When author Jackie Collins came out with the book Lady Boss in 1990, it may or may not have given a real take on what all a lady at the top is capable of achieving.
Whether or not you read the book, here’s a look at some of India’s toughest, most successful and really inspiring women, who are leading their respective sectors and carving out new paths to success and achievement.
Chanda Kochar, Managing Director and CEO ICICI Bank
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Chanda Kochar is credited for her role in changing the face of retail banking in India. She started her career in 1984 as a management trainee with ICICI. In 1996 she was promoted to deputy general manager. She headed the new-formed Infrastructure Industry Group of ICICI Bank to create dedicated industry expertise in telecom, transportation and power.
In 2001, she was promoted to Executive Director and in 2006 was appointed as deputy MD. She was also the CFO and Joint MD between 2007 and 2009. In 2009, she took the chair of MD and CEO and is responsible for their operations in India and overseas. Under her leadership, ICICI bank won various excellence awards. Since 2005, she has regularly been featured on the Forbes’ list of most powerful women in business. In 2017, she became the first leader ever to receive the Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, US.
Indra Nooyi, Chairwoman and CEO of PepsiCo, Independent Female Director ICC
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Indra Nooyi is an Indian American and is the Chairwoman and CEO of PepsiCo, which is the second largest food and beverage business in the world based on net revenue. In 2018, she was also appointed as the first independent female director on the ICC Board, a position she will start from June.
Nooyi worked with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri, before joining PepsiCo in 1994. She was promoted as CFO in 2001, followed by a President and CEO post in 2006. In 1998, she was responsible for the acquisition of Tropicana as well as the merger of Quaker Oats Company, which brought over Gatorade to PepsiCo. From the time she took over as CFO, PepsiCo has seen a jump in its annual net profit from the earlier $2.7 billion to $6.5 billion. She has consistently been featured on various Most Influential lists on various issues of Time, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fortune and more. She is responsible for branching out PepsiCo into fun snacks, low fat and diet versions and healthier foods such as oatmeal. In 2013, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director at The Hindustan Times Group
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Shobhana Bhartia is the Chairperson and Editorial Director at Hindustan Times Group, is the Pro Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani and also the chairperson of Endeavour India.
In 1986, she joined Hindustan Times as Chief Executive and was the first and most likely the youngest female to do so. Under her leadership, the media house has undergone a positive transformation, giving it a young and refreshing feel. Bhartia manages both editorial and financial aspects of the newspaper and was responsible for raising Rs 4 billion through a public equity launch in 2005. Over the years she has won various excellence awards in the field of business and leadership.
Zarina Screwvala, Co-Founder of UTV
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Zarina Screwvala was earlier the co-founder of UTV and is currently the Managing Trustee of the Swades Foundation which works towards rural empowerment in India. In her earlier stints, Zarina was the Chief Creative Officer with UTV Software Communications which was also co-founded by her.
She is also responsible for conceptualizing, promoting and managing UTV Bindass, UTV Star, UTV Hungama and UTV action television channels. As her first stint at work, she started out as a production manager for Pearl Padamsee. She later co-founded UTV and produced various corporate films and ads. She is also responsible, along with her co-founders, for bringing in some of the top-rated shows that were aired on various popular channels in India, including one of India’s first and most-remembered soaps, Shanti.
Kalpana Morparia, CEO of JP Morgan India
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Kalpana Morparia is the CEO of JP Morgan India and is also an independent Director on the Boards of various top companies in India. In her early career as a teacher, she developed speech problems and had to stay at home. She decided to spend time studying law. She joined ICICI in 1975 and was soon given higher responsibilities owing to her knowledge and vision. She got ICICI listed with the New York Exchange in 1999 and gave birth to the ICICI Bank. In 2002, she helped merge ICICI Bank and ICICI.
In 2001, Kalpana joined the ICICI Board of Directors and was appointed ED in 2002. Currently she is the CEO of J. P. Morgan and an independent Director with Dr. Reddy’s Lab, Bennet & Coleman, CMC Limited of TCS. She also partners with Bharti Foundation by Sunil Mittal of Airtel to construct schools and adopt neglected schools across villages in India.
Roshni Nadar, Executive Director and CEO of HCL Enterprises
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A year after joining HCL, Roshni was appointed as the Executive Director and CEO of HCL Corporation. She is also responsible for building and developing the brand across the HCL Group. She has also ranked on number 57 on the Forbes list of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head, India at Bank of America Merrill Lynch India
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Kaku Nakhate sits at the top position in one of the leading capital markets, wealth management and advisory companies in India today. She has helped to build the market-leading franchise in India and also oversees its direction and strategy. She was the Head of Global Markets at DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd and went on to become the Vice Chairperson of JP Morgan India in 2009. In 2010, she was appointed as the Head of Indian Operations at Bank of America Corporation. She has regularly featured amongst the top female names in business and finance.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson IIM Bangalore, Chairperson and MD Biocon Limited
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Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is widely recognized for her contribution in the field of science, specifically chemistry. She is the Chairperson and MD of Biocon Ltd, which is a biotechnology company based in Bangalore. She is also the Chairperson of IIM Bangalore.
She has trained and worked in her earliest career as a brewer and maltster. While looking for more work opportunities in Bangalore and Delhi as a master brewer, she was refused on the grounds that it is a man’s work. In 1978 she started Biocon India with Rs. 10,000 in the garage of her rented accommodation. She faced many gender-based challenges for getting enough funding, handling paperwork and even hiring people to work with her. The first person she hired to work with her was a retired garage mechanic. In the year 1989, Biocon received US funding for proprietary technologies and was the first Indian biotech company that got it. She is regularly involved in various socio-developmental activities. She was also a member of the IIT Hyderabad Board of Governors. In 2012, Pharma Leaders magazine voted her as the global leader of the year. She has regularly featured among the top 50 and 100 lists of most influential people in the world.
Chitra Ramakrishna, MD and CEO of NSE
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She became the first woman who was elected to the post of MD and CEO of NSE. Chitra Ramakrishna has been part of NSE ever since its idea was conceptualized. She is responsible for helping to set up the NSE and provide a screen-based and completely automated trading system. Even before the NSE was set up, she was responsible for issues related to market regulation as well as policy making. She has also closely worked with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is a part of many of SEBI’s committees.
She is also part of the CII’s National Council on Financial Sector Development, Capital Markets Committee and FICCI’s National Executive Committee. Chitra Ramakrishna is the third woman who heads and Exchange in the Asia-Pacific region. She is responsible for launching various products that will suit all types and classes of investors. She received the woman of the year award in Business Leadership by Forbes and has regularly featured in most influential business and financial leaders’ lists in the world.
Dr. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson Apollo Hospitals
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Dr. Preetha Reddy is the current Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Group, which is one of the foremost integrated healthcare providers in Asia. She is credited for making high quality healthcare more accessible to millions of people in the country. Dr. Preetha Reddy is closely involved with the Apollo clinicians to help improve the outcome of clinical trials and procedures. She is also the Managing Trustee of the Apollo Hospitals Education Trust which has institutes dedicated to Nursing, Allied Health Sciences and Management. She also works closely with the Govt. of India on different policy decisions related to healthcare.
Swati Piramal, Vice Chairperson of Piramal Enterprises Ltd.
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Swati Piramal is one of the top scientists and industrialists in India and is also the Vice Chairperson of Piramal Enterprises Ltd. She is involved in various projects related to healthcare and specifically focuses on public health and innovation. She heads a team comprising of scientists who work on research related to cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes and inflammation. She is also the Director of the Piramal Foundation which promotes health in rural parts of India. She has actively worked in preventing various diseases in the last two decades such as diabetes, heart diseases and arthritis. She is also on the Dean’s Advisory Board of Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Business School. She is also on the Boards of IIT Bombay and Harvard University. She is also part of various government public policy committees that work in sectors such as environment, women’s entrepreneurship, trading, regional development, planning and more.
Even as we still talk of empowering our women, these female leaders have already chartered their own path and are responsible for placing India on some of the highest rankings in the world in their respective fields.
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