First Lady
Naina Lal Kidwai, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, HSBC Securities & Capital Markets

She's been a woman in a man's world for almost a decade now, ever since she put together the J.M. Morgan Stanley joint venture in the mid-nineties. Since then she's clambered with unfailing regularity onto sundry international listings, including Fortune's ranking of powerful women. These days, though, Kidwai isn't the only Indian woman in business hitting the headlines, as BT discovered in its November 23, 2003, cover feature The 25 Most Powerful Women in Indian Business. But she's still the only investment banker in that list, cutting mega-deals in India's private and public sector including the IPO of Bharti Tele, Wipro's overseas listing and the Tatas' acquisition of VSNL. The last feather in her cap in 2003 was the Maruti IPO, after she took over as Vice Chairman & Managing Director of HSBC Securities & Capital Markets. There will be many more.

The Money-spinner
Renuka Ramnath, MD & CEO, ICICI Venture Funds

It's been a relatively quiet year on the merger & acquisitions, and private equity fronts. Try telling that to Renuka Ramnath, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Ventures Funds. A few months ago, she got the better of rival bidders like CDC Capital and Citigroup Ventures when ICICI Venture succeeded in picking up a 50.17 per cent stake in Tata Infomedia for Rs 140 crore. The way Ramnath sees it, this is only the beginning, and in 2004 don't be surprised if you hear of a few more deals sewn together by this engineer-MBA who's also doing a decent job raising money. In 2003, she collected Rs 750 crore through the India Advantage Fund. She's currently managing Rs 2,250 crore, and is all set to go shopping. Clearly Ramnath's got the skills not just to convince investors to put their money where her mouth is, but also to cut deals that turn out to be win-win propositions for all the concerned parties.

On The Fast Lane
Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Joint Managing Director, Kinetic Engineering

At 32 she's calling the shots at a Rs 275-crore company that's slugging it out in the two-wheeler market that's dominated by Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto. And in 2003, Sulajja Firodia Motwani appeared to have got her act together, launching four new motorcycles at aggressive prices. These include the 115 cc Boss in the economy segment, and the 115 cc executive model Velocity. Motwani isn't exactly a greenhorn in the rapidly-growing two-wheeler market. Her father inducted her into the business way back in 1996, when Honda was still a joint venture partner to the Firodias for making scooters. Since then Motwani has seen the company through a complete rehaul. Honda is no more an ally, and Kinetic has since taken aggressive strides into the motorcycles business via technical alliances with players like Hyosung of Korea. She's as hands-on as any CEO, making it a point to visit dealers and monitor customer feedback. Clearly, the years ahead are going to be extremely challenging as Kinetic attempts to take on leader Hero Honda, a rejuvenated Bajaj Auto, and not-to-be-underestimated TVS Motors.

The Crusader
Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science And Environment

Sunita who? er...she's a director at the centre for science And Environment (CSE). Centre for wot?

A year ago that would have been the most probable reaction if anybody mentioned Sunita Narain's name on the business and social cocktail circuit. Today, thanks to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, you don't deserve any prizes for guessing who she is. The CSE-be honest, did you know this?-is an "independent, public interest organisation that aims to increase public awareness on science, technology, environment, and development''. The CSE did all this and more when it took Coke and Pepsi to the cleaners for the allegedly high levels of pesticides in their respective coloured waters. Narain's targeted other topline corporates too, right from the Tatas to most bottlers of what is ostensibly drinking water. Narain's success may be difficult to quantify, but you can be sure that with her on the prowl, the Indian corporate sector will have to make more than just token noises about the environment and the consumer.