Five powerful women CEOs in tech in India

Who says there are not enough women in tech? Yes, the dropouts and board seats are a concern. But, let us start by celebrating key women in Indian tech scene who are leading some of the most innovative and important tech companies. With thousands of people reporting to them, these women are a force to reckon with in business.

Here, we bring to you 5 women leaders who represent a new emerging segment of women CEOs at large tech companies –

Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Director, IBM India Private Limited

Vanitha Narayanan is the Managing Director of IBM India Private Limited, and the Regional General Manager for India/ South Asia (ISA). Appointed to this leadership position in January, 2013, she is responsible for all of IBM’s sales, marketing, services and global delivery operations in the India/South Asia region, including operations in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. India remains one of the fastest growing countries for IBM and has emerged as a strategic location within the company’s global services delivery network.Having joined IBM in the US in 1987, Vanitha has over 25 years of experience working with multiple client sets and in several countries. Since 2009, she has been a part of the IBM ISA business, serving in roles as the Sales & Distribution Leader and recently as the Managing Partner for Global Business Services (GBS). Prior to this, she has served as the Vice President of Communications sector, Asia Pacific, and the Global Vice President for IBM’s telecom solutions offerings.

She is a member of IBM’s Integration & Values Team which is comprised of senior

Global Executives who are selected by the IBM Chairman. In 2012, Vanitha was inducted into the IBM Industry Academy, a select group of experts, designed to advance IBM’s industry thought leadership and brand. Vanitha also leads several leadership development & diversity initiatives for ISA and is the executive sponsor for developing the women’s leadership pipeline.

Vanitha is a member of the National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2013-14.

She has a Masters in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Madras and a Masters in Business Administration in Information Systems from University of Houston – Magna Cum Laude.

Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, HP India

Neelam Dhawan is the Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard India. She has countrywide responsibility for revenues and profitability and ensuring the greatest leverage from HP’s Services, Personal Systems and Imaging & Printing businesses.With a portfolio that extends to offshore activities, BPO, Software Engineering, Research and IT Services, Neelam is focused on shaping the company’s overall business agenda and leading its strategy and corporate development efforts to make HP the most admired company in India.

Previously, Neelam was the Managing Director of Microsoft India, a position she held from 2005 to 2008. During her tenure, she sharpened Microsoft’s strategic focus and improved its operating efficiency and execution, as well as its financial performance and customer focus. Prior to this assignment, Neelam held a variety of successful leadership positions in leading Indian IT companies, including HCL and IBM.

Neelam holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from St.Stephen’s College, New Delhi, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University.

Aruna Jayanthi, CEO, Capgemini India

Aruna Jayanthi is the Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini India, one of the biggest business units of Capgemini group. Aruna is responsible for operations across all the business units – Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services in India with a focus to increase the integration and performance of over 40,000 growing employee base. Prior to assuming the role of a CEO in January 2011, Aruna was the Global Delivery Officer for Capgemini Outsourcing, where she improved quality, productivity and profitability of Capgemini’s outsourcing operations worldwide. Aruna has over 2 decades experience in the IT services industry and has worked in both multinationals and pure-play companies. She has worked out of Europe and North America and continues to travel extensively meeting customers, analysts and Capgemini staff, getting a pulse of customer expectations and market direction. Within a short period of being appointed CEO, Aruna has quickly made her mark in the world of Indian business. She has been ranked 3rd in Fortune India’s list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Business 2012 and has also featured prominently in Business Today’s list of Most Powerful Women 2012 for two consecutive years. Recently, Aruna was awarded with India Today Woman in the Corporate World at the India Today Women Summit 2013.Kirthiga Reddy, Head of Office, Facebook India

Kirthiga leads the Global Marketing Solutions teams in India and plays a key role in building and maintaining strategic relationships with top regional agencies and clients. Kirthiga joined as the first Facebook India employee in July 2010 and set up the India operations in Hyderabad, supporting the company’s growing number of users, advertisers and developers worldwide.Prior to Facebook, Kirthiga was VP and GM of SaaS-based Consumer Security business unit and India operations at Phoenix Technologies. She led a global team located in US, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Kirthiga has also held the position of Director of Product Management at Motorola, Director of Engineering at Silicon Graphics and Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, with most of her professional career based in Silicon Valley, California.

She holds an MBA from Stanford University, where she graduated with top honors as an Arjay Miller Scholar, an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a B.E. in Computer Science from Ambedkar University, India.

Kirthiga has been featured in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business 2013, Business Today’s hottest young executives, Fortune India’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in India, Impact’s 100 Icons of India Digital Ecosystem among other recognitions. Kirthiga is also the Vice Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). She is passionate about causes for children and about developing women leaders.

Kumud Srinivasan, President, Intel India

Kumud is responsible for general management of Intel’s operations in India, which includes location’s overall strategy, business-enabling operations, organizational development, engineering and innovation for market development, as well as managing relationships with government, industry and academia.Previously, Kumud was vice president and general manager of IT for Silicon, Software and Services where she led the delivery of IT solutions and services for Intel’s hardware and software engineers. Kumud joined Intel in 1987 and has held several business and information systems positions within Intel’s manufacturing and IT organizations.

Srinivasan is a member of the Board of Advisors of the School of Information Studies in Syracuse University. She is a member of the Governing Body of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. She serves on the India Council of the Anita Borg Institute.

Srinivasan received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Calcutta University in 1981 and her master’s degree in information and library studies from Syracuse University in 1984. In addition, she has completed doctoral coursework in information science at University of California, Berkeley.

The new breed of female tech CEO is here to stay and only bound to grow in number!