The Forbes’s list of America’s 100 most successful businesswoman, 2023, is out and four Indian-origin women have made it the list. In a society that stands on the pillars of patriarchy and an industry that is dominated by men, these women have made their marks and taken the helm of their businesses helping it reach greater heights.
From F&B to technology, healthcare and fashion, these women have broken barriers with their hard work, vision and leadership skills. Let’s have a look at these women and their journey:
Jayshree V. Ullal– $2.2 billion (Rs 18 lakh crore approx.)
British-American entrepreneur Jayshree V. Ullal is the CEO and president of Arista Networks, a cloud networking firm with sales expected to reach $4.4 billion (about Rs. 36 lakh crore) in 2022. Ullal was raised in New Delhi despite being born to an Indian-born Hindu family in London. Prior to completing her undergraduate education at San Francisco State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1981, she completed her elementary education at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Delhi. In addition, she graduated from Santa Clara University with a Master of Science in Engineering Management and Leadership in 1986.
The 62 year old CEO, ventured into her professional life as a senior strategic development engineer at Advanced Micro Devices. In 2008, she joined Arista Networks as its CEO. Her role as the C-level executive at Arista has helped in skyrocketing the company’s growth and value. Arista under the leadership of Ullal, has emerged as one of the leading players in cloud networking industry.
Neerja Sethi – $990 million (Rs 8000 crore approx.)
Neerja Sethi, was born in India, currently resides in Florida, USA. The 68 year old, completed her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Delhi University and holds a master’s degree in computer science from Oakland University. Neerja also has an MBA in operations research from Delhi University.
While working for Tata Consultancy Services, she met her husband Bharat Desai. The pair then invested just $2,000 (about Rs. 165 lakh) to start the IT services company Syntel in their Troy, Michigan apartment in 1980, according to DNA. Since April 1980, Sethi has served as Syntel’s director while her husband served as the company’s chairman. According to Forbes, they sold Syntel to the French IT company Atos SE in 2018 for $3.4 billion (about Rs 28 lakh crore).
Neha Narkhede – $520 million (Rs 4000 crore approx.)
Neha Narkhede, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Oscilar a fraud detection firm which was founded earlier this year at the age of 38 is the youngest among these four Indian women. She hails from Pune and in 2007, she obtained a Master’s degree in technology from Georgia Tech. University.
After completing her graduation, Narkhede began her career at Oracle, before joining LinkedIn. And in 2014, she founded Confluent, which was a streaming data technology company; she had also served as the Chief Technology Officer. The Confluent platform has been used by companies such as Goldman Sachs, Netflix and Uber for data driven purposes. According to Forbes, the firm had its first public offering in 2021, and it achieved a notable valuation of $9.1 billion (Rs 75 lakh crore approx.)
Indra Nooyi – $350 million (Rs 2800 crore approx.)
Indra Nooyi, ex CEO of PepsiCO is from Madras, where did both her schooling and college. She went to Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and for high school she joined Madras Christian College. 67-year-old CEO, received her bachelor’s degrees in physics, chemistry, and mathematics in 1975, before joining the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, to obtain a Post Graduate Programme Diploma in 1976.
Nooyi began her career in India with Johnson & Johnson, before joining PepsiCo in 1994. Nooyi worked her way up through to become the company’s CEO in 2006 and is considered one of the strongest woman in business with her vision to expand the brand and sustainability goals. Nooyi retired PepsiCo in 2018 but holds positions on the boards of Amazon and the International Cricket Council. She recently joined Deutsche Bank’s Global Advisory Board in November.
