Leaders

The exposure I received at IIMA expanded my world view and fundamentally changed how I saw possibilities, for myself and others like me. Being a part of that ecosystem where collective responsibility and professionalism was at the epicenter helped me shape the kind of professional I am turned it.

What core values did IIM Ahmedabad instill in you that continue to be relevant to your professional journey?

The core values IIM A instilled are ecosystem thinking and the importance of time, being the most limited resource we all have. Be it getting to the class or an assignment submission at 11:59:59 pm - IIM A instilled a value for time of self and others.

Next, the ecosystem thinking or collective responsibility. I understood the actual meaning of these terms after graduating from IIM A. Our contribution should be bigger than the self.

Take us through your vast journey in the corporate world and the key learnings along the way.

Over the past 12 years, my professional journey has spanned diverse domains, from thermal power to fintech, mobility, global e-Commerce, and now conscious consumer goods.

My career began at NTPC, where I was the only woman managing blue-collar workers in a power plant. That experience built my resilience, taught me how to lead in high-pressure environments, and instilled a bias for action.

From there, I moved to Housing.com, joining as an intern but quickly taking on the responsibility of monetizing its real estate verticals. The adrenaline and problem-solving nature of startups stuck with me.

At Paytm, I built and scaled the QR payments business across South India, growing the team from 4 to 128. This taught me how to build systems, manage scale, and lead with empathy while staying focused on outcomes.

Uber brought a different challenge: leading the trust and safety vertical for IndiaSA. I worked on safety projects that required balancing policy, empathy, and tech. At Amazon, I managed cross-country operations and compliance programs across Asia for Amazon Devices, refining my executional discipline, global coordination, and cost optimization skills.

Each of these roles helped me develop deep capabilities in vendor management, fulfillment operations, quality systems, supply chain compliance, and customer experience.

What inspired you to establish Claymistry? What’s the underlying idea behind the dinnerware brand?

Claymistry was born at the intersection of motherhood, sustainability, and aesthetics. Becoming a mother heightened my awareness of health and safety. I also noticed a significant knowledge gap in our society, that most people didn’t realize the chemicals present in local ceramics, like lead and arsenic.

Claymistry isn’t just a ceramic brand, it’s about building an ecosystem, making handcrafted, non-toxic, premium ceramic accessible to everyday households, and empowering artisans. We aim to expand to support women entrepreneurs through our Women Ambassador Program and build a platform for local studio potters who lack infrastructure to increase their reach.

What key responsibilities do you shoulder at Claymistry? How are you driving growth for the company?

Starting Claymistry, I wear every hat, from ideating the next collection to negotiating with logistics partners/ vendors, writing website content, to planning packaging, while managing with a few interns and outsourced support.

I am currently focused on scaling the operations, brand-building as to build a narrative to help our consumers with Claymistry’s purpose - non-toxic, handcrafted ceramics matter.

In addition to that, we are expanding into the B2B space, followed by exploring international markets such as the US, Canada, Europe, and Dubai.

This year's roadmap focuses on four key areas, namely B2C growth, B2B partnerships, international expansion, and scaling the women's ambassador program. This financial year, we aim to achieve 5X growth in the B2C segment since launch, aiming for profitability across all the channels.

We are observing a consistent m-o-m increase in orders and repeat customers, with increasing AOV.

We're working toward expanding our artisan network by over 3X, piloting women-led micro-distribution models, and launching new collections crafted from zero-toxin materials. We're now piloting select global platforms and B2B partnerships, which are already showing encouraging early traction.

Looking back, what has been your guiding leadership philosophy and ‘success mantra’?

As a leader, I strongly believe that leadership is about creating more leaders. I don’t believe in micromanagement. I help my team find their strengths, give them flexibility and freedom, and expect performance with purpose.

I believe in combining data with executive intelligence, using intention, common sense, and the right resources to achieve any goal with efficiency.

“Keep swimming” is not just a mantra, it’s a mindset. It means showing up, moving forward, and staying in the game no matter how uncertain or exhausting it gets.

Pooja Meena, Founder, Claymistry

Pooja Meena, the founder of Claymistry and an alumna of IIM Ahmedabad, brings a deeply rooted value system shaped by professionalism, punctual­ity, and ecosystem thinking. With a career spanning leadership roles at top firms like Amazon, Uber, and Paytm, she transitioned from the corporate world to build Claymistry, driven by her belief in conscious liv­ing and sustainable impact.