Rationale CEO Shamini Rajarethnam is heavily involved in the People and Culture aspect of the organisation, and is passionate about creating a strong organisational culture with successful leaders. The skills developed during her masters at Melbourne Business School have been essential as she guides the business through an innovative growth phase.
Shamini was working in the retail sector during her undergraduate studies when she realised that, while able to identify barriers to growth, she did not have the knowledge to provide solutions. Looking to add tools to her kit, Shamini enrolled in the Master of Commerce (Marketing) at Melbourne Business School. The course work, covering the four pillars of the people management, marketing, supply chain and finance, prepared her for her management role as CEO of Rationale.
Learning to work collaboratively within a team while balancing her own work was an important aspect that allowed Shamini’s continued development. Melbourne Business School programs attract applicants from a range of undergraduate studies. This diversity is a learning opportunity with so many different personalities and skill sets to manage.
“The case studies were always very interesting, and learning to work within a team and balance your own work is a highly important aspect that you grasp quickly! Learning leadership skills like how to foster emotional intelligence and understand how to get the best out of your team; how to ask questions and get consensus,” shares Shamini.
Shamini puts a high value on the emotional intelligence leadership side of business, believing her role as CEO is to remove roadblocks for her team so they can do what they're best at. This approach allows staff to flourish and creates a culture of success.
And this positive culture is helping the company deliver on the global stage. Having developed personalised products through genetics and DNA testing, they are now using the integration of technology innovation to mimic the client experience across their professional medical channel, online channel and bricks-and-mortar channel.
Under Shamini’s leadership, Rationale is consistently improving the client experience—and increasing their competitive edge.
Looking to start a masters degrees? Shamini has some advice:
- Be really open minded about what you can learn from somebody who is quite different from you. You could be quite surprised with what you learn.
- Make time to connect with your classmates as this can lead to friendships and future network opportunities.
- Be kind to yourself and spend time with people that make you feel good, so you don't lose sight of your humanity.
Shamini Rajarethnam studied a Master of Commerce (Marketing) at Melbourne Business School and is now the CEO of Australian beauty brand Rationale.
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