Priyanka among world’s most powerful women, Merkel tops Forbes list

New York/New Delhi, November 2 : Five Indian women, including ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, have featured on the list of the world’s 100 most powerful women compiled by Forbes, which was topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Kochhar was ranked 32 on the coveted list while HCL Corporation CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra took the 57th position, followed by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder-Chair, of Biocon, at 71.
Other Indians on the list include Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director for HT Media, at the 92nd place and Priyanka Chopra, “the most successful Bollywood actor to cross over to Hollywood”, at 97.
Some of the other India origin women who have made the cut include PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi at the 11th position while Indian American Nikki Haley has been placed 43rd. The overall list was topped by Merkel, who retained the top spot for the seventh consecutive year and 12 times in total. Merkel is followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May at the second position, who is “leading her country through Brexit, a historic, complex and transformative time for the country and the European Union”, Forbes said. May is followed by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who, along with her husband Bill, has donated more than US$ 40 billion in grants till date and supports organisations across over 100 countries.