Innholdsfortegnelse for 19 March 2023 i Business Today

There is no debate over the fact that as India marches towards its 100th year of independence, the country, the fastest-growing major global economy, is moving rapidly to claim its rightful place among the most important nations in the world. Together with this, a deep-rooted change is also taking place. Millennials—those born between 1981 and 1996—are well into the workforce, and GenZ—those born between 1997 and 2012—will also start claiming a large share of the working population soon. In line with the rise of young India, women are becoming an integral part of this new-age workforce. Whether it is in technology, financial services, start-ups, the gig economy or even the shop floor, women are coming forward to claim centre stage. The young, aspirational Indian woman is now a key player…

SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING THE CLOUT OF WOMEN DIRECTORS IN THE BOARDROOMS OF NIFTY 500 COMPANIES HAS GROWN IN RECENT YEARS Figures indicate representation of women on company boards Source IiAS Research, NSE, PRIME Database ALL THE WORKING LADIES WITH THE GROWTH IN THE ECONOMY, THE SHARE OF FEMALE WORKERS IN THE TOTAL LABOUR FORCE HAS IMPROVED BETWEEN FY19 AND FY21 Source Economic Survey 2022-23 NET IMPERATIVE AWARENESS OF MOBILE INTERNET HAS ALSO INCREASED AMONG WOMEN Figures indicate individuals with mobile internet awareness as a percentage of total adult population Source ‘GSMA: The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022’ TAKING CENTRE STAGE WOMEN-FOCUSSED INITIATIVES ANNOUNCED IN BUDGET 2023-24 *Maximum deposit amount has been kept at ₹2 lakh and the scheme will have a partial withdrawal facility as well 19 women founders IN…

▶ IN SPITE OF a steady decline in volume uptake, the country’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) majors have managed to pull off healthy top-line growth in the December quarter. From Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to ITC, leading FMCG players reported an 8-17 per cent rise in their revenues. And a majority of them, such as ITC, HUL, Nestlé and Britannia, expanded their Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins, too. A deeper look into their numbers, however, indicates subdued market sentiment. For most FMCG majors, the healthy top-line and margin growth were fuelled by steep price hikes and meagre volume offtake. Take HUL, for instance. The country’s largest pure-play FMCG firm reported a 16 per cent jump in its revenues, but its volumes grew just 5 per cent—implying…

ON INDIA’S SEMICONDUCTOR PLANS India has thought through the whole ecosystem. I’m happy to say that we contributed. My CEO (Pat Gelsinger) was very excited about what India’s trying to do. And, [even] our pitch was that India should look at assembly, test, manufacturing, and then gradually get into fabs. In fabs, do not focus on the absolute leading edge, which is 2 nm or less, but focus on technology which is not very mature and old, but something which has a lot of opportunity and volume. Something like 28 nm or so. And automotive is an amazing segment for India to focus on. The government has made the incentives really attractive. Intel always has its eyes and ears open for where the opportunity is, and where the market is……

▸ More than 600 million of India’s population, or 52 per cent, is GenZ and millennial as of 2021, compared to the world average of 47 per cent ▸ This figure is only 41 per cent in China and 39 per cent in Europe and North America ▸ Flexibility in work timings is a key career requirement for this cohort (GenZ and millennials), which includes the women workforce ▸ They are also more open to trying out gig engagement models ▸ At an individual level, Millennial and GenZ women are seen as being more educated, financially independent, digitally and financially savvier, and more career-oriented than their predecessors ▸ But at a society level, the picture for women is quite different SOURCE NASSCOM-INDEED’S ‘RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF WORKFORCE’, BT RESEARCH…

SINCE THE TIME Priya Nair joined Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) in 1995, the world has under-gone a sea change. The FMCG major has been renamed to Hindustan Unilever (HUL), its business has jumped manifold, and unlike in the 1990s, India has grown into a major branded consumer goods market. For Nair, the changes have been even starker. From a management trainee fresh out of the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management in Pune, Nair has risen through the ranks to take charge of HUL’s global parent Unilever’s marketing operations for its Beauty and Wellbeing division in 2022, as Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). But what has remained constant through all of this is her appetite for risks and her refusal to rest on her laurels. And, over the years, these traits…

GHAZAL ALAGH BECAME an entrepreneur when she couldn’t find toxin-free baby products for her son. A mother’s desperation combined with a clear whitespace in the domestic babycare market prompted her (and her husband Varun Alagh) to start Mamaearth. It was in 2016, when direct-to-consumer (D2C) was yet to become a catchphrase, that Mamaearth launched six baby products. Two years on, it expanded into categories like skincare and haircare, which today account for 80 per cent of its sales, according to a Jefferies report. Alagh says Mamaearth set out to make “just baby products”. But continuously listening to consumers helped it gauge millennial mothers, who wanted toxin-free products for themselves, too. “Suddenly, from operating in babycare, which was fairly small, we started playing in FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and beauty &…

IT WASN’T EASY for Suman Mishra to leave behind a nine-month-old baby at home in 2021. She did it with a heavy heart but with high hopes of making it big in a new role. Women like Mishra, who are lucky to receive a support system at work when they’re in their prime, know the importance of extending similar support to those who need it. “It’s not about the gender; it’s about developing an organisational culture. Today, it’s a priority for me to have more women in the interview pool and once they’re hired, we try our best to retain them,” she says. When Mishra assumed the responsibility of Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, which makes a mix of petrol, CNG, diesel and electric three- and four-wheel passenger and cargo vehicles,…

SHE MAY BE a space buff who is hooked to science fiction but her expertise is helping push more earthy causes. As climate-linked supply chain disruptions push climate change into the core of organisations’ business strategy, Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner at climate- and sustainability-focussed VC firm Avaana Capital, is on a dual mission: to amplify the fund’s focus, and to further build the climate-friendly ecosystem. In 2022, Avaana launched its second climate and sustainability fund with a target corpus of $150 million. The fund is focussed on mitigation, adaptation and resilience in three key areas: energy transition, mobility and supply chain, and climate-resilient agriculture. Bansal, part of the BT Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list, has been spearheading initiatives to establish thought leadership and intellectual capital through programmes such…

Ameera Shah took over the reins of Metropolis Healthcare in 2001, building the company into a world-class pathology chain. Shah brought in three rounds of investment from PE investors between 2006 and 2015. The big move happened in 2015 when she acquired a majority stake in Metropolis after taking a huge personal debt. “This was a huge risk because if the debt didn’t pay off, I’d have lost the company,” she says. The risk not only paid off, but she now owns 50 per cent compared to 36 per cent earlier, in a much more valuable firm. In FY22, dealing with an array of new competitors, her firm’s turnover reached ₹1,228 crore, 23 per cent higher than FY21. “We introduced new tech and teams that aligned with new industry trends,”…

AFTER THE successful public listing of her beauty e-commerce firm Nykaa, Falguni Nayar has overseen the brand evolve into an omni-channel force to reckon with. Four quarters since its listing (until September 2022), Nykaa clocked revenues of ₹4,423.88 crore and made profits of nearly ₹48 crore. Nayar managed to expand Nykaa’s presence both in domestic and international markets. It not only opened new stores and launched new product ranges, but also struck key strategic partnerships with US-based fashion e-tailer REVOLVE and Dubai-based lifestyle retail conglomerate Apparel Group. Nayar reckons these investments are for the future, even if it comes at the cost of short-term margins. “We would be wrong to give up on long-term growth for short-term profitability,” she says.…

ISHA AMBANI TOOK charge of Reliance Retail in 2014 when the business needed that big push. Since then, it has been a journey marked by growth. Be it raising funds, bringing in new formats, or signing on the marquee names, Ambani, who picked up an MBA from Stanford, has left no stone unturned. No wonder that she is a part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list. Today, Reliance Retail is the largest in the business by a distance. With its turnover now having crossed ₹2 lakh crore and with an Ebitda margin of 7 per cent, the stage is well set. That comes with a customer base of close to 200 million and over 15,000 stores. That is some serious footprint to boast of. Be it raising funds,…

THERE IS A certain passion in Namita Thapar’s voice when she speaks. Be it on her business, mental health, women’s issues, Shark Tank India or just entrepreneurship at large, she really gets into the conversation. Her academic pedigree tells a convincing story. At 21, she was a qualified Chartered Accountant. A year after that, she decided to do an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. After that, she worked at cardiovascular device manufacturer Guidant Corporation in the US for six years across finance and marketing. While all this was going on, her father Satish Mehta raised money from private equity giant Blackstone in Emcure Pharmaceuticals, the company he had founded. “I worked outside before moving to join Emcure and that was critical,” says Thapar. Once she joined as…

SINCE SHE TOOK charge in mid-2020, after the exit of Adi Godrej from the Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) board and after CEO Vivek Gambhir left office, the market capitalisation of the company has jumped nearly 35 per cent to ₹95,515 crore as of February 23. But that’s not the only reason why Nisaba Godrej is part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list. Steering GCPL through the Covid-19 pandemic, with a new CEO on board, she has managed to grow GCPL’s top line by healthy double digits in the past two fiscals and hold its margins despite steep inflation. With GCPL’s Africa business that has been under stress for some time now under control, Godrej has set her house in order amid turmoil—only to yield rich…

FOR ROSHNI NADAR Malhotra, Chairperson of India’s third-largest IT giant, keeping her cool in gruelling circumstances is not a matter of choice. With the increasing volatility in the global business environment, overcoming challenges has become a habit that she and her team keeps repeating every quarter. After all, there is not much of a choice, as she puts it. But there is more to it. Be it a tough business decision or a pointed question, Nadar’s confidence radiates through her charming smile—reflecting how comfortable she is in her own skin. Nadar is the only woman leading an Indian IT major, but what really differentiates her from her peers is her natural inclination towards taking the other management leaders along in the ₹3-lakh crore ($37 billion) IT major. After overcoming the…

WHEN STEEL Authority of India Limited (SAIL) Chairperson Soma Mondal entered the metals industry nearly 40 years ago after passing out from Regional Engineering College, Rourkela (now National Institute of Technology), with a degree in electrical engineering, there were not many women around. “About four decades ago, there were so few girls taking up engineering… even less worked in difficult areas in manufacturing—especially metallurgical, mining, etc.,” she says, adding that things are changing now. “For the women planning to enter the industry of metals in general and steel specifically, I would like to say that the glass ceilings have started to break and there are so many women on the shop floor.” Mondal has the distinction of being the first female Chairperson of SAIL—she was appointed in January 2021. Prior to…

THE PAST YEAR ushered unexpected changes for Vibha Padalkar, starting with the Covid-19 crisis transitioning into a geopolitical one. However, the HDFC Life Insurance CEO came out with flying colours. “Despite very trying times during the two-year pandemic, our two-year CAGR of 17 per cent was almost two times the industry growth of 9 per cent,” says Padalkar, part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list. She explains that her company’s well-diversified distribution network allows it to compensate for volatility in any one segment. “We clocked a growth of 16 per cent in individual weighted received premium (WRP, a measure of premiums collected every year) in FY22 with a market share of 14.8 per cent and 9.3 per cent in the private and overall sector, respectively.”…

DON’T GO BY Shweta Jalan’s exuberant smile. She is as tough as nails. Ask anyone who has dealt with this astute negotiator. As one of the leading names in the private equity (PE) space, Jalan bets on companies regularly—such as the recent investment of ₹6,313 crore for a 50.1 per cent stake in Hyderabad-based Suven Pharma. Eureka Forbes, YES Bank and Tredence Analytics were the other big deals closed in 2022. Kolkataborn Jalan, who has an MBA in finance, started her professional journey with EY in 1999 before shifting to Mumbai. She spent her formative years at ICICI Venture, where she was mentored by PE veteran Renuka Ramnath. By her own admission, Jalan is a tough taskmaster. “I encourage a vocal approach but I admit that I have OCD when…

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, The Mindy Project, Bridgerton, The Queen’s Gambit, Lupin—Bela Bajaria is no stranger to hit TV shows. Yet, 2022 has been exceptional for her. Under her supervision, Netflix churned out English hits such as Stranger Things 4, Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Bridgerton Season 2. The global streaming giant reversed two quarters of subscriber losses to add a net 8.9 million users in 2022, and consequently she was promoted as Chief Content Officer in January 2023. The 52-year-old Indian-American graduated from being Netflix’s Head of Global TV to being responsible for what Netflix’s 231 million subscribers watch across 190-plus countries. “The key to our success is the variety of shows and films we offer. About two-thirds of Netflix’s subscribers live outside the US, so it’s important to invest in content…

THE YEARS CORRESPOND TO WHEN THESE LEADERS WON THEIR SEVENTH BT MPW AWARD AND THEN MOVED TO THE HALL OF FAME LIST…

KATRINA KAIF Kay Beauty (in partnership with Nykaa); she also acquired a 0.02 per cent stake in Nykaa in 2020 ALIA BHATT Independent investor in Nykaa and Phool.co; owns Ed-a-Mamma, a maternity and childrenswear brand; has her own production house, Eternal Sunshine Productions DEEPIKA PADUKONE Invested in Epigamia, Furlenco, BluSmart, Bellatrix, PlayShifu, Atomberg, FrontRow, Mokobara, Supertails and Nua, among others. (She has exited a few of these companies since investing). She co-owns the brand 82°E with her fund manager Jigar K. Shah PRIYANKA CHOPRA Invested in Bumble India, Holberton School, Apartment List, Perfect Moment, Genies. Co-owns Sona (a New York-based restaurant) and Anomaly (a hair care brand), and production house Purple Pebble Pictures…

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER IN 1983 between actress Jane Birkin and Jean-Louis Dumas, then Creative Director of French luxury brand Hermès, resulted in the ultimate luxury bag, the Birkin. The story goes that the two were seated next to each other on an international flight, when Dumas asked why Birkin travelled with a simple straw tote. She explained that most leather bags were too structured for her taste and she wanted something much more boho. That led to the two of them designing the bag on the back of an airsickness bag. Little did anyone know that fashion history was being doodled that day. The Birkin has changed little in style or function since its inception. But what has changed is the hundreds of thousands of dollars that it commands at…

What was the problem you were grappling with? I was selected as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after working as a deputy to the CEO for almost eight years. Being a go-getter and an achiever who worked as a direct reportee to CEOs, I was clear on what not to do and what to do as a CEO. However, I still wanted the CEO’s perspective. Whom did you approach for advice and why? Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learnt. And so, I asked my coach on the advice he would give me as I made this key professional transition. What was the advice you received? The simplest, most apparent, yet pro-found advice that I got from my coach was: Remember, as a…

Place of Publication: New Delhi Periodicity of its Publication: Fortnightly Printer’s Name: Mr. Manoj Sharma Nationality: Indian 1806, Sylvan View-1, Eldeco Utpoia, Sector-93, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar Noida - 201301, Uttar Pradesh Publisher’s Name: Mr. Manoj Sharma Nationality: Indian 1806, Sylvan View-1, Eldeco Utpoia, Sector-93, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar Noida - 201301, Uttar Pradesh Editor’s Name: Mr. Sourav Majumdar Nationality: Indian Address: 502 C, Wing Blue Bird, Sherly Rajan Road, Opposite Rizvi College Bandra, West Mumbai - 400050 Names and Addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more than one percent of the total capital: Owner: M/s. Living Media India Limited, F26, 1st Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001 Shareholders holding more than one percent of the total capital of the owner company: 1.…

▸ FMCG majors like HUL, Nestlé and Britannia continue to hike prices by double digits to grow their top line ▸ Volume offtake is dwindling as rural households cut down on purchases due to steep inflation ▸ Mass market products are suffering in urban markets but premium products have led to revenue growth for FMCG majors ▸ The slowdown in the rural market and steep commodity prices have resulted in a downward spiral that is troubling FMCG companies in finding the right product-price mix ▸ A poor monsoon due to El Niño effect may worsen the demand scenario in 2023…

Data and Al: Data is emerging as a core asset for enterprises and Thoughtworks ensures the domain is treated with due diligence through data governance, data security and data quality. Balvinder Khurana, a data solutions architect with Thoughtworks, drives two major client projects focused on data transformation. One of them helps a company enhance customer experience. Khurana is helping the client define their data strategy, data architecture and road map for a data platform on the cloud. This will provide the client with a unified and clear view of customer actions, at scale. In the second project, Khurana is helping another client build a modern data platform on a foundation of data mesh principles, powering real-time data. Khurana says being a technologist at Thoughtworks gives her an opportunity to work…

▸ While India’s semiconductor mission hasn’t gone unnoticed, it hasn’t received the start the government was hoping for as none of the leading fabs like TSMC, Intel, Micron, Samsung or GlobalFoundries have applied to set up fabs ▸ A sensible step India has taken is to focus on the segments from where the bulk of the country’s demand will come from, such as legacy, compound, ATMP, etc. These can be built with investments of up to $3-4 billon ▸ The challenges that will crop up once production commences will be on the lines of sourcing raw materials, skilled workforce, and generating enough orders for fabs to be profitable ▸ While initially, India will have to import most of the raw materials from international sources, with time, the country should focus…

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS, formerly known as Prince of Wales Museum) will soon house the Kahu-ja-daro Buddhist stupa recovered from the province of Sindh, Pakistan. This was made possible by the monies donated by Bank of America for the preservation and documentation of the relics, under Kaku Nakhate’s watch. Serving as President and India Country Head of Bank of America (BofA) since 2010, Nakhate has been instrumental in supporting arts and culture in India, including sponsoring the Children’s Museum at CSMVS, apart from leading the bank’s operations in India. “We believe in the power of the arts to help educate and enrich societies, bring communities together and create cultural understanding. In every country where we do business, we have been steadfast in our support of the arts,” says…

FOR SISTERS SCHAUNA and Nadia Chauhan, the eldest and youngest of the three daughters of Parle Agro Founder Prakash Chauhan, it’s all about dividing responsibilities in their own areas of strength. So, while Schauna, 46, takes care of manufacturing, compliance, quality, finance and technical functions, Nadia, 37, is in charge of strategy, sales and marketing, and R&D. Alisha, 44, the middle sister, oversees CSR. Schauna, who joined the company in 1998 after graduating and took over as CEO in 2006, says one of the ways to make a company grow is for people to grow along with it. She cites the example of the initiative Parle Agro took when the plastic straw ban came into place. “There wasn’t enough capacity for PLA [polylactic acid, a bioplastic] straws in the country.…

WOMEN ARE CONSIDERED to be good at savings but when it comes to investments in stock markets, it’s a different picture. The perception that capital markets are speculative and risky has “probably resulted in low women participation”, says Padmaja Chunduru, MD & CEO of National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). Indeed. But Chunduru is not a person to shy away from challenges. After a successful and long stint in banking, she decided to take up a new challenge and entered the corner office of NSDL in September 2021. Chunduru started in a tiny branch of SBI in 1984 and moved up the ranks over the years to become the Country Head of the US operations of the bank. After a journey of 34 years, she moved to Indian Bank to become…

“DIFFERENT ROADS sometimes lead to the same castle” — a quote from fantasy novelist George R.R. Martin’s book series A Game of Thrones aptly sums up the stand of the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee member (MPC) Ashima Goyal. She is amongst two of the six MPC members advocating for the relaxation of liquidity restrictions to support the country’s growth. While India remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world, with recession looming large, she believes that India has the potential to grow faster given its demographics. Goyal, an Emeritus Professor at the Mumbai-headquartered Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), is also quite positive about taming the monster of inflation in the near future. “Some of the supply shocks are waning throughout the world,” she says. She…

DAISY CHITTILAPILLY, who has been with Cisco for 18 years, took on her current role in August 2021. Since then, there has been no looking back. India has not just emerged as one of the best-performing markets in the APJC region quarter-on-quarter, it is also on the verge of becoming one of the Top 5 markets for Cisco globally. A firm believer in technology being the greatest ally in crafting a more inclusive and sustainable world, Chittilapilly says, “I believe technology will be all-pervasive and critical to everything we do in the next decade. To ensure that we make the most of it, we need collective ownership from every key stakeholder.” Chittilapilly, part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list, believes that as India moves deeper into…

INDIA IS OFFICIALLY Netflix’s fastest growing market, with the highest net subscriber additions and a 25 per cent rise in revenues in 2022. Recent original films like Monica, O My Darling, original shows like Jamtara: Season 2, as well as licensed films such as RRR from the global streaming giant’s India stables have done well. These are exciting time for Netflix India, especially so after a rocky start to 2022 where it was struggling to grow its around six-million-strong subscriber base here. And leading the charge on India content is Monika Shergill, part of the BT Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list. “It was a tough journey when I started three years ago as we were already known for Sacred Games and Delhi Crime, but nothing after that. The burden…

WHEN RADHIKA GUPTA took over as MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund in February 2017, its total assets under management (AUM) were a little over ₹9,100 crore and it was ranked 27th among 40 mutual fund entities in India. Currently, the fund house boasts an AUM of over ₹1.01 lakh crore and it is ranked 13th among more than 40 fund houses. Besides, it is the only fund house to have a female chief. Gupta has held on to that distinction for long—there was Ashu Suyash at Fidelity and L&T MF before Gupta, but currently there is no other fund house that has a woman MD & CEO—and it has not gone unnoticed; Gupta is also the vice chairperson of mutual fund industry body, Association of Mutual Funds in…

FOR THIS MULTITASKER, life has come full circle. Sindhu Gangadharan, who holds dual responsibilities at SAP, started her professional journey with SAP Labs India as a young developer. “At that point, I didn’t even know what I was getting into or technology’s immense potential. But I was fascinated with [it],” she says, adding that she was sure that it was the space she wanted to learn and grow. She then moved to SAP’s headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, and worked there for 18 years, before moving back to Bengaluru in 2019. This time, Gangadharan—part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list—was back to head the place where her journey began. As SVP and MD of SAP Labs India, she drives product development and innovation across R&D locations…

IF THERE WAS a trophy for braving the storm, this 53-year-old business leader would surely bag it ahead of most of her industry peers. In the past three years, when the world was suffering from uncertainty like never before, it was Smita Jatia’s indomitable spirit that helped the fast-food major survive. “We were always clear that whatever [challenges] may come, we will emerge bigger, better and bolder,” recalls the Managing Director of Westlife Foodworld that holds the franchise for Mc-Donald’s in west and south India. Since the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Westlife has indeed emerged stronger, with its revenue now over 40 per cent higher than pre-Covid-19 levels, after overtaking its FY20 numbers in FY22. Jatia, however, is just getting started. With the worst behind her, she and the…

WHEN VINATI SARAF Mutreja joined Vinati Organics Limited in 2006, the chemicals manufacturer had revenues of ₹20 crore and its sales were largely in the domestic market. Fast forward to now and the company had revenues of ₹1,615 crore in FY22, while more than 75 per cent of its sales come from exports. No wonder that the MD & CEO of Vinati Organics is part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list. “We are expanding our current production lines as well as adding a basket of new products. This will lead to further diversification and we will cater to a variety of industries,” says Mutreja, adding that the company’s revenues have grown 25 per cent in the past year. Scaling up the company takes hard work.…

CHANGE, THEY SAY, is the only constant. And Madhabi Puri Buch personifies change, at least for the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). When she entered Sebi’s corner office around a year ago, she brought with her an important cultural change at the regulatory body. Buch, the first non-IAS Chairperson of Sebi since 2002 (former LIC chairman G.N. Bajpai was named Sebi chief in 2002), brought in a culture that was more in sync with the corporate world. Suddenly, one could see the regulator’s top brass making powerpoint presentations at conferences, instead of the age-old practice of reading out from a prepared speech. One also saw a big change in the manner in which officials of the watchdog—formed in 1988—were evaluated in terms of performance. Six months…

VERY FEW WOMEN in family businesses can proudly say that they’ve earned their leadership position in the company. Arathi Krishna, who hails from one of the oldest business families in Tamil Nadu, is certainly one of them. Krishna, who returns to the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business list for the first time since 2015, began her career at Sundram Fasteners Ltd (SFL) in 1990 as a management trainee after her post-MBA on-the-job training in the US. She grew through the ranks; it took her more than a decade to become the MD. No wonder ethics are of high value to her. “It sounds clichéd when we say it, but the idea of being ethical and fair towards everybody, is to be powerful in the true sense of the…

IN ADVERTISING CIRCLES, she is known as “Dev”. Not surprising in an industry where brevity is the name of the game. As Ogilvy’s Global CEO, Devika Bulchandani oversees the business of an entity that is well-regarded for its creative output. It is a part of the £12.8-billion global advertising powerhouse WPP Plc., which apart from Ogilvy, owns agencies like Wunderman Thomson, Grey, GroupM, etc. Bulchandani, 53, who joined Ogilvy in March 2021 as Global President and CEO of North America, took over the corner office in September 2022. She completed her schooling from Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun, followed by a Bachelor’s in English and Psychology from Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College. The move to the US was for a Master’s in Communications at the University of South California, from where…

NOTE: SHOPCLUES IS NO LONGER A UNICORN…

ANUSHKA SHARMA Investor-ambassador of D2C snack brand Slurrp Farm and plant-based meat brand Blue Tribe (along with husband and ace cricketer Virat Kohli). She has also invested in Digit Insurance SHRADDHA KAPOOR Investor-brand ambassador of Indian beauty brand MyGlamm, luxury furnishing brand BellaCasa, beverage brand Shunya and healthcare brand Power Gummies NAYANTHARA Launched her brand ‘The Lip Balm Company’ in 2021, invested in QSR Chai Wale, and runs a production house—Rowdy Pictures—with husband and film-maker Vignesh Shivan SAMANTHA RUTH PRABHU Recently invested in Hyderabad-based SustainKart in its seed round of funding…

THE TECH AND consulting industry is not new to women at the top and, over the past decade, there have been several companies—in India, globally and, especially, multinational companies in India—that have had women in CEO and other C-suite positions. Women who have made a difference in the highly competitive global environment, and have stood out as visible role models. Even though it is widely acknowledged that organisations with higher levels of diversity and with women on their Boards demonstrate superior performance, women still fill only a small percentage of leadership positions; partly because of organisational dynamics and partly because there are just not enough women rising fast enough through the ranks. The net result is that there is a real shortage of women at the top, and a lot more…

MY BESTIE There are plenty of smartwatches around, but only this one from Apple can track your menstrual cycles and even understand when you are likely to ovulate—useful if you are planning a family. Just wear it to bed so that it can track your wrist temperature, and use the data and algorithms to estimate the day. If worried about privacy, sweat not. All data stays protected on the hardware. In addition, it has all the bells and whistles that you would expect from an Apple smartwatch—plus an array of apps. Available on: apple.com/in READ MY LIPS Wouldn’t you love it if your lip shade matched your outfit of the day? Do just that with some help from Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), no less. This device will help create a single…

WHILE DELIVERING THE keynote address, Amit Jain, Global CEO of Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy Group, spoke about how India is pioneering a new model of economic development that could avoid the carbon-intensive approach. The use of renewable energy not only helps in the primary objectives of advancing economic development, and mitigating climate change, but also improves energy security, energy access, and reduces carbon emissions. Acknowledging the Government of India’s firm intent to rapidly move towards carbon reduction and net-zero, he highlighted the vision laid down by the Prime Minister in his Panchamrit statement at COP26—of India’s commitment towards climate action as a five-point action agenda—along with including green energy growth as one of the seven main priorities for development in the recently announced Budget 2023-24. He also spoke about…

The order of 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft is the world’s largest deal for civil aviation aircraft Negotiations for the deal involving intense lobbying and back-room diplomacy were held at multiple locations across the world The order is being billed as an important step in realising the ambition of transforming Air India into a world-class carrier under the Vihaan.AI programme Air India is believed to have clinched the deal at a discount of up to 55 per cent on the list price, possibly one of the best in the world The order reasserts the pivotal role being played by Indian carriers in sustaining the global aircraft manufacturing industry…

ONE LOOK AT the Reliance Foundation website is enough to tell you about the multitude of roles that Nita Ambani performs. The website says she is “an educationist, philanthropist, businesswoman, patron of arts and sports, and a champion of women and children’s rights”. Much as her job title is Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, the impact of her role is far-reaching. For instance, the foundation’s rural transformation programme covers over 350 districts across India, where its work in empowering communities to take collective action towards sustainable livelihoods had reached close to 15 million people by the end of August 2022. In the sphere of education, there is Jio Institute, which currently runs postgraduate courses in AI and Data Science, and Digital Media and Marketing Communications, with plans to introduce…

ABOUT 40 YEARS ago, when Prathap C. Reddy undertook the arduous journey to transform the basic need of healthcare into a successful business, he had strong hands to fall back on. His four feisty and capable daughters, who have together created an enviable legacy after facing myriad challenges, from raising capital to running the organisation to sustaining the momentum amidst stiff competition in current times. Suneeta Reddy, Shobana Kamineni, Sangita Reddy, all winners in the BT Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 listing, and eldest daughter Preetha Reddy, 66, who is in the MPW Hall of Fame (comprising seven-time winners), have been major pillars for the father who believed in them, and for the group that they have grown to what it is today. “When we started, the notion of…

MASABA GUPTA, WHO makes her debut on the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list, is a true polymath—fashion designer, entrepreneur, actor, jury member, et al. After more than a decade of growing her quirky Indo-western apparel brand ‘House of Masaba’, she sold 51 per cent stake to Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail in January 2022. Later in August, she launched her cosmetics line ‘Lovechild Masaba’ for GenZ women. Gupta’s company clocked revenues of ₹30 crore in FY22, and is targeting a ₹500-crore revenue run-rate in the next five years. Besides her business pursuits, she has had successful collaborations with Nykaa, Samsung and Game of Thrones. She also collected praise for her turn as an actor in the Netflix series Masaba Masaba (based on her life) and in…

SHE HAS SEEN it all in her 30 years in the global technology sector. That experience is coming in handy as Aarthi Subramaniam, Group Chief Digital Officer at Tata Sons—the holding company of the salt-to-steel conglomerate—guides the group on the digital highway, working closely with Group Executive Chairman N. Chandrasekaran. The NIT and Kansas University graduate leads the group’s digital team, which works with all Tata firms to drive greater digital quotient and bring more efficiency in operations. Closely involved in developing its super-app Tata Neu, she is now playing a key role in fixing its glitches. A fitness enthusiast, she loves listening to music, watching movies and reading management-related books.…

WHILE MOST OF US are scared of experimenting and trying new opportunities, Arundhati Bhattacharya has defied those norms. By taking up the role of Chairperson & CEO at Salesforce India at the age of 64, following over four decades at State Bank of India, where she transformed it from a slow-moving giant into a tech-savvy customer-focussed lender, Bhattacharya has created a legacy that will be hard to beat. Under her leadership, Salesforce India has increased its workforce from 2,000 in 2020 to 7,500 in 2022, which is its largest outside its biggest market, the US. Since she joined, the company has also on-boarded new clients such as HDFC, Asian Paints, JSW, Pepe Jeans, etc. With a never-say-die attitude, Bhattacharya is helping Salesforce India grow by leaps and bounds.…

MENTION INDIA AND Dipali Goenka can’t stop gushing about the business opportunities. “Yes, 97 per cent of our revenue comes from exports, but now the India story is coming together,” she says. Goenka deftly managed her business during the pandemic. The company’s consolidated net profit grew 5 per cent in FY21 and over 10 per cent in FY22. Post-Covid-19, the ₹9,380-crore company, under her leadership, has moved into top gear in two key areas—digitisation and upskilling its workforce. Now, she has one big target in her in mind: to increase the retail presence. Welspun sells at over 15,000 multi-brand outlets. “That number must increase to 50,000 by 2026,” she says. That means a lot of work lies ahead and Goenka is more than prepared for that. After all, this will lay…

CALM, COMPOSED and confident, Nandini Piramal is spearheading the newly consolidated pharma business—Piramal Pharma Ltd (PPL) that demerged from Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL) in October 2022—of the Piramal Group. “In 2022, PPL became a listed entity following its demerger from PEL. The listing is part of our plan to shift from a diversified conglomerate into two distinct sector-focussed listed entities. The streamlined structure will enhance shareholder value and make PPL’s business objectives clearer,” says Nandini, Chairperson of PPL. Before the demerger, she headed the over-the-counter business of PEL, and provided assistance in setting the strategy and driving the results of the Group’s pharma business, along with heading its HR, IT and quality functions as Executive Director. “My various stints in those roles inculcated in me the importance of rigorous thinking…

FOR NEERJA BIRLA, it has been more satisfying to see mental health gaining awareness. “There is a greater level of admission on the topic today,” she says. As Founder & Chairperson of Mpower and Aditya Birla Education Trust, she has seen the change in the last seven years—from the time the mental health initiative began. “Having a physical issue is acceptable but when it comes to mental health, there is a challenge,” she explains. “What we have managed to do has not taken place overnight. One has to be persevering.” In the early days of her career, mental health was an unchartered territory. The progress in that backdrop makes her confident of the future. “One must have an extra sense of empathy when dealing with mental health.” MY TURNING POINT I…

SAMINA HAMIED HAS a long-term vision for Cipla: she wants to transform it into a major global healthcare organisation. She’s come a long way from 2011 when the LSE alumna decided to give up her life in London as an investment manager to plunge into her family’s pharma business, with little or no experience in the sector. Now, as Executive Vice Chairperson of Cipla, Hamied—part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list—is making the company future-ready by refreshing its leadership model, approach and culture. The past year has seen significant milestones. “Most recently, we achieved the highest-ever quarterly revenue ($195 million) through our differentiated product portfolio. We also expanded our market share through flagship respiratory and peptide franchises,” says the avid marathoner. Hamied says one of her…

AFTER RAKING IN ₹3,994 crore of sales in FY20, Titan’s Watches & Wearables division had to bear the burnt of Covid-19-induced disruptions in FY21 with sales falling to 60 per cent of the previous year. Since then, however, the comeback—helmed by Suparna Mitra—has been nothing short of a fairytale. After touching 90 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 sales in FY22, Mitra has managed to grow her business by 44 per cent till December, banking on Titan’s equity among watch lovers. While consumption among middle- and low-income households continues to remain subdued, the spending spree by upper-middle- to upper-class Indians is lifting her business, says Mitra, who is once again part of the Business Today Most Powerful Women in Business list. Armed with a strong team and a growing business, Mitra…

VINEETA SINGH’S popularity has skyrocketed, and how. “When I go to the park with my kids, girls who are around six or seven come up and say, ‘I want to become an entrepreneur.’ This is interesting because, when I was growing up, I had fewer role models, but today, I’m grateful that through a platform like this, I’ve been able to do my bit,” says the SUGAR Cosmetics Co-founder and CEO, who is a part of Shark Tank India, where she continues to fund women-led start-ups. Post her IIM A degree, Singh, who is part of the BT Most Powerful Women in Business 2022 list, turned down a lucrative job offer to become an entrepreneur. Her D2C beauty brand reported a 75 per cent growth in FY22 sales, and became a soonicorn…

YEARS AGO, SHE had picked finance after being advised that a career in medicine wasn’t suitable for women. But destiny had other plans. Alisha Moopen had been working in the UK with a consulting firm when a life-threatening accident involving her son made her realise that her true calling was in healthcare. She moved back to Dubai and joined Aster DM Healthcare, founded by her father. “I joined Aster in 2013 to oversee the finances of one of the hospitals,” says Moopen, adding that she has learnt on the job. After Covid-19 struck, she took proactive measures to make her business and operations sustainable by integrating technology and digitisation into the company’s core operations. Aster reported net sales of ₹3,192 crore in Q3FY23, up more than 20 per cent year-on-year,…

ANSHULA KANT, 62, is at the top of the world, literally. As MD and CFO of World Bank Group, she is now operating at a scale she never did before. With the World Bank’s offices spread over 130 locations, the former CFO and MD of State Bank of India (SBI) now has to think about helping 189 countries. Tasked with the mandates of eradicating poverty and increasing income levels, the World Bank is a pre-eminent global institution that aids developing countries in achieving these goals. In that paradigm, Kant takes care of resource mobilisation, along with managing the World Bank’s financial health and risks. To do that well, her three-and-a-half-decade-long stint at SBI has stood her in good stead. Her experience as CFO and earlier as Chief GM of Maharashtra and Goa…

WHEN REVATHI ADVAITHI, 55, started her career 30 years ago, the manufacturing industry was in an entirely different shape than today. The CEO of the world’s largest contract manufacturing firm, Flex, says that the skills required now in the industry were unimaginable back then. Advaithi assumed the role of CEO in February 2019, and is responsible for architecting the company’s strategic direction focussed on driving tech innovation, supply chain, and responsible and sustainable manufacturing solutions across various industries and end markets. Prior to joining Flex, Advaithi was working as president and COO for power management firm Eaton, where she managed its business across Europe, the Middle-east and Africa. She has a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, and holds an…

Women account for 20 per cent (1.6 million) of India’s 8-million strong formal manufacturing workforce, according to the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2019-20. However, the proportion has stagnated for the past two decades While the ASI data captures the trend among formal and permanent jobs, a lot of jobs in manufacturing, especially those held by women, are largely contractual Although electronics accounts only for a narrow share of overall manufacturing today, recruiters say the demand for women in the assembly of mobile phones, consumer durables and even electric mobility is increasing. Several of these new factories are specifically asking to hire women, they say Ola Electric Mobility last year announced the launch of its all-women factory near Chennai, employing 10,000 women to manufacture its electric scooters. Separately, for its…

RECOGNITION FOR women’s talent has grown a lot over the past 10 to 15 years. The reason is obvious—there is a war for talent and women constitute a large part of that talent pool. But issues still remain on parity of pay, unconscious biases in hiring, and how to retain good women talent who need flexibility at certain stages of their lives—especially after marriage and during early motherhood. Even here, organisations have realised that they need to be flexible in their approach if they want to retain valuable talent. Whilst women leaders get this proposition far more quickly, there is a need for male champions of change to emerge in greater numbers. Diffidence in talking through these issues between the people in charge and the women who require this flexibility…