Naina Lal Kidwai is Chairman, Max Financial Services and Advent Private Equity. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the global board of Nestle, CIPLA Ltd and Larsen and Toubro and has been Past President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry). She retired on December 2015 as Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman HSBC India.
An alumni of Harvard Business School, is a regularly listed on leading international women in business list by Fortune. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Trade and Industry, from Government of India in 2007 She has received many awards and honours in India and was. She has edited two books “Contemporary Banking in India” and “30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories.”
She is one of the Government of India’s representatives on the BRICs Business Council where she has chaired the financial services working group, the INDO-ASEAN Business Council and the India Malaysia CEO Forum. She is also on the Advisory Board of ICRIER, member of Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Advisory Council and investment advisory committee member of the Army Group Insurance Fund. She is on the Governing Board of Lady Shriram College and member of the Oxford University India Centre Advisory Board, Harvard Business School South Asia Advisory Board and The Rockefeller Foundation Economic Council on Planetary Health. She has been a member of the Government of India’s Industry Task Force, the Prime Minister’s Trade and Industry Council, the National Manufacturing Council, the National Trade Council, and on the Working Group on Banking, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and the National Institute of Bank Management.
Naina is an active philanthropist as well. She is in board positions for not-for-profit institutions like Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, International Advisory Council of the Inquiry of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Commissioner for the Global Commission on Economy & Climate, Advisory Board Wildlife Conservation Trust and India Sanitation Coalition.
Her main topics are women empowerment through livelihood and wildlife conservation. She is very sharp, engaging and inspiring in her talks.