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Twenty years ago, when Dr. Latha A. Krishna launched Virgo Events, little did she imagine that one of her efforts would get her into the Guinness Book of World Records. Known to have stablished the longest standing beauty pageant in this part of the country – Mrs. Chennai, Latha says that the challenge to do this was unique and brought into play all her experiences of the last twenty years. “Imagine roping in 400 models of different age groups. Just to ensure that all of them turned up for the event itself was a mammoth task. Finally, 386 made it. The criteria were stringent. None of them should have similar costumes. All of them had to do a fixed sequence and if they faltered, they would be disqualified. Each of them had to be a professional model signed to an agency. Before all this, we had a few weeks of intense training in poise, walk, etc. to ensure that the event looked like a professional fashion show. All this paid off when we featured the largy number of models in a single fashion show,” exclaims Latha.

Latha’s journey into event management started with a life-changing event – her wedding. “After I got married, I realized that there were very few avenues open to encourage and empower married women. With a determination to change this and with the help and support of my family, I decided to provide women a platform to showcase their talents. I launched Mrs. Chennai, the country’s first pageant for married women in 2000,” says Latha.

Since then, Latha and her young team have organized over 300 successful and varied events across south India. “I believe that my organisation is one of the very few that is run by a woman along with a small supporting team. Over the last 20 years, I have made several changes to my organization in order to thrive in the local market as a key player. This includes proposing innovative financing methods and marketing strategies to clients, creating signature events and supplementing event management services with design and creative services.”

Having carved an exclusive niche for herself, Latha Krishna finds herself in a position as possibly as one of the few female entrepreneurs in the country, organising events with the specific objective of empowering women. Latha has excelled in designing and organising highly professional, innovative and interactive events with a strong social component and message. Latha ensures that her events also support and help raise awareness for social causes like health, education and elder-care. She is a full-time supporter of Hope Foundation & ARK India Foundation - homes for HIV infected women and children for the past sixteen years.  Exclusive charity events have been conducted by her for the Hope Foundation. Other organisations supported include the Dignity Foundation which focuses on elder-care and provides hope and happiness to senior citizens.

“Women are born multi-taskers with tremendous potential. Due to the pressures of family and professional life, we sometimes tend to lose track of our real selves. My own journey has taught me that giving women a platform to showcase their talent is a powerful way to instil them with confidence and leadership skills and this in turn will create a generation of inspiring female role models,” remarks Latha. In addition to events, Latha has trained over 500 female students across south India in the field of event management, marketing and media relations under the banner of Iris Events. Latha is also a Pink Ambassador facilitating the cause of cancer detection and prevention for which, she takes part in rallies and visits colleges to create awareness about breast cancer.

Alongside Mrs. Chennai, Latha established two other successful titles: Face of Chennai: Chennai’s most prestigious and anticipated model hunt and Chennai Super Mom: to celebrate the importance of women in society and honour their ability to multi-task and serve as care givers. Other successful events in the IRIS roster include

Akshaya Patra on Women’s Day, Valentunes, a music competition, Singathon, Little Prince & Princess, Chennai Star Kids Chutty Champs, Mrs & Me, Saree & Sthree and Runway Code.

That women could start and run an organisation and empower other women to do so is the hallmark of success that Latha Krishna has achieved in the last two decades. “One of the recent introductions to our wide-ranging activities is to train people to become part of a variety of entertainment industries – fashion, modelling, designing, acting, etc. By training these youngsters we are giving them an opportunity to sustain themselves and earn a decent living in the world of entertainment,” concludes Latha Krishna.