Most Powerful Women in Finance
For several decades, the world of finance has been heavily dominated by men. However, time has changed. Today, there are several successful women professionals that have brought positive changes in the banking and finance industry.
In this blog, we will look at some women executives who have achieved many remarkable feats throughout their careers. Even though these women are from different backgrounds and qualifications, one thing that is common among all these ladies is that they had to work harder than what was expected of them in order to succeed.
- Who are these women?
- What do they do?
- What is their background?
Let’s find out. Here is the list of the five most powerful women in finance in 2022:
Nandita Bakhshi
Nandita Bakhshi is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West. She is also Co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc.
Bakhshi grew up in India and completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Calcutta. She has worked in the banking industry for more than 25 years. Before becoming the CEO of Bank of the West in 2016, she worked at Washington Mutual.
Under the leadership of Nandita Bakhshi, the Bank of the West became one of the few US banks that restricted financing activities unfavourable to the planet. With her work, Bakhshi has proven that banks can achieve an equitable future through diversity in the workplace and opting for sustainable practices. As the CEO of the company, she has also advocated for gender equality in the finance sector and women’s role in P&L (profit & loss).
Naina Lal Kidwai
Naina Lal Kidwai is working with Rothschild & Co as a Senior Advisor and a member of the Board of Rothschild & Co India. She also served as the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India prior to this.
She joined HSBC India back in 2002 and took retirement in 2015; however, her love for the job brought her back to her current position in 2022.
Her responsibility at Rothschild & Co is to assist the company in its strategic ambitions and business expansion. She is also in charge of enhancing the company’s presence in South Asia and providing expert advisory.
Kidwai was the first Indian woman to graduate with an MBA from Harvard University. She is also the former President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Kidwai expensively speaks about investment banking in India, and she is the author of the widely acclaimed book “Survive or Sink” which is centred around green finance.
Gunjan Kedia
Next on the list is Gunjan Kedia, who has worked in the finance sector for more than 27 years. She is currently the Vice Chairperson the U.S. Bank Wealth Management and Investment Services. Kedia is also a member of the U.S. Bank Managing Committee.
Gunjan Kedia has a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Delhi School of Engineering. She did her MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Kedia started her career by working as an associate at PwC in 1994. Later on, in 1996, she became a partner at McKinsey & Company. Kedia served as an executive vice president and led the global product management function for Bank of New York Mellon in 2004.
Currently, Gunjan Kedia is responsible for overseeing $249 billion in assets under management, and $7.8 trillion in assets under administration. She also leads a division of the company that consists of more than 8,000 employees.
Due to her stellar performance, she was named American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Finance in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Kedia was also included in Barron's “100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance” list in 2021.
Alice G Vaidyan
Alice G Vaidyan is one of the most influential personalities in the insurance sector. She served as Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation(GIC) of India Re, making her the first lady officer to assume the post of Chairman of the National Reinsurer.
Alice did a post-graduation in English literature and was also a fellow of the Insurance Institute of India. Before joining GIC Re, Vaidyan worked at the New India Assurance Company. Vaidyan joined GIC as a General Manager in 2008 and was tasked with the CMD position in 2016; three years later, she retired from the post.
While Vaidyan was the leader, GIC Re became the largest agricultural reinsurer in the world. The company was accountable for around 60 percent of the crop insurance in India. By looking at the influence she had on the company, Harper's Bazaar named her in their “Most Powerful Women in Business in 2016” list.
Shyamala Gopinath
Shyamala Gopinath is another powerful woman in finance who is the Independent Woman Director of BASF India Limited. Gopinath is also a part-time Non-Executive Chairperson of HDFC Bank Limited.
Before joining HDFC Bank, Gopinath was deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), where she served for seven years. Her expertise was in liquidity management and regulation.
She has been part of various committees while working in RBI. From 2001 to 2003, Gopinath was a senior financial sector expert in the Monetary Affairs and Exchange Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is also well-known for managing liquidity during the Kargil War crisis in 1999.
Radhika Gupta
The youngest entrant to our list is Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss AMC.
With a rich academic background consisting of degrees from Wharton and UPenn, Radhika has broken several glass ceilings in her professional career. She started her own asset management firm while still in her 20s, and successfully sold it to Edelweiss a couple of years down the line.
After a brief entrepreneurial stint, she joined Edelweiss AMC and was soon promoted to the CEO’s position in 2017 while she was just 33 years old, making her one of the youngest CEOs in the financial services industry in India.
She has been serving as the MD & CEO of Edelweiss AMC for almost six years now, and under her charismatic leadership the company has emerged as one of the largest asset management companies, with AUM touching almost ₹12,000 crores.
Shradha Sharma
Shradha Sharma is amongst the young entrepreneurs of the nation. A journalist by profession, Shradha quit her job at Times of India and CNBC TV18 to form YourStory in 2008.
For over ten years, she has been relentlessly working towards making every story matter. She has been the driving force behind the success of many startups through her stories.
Shraddha now employs over 100 people who have published more than 70,000 articles in 11 languages.
Final Notes
We hope that these powerhouse women have inspired you to reach out to your dreams. To assist you to become financially independent, Edelweiss has launched an initiative named the “Blue Bindi Project.” Become a part of the Blue Bindi Project and empower your financial decisions.