Lila Poonawalla Biography 
Lila Poonawalla is an industrialist, philanthropist, educationalist and social worker from Hyderabad. She is the founder of Lila Poonawalla Foundation, an NGO which aims at promoting professional education among aspiring girls in India. For this purpose the organization grants and scholarship, and also suitable guidance. Prior to her journey as a philanthropist, she has been successful as a businesswoman and industrialist. She is one of the first woman CEOs in India, and second female mechanical engineering graduate too. She was the chairperson of Alfa Laval India and TetraPak India. She is a recipient of Padma Shri given by government of India, in recognition for the efforts towards the fields of social work
Lila was born on 16 September 1944 in Hyderabad, Sindh provinces, British India. Lila Thadani is her maiden name. She lost her father very young. During partition, her family moved from Hyderabad to Pune, where they got settled. She graduated in mechanical engineering from the Government College of Engineering in 1967, only the second female from India to complete this course. She started her career as an apprentice at Ruston and Hornsby. She met Firoz Poonawalla while working there, and they got married. The couple has no children and they settled in Pune.
After marriage she joined Indian division of Alfa Laval as a trainee engineer, and was associated with the organization for two decades. She also became the CEO of the organization, one among the first from Indian women. Later she has held countless administrative positions. She has been associated with the Government of India by serving as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee. She founded Lila Poonawalla Foundation in 1996. She started off by supporting 20 girls for their post graduate education. She used the money she got as gift for her 53th birthday for this purpose, thus marking a new beginning.
Published: September 18, 2018
Updated: September 18, 2018
