WASHINGTON: Nine Indians figure among "50 dynamic women" in Forbes magazine's inaugural list of "Asia's most powerful businesswomen to watch" who have proved "game-changers" and inspired scores of other talented women.
The nine Indians include Britannia Industries managing director Vinita Bali, HT Media chairman and editorial director Shobhana Bhartia, ICICI Bank chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) Chanda Kochchar and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
Film maker Ekta Kapoor, AZB & Partners founder and senior partner Zia Mody, Axis Bank CEO and MD Shikha Sharma, and Tractors & Farm Equipment chairperson Mallika Srinivasa are the other Indians on the list.
Ekta Kapoor, 36, is the youngest on the list who as a "TV and movie producer is lighting a fire under Bollywood", Forbes said.
HCL Corp executive director and CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra, 30, is on a separate list of 15 power women to watch "primed to soon bust the 'bamboo ceiling'".
"These 50 dynamic women not only represent game-changers within their respective industries, but they also have inspired and empowered scores of talented women to follow suit," Forbes said.
The list names 50 "pathbreakers" whose extraordinary business success is driving the region's remarkable economic rise, Forbes said.
The business success of the 50 women on its list is a combination of capital, ideas, energy and leadership, it said.
"Although the role of women in Asia-Pacific's economy is growing, most of these honourees still have had to overcome significant barriers to get where they are today," Forbes said.
The list includes CEOs, founders and executives from China, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam whose "extraordinary business success is driving some of this region's most exciting growth and prosperity".