What defines true leadership in India’s modern manufacturing sector today — innovation, resilience, or the capability to seize opportunity from disruption? So, to answer this in actual existence, it’s a blend of all these three features. Amidst global supply chain shifts and government support in pushing the sector with notable initiatives such as "Make in India" and other lucrative policies, creating a positive ecosystem and allowing the industry to boom and flourish, paving the way for even more greater innovations. With that said, women leaders are especially emerging at the helm of this transformation and steering the business to more innovations and new heights.
Not just steering, but their decision-making creates a proportional shift and growth in the companies. Their proficiency in handling automation, sustainability and export competitiveness is clearly rewriting the rules of operational excellence and making a difference as an absolute peak for the business. The cause-and-effect is clear: as industries modernize, they need more inclusive leadership to fuel creativity, decision speed and long term value outcomes. From precision engineering and specialty chemicals to electronics and mobility, these leaders are not just part of the system today — they are redefining it. Their journeys underscore how gender diversity is becoming a strategic business advantage, shaping India’s industrial growth story from the factory corridors to the boardroom.
With over four decades of frontiersperson leadership, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw stands out as one of India’s most exceptional and influential business leaders and global icon in biotechnology. As the Founder and Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, she has transformed the company from a small industrial enzymes venture established in 1978 into Asia’s leading biopharmaceutical enterprise, highly recognized for advancing affordable innovation in the healthcare ecosystem. Today, the business Biocon provides top-notch biologics and biosimilars for chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune conditions, all driven by her ambition to offer cutting-edge medications affordable. In addition to Biocon, she serves as head of Syngene International, a reputable worldwide organization for Biocon Group research and development.
She has received India’s top civilian honors — the Padma Shri (1989) and Padma Bhushan (2005).
She ranked 93rd in Forbes list of India’s Richest (2025) and 32nd World's Richest Self-Made Women (2025). Her legacy continues to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs and scientists redefining India’s place in the global biopharma landscape.
With over 23 years of leadership experience, Dipali Goenka has been the driving force and wheel behind Welspun Living Limited, transforming it into one of the world’s largest home textile manufacturers and the biggest supplier to the U.S. market. As Managing Director and CEO, she has built an innovation-led, customer-centric organization known for superior bed, bath, and flooring solutions across global households and making revenue of 9,983 Crore and its net worth 4,516 crore, according to Fortune India.
Dipali Goenka is celebrated for her humanitarian management and her firm commitment to the 3Es: Environment & Health, Empowerment, and Education. Under her stewardship, Welspun has become a woman-owned enterprise and a global symbol of responsible, forward-looking manufacturing. A certified “Woman-Owned Enterprise” under WEConnect International, her leadership exemplifies purpose-driven growth, inspiring women entrepreneurs and setting new benchmarks in responsible global manufacturing.
Also Read: India's Manufacturing Shift: 'Make in India' to Global Reach
Debjani Ghosh has 28 years of rewarding leadership experience in technology and policy, and she is one of India’s most influential voices in innovation and digital transformation. As Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog and Chief Architect of the NITI Frontier Tech Hub, she steers India’s readiness in frontier technologies to boost inclusive economic growth.
She redefined India’s technology premises through initiatives like the “Techade” vision and “Inevitable India” strategy, which positioned the nation as a trusted global innovation hub. Her career at Intel, where she headed the company as Managing Director, South Asia, further cemented her reputation as a trailblazer in the tech landscape.
Honored among the world’s most inspiring women, Debjani exemplifies visionary leadership grounded in purpose, adaptability, and human-centric innovation.
Over the course of more than 40 years, Dr. Sangita Reddy has shaken up the way healthcare is provided and accessed in India. She has spearheaded the Apollo Hospitals Group's huge network's incorporation of modern innovations that include artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and information-driven healthcare in her role as joint managing director.
Through the utilization of digital health platforms and secondary care hospitals, her efforts have strengthened Apollo's outreach in rural India and closed accessibility barriers. She supports philanthropy and education apart from business through the Apollo Knowledge and Billion Hearts Beating Foundation.
Her management style blends social objectives, innovation, and inclusivity, earning her a worldwide health influencer and policy advocate title.
Priya Agarwal Hebbar is a new-generation leader shaping India’s natural resources sector with purpose and empathy. Coming from the business tycoon family Vendata Group, she has served an influential part in promoting the Group's sustainability, people-first, and ethical business practices as Director of Vedanta Limited and Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc, cementing the reputation of the company as a responsible development around the world.
Priya comes with a strong dedication to environmental and social issues outside of business. In the course of leading initiatives centered on gender equality, child nutrition and rural empowerment, she launched two disruptive animal protection groups, YODA and TACO.
With more than 15 years of outstanding experience, she has created an adverse effect on her leadership style, making her a prime example of how social and business change can be fueled by compassionate leadership.
Also Read: How India's IPO Wave is Powering Business Growth
A strategic people leader with nearly three decades of global experience, R. Mahalakshmi has years of experience fostering cultural and industry change. She oversees the people agenda of the $3.1 billion international corporation as Global CHRO of Apollo Tyres Ltd., creating an innovative, high-performing environment throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Her style of management is characterized by her unwavering conviction that successful companies are the result of successful employees and intentional leadership.
Having held senior roles across Telecom, Pharma, FMCG, and Consulting, including at Mondelez International and EY, she blends strategic insight with human-centered leadership.
A certified life coach and recognized voice in organizational transformation, Mahalakshmi is driven by a simple conviction: “I find deep energy in shaping organizations where people flourish, leadership thrives, and business outcomes accelerate.”
At the nexus of technological advancement and sustainable growth, Preeti Bajaj is a disruptive business leader having a career that spans Australia and Asia.
She is currently in charge of one of India's well-known energy companies as CEO and Managing Director of Luminous Power Technologies, propelling the company's advancement in home solar and power backup solutions.
She has guided complex businesses through digital and cultural changes over her 20 years of experience with Schneider Electric, Adecco Group, and Clipsal Solar. Building companies that prosper on innovation, execution, and influence is a trademark of Preeti's leadership, which is characterized by a strong commercial lens and an eye toward the future.
She is an advocate for intentional change and a non-executive director who continues to influence how companies handle energy, technology, and human advancement.
Falguni Nayar is a prominent leader who has made innovations in leadership, as a tenacious entrepreneur, transforming the fundamental essence of the modern retail market. As Nykaa's founder and CEO, she turned a niche cosmetics company into a force that is shaking up the Indian consumer market and making the brand itself a frontrunner.
She was bound by values that create a brand which should connect, bring aspiration, ease of use, and authenticity by fusing her keen financial knowledge from her years at Kotak Mahindra Bank alongside her sense of upcoming trends. Under her direction, Nykaa grew into a multi-faceted business that comprises fashion, lifestyle, and beauty, defining standards for innovation and brand development.
She has been recognized by Forbes Asia, Economic Times, and EY for her leadership, which is characterized by accuracy, inclusivity, and purpose. Falguni Nayar stands as a defining force in India’s new economy — where intellect meets intuition, and business meets impact.
Vineeta Singh stands at the peak of India’s beauty revolution as the Co-founder and CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics. Her leadership is a beacon of the country’s fastest-growing brands redefining accessibility and self-expression.
She turned down a lucrative corporate career to pursue entrepreneurship — a decision that has since inspired countless women across India to make an impact by trendsetting with her leadership style.
Under her leadership, Sugar Cosmetics has expanded to 35,000+ retail outlets across 540 cities, backed by a strong digital-first strategy.
Beyond the business landscape, Vineeta is a champion of resilience and empowerment — values she brings to her role as a mentor on Shark Tank India.
Her story reflects India’s evolving entrepreneurial spirit: bold, self-made, and unapologetically ambitious.
Also Read: Reimagining Self-Reliance: India’s Push for Homegrown Tech
Head of Design at Ola Electric, Kripa Ananthan, is a pioneering design leader influencing the future of electric mobility in India.
With over 27 years of experience working within the automotive and industrial design spaces, has enabled her to create more award-winning products that appeal to the emotions of users and blend function, form, and brand purpose.
Kripa leads a design philosophy that embraces a sensorial quality connected to the boundaries of innovation at Ola Electric – creating experiences that can be considered from vehicle architecture to digital interfaces.
Kripa's expert stewardship of the design function emphasizes creativity, scalability, precision, and a human-centric culture of design-thinking.
The rise of women's participation in the manufacturing field is more than a milestone — it’s a shift in mindset and ethos that they pave along their role is taking the sector to another level. As automation, green production and digital integration persist to alter the industrial operations and move towards the next phase of growth, which will highly demand leaders who can balance this change with efficiency, empathy and a purpose-driven mindset that enhance profitability.
The women featured in this list are setting a new benchmark and making a unique difference in their roles, adversely combining technical expertise with a visionary mindset to build global level competitive organizations. Their influence goes beyond P&L numbers and it’s firmly evident in how they keep cultivating the future roadmap of the organizational through their commendable actions. Looking ahead, as India aims to become the helm of global manufacturing hub, women's leadership prowess will be a pivotal part in bridging innovation with execution. These trailblazers are not just shaping industrial factories — they are reshaping the future of Indian industry itself, proving that inclusivity in leadership is the strongest driver of industrial transformation.
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