Uzma Irfan, Director, Prestige Group & Founder, Sublime was felicitated with the ‘Woman Entrepreneur of the Year’ award by the Bangalore Management Association. Uzma joined the Prestige Group in 2006, and has carved a niche for herself in a predominantly male-dominated industry and is considered among the most respected women in real estate today. The award recognises Uzma’s innovative thinking and exceptional leadership qualities that have led her to distinguish herself in several areas of management. With her work speaking for itself and recognition from several reputed platforms, she hopes to encourage more women to believe in themselves and strive for excellence in their chosen field. The adage of a prolific entrepreneur is an understatement for Uzma Irfan who juggles multiple roles with élan in her professional life. As a Director at Prestige Group, Uzma has been the mastermind behind brands like Sublime and The Luxury Collection, which have acquired iconic status. Their success is a testament to her hard work and business acumen.
After the completion of a degree in business administration from London’s American Intercontinental University, Uzma’s professional journey began in 2006 with the Prestige Group when she set up the department of Corporate Communications to strengthen the group’s media strategy during its phase of exponential expansion centred around leisure and hospitality. She brought vision and sustained visibility on board and spearheaded marketing campaigns for the group. Under her able leadership, not only has the group strengthened its image as one of the brands to reckon with in the realty sector, she has also designed the company’s quarterly newsletter, Falcon News, as its Editor with the aim to disseminate information to the company’s stakeholders and customers around the globe. With a printed circulation of 27,000, it is regarded as a magazine of repute in its own right.
Redefining the concept of showcasing the finest in lifestyle, Uzma launched The Luxury Collection magazine in 2009. As the Editor, she curates information on luxurious retail brands, epicurean delights, exotic locales, global events and art fests to HNIs worldwide. It is available in stands and is placed in premium pockets in India and abroad.
Propelled by her interest in art, her tryst with entrepreneurship began when Uzma started the Sublime Galleria in UB City in 2009. Sublime Art Galleria has been successful in putting Bengaluru on the international art scene with ‘Art Bengaluru’, an annual festival dedicated to national and international artists and art connoisseurs. The opening night of the event has been streamed live in Times Square, New York for two years in a row. This, along with the patronage the Galleria receives for international art auctions and art commissions, is a clear marker of Uzma’s success in turning the festival into a tour de force in the global art arena. Her other laudable art enterprise is Berserk, an annual 3-day residential art programme for children to encourage art appreciation and skills in budding artists. In her bid to encourage and promote art education extensively in India, she has also founded Sublime’s Teaching for Artistic Innovation (TFAI), an initiative by Sublime in association with Prestige Foundation to enhance the teaching capabilities of art teachers, and bring the benefits of art education to the children of a school in order to unlock their creative potential.
Her keenness for promoting traditionally sound and yet innovative ideas is apparent from Sublime House of Tea, which she founded in 2013. It is a brand dedicated to sustaining the culture of tea-drinking in India through promotion of exotic and internationally acclaimed brews. Sublime Media Buying and Sublime Event Management are the other offshoots of Uzma’s Sublime tree, created to facilitate the voluminous advertising and promotional needs of the Prestige Group. The former has successfully crossed over from being an exclusive Prestige Group entity to an independent agency handling external clients. She also handles the marketing and promotional activities for The Collection – UB City, Morph Design Company and Prestige, The Man Shop. Uzma has been the recipient of many national and international awards for her work in the realty sector. She credits her parents – Irfan Razack and Badrunissa Irfan for the success and accolades she has earned at this age. She also attributes her success to her husband, Zaid and daughter, Alayna for motivating her to explore new opportunities and giving her their unwavering support. An avid reader and a lifelong believer in learning, Uzma enjoys travelling, cooking and meeting new people.
