Fortune names 4 Indians among world’s top 50 women business leaders

Chanda KochharFour Indian women led by ICICI Bank Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar have named among the world's top 50 women business leaders by the renowned Fortune magazine.

Fortune magazine ranked Kochhar fourth in its global list of top 50 women business leaders, behind Brazilian energy giant Petrobras' Chief Executive Maria Das Gracas Foster, Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding's Guler Sabanci and Australian bank Westpac's chief Gail Kelly, who grabbed the first, second and third spots, respectively.

In the list of top Indian women business leaders, Kochhar was followed by National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO Chitra Ramkrishna at 17th rank, Axis Bank's chief Shikha Sharma at 32nd rank and HSBC's Naina Lal Kidwai at 42nd rank.

In 12012, Kochhar was ranked at fifth position, while Axix Bank's Shikha Sharma and HSBC's Naina Lal Kidwai were ranked at 37th and 40th positions, respectively.

NSE's Ramkrishna has appeared in the magazine's global list of top 50 women business leaders for the first time. Fortune magazine Ramkrishna made history as the first woman to become chief of an exchange in India.

Praising Ramkrishna's achievement, the magazine said, "The National Stock Exchange lifer, who was part of the core five-member team selected by the government to create a screen-based exchange in 1993, has shattered the glass ceiling, making history as the first woman to head an exchange in India."

In the United States, tech giant IBM's Ginni Rometty mainitained her top position, followed by DuPont's Ellen Kullman, Lockheed Martin's Marillyn Hewson and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg at third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively.