Pushpa Bector’s journey mirrors the evolution of India’s mall culture itself—ambitious, adaptive, and always a step ahead of its time
If the Indian retail real estate sector had a cornerstone personality, it would undoubtedly be Pushpa Bector—Senior Executive Director and Business Head at DLF Retail. Known for her keen business instincts, formidable leadership, and nuanced understanding of consumer spaces, Pushpa’s journey mirrors the evolution of India’s mall culture itself—ambitious, adaptive, and always a step ahead of its time.
From the corridors St Joseph’s college of Arts and Science to the boardrooms of India’s largest real estate conglomerate, Pushpa’s story is as layered as the malls she curates—designed with precision, driven by purpose, and centred around people.
Early Footprints and Foundations
Pushpa Bector grew up in a family where values and ambition went hand in hand. Pushpa started her career at Oberoi Hotels and Resorts before going on to work for Jubilant FoodWorks as Marketing Head for Domino’s Pizza. Her initial experiences in the hospitality industry provided her with the tools and knowledge she would later use at DLF, having seen first-hand how food brands successfully established their respective footprints in India throughout the early 1990s.
The DLF Decade: From Vision to Reality
Pushpa joined DLF at a time when organised retail in India was still finding its feet. Over the years, she transformed DLF Retail into one of India’s most admired retail portfolios—housing global icons, niche luxury, homegrown powerhouses, and experiential spaces all under one umbrella. Under her leadership, DLF has come to own and operate 8 marquee retail properties, including the iconic DLF Mall of India in Noida and DLF Emporio in Delhi
And the journey is far from over.
A Future Built in Square Feet—and Vision
In the current fiscal, Pushpa is leading the launch of three new malls that will redefine DLF’s national footprint:
- DLF Midtown Plaza at Moti Nagar, New Delhi: 2+ lakh square feet, 75–80% pre-leased.
- DLF Summit Plaza in Gurugram: A massive 4.8 lakh square feet, combining retail and coworking space.
- DLF Promenade Goa: 7 lakh square feet, poised to be the largest shopping destination in Goa.
These expansions reflect Pushpa’s belief in the power of physical retail even in a digitally dominated era.
The Woman Behind the Malls
Pushpa Bector’s success isn’t just measured in square footage or leasing percentages. It lies in her ability to marry strategy with empathy. She’s a mentor, a mother, a boardroom voice, and a consumer herself. Her retail vision has always been deeply human—focused on creating spaces where people not only shop but belong.
As one of the Board of Directors at the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI), she has been instrumental in championing industry issues, collaborating with policymakers, and bringing global best practices to Indian soil. Her leadership during the pandemic, advocating for mall reopenings and policy support, won wide industry admiration.
Infinite Experiences: From Mall Design to Mindshare
At PRC 2025, Pushpa will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural session and join the C-Suite panel discussion ‘Transforming Retail Environments with Infinite Experiences.’ She will spotlight how DLF is not just building retail infrastructure, but designing multi-sensory consumer journeys—where architecture, technology, sustainability, and community engagement come together.
“Experience is the new anchor,” she often says—and DLF’s new properties reflect this. Whether it’s the integration of coworking spaces, the curated F&B clusters that now form 22% of their leased areas, or the embrace of green infrastructure, Pushpa is steering DLF towards the future of retail: experiential, flexible, and deeply immersive.
A Personal Perspective
Those who’ve worked with her speak of her calm resolve, sharp mind, and ability to simplify complexity. She brings a poetic sensibility to hard-nosed real estate metrics—a rare mix of intuition and intelligence. When she speaks about malls, it isn’t just about rentals and footfalls—it’s about emotion, energy, and creating lasting consumer memories.
Looking Ahead
With 220 million square feet of development potential across residential and commercial segments, and a robust joint venture with Singapore’s GIC via DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), the canvas is large—and so is the vision.
As organised retail continues to bounce back post-pandemic, and new cities open up to the mall experience, Pushpa Bector stands at the cusp of yet another retail renaissance. She isn’t just building malls—she’s building cultural landmarks for India’s urban story.
