Forbes earlier this month released its list of the most powerful and influential businesswomen from Asia. This list showcases 25 Asian women, who have made a very lasting impression with their actions and accomplishment, even during this global pandemic. These women are paving the way for the coming generation and inspiring upcoming entrepreneurs in following their passion.
One thing that makes us all proud, is the Indian businesswomen who have made it to the list. This year out of the 25 businesswomen featured, four of them are Indians. Another thing worth mentioning is that this year there have been businesswomen from both traditional industries as well as somewhat unconventional business fields that have left their mark in the business world.
Selected from a very varied list that includes fields like biotech, edtech, fintech, IT, law, and retail, this list highlights the most impactful businesswomen from all over the continent. Here are the four Indian businesswomen that have made it to the list this year.
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1. Roshni Nadar, Chairperson of HCL Technologies
Roshni Nadar is the first female in the country to lead a listed IT company in India. She graduated from Northwest and also holds an MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management. Roshni was also proclaimed as the Richest Woman in India by IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List in 2019.
Before joining HCL Corporations in 2009, Roshni worked as a TV news producer for Sky News in the United Kingdom. Later she left that job to finish her MBA degree before returning home and joining her father’s business. She joined HCL as a senior-level executive where she was later promoted to a Vice-Chairperson and now holds the position of Chairperson of the IT giant.
Roshni has guided HCL through a purchase of $1.8 billion for IBM assets last year. Despite the global pandemic, the company is working towards meeting the long term technical goals and needs at the time under the leadership and guidance of Roshni Nadar.
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2. Divya Gokulnath, Co-Founder of Byju’s
Divya Gokulnath in 2011, founded ‘Byju’s- The Learning App’ with her husband Byju Raveendra. She has a degree in Biotechnology from the RV College of Engineering located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Divya later discovered her passion for teaching and with her husband and a small group of friends started Byju’s.
Along with being a founder and Director at Byju’s, Divya also oversees user experience and brand marketing at Byju’s. At Byju’s, 50 percent of the leadership roles are held by women as Divya herself believes in equality and diversity at all levels of the company.
When the coronavirus caused a lockdown all over the country, Byju’s experienced a sudden surge with 13.5 million students registering on the app, and Byju’s is catering to over 70 million students. In September this year, Byju’s was recognized as the world’s most valued Edu-tech company and valued at $11.1 billion.
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3. Ameera Shah, Managing Director of Metropolis Healthcare
Ameera Shah is the Managing Director of Metropolis Healthcare, one of India’s largest Diagnostic service chains with over 125 laboratories spread over 210 cities all over the world. Ameera obtained a degree in finance from the University of Texas, despite coming from a family of doctors.
Ameena finished the Owner-President Management Program from Harvard Business School and later took over her father’s pathology laboratory. She has since then turned it into a group of multinational diagnostic operators under the name Metropolis Healthcare which employs around 4,500 employees and has a total revenue of $90 million.
When the COVID-19 outbreak started in India, her company became the first private-sector company to be granted government approval for testing Covid-19. Along with that, Ameera also holds a seat on many national and international advisory boards. She is also the founder of ‘Empoweress’ which caters to businesses run by women to provide advice, mentorship, and micro-funding services.
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4. Vinati Saraf Mutreja, CEO and Managing Director of Vinati Organics
Vinati Mutreja joined her father’s company Vinati Organics Limited in 2006, and in the next 14 years turned it into one of Asia’s 200 Best under a Billion Dollar companies according to Forbes. Vinati earned a double major undergrad degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied chemistry, engineering, and business.
After completing her graduation, Vinati joined the company as an executive director, and 12 years after joining the company, she resumed the post of the CEO and the Managing Director. Vinati turned around the problem unit of the company, their ATBS plant and now her company is the largest manufacturer of ATBS in the world.
Under her leadership, the company has experienced a 16 times growth in revenue. The share capital of the company has grown 500 times. Talking about future plans for the company Vinati shared, “Our vision is to grow at 20-25 percent year-on-year, essentially double revenues in three years.”
These are the Indian businesswomen who have made it to the Forbes list this year with persistence, innovativeness, and hard work. Let’s see how makes it to the list next year.
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