– Villoo Mehta’s Extraordinary Tenure With Mahindra Group –

In the bustling summer of 1955, a young woman named Villoo Mehta set out with her mother to buy a dressing table from the soon-to-be-shut Morton Hotel, at Cecil Court, in Mumbai. But fate had other plans. A simple detour turned into a career-defining moment – one that would span nearly seven decades and become the stuff of legend!

Inside the hotel, a desk (not a dressing table) caught their eye. Upon inquiry, the staff informed them that the desk wasn’t for sale and that it was being repurposed for a new office. That office, as it turned out, belonged to Mahindra & Mahindra.

Villoo’s mother, in a moment of maternal spontaneity, asked if they were hiring. “My daughter is a trained secretary,” she declared. That spur-of-the-moment question set in motion a career that began in August 1955, when Villoo was hired as a stenographer to the then dynamic young director, Keshub Mahindra. The rest, as they say, is history…

At 88, Villoo Mehta recently retired from Mahindra & Mahindra after an extraordinary 69 years of continued service, most of it spent at the very same desk she started at, when she was just 19! From typewriters to computers, rotary phones to digital messages, Villoo has remained a steady presence through sweeping changes in the corporate world.

“Keshub Mahindra was the best boss anyone could ask for – he treated me like family,” she says with a fond smile. And the admiration was mutual. On her 80th birthday, the late Keshub Mahindra remarked, “A life led with charm and elegance, is how I would begin to describe Villoo Mehta. This young lady barely out of her teens arrived at our company’s door step over 61 years ago. For us she is an icon who many attempt to emulate, but to achieve that status, one has to be basically a person who is dedicated and loyal. She is part of our extended family and a true marvel.”

When Villoo recently retired, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group had said, “Villoo joined the company in the year I was born; and she retires well after I have become a senior citizen! For 69 years of unbroken service, she has smilingly presided over my uncle’s office with grace, devotion and incredible efficiency… Thank you for your dedication, for your loyalty and for being an oasis of constancy in a shifting world.”

Her daughter, Avan Mehta, describes her as, “A role model – resilient, fearless, selfless and eternally young.” What began as a shopping errand became a journey of loyalty, legacy, and love – a reminder that sometimes, life’s best jobs aren’t found. They find you!