The complete Nation watched with pride and bated breath as a young Airforce Officer, Wing Commander Pooja Thakur stormed a hitherto fore male bastion – command of a Tri-Service Guard of Honour. Pooja went down in history as the first Indian Woman to lead a Tri-Service Guard of Honor during the visit of the U.S President, Barack Obama. Pooja since then became a symbol of empowerment in our society and an inspiration to the youth especially girls. Pooja was born in Ajmer and because of her defence family background, grew up in different states & cities across the length and breadth of India. She therefore never stayed at a school or college for more than 2-3 years, a facet which has woven remarkable strands of flexibility & adaptability into the fabric of her nature.
Pooja joined the Indian Air Force in the year 2000, and after rigorous training of one year, on par with her male counterparts, got commissioned as an Administrative Officer. Pooja has worked in varied fields of work in IAF since then like, Project Management, Personnel Management, Procurement, Media Management, Digitalization, Creative Content, Film Productions, ATL/ BTL activities and event management to name a few. To keep herself contemporary, Pooja pursued and completed post-graduation in English Honors, Business Administration Certification from Symbiosis and Business Management from MDI Gurgaon, while serving in the IAF.
Pooja is a persuasive communicator with ingrained leadership traits who loves to seize the moment proactively. Being a natural leader, the excitement of bringing about change is what motivates her the most. Pooja has been instrumental in an empowering shift of image projection of the IAF and presenting IAF as a new age workforce with traditional value system. She has been very proactive about bringing innovative ideas as Mobile Apps, Road Adventure Drives, and Mobile Exhibitions as a means to connect to the public.
A positive fallout of frequent re-locating during her growing up years, Pooja has inherited a lifetime passion for travel and quest for adventure. A passionate tourer, she believes that travelling gives not only awesome experiences but stories for life, associations to cherish and the ability to look at things more inclusively. She has been a member of the Air Force Women Skydiving Team and a certified Deep sea diver, a Bunjee jumper, rafter, skier, paraglider. An active speaker since Student days and a sought-after corporate speaker since the past five years, Pooja threads these hyperlocal experiences in her talks. Pooja is known for making audiences comfortable and involved and has the knack to engage people of any age and background – an exceptional quality for a public speaker. She uses her personal and professional experiences in her talks to inspire, motivate and guide the audience.