Kavita enjoys challenges that benefit from her breadth of experience across multiple disciplines including Procurement, Commercial Management, Business Management and Business Operations.
Having worked with Consumers, Small Medium Businesses and Global Enterprise Businesses, Kavita, through her organisation Novo-K, now focuses her efforts on the Charity and the ‘Not-For-Profit’ Sector. Kavita strives to deliver her purpose - Give Trustees and the General Public confidence in the way charities spend their money. She is innovative and enthusiastic in the pursuit of her goals and those of her clients.
Background
Kavita was born in Barnet in Hertfordshire in 1979, and moved to a Berkshire village where she attended local schools before studying Chemistry and Computer science at University. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from Thane in Maharashtra following Indian independence in September 1947 and settled in Malawi in East Africa. Her grandfather, Dr Ambekar, was a medical doctor (University of Bombay) treating locals and many of the expat Indian community. Her mother was born in Malawi and schooled there until she came to boarding school in Somerset, England.
Kavita says “My father was born in Punjab and my paternal grandfather came to England in 1963, my Dad followed with his mother and siblings in 1965, settling in Leicester. My father, Hartirath Singh, studied electrical engineering at Imperial College London, before working for Global IT companies (GEC, Digital, Compaq) and eventually retired as a Director Global Transformation at Hewlett Packard. Following her education at boarding school, my mother trained as a nurse at Hammersmith hospital and worked in NHS Hospitals.”
Early memories
Kavita’s earliest memories are of visiting both India and Africa as a child. “I was privileged to be able to travel from a young age, to experience the culture and the wildlife. It gave me real passion for travel and to see the world as I grew older.
My earliest influences were strong women and the importance of education. In my family we were all encouraged to study and progress through high education and I followed my aunts and cousins to university. I took part in international exchange trips and studied in the USA whilst doing my degree. I grew up at a time where the prime minister was a woman (Margaret Thatcher) so I knew being a woman would never prevent me from achieving my dreams and aspiration to make a difference and leave a worthwhile legacy.”
Turning Point
Following 13 years in the corporate sector, Kavita took on a new challenge. “Although I had supported the volunteering arm of a large blue-chip company I wanted to do something where I could make a bigger contribution and set up, run and lead an organisation. Whilst at the corporate I ran charity troubleshooting courses where we would work with charities through pro-bono consultancy. When we followed up we found the charities, in almost every case, hadn’t been able to implement the suggestions. This was primarily down to lack of expertise, resource and ongoing support. I saw a gap in the market where I could utilise my skills, expertise and experience to help support these charities and the voluntary sector deliver more for less.” This inspiration encouraged Kavita to leave and set up Novo-K, a procurement consultancy dedicated to the charity sector.
The biggest challenge for any new business is building profile. Kavita says “we have worked hard to immerse ourselves in the charitable and voluntary sector. We have built key relationships with some of the UK’s largest charities and Charity Umbrella bodies. This has given us the necessary insight into the great work done in the sector and the challenges they face.”
Overcoming hurdles- How does Kavita do it?
“I take a measured approach. Firstly, I understand the challenge and any potential risks. I then build a robust plan to achieve the best result or, better still, deliver beyond. Once done I always assess whether there is any learning and how we can improve. Anything can be achieved with the right mind-set, the right team and common sense.”
Ambitions
Kavita’s ambitions are still building. “I want to help transform the charitable sector, to make it more commercial so it can support more beneficiaries. I'm planning on doing that both through my procurement consultancy Novo-K and our technical platform – The Buying Hub.
I am also excited to be setting up a UK charity that will support youth and older people in Malawi. This is in tribute to my Grandfather Dr Ambekar who helped so many people from so many different backgrounds.”
www.novo-k.com
