Excellence Awards 2026: Anjali Ramchandani — a story of growth and resilience in the UAE shipping and logistics industry

Coming from a conservative family in Jaipur, Anjali Ramchandani's journey has been both enriching and truly remarkable.

Arriving in the UAE in 1997 with a bachelor's degree, she began her career as a secretary in a shipping company. That first step sparked a journey of continuous growth over the years. Balancing her personal evolution, from a newlywed to a proud mother of three daughters, with her professional climb from a secretary to Deputy General Manager has been an incredibly rewarding ride.

Shortly after moving to Dubai, the city's endless potential fuelled her personal growth. In 1998, she took a basic computer course, rented a PC, and practised at home with great passion. This eagerness to embrace the manual-to-digital shift shaped her adaptability.

At Direct Shipping Services, where she worked, Anjali travelled to Malaysia for commercial meetings with suppliers and service providers, which significantly accelerated her professional growth. This international exposure boosted her confidence and led to a subsequent business trip to Hong Kong, which yielded highly positive responses from key stakeholders.

In 2012, Anjali changed her job and joined her present company, Emirates Logistics, which is a part of Sharaf Group, a large diversified conglomerate in the UAE with operations in more than 52 countries and business interests across diversified fields. Her present profile revolves around pricing and international networking, where she has built extensive industry expertise over the years. She views the shipping and logistics sector as a vast, dynamic field, the deeper you dive, the more there is to discover in this journey of continuous learning.

Fascinated by the full procurement lifecycle, Anjali studies both logistics pricing and the manufacturers' challenges in asset management and global compliance. To elevate her industry knowledge, she joined CIPS through the London International Studies and Research Centre.

Although it has been 28 years since she entered the shipping industry, Anjali feels she has many more productive years to contribute to this sector. To prepare, she enrolled in the CIPS Level 4 Diploma, which is enhancing her comprehensive knowledge of procurement. This equips her with the exact expertise required to excel as a pricing manager.

Anjali has come a long way in her career, and she is highly determined to keep growing and achieving much more.