For Aru Kulkarni, a Mumbai-born Indian
American who was recently named president
of Liz Claiborne (a $4.25-billion US giant
in fashion apparel, accessories and
fragrances), India's integration into the
global fashion industry is rather
fascinating.A frequent visitor to
Mumbai and Pune since she migrated to the
US 20 years ago, Kulkarni says there was
no concept of what she describes as "ready
to wear" clothing when she was growing up
in India.
"Now there are Benetton and Levi's
stores. The difference may be because,
with more and more Indian people employed
by multinational corporations, the
disposable income of the average person
has risen since I left back in the early
80s," she said.
"What I find so fascinating is how
quickly fashion trends get to India now,"
she told IANS, adding that this is one of
the reasons why Liz Claiborne sources
extensively from South Asia, including
India.
"In fact, between 65 and 70 percent of
our units are produced in Asia," said
Kulharni, who has travelled extensively in
India, being the daughter of an Indian
Administrative Service officer.
A graduate of the University of Bombay,
Kulkarni came to the US with her college
sweetheart and husband Amol for a master's
in economics from the University of
Pittsburgh.
She started her career with Joseph
Horne's in Pittsburgh. After four years
there, she moved to New York, the mecca of
global fashion industry and made the jump
into wholesale.
"I was at Maidenform, a women's
lingerie company, from 1989 to 1992 and
then moved to Warnaco where I held various
sales and marketing executive positions
and eventually moved up to senior vice
president of sales and marketing for
Calvin Klein Underwear," she said.
In November 2000, she made another
strategic move and joined her present
employers as vice president and general
manager for missy casual sales, before her
appointment recently as president of
apparel.
This is one of the main divisions of
Liz Claiborne Inc. which has a portfolio
of 34 brands sold at over 30,000 points
worldwide.
Kulkarni, who loves to cook Indian food
for her husband, daughter Amita, 16, and
son Vivek, 13, attributes her success in
the highly competitive world of fashion
industry to her leadership style.
"I have been told that I'm a very
direct, yet motivating leader. My
inclusive philosophy of leadership has
helped me to build strong teams, which
ultimately helps the business," she said.
"I pride myself on not being a
micro-manager, but rather empowering my
team and being a strategic leader."
One of the challenges Kulkarni says she
faces is in the area of human resource
development and management.
"The hardest decisions that I have ever
made involve letting people go. That said,
it is still difficult to take a hard look
at the under-performers and make tough
choices," she confessed.
"I want my group to work hard, but to
have fun doing it." | 
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