25leading women in india

7/29/2019 25leading Women in india

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25 LEADING WOMEN

They're the 25 power women of the country, the physical manifestation of will, power,grace, dedication, hard work and extraordinary brilliance.

With each step they take, whether it's business, politics, arts, films, banking, hospitality

or sports, they keep raising the bar and breaking untouched barriers. These are the women whohave made India shine on a global platform.

NAINA LAL KIDWAI, 52

GROUP CHAIRMAN & COUNTRY HEADHSBC INDIA

She took HSBC India to startling new heights even

during the recession. The company reported an increase in profitby over 40 percent at the beginning of last year. Under her

leadership they launched a Life Insurance Joint Venture company

in India, in association with Canada Bank and Oriental Bank ofCommerce that reported a premium income close to Rs.300

crore. Under her guidance, they have taken corporate

sustainability to the next level that has won her and the bank

accolades for their contribution to the environment.

TANYA DUBASH, 41

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & PRESIDENT (MARKETING)GODREJ GROUP

After taking over a key position in the company, she has

changed the way people look at Godrej as a. brand She has giventhe company a fresh, youthful makeover whether it's through

reality television or product-based incentives. She introduced the

concept of experience marketing with Godrej Nature's Basket, aworld food store with seven major companies, Godrej's turnover

crosses Rs.1,100 crore.


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CHANDA KOCHHAR, 47

CEO& MD, ICICI BANK

She heads India's largest private banks with an asset base

of Rs.3.8 lakh crores. She is ranked number 20 on the Forbes list

of the 100 most powerful women in the world. In a year fraughtwith financial upheaval post recession, her bank emerged

stronger on all parameters recording an operating profit of 22 per

cent minus treasury income. Because this is just the beginning, as

she says, "2009 made us emerge stronger but 2010 is the year ofgrowth opportunity."

PREETHA REDDY, 52

MANAGING DIRECTORAPOLLO HOSPITALS GROUP

She has constantly innovated and revamped the Rs.1, 800

crore Apollo Hospitals Group. Through her efforts theGovernment of India honored the group with the release of a

postage stamp for its role in India's health care sector. She

belongs to a group of 10 business heads that form the Indo-US

CEOs Forum this year. She is the first woman advisor on healthcare to the Indian government. She is also the director of

Kalakshetra, the legendary dance school in Chennai.AKSHATA MURTY, 30ENTREPRENEUR

She gave up a job in venture capital and decided to listen to her heart. She

launched a contemporary clothing line with traditional Indian roots. She chose apath that no one in her family had. Her clothing line, made in consultation with

design students, aims to give artisans of this country a platform in the West.


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NIRUPAMA RAO, 59

FOREIGN SECRETARY

She is the first woman full-term foreign secretary in India's history. She has brought in a

new diplomatic style with her out-of-the-box thinking. She is known to be a tough negotiator andis handling the ongoing dialogue with Pakistan. She has served at key diplomatic assignments

like China and Sri Lanka. She was also the first woman spokesperson of the Ministry of External

Affairs.

SHILPA GUPTA, 33

INSTALLATION ARTIST

She has three solo shows lined up this year, the first of

which is currently being showcased at The Contemporary Art

Center in Cincinnati. Her work is already a part of art schoolbooks in the UK. She is one of the few Indian artists to haveshowcased her work at the Yvonne Lambert, France and Gallery

Continua, Italy. She has been interviewed by veteran German

artist and intellectual Peter Weibel.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA, 27

ACTOR

This former Miss World made a clean sweep at the award ceremonies

last year. She won the National Award, a first for a person in her 20s, after her

brilliant performance in Fashion. She is on top of the Bollywood game with fourback-to-back successes from Fashion, Dostana and Kaminey to whats yourRashee.

She is being talked about, not for her link-ups with co-actors but herwork, a welcome change in an industry obsessed with gossip. Every director

worth his weight wants to work with her. Her forthcoming films include

Siddharth Anand's Anjana Anjani, Vishal Bharathwaj untitled next and FarhanAkhtar's Don 2. She is also UNICEF's National Celebrity working for children'srights.


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ROOPA KUDVA, 46

REGION HEAD, SOUTH ASIA, STANDARD & POORSMD & CEO, CRISIL

She is the MD and CEO of India's first credit rating agency. Crisil's rating coverage hasgrown nearly eight times siren the financial meltdown in the US put rating firms under the

scanner Kudva and her team promptly stepped up communication with the users of its ratings by

sending out rating alerts to investors and general public even before a company was downgraded

or upgraded.

SWATI PIRAMAL, 53

DIRECTOR , PIRAMAL HEALTH CARE & PRESIDENT

ASSOCHAM

She has truly been able to break the glass ceiling after becoming

the first woman to head an apex business chamber in India. Since herappointment, she has invited 100 women to chair all the national

committees of ASSOCHAM this year. Because Primal Life Sciences,

where she is vice chairperson, is gearing up to deliver the first drugdeveloped by an Indian research company.

RAJSHREE PATHY, 53

CHAIRPERSON

RAJSHREE SUGARS AND CHEMICALS

She is Chairperson of Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals, a

company with interests across integrated fields such as sugar, power co-

generation and biotechnology. In 2009, she completely reorganizedRajshree Sugars and inducted new top-class professionals, to move on

to the next growth phase. The turnover of her company and its

subsidiaries is expected to exceed Rs.600 crore in March 2010. Becauseshe was elected the President of SISM (South India Sugar Mills) for the

second term 2007-2009.


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VINITA BALI, 53

MANAGING DIRECTOR

BRITANNIAGROUP

She took charge of a near rudderless firm and turned its

fortunes around making its top line profit double in four yearsbetween 2005-09. Her company has been growing at 20 per cent

annually. Its market share, in the Rs.6,000-crore biscuit market

has stabilized around 35 per cent. Because money making is not

the only thing she cares about. Britannia's work with GlobalAlliance for improved nutrition got her international acclaim at

the Clinton Global Initiative.

AGATHA SANGMA, 29

UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

At the age of 28, she became the youngest MP. She is the

youngest minister in the current council of ministers. This former lawyer

is the face of the youth in a country where politics is the domain of the

old and the wise. Despite being the daughter of former Lok SabahSpeaker P.S. Sangma and sister to James and Conrad who are in

Meghalaya state politics, she has managed to carve out her own identity.

Earth Calling A Master's in environmental management fromthe University of Nottingham, she also dabbles in nature photography.

MALLIKA SRINIVASAN, 50DIRECTORTAFE

She rose above the stereotypes and made a mark in the macho

tractor business. Her great delegation and communication skills workedvery well during the downturn when TAFE grew despite the gloom in the

environment. It is the first tractor company to be recognized for strong

commitment to excel at the 15th Quality Summit conducted byConfederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Bangalore.

Power She is a serious votary of woman power and feels

women's contribution to society has often been underestimated.


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PRIYA PAUL, 43

CHAIRPERSON, APEEJAY SURRENDRA PARK HOTELS

She has revamped the concept of a boutique hotel and givenit a chic, edgy identity. Despite the downturn, the group has

successfully expanded to include a 10-room land property and aneight-room boutique cruiser in Kerala and a hotel in Hyderabad.The group also opened Italia, a stand-alone restaurant in Delhi and

launched its own spa brand, Aura. The turnover for 2009-2010 is

expected to be around Rs.250 crore.She is also one of India's foremost art collectors with an

eclectic taste that ranges from the traditional to the contemporary.

She is also the founding member of the World Travel and Tourism

Council-India Initiative and chairperson of South Asia Women's

Fund.

LOVELEEN TANDAN, 36

FILM DIRECTOR

She brought home the Oscars as casting director and co-

director of the eight-time Oscar winning Slum dog Millionaire,

directed by Danny Boyle. She belongs to that category of youngwomen directors who defy convention and bravely venture into

new frontiers.

The slum dog moment, The infamous potty scene. Itwas actually dollops of peanut butter chocolate sauce that we had

used to soak little Jamal. He would keep licking it off", she says.

Passion turns career From Mira Nair's Monsoon

Wedding, Vanity Fair and The Namesake to Steven Spielberg's

Terminal and Sarah Gavron's Brick Lane, it has been a long andfulfilling road.

PADMASREE WARRIOR, 48

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICERCISCO SYSTEMS INC

Her company's revenue for 2009 was Rs.1,65,000 crore. Under her

leadership, Cisco took huge strides in the realm of cloud computing,virtualization, connected life and TelePresence and the new and emerging

opportunities they present. Recently, the United States Pan Asian American

Chamber of Commerce recognized her with its prestigious Excellence Award.

Creative Energy She is an artist at heart. She has channeled her creative

energies through her favorite mediums of clay and acrylics. She finds dance fun

and creative.


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NAMRITA JHANGIANI, 55

PARTNER

EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL

She is a partner with Egan Zenger International which is the

world's largest executive search firm. Because in 2009, despite therecession, Egan Zenger not only refrained from laying people off like

other firms, in the domestic and international market, but also opened a

new office in Bangalore and continued recruiting. She has worked

extensively in recruitment for CEO board levels in the finance,pharmaceutical and BPO sectors. Their revenues are close to Rs.2,000

crores.

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BHAIRAVI JANI, 30

DIRECTORSCA GROUP OF COMPANIES

At 30 she is the Director of the SCA group of Companies which

specializes in shipping, warehousing, logistics and many more. She is the

Chairperson of CII's Young Indians. With her fresh ideas she ventured

into unchartered territories. Despite the recession they launched Tran

smart India Pvt. Ltd, the first modern warehousing company with state of

the art technology, causing a big shift in the industry. There are projects

with over Rs.1,000 crore investment in warehousing.

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DEVITA SARAF, 28

CEO

VU TECHNOLOGIESBesides being CEO, Vu technologies, she is an executive committee

member of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is

a part of Mensa, an international society of people whose IQ ranks in the top two

per cent of the world's population. She is the founder and chairperson of the

young Bombay forum of the Bombay chamber, part of the Bombay Chamber ofCommerce and Industry.

Art fetish She has taken classes in pottery, jewelry designing at the Indo

American Institute where she received a diploma in it, graphic designing andIkebana.

NEELAM DHAWAN, 49


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MANAGING DIRECTOR

HEWLETTPACKARD, INDIA

She is the Managing Director of Hewlett Packard, India. Despitethe recession, HP remained at the number one spot in domestic

companies as well as multinationals in India. She pioneered philanthropicdrives where close to Rs.130 crore was pumped into the sectors ofeducation, entrepreneurship development, environment and disaster

relief.

CHITRA RAMAKRISHNA, 46JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE

She is the Joint Managing Director of the National StockExchange. She has been a part of the founding committee of NSE and

has grown with the institution to hold such a senior position. Playing

with her a key role in the decision making process, the network of NSEhas strengthened with offices in 1,500 cities across the country.

Honesty is her best policy She believes that the best road to success,

personal and professional, is by being honest in whatever one does.

MEERA SHANKAR, 59

INDIA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

She is the only woman to be appointed Indian Ambassador to the UnitedStates, since Vijaylakshmi Pandit has been deputed to the job to give momentum

to the transforming Indo-US ties under a new administration in Washington DC.

She is the lady-in charge when it comes to negotiating the civil nuke deal,counter-terrorism cooperation and outsourcing with the US.

Power Duo She and foreign secretary Nirupama Rae, two of the most powerfuldiplomats in India, are from the 1973 batch of IAS officers and served as part ofthe strong female diplomatic contingent under former Ambassador S.S. Ray, in

Washington DC from 1991 to 1995.


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ROHINI IYER, 28OWNER

RAINDROP MEDIA

She runs one of the biggest brand and image management

companies for celebrities. Her client list reads like a who's who, from

Salmon Khan, Karina Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Saif Ali

Khan, Nadiadwala Grandsons, Eros International, and Venus to Hari OmProductions. She handles everything from press meets to film screenings,

outdoor shoots, brand endorsements and building their brand image.

Tuning In Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head was the inspiration

behind her company name.

MEHER PUDUMJEE, 43

CHAIRPERSONTHERMAX LIMITED

After completing her degree in chemical engineering from London,

she decided to come back to India and start as a trainee in ThermosLimited, now aRs.3,000 crore company. Because under her, the company's

global influence is increasing by technology partnerships and business

alliances with German organizations and the recent visit of the President ofthe Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Horst Koehler to the Thermos

Limited's factory in Chinch wad, Pune.

The love for music she is passionate about western classical music and is a

part of The Chamber Singers, a pune-based western classical choir. Theymeet every Tuesday to practice and hold concerts once or twice a year in

Mumbai and Pune.

She loves family first, spending time with her husband, Pheroze and hertwo children. Her family is her biggest safety net, a source of

unconditional love.

25leading women in india

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