Setting goals to smash ceilings Venus Sood Guy came to Nelson for a challenge. She’s certainly got that on her hands as operations manager of New World, a mother and as a board member for five separate organisations.
Words: Judene Edgar
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rowing up in a family of eight in the bustling industrial town of Rajpura in the Punjab State of India, Venus Sood Guy never dreamed of coming to New Zealand, let alone going overseas. She had relatives in the UK and her family had friends in Canada and Australia but travelling to stay with her cousins in the neighbouring towns of Patiala and Bhagrana was her idea of the perfect holiday. From a very early age she was taught that you need to try things and not be scared to fail. “My family have always trusted and supported me, so it has enabled me to take leaps of faith to pursue my goals.” At home, she was lucky to experience gender equality, a luxury she knows that friends of hers didn’t share. “Often friends couldn’t do things their brothers could do, but in my family we had equal opportunities.” With the support of her family, she studied law at Punjabi University and after completing her Masters degree went on to lecture in law, until she hit a glass ceiling. “In India, if you are born into a middle-class family, there can be a glass ceiling as to how high you can rise in organisations.” Determined not to let this hold her back, she decided to shift to New Zealand. “I wanted to be challenged and to do things on my own,” she says. She came to Nelson with her sister Suman and they both studied business management at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
TESS JAINE
Venus Sood Guy at Nelson Library, one of her favourite places to spend time.
“I really loved NMIT and made some great relationships.” But Venus had goals to achieve. In fact, each year Venus writes a plan for the coming year and regularly reviews progress towards her goals. Even job rejections or failures are simply seen as learning opportunities to help her achieve her goals. “I don’t focus on negatives. There’s so much you can’t control so you need to focus on what you can change, what you can do, and what you want to achieve.” Thirteen years after arriving in Nelson, alongside her husband Greg, Venus is operations manager of New World with 150 staff, and oversees eight departments. Every day she juggles human resources, health and safety, food safety, and legal and compliance issues. She also juggles raising a five-year old daughter and a growing focus on governance. Keen to be able to share her skills and give back to the community, she became a Justice of the Peace last year and is currently on five boards including Abbeyfield New Zealand and Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce, and is an associate director for Network Tasman Ltd. In September, she made the Ministry for Ethnic Communities’ list of top Board-Ready Emerging Directors for New Zealand. And how does she do it all? “I get up at four thirty every morning,” she says. “4.30 to 6.30am is my time for reading and keeping up-to-date. When you’re on a board you need to be on top of your game.” “Women frequently underestimate themselves or are judged differently, but you need to believe in yourself, set goals, and then work hard to make them happen and make a difference.”
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