Monisha Narang: From law to chief of Sauber’s F1 team

She is not just any other MBA or corporate honcho who has made it big. The position Monisha Kaltenborn Narang holds is unique. She is the CEO of the Sauber Formula One team. Not an easy job given that she is the only woman to hold this position in F1.

As her names suggests, she is of Indian origin. But the Indian connection doesn’t end here. Amul, the milk product company, is one of the sponsors of the Sauber team.

Born in Dehradun, Kaltenborn Narang did her schooling at the Welham Girls’ High School. The Narang family moved to Vienna in 1979 since her great uncle was working there. She studied law and later got Austrian citizenship. Eventually, she got married to a German and settled down in Switzerland with their nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.

Her journey from being a lawyer to the chief of an F1 team is quite interesting.

After completing her studies in law, she worked in Germany and Vienna before taking up a job with the Fritz Kaiser Group in Liechtenstein in 1998.

She was a legal specialist with the company, Red Bull Sauber. She joined Sauber in 2000, handling the legal department. Since 2001, she has been a member of the board of management. And now she is the team’s CEO.

“When I became the CEO, I wasn’t aware that being a woman would be an issue to people outside the team. I do my work with passion and see no reason why being a woman should stop me from doing that. I’d be happy if my position emboldens other women, with interest in our sport, to pursue their goals,” she said.

She shared her childhood memories, how her grandparents would pamper her. “I’m not fluent in Hindi since I haven’t had much of a chance to speak the language for a while. But that’s changing gradually as I try to speak Hindi with my kids. I’d like them to learn the language. My parents are making a real effort on that front. We’ve got to the point where we only use Hindi for certain words. For instance, no one says ‘tea’ in our house; it’s always ‘chai’. And when the children were growing up and wanted to be picked up, they’d always shout ‘godi’. Even my German parents-in-law have started using the expression.”

In contrast to her days as a student, pressures of the job and lack of time have limited her visits to India. But it’s interesting that she was married in Hindu tradition. “It was a colourful and happy celebration,” she reminisced.

Kaltenborn Narang is understandably eager to be back to her native country for the race next week. “For the first time, I’ll be able to combine my work with a visit to the country of my birth as part of the inaugural GP in India.”

She’s excited that F1 is coming to India. “It’s not easy for any sport to find a space in India’s public consciousness alongside cricket. This race will help establish F1 in India. It’s only appropriate that India is now part of this exclusive group. The decision to add India reflects the country’s global and economic standing,” she said.

Kaltenborn Narang is hoping that the Indian GP turns out to be a good one for the Sauber team. She wants to see the team take the sixth position in the constructors’ standings as they have slipped down one spot.