It is wonderful to do business along with sister
Sanjam Sahi Gupta, Sitara Shipping Ltd.
Ever thought about going into business with your sibling? When, as kids, the two were partners in crime, the two Sahi sisters never thought that one day they would be working together. Here is what Sumi Sahi and Sanjam Sahi Gupta have to convey. Both sisters are now directors for Sitara Shipping Ltd. and are heading the NVOCC business for the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East business. Having joined the family business as trainees in 1997 and 1999, respectively, they have helped establish Sitara as one of the key players in the ODC and project cargo market. They both draw inspiration from their father, who has taught them to excel with determination, hard work, and willpower. They have seen how he raised the company with his sweat, blood, and toil, and they will follow his vision to take Sitara from strength to strength.
Sanjam is a founder member of WISTA India, and was a board member of WISTA International from 2014–2021, becoming the first Indian lady to be elected and helping set up WISTA associations in the APAC region. She is a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden. She is the first Indian to hold this position. In February 2020 and 2021, she was named as one of the top 100 women in shipping by All About Shipping, UK for two consecutive years. She is also a member of the diversity committee of the International Chamber of Shipping.
To further her commitment to diversity in the maritime and logistics industry, she has launched Maritime SheEO to provide solutions to the industry. The first Maritime SheEO conference, held virtually in November 2020, was the world’s biggest maritime gender equality conference ever held—a gathering of over 1550 participants from across 70 countries. Featuring the IMO Secretary General, India’s Minister of Ports and Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, plus a strong line-up of leading executives. Sumi and Sanjam took the plunge into the family business over 15 years ago, and spent these years wisely fulfilling a childhood dream.
Enthralled by the shipping industry since when they were two little girls in pigtails, they recall visiting all the ships that their father handled as a ship agent. They had wanted to follow in their father—Capt. Sahi’s footsteps, him having instilled a love for the sea and a passion for the marine industry in his girls. The sisters agree they have big shoes to fill for a father who’s a stalwart, having been in the industry for the past 50 years and whose humility has kept them grounded. They chose to join him in the family business, which is operated under the name “Sitara Shipping Ltd.” Sumi, who first contemplated taking up teaching as a profession, and Sanjam, having nursed a desire to foray into the field of education, finally followed their hearts and joined the family business in 1999 and 2001, respectively. Sumi said, “Family get-togethers quickly turn into business brainstorming sessions, but it’s great to work with someone who knows you so well and can offer the right support or a good kick in the right direction without offending you.”It is wonderful to work with a sister; they always have each other while travelling for work and develop new ideas with time spent together. They know each other well enough to use their strengths to their advantage and peruse their passion for shipping together.
Family get-togethers often turned into business brainstorming sessions, but it’s great to work with someone who knows you so well and can support you or give a good kick in the right direction