The Contrarian

After spending most of her career in the credit ratings business, Roopa Kudva decided to call it a day around four years ago. A seven-time winner of BT's Most Powerful Women Award, she is now heading the charitable investment firm Omidyar Network in India. Kudva is responsible for overall strategic direction, investment policy and portfolio management. Incidentally, Omidyar invests in early-stage companies where the ultimate beneficiaries are lower-income categories. Key target areas include education, financial inclusion and governance.

Kudva, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus, started her career as a management trainee in IDBI. Her next stop was CRISIL, where she spent more than two decades. During her seven-year tenure as MD and CEO from 2007 onwards, the rating agency grew its core business and took big strides in areas such as research and analytics.