MPW 2022: Meet Roshni Nadar Malhotra, the only woman leading an IT major

For Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of India’s third-largest IT giant, keeping her cool in gruelling circumstances is not a matter of choice. With the increasing volatility in the global business environment, overcoming challenges has become a habit that she and her team keeps repeating every quarter. After all, there is not much of a choice, as she puts it. But there is more to it. Be it a tough business decision or a pointed question, Nadar’s confidence radiates through her charming smile—reflecting how comfortable she is in her own skin.

Nadar is the only woman leading an Indian IT major, but what really differentiates her from her peers is her natural inclination towards taking the other management leaders along in the Rs 3-lakh crore ($37 billion) IT major. After overcoming the Covid-19 disruptions, followed by the impact of the Ukraine war, Nadar credits the “strong and tenured senior management” team, led by HCL Tech CEO & MD C. Vijaykumar, for the success. “He is based out of New York and 60 per cent of our business comes from North America. So, it always helps to have the leadership teams in the right geographies,” she says.

Additionally, HCL’s pre-Covid-19 strategy of setting up regional campuses—in cities like Madurai, Vijayawada, Nagpur or Lucknow—came handy during the pandemic when other companies were scrambling to adopt the remote working culture.

Having a business spread over continents, Nadar’s schedule is usually packed with business-related travel, but she rarely misses an opportunity to quench her thirst for wildlife and history. Whenever possible, a visit to wildlife sanctuaries and places of historical interest is never off the travel list.