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A Song of Success
Leaders are born achievers and exceptional leaders make extraordinary things happen. Rumana Ahmed belongs in the category of exceptional leaders for at a young age she has successfully managed to see it all and has made a whole lot of things possible. By Syeda Shamin Mortada
With her girlish face and slender build she could easily pass off as a teenager rather than a mother of two or for that matter a Corporate Communications Manager of the largest privately managed Social Marketing Company in the world. The radiant young woman emits a lot of confidence and vitality which is sure to catch everyone's eyes!
Rumana did her primary education in Dubai and after coming back to the country completed her Secondary School Certificate Examination from Agrani Balika Bidyalaya and her Higher Secondary Certificate Examination from Holy Cross College. The young lady then decided to major in English Literature from the University of Dhaka. Even as a student she thought about entering the competitive job market. Rumana started off by working on a programme for the Open University in non-formal education which was then broadcast on TV and radio. 'I was in charge of the English section. I was responsible for scripting, editing and hosting the show.' She recalls with a smile, 'The thing is I never had to drop CVs, but always got called for the job. You see while working for Open University I also served as a translator and interpreter for various research organizations, NGOs and insti-tutes and also as a broadcaster for Bangladesh Betar.
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I did all these things simultaneously.' To others Rumana had already reached the pinnacle of success where she enjoyed the admiration and respect of her peers. But Rumana was thirsty for much more and wanted to learn something new everyday and also have a wonderful time in doing so. Therefore immediately after the completion of her MSS she joined the challenging world of advertising. She thus became an account executive in Bitopi. 'I had the opportunity to deal with important clients such as Nestle, Rahim Afrooz and Mobil.' Rumana recalls.
In 1997, Rumana thought that it was finally time to tie the knot and start a family. So after a break of one year she decided to try out a different field; she joined a school as a teacher. 'But I soon realized that teaching was not my cup of tea and that it was something I did not enjoy.' Thus after a few months she again joined an advertising agency called Asiatic MCL, as an Accounts Supervisor. But fate had something different in store for her, something bigger and better! In 2000 she was selected to serve for the US Peace Corps, a US federal govt agency as a Language and Cross Cultural Coordinator. 'It was a very interesting job which required extensive traveling both inside and outside the country. I had the opportunity to visit Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and other countries. Those were beautiful experiences.' But another advertising agency managed to lure Rumana to work for them and she thus joined Grey Worldwide Bangladesh. She was an Associate Account Director there and had managed to master all the skills and techniques of the advertising agencies and achieved a lot of success. Career to Rumana was a journey rather than a destination and she yearned to move on. Her next stop was at ISD (International School Dhaka) where she joined as a Publication Officer. Her commitment, dedication, passion, integrity and perseverance in everything that she does once again changed the course of her life. For in July 2005 she joined Social Marketing Company as a Corporate Communications Manager. Two years into her job now, Rumana has managed to accomplish a lot. Indeed, this young woman is very happy and content with her career today.
Whilst young, her parents had wanted her to be a civil servant but she always dreamt of becoming a queen of the corporate world. Today all her dreams have come true and she has undoubtedly left a positive mark on her community and has in the process helped in creating a smooth path for the next generation of working women.
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