Director, Operations and Business Development, Mercury Himalayan Explorations Ltd.
Dilshad has worked in the media and entertainment space for over 22 years. The broadcasting space was her playground and she has several television channel launches to her credit. Her last held broadcasting responsibility was as COO of UTV Entertainment and prior to that she was the Senior Vice President of National Geographic Channel and The History Channel, heading marketing and programming. As Senior Vice President of STAR TV, she was responsible for the launch of the STAR brand in UK.
Her stints in senior positions at STAR TV, National Geographic Channel, and UTV Entertainment saw her gain deep insight into branding and positioning products in the entertainment space. “Of all the TV channels I worked with, the stint I enjoyed the most was at National Geographic Channel. As the head of programming and marketing, I devised show concepts and marketing strategies that made me wish I was sitting on the other side of the desk. I didn’t want to send production crews across India, I wanted to go myself; I didn’t want to select locations sitting behind a desk, I wanted to see them first-hand. I then I realized it was really very simple to do that. I quit. I took up my next best passion after TV – travel and joined Mercury Himalaya Explorations Ltd. as their head of marketing and business development – the best career decision of my life!”, she says.
Dilshad is an avid traveler, having travelled across more than 23 countries, “so many more left – I get depressed every time I see the marching line up at an Olympics opening ceremony!” she laughs.
Diagnosed with cancer in 2012, Dilshad has decided time is way too short for planning anything. “I live by the taglines of my two favourite brands: “Just Do It” and “Impossible Is Nothing”, she says only half seriously. To know a little about her battle with cancer, read her blog here: http://www.mheadventures.com/my-everest-base-camp-trek-taught-me-that-impossible-is-nothing.html . Trekking and white-water rafting are her passions and she has just returned after leading a trek to the Siachen Glacier – the first private operator to be given permission to lead a civilian trek to this highly militarized zone.
Dilshad loves writing about her travels and uses social media tools to urge friends to get off their behinds and see the world. She is also the co- founder of a crowd-sourced collaborative e-magazine called FarInto Traveller that connects travelers with like-minded people for the perfect travel experience; savours her glass of Merlot; is constantly on the lookout for the perfect trekking shoes; her Oakleys and she can never be parted; her favourite funny movies are Cliff Hanger and Vertical Limits (“though I’m guessing they weren’t meant to be funny”), and she’s aiming to get back to swimming 36 lengths of a full sized pool someday. Dilshad has a Masters in Telecommunications Management from Michigan State University, USA.