Devita Saraf is the founder, chairman and CEO of Vu Televisions.
Early life
Saraf was born in Mumbai, India. Her father, Rajkumar Saraf, was chairman of Zenith Computers. She attended Queen Mary School, Mumbai[1] She later attended the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics[2] and the University of Southern California, where she received a BA in business administration.[3]
Career
She founded the company at the age of 24 after completing her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. She has also studied management of technology at the University of California, Berkeley and game theory and strategic thinking at the London School of Economics.[4][5] She is also pursuing the OPM program at Harvard Business School.[6]
Zenith
Saraf started her career at age 16,[7] under the guidance of her father at Zenith Computers and was named as director of marketing when she was 21.[8][9] In 2006 Saraf went from being the head of marketing to CEO.[10]
Vu Technologies
At age 24, Saraf started Vu Technologies, which sells high-endTemplate:Citation needed LED TVs.[7] While Zenith was mass technology focused, Vu sells innovative luxury items.[11][12] Vu came out with a 4K HD Iconium Series televisions in October 2015.[13] In October 2014, the Bombay High Court sealed the premises of the Andheri-based office of Vu Technologies after it fraudulently showed 200 employees in their affidavit but only 32 were found on premises in a visit and in the muster roll for September–October 2014.[14]
Others
Saraf has been a National Co-Chair and Executive Committee Member in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Young Leaders Forum.[3] She was also the founder and Chair of the Young Bombay Forum which was part of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.[15] She is the member of Mensa, an international society for people with high IQ.[16]
She was also a columnist for The Wall Street Journal.[17][18] In 2017, Saraf bought a full page ad in the Times of India newspaper, where she congratulated Donald Trump on becoming President of the United States. The ad attracted mixed reviews on social media.[19][20]
Controversy
The high court of Bombay (now Mumbai), in a case brought by The Bank of New York Mellon, convicted Saraf, her father, and the promoters of Zenith Infotech of siphoning company funds to personnel accounts and has directed the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction Government of India (BIFR) to act in accordance with its regulations.[21]
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) accused Zenith Infotech Limited and its six promoters of fraudulent removal of funds to personnel accounts without notice to shareholders, and as of 25 March 2013, SEBI prevented the promoters from accessing the securities market or trading in securities in any manner. The named six promoters included by SEBI are Saraf; her father Rajkumar Saraf; Akash Kumar Saraf; Vijayrani Saraf; VU Technologies; and Zenith Technologies.[22][23]
Books
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Business Czarinas – S. N. Chary[24][25] |
| 2016 | Most Powerful Women in India – Prem Ahluwalia[26] |
| 2018 | Daughters of Legacy – Rinku Paul[27] |
Speaker
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Wharton-India Economic Forum – Philadelphia, PA, USA[28] |
| 2016 | Tomorrow's India Summit – Seoul, Korea[29] |
| 2016 | Istanbul Talks: Entrepreneurship Summit – Istanbul, Turkey[30] |
| 2018 | TEDxGateway – Mumbai, India[31] |
| 2020 | Fortune Next 500 Summit – Mumbai, India[32] |
References
- ↑ Business Czarinas{{#if:Chary|, Chary}. Bloomsbury India(2015). ISBN 9789382951179
- ↑ Archived copy. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Business of Luxury. Afternoondc.in(2011-05-26). Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- ↑ Devita Saraf. Entrepreneur India.
- ↑ A go-getter. The New Indian Express(30 September 2013).
- ↑ Devita Saraf Official Site.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 She Likes to Hone Her Skills on the Cutting Edge. Hindustan Times(17 January 2007). Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Devita Saraf, CEO Vu Technologies. Exhibit Magazine. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- ↑ On the radar: Simply Mumbai. India Today(2009-01-16). Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- ↑ Devita Saraf moves from head of marketing to CEO. The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ↑ 'Keep company lean' says electronics CEO Devita Saraf. BBC News.
- ↑ Off the Old Block, off Course ; Had Enough of Business Family Scions Who Follow in Their Parents' Footsteps? Business Today Finds Some Who Blaze Their Own Trails. Business Today(24 May 2015). Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ VU Unveils the New Iconium Series with 4K UHD SMART LED.
- ↑ Bombay HC raps Vu Technologies for false statements in affidavit. Business Standard(15 October 2014). Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- ↑ Leading ladies : Woman - India Today. Indiatoday.intoday.in(2010-03-04). Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- ↑ Meet the fashionable Mensan!(23 January 2008).
- ↑ Devita Saraf: Gadget woman from India. The Saturn Herald(7 April 2015). Retrieved 12 January 2016.Template:Failed verification
- ↑ Lights, Camera, Ideas at TEDx Mumbai. DNA, Sunday(31 October 2010). Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Who is Devita Saraf? Why is she trending on Twitter? Here's what you need to know. The Indian Express(2017-01-20). Retrieved 2017-06-29.
- ↑ Vu Televisions' CEO welcomes 'President' Donald Trump with full-page ad, gets trolled. Hindustan Times(20 January 2017). Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ↑ Template:Cite court
- ↑ How $33M was siphoned from India's Zenith Infotech. ZD net(2013-04-10). Retrieved 2015-12-16.
- ↑ Sebi bars Zenith Infotech promoters. Business Standard(2013-03-25). Retrieved 2015-12-16.
- ↑ Business Czarinas(27 December 2013).
- ↑ Business Czarinas{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd.(30 April 2015). ISBN 9789382951179
- ↑ India's Most Powerful Women{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian Books and Periodicals
- ↑ Daughters to the fore(16 September 2018).
- ↑ Post Budget reaction-VU Technologies(The Luxury Television and Display Brand).
- ↑ Global Social India Foundation concludes Tomorrow's India Global Summit in Seoul(7 October 2016).
- ↑ Devita Saraf. istanbultalks.com.tr. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ↑ Devita Saraf At TEDxGateway 2018 – 'Technology Is The Greatest Leveller'. India Education Diary(24 April 2020).
- ↑ Recognising India's largest midsize companies at the Fortune India Next 500 summit- West. fortuneindia.com. Fortune India.