Our 2022 list of India's Self-Made Women, aka W-Power, features women who are writing their own stories and destinies. They are making strides in entrepreneurship, venture capital, banking and finance, sports, academia, and also social impact. From Chanel's Leena Nair to the founders of Khabar Lahariya, the 2022 W-Power list is diverse and celebrates all kinds of leadership
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Anjali Bansal,Founding partner, Avaana Capital
Anju Srivastava,Founder and CEO, Wingreens Farms
Ashwini Deshpande,Professor of economics, Ashoka University
Jacinta Kerketta,Writer/ freelance journalist
Kainaz Karmakar,Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India
Kusha Kapila,Digital content creator
Lakshmi Iyer,CEO, Kotak Investment Advisors
Leena Nair,Global CEO, Chanel
Neena Gupta,Professor, Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics, ISI
Nikhat Zareen,Boxer
Radhika Gupta,MD and CEO, Edelweiss AMC
Radhu Basu,Founder and CEO, iMerit
Brought in a new focus to the markets regulator. Decisions taken within prescribed timelines. Enhanced surveillance of insider trading.
Aims to make regulation more nimble.
Invested in six climate tech startups in 2022. In 2021, Bansal was appointed a member of the advisory council for the Open Network for Digital Commerce.
The firm's second fund, the Climate and Sustainability Fund, is being raised currently. It is targeted to be a $120 to $150 million fund and will make around 22 to 25 highly curated investments across Avaana's three focus sectors.
Raised $17 million from Investcorp and Omidyar Network India last November, and also bought out RAW Pressery, Monsoon Harvest and Postcard Snacks.
Wingreens has diversified itself as an alternative to FMCG conglomerates, offering healthy and fresh choices.
Published extensively in leading scholarly journals; set up data centre CEDA at Ashoka University to better inform debate around India's socioeconomic issues; received the SKOCH award for her work in gender economics.
Pilot projects on how to achieve gender parity at workplaces are currently underway and should result in scalable solutions that can be implemented across companies.
Has covered issues related to conflict over land, the impact of risk management programmes on those living inside forests, and grassroot democracy among indigenous populations in Jharkhand and Odisha.
Wants to continue her work for tribal youth through her writing. She aims to bridge the gap between urban tribals who are cut off from their roots and village youngsters who do not know anything about the city, so that they can support each other.
Kay Beauty currently has an annualised GMV run rate of more than Rs 100 crore.
New product launches; expanding deeper in newer markets and the offline space.
She has spearheaded multiple campaigns, including Dove #StopTheBeautyTest, Cadbury Good Luck Girls, Bournvita #ForcedPacks, Bournvita film—The Boy Who Failed, MTV Memory Karaoke and Nanhi Kali Film, to name a few. She was also on international jury panels of the Cannes Advertising Awards, Clio, One Show, D&AD, and the Indian industry jury panel of Kyoorius.
Karmakar is passionate about delivering social change-driven messages, and plans to continue creating advertisements that best define a brand's identity.
Apart from adding numbers to her followers on social media, she starred in the web series Masaba Masaba (Season 2), hosted Comicstaan Season 3, and was a judge on Case Toh Banta Hai.
She's updating her content with vlogs and reels to suit the evolving nature of social media. Has five more projects lined up and is starting a movie in early 2023.
Appointed CEO-Investment advisory at Kotak Investment Advisors.
Construct bespoke investment portfolios across different asset classes and grow the business in an evolving industry.
Appointed global CEO of Chanel, the 112-year-old storied French fashion house. Formerly head of human resources for Unilever, globally overseeing 150,000 people across 100+ countries.
Set to bring about more diversity and inclusion at Chanel and the fashion industry at large, and grow the private, $15.6 billion-in-sales entity to greater heights as it taps into the Chinese and other global luxury markets.
Numer8 grew from Rs 6 lakh in revenue in 2019 to Rs 1.5 crore in 2022. It aims to hit Rs 10 crore in revenue in the next three years.
Numer8's new focus area is seaweed cultivation as an alternative source of income for the fishing community, especially for women. It aims to use satellite data-based advisories to analyse seaweed sites for enhancing its cultivation, and distribute seaweed as companies focus on sustainable businesses.
Awarded the Ramanujan Prize for young mathematicians for her series of outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra.
Continue with her research in the field and to solve problems so that this stream of mathematics continues to attract attention, which is otherwise dying.
Boxing world champion and winner of Commonwealth Games gold medal.
India's tallest boxer after Mary Kom and a top medal contender at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Getting assets under management of Edelweiss to Rs 80,000 crore and turning a meaningful profit. She also wrote her first book: Limitless: The Power of Unlocking Your True Potential.
Gupta is aiming to get assets under management of the company to Rs 1 lakh crore, and position Edelweiss AMC among the top 10 asset management companies.
High talent retention rate, business growth in a tough global market, quick skilling of workforce, and being agile.
Plans to invest more in India, create more jobs and skill more people from Tier II cities and beyond; a major priority is working with companies that are taking AI into operations.
In 2021, Khabar Lahariya received the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award; this year, Kavita Devi has been shortlisted for the Reporters Without Borders press freedom award; Meera Devi is a mentor for the 2022-23 MSF fellowship.
Kavita and Meera plan to expand Khabar Lahariya to more districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, and train more women in rural India to become journalists.
Raised $37 million in Series A funding; touched 75 stores by end of the year; got actor Kriti Sanon on board as brand ambassador.
Launch of mobile application; new product launches and growing bigger in existing verticals.
Led Allianz's first $100 million+ green blended finance investment in India; Alliance IAMC in China secured a portfolio management licence; as a member of G7 Investor Leadership Network, worked with King Charles SMI Climate Summit.
With a strong track record and Allianz's deep commitment towards ESG and providing returns in investments across geographies, Arora is well placed to drive these initiatives.
Played a key role in advising several marquee companies and taking some to the IPO stage.
Hunting for disruptive consumer brands.
Impacted 1.2 million children in 3,500 schools.
Expects to grow annual revenues 2.5x over the next several years.
