Director of Reliance Industries, Nita Ambani has found the top slot in Forbes’ Asia 50 Power Businesswoman 2016 list, followed by State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. The list acknowledges women who are making their own place in the business world, despite gender inequalities. Along with the Ambani and Bhattacharya, eight other Indian women have made it in the list, representing diverse business fields - banking, bio-tech, data analysis, textiles, pharma and wellness and beauty. Forbes even ran a separate story on Ambani. “In a country where billionaire wives tend to remain in the shadow of their husbands, Nita’s rising profile in the Reliance empire is unusual and earns her a debut spot on our Power Businesswomen ranking this year. As Reliance’s non-executive director, Nita has no formal operational role in the conglomerate that her husband runs as chairman and managing director. But there is no secret she is near the throne,” Forbes said.
An accidental entry into sports made her the face of her group after Reliance spent $112 million for a cricket team that included icons like Sachin Tendulkar. Forbes said the Ambanis have been criticised for not having personally been givers, commensurate with Mukesh Ambani’s $22 billion wealth, and for moving into Antilla, a 27 storey sky palace in south Mumbai, called the world’s most expensive home for its $1 billion price tag.
Others in the list are Ambiga Dhiraj, chief executive, Mu Sigma; Dipali Goenka, chief executive, Welspun India; Vinita Gupta, chief executive, Lupin; Chanda Kochhar, managing director, ICICI Bank; Vandana Luthra, vice chair, VLCC Health Care and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chair, Biocon.
