Eight Indian women among 50 CNBC Changemakers

Five Indian American and three other Indian origin women are among this year’s 50 “CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business,” an annual list spotlighting women whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on the business world.

Besides Indian American business leaders Revathi Advaithi, Sandhya Ganapathy, Dr Geetha Murali, Ritu Narayan, and Aradhana Sarin, the list features Svanika Balasubramanian, Dipali Goenka and Dr Suneeta Reddy from India.

“The women named to the inaugural CNBC Changemakers list are creating a pattern of what it takes to defy the odds, innovate and thrive in a volatile business landscape,” says CNBC.

READ: 10 Indian American women on Forbes 50 Over 50 list (August 16, 2023)

“From startup founders to S&P 500 C-suite growth drivers, from personalities shaking up the media industry to figures taking women’s sports further into the mainstream, the 2024 Changemakers have broken new ground and set the stage for others to follow,” it says.

“By focusing on women who left an indelible mark on the economy and business world in 2023, CNBC Changemakers recognizes the accomplishments of names in the news and many who have flown under the radar” it says.

Indian Americans on the list are:

Revathi Advaithi, Flex, Chief Executive Officer

Notable in 2023: Advaithi forged a key Biden administration partnership on US/India relations and accelerated climate tech and EV adoption.

Named CEO in February 2019 after starting her career as a shop-floor supervisor in Oklahoma, Advaithi has helped build Flex into one of the most trusted manufacturing partners across a variety of industries by embracing the company’s “do the right thing, always” ethos.

READ: Five Indian Americans among 100 most influential women in finance (April 6, 2023)

Advaithi has also looked to create stronger alliances between the private and public sector, leading to factory visits from President Joe Biden and US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, as well as her participation at the White House’s “Innovation Handshake” between the US and India and a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In March, she was named by Biden to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. The visits from Biden and Granholm highlighted the role that Flex is playing in the clean energy transition and the future of electrification.

Sandhya Ganapathy, EDP Renewables North America, Chief Executive Officer

Notable in 2023: Leveraged the Inflation Reduction Act to drive a clean energy transition with diverse leadership.

Ganapathy sees her mission as helping to create a cleaner nation – and a cleaner world. She took over the helm at EDP Renewables North America as CEO in 2022.

The Houston-based company is one of the top five renewable energy operators in the US, operating 60 wind farms and 12 utility-scale solar parks.

The company’s projects generate close to nine gigawatts of clean energy annually, enough to power about 2 million homes.

EDP Renewables North America has created more than 1,000 jobs in the US and invested $17 billion in capital in local communities across the US, according to the company.

Dr Geetha Murali, Room to Read, Chief Executive Officer

Notable in 2023: Released a multimedia storytelling project to empower millions of girls to create change.

Murali is leading the effort to combat illiteracy and gender inequality through development of a love of reading in marginalized children.

In 2023, the organization launched She Creates Change, a multimedia storytelling project intended to broaden its reach by encouraging young women and girls to create change in their own communities and achieve educational goals.

The multimedia project, the first of its kind, tells stories via physical books, live action and animated films, using techniques from vivid abstract imagery to claymation, and audio productions, with iterations in dozens of languages intended to reach a broad audience.

Room to Read says that as of 2024, it will have benefited the same number of children over the past four years as the organization did during its first twenty.

Ritu Narayan, Zūm, Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Notable in 2023: Expanded school bus service to more major cities and is transitioning to all-electric fleets.

Narayan struggled with managing her career while making sure her kids could get from point A to point B. So, she started Zūm, a transportation company that focuses on students while using technology to create more efficient and environmentally friendly routes.

Zūm raised $140 million in series E financing in early 2024, putting the company’s valuation at $1.3 billion. The company currently serves thousands of schools, including school districts in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

The company provides guardians with an app, which gives live route notifications to and from school. Artificial intelligence has helped the company optimize drive times, leading kids to spend less time on the bus.

The company has also committed to having an all-electric fleet by 2027. The project includes the Oakland Unified School District, which will become the first major school district in the nation to have a 100% fully electric school bus fleet in 2024.

Aradhana Sarin, AstraZeneca, Executive Director & Global Chief Financial Officer

Notable in 2023: Led deals to expand AstraZeneca’s drug pipeline, transformed finance function to improve employee retention and productivity.

In November 2023, AstraZeneca launched its health-tech division Evinova. The business uses digital technology to develop clinical trials and medicine delivery.

AstraZeneca also acquired preclinical gene therapy programs and technologies from Pfizer in July 2023, specifically focused on rare diseases.

About 80% of the 7,000 rare diseases — meaning affecting 200,000 or fewer people — are based on genetics. Gene therapy could cure some of these illnesses.

Sarin took on the CFO role in 2022, joining from biopharma Alexion, and worked on Wall Street in investment banking for two decades before moving into the pharmaceutical industry.

She trained as a medical doctor and treated patients in Tanzania and India earlier in her career, and has an MBA from Stanford.

Three Indian origin women on the list:

Svanika Balasubramanian, rePurpose Global, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer

Notable in 2023: Muscat, Oman based company collaborated with 300-plus consumer brands to reduce plastic waste and increase margins.

Dipali Goenka, Welspun Living, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director

Notable in 2023:  Jaipur, India based company advanced innovation, sustainability, and gender parity while reaching the $1 billion revenue milestone.

India-based home textiles giant’s products are sold at retailers including Walmart, Ikea, Costco, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s and Home Depot, as well as through deals with many major hotel chains.

Suneeta Reddy, Apollo Hospitals Group, Managing Director

Notable in 2023: Spearheading the digital transformation and continued growth of India’s largest hospital system.

As a part of the founding family which began with one hospital, Suneeta Reddy has played a leading role in helping Apollo Hospitals grow into a huge player on the Asian health-care landscape.

It’s the largest integrated healthcare network in India, with 73 hospitals, a workforce of over 100,000, 6,000-plus pharmacies, over 200 clinics and over 2,200 diagnostic centers, and 25 million users on its digital health platform.