A mum-of-two is set to open her 11th KFC restaurant after giving up her career as a doctor. Angelina Mouralidarane spent nine years studying medicine.
And after training at St George’s Hospital in Tooting she had ambitions of working in a major trauma centre which she did at a number of different hospitals in London.
But she decided to follow a completely different path - taking over and expanding the family portfolio of KFC stores. She now runs ten restaurants and is planning on opening an 11th. She also employs more than 250 staff.
Angelina told SurreyLive why she chose to leave her career as a doctor behind. She admitted she was “torn” as she “loved” saving lives but ultimately felt the impact she was having in the profession was limited.
She said: “My dad really did not mind. He was probably in a point in his career where he wanted to retire.
"Having grown up with KFC I had the privilege of seeing how the brand operates and there was so much opportunity for personal growth. [People] were surprised at the beginning because it’s quite unheard of that people would leave a vocational profession after investing nine years of education in it to take over a business which is deemed higher risk.
"When they understood what it was like working as a doctor in the NHS and the opportunity to grow our family business they understood. We’re in a very different world today.
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"People who I haven’t spoken to since my medical school days probably wouldn’t even ask the question or be surprised [about my decision.] The reality is there are a lot of people now who do leave the profession.”
Angelina is also a mum of two girls and she described juggling motherhood and running a career as “organised chaos”. She says being a mum is "much harder" than running a business but believes it has made her a better leader.
She also offered advice to anyone struggling to decide which career path to follow. “First and foremost do what makes you happy which allows you to achieve the balance that you want between work and personal life," she said.
"Ultimately if either one doesn't fulfil you, you won't be at your best. Having gone through this journey people should spend less time focussing on what external assumptions would be. If you genuinely are happy and proud of what you do, others around you will just infer the same.”
