Indias example for Todays Woman

India’s example for Today’s Woman

Chanda Kochhar who made it to the top 18th rank of the FORTUNE Global 50 Most Powerful Women In Business -2014 and being the only Indian lady in the list apart from U.S based Pepsico’s Indra Nooyi, is a matter of pride for the country and an inspiration to all the women who aspire for greater success in the Corporate leadership.

Born on November 17, 1961 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan , her life and career is a wonderful example for today’s woman being the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank, India’s largest private and overall second largest bank in the country. And also awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and a host of other awards for her contribution in the banking industry.

At work:

Starting her career as a Management trainee with ICICI in the year 1984 and has thereon successfully risen through the ranks by efficiently handling multi-dimensional assignments and heading all the major functions in the Bank at various points in her life. The turmoil in the global and domestic financial markets saw Kochhar at the helm of banking operations of ICICI where she revived the sagging fortunes of the banks with the strategy of four C’s- capital conservation, cost efficiency, CASA (Current Account Savings Account) and credit quality.

Within a year the bank became India's largest privately owned bank with assets of nearly USD 80 billion and an expanding global reach.

Woman are powerful :A firm believer that the woman force in an organization can grow only through merit, Kochhar leads by example by not expecting any special privileges for the fairer sex

Optimist :An eternal optimist she does not shriek away from challenges. She believes that new entrants cannot disrupt large banks and that competition provides the best value to consumers.

She has also handled criticism from the predominantly male bastions of the Banking sector for her radical reforms with quiet dignity and only let her work speak for itself.

Work Life Balance :A mother of two, Kochhar efficiently juggles her career with family. She never slacks in her 24-hour schedule and utilises her breathing time to go through mails, telephonic conferences or to catch up on sleep.

For decades now, women in our country have been struggling to balance their evolution as mothers, homemakers, dedicated professionals and nation-builders. Chanda Kochhar who is perceived as top corporate honcho, as MD & CEO of India’s largest Private sector bank, ICICI, few would guess that side-by-side; she has also been the most hands-on mother where she has raised two children and her banking responsibilities with ease.

Spending quality time with her family: Her awards make her no different and when it comes to managing her family and children. She continues to manage their routines, even though they are quite grown up. She also supervises what is happening at home. She is tough at work, but she never discusses her work or her problems at home. She has gone through the routines of handling the kids homework and completed their cut-paste projects till late in the nights and attending their PTA meets.

She has also taught her children to be independent and manage their lives on their own to an extant which is a very important for children who have working parents.

Loves the Indian way of Life: Indian values and culture have always been deep rooted in Chand Kochhar. She is fond of Indian meals and you always see her well groomed and immaculately dressed in the sari .

Husband Support : She wouldn’t have been where she was without her husband Deepak Kochhar’s, (a wind energy entrepreneur) support. Growing up in an environment of simplicity and respect for each other has kept them grounded which continues till this day.

Importance for family time: Chanda Says” As a family, we try to spend as much time together as we can, within the constraints of our respective schedules. We travel together on holidays; we do a lot of fun things at home, chat over dinners and coffee and bond over movies. During Aarti’s and Arjun’s childhood (her son and daughter ), I was doing more of parental duty of supervising them, but today they have grown to be independent individuals who are capable of taking care of themselves and making choices and decisions by themselves.

She has beautifully combined the conventional act of being a mother at home, and a professional at work -a very important attribute to learn and imbibe for working women in India…