Top 5 Leading Ladies Of Corporate India

Tomorrow March 8, 2014, is celebrated as the International Women's Day. Keeping this in mind, we dedicate this weekly column of DSIJ to the top 5 leading ladies of corporate India. Let us take a look at them.

Chanda Kochhar: Chanda Kochhar succeeded K V Kamath to become the CEO and MD of India's largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank. She took charge in May 2009. Under her able leadership, ICICI Bank won the "Best Retail Bank in India" award in the year 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The bank also won "Excellence in Retail Banking Award" in 2002; both awards were given by The Asian Banker. She is the recipient of "Retail Banker of the Year 2004 (Asia-Pacific region)" by the Asian Banker, "Business Woman of the Year 2005" by The Economic Times and "Rising Star Award" for Global Awards 2006 by Retail Banker International. Chanda Kochhar has consistently figured in the Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005.

Shikha Sharma: Shikha Sharma is the Managing Director & CEO of Axis Bank, which is India's third largest bank in the private sector in terms of total assets and fourth largest in terms of market capitalisation. Since her appointment as MD & CEO of Axis Bank in the year 2009, the bank's stock has appreciated by a phenomenal 90%. Its assets grew by 30% in 2012-13 to USD 55 billion under her leadership and the network of the branch has more than doubled. The bank's network as of H1FY14 stood at 2225 branches and 11796 ATMs. Axis has the largest ATM network among private banks in India. 

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairman & Managing director of Biocon, a biotechnology company based in Bengaluru and the current chairperson of IIM-Bangalore. She is on the Forbes list of the world's 100 most powerful women and the Financial Times' top 50 women in business list. Her pioneering work in the biotechnology sector has earned her several awards, including the prestigious Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005) from the government of India. She was recently named among TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

Dr. Preetha Reddy: Dr. Preetha Reddy is the Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, which is the largest healthcare conglomerate of India. She is one of the pioneering businesswomen of India in the segment of healthcare industry. Dr. Reddy championed the mission to get Apollo Hospitals the prestigious Joint Commission International accreditation, a global beacon and gold standard for patient safety and quality improvement in the global healthcare community.

Naina Lal Kidwai: Naina Lal Kidwai is currently the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India. She is the former president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Naina Lal Kidwai has been awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions in the areas of trade and industry. She has also received ASSOCHAM Ladies League's Delhi Women of the Decade Achievers Award 2013 for Excellence in Banking.