Top 20 Business Women in India, Top 10 Business Woman, Best Indian Women CEOs.
Top 20 Business Women in India, Top 10 Business Woman, Best Indian Women CEOs, Best women entrepreneurs,
Name
|
Position Held
|
Organization Name
|
1 Chanda Kocchar
|
Executive Director
|
ICICI Bank
|
2 Ekta Kapoor
|
Creative Director
|
Balaji Telefilms
|
3 Swati Piramal
|
Director-Strategic Alliances & Communications
|
Nicholas Piramal
|
4 Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
|
Chairman and Managing Director
|
Biocon
|
5 Lalita D Gupte
|
Joint Managing Director
|
ICICI Bank
|
6 Naina Lal Kidwai
|
Deputy CEO
|
HSBC
|
7 Preetha Reddy
|
Managing Director
|
Apollo Hospitals
|
8 Priya Paul
|
Chairman
|
Apeejay Park Hotels
|
9 Vinita Bali
|
MD
|
Britannia
|
10 Vandana Luthra
|
Founder
|
VLCC
|
11 Ritu Kumar
|
Fashion Designer
|
Fasion Industry
|
12 Ritu Nanda
|
CEO
|
Escolife
|
13 Shahnaz Hussain
|
CEO
|
Shahnaz Herbals
|
14 Sulajja Firodia Motwani
|
Joint MD
|
Kinetic Engineering
|
15 Renuka Ramnath
|
CEO
|
ICICI Ventures
|
16 Tarjani Vakil
|
Former Chairman & MD
|
EXIM Bank
|
17 Simone Tata
|
Chairman
|
Trent Ltd
|
18 Zia Mody
|
Senior Partner
|
AZB & Partners
|
19 Ranjana Kumar
|
Chairman
|
NABARD
|
20 Rajshree Pathy
|
Chairman
|
Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd
|
1) Chanda Kochhar - Executive Director, ICICI Bank
Ms
Chanda Kochhar joined ICICI as a Management Trainee in 1984. She heads
the Corporate Centre of the Bank, is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
and is also the official spokesperson for ICICI Bank.
Her
responsibilities include the global treasury, principal investments
& trading, risk management and legal functions. Also responsible for
day-to-day guidance and administrative matters.
She did her
Masters in Management Studies from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of
Management Studies, Mumbai where she topped her batch and received the
Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies.
Ms
Kochhar was born on November 17, 1961, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Presently,
she resides in Mumbai and is married and has a daughter and a son.
2) Ekta Kapoor
Creative Director, Balaji Telefilms
Ekta
Kapoor can be aptly called as the reigning queen of Indian television
industry. The serials produced by her company Balaji Telefilms are a
great hit with the masses and are dominating all the major TV channels
in India.
She has broken all previous records of TV serial
production and popularity in India. Her most famous television venture
has been "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" which began in 2000 and is
still leading the TRP ratings in India.
For her entrepreneurial
skills and achievements Ekta Kapoor was awarded with Ernst & Young
(E&Y) Startup Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2001.
Born on
June 7, 1975, Ekta Kapoor is daughter of former Bollywood superstar
Jeetendra and sister of current Bollywood hero Tusshar Kapoor.
3) Swati Piramal
Director-Strategic Alliances & Communications, Nicholas Piramal
Her
current responsibilities include research & development, strategic
alliances, new products and technologies, knowledge management,
corporate communications and government policy.
Dr Piramal's special research interests include herbal, clinical discovery and nutrition research in pharmaceuticals.
She
graduated with a Masters Degree from Harvard School of Public Health,
Boston USA, where she had the unique honour of being selected
Commencement Speaker at the 1992 Graduation Ceremony.
Dr Swati Piramal is married to India's well-known Industrialist Ajay Piramal and they have two children, Nandini and Anand.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon
Biocon
is today recognised as India's pioneering biotech enterprise. Her
unique vision has steered Biocon's transition from an industrial enzymes
company to an integrated biopharmaceutical company with strategic
research initiatives.
As Chairperson and Mission Leader of CII's
National Task Force on Biotechnology she has led several delegations to
USA, Canada, UK, etc to propel India into the global super league of
biotech trailblazers.
She is married to John Shaw, a Scotsman
and Indophile, who headed a leading textiles MNC, Madura Coats from
1991-1998 as Chairman and Managing Director. John Shaw has since joined
Biocon as Director, International Business and is the Vice Chairman of
the Board.
Lalita D Gupte
Joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank
Mrs
Gupte has about three decades of experience in the financial services
industry, having started her career with ICICI Limited in 1971. She is
the Joint Managing Director of ICICI Bank Limited, which is the largest
private sector bank in India.
Mrs Gupte played a key role in
making ICICI the first Indian company and second bank from Asia to list
on the New York Stock Exchange.
She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and a Master's degree in Business Management.
Mrs Gupte has two children and lives in Mumbai. She enjoys spending her free time with her family and friends.
Naina Lal Kidwai
Deputy CEO, HSBC
Naina Lal Kidwai is the Chief Executive Officer of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation India branches.
She
began her career in banking with ANZ Grindlays Bank (acquired by
Standard Chartered bank in 2000) and then moved on to head the Indian
operations of Morgan Stanley. Joined HSBC India as head of its
investment banking businessin 2002. In May 2005, she was named country
head of the HSBC Group in India.
Fortune magazine listed Kidwai
among the World's Top 50 Corporate Women from 2000 to 2003. According to
the Economic Times, she is the first woman to head the operations of a
foreign bank in India.
Her mother is the industrialist Lalit
Mohan Thapar's sister and her cousin, Gautam Thapar currently manages
Ballarpur Industries Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of paper in
the country.
Naina Lal Kidwai (born in 1957) was the first Indian
woman to graduate from the Harvard Business School. She is married to
Rashid Kidwai who runs the NGO, Digital Partners.
Preetha Reddy
Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals
Preetha Reddy is one of the pioneer businesswomen of India in the segment of healthcare industry.
Under
her leadership, The Apollo Specialty Hospital emerged as a major
oncology referral centre in Asia. The hospital is one of the few places
with facility to offer bone marrow transplantation. The hospital was
first to perform cord blood transplantation in India.
Currently,
the Apollo Group has more than 6,400 beds and 16,500 employees, and has
emerged as an integrated global healthcare provider, attracting patients
from all over India, the other countries of the Indian subcontinent
like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan, the Middle East and the
Gulf states.
She was born in 1957 in Hyderabad, but spent her early years in Chennai.
Priya Paul
Chairman, Apeejay Park Hotels
When
Ms Paul was 22 her father appointed her marketing manager of Park
Hotel. She was only 24 when she took over the fledgling Park Hotels,
part of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of India's family-controlled
conglomerates after her father Surrendra Paul was assassinated in 1990.
Priya
plays an active role in many bodies connected with the hotel industry.
Appeejay Surrendra Group has several subsidiaries such as, tea, hotel,
shipping, retail, real estate and financial services.
At present, Priya is the Chairperson of Appeejay Park Hotels.
Priya
is also a member of the Young President's Organization and the Indian
National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. Her interests include
reading, art, cuisine and its history, and yoga.
Vinita Bali
MD, Britannia
Vinita
Bali was appointed Managing Director of Britannia on 31st May 2006.
Vinita joined as Chief Executive Officer of the Company in January 2005.
She
started her career with Voltas Lt-a Tata Group company focusing on
consumer products, where she launched Rasna soft-drink concentrate.
In
1980, Vinita joined Cadbury India, where she had a successful career in
roles of increasing responsibility, not just in India, but also in the
UK, Nigeria and South Africa. Vinita also served on the Boards of
Cadbury Nigeria and Cadbury South Africa.
The Coca-Cola Company
chose her as its worldwide Marketing Director in 1994 where she was
responsible for the worldwide strategy for Coke, and was one of the key
players in doubling its historical growth rate.
She received her
Bachelor's Degree in Economics from LSR at the University of Delhi and
her MBA at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies at Bombay
University.
Vandana Luthra
Founder, VLCC
Started in 1989 by the founder and mentor, Mrs. Vandana Luthra, the VLCC group has grown exponentially over the last 17 years.
Today
VLCC a 'Super brand', serves as an umbrella for all its other brands;
VLCC Health Care Ltd., VLCC Personal Care, VLCC Workout Factory, VLCC
Spa, VLCC Institute, VLCC Alive/ Retail, VLCC Beauty Zone and VLCC
Foundation.
VLCC's beauty service business currently spans across nearly 102 locations in 52 cities across India & 5 locations in UAE.
VLCC
plans to expand to 300 centers in India and VLCC International will
have spread to an additional 5 countries and to a total of 28 centers in
the Middle East, including Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
VLCC
has evolved into a company offering a variety of health care and beauty
products supported by a well-knit organization of related services.
Ritu Kumar
Fashion Designer
Ritu
has pioneered the term 'fashion' in the Indian context, and more
importantly, has demonstrated that hand made products can be as
profitable and even more glamorous than those made by machine.
From
humble beginnings forty years ago Ritu became the first woman to
introduce the 'boutique' culture in India under the brand name 'Ritu'.
Today she has outlets in all over the country, retailing under her
traditional brand.
Over the centuries, traditional skills that
had been lost have been revitalized and this has enabled the craftsmen
to continue working in their own environment.
Ritu began with
hand block printers and two tables in a small village near Calcutta, and
since then Ritu's team of dedicated workers have progressed to produce
some of the country's most exquisite garments and accessories in cotton,
silk and leather.
In 2002 Ritu Kumar, joined by her son Amrish,
launched a sub brand - Ritu Kumar, LABEL. LABEL retails from most Ritu
Kumar stores as well as some stand alone stores.
Ritu Nanda
CEO, Escolife
Ritu
Kapoor-Nanda, currently the Chief Executive Officer of Escolife, is a
prominent Indian entrepreneur associated chiefly with the life insurance
business.
She has more than 55,000 clients, and is the recipient
of the Brand Ambassador and the Best Insurance Advisor of the Decade
awards from the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
She is also
CED of Raksha TPA, which provides third party administrative services
for health care, in 2000, she established the RNIS College of Insurance,
which today has over 50 branches all over the country.
Ritu Nanda entered the Guinness Book of Records for selling 17,000 pension policies in a single day.
She
is the daughter of Raj Kapoor, and was born in Mumbai on 30th October
1948. She is married to Rajan Nanda, a distinguished industrialist of
India.
Shahnaz Hussain
CEO, Shahnaz Herbals
Shahnaz
Husain, the pioneer and leader of herbal care in India, has achieved
unprecedented international acclaim for her practical application of
Ayurveda. With a burning desire to recapture an ancient heritage,
Shahnaz Husain has taken India's Ayurvedic tradition to every corner of
the globe.
Shahnaz Husain is also the pioneer of vocational
training in cosmetology in India, having started her professional
schools at a time when only apprenticeship training was available.
Today,
Shahnaz Husain heads a chain of over 400 franchise salons in India and
abroad, with outlets in prestigious stores and locations all over the
world.
Shahnaz has received several national and international
awards, including the World's Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award from
Success Group of the US. She is the first woman to be so honoured, in
the 107-year history of the Success awards.
Indeed, as head of
the largest herbal clinic-chain of its kind in the world, Shahnaz Husain
has become a legend in her own lifetime.
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Joint MD, Kinetic Engineering
Joint
Managing Director of Kinetic Engineering Ltd, she is the in charge of
the Company's overall business developmental activities. She is also
very well performing the role of the Director of Kinetic Motor Company
Limited and Kinetic Marketing Services Limited.
The Company has
witnessed tremendous expansion during her tenure. From being a mere
moped manufacturer, today, it has set its foothold in the industry as a
manufacturer offering a complete range of two wheelers right from
mopeds, scooters to motorcycles.
"India Today", a well known
magazine honored her by presenting her with the title of business "Face
of the Millennium". It ranked her among the top twenty five business
entrepreneurs of the country.
Her hobbies include traveling,
outdoor sports like skiing & scuba diving and spending time with her
5-year-old son Sidhant. She is also a fitness enthusiast and has been a
national level badminton player.
Renuka Ramnath
CEO, ICICI Ventures
Ms Renuka Ramnath began her career with ICICI in 1986 in the Merchant Banking Division of ICICI.
Renuka
has spearheaded various business initiatives during her career spanning
over 20 years with the ICICI Group. She was appointed the Managing
Director & CEO of ICICI Eco-Net Limited in September 2000. She took
over as Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Venture after the merger of
ICICI Eco-net with ICICI Ventures.
Under her leadership, ICICI
Venture raised USD550 million Real Estate Fund, which is currently
amongst India's largest funds for investment in real estate.
Renuka
has featured in many prestigious lists including the Top 25 Most
Powerful Women in Indian Business (Business Today) and recently in the
India's Most Powerful CEOs (Economic Times).
Ms Ramnath is a Graduate in Engineering and MBA in Finance from University of Mumbai.
Tarjani Vakil
Former Chairman & MD, EXIM Bank
Ms
Vakil was the first lady to head a Financial Institution in India. She
joined IDBI at its inception in 1965 and worked for 17 years in various
departments. She has been on the Board of Directors of IDBI, LIC, GIC,
ECGC, STCI and a number of private sector companies during her long
career.
Tarjani Vakil, former Chairperson of the Exim Bank, is
one of the distinguished Indian bankers. She is the first women to head
any large bank in India.
In 1997, she was recognized by KPMG
Worldwide Business as one of the top 50 women "to prove her valor" in
the business. She has 40 years of experience in the filed of Finance
& Banking.
Ms Tarjani Vakil retired as the Chairman and
Managing Director of Export Import Bank of India in 1996, after 20 years
in development banking.
She is on the board of directors of
Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, Asian Paints Limited, Iflex Solutions
Limited, Alkyl Amines Chemicals Limited, DSP Merill Lynch Trustee Co Pvt
Ltd.
Simone Tata
Chairman, Trent Ltd
Simone
has been responsible for setting up a chain of successful department
stores under the brand name of Westside. Starting from one single store
in Bangalore in 1998, it now operates sixteen stores located in major
cities around India and plans to double its coverage by 2005.
Simone
joined the Board of Lakme Ltd in 1961 and was appointed as the Managing
Director in 1964. This was followed by taking over as Chairman of the
Board in 1982.
In 1989, Simone was also appointed as a Director
of Tata Industries Ltd, which is Asia's largest private sector group,
with over ninety-one companies in various sectors. Like the Wallenbergs
in Sweden and Oppenheimers in South Africa, Tata's interest span much of
India' economy.
Simone Tata was born and brought up in Geneva, Switzerland and graduated from Geneva University.
Always
fond of travelling, Simone came to India as a tourist in 1953, where
she met her future husband, Naval H Tata. They married in 1955 and she
settled down in Bombay permanently. She is mother to Noel Tata and has
three grandchildren.
Zia Mody
Senior Partner, AZB & Partners
Zia
Mody started working with Baker & McKenzie in New York City. It was
in the year 1984 when she started her own practice in the city of
Mumbai which she merged twice with other firms to form the AZB &
Partners, that happens to be the second-largest law firm of India, where
she is also one of the most prominent and senior partners.
Today, it is one of the leading law firms in India and has offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Zia
Mody in the present age is one of the most prominent legal consultants
of India. It is due to her professional expertise and efficiency, she is
considered as an authority on the subjects of corporate merger &
acquisitions law, securities law, private equity and project finance.
Zia
Mody, apart from this, is also an established legal consultant to
several investment banks, including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Goldman
Sachs.
The famous periodical Business Today listed Mody as one
of the twenty-five most powerful businesswomen in India in September
2004, and again in February 2006.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
The
gold rush of Akshaya Tritiya is now a phenomenon that manifests every
year with a certainty that pays no heed to mundane changes in economic
fortunes. But the observance of the auspicious day has in recent times
shed its multiple characteristics and come to be viewed only as an
auspicious day to buy gold.
