Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO of Nykaa, was named Trailblazer of the Year at the NDTV Business Leadership Awards on Sunday, recognising her role in reshaping India's beauty and lifestyle retail landscape.
Nayar was selected from a distinguished field of business leaders that included Geetanjali Kirloskar, Chairperson and Managing Director of Kirloskar Systems; Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCLTech; Mallika Srinivasan, Chairperson and Managing Director of TAFE; Vibha Padalkar, Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Life; and Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive India.
The award honours leaders who have broken new ground, challenged established business models and created lasting impact in their industries. Nayar's journey has become one of the most closely watched entrepreneurial success stories in corporate India.
Falguni Nayar's Journey To Success
After a long career in investment banking, she founded Nykaa in 2012, at a time when India's online beauty market was still at an early stage. Under her leadership, the company built a trusted consumer platform spanning beauty, personal care, fashion and physical retail, while also helping global and home-grown brands reach a wider audience.
Nykaa's growth into a major listed consumer technology business established Nayar as a prominent voice in Indian entrepreneurship and demonstrated the potential of a brand-led, omnichannel retail strategy. Her achievement has also been widely seen as an inspiration for women seeking to build and lead large enterprises.
By naming Nayar Trailblazer of the Year, the NDTV Business Leadership Awards recognised not only the scale of Nykaa's growth, but also the ambition, resilience and category-building vision behind it. The honour has placed her among business leaders who have combined innovation with sustained execution to influence the direction of modern Indian enterprise.
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