Who is Soma Mondal? The 'Queen of Steel' who is among World's Most Powerful Women
Soma Mondal, the former chairperson of SAIL or Steel Authority of India, has been named among World's Most Powerful Women for 2023 by business magazine Forbes, which also features three more Indians. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, HCL Technologies chairperson Roshni Nadar and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The 2023 Power List was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence.
Soma Mondal took offer the chairperson role of SAIL from January 1, 2021, before retiring in April this year. She holds the distinction of being the first woman functional director and chairman of the company. An electrical engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, she has has over three decades of experience in the metal industry.
Mondal began her career as a Graduate Engineer Trainee at NALCO and steadily climbed the ranks to become the director (commercial) in 2014. She joined SAIL in March 2017 as the director (commercial). During her time at SAIL, she played a pivotal role in implementing marketing strategies outlined in the Comprehensive Turnaround Roadmap, resulting in increased sales and expanded market reach year after year.
Her efforts in promoting the branding of various SAIL products led to the successful launch of new brands such as «NEX» and «SAIL SeQR» for PF Structural Sections and TMT Bars respectively.
During her tenure, in FY2022, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for a first time crossed the revenue milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore, entering an elite club of Indian companies having a turnover above Rs 1 lakh crore.
Recognizing the need to improve sales through retail channels, she revamped the company's distribution network. She was instrumental in
