Business
Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar, Priyanka Chopra in Forbes’ List of Powerful Women
(From left) Priyanka Chopra, Nikki Haley, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar
Wikimedia Commons
Priyanka Chopra makes her debut on the Forbes’ list of 100 Most Powerful Women.
Chanda Kochhar, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Shobhana Bhartia are among the seven Indian women who have been featured on Forbes’ list of 100 Most Powerful Women. The list, released on Nov. 2, features “new generation of icons, game-changers and gate crashers who are boldly scaling new heights and transforming the world,” according to the business publication.
The rankings are based on the metrics of money (either net worth, company revenues, assets, or GDP); media presence; spheres of influence and impact, analyzed both within the context of each woman’s field (media, technology, business, philanthropy/NGOs, politics, and finance) and outside of it.
The list is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has taken the spot for the seventh year in the row and 12 times, in total. Merkel is followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May who is leading her country through Brexit, “a historic, complex and transformative time for the country and the European Union”. May is followed by Melinda Gates, who is trailed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. General Motors CEO May Barra takes the 5th rank.
Here are the Indian and Indian-origin women featured on the list:
Indra Nooyi
Indra Nooyi, the chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo, figures at the 11th rank. This food and drink company is world’s largest by revenue. Now a U.S. citizen, Nooyi lives in Connecticut.
Chanda Kochhar
Chanda Kochhar, 55, has been associated with the ICICI Bank since 1984. The current managing director and CEO of the bank is at the top of her game in India’s financial sector, and comes at the Rank 32 on the list. Kochhar has received the Padma Bhushan, and became the first Indian woman to be awarded with Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship last year.
Nikki Haley
At 43rd place is Nikki Haley, who has been earlier named by Forbes as one of the Women to Watch. She is the U.S. envoy to the United Nations. When Haley was serving as the Governor of South Carolina during 2011-2017, she was named the youngest “serving governor” in the United States, and was also the first female governor of the state.
Roshni Nadar Malhotra
The executive director and CEO of HCL Corporation, Roshni Nadar Malhotra has been placed at the 57th spot, Malhotra, 35, also manages the company’s philanthropic arm — the Shiv Nadar Foundation — and chairs VidyaGyan Leadership Academy.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
At 71st rank is the 64-year-old biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The chairman and managing director of Biocon has been associated with the firm since 1978, when it functioned out of the garage of her rented house. Mazumdar-Shaw was also included in Time magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in the World and in Financial Times’ Top 50 Women in Business list.
Shobhana Bhartia
Shobhana Bhartia, the first woman chief executive of a national newspaper in India, takes the 92nd spot in the list. Bhartia, 62, was also a Rajya Sabha member from 2006 to 2012.
Priyanka Chopra
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who, according to Forbes, is “arguably the most successful actor to cross over from Bollywood to Hollywood” is placed at No. 97. The 35-year-old actress, who made her debut on the list this year, rose to fame after winning the Miss World pageant in 2000 and steadily made her mark in the Indian film industry. Now, as a star of TV series Quantico and Hollywood movies, she has become a global face. Chopra was twice the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights.
