I'm every woman: Shikha Sharma

Shikha Sharma
51, MD & CEO, Axis Bank
(Number of times in BT's Most Powerful list: 7)

Biggest achievement in 2010: Making Axis a consistent performer at a time when most banks took a hit Being a powerful woman is important because: Power has the ability to make a difference Tip for work-life balance: Treat family, work and home pretty much the same way A workplace without women is like: A place sans diversity. Diversity brings value to the workplace

Is it lonely at the top? If you ask Axis Bank's chief Shikha Sharma this question, you are likely to get an honest answer. "At one level, it is (lonesome)," says Sharma, who left her comfort zone in the ICICI Group 18 months ago, where she worked for almost three decades, to head the country's third-largest private sector bank. "It is lonely because you cannot pass the buck to others," she says.

A year-and-a-half at Axis is enough time for Sharma to talk about the changes she has spearheaded. "I have sharpened the focus a bit," she lets on. For three to five years, she says, infrastructure will be a significant opportunity.

It will not be the only one. "...increasing levels of savings and consumption will lead to the growth of retail-oriented businesses," believes Sharma, adding, "Our strategy at Axis is to pursue profitable growth in the areas that will lend momentum to the economy.
-Anand Adhikari

The 30 Most Powerful Women
1. Schauna Chauhan 2. Zarin Daruwala 3. Lynn de Souza 4. Tanya Dubash 5. Shyamala Gopinath 6. Vinita Gupta 7. Kaku Nakhate 8. Vedika Bhandarkar 9. Manisha Girotra 10. Lalita Gupte 11. Usha Narayanan 12. Akhila Srinivasan 13. Leena Nair 14. Vinita Bali 15. Chanda Kochhar	16. Roopa Kudva 17. Naina Lal Kidwai 18. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw 19. Zarina Mehta 20. Zia Mody 21. Kalpana Morparia 22. Vishakha Mulye 23. Swati Piramal 24. Meher Pudumjee 25. Madhabi Puri Buch 26. Chitra Ramkrishna 27. Preetha Reddy 28. Shikha Sharma 29. Mallika Srinivasan 30. Sangeeta Talwar