Honouring Dr. Sandip Lalli’s Legacy

Fast and Female is deeply appreciative to be playing a role in honouring the legacy of Dr. Sandip Lalli, a passionate advocate for girls and women in sport. The first Dr. Sandip Lalli Legacy Summit will be hosted on October 22 in Okotoks, Alberta. Fast and Female will support the delivery of the Legacy Summit and continue Dr. Lalli’s work of empowering girls through sport. Learn more about Dr. Lalli below, through the words of her family and friends and her own words:

Sandip’s Story and Influence 

Sandip had tremendous success professionally, around the globe, with her visionary leadership, exceptional communication skills, and ability to initiate and execute her progressive strategic plans. She regularly broke through barriers and faced adversity in her journey, and it was her perseverance and commitment to change in our world that saw her through to her successful professional and personal life.

Through Dr. Lalli’s professional life, she had the privilege of working in over 36 countries. Through her experiences, she shared often that we are more the same than we are different. With Cargill Inc, Sandip provided visionary leadership for Cargill to expand its operation in the Asia Pacific region. Closer to home, Sandip was the CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, where she passionately spoke for the business community as a whole and advocated for ESG and Sustainability and took her conversation to the United Nations in New York City. Later Sandip joined as the CFO for GuestTek, a global leader in broadband technology company based in Calgary. She was one of the founding Board Members for Bumble Bees Venture Capital and she worked tirelessly first to ensure women were invited to the venture capital investment table and second to ensure monies raised were deployed into business who were committed to empowering women in leadership.

For Sandip, the tools for her adult life successes were ones that she had clearly identified as being honed as an athlete on the basketball court. A chance encounter with a junior high basketball coach in Edmonton, Alberta, as she watched from the sidelines, in her own words, “changed the trajectory of my life”.  After her own successful playing career was over, her personal passion in her adult life was supporting initiatives and organizations that focused on empowering young women & girls through sports.

Sandip proudly served as a board member and then chair for Canadian Women & Sport (formerly known as CAAWS) as a pay-it-forward commitment. She often shared that although the business world had become her arena, her time as an athlete had nourished, shaped, and inspired her business success. As a mom, she encouraged and supported her daughter’s athletic journey, knowing this was a path to life success.

The heart of everything Sandip did was through the lens of a firm belief that making a positive contribution to society is fundamental to a well-lived life. Sandip was a mentor at her heart and empowered those around, professionally and personally, to new successes and heights. In light of this, we believe that Sandip would approve of celebrating her legacy and impact in the world by “giving back” to the sports community that now shapes her daughter and other young athletes. We honour her life by hosting the Dr. Sandip Lalli Summit and on October 22, 2023, through our mentor presenters and key note speaker, share her passion for empowering young women and girls through sport.

In her words “…..Why did I run the 44th Annual Chicago Marathon?”

“To thank my mind and body. On Sunday, October 9th I ran the 44th Annual Chicago Marathon. Chicago is a city that has a lot of meaning to me having lived there, so it was easy to choose the course. But why did I pick to do a marathon, to thank my mind and body when I’m not a runner; correction when I wasn’t a runner? I had only ever run 5 KM in my life and that was in 2016. The marathon training process was most intriguing to me as a lifelong learner. Thus, in May 2022, I started training. I put in over 375 Miles/603 KMs of running plus strength training for runners to prepare.

To thank what my mental capacity has been enduring was the most significant Why I had. In business, we say your company’s Why, or the company’s purpose is critical, but we don’t often hold our company accountable for delivering on that Why. Therefore, I decided to hold myself accountable for my leadership style, approach, and character. Live my core values of gratitude, courage, and integrity in a way that was within my perceived and real control. I have worked hard to carve out a place in this world and I honoured that on October 9th, 2022.

Consistency, perseverance, grit, and tenacity all played a part. These are all very strong leadership skills which, if you can put ego aside and authentic humility first, teams can lead to unlocking great value in the work that we get to do.

Why am I sharing this in a post? Because I just tested and proved that you can start at zero at whatever age you are, whatever experiences you have and with your mental strength get across the finish line. Whatever that finish line may be for you. I asked for help along the way and was more vulnerable than I have been before. It’s okay to ask for support and help. When I crossed the finish line, I felt the marathon race experience was amazing and difficult, with a slight ease, just like life. Thank you to all those that supported me in my marathon journey. I will forever be grateful.