Devita Saraf is a businesswoman from India. She is known for being the founder and CEO of Vu Technologies, an American television brand based in Mumbai.
Wiki/Biography
She was born on Thursday, June 25, 1981 (38 years old in 2020) in Mumbai. Born into a business family, she was inclined towards business management at a very young age. She started attending business meetings when she was just 16 years old. During her formative years, she attended Queen Mary’s School, Mumbai. Later, she completed her post-school education at the Human Resources Institute of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai and the University of Southern California. She drew inspiration from her father, who was the chairman of Zenith Infotech Ltd., a software solutions provider. Later, she founded VU Technologies in 2006 when she was just 24 years old.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 4″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
She was born to a Marwari couple, Raj Kumar Saraf and Vijayrani Saraf.
Parents and siblings
She grew up with her brother, who were, in her mother’s words, “well-mannered, well-rounded” children. Her father, Raj Kumar Saraf, was the founder of computer manufacturing company Zenith Computers Ltd.
Vu Technologies CEO Devita Saraf and her father Raj Kumar Saraf
Her brother, Akash Saraf, is the managing director and CEO of Zenith Computers Ltd. Her mother, Vijayrani Saraf, is an economics professor who raised her two children in a disciplined environment.
Devita Saraf and her brother Akash Saraf were interviewed by NDTV
Relationships, husbands and children
As of now, Devita is not married and there is not much information available about her relationship.
Profession
She began her career in 1998 when she joined her father’s company, Zenith Technologies. She was only 21 years old at the time and began training at her father’s company. After witnessing the office atmosphere and meeting her father, she thought, “This is who I want to be. I want to run a company like him.” During this time, she frequently met with business leaders in California’s Silicon Valley. Soon after, she opened a lab in California to develop high-end products for Indian customers. Eventually, she founded Vu Televisions in 2006, which is currently the fourth largest TV sales brand in India.
She also made the transition from traditional to modern business methods by signing an exclusive agreement with Flipkart in 2014. This agreement made VU the largest TV brand on all e-commerce platforms.
Devita Saraf, CEO of Vu Technologies and Amit Bansal, Founder and CEO of Flipcart
In 2015, she shifted her focus to VOD technology, aiming to improve the quality of audio and video streaming. Apparently, VU is one of the best-selling 4K TV brands in India.
Business Structure
She believes that more women should become CEOs. This will be a great thing for the Indian economy. She also plans to cater primarily to the educated and upwardly mobile Indian consumers. Apart from this, she does not believe in exploring new markets once in a while, instead, talking about the mantra of repeat purchases, she says, “Around 86% of customers who buy a Vu TV buy another TV from us. We try to retain our customers rather than looking for new markets all the time.” Moreover, she believes that the pricing of their TVs should be between multinational brands like Samsung and Indian brands like Videocon, which helps in maintaining brand value and cost effectiveness.
Vu Technologies’ financial performance chart
Awards and Honors
- Small and Medium Enterprises “Excellence Award”
On February 15, 2008, Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, presented the Business Excellence Award in the field of “Small and Medium Enterprises” to Ms. Devita Saraf in New Delhi
- In 2016, she was awarded the title of “India’s Model CEO” by Forbes magazine.
- Saraf was ranked 45th in Fortune India’s 2019 list of ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’.
- The 7th Indian Affairs Leadership Conference awarded her the title of “Business Woman of the Year 2016”.
- Mercedes-Benz Smart Masterpiece – Entrepreneurial Spirit
- Indian American Association – Young Women Entrepreneur of the Year
- Zee Astitva Awards – Young Women Entrepreneur of the Year
- HR School of Business and Economics – Outstanding Alumni Award
Favorite things
- Role models: Hillary Clinton and Ivanka Trump
- Vacation destination: New York
- Businessman: Steve Jobs
Facts/Trivia
- Health and fitness play an important role in her life. Her fitness routine includes yoga in the morning, going to the gym in the evening and dance classes every Sunday.
- She believes that in business, people should not be egoists but should take on the role of consumers. Saraf said,
“If I want to do business with someone, I show up at their door.”
Indian business tycoon Devita with British billionaire Sir Richard Branson at an event in Mumbai
- She is proud to come from a business family. She said,
I will not apologize for being the boss’ daughter.”
- Inspired by Steve Jobs, she prefers to be the face of her own company. She said:
Why would you want someone who dances, acts and sings for a living to promote a high-end product?
- In 2017, Devita was appointed as one of the panelists for the ‘Make in India’ event organised by NITI AYOG and the Champions of Change event organised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- In November 2016, after Trump took office as President of the United States, she took out a full-page advertisement in the Times of India to congratulate Trump, but this move also attracted complaints from netizens.
- Devita gave advice to entrepreneurs on Instagram Live on how to survive during the coronavirus lockdown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZudDy-mh2c
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education