Women CEOs and MDs Leading India’s Top Companies 2026

As of October 2026, women chair or run some of India’s biggest listed companies. Among them are HCLTech, Hindustan Unilever, Biocon, Godrej Consumer Products and Nykaa, as well as the South Asia business of Salesforce. Several women also took senior jobs at consumer-internet and conglomerate groups in 2026, including Swiggy Instamart, Delhivery and the Mahindra Group.

This roundup lists 11 women in those roles, each checked against company filings, exchange disclosures or official announcements made up to October 2026. Where a company’s chair and chief executive are different people, we say which job the woman holds.

At a Glance: Women Leading Indian Companies in 2026

The Leaders

1. Roshni Nadar Malhotra — Chairperson, HCLTech

She has chaired HCLTech since July 2020. The CEO and MD role belongs to C Vijayakumar. In the September 2026 quarter, India’s third-largest IT services company by revenue reported net income of ₹5,132 crore, up 21.2%, on revenue of ₹35,620 crore. She became the group’s largest shareholder after her father, Shiv Nadar, gifted her 47% of the promoter entities in March 2025. The Hurun India Rich List 2026 ranks her fifth in India, the highest of any woman. Read our full Roshni Nadar Malhotra profile.

2. Priya Nair — CEO & MD, Hindustan Unilever

Priya Nair took charge in August 2025 and is the first woman to lead HUL in its 92-year history. She joined the company as a trainee in 1995, and before this appointment she ran Unilever’s global beauty and wellbeing business. During her first year HUL separated its ice cream business, Kwality Wall’s. Fortune ranks her No. 52 on its Most Powerful Women Asia 2026 list, and she heads the Professional CEOs category of the 2026 Hurun India Women Leaders List.

3. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw — Executive Chairperson, Biocon

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon and is its Executive Chairperson. Shreehas Tambe is CEO and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. Biocon has merged its generics and biologics businesses. For the June 2026 quarter it reported operating revenue of ₹4,336 crore, up 10%, and net profit of ₹141 crore. In May 2026 she told Fortune India that she sees her niece Claire Mazumdar, founder and CEO of Nasdaq-listed Bicara Therapeutics, as her successor.

4. Nisaba Godrej — Executive Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products

Nisaba Godrej chairs the board of Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL). In August 2026, chief executive Sudhir Sitapati resigned and the board named Aasif Malbari MD and CEO for five years from 12 August 2026, subject to shareholder approval. She stays as Executive Chairperson. The 2026 Hurun India Women Leaders List includes her.

5. Falguni Nayar — Executive Chairperson, MD & CEO, Nykaa

Falguni Nayar is a former Kotak Mahindra Capital MD who founded Nykaa in 2012 and listed it in November 2021. In FY26 Nykaa’s revenue passed ₹10,000 crore and net profit rose 183% to ₹204 crore. Her twins run the main divisions: Adwaita Nayar leads Nykaa Fashion and Anchit Nayar leads the beauty e-commerce business. Forbes put her net worth at US$5.6 billion on 29 October 2026. Read our Falguni Nayar profile.

6. Arundhati Bhattacharya — President & CEO, South Asia, Salesforce

Arundhati Bhattacharya was the first woman to chair the State Bank of India and retired from the bank in 2017. Salesforce hired her in 2020 to run its India business, and she now leads South Asia. Fortune reported in May 2026 that the team had grown from about 2,500 to more than 18,000 people. The same report said the business is worth about US$1.8 billion in revenue, according to a filing with India’s corporate registry. She is No. 81 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Asia 2026 list.

7. Ameera Shah — Promoter & Executive Chairperson, Metropolis Healthcare

Ameera Shah is the promoter and Executive Chairperson of the listed diagnostics chain. Surendran Chemmenkotil is Managing Director. In its August 2026 investor presentation, Metropolis reported FY26 revenue of ₹1,646 crore, EBITDA of ₹401 crore (a 24.4% margin) and profit after tax of ₹191 crore. Q1 FY27 revenue rose 17% to ₹450 crore.

8. Radhika Gupta — MD & CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management

Radhika Gupta has led Edelweiss Mutual Fund for several years. Its total assets under management were ₹1.78 lakh crore as of 29 June 2026, and equity and hybrid assets alone had passed ₹1 lakh crore (Cafemutual). The fund’s monthly SIP book was about ₹690 crore. Outside the fund house she is known as an investor on Shark Tank India.

9. Nandita Sinha — CEO, Swiggy Instamart

Swiggy named the former Myntra CEO to run its quick-commerce arm Instamart, effective 3 August 2026. She replaced Amitesh Kumar Jha, who resigned. She has more than 20 years in consumer internet and retail, including jobs at Flipkart, Britannia and Hindustan Unilever, and she studied at IIT (BHU) and FMS Delhi. See our report on her appointment and on Swiggy’s Q2 results.

10. Vani Venkatesh — Deputy CEO, Delhivery

Delhivery made its Chief Business Officer the Deputy CEO in August 2026. She keeps responsibility for revenue and now also covers marketing and customer experience, working closely with the operations teams. She first joined in February 2025. At the same time, founding member and COO Ajith Pai said he would leave. Sahil Barua remains MD and CEO. Details are in our appointment report.

11. Shveta Arya — Group Chief Strategy Officer, Mahindra Group

Shveta Arya joined the Mahindra Group as Group Chief Strategy Officer on 15 September 2026. She sits on the Group Executive Board and reports to Group CEO and MD Anish Shah. Before that she was Managing Director of Cummins India, and earlier she led strategy and M&A at Thomas Cook India. She holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. More in our Mahindra appointment story.

What the List Shows

The list falls into three groups. The first is founders and heirs who chair the boards of companies they own or control: Nadar Malhotra, Mazumdar-Shaw, Godrej, Shah and Nayar. In most of these companies a professional CEO now runs daily operations. Nykaa is the exception, since Nayar holds both the chair and the CEO job.

The second group is professional managers who rose through large companies, such as Nair at HUL, Bhattacharya at Salesforce and Gupta at Edelweiss. The third is the 2026 group of senior hires in consumer internet and conglomerates: Sinha, Venkatesh and Arya. All three were announced within about two weeks of each other, between late July and mid-August 2026.

For founders specifically, see our Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs of India 2026. More profiles are in our Women Leaders section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the first woman CEO of Hindustan Unilever?

Priya Nair. She became CEO and Managing Director in August 2025, the first woman to lead the company in its 92-year history.

Is Roshni Nadar Malhotra the CEO of HCLTech?

No. She is Chairperson. C Vijayakumar is HCLTech’s CEO and Managing Director.

Who is the new CEO of Swiggy Instamart?

Nandita Sinha, formerly CEO of Myntra, took over on 3 August 2026.

Which Indian woman leads Salesforce in India?

Arundhati Bhattacharya, former SBI chairperson. She is President and CEO of Salesforce South Asia.