Roopa Kudva, 46, CEO and MD, Crisil & Region Head-South Asia, Standard & Poor's

Her secret dream: to be a part of every credit or lending decision made in India, and to make India a hub for all S & P ratings in the South-East Asian region. Roopa Kudva, who took up the S & P post recently, wants the international rating agency to play a pivotal role in capital flows in and out of the region. Crisil's rating coverage has grown nearly eight times since 2008. From 400, the number of firms being rated has gone up to 3,000. Besides, its small and medium enterprises (SME) rating business, started in middle of last year, has got 7,000 ratings under its fold.

When the financial meltdown in the US put rating firms under the scanner, Kudva and her team promptly stepped up communications with its users of ratings. Crisil, a 51 per cent subsidiary of S & P, started sending out rating alerts to investors and general public even before a company was downgraded or upgraded. It also launched a product to measure the complexity level of financial products, and Kudva hopes it will become the key factor in every financial product bought or sold in India.

Power to me means.
The ability to make a difference in whatever you do.

My most memorable experience at the workplace.
Walking in unannounced into the-then Crisil MD's office and leaving with a Crisil job in hand in 1992.

My favourite after-work activity.
Reading and I like reading biographies.

The turning point of my career.
The international exposure and perspectives I got by working at S &P's Paris office.

New lessons learnt in 2009.
The increased sense of responsibility as a rating agency. - Rachna M. Koppikar

Resource: Business Today