Nita Ambani of Reliance Foundation, Kaku Nakhate of Bank of America and Priya Nair of Unilever have become seven-time winners in Business Today’s much-awaited annual The Most Powerful Women in Business list. They have therefore entered BT’s prestigious MPW Hall of Fame
One of the most prominent women in India’s business circles, Nita Ambani has created a lasting legacy through her philanthropic work. She entered the BT MPW Hall of Fame 2022 after featuring in the annual listing of The Most Powerful Women in Business for the seventh time
Much as Nita Ambani’s job title is Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, the impact of her role is far-reaching. For instance, the foundation’s rural transformation programme covers over 350 districts across India, where its work in empowering communities to take collective action towards sustainable livelihoods had reached close to 15 million people by the end of August 2022
In the sphere of education, there is Jio Institute, which currently runs postgraduate courses. Under her leadership, the foundation also runs development programmes for sports, women’s empowerment etc. Nita Ambani also sits on the boards of Reliance Industries and EIH Limited, along with overseeing IPL cricket team Mumbai Indians. She is the Chairperson of Football Sports Development Ltd that owns and operates the Indian Soccer League
Currently, BofA is the sixth largest foreign bank in India in terms of assets and deals with large conglomerates, such as Reliance Industries, Tata Sons, Aditya Birla Group, etc. “Our idea is to win. And, frankly, it is to win with no excuses,” says Kaku Nakhate, who presides over assets totalling Rs 62,333 crore as of March 2022
Along with leading the operations of Bank of America in India since 2010, Kaku Nakhate has been instrumental in supporting arts and culture. “We believe in the power of the arts to help educate and enrich societies, bring communities together and create cultural understanding. In every country where we do business, we have been steadfast in our support of the arts,” says Nakhate
In a period when start-ups are focussing on profitability, restructuring their businesses and consolidation, Kaku Nakhate believes that M&A activity will pick up in the space, going ahead. She adds that even private equity (PE) players are not in a hurry to pump in capital due to these reasons. In fact, she says, PE players are looking for an exit. “This year will be the year of M&As for start-ups,” she says
Priya Nair joined Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) in 1995 as a trainee and rose through the ranks to take charge of Hindustan Unilever’s (renamed to HUL from HLL) global parent Unilever’s marketing operations for its Beauty and Wellbeing division in 2022, as Global Chief Marketing Officer
In spite of the lockdown-related disruptions, HUL’s Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) division remained the top performer for the company and boosted its financials. After successfully driving the largest and the most profitable division at the India unit, Priya Nair is now tasked with growing Unilever’s $11-billion global business
What has remained constant through all of this is her appetite for risks. “I like to take risks because the world that we live in today requires you to take risks. It is changing fast, and one needs to leapfrog to stay afloat,” says Nair, who joins the BT MPW Hall of Fame