The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World

Agreed that the Indian corporate sector is mainly an arena conquered by men but there are quite a few feisty women who in their quest for power and success have dared to not just tread but in fact, leave their mark in this male-dominant territory.  

Here is a list of top 10 Indian women revered in the corporate world for having spearheaded major business houses within the nation as well as across the globe-

Chandra Kochhar

She embarked on her esteemed journey as a management trainee at ICICI in 1884 and presently reigns as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank since May 2009. Under her leadership, ICICI Bank was conferred the 'Best Retail Bank in India' award from 2001 to 2005 and 'Excellence in Retail Banking Award' in 2002 by The Asian Banker. She has several accolades to her credit including "Retail Banker of the Year 2004, "Business Woman of the Year 2005" and "Rising Star Award" for Global Awards 2006 by Retail Banker International. Consistently featuring in Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005, she ranked at number 20 in the Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women list" in 2009. She was honored with Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India in 2010.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Founder, Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw also holds the post of Chairperson of Syngene International Limited and Clinigene International Limited. Having founded Biocon in 1978, she has led the biotechnology company to great heights of international acclaim. For her outstanding services and contributions in the field of biotechnology, she was awarded the Padmabhushan in 2005.

Naina Lal Kidwai

The first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School, she launched her career with ANZ Grindlays (1982-1994), was employed as Vice Chairman of JM Morgan Stanley and Head of the Investment Bank in India during 1994-2002. In 2009, she became the Group General Manager and Country Head, HSBC India. She constantly featured in the Fortune global list of Top Women in Business, 12th in the Wall Street Journal 2006 Global Listing of Women to Watch and listed by Time Magazine as one of their 15 Global Influentials 2002. She was bestowed with the Padma Shri for her efforts in promoting of Trade and Industry.

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi

Occupying the first spot on Fortune's list of the "50 Most Powerful Women" and #6 on Forbes' list of the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2010, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi took over as PepsiCo's President and CFO in 2001. Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation, she is a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, International Rescue Committee, Catalyst and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She was also rated amongst "The Top Gun CEOs" by Brendan Wood International in 2009.

Indu Jain 

Chairperson of India's largest and most powerful media group, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., which owns the Times of India, Indu Jain is an entrepreneur, a spiritualist, an educationalist, a patron of art and culture and a humanist all rolled into one. She has addressed the United Nations in 2000 at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders.

Swati Piramal

Having earned a medical degree from the University of Bombay, a degree in industrial medicine and a master's degree in Public Health from Harvard University USA, Dr.Swati Piramal today is the Vice Chairperson of Piramal Life Sciences Limited and Director of Piramal Healthcare Limited. She has been the Vice President of Assocham in 2008 and was elected as its President in 2009. 

 

Mallika Srinivasan

Having completed her MA in econometrics from Madras University, she pursued her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Presently she is the Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE). Joining her family business in 1986, over a period of twenty years she accelerated its revenue turnover from 85 crores to 2900 crores.

Preetha Reddy

A Chemistry graduate from the University of Madras with a post graduate degree in Public Administration, besides being one of India’s pioneer businesswomen in the segment of healthcare industry, Preetha Reddy is the Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, one of the largest healthcare conglomerates of India. Under her leadership, the Apollo Specialty Hospital has acquired the status of a major oncology referral centre in Asia, apart from being one of the few places that offers bone marrow transplantation. The hospital was also the first to perform cord blood transplantation in India.

Priya Paul

Chairperson of Appeejay, The Park Hotels chain of boutique hotels, Priya Paul joined the company at a young age of 22 when her father Surrendra Paul was gunned down by the ULFA militants in Assam. With just two years of experience working under her father and Economics degree from the Wellesley College, she had no choice but to take charge of the hotel chain. Recognized by Forbes online as one of India's 100 most powerful businesswomen, she is also accredited with many other recognitions including Young Entrepreneur of the Year award 1999-2000, Businessperson of the year 2002-2003.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani

Managing Director of Kinetic Motor Company, she leads the Kinetic Marketing Services Limited and Kinetic Finance. Sulajja has been widely acknowledged for single-handedly designing and developing the marketing strategies. Having completed B.Com from Pune University and MBA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, she subsequently joined Barra International, California, an investment consulting firm in the U.S. She was rewarded with the Young Achiever's Award for Business in the year 2002, Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 2002 and was named the "Face of the Millennium" by 'India Today'.

References:

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