Three top Indian businesswomen have been featured in the November issue of Forbes Asia. It has highlighted 20 Asian women who came up with varying strategies that helped their businesses soar despite the uncertainty of the new normal and three years of COVID-19.
Soma Mondal, chairperson of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL); Namita Thapar, executive director (India business) of Emcure Pharma; and Ghazal Alagh, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Honasa Consumer, are on the list.
Forbes in a statement on Tuesday said some of these women operated in hard-hit sectors such as shipping, property, and construction, while others continue to innovate in areas such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and commodities.
The Asia-Pacific region this year has mostly moved on to a post-pandemic era where governments, people, and businesses are learning to live with COVID-19, it said. The other women on the list are from Australia, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
According to Forbes, “The 20 women on the 2022 Asia’s Power Businesswomen list have come up with varying strategies that helped their businesses soar despite the uncertainty of the new normal. Some operate in hard-hit sectors such as shipping, property and construction, while others continue to innovate in areas such as tech, pharmaceuticals and commodities.”
It added that as it’s been since 2019, the women highlighted this year are newcomers to the list, further expanding its network of female trailblazers in the region. “They were selected for their achievements in their current role of running a business with sizable revenue and demonstrating strong leadership throughout their career.”
Ghazal Alagh
Alagh’s Honasa Consumer houses personal care brands Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Aqualogica and Ayuga. The company became a unicorn in early January when it closed a $52 million funding round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India, valuing it at $1.2 billion. She cofounded the Gurgaon-based company with her husband, Varun, who is CEO, in 2016, according to Forbes.
Soma Mondal
It added that Soma Mondal is the first woman to chair state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). She has led the steelmaker to record earnings growth since taking the mantle in 2021. Annual revenue grew by 50%, to more than 1.03 trillion rupees ($13.7 billion), while profits surged threefold to 120 billion rupees, for the year ended March 31, 2022, spurred by increased production as well as spiking demand for steel products like rods, plates and bars. Over that period, the company paid off nearly 220 billion rupees in debt.
Namita Thapar
“A business leader, entrepreneurship coach, reality show judge and author—45-year-old, (Namita) Thapar dons many hats. As executive director of Emcure Pharma she oversees the India business of the 61 billion rupee ($730 million) Pune-based company that her father, Satish Mehta, founded over four decades ago,” Forbes said.
It added that since taking charge of Emcure’s India operations five years ago, she helped double its domestic revenue to Rs 2,500 crore in 2021 (the latest figures available).
(With Inputs From PTI)
Read all the Latest Business News here
Comments
0 comment