, Gera’s Park View, the project in Kharadi, became a milestone for me in my career as I had steered the entire team with respect to the design, procurement and execution of the project.”

Women are the better halves. What does it mean?

“I think women are hard-wired to be more here and now in their working style as compared to men who tend to be more focused on issues such as strategy, long term planning etc. The right balance of both is critical to success of any business and this is what makes women the “the better halves” or at least the halves that men can’t do without.”