Meet Laina Rawat., the young and dynamic CEO of the Trade & Commerce Division for the British American Investment Group of Companies. Laina manages the companies which fall under Quality Living Centre (QLC) including Courts, Quaincaillerie Centrale, Arcasa (Mtius) Ltd, Arcasa Paris and Effendi.
American born and bred, Laina funnily recalls how, at the age of six, when her father was promoted to president within his company, she informed all her classmates that her father was now the President of… the United States of America!
A very ‘hands-on’ person, Laina attributes one of the most important life lessons she has learnt so far, to her parents’ ideal to lead by example. As she aptly explains - “In life don’t expect others to follow your orders, try and do it yourself first, so at the end of the day you know what it takes for either yourself or someone else to conduct that task.”
Having completed her studies in America and acquired work experience from several retail shops, Laina moved to Mauritius and joined Marcom Co. Ltd where she gained some valuable know how in marketing, advertising and brand awareness. Her timely move to Arcasa (Mtius) Ltd meant that she was there from the initial setting up of Quality Living Centre (QLC), working on inventory, product display and marketing. She soon progressed to product purchasing and the management of the showroom.
After a further two years of dedicated hard work, Laina was swiftly promoted to head ARCASA and QLC.
Quality Living Centre was specifically designed to allow people to enhance their quality of life. Their aim is to put value into peoples’ home, their motto “make your home a haven for you and your family.” The Trade & Commerce Division ensures a wide range of offering that will suit people’s respective needs within their respective budgets.
As the CEO, Laina pays special attention to product variety, display, marketing as well as the management of corporate contracts.
Laina is extremely proud to be part of a group which is innovative and geared towards the future. She considers that “It is amazing to see the career path which one can build in our group – it is very encouraging for the younger generation.”
Although she sets the benchmark for success quite high with the measure of her achievements, Laina strives over and above to be a successful mother.
An American at heart, she describes the American social life as similar to what is portrayed in the popular ‘Friends’ sitcom! While, in Mauritius, the social life tend to be more centered on the extended family, in America the focus is on friends.
Another point that struck her is the work culture, which largely differs from that of America. Although she is quick to point out that the level of education here is much higher academically, in terms of mathematics, sciences, economics and accounts, she finds that a lot of initial supervision is still required. She concedes though that the majority of employees are quick learners and eager to accomplish their goals.
Laina is the mother to the gorgeous three year old Name. She endeavors to spend as much quality time as possible with the family at the week end, usually heading for the beach. Being in the retail industry it is little wonder that one of her favorite hobby is shopping. She also enjoys cooking desserts and traveling.
She believes that living in Mauritius will endow her son with a better appreciation of family values than if he had been living in another country. Another outcome of living here is that he is already fluent in both English and French.
According to Laina, being able to instigate change within oneself will always lead on to a healthier and happier lifestyle. Happiness is being able to enjoy the environment which is around you. She states “my belief is quite simple! Just try and be a good person and show kindness to others. I guess my life in America shaped this because despite what one sees on the news – America has a lot of very close knit communities where people are accepted for who they are. “
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