Former Naval Officer turned growth and diversity expert
Every once in a while there comes a woman who sets a benchmark for others to look up to. Commander Gauri Mishra is one such accomplished lady.
A highly decorated retired naval officer, Gauri served in the Indian Navy for a period of 16 years from 2005 – 2021. She has cross functional experience leading to a rich skill-set spanning domains of man management, material management and supply chain, finance management, financial accounting, public procurement, contract management and project management. She also possesses immense knowledge in the field of indigenous and foreign procurement, implementation of GFR, MoF Manuals, CVC guidelines on procurement, taxation system, Import, Defence Procurement Manual, and Defence Procurement Procedures.
The long list of her educational qualifications is not far behind. Gauri did her M.Com, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in International Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Symbiosis, Pune, and an MBA (Finance) from National Institute of Finance Management, Faridabad. She finally studied Contract Management from ICWAI, New Delhi.
With such credentials to her credit, Gauri performed and achieved much success in her defence career too. During her tenure in the Indian Navy, Cdr Gauri added a plethora of laurels to her name, including Commendation by the Chief of the Naval Staff.
Commander Gauri has worked at the apex office of Indian Navy (CNS Secretariat) as ADC. She is the only lady officer to have led the Republic Day Parade contingent at Kolkata as well as New Delhi, and was a part of the prestigious sky-diving team in the Navy.
Gauri is a qualified instructor and has groomed many men and women in the Navy in academics and personality development. Due to her calibre, she was hand-picked for numerous diplomatic assignments abroad, wherein she promoted gender equality and advancement at various global platforms.
As is often the case, achievements in the defence sector are not always public. But to her credit, with diverse assignments across the globe, Gauri has multifaceted exposure in dealing with different cultures, nationalities, stakeholders, languages and traditions, including understanding different roles of military in various countries, and the role of women across the world and their inclusive growth.
Inclusive growth and diversity has forever been one of Gauri’s long standing passions, and she has done much to further this cause.
Gauri has dedicated herself to empowering underprivileged women and helping towards social welfare of the community by being part of a charitable trust as well as an orphanage. She has also co-ordinated numerous cancer screening and detection camps in collaboration with leading Cancer care providers in India. In addition, Gauri has been instrumental in getting financial aid for non-profit and non-governmental institutions, helping them reach their goals.
In a field where women hesitate to tread, Commander Gauri has proved herself a true women’s icon with years of service towards country and community.
