Success stories of 30 women that speak of passion, ambition and hardwork
I love traditional textiles and I am in a sari six days a week, I have quite a collection. It is my sister Nonita (the golfer) who usually picks up saris for me, (white, beige or black are my favourite colours) saying, ‘This is so you that I had to get it for you!’” says Naina Lal Kidwai, who is dressed in a simple cotton Odisha handloom sari.
The FICCI Federation house in the national capital where the meeting with Naina Kidwai, chairperson, HSBC, is scheduled is familiar ground for this corporate honcho, who was the first woman chairperson of the august body — just one of her many high profile tenures. Naina is just out with her second book, 30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories.
Edited by Naina, this is her second book. The first was an industry book, Contemporary Banking in India, a compilation of stories of lives of powerful women such as Chitra Ramkrishna, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Pallavi Shroff and others who may not be as well known as a Chanda Kochchar or a Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who, of course, also feature in 30 Women in Power.
Long before a woman on the board became commonplace in India, Naina Lal Kidwai, 57, currently chairman of HSBC India and executive director HSBC Asia Pacific, was one of the most well-known CEOs in the country. Now, a household name and an example that most career women aspire to, Naina was also one of the first of her gender to enter the formerly male bastion of investment banking. She says, “When I first started off on this journey, I didn’t think women would manage to achieve so much. It is very gratifying to see so many successful women in business. Good stories about women in this country should be recognised.”
Naina herself started out with Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers.
She recalls how, armed with economics and MBA degrees, and a chartered accountancy degree, she appeared at her first interview to be bluntly told by the board that they were not employing women. But then they did, and she became the first woman to be hired by PriceWaterhouse in India and the first woman to lead a foreign bank in India. She says, “In some sectors like banking and financial services we have more women CEOs than most countries, but we don’t fare well when it comes to the whole ratio. What Indian businesswomen don’t do enough is networking — a little more networking outside of work will take them far.”
Naina, who has a formidable reputation as a deal maker and has engineered some of the biggest deals in post-liberalised India, says she made each negative comment a rallying point to prove otherwise.
For a woman to make it big in the corporate world, the support of the family is must. Without it, it is difficult and without a husband’s support, it is impossible, she says firmly. “In all the 30 names that I have picked for my book, a father’s role is a very clear influence. Each woman whom I have featured in the book has a fascinating story. Each story is drawn from different walks of life and different places but they are all drawn from larger organisations.”
The common factors across all the success stories are passion, ambition, humility, hardwork, no fear of failure and a desire to give back. Naina’s own inspiration, she says, comes from ordinary, everyday experiences. “There are so many lessons to be learnt from ordinary people. For instance, my secretary left her young daughter in her neighbour’s care and came to work when there was a curfew in the city, so who am I even to think twice about putting in the hours?”
Her one regret, if we can call it that, is that she has had little ‘me time’ and family time. “But I can’t say I would have done anything differently, so no regrets. I love reading, watching romance, drama and historical movies and love going on adventure holidays with my family. I am lucky to have the family I do.”
Married to Rashid Kidwai, Naina has a daughter Kemaya, studying at Yale and a filmmaker stepson Rumaan.
One tip for women who want to have it all, Naina has no hesitation in saying: “Choose your husband wisely as the choice of a husband too is a career choice!”
