Former CRISIL CEO Roopa Kudva highlights why direct sponsorship of female candidates behind closed doors outperforms formal diversity and mentorship programs.
“We talk about mentorship. We talk about networking. All of that is, it is important. It is good. But nothing as vital as sponsorship. And ICICI banks sponsored women for the top jobs without all these other programs, you know, and I think that is what made the difference.”
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More from Roopa Kudva
Insight
Kudva: Post-1991 Indian firms shifted from promoter control to widespread stock options
“Until then, I would say most companies were about the promoter, by the promoter, for the promoter. What these new age companies brought in was a culture of openness, a culture where people were more equal, a culture where stock options were more widely distrib…”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 6:18For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
AssertionSupported
Kudva: India's venture capital industry emerged in the early 2000s
“And, you know, the whole VC industry, the availability of risk capital in the quantities that you see today was something that happened in the early 2000 or mid 2000, right? The first decade of the century.”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 20:07For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
Insight
Kudva: Promotions reward expected future contributions, not past performance
“A promotion is not a reward. You know, at most for past performance. Past performance, at the best, gets you a chance to have that conversation. It is what you bring to the table today, or even not today, what you bring, what you are likely to bring to the tab…”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 36:21For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
Insight
Kudva: Leaders who must be the best cap their company's growth
“It's not about being the best. It's about knowing where your strengths lie. It's creating the space for others to grow. Because if you're the best, then the company will be limited by your capability.”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 41:59For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
AssertionSupported
Kudva: MIT study shows under one-third of managers know top company priorities
“There's actually a study which I saw by Stanford, ah, or sorry, MIT, I think, which in, which, ah, interviewed 4000 managers, and they found that less than One third of them were able to identify what are the top three priorities of our company.”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 54:03For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
AssertionSupported
Kudva: Crisil's market cap quadrupled and turnover tripled during her CEO tenure
“We, our turnover grew three times, our market cap grew four times.”
Roopa KudvaDec 12, 2025▶ 21:45For the CEOs of 2026, From One of India's Top Leaders | Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO Crisil
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