Daughters Of Billionaires Take Their Place In India’s C-Suites

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2022. See the full list here.

Indian tycoons have long favored their sons to carry their legacies forward. But in a sign of changing times, daughters are coming to the fore. Here are seven shaking up their C-suites:

Isha Ambani, 30

Director, Reliance Retail Ventures

The U.S.-educated daughter of Mukesh Ambani, India’s second-richest person, oversees the $25 billion (revenue) retailing arm of Reliance Industries. It has 15,000 stores covering 42 million square feet across the country. At Reliance’s annual shareholders’ meeting in August, Ambani spelled out his succession plan, designating Isha as the “leader” of the retail business. Among her goals: to launch Reliance’s own brand of fast-moving consumer goods. With her twin brother, Akash, named as chairman of telecom unit Reliance Jio in June, Isha could get a similar lofty title in due course.

Adwaita Nayar, 32

Cofounder Nykaa; Founder and CEO, Nykaa Fashion

Nayar, whose mother Falguni Nayar entered the ranks of India’s 100 richest this year after listing her retailing giant Nykaa, created her own successful line in Nykaa Fashion in 2018. It now sells 1,500 apparel brands as well as home décor products. “The Indian consumer is ready for a fashion-forward, trend-led experience,” explains the Harvard M.B.A. Nayar says she derives inspiration from her mother: “She’s a role model to me professionally and personally, and in every role in between.”

Farah Malik Bhanji, 46

Managing director

Alisha Malik, 36

President (e-commerce and customer relationship management), Metro Brands

Bhanji is managing director at the $177 million (revenue) Metro Brands, the Mumbai-headquartered footwear retailer, while her younger sister Alisha spearheads online sales. Their father Rafique Malik, the company chairman, debuts among India’s richest thanks to Metro Brands’ soaring shares since its December listing. The siblings represent the third generation in the business founded by their grandfather in 1955 as a single shoe store. The company now has 624 stores across 142 cities. Online sales have zoomed to 1.1 billion rupees from 190 million rupees two years ago and account for over 8% of total revenue.

Lakshmi Venu, 38

Managing director, Sundaram-Clayton

In May, Venu was designated as managing director of the $225 million (revenue) auto components company controlled by her family. She helped set up the U.S. operations of the Chennai-based firm, which boasts customers such as Cummins, Volvo and Hyundai. Lakshmi’s father, Venu Srinivasan, is Sundaram-Clayton’s chairman emeritus and debuts on the list at No. 98. Lakshmi is also the deputy managing director at TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited, a subsidiary of tractor maker Tractors & Farm Equipment that her mother, Mallika Srinivasan, chairs.

Vinati Saraf Mutreja, 38

CEO and managing director, Vinati Organics

Mutreja, a champion of clean chemistry, runs her family’s $200 million (revenue) listed specialty chemicals producer, which her father Vinod Saraf founded in 1989. The Wharton grad says the company, which is named after her, is now moving past Covid-19. “Learning how to manage in the volatile environment of the past two years was a good lesson,” she says. The company is best known for manufacturing the ingredients for ibuprofen, but her focus now is on expanding the product portfolio so that “we’re not dependent on just a few products.”

Nisaba Godrej, 44

Executive chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products

The Wharton and Harvard Business School grad is the fourth generation member of the Godrej family (No. 14 with a net worth of $13.9 billion) and the younger daughter of Adi Godrej, chairman of the 125-year-old Godrej group. Five years ago she took her father’s spot as chairperson of the $1.6 billion (revenue) consumer products unit, which makes everything from soaps to insecticides to hair color. It sells in over 90 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Nisaba sits on the boards of telecom billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel and auto billionaire Anand Mahindra’s listed Mahindra & Mahindra.