Top Influential Businesswomen in India

An increasing number of women are making their presence felt in India’s vibrant economy as entrepreneurs and professionals. The economic liberalization in the early 1990s, along with the profound changes in society due to globalization, has unleashed the creativity and potential of Indian women. So here we mention some of the top influential business women in India with regard to honor their contribution in the world of business.
Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank

A prominent name in the banking industry, Chanda Kochhar is currently the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank is India’s largest private bank and also the second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank and leads the team commendably making her an inspirational Indian business tycoon. Her responsibilities at the bank include managing the global treasury, chief capital investments & trading, risk management and legal functions. She also guides on daily administrative matters.

Naina Lal Kidwai, Head, HBSC Bank
Long before the term ‘dealmaker’ became usual in India, 54-year-old Naina Lal Kidwai, was one of the biggest dealmakers in the country. She is currently the country head of HSBC Bank. She was one of the first women to enter the male bastion of investment banking and she proved herself spectacularly in every role. She is also a non-executive director on the board of Nestle SA, Chairwoman, and City of London’s Advisory Council for India, Global Advisor and Harvard Business School.
 

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman & MD Biocon Limited

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is an entrepreneur who’s leading a prominent biotechnology company based in Bangalore named Biocon Limited. Her humble beginnings before the entrepreneurial plunge, roots to joining Biocon Biochemicals Limited, of Cork, Ireland, in 1978, as a Trainee Manager. In the same year, she started Biocon in the garage of her rented house in Bangalore with a seed capital of Rs.1000. Within a year of its commencement, Biocon became the first Indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to Europe and the USA.
Swati Piramal, Vice Chairperson of Piramal Life Sciences Limited,
Director of Piramal Healthcare Limited
In 1983, Swati Piramal founded the Gopikrishna Piramal Memorial Hospital– a charitable hospital providing facilities to the under-privileged – out-patient health center to free diabetes and hypertension treatment for the destitute. She has also co-authored a book with Mrs.Tarla Dalal named ‘Eat your Way to Good Health.’ She has contributed towards innovations in Public Health Services and other projects.

Priya Paul, Chairperson, Park Hotels

Priya Paul has had the objective of becoming an entrepreneur ever since she was ten, but her journey with the hotel industry started with a decision made by the family; a casual selection out of their portfolio of shipping, real estate, tea and construction, hospitality and financial services. She completely justified to it by joining the Park Hotel, Delhi, after completing her BA in Economics at Wellesley College, in 1988. Her contributions in the field of hospitality have been repeatedly recognized and she has been bestowed with several awards and citations.
Simone Tata, Chairperson of Trent Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Group
Simon Tata has been actively involved in changing a small subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills into the largest cosmetic brand in India – LAKME, which is today synonymous with the Indian Fashion. She became a part of Lakme in 1961 and has been fashioning the company into one of the biggest brands of fashion in India. Currently, she is the Chairperson of Trent Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Group.
Mallika Srinivasan, Director of TAFE- Tractors and Farm Equipment
Mallika Srinivasan, who chairs the post of Director at  TAFE- Tractors and Farm Equipment, India, has been involved with various industry and trade bodies, including as President of the Tractor Manufacturers’ Association. She holds a graduate MBA from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania and an MA degree in Econometrics from the University of Madras. She joined the company in 1986 and has ever since been responsible for accelerating gross revenue from 85 crores to 2900 crores within a period of 2 decades.
Ranjana Kumar, Vigilance Commissioner Central Vigilance Commission.
Ranjana Kumar, after her retirement as the Chairperson of NABARD- National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development, has been a prominent Indian Banker. She is currently the Vigilance Commissioner in Central Vigilance Commission. When the Government of India selected her as the Chairperson and MD of The Indian Bank, she became the first woman to become the chairperson of a public sector bank in India. At that time of her appointment, The Indian Bank was burdened with huge losses and during her tenure she dexterously ensured the turnaround of The Indian Bank.
Women like these have been an inspirational source for all other women who strive hard to achieve great heights in their lives and envision themselves to be among these Top Influential Business Women. Listening to their success stories and compelling them as our role models, each one of us can reach there where they are right now. All we need to have is faith in ourselves, confidence, persistence and above all a fixed objective that we need to work towards.