Indra Nooyi retains Fortune ‘most powerful businesswoman’ crown

Indra Nooyi, the Indian-origin Queen of the American business world, kept her crown intact for the second year in a row...

Indra Nooyi, the Indian-origin Queen of the American business world, kept her crown intact for the second year in a row as Fortune magazine named her the most powerful businesswoman in the US. Nooyi, the first woman chief executive of food and beverages giant Pepsico, made it to the top of the list last year. She continues her reign, while beating competition from familiar foes — Xerox’s Anne Mulcahy and eBay’s Meg Whitman.

Her Indian cousins made a commendable appearance in Fortune’s international list of 50 most powerful women in business, making it to the 33rd, 38th and 50th positions. ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar jumped four ranks from last year to 33rd in this year’s list. Likewise, HSBC India chief executive Naina Lal Kidwai improved her ranking by two positions to 38, but Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw slipped two spots to land at 50.

The international list does not include American business woman and had three Indians. Fortune, a CNN-Time Warner group magazine, named 51-year old Nooyi at the top. “All the arrows are pointing in the right direction, with revenues ($35.1 billion), operating profits ($6.4 billion), and earnings per share ($3) all rising strongly last year,” the magazine said. The 2001 Quaker Foods acquisition, in which Nooyi played a key role, was working out well and Pepsi International, a priority for the company is coming on strong too, it said. The company’s revenues rose 14 per cent to $13 billion and operating profits increased 21 per cent to $1.9 billion over the last year. “In May (last year), Nooyi added the title of chairman to her own portfolio,” the magazine said.

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ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar moved up by four places. She oversees more than half the bank’s $6.7 billion revenue, its presence in 18 countries and its involvement in most overseas acquisitions by Indian companies. “Kochhar, 45, is one of two women on the bank’s board and is seen as a strong CEO candidate in 2009,” the magazine said.

Following her closely is HSBC India’s Kidwai, who too improved her place on the list. Kidwai heads one of the country’s fastest-growing banks, with net profits rising 64 per cent to $192 million on $1.1 billion in revenue during the past fiscal year. She launched a life insurance joint venture and plans to expand small-business and retail banking activities of the bank, the magazine noted.

Meanwhile, Biocon’s Mazumdar Shaw slipped in the ranking to 50th this year from last years’ 48th position. Fortune higlights her as the “founder of the company that made her India’s richest self-made businesswoman”. The company has treated 1,000 cancer patients in the past year with BIOMAb, Biocon’s first proprietary drug. Last year saw the company’s revenues rising to 28 per cent to $227 million and profits 18 per cent to $46 million.