Dilshad Master - Kumar - Speaker profile

TEDX SPEAKER, MOTIVATIONAL LEADER, ENTREPRENEUR, ADVENTURER. 

23 YEARS AS A MEDIA EXECUTIVE
With an illustrious career spanning nearly 23 years in the media and television industry, Dilshad is one of the few senior media executives in the country who successfully launched multiple television channels from their inception.

As one of the pioneers of the multi-channel broadcasting space, she has held pivotal roles, including heading operations at Zee Cinema, STAR Plus, and STAR News. As the COO of UTV Entertainment, Dilshad introduced world cinema to Indian audiences and successfully demonstrated how a channel that spoke little English and no Indian language could make money!

As Head of Programming and Marketing for National Geographic Channel, Dilshad discovered the incredible stories India offered, turning them into captivating programs broadcast across 144 countries.

And then  she quit it all.

RE-INVENTING HERSELF
Dilshad's passion for adventure and travel was sparked during her Nat Geo tenure and she moved out of the television space to explore her horizons - literally. The mountains came calling and she embraced the unknown by joining the adventure travel business. Dilshad led Operations and Marketing at one of India's largest adventure travel companies, and seamlessly integrated her media and entertainment expertise into the industry.

While she continues to plan new ways to bring in more people into the adventure-loving fold, Dilshad trudges along to satisfy her own thirst for adventure. Dilshad has led multiple treks to Everest Base Camp, Gokyo Lakes, Renjo La and across other high-altitude terrains of India and Nepal, she teaches  people to ski, have tackled Grade 5 rapids on the wild
Zanskar river in Ladakh, and is the first and only female to ever lead a civilian trek to the Siachen Glacier.

And she did ALL of this after the age of 45 AND after surviving cancer. 

Dilshad is an motivational speaker and is invited by corporates and institutions to speaks on topics closest to her heart. Her talks focus on doing what you always thought was "impossible" and turning that into "I'm possible" (with due credit to the great Audrey Hepburn!)

She often  urges young people and senior level professionals to step out of their comfort zones and into the wilderness to understand success and failure, leadership and responsibility, teamwork and personal growth, aspirations and ambitions.

Dilshad's talks often center around one of her favourite quotes: "I understand you've never done this before, but heck...life is too short not to try out new things."

​"The worst possible thing that I feel I'd have to live with is regret. And so, I ski down that darn mountain even if it scares the hell out of me; cross that Grade 5 rapid, with a prayer on my lips, hoping She can hear me over the roar of the waters; continue to plod on to reach the highest point of that pass mumbling under my breath...I can do it, I can do it, I can do it dammit!"