Deena Mehta

#52/100 in #100extraordinarywomen

Source: Google image search

Deena Mehta, India's first female stockbroker, was a lone woman in a male-dominated industry who stayed the course, battling sexism along the way, to became the Bombay Stock Exchange's first female president.

Born on February 18, 1961, Deena is an Indian businesswoman, broker, investor, financial adviser, chartered accountant, and social activist. Deena completed her schooling from Mary Immaculate Girls' High School in Mumbai. She is a commerce graduate and a chartered accountant. She has completed a Post Graduate degree in Management Studies (Finance) from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and has also completed a Diploma in Stock Exchange studies from BSE Training Institute and a Post Graduate Diploma in Securities Law conducted by Government Law College, Mumbai.

Deena Mehta is married to Asit Mehta since 1984 and has two sons, Aditya and Aakash. Deena and Asit set up a Mumbai-based brokerage firm by the name of Nucleus Securities in 1986. This firm eventually became the Nucleus Group of Companies. Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Limited is a part of this Nucleus Group of Companies. "Our's is an arranged marriage, fixed by us. For, unlike the usual lovey-dovey couples, we did not go around. He has been my best teacher, philosopher and, guide. It was thanks to him that I became a broker in the first place,"she says, her voice getting a tad husky. Sixteen years ago, she created history once again, with her becoming the highest income-tax payee among Indian women. It seems, she knows as much finance as time-management, when she maintains that she always makes time for things she wants to do. She is a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction. Mills & Boons are her 'stress busters'. But unlike the characters in the mushy romantic novelettes, she has created history for herself on her own steam.

Deena Mehta was one of the first few woman members of Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai, was the first woman director on the board of the Bombay Stock Exchange, elected with the highest number of votes secured by any member in its history in 1997. She was Vice-President for two years and she eventually went on to be elected as the President of the Bombay Stock Exchange prior to corporatisation in 2001. That was a first in 125 years of the exchange's existence. Her tenure with the Bombay Stock Exchange lasted a total of 6 years from April 1996 to March 2002. She has rendered valuable services to the Exchange by serving as an active participant member on various committees. She is a member on various SEBI committees related to the Secondary Stock Market. In past, she has served as a Director on the Board of Central Depository Services (India) Limited, Cotton Association of India, National Payment Corporation of India and on the Board of BOI Shareholding Limited - a joint venture of BSE with Bank of India.

She is an Executive Member of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE), a Federation of Stock Exchanges in SAARC Region. She is also a visiting faculty on "stock markets" at leading Institutes like IIM (Ahmedabad). She has vast experience in specific functional areas of Banking, Finance and Capital Markets. She is a Managing Director of Asit C.Mehta Investment Interrmediates Limited (Trading Member of the Exchange) since January, 1998. She was appointed as a Director on the Board on 7th August, 2009. 

Deena Mehta was awarded for outstanding contribution in the field of Banking and Financial services by Ladies Wing, Indian Merchant Chamber and as outstanding Young Indian in Business Category by Indian Jaycees in 1998. She was also honored by Cosmos Bank for outstanding contribution in the field of Finance in December, 2005. She was conferred the Exceptional Women Achiever Awards by FICCI in 2014. She actively supports investor education and awareness initiatives. 

Does she enjoy power? "It is quite a feeling, though I have never used it for myself," she maintains. What about the heady feeling of bossing over so many powerful people? "It is, as you said, heady," she agrees.

Source: Wikipedia and Google search.