Naina Lal Kidwai is a prominent investment and retail banker, a leading voice in Indian business, and a champion of sustainable development and sanitation. As the former Chairman of HSBC India and an Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia Pacific, her career is distinguished by her status as the first Indian woman to attend Harvard Business School and her pivotal role in the liberalization and evolution of India’s financial markets.
Kidwai’s illustrious corporate career included 12 years at Grindlays Bank and a tenure at Morgan Stanley before she moved to HSBC, where she eventually became Country Head and Group General Manager. She has been named by Fortune as one of the leading international women in business and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to Trade and Industry. This experience has made her a highly sought-after non-executive director for major firms, including LafargeHolcim, Max Financial Services, and Larsen and Toubro.
Beyond the corporate world, Kidwai is dedicated to social reform. She founded and chairs the India Sanitation Coalition (ISC), an NGO focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene, emphasizing behavioral change and private sector involvement. This dedication to systemic change is detailed in her best-selling book, Survive or Sink - An Action Agenda for Sanitation, Water, Pollution and Green Finance, which provides a strategic roadmap for sustainability.
As a speaker, the recipient of the 2022 HBS Alumni Achievement Award draws on her experiences navigating the liberalization of the Indian economy and the transformative impact of technology on finance. Her presentations provide deep insights into corporate governance, green finance, and the crucial differences between the corporate and not-for-profit worlds, empowering leaders to address social issues through strategic engagement.
