5 Indians among Forbes' Most Powerful Women List


Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Technology):

Founder and Chairman, Biocon

Kiran started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its evolution from an industrial enzymes manufacturing company to a fully integrated bio-pharmaceutical company with research focus on diabetes and auto-immune diseases. She had also established two subsidiaries: Syngene (1994) to provide development support services for discovery research and Clinigene in 2000 to cater to clinical development services. Her pioneering work in the sector had earned her several awards. She won the Padma Shri Award in 1989 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 from the government of India. She is also a member of the board of governors of the prestigious Indian School of Business and Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. She had also won the Nikkei Asia Prize Award in 2009 for Regional Growth. She had also received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 2002. She is ranked 80th in the list.

The names that made it on the top 10 include - Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Hillary Clinton, Secretary of States, U.S.; Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; Melinda James, Co-Chairman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Jill Abramson, Executive Editor of New York Times; Michelle Obama, the First Lady of United States. Christine Lagrade, MD, International Monetary Fund, France took the eighth spot and was followed by Janet Napolitano of United States and Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.