Naina Lal Kidwai, Country Head-HSBC India and Director-HSBC Asia Pacific has taken over as the first woman president of the country’s leading chamber of commerce, Ficci, on Saturday. Kidwai is known for being the first woman CEO of a private sector bank India besides being the first Indian woman MBA to have passed out of Harvard Business School.
At Ficci, she has, in the past, chaired several committees, including the Water Mission, the Finance Council, the Capital Markets Committee and Financial Inclusion Committee and has served on the Chamber’s national executive committee for several years.
She is a member of the Government of India’s Industry Task Force, and the Working Group on Banking, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission; and on the governing boards of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the National Institute of Bank Management.
Meanwhile, Sidharth Birla is Senior Vice-President, Ficci, for 2012-13. He is Chairman of Xpro India Limited and Chairman, Digjam Limited. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director, Bharat Hotels, is Vice-President.