If you want to know what dreams can achieve, you probably should meet Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, HSBC India. Here is what she says “I have always believed that one must have a dream, set goals, do one’s best and not worry about the results.” Raised in Mumbai and Delhi, Naina Lal Kidwai did her initial schooling from Shimla. After obtaining her BA degree in Economics (Honours) from Delhi University, she went on to do her MBA from Harvard Business School and is the first Indian woman to graduate from the school. She started her career with ANZ Grindlay’s Bank (now Standard Chartered Bank) in 1982 and rose through the ranks working on assignments in retail and investment banking. In 1994 she moved to Morgan Stanley to start up their India operations. Through a subsequent joint venture with the London investment bank J. M. Financial, Naina Lal Kidwai expanded Morgan Stanley’s impact in the country. She joined HSBC’s investment banking and securities business in the year 2002 as the Vice Chairman and Managing Director in India. She has lead several landmark deals for Indian Companies such as the NYSE listing of Wipro, privatizations of companies like Maruti , GAIL and several merger and acquisition deals.

As a woman did she not face any obstacles in rising up in the Indian corporate hierarchy? “I believe it is easier for me to succeed as a working woman in India than it is for many of my female counterparts elsewhere in the world. Women in India are accepted as just another segment in a diverse workforce consisting of many different ethnic and religious groups” she opined in an interview. There are very few women who have been able to achieve what Naina has achieved in such a short span of time. In 2007, she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards bestowed by the Government of India, for her exemplary work in the field of Trade and Industry.

In 2006, she was listed yet again in the “50 Women to Watch” report issued by the Wall Street Journal and also by Fortune magazine in their listing of the World’s Top Women in Business. She was listed by Time Magazine as one of their 15 Global Influentials 2002. Winner of several awards in India, she sits on several government councils and committees of industry and educational institutions including the Dean's Advisory Board of the Harvard Business School, USA and the International Advisory Council of IIM Ahmedabad. She supports social causes for the empowerment of women through livelihood creation and is on the Board of Grassroot trading Network for Women promoted by SEWA.

Married and a mother of two children, Naina is a devotee of western and Indian classical music, enjoys trekking in the Himalayas, and is passionate about wildlife. For Naina the real mantra for happiness lies in recognising one's inner strengths and doing one’s best.