Bela Bajaria, Nirmala Sitharaman in Forbes’ Annual Ranking of ‘World’s Most Powerful Women’

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria is the only Indian American in Forbes’  ‘World’s Most Powerful Women,” an annual ranking of the female CEOs, entertainers, politicians, philanthropists and policymakers “who wield significant hard power are creating lasting impact around the world.” Joining her is India’s minister of finance and minister of corporate affairs Nirmala Sitharaman; HCL Corporation CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra; and Biocon founder, chair and managing director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Women featured on this year’s ranking represent six categories: business, technology, finance, media & entertainment, politics & policy, and philanthropy. “In a year marked by leadership transitions across the globe and intensifying geopolitical conflicts, these women are demonstrating resilience and innovative approaches as they tackle the most urgent challenges facing our interconnected world,” Forbes said.

One of the most powerful women in television, Bela Bajaria, 54, was named Netflix’s chief content officer in January 2023. As head of one of the world’s largest streamers, she is in charge of a $17 billion annual content budget and is responsible for hits including “Bridgerton” and “Lupin.” Before joining Netflix in 2016, she was president of Universal Television, where she made history as the first woman of color to oversee a studio. In October, she also joined the Coca-Cola board of directors. She was named Netflix’s chief content officer in January 2023, after serving as head of Global TV since 2020. She is in charge of all of the streamer’s scripted and unscripted series around the world. Bajaria was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2022. “Bela is helping create the future of television,” actor and producer Mindy Kaling wrote for the magazine.

Economist Nirmala Sitharaman became India’s minister of finance and minister of corporate affairs in May 2019. She is India’s first full-time female finance minister overseeing what is likely to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027.  The 65-year-old oversees a nearly $4 trillion economy, the fifth largest in the world. “She projects that India’s GDP will soon overtake both Japan and Germany, becoming the third-largest in the world by 2027,” according to Forbes. Sitharaman has been “outspoken in favor of women’s economic empowerment in India, encouraging entrepreneurship, business lending and financial education for her country’s female population,” Forbes added. Before her career in politics, Sitharaman held roles at the U.K.-based Agricultural Engineers Association and BBC World Service. She has also served as a member of the National Commission for Women.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, 43, is the chairperson for HCLTech, a multinational IT services and consulting firm based in India. She’s responsible for all strategic decisions for the $12 billion technology company. Founded by her father, Shiv Nadar, in 1976, HCL became a central player in India’s rise as an IT hub. Malhotra took HCL’s chairperson role from her father in July 2020. She is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which is focused on education and has established some of India’s top colleges and schools. She is also the founder and trustee of The Habitats Trust, a foundation working towards protecting habitats and their indigenous species.

See Also

Mystery Surrounds Thara Nagarajan Who Sent Letter to Biden on Behalf of White House Interns About Genocide of Palestinians

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, 71 is one of India’s richest self-made women. She founded biopharmaceutical firm Biocon in  1978. The firm has successfully forayed into the lucrative U.S. market. The company has one of Asia’s largest insulin factories in Malaysia’s Johor region. Biocon Biologics acquired the biosimilars business of U.S. drugmaker Viatris in 2022 for $3.3 billion. In 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a Biocon Biologics executive and four others in an alleged bribery case. The company denied any wrongdoing. Biocon-backed cancer therapy company Bicara Therapeutics raised $362 million in an IPO on the Nasdaq in September 2024.