It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to meet and chat with someone like Jinita Thakkar. As you’ll hear in Episode 2, Jinita is one of the most thoughtful and eloquent speakers I’ve ever met. She has the amazing ability to process information and rephrase or reposition the thread in a clear and concise manner.
Jinita currently leads the Corporate Marketing team at World Fuel Services, a global supplier of energy management solutions focused on creating a sustainable, lower carbon future. Prior to her current role, Jinita was a Big 5 technology and management consultant before realizing her passion for creative freedom. Today, she continues to strive for a purposeful career and people-centric leadership.
Jinita holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science from DePaul University specializing in Finance, Marketing, Spanish and IT. Made in India, built in Chicago and currently based in Miami, Jinita is motivated by making authentic connections, leading with purpose and empathy, and creating value in every interaction.
In her free time, you can find Jinita continuously being inspired by her 5-year-old daughter, Lara, entertaining herself through dance, cooking, writing and listening to podcasts, and driving change through service in her community.
In Episode 2, Jinita walks us through her three guiding principles for success and happiness:
1. In both personal and professional life, the most important practice you can gift yourself with is taking time to regularly pause, breathe, reflect, learn, and pivot accordingly without fear or self-doubt - your intuition will rarely lead you astray.
2. Curate your village of support intentionally - the power of your network can be infinite if it is built and maintained thoughtfully, actively, and selectively.
3. Hard work pays off, but smart work pays off exponentially and enables you to bring balance into your personal and professional life. Your physical and mental well-being are non-negotiable prerequisites to a successful, purpose-filled career.
She goes on to talk about grace – both giving and receiving – and we discuss gender and cultural backgrounds and their respective effects on employment and employee/workplace dynamics.
It’s always a pleasure to talk with rockstars! There’s always something to be learned or a perspective to be gained; and this chat was no different.
I hope you enjoy Episode 2, and as always, please feel free to join the conversation in the comments!