Being the daughter of the founder of what is considered to be one of the most successful private sector banks in the country can have its own baggage. Raakhe Kapoor, daughter of Yes Bank founder and CEO Rana Kapoor, however, doing a very good job of it.
For starters, the 25-year-old entrepreneur is working at the bank in the capacity of business manager in charge of strategic initiatives. Equipped with a degree in management from Wharton University in the US, and a year’s experience behind her, Raakhe is ready to take over the reins.
“I have always been a numbers person,” says Raakhe, who is the only one of the three siblings to follow her father’s footsteps so far. “I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. My focus after school was clear and I went on to get a degree in business studies, after which I had a stint at reputed organisations like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in New York,” she says.
Raakhe admits that being the daughter of a banker has earned her brownie points. “The exposure that I can get at Yes Bank is unparalleled to any kind of exposure that I could have got elsewhere.” Working with her dad isn’t as unnerving as one would imagine it to be. “I report straight to my dad, and I look at it as a way to draw inspiration rather than crumble under the pressure of your parent,” she says, adding that “My father is a major influence in my life.”
However, when it comes to work mantra she says, “I believe in the good old ‘work hard, party harder’ concept. You deserve to treat yourself to a good time after a hard day at work.” But when she is not working or partying, Raakhe loves to indulge in adventure sports. “I love to ski, scuba-dive or even do kick-boxing.” As for her future, Raakhe says, “I wish to stay on for a while until I absorb all the knowledge and understand the nuances of the business. Then I wish to start something on my own. Maybe not something as huge as my father did, but definitely my own.”