New Delhi: Holding on to their position on
the men`s turf, a few women have broken the myth that they can
be good at anything they want. 2009 saw Indian financial
sector, particularly banking, being charmed by the fair few.
These women who took up the top job did not have an easy
ride. Adversity came in the form of the economic crisis that
made the going tough even for the toughest of the chief
executives the world over. Several top honchos could not
grapple with the sudden outburst and magnitude of the crisis
sweeping the globe and made an hasty exit.
The women calling the shots at the country`s financial
institutions, however, continued undeterred. Vested with the
responsibility of looking after millions of deposits from
those who had trusted the bank, the women not only had to
ensure the banking function was carried out smoothly but also
had to guard their banks from the ripples created by the
collapse of the large entities.
At the height of the crisis?-ICICI Bank trusted their old
hand, Chanda Kochhar. Kochhar had joined the private sector
lender as a management trainee and was later handpicked to
spearhead the group`s major initiatives. After successfully
serving the bank for over two decades, she now sits pretty at
the top.
While Kochhar took the reigns of ICICI Bank, her
colleague Shikha Sharma moved on to run Axis Bank. Known as
the start-up queen she has cradled many ventures which have
grown into big businesses.
PTI
