iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
HCL Technologies on Friday, 17 July, announced that Roshni Nadar Malhotra, India’s wealthiest woman and the daughter of incumbent chairperson Shiv Nadar, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the company’s board of directors with immediate effect.
She becomes the first woman to head a listed Indian IT company.
Roshni came on the board of HCL Technologies in 2013 and was Vice-Chairperson. She will continue as CEO of HCL Corporation, the holding company for all the group entities. Her father, Shiv Nadar, however, would continue to be the Managing Director of the company with designation as Chief Strategy Officer, the company said in a statement.
According to the company website, Shiv Nadar is the chairman of the USD 9.9 billion HCL Corp. HCL Group includes HCL Technologies, HCL Infosystem, and HCL Healthcare.
HCL Technologies CEO C. Vijayakumar said this was part of the company’s succession planning exercise.
Aside from being the richest India woman, she was ranked 54 on the 2019 Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list. In the same year, IIFL Wealth Hurun rankings estimated her wealth at Rs 36,800 crore.
An alumnus of Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Nadar-Malhotra briefly worked as a news producer with Sky News UK and CNN America as a news producer before she became a whole-time director and CEO of HCL Corporation at the age of 27.
Nadar-Malhotra is also an alumnus of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Forum of Young Global Leaders’ initiative, which is a community of the world’s most outstanding, next-generation leaders.
Nadar-Malhotra is also the founder and trustee of The Habitats Trust, a foundation working towards protecting habitats and their indigenous species.
It is worth noting that this management change comes at a time when the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has instructed the country’s top 500 companies to ensure that the posts of chairman and MD aren’t held by the same person.
Industry body Nasscom tweeted a congratulatory message to Roshni. “Congratulations #RoshniNadarMalhotra on your new role as Chief of @hcltech. Excited to see another #WomanInTech take charge at the workplace! We are sure HCL will achieve even greater heights in the future under your leadership,” it said.
Roshni has received several honors and accolades in recognition of her work both in business and in philanthropy and is a trained classical musician.
As chairperson and driving force behind VidyaGyan, a leadership academy for the economically underprivileged, meritorious rural students of Uttar Pradesh, Roshni has been working towards nurturing future leaders from rural India.
