Go-Getter Shari: Two Big Corporations fought her, now she's Exxon's

WHAT manner of lady is this who could force two multinational corporations in Kuala Lumpur into a tussle to entice her to join them? A friend from one of the corporations, who had hoped that she would choose his organisation. described Sharifah Alhady as an "aggressive young bumiputra who has made it on her own."

And this time she has made it - as the new financial analyst at Exxon. At a glance, soft- Spoken Sharifah with her petite fame and genial face could hardly be described as "aggressive." But engage her in a discussion and you'll soon change your mind. Her sense of independence and adventure surges through almost immediately. As she hammers away at the stereotyped thinking (both male and female) and the male chauvinism which prevail around her, you begin to note the feistiness in her.

As a lecturer, she tried to in still this sense of independence in her accountancy students at the ITM. Which meant that they had to sit and listen attentively to what she had to say and take notes.