Prabha, Director Vertical Markets and Key Accounts

Prabha’s motto in life is: “Aim high and hit it every time.” To her there is never a dull day working in Logistics and she is passionate about her job. 

Prabha's experience on being a woman in logistics

With her confidence, ambition, courage, and honesty, she is a true advocate for change. She continually chooses to challenge the status quo. To her, there are no limits to what you can achieve when you are guided by a vision and a true belief in yourself. “When in doubt just go and do it! There is no other way to find out if you will be successful,” she says.

Strong support as a key driver in her career
Prabha calls herself lucky, lucky to have so much support from her male counterparts, especially within DB Schenker - a behavior that should be natural but is not always the case. Throughout her career, many male supporters accompanied her - for example her husband who was always willing to relocate for her exciting career opportunity and her son, who never complained when she missed Parent-Teacher conferences or traveled three weeks in a single month and a former manager who encouraged Prabha to lead a team before the age of 29. 

Prabha states: “In my two and a half years’ experience with DB Schenker, I have found our company to be very people friendly with lean hierarchical structures. My current manager is the biggest supporter of diversity. He truly believes in talents and motivates them irrespective of gender! Encouraging talent is part of our DNA and not once have I felt like my gender matters in our organization.”

Being a female in Logistics
“For me, there is no industry as dynamic and exciting as the logistics industry. There is a new opportunity or challenge waiting around every corner”, she says. However, being a female in a male dominated field does not come without its challenges. There have been countless scenarios where she has been the only female in the room. Prabha believes: “By ‘knowing your stuff’, being open to learn and really doing your homework beforehand, you will have the confidence to stand your ground, and not be intimidated by the boy’s club.” To her it is all about conquering your self-doubt, working on your weaknesses, and seeing yourself as smart enough, good enough and worthy enough for the job. Prabha is convinced: “When you know who you are as a person you transmit that confidence to others.”

Her thoughts on leadership
To be a great leader she believes it takes the will to tap into diverse perspectives and foster inclusion within your team. It requires authenticity, giving credit where it is due, building the morale of your team and acknowledging everyone’s contribution to the success of the team. Prabha says: “It is important as a leader to never stop learning and imparting knowledge. One will never know everything and there will always be something to learn from someone.”