There is an ongoing positive change in the topography of corporate leadership in India as Women CEO in India emerge as rate-breakers and change the meaning of success in industries. Such pioneering leaders are not just sitting in corner offices; they are pushing the boundaries, doing radical things,and making a long-lasting contribution to the Indian business environment. Boasting technology giants up to pharmaceutical power giants, Women CEO in India are proving that leadership is not gender controlled.
Their travel experiences are characterised by strength and tactical genius, and a steady faith in excellent performance. As India processes to be among the world Pacesetters in economic strength, these leaders are all set to guide the others, with their achievements motivating millions, having created an example of what could be attained by others in the future.
What is a CEO and the Significance of Women’s Leadership in India
A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the second person in a company in rank as the highest executive in a firm, makes important decisions, oversight of the organization as well as executing long term plans that bring the company to the future. The CEO acts as the main connection between the quality of organization and corporate operations and the vision of the company and its implementation, henceforth. The role of women in leadership positions within the corporate environment in India is increasingly gaining importance since it introduces different levels of perceptions, creative ways of tackling problems and more inclusive managerial styles.
Women CEO in India are busting the ranks of hierarchy and are also presenting new leadership paradigms that focus on becoming collaborative, compassionate and ever-growing. Theirot being in the helm has not just increased the gender equality but also the performance of the operations of the organizations as the research regularly indicates that those organizations that are represented with diversified teams on the helm of management have shown improved financial performance and have acquired better power of innovation.
Percentage of Women CEO in India
The gender parity portrayed in the Women CEO in India is relatively low with the percentage of women being CEOs at about 4.7 per cent which translates to very high opportunities of attaining gender parity.
Key Statistics:
- Of all the Fortune India 500 firms, only 1.6% are run by women.
- In India, women own close to 20% of companies, showing tremendous growth in female entrepreneurship.
- Women own 1 out of every 5 enterprises in the country, highlighting the rapid rise of female leadership.
- The number of women CEOs in India has grown by 22% since 2015.
- The most represented sectors include IT (Technology), Healthcare, Banking, Finance, and Consumer Goods.
- Most women CEOs are aged between 45–55 years and are highly educated, often from leading institutions.
- Metropolitan areas have greater representation of women in leadership roles.
- Women-led firms show steady growth in innovation and sustainable business practices.
- The overall percentage of women CEOs in India stands around 4.7%.
- A growing number of Indian women CEOs now head international corporations.
The First Woman CEO of India
Historical Milestone:
- Indra Nooyi became the first female chief executive in India to become famous across the world and showed untold demands.
- She has been the chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo since 2006 to 2018.
- The first female African American and the first immigrant to head a fortune 50 company was Nooyi.
- During her rule she was always listed among 100 most influential women all over the world.
- The very fact that she was appointed a CEO was a watershed event among Women CEO in India on the international scene.
Profile and Achievements:
Indra Nooyi was born on October 28, 1955, in Chennai (then, Madras), India, in a middle-class Indian family but her story to become the company that has led to the top of the corporate world is inspirational. Her success as the CEO In her 12 year term of leadership, PepsiCo achieved tremendous growth and the net profit of the company has increased more than twofold, fawning between 2.7 billion and 6.5 billion.
Her strategic plan, the Performance with Purpose, has transformed the way PepsiCo did business, as it has focused more on making all their products healthy, environmental maintenance, and social responsibility. It was not just money that Nooyi was able to lead on, she changed the corporate culture and embraced diversity and ensured that these values-driven leadership styles would not clash with the high business performance. Her history has served to empower Women CEO in India and across the world as it has been shown that getting past glass ceilings takes the ability and the bravery to do so.
List of Top 20 Women CEO in India
1. Leena Nair
- Sector: Luxury Fashion
- Position: Global CEO, Chanel
Leena Nair, an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur based at Kolhapur, Maharashtra has earned recognition on account of her people-based leadership style. In January 2022 she assumed the Chief Executive Officer role at Chanel at the age of one of the youngest funded women in India to head up a global luxury brand. She is the Women CEO in India.
Prior to Chanel, she was the first ever, female, and Asian chief human resource executive in Unilever working in three decades in the organization. Being a management gold medalist at XLRI, dentist graduate at Walchand College, Nair is a proponent of equality, diversity, and transformational change at the high levels of corporate leadership.
- Website URL: https://www.chanel.com
- Why She’s Notable: Pioneering people-first leadership in luxury fashion globally
2. Falguni Nayar
- Sector: E-Commerce & Beauty
- Position: Founder & CEO, Nykaa
The founder of Nykaa is Falguni Nayar who launched this company in 2012 and changed the face of beauty and wellness retail in India. She made the entrepreneurial jump at 50 after a successful career in Kotak Mahindra capital company as an investment banker.
She has grown Nykaa to be a multi-billion-dollar unicorn company that went down the IPO. Omnichannel style of integrating online and offline retail, customer-oriented innovation, sustainable growth approach has all resulted in making Nykaa a household brand in India serving millions of customers.
- Website URL: https://www.nykaa.com
- Why She’s Notable: Built India’s largest beauty e-commerce unicorn from scratch
Also Read: How to Sell on Nykaa
3. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
- Sector: Biopharmaceuticals
- Position: Executive Chairperson, Biocon
IRIN Granting IndiaSwitzerlandGlobal businessKiran Mazumdar-Shaw created a small enzyme production company that was founded in 1978 into one of the most large biopharmaceutical firms in India with operations spread across more than 120 countries. Her breakthrough in the field of biotechnology has rendered life-saving drugs cheap and affordable to all people on earth.
She has shattered many frontiers in the male-dominated industry making Biocon a research-induced company that deals with diabetes, oncology, and immunology. Her leadership is a good example of how innovation and perseverance can transform the way healthcare is delivered.
- Website URL: https://www.biocon.com
- Why She’s Notable: Pioneer in biotechnology and India’s richest self-made woman entrepreneur
4. Roshni Nadar Malhotra
- Sector: Information Technology
- Position: Chairperson, HCL Technologies
Roshni, daughter of HCL company founder Shiv Nadar, joined HCL Technologies in 2013, becoming vice chairperson in 2017 and becoming the first female chairperson of either a large Indian-based IT services firm. Her leadership has enabled HCL Technologies to concentrate on downstreaming modern leading-edge digital technologies such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and service of transforming digital. She also leads the Shiv Nadar Foundation which provides education throughout India. Her course of action has kept HCL among the world leaders in technology.
- Website URL: https://www.hcltech.com
- Why She’s Notable: First woman to chair a leading Indian IT services company
5. Sharmistha Dubey
- Sector: Technology & Dating Platforms
- Position: CEO, Match Group
As the head of Match Group, a company owning the world dating apps such as Tinder, Match, okCupid, and Hinge, Sharmistha Dubey has revolutionized the modern adult matchmaking in young people all over the world. She graduated in Metallurgical Engineering at the IIT, Kharagpur and started working with Texas Instruments before joining Match Group in 2006.
In 2017, she became Chief Operating officer of Tinder before becoming CEO of Match group. This is indicative of Vogue using her to be the Tech Leader of the Year 2021, due to her revolutionary role in changing digital relationships.
- Website URL: https://mtch.com
- Why She’s Notable: Transformed the global online dating industry
6. Ghazal Alagh
- Sector: Personal Care & D2C
- Position: Co-founder & CEO, Mamaearth
As co-founder and CEO of Mamaearth, Ghazal Alagh created a radical brand with natural toxic-free products that serves conscious buyers. Her outstanding skill to detect and pin individual consumer needs towards sustainable, environmentally-conscious, and secure personal beauty items has fostered the high growth rate of Mamaearth as an organization.
Mamaearth is one of the most familiar and fastest-growing D2C brands to undergoUnicorn under her leadership and market insights crafted a robust brand image in India. The fact that she is a person who integrates a bit of sustainability with business keenness has identified her as an example of an entrepreneur whose core is undertaking business models on the basis of purposes.
- Website URL: https://www.mamaearth.in
- Why She’s Notable: Leading India’s sustainable personal care revolution
7. Vineeta Singh
- Sector: Beauty & Cosmetics
- Position: CEO & Co-founder, SUGAR Cosmetics
Vineeta Singh, a former engineer with an MBA in IIM Ahmedabad, has transformed fans and followers of cosmetics in India into one of SUGAR Cosmetics main and most popular brands. Her entrepreneurial experience demonstrates that there are multiple educational backgrounds and abilities that can be brought together to result in a very successful consumer business.
She had broken through the old beauty industry by providing the best quality cruelty-free cosmetics at a low cost and specifically made to the Indian skin intensity. Her innovativeness, customer satisfaction and cognizance of the tastes of millennials still remains a source of inspiration among ambitious women entrepreneurs in the competitive Indian market.
- Website URL: https://www.sugarcosmetics.com
- Why She’s Notable: Disrupted India’s beauty market with affordable premium cosmetics
8. Namita Thapar
- Sector: Pharmaceuticals
- Position: Executive Director, Emcure Pharmaceuticals
Namita Thapar being the Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals that is among the top pharmaceutical firms in India has played a key role in the phenomenal growth of this firm not only in strategic globalization but also in the enhancement of its competitiveness in the global pharmaceutical market.
Her leadership focuses on providing big quality, low cost healthcare products and medicines that can serve the domestic Indian markets as well as the various international territories. She supports the idea of employee empowerment and an inclusive organizational culture. The fact that she does appear on Shark Tank India is only increasing her influence as a business leader and mentor.
- Website URL: https://www.emcure.com
- Why She’s Notable: Driving pharmaceutical innovation and global healthcare accessibility
9. Jayshree Ullal
- Sector: Computer Networking
- Position: President & CEO, Arista Networks
Jayshree Ullal is a British born entrepreneur of Indian descent residing in America, a President and CEO of Arista Networks, a popular cloud networking firm. Having attended almost 15 years of leadership roles at Cisco Systems, she joined Arista Networks in 2008 as the sixth employee and skillfully led the company, which has been through an extremely successful initial public offering and metamorphosed into a multibillion-dollar company. She is always ranked on the list of the most successful self-made women by Forbes in America. In 2020 she became one of the Snowflake board of directors.
- Website URL: https://www.arista.com
- Why She’s Notable: Forbes’ list of richest self-made women in America
10. Revathi Advaithi
- Sector: Electronics Manufacturing
- Position: CEO, Flex Ltd.
Revathi Advaithi, who is currently the CEO of Flex Ltd. (previously Flextronics), one of the biggest manufacturing service wholesalers of electronics in the world started her career as a supervisor shop employee in Eaton Corporation, Shawnee, Oklahoma. It is her success through operations brilliance and shrewd leadership that earned her the position of CEO at Flex.
Fortune magazine has ranked her second on the highly coveted Forbes list of the most powerful women both in the year 2019 and 2020. In addition to promoting women in the STEM field by participating in different events, she is an independent director on the board of Uber Technologies.
- Website URL: https://www.flex.com
- Why She’s Notable: Leading global electronics manufacturing with operational excellence
11. Vani Kola
- Sector: Venture Capital
- Position: Managing Director, Kalaari Capital
Vani Kola, the leader of Kalaari Capital, the fastest growing and one of the largest and most influential venture capital firms in India, has a vast experience in the field of technology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital over the course of 20 years. She is the Women CEO in India.
She has been key in the identification, investments, and onboarding of startups that are currently rocking the dynamic business ecosystem in India in areas such as e-commerce, technology, fintech as well as consumer services. The champion of zealous support of women in business, she makes every effort to make business more welcoming and everyone. Her observations about the Indian startup ecosystem have led her to be one of the most admired personalities in venture capital.
- Website URL: https://www.kalaari.com
- Why She’s Notable: Championing women entrepreneurs and funding India’s startup revolution
12. Upasana Taku
- Sector: Fintech
- Position: Co-founder & CEO, MobiKwik
The entrepreneurial experience, achievements and setbacks of Upasana Taku, one of the brightest co-founder and CEOs of MobiKwik, one of the first and largest mobile payments providers in India, display her incredible endurance, innovativeness, and proactive vision.
MobiKwik has under her leadership been able to grow in terms of the services it offers and deepens its users to millions, as well as being instrumental to the radical transformation of digital payment in India. She is a strong supporter of financial inclusion and is highly involved in ensuring that all women are empowered in technology and fintech industries by mentorship and visibility.
- Website URL: https://www.mobikwik.com
- Why She’s Notable: Pioneering India’s digital payment revolution
13. Reshma Kewalramani
- Sector: Pharmaceuticals
- Position: CEO & President, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Reshma Kewalramani is one of the most esteemed Women CEO in India in the global pharmaceutical sector, one of the biggest companies and leading technology oriented firms in developing breakthrough therapies against serious ailments; Vertex Pharmaceuticals to India, the company she works with is the founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
She arrived in the US at the age of 11 and graduated at the Harvard Business School in its General Management Program. Her career started as a practicing physician that served in the industry a couple of years, changed to the biopharmaceutical industry where she worked a total of 12 years and joined Vertex in 2017. The accolades and awards given to her were magnificent in itself, such as getting listed at the Power 50 list of Boston Business Journal.
- Website URL: https://www.vrtx.com
- Why She’s Notable: Leading breakthrough therapies in rare diseases
14. Shradha Sharma
- Sector: Media & Publishing
- Position: Founder & CEO, YourStory
Shradha Sharma, the founder and the CEO of YourStory one of the largest, fullest, and most influential media sites focused on entrepreneurs, startups, and business innovators in India, has garnered a solid platform that effectively raises the voice of Indian entrepreneurs and business innovators. She is the Women CEO in India.
Through her strategic approach, YourStory has now become the ultimate destination where anyone can find information about startup news, inspiring stories of entrepreneurs, and stories about business in depth in addition to reporting on India, an attraction-startup ecosystem. Her dedication to and desires in recalling entrepreneurship and innovation have seen YourStory become something that the Indian business fraternity and budding entrepreneurs all over the country cannot do without.
- Website URL: https://yourstory.com
- Why She’s Notable: Building India’s most influential entrepreneurship media platform
15. Sonia Syngal
- Sector: Retail & Fashion
- Position: Former CEO, Gap Inc.
A former CEO of Gap Inc., a major international retailer of apparel and other accessories, Sonia Syngal contributed greatly to her working experience with the handling of Ford Motor Company and Sun Microsystems. Her education qualifications are a degree in engineering at Kettering University and a master degree in manufacturing systems engineering at Stanford University.
In her tenure, she also used the platform of Gap Inc., and the graphic tees to promote young women and give them a voice. Her innovative way of promoting gender equality with the help of retail evoked great recognition all across the world and she directed her efforts in terms of propelling Gap online and creating collaborations.
- Website URL: https://www.gap.com
- Why She’s Notable: Championing gender equality through retail innovation
16. Anjali Sud
- Sector: Video Technology
- Position: CEO, Vimeo
Anjali Sud, Women CEO in India of Vimeo, the most popular video experience platform ranked first, worked as a general manager and the head of marketing prior to being promoted to the position of CEO in 2017. During her tenure with the company, Vimeo has evolved to become a full video software platform with significant revenues into the hands of millions of businesses and creative people throughout the globe.
She is a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in finance and management in Wharton school of business and an MBA in Harvard business school. She was a Young Global Leader established by the World Economic Forum. Even though Sasantino is a United States resident by birth, he was raised in Michigan by Indian immigrant parents, working as an employee of Amazon, Time Warner, and Sagent Advisors before.
- Website URL: https://www.vimeo.com
- Why She’s Notable: Transforming video technology for creative professionals
17. Priya Lakhani
- Sector: Educational Technology
- Position: Founder & CEO, Century Tech
Priya Lakhani is the Founder and CEO of Century Tech since 2013 but has made significant and impressive progress in the creation of AI-based learning devices and solutions to educational organizations all over the world. Being driven by the dire necessity to solve a problem of academic underperformance and inequality in education, she co-founded the Institute of Ethical AI in Education so that the use of technology could be made responsible.
She got a Master in Law at the University of London and elected boldly to abandon her legal profession to follow her passion of being an entrepreneur. In 2019, the UK government made her a member of the prestigious AI Council and in 2014, the Order of the British Empire declared her the Officer.
- Website URL: https://www.century.tech
- Why She’s Notable: Pioneering ethical AI in education globally
18. Padmasree Warrior
- Sector: Technology & Electric Vehicles
- Position: Founder & CEO, Fable
Padmasree Warrior, an avid technology fan, an entrepreneur, and international trade, is the launcher of Fable, the innovative reading platform with a strict emphasis on the aspects of mental well-being and mindful reading experiences (launched in 2019). Previously, she was the Chief Technology Officer at Cisco Systems and at Motorola, has been the Chief Technology Officer, as well as the CEO of an electric vehicle company, NIO USA.
She was brought up in Vijayawada, is the. alumni of IIT Delhi who has a masters degree in Cornell University. Her influential character in the world was established by Forbes who included her in the list of the 100 most influential women in the world. Her exceptional journey across career testing a lifetime proves that technology leadership, innovation and social impact socially can create an impact through entrepreneurship.
- Website URL: https://www.fable.co
- Why She’s Notable: Former CTO of major tech giants now revolutionizing digital reading
19. Hardika Shah
- Sector: Fintech
- Position: Founder & CEO, Kinara Capital
Hardika Shah the founder and the CEO of Kinara Capital, the pioneering Fintech company that focuses on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India through creating financial services and funds focused on offering financing to help their businesses grow, back her firm principles of financial inclusion, which have reinvented the way small businesses can secure finance in their pursuit to grow.
Through her platform, SMBs are able to get around the traditional barriers that conventional banks create whilst accessing financing that they need to grow and expand operations. Her successful concept of lending a combination of technology and business made to the level of personalized services is transforming the way financial services are provided in the small business segment of India that is under-served with a large portfolio of the people. Hardika is one of the few women who have managed to steer a fintech company to profitability in an Indian competitive environment.
- Website URL: https://www.kinaracapital.com
- Why She’s Notable: Democratizing credit access for small businesses in India
20. Nisaba Godrej
- Sector: Consumer Goods
- Position:Nisaba Godrej, the chairperson of the leading FMCG business in India, Godrej
Consumer Products Limited, had taken the company more on the path of innovation in consumer products without compromising the sustainability and the social responsibility values of the company. Her leadership focuses on environment custodianship and inclusive expansion in the developing markets. She is the Women CEO in India.
- Website URL: https://www.godrejcp.com
- Why She’s Notable: Championing sustainable consumer products and environmental responsibility
Young Female CEOs in India
Rising Stars Reshaping Industries:
- Priya Nair — CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). She becomes the first woman to hold the top executive role at HUL, effective August 1, 2025.
- Prabha Narasimhan — MD & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive (India). Named for her leadership and innovation in 2024.
- Ananya Birla — Founder & Chairperson, Svatantra Microfinance; strong growth and recognized in 2024.
- Leena Nair — CEO, Chanel. Although leading a global brand since earlier, often cited among “India’s top female CEOs.”
- Ameera Shah — Executive Chairperson, Metropolis Healthcare. Mentioned among powerful women leaders.
- Prativa Mohapatra — VP & Managing Director, Adobe India. Recognised for recent leadership impact.
Conclusion
The Indian Women CEOs story is a strong turnaround story of how to fight, break color, and make a ground-breaking success. Indra Nooyi, who introduced college-to-corporate achievements in her path, to the young people of today, who can transform industries with the innovative ideas, have shown that being the best has no gender attached. Although the figures indicate that Women CEO in India continue to occupy a low proportion of overall leadership, the trend clearly cuts across and is up.
Alongside the fact that these excellent women are establishing successful companies, they are also successfully establishing ecosystems that can develop future talent, facilitate diversity and sustainable development. With India still in the buildup of its economic success, the role of Women CEO in India will play a significant part in creating an era of inclusion, innovation and wealth to everyone in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first woman CEO in India?
The first woman CEO in India, with international entertainment, worked under the PepsiCo firm and held the post of the CEO between 2006-2018, Indra Nooyi.
What percentage of CEOs are women in India?
The ratio of Women CEO in India is only 4.7 percent, however, this ratio has been steadily rising.
Which sectors have the most Women CEO in India?
The highly represented sectors of Women CEO in India are IT, healthcare, banking, finance and consumer goods.
Who is the richest female CEO in India?
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the chairperson of Biocon, is ranked the wealthiest female CEO in India having a net worth that is in excess of 5 billion.
What challenges do women CEOs face in India?
Some Indian women CEOs have job-related challenges such as gender bias, work-life balance concerns, less opportunities to find mentors, and society expectations, but most of them have managed to overcome these obstacles through their strength and strong performance.