Cover Photo: All is Amazing
Photo: All is Amazing
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Known as the Chief in Heels to peers and the industry, Anne Rajasaikaran strives to be an agent of change
Margaret Thatcher once said, “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” These words could very well apply to Anne Rajasaikaran, an accomplished woman who aspires to make an impact in people’s lives through her multiple roles as wife, mother, philanthropist, business leader, entrepreneur and most recently, beauty queen, having won the title of Mrs Malaysia International Global 2022.
As CEO of Edumaax Education Group, she oversees Imperium International College, St John’s International School and Pusat Tuisyen Kasturi. In fact, earlier this year, they graduated their first batch of students from Imperium International College, which recently received the BrandLaureate Awards for Most Valuable Brand under Education—Tertiary, Professional and Vocational as well as the McM Rising Star Awards for Education.
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Above Anne as Mrs Malaysia International Global 2022
Anne as Mrs Malaysia International Global 2022
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To her, the greatest motivation lies in educating young minds and ensuring they become successful graduates. “Education is very important to me because I can see how powerful of a tool it can be if one knows how to use it wisely. It is far more powerful than any weapons out there; with education, you can literally change the world,” she says.
In an effort to provide local students an opportunity to pursue an international education at a fraction of the cost, Anne steadily strengthened the college’s relationship and partnership with renowned universities in the UK and the US to help provide quality education to students from all walks of life.
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While she derives joy from seeing her students thrive, her work with orphans and underprivileged children at The Budimas Charitable Foundation gives her a deep sense of fulfilment. With 15 years of experience as a communications and fundraising executive, Anne presently serves as Budimas’s principal officer where she spearheads its operations ranging from human resources to finance and admin, public relations and communications, as well as marketing and fundraising. Under her guidance, the foundation has supported more than 10,000 underprivileged children across Malaysia.
“Working in Budimas is wonderful and fun because you get to reach out to so many people and you are [like] the superhero that makes things happen for them. Having said that, the satisfaction and the sincerity that you get from [everyone we worked with or helped] is indescribable. No amount of money could replace nor define how satisfying it is. I’ve worked in corporate and the education sector a lot but every time I come back to Budimas, no matter how tough the job has been, I find the peace that helps me feel better and sleep well knowing that I’m able to help people who are really in need.”
As a woman, Anne believes that looking and feeling good leads to self-confidence, and a dash of lipstick easily does the trick. Having not been able to find the right shade of lipstick for herself, she decided to launch Karra Cosmetics, to address the issue of lip colours that are not available to South Asian women. She’s now working on a new line of skincare which is going to be vegan and natural. It’s not an easy feat having many things on her plate, but Anne does it all by having a focused mindset.
She shares what a typical day and week for her is like: “My day starts as early as 6am. I typically start with a workout while listening to a podcast or read books with breakfast then head off to work. I like to spend a few good hours to enrich my days.
“My days are divided for my organisations equally. Monday would be for Budimas (head office), Tuesday is for Imperium, Wednesday and Thursday are allocated for St John’s and Friday for Karra. When I divide my week that way, it keeps my focus sharp. The key is to plan ahead and keep your focus at 100 per cent when you do something.”
See also: Meet the Asian Visionaries Creating More Opportunities Through Education
Above Photo: Imperium International College
Photo: Imperium International College
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For her accomplishments in her field, Anne was bestowed with an Asia’s Woman Leader award at the World Women Leadership Congress and Awards, which identify and celebrate the outstanding leadership and achievements of women leaders in private and public sectors.
Whatever recognition she has achieved, her children remain her driving motivator as she says, “I want to be remembered by my children as the mother who really made a lot of things happen for them and who inspired them to be better. I want to be able to inspire my children beyond anything else because it’s not about the money or materialistic things. It’s about how they see me as someone to look up to. My own mother accomplished this and I would like to do the same thing by touching people’s lives and making a difference."
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Elizabeth Soong is the managing editor of Malaysia Tatler. She loves a good laugh, but is serious when it comes to work, and gets a high from dancing, cats purring, plus enjoys musicals or binge-watching a good TV series. Continually inspired by the people she meets, edits and writes about, you're welcome to see what she's up to on her Instagram @lizsoong.
