MAY 2018 FORBES ASIA | 47Nisaba Godrej 40
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS
INDIA
Godrej succeeded her father, Adi Godrej, as
executive chairman of the 121-year-old Godrej
Group’s consumer-goods flagship in May 2017,
after spearheading a decade of transformation in
various roles at the Mumbai outfit.
During that time, she parlayed a domestic
player known primarily for hair dye and soap
into a global company selling products such as
insecticides, tissues and deodorant. Nearly half of
its revenue comes from international businesses,
up from 21% ten years ago. Over the past decade,
revenue has soared to $1.5 billion from $221
million while market capitalization has climbed
17 times to $12 billion from $700 million. The
company has created a niche catering to the hair-
care needs of African women, racking up $325
million in sales from this segment alone in the
nine months to December 31, 2017. New products
rolled out in the past five years account for a fifth
of Godrej Consumer Products’ global growth and
more than a third of domestic growth.
Godrej—who has a 4-year-old son and a
year-old daughter—cultivates a woman-friendly
workplace by ofering flexible hours, work-from-
home options and a program that helps women
who have dropped out of the workforce at
midmanagement level to return. The company’s
board boasts five women, the highest of any
listed company in India.
Han Seong-Sook 50
CEO
NAVER
SOUTH KOREA
When Han took the helm of Naver in 2017, the company was forced to pivot. Not only did she break a
glass ceiling as the internet giant’s first female CEO—in a country where just 2.6% of CEOs are women,
according to data from Meerae Forum and CEO Score—she also set the course for the company to
expand beyond its home market and invest in big data and other advanced technologies.
The former tech journalist and internet entrepreneur launched the company’s Naver Pay mobile-
payment service and its V Live music-streaming app, which has gained popularity in Southeast Asia
through Korean pop celebrity fan meetups. Han says gender diversity is especially important in helping
product designers target both male and female users.
Under Han’s watch as the company’s first nonengineer CEO, Naver, with a market capitalization
of $23.5 billion, has committed some $467 million to developing artificial intelligence and blockchain
technologies, and plans to target global markets with its Clova AI platform. Naver reported a 7% gain
in profit for 2017 to a record $1.1 billion; revenue also hit a record, jumping 16% to $4.7 billion.Aki Hashimoto 44
PRESIDENT
STELLA CHEMIFA
JAPAN
It’s a long way from pasta and wine to specialty chemicals, but that’s the road taken by Aki Hashimoto
to become president of Stella Chemifa. Hashimoto, who worked at two Italian restaurants before
opening her own in Osaka, joined the century-old firm founded by her great-grandfather in 2012,
taking the top job in 2015. Her aunt, Junko Fukada, who is chairman, first asked her to help set up
a day-care facility within the company as a contract worker. After a successful opening, Hashimoto
joined the firm. The family, including Hashimoto and Fukada, has a 15.3% stake in the company.
Semiconductor- and LCD-making chemicals are Stella Chemifa’s largest sales segment and
command a 70% global market share. Electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries (used in electric and
hybrid cars) are another core product. Hashimoto is striving to build up the medical unit. She is self-
efacing: “Even though I have little experience in the chemical industry, I don’t think I will come in
second to other people of my generation in terms of my experience in the world,” she says. “It takes an
established sense of pride in yourself to say ‘I don’t know’ about things you don’t know about.”