Asia's 9 Most Powerful Indian Businesswomen

Chanda Kochchar

Chanda Kochchar is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ICICI Bank. Without a doubt, she is the woman behind making ICICI as India's largest private sector bank. She is so adept at managing her workforce that N. Ramkumar, Chief Human Resources Officer of ICICI Bank, says that she can even "command an army." K.V. Kamath still fondly remembers her for her focus. In a man’s world of investment banking, Kochchar has emerged as the leading investment lady. Still, she recalls her early days, "It was not easy to visit a factory” and "There was a lot of social pressure - people didn't expect a young girl could check machines." She says that the only 2 values which have helped her scale such great heights are – perfection and integrity. The one driving force of her determination is passion. She quotes, "My passion lies in the pursuit of excellence - can I do it very well, better than others?" She believes in "recognizing challenge in its entirety, and taking it head on." Her sheer hard-work reflects in ICICI’s profits. It reported a 30 percent increase in Q1 of 2011-12.