Ranjana Kumar
Even though she is no longer a businesswoman in the strictest sense, Kumar features on this list for her pioneering professional achievements.
She began her banking career when she joined the Bank of India as a probationary officer in 1966. From 1995 to 1999 she was chief executive officer of Bank of India's US operations. In April 1999 she was named chairperson, Canara Bank; in 2000, she became chairperson of Indian Bank. She is the first woman to head a public sector bank in India.
Indian Bank at that time was reeling under huge losses, but she turned it around with some astute and tough measures, leading The Economist to dub her 'India's turnaround queen.'
In 2003, she was appointed chairperson of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD.
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She won the Banker of the Year 2002 Award from Business Standard newspaper and the Best Professional Manager Award for 2003 from the Financial Express. In 2005, after she retired as banker, she was appointed a Vigilance Commissioner at the Central Vigilance Commission.
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