Last Updated on May 24, 2022 by
Women across the world have gracefully navigated through the most challenging and volatile times. This is very significant in the business sphere, which many strong women have taken over by storm. They have shown how indispensable they are in all fields. It makes celebrating their contributions towards accelerating growth and challenges even more vital.
This International Women’s Day, Tickertape aims to honour women across all disciplines, speciality being finance. Let us celebrate the well-known women in the financial world who have broken every stereotype in this domain.
The seven most prominent women who have risen up the ladder and serve as an inspiration are:
Table of Contents
Vani Kola
Born in Hyderabad, Vani Koli completed her schooling and pursued her bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Osmania University. She further did her master’s in engineering from Arizona State University.
She founded RightWorks and served as the CEO. The company was later sold to ICG after 4 yrs of successful operations. She then founded Certus Software and worked as the CEO. After a thriving career of 22 yrs in Silicon Valley, she returned to India. An eminent entrepreneur, she continued her journey by starting a venture capitalist firm Indo-US Venture Partners. This was later modified to be called Kalaari Capital, where she serves as the Managing Director.
For Kola, one of the most important things is to create an impact through innovation and entrepreneurship. As an investor, she prioritises mentoring young and upcoming entrepreneurs.
Forbes recognised Kola as one of the most powerful women in Indian business in 2014. Her professional philosophy and ethics have resulted in incredible results over the years for her investors. She has further established examples of excellence for consumers across India.
Lakshmi Iyer
Starting her career as a research analyst, Lakshmi Iyer worked with Credence Analytics Pvt. Ltd. After gaining experience in the financial markets, she joined Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company as a fund manager in 1999. She took over the responsibility of fund management and credit research. Apart from this, she also specialised in building portfolios, assisting product management, and undertaking client interactions.
Lakshmi Iyer expanded her career with the company over two decades. At present, she holds the positions of Chief Investment Officer of Debt and Head of Products. She has become one of the most influential women in the field of asset management. Iyer strives to bring out the best performance while managing risk and promoting investor education.
Radhika Gupta
Radhika Gupta graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a double bachelor’s in science, obtaining the summa cum laude honour. She started her career as a business analyst with McKinsey and Company and moved on to become a portfolio manager at AQR Capital Management in 2006.
In 2009, she founded Forefront Capital Management, along with Nalin Moniz and Anant Jatia. She is accredited with being the first woman to set up a domestic hedge fund. Edelweiss Financial Services later took over the organisation. After the takeover, she headed Multi-strategy Funds Management Limited with Edelweiss.
Currently, she serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss Asset Management Limited. She brings diversity in her experiences, having spent her life in multiple continents across the globe. She has explained her journey in a video titled ‘the girl with a broken neck’. Today, Radhika Gupta is considered among the most powerful women in business in India.
Sonam Shrivastava
After completing her graduation from IIT Kanpur, Sonam Shrivastava went on to pursue Masters in Financial Engineering from Worldquant University. She has garnered experience in portfolio management while working with organisations such as Edelweiss and HSBC. A notable machine learning researcher, she has ventured into the fields of financial technology and techniques of quantitative analysis.
She founded Wright Research, which is an investment advisory firm. It aims to provide highly researched products to all investors. Shrivastava is a highly passionate businesswoman who wishes to build a scalable quant business. She has also been featured as one of the top 100 women in finance by AIWMI.
Shweta Singh
A highly praised angel investor, Shweta Singh has established herself as one of the leading women professionals in the country. Her early education also includes a bachelor’s in mathematics from Delhi University, and a master’s in economics from the University of Cambridge. This was followed by an MBA in operations and entrepreneurial management from Wharton.
She has diversified her career by gaining experience in various fields. She worked in international operations with Zomato and as an investment banker with UBS. She served as the Vice President of Lumis Partners, honing her expertise in investing in the Indian market. She also held the position of a Partner at SRI Capital. She founded her firm, Sol Premiero, which focuses on investing. Her expertise, knowledge, and experience have led her to be counted among the top-most investors in the country.
Anita Gandhi
Anita Gandhi, one of the leading women on Dalal Street, has always had a knack for numbers and a passion for research. She holds the title of a Chartered Accountant as well as a Cost Accountant.
Gandhi joined Arihant Capital after 14 yrs of experience in the industry. She worked on the launch of the institutional business of the broking house. At present, she is a whole-time director at Arihant Capital. Gandhi is credited with growing the turnover to Rs. 6,000 cr. from nothing.
Her approach towards investment is based on in-depth research and analysis of companies. She does this by keeping a tab of all financial reports while also understanding companies’ work and growth plans. All of this has made Gandhi one of the most renowned investors in the country.
Avni Paresh Shah
Avni Paresh Shah is the director of Mansi Share and Stock Advisors Pvt Ltd. She resides in Mumbai, Maharashtra, where the company is also located. It is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs with a paid-up capital of Rs. 60 lakh.
Before she started building the company, Shah worked with two other companies. These were Setu Securities Limited and Multiplier Shares and Stock Advisors Private Limited. She has accumulated years of experience and has made a name for herself in this domain.
To conclude
Finance, predominated by men, saw the shackles break like never before. Today, a woman is not only India’s finance minister but also the chairman of SEBI. A woman, after her husband’s death, took over the business and turned it over completely.
Women cannot finance is now a thing of the past. Every woman is today capable of being independent, managing finances and craving her own investment journey.
Tickertape salutes all those women who inspire and break societal barriers every day, reaching new heights in their respective fields, refusing to be stereotyped!
