How Betting on Myself Led Me from Analyst to CEO? Roopa Kudva, Ex-CEO CRISIL for 8 Years

In 1992, Roopa Kudva walked into CRISIL’s CEO Pradeep Shah’s office without an appointment, starting her 23-year career there. She spent over two decades at CRISIL, rising from analyst to CEO. 

Roopa has spent over 3 decades in leadership roles in India and has witnessed three key phases in India’s growth: the closed economy in the 80s, the post-liberalisation era, and the rise of tech entrepreneurs.

She shares bold decisions that defined her journey. Like when she proposed to the then CRISIL CEO to create the Chief Ratings Officer role and pitched herself for it. She got the role, which set her on the path to becoming CEO. We also discuss the leaders who shaped her thinking, K.V. Kamath of ICICI, Piyush Gupta of DBS, and Katharine Graham of the Washington Post.

Throughout the conversation, Roopa returns to one idea: there is no single leadership style or fixed playbook. Her journey shows how ambition and initiative to act at the right moment can define a career and the organizations one builds along the way.

0:00 —Trailer
01:21 — IIM to IDBI
03:54 — Work Culture in the 80s
05:58 — Rise of New-Age Companies
06:55 — The Aha Moment of Leadership View
08:52 — Leaving CRISIL After 23 Years
10:49 — Choosing Omidyar & Impact Investing
16:03 — India’s Evolving Risk Appetite
20:40 — Deciding the Next Career Move
26:08 — How She Got the CRISIL Job
31:09 — Asking for the CRO Role
35:48 — Promotions Are Bets on the Future
37:37 — The Leader Who Changed Her Philosophy
43:40 — ICICI as a Women-CEO Factory
45:36 — What Holds Women Back from Rising
51:38 — DBS: The Piyush Gupta Transformation
55:06 — Entrepreneurs for the Next Half Billion
1:02:47 — The New Indian Founder Profile
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This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.

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