By: Aswathy Nair
Prominent female entrepreneur and co-founder of Brightsun Travel, Veena Nangla passed away on Monday (6).
Mrs Nangla, 71, was the Finance Director of Brightsun Travel.
She was the driving force behind the success of Brightsun Travel, which Mrs Nangla started with her equally entrepreneurial husband R S Nangla in 1986.
Under their leadership, the firm developed from a small office in London with a staff of three employees, into four offices employing 170 staff.
From their first year’s turnover of £500,000, she helped Brightsun Travel to grow to a turnover of £95 million.
For her entrepreneurial journey spanning around three decades, Mrs Nangla won the Businesswomen of the Year Award in 2014 at the Asian Business Awards.
Her role at Brightsun Travel ranged from sales reservations to HR to marketing and accounts.
During the initial days of the business, she was responsible for writing out paper tickets, filling in large volumes of sales ledgers and compiling manifestos for airlines.
Having built strong relationships with some of the world’s largest airlines, Brightsun Travel is now known for successfully providing services to over a quarter of a million passengers each year.
With her sharp eye for detail, and an intimidating frown for any penny wasted, Mrs Nangla’s role in controlling sales and later finance led to significant growth in the company.
Mrs Nangla was a self-taught finance guru comfortable with today’s advanced technology.
Born in 1948 in India, Mrs Nangla moved to the UK in 1966. She started her career as an accounts clerk for Walls Ice Cream. Later, she moved to Rankin Kuhn Travel Agency in Oxford Street which fuelled her urge to be an entrepreneur.
