On the occasion of Mother’s Day, Manifest spoke with women leaders across India’s advertising and media industries about how motherhood has reshaped their understanding of ambition, leadership, and the legacy they hope to leave behind for their children. 

From leading with greater empathy and intention to redefining success beyond titles and milestones, their reflections reveal how motherhood has influenced not just their personal journeys, but also the cultures, teams and workplaces they are helping shape.

Here’s what these women leaders had to say, in alphabetical order:

Ankita Sonawala, brand head, Zen Diamond India  

Motherhood has brought greater empathy and intuition into my leadership style. As a mother of two, I’ve learned that nurturing, whether at home or work, requires patience, trust, and listening. It has made me more people-centric, mindful, and clear about what truly matters. At Zen, I lead with emotional intelligence and clarity, creating a more evolved and human way of leading.

My legacy, both for my children and within the organisation, is rooted in belief and self-mastery, the idea that if you can dream it, you can build it. I believe in constantly evolving beyond your own limits, seeing challenges not as setbacks but as opportunities to rise higher. Gratitude and a positive mindset remain the foundation of a meaningful life.

The values I hope to pass on to both my children and my team are integrity, resilience, self-belief, and gratitude. I want them to stay positive, solution-oriented, and trust their own journey. To look inward for growth rather than outward for comparison, and to embrace challenges as stepping stones to their highest potential. Gratitude, to me, is not just a feeling but a way of life.

There have been defining moments where I consciously chose presence over pressure, and those choices shaped my perspective deeply. One such moment reminded me that true success is not only about achievement, but about what you choose to show up for. It reinforced that motherhood and leadership are not competing roles, but complementary ones, guiding me to live and lead with greater intention and balance.

I remember when my son didn’t win a chess competition and felt disheartened. I told him, “The real win is showing up, trying, and becoming better than you were yesterday.” It reminded me how often adults forget that. At work too, I believe progress matters more than perfection. Consistent evolution, not comparison, is what truly counts.

Anuja Trivedi, chief strategy and marketing officer, Shemaroo Entertainment

One thing that shifts quite naturally after becoming a mother is your relationship with time and priorities. There’s definitely a sharp clarity in terms of priorities. Be it at home or at work, you tend to invest your energy in things you truly intend to do. For me, it has reinforced the belief that productivity is defined by the value created, not simply the number of hours spent.

At Shemaroo Entertainment, this shift has translated into building teams and systems that empower people through a balance of flexibility and accountability. It’s been my conscious effort to work on fostering an environment where people feel driven by trust to deliver, while also having the space to manage their personal responsibilities. I believe that balance is crucial, especially for women, who often juggle multiple roles.

After becoming a mother, my appreciation for the role of mentors and support systems has grown deeper. Across both personal and professional spaces, having champions who enable your growth makes a huge difference. Engaging in women’s networks taught me about how the focus is not on individual achievements, but on working together towards fairer workplaces.

I believe legacy is not about titles but more about the culture you help build. I want to help build a workplace where men and women can pursue ambition without sacrificing their personal commitments, where there can be a coexistence of dignity, empathy and performance. To me, that is a legacy worth building on.

Anupama Ramaswamy, managing director and chief creative officer, Havas Creative India

Motherhood completely reshaped the way I look at work, but not in the way people often describe it. I was incredibly lucky to experience pregnancy surrounded by women who made me feel empowered rather than limited. I had the most wonderful nine months, worked almost until the very last day before delivery, and was constantly supported by people like Anuja, Simran, Priti Kapoor, Sumitra Sengupta, Swati Bhattacharya, and many others who looked after me with so much warmth. Even clients and colleagues made the journey easier. I still remember how Rohit Ohri didn’t even realise I was pregnant because I had continued working so seamlessly. There were times when people encouraged me to bring my baby along, even arrange for a nanny if needed. That openness changed my understanding of what motherhood and ambition can coexist as.

What it taught me is that women absolutely can have flourishing careers after having children. Often, the biggest barriers are the ones we unknowingly build around ourselves. When a woman decides she wants both, the ecosystem around her must step up to support her instead of penalising her for taking a pause. As an industry, we need to create spaces where women can return, grow, earn equally, and thrive at their own pace. Motherhood also changes your lens entirely. In advertising, insights suddenly become more human and real because you begin to understand responsibility, vulnerability, and love in a completely new way. And once a woman feels supported, capable, and empowered, there is truly no limit to what she can achieve.

Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen, director, producer, and founder, Running Cow Films

Being a working mother has always felt like the most natural, organic way of being for me. I cannot imagine it any other way. The two constantly shape each other.

From a very early age, my son and I were making stop-motion videos with dinosaur figurines wandering through imaginary worlds. Today, he’s often the first to comment on a film I’ve made — instinctively pointing out what stands out, or what doesn’t quite fit. When Vivan was just one, I made a ten-minute film about him. At seven, he acted in a commercial I directed and was already spotting continuity flaws in his own scenes.

Advertising can be challenging, daunting even, but much like motherhood, there are always many roads to a solution, many ways of approaching a problem. With children, one is constantly reinventing the rules of the game. And as our industry transformed swiftly from the celluloid I deeply loved to six-second vertical reels and now AI, I’ve realised that only an open, flexible mind can truly adapt. Any mother will tell you — if there’s one thing children teach us, it is resilience and flexibility.

Since becoming a mother, ethics at work and true collaboration have become even more important to my process. I want to walk the talk. I would like my thirteen-year-old to grow up watching his mother strive towards ambition, but never at the cost of her values. He watches me approach advertising, passion projects and non-profit films with equal ardour, and perhaps learns that one can navigate a capitalist system while still holding on to one’s own terms.

The balancing never really stops. If we’re at the pool on a Sunday morning, I may be back at my laptop in the afternoon and out walking the dog by evening. Working, playing, juggling, recalibrating. It is perhaps this rhythm and discipline that he will one day absorb himself in. Together, my son and I have learned that there is never just one way — there are many ways. There is no fixed office, no fixed timing. Most importantly, there is no real division between work and play, between a mother who directs and a director who is a mother.

Kapila Sethi, head - marketing, William Grant and Sons

Motherhood has redefined my understanding of leadership — not as the ability to lead from the front, but as the ability to elevate people around you. Earlier, success was largely measured through outcomes, ambition, and progression. Today, I see leadership far more holistically: through perspective, empathy, resilience, and the impact you create on people and culture.

Motherhood reshapes you in subtle but powerful ways. It teaches patience in an increasingly impatient world, forces clarity on what truly matters, and reminds you that perfection is neither sustainable nor necessary. You learn to adapt constantly, make decisions in real time, and stay grounded through unpredictability. Those lessons naturally influence the way you lead.

It has also strengthened my belief in mentorship-led leadership. The most meaningful leaders are not those who simply drive performance, but those who create confidence, unlock potential, and help others grow. As a mother and a leader, I’ve become far more intentional about building environments where people feel supported, trusted, and empowered to thrive.

When I think about legacy today, it is less about titles or milestones and more about the leaders and teams I help shape along the way. I want to create future leaders who lead with both ambition and empathy, people who value performance but equally understand the importance of uplifting others, building inclusive cultures, and creating meaningful impact. To me, true legacy lies not just in personal success, but in the confidence, capability, and opportunities you leave behind for others.

Kopal Naithani, founder and director, Superfly Films

When you are deeply passionate about your career and having a baby at the same time, life can be confusing. That’s exactly how it was for me back in the day. I was so filled with fear that I would lose one at the cost of the other, and so I kept looking for the 'right time' to have a baby. But the fact of the matter is that there is no right time to have a baby. No career milestone will ever feel big enough to say, “Now I can take a break and do this.” You just have to do it. And this has been my biggest learning in the journey of motherhood.

Sure, we can talk about legacy or a change of perspective in life. It’s only natural that once you have a baby, your entire life perspective shifts. How will my child see me? Will I be able to be the role model she needs in life? While I definitely work on that, I now feel my bigger legacy or shift in perspective is to talk to more and more women about this. Of course, one could choose to have a family or not. But for the women who want to embrace motherhood, the choice is very difficult.

So now I try to talk to as many women as I can at a personal level. I hope I can hold someone’s hand through this period of confusion, knowing that no one held mine. I want them to know that you can have both. Maybe the fight to reclaim your career after a baby is tougher, but know that you have the fight in you and the will to do it. Today, I choose to be an advocate for motherhood with all its ups and downs. And when it comes to the legacy I would like to leave with my daughter, it would be for her to know that she can have both.

Kranti Gada, founder, neOwn

Motherhood has reshaped the way I look at both work and purpose.

There is a stronger sense of intentionality that comes into everyday decisions. For me, it has also changed the way I think about building something meaningful. With neOwn, the intention was never limited to building a business around books. It came from a larger concern around how children are growing up today, surrounded by constant screens, shrinking attention spans, and fewer moments of quiet discovery. Becoming a mother made those questions feel far more personal. As a parent, you realise how formative those early habits and environments are. 

At the same time, it has deepened my empathy as a leader. I find myself listening more, rushing less, and valuing people beyond just their productivity. It has also made me very protective of balance. Not in the idealistic sense but in a very real, daily negotiation of presence. When I am at work, I want to create an impact. When I am with my children, I want to be fully there. That clarity has actually made me a better decision-maker.

When I think about legacy now, I don’t think of it only in terms of business outcomes. I think about whether the work we do genuinely adds value to people’s lives and whether it contributes, even in a small way, to shaping healthier habits and experiences for the next generation.

Lulu Raghavan, president - APAC, Landor 

My daughters, Ruhi and Riva, were 8 and 6 years old when they freed me to pursue my career with less guilt. 

One day, when I came home from work late in the evening and was unwinding with them before bedtime, I burst out crying and admitted to them that I felt deeply guilty that I wasn’t there every day for them. I told them I wanted to quit my job and be a dedicated mother. They looked at me with horrified expressions. They simply said: “No, Mama, please don’t even think of quitting. You love Landor too much. We love you too much. We would never want to see you sacrifice your dreams for us.”

It took me a while to take that in. I wasn’t emotionally neglecting my kids. They found joy in seeing me passionate about work. It helped me shed some of the guilt of not being a full-time mother. 

My daughters have made me a better leader in two important ways. 

What they want more than anything else is to be fully seen, heard and understood. Undivided attention is key, even if time is short. I had to learn to wean off checking devices (my Blackberry in those days!) and not have work pressures on my mind when spending time with them.

I learnt that a harsh and impatient voice does more damage than good. For every reprimand I give, I have to remember to dole out much more encouragement. 

But the biggest gift that my daughters gave me to be a better leader is to take on the mantle of 'chief cheerleader'. Being present, balancing feedback with positive encouragement and being open-minded have shaped how I show up for my team. It has grounded me and allowed me to focus on each team member’s aspirations.

Megha Tata, strategic advisor and independent director

Megha Tata with her daughters Dania and Ananyaa 
 

Motherhood is the ultimate leadership program, zero training, high stakes, and no off days! 

Motherhood didn’t just add a role to my life; it rewired how I defined success, leadership, and legacy. Before becoming a mother, work was often about momentum: growth, achievement, and the next milestone. Motherhood introduced a different metric meaning.

It taught me that time is the most finite resource. Every meeting, decision, and commitment carried a sharper question: Does this matter? Not just for outcomes, but for impact. I became more focused on what truly moves the needle, both professionally and personally.

Motherhood has also reshaped how I lead. It deepened my empathy and expanded my capacity to listen. You learn quickly that every individual, like every child, is driven by unseen fears, aspirations, and stories. Patience is no longer a virtue; it’s a necessity. And strength isn’t about control, but about creating space for others to grow.

Motherhood doesn’t slow ambition; it refines it. It strips away the excess and leaves behind clarity: to build not just a career, but a life that my children and I can be proud of.

Pritha Mitra Dasgupta, CMO, Havas India 

One day, your child will sit across a table from people you will never meet and casually tell stories about you. That thought has fundamentally changed how I think about work, ambition, and legacy.

Motherhood has made me more strategic with my time than any leadership role ever could. The tolerance for noise drops dramatically when you realise every hour spent somewhere is an hour taken away from somewhere else. You stop glorifying busyness and start valuing presence, clarity, and intent.

It has also made me a far more decisive professional. Motherhood eliminates the luxury of endless deliberation. You learn to process chaos faster, trust your instinct, prioritise sharply, and move forward without waiting for perfect conditions.

But more than anything, motherhood confronts you with the enormous responsibility of shaping another human being in real time. Not managing, influencing, or mentoring but quite literally building the emotional, intellectual, and ethical foundation of a person from scratch. And that changes you. It forces you to examine your own behaviour more honestly than any boardroom or leadership review ever will.

Children are possibly the most ruthless auditors of authenticity. They do not care about titles. They care about presence.

At work, we spend years building brands, authority, and scale. But years from now, my son will form his understanding of resilience, empathy, discipline, ambition, and integrity not through what I told him, but through what he saw me normalise every day.

That is a far more intimidating metric than any performance review.

Because in the end, what he remembers about me and what he carries forward from me will define my legacy far more than anything I build professionally.

Rubeena Singh, managing director, NP Digital India

Motherhood did not change my ambition. It sharpened my clarity about what that ambition is actually for.

Before my daughter Valeska came along, I measured progress largely in external terms: the next role, the next milestone, the next salary raise. 

She quietly reordered those priorities, not by making work less important but by making its purpose more visible. I started thinking less about what I was achieving and more about what I was building, and whether the way I was building it was something I would be proud of.

She also made me a more considered leader. When you have a small person watching how you handle pressure, setbacks and difficult choices, you become more intentional about all of it. I became less reactive, more deliberate and significantly more empathetic to the people in the workspace, navigating their own versions of that balancing act.

I want Valeska to see that it is possible to lead with both ambition and kindness, that a career built with integrity is worth more than one built purely on speed.

She has given me the longest possible lens through which to evaluate my choices. Every decision looks different when you ask yourself whether it reflects the values you are trying to pass on. That, more than anything, is the greatest professional gift motherhood has given me.

Shai Samtaney, co-founder, director, Jungle Works

What if I tell you becoming a mom didn’t take your creativity away? What if I tell you, it actually gave it depth?

Motherhood has terrible PR. Somewhere along the way, society decided mothers survive solely on cold coffee, quick baths and fumes, but in actuality, your brain is busy rewiring itself into a glorious super machine. Somewhere between sterilising bottles and Googling baby poop colours at 3 am, your old identity quietly slips out the back door. The panic is real at first. But eventually, I stopped trying to return to the person I was before and made peace with this new version instead — filmmaker mother, director with a baby in tow, storyteller carrying burp cloths in one hand and shot ideas in the other.

Coming out of the beautiful chaos of early motherhood, I realised I valued my relationship with myself as a creator even more. I was exhausted, wildly emotional, deeply in love and absolutely overflowing with ideas. Turns out distance really does make the heart grow fonder. Time away from filmmaking made me ache for it most tenderly. And strangely, every time I returned to work, I missed my daughter so fiercely it felt cinematic. Apparently, longing became my new personality trait.

The truth is that the shift that comes with becoming a mom touches everything – how you feel, how you move through life,  how you choose to create and to see the world. My approach was slower, softer, deeper and more inward. I gave myself grace and space that I needed to transform and realised that motherhood doesn’t shrink your creativity, it deepens it. It teaches you to listen and to trust yourself.  Your back hurts for six months straight, but somehow disappears the second someone says, “Rolling.” You become softer and stronger at the same time. More inward. More intuitive. Less interested in performing certainty and more interested in feeling truth.

And somewhere along the way, motherhood quietly hands you gifts you never trained for — patience, resilience, emotional range, the ability to function heroically while someone screams directly into your face and appreciation of the little things. I felt grounded, reconnected, calm and present. My ideas for my films are born from these in-between moments, where softness and strength meet, where I began to feel like myself again.

I used to think my craft lived separately from me, tucked away in sets and scripts and cinema. But now I know it lives inside my becoming. Motherhood didn’t take me away from creativity. It cracked me open and flooded the place with light.