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Naina Lal Kidwai Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 6, 2026 • 4 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth1957

Age64 Years

BirthplaceDelhi

ProfessionBanker, Chartered Accountant, Business Executive

NationalityIndian

Marital statusWidowed

SpouseRashid Khalid Kidwai

FamilyDaughter - Kemaya Kidwai; Step‑son - Rumaan; Mother homemaker; Father - Surinder Lall

Naina Lal Kidwai Biography

Naina Lal Kidwai is an Indian banker, chartered accountant and business executive known for pioneering leadership in investment banking and for being the fi

Early life and background

Naina Lal Kidwai was born in Delhi in 1957 and grew up between Mumbai and Delhi. She attended Loreto Convent in Shimla for her school education and went on to study at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, where she took an active role in student life. She qualified as a chartered accountant at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Delhi, and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, becoming one of the first Indian women to graduate from that institution.

Career

Kidwai’s professional life spans more than three decades in banking and finance. She began her career at Price Waterhouse & Co. in the late 1970s and moved into banking in the early 1980s with ANZ Grindlays Bank (now part of Standard Chartered), where she served in successive leadership roles including Head of the Investment Bank, Head of Global NRI Services and Head of Western India. Her tenure at ANZ Grindlays lasted from 1982 to 1994.

In 1994 she joined JM Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley India as Vice Chairperson and Head of Investment Banking, a period in which the firm became a leading investment bank in India. Kidwai was involved in major capital markets activity, including listings, IPOs and cross‑industry joint ventures. Her career in investment banking included work on high-profile deals and listings for Indian companies.

Kidwai moved to HSBC later in her career, taking on senior roles from the early 2000s. She was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HSBC’s India operations and served as Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of HSBC Securities and Capital Markets India Pvt. Ltd. in 2002. By 2007 she was Chief Executive of HSBC India, and in 2009 she became Chairman and Country Head, overseeing the bank’s activities across India and a significant portion of the group’s global resourcing. During her time at HSBC she introduced a range of workplace initiatives focused on flexibility and gender inclusion, such as five‑day weeks, flexible hours, extended parental leave options and employee wellness programming. Kidwai retired from her position as Chairman and Executive Director of HSBC India and from the board of HSBC Asia‑Pacific at the end of December 2015 after a long banking career.

Beyond her executive roles, Kidwai has held numerous board and advisory mandates across the corporate and non‑profit worlds. She has been Chairperson of Max Financial Services Ltd., and held chair roles at HSBC Asset Management India and HSBC InvestDirect India. She has served as Chairperson of the City of London’s Advisory Council for India and occupied non‑executive and independent directorships at companies including Nestle SA, CIPLA, Larsen & Toubro, Altico Capital Partners and Narara Energy Limited (formerly Essar Oil). Her governance and advisory work extends to policy and development organisations: she has been involved with FICCI (including leadership of its Water Mission and Inclusive Governance Council), CII, the World Economic Forum, Harvard Business School’s India advisory structures, NCAER, NIBM, the Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Rajasthan State Planning Board, the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, TERI and international bodies such as the UNEP Inquiry and the BRICS Business Council.

Public profile

Kidwai has authored and contributed to books on banking, leadership and sustainability, including Contemporary Banking in India (2012), 30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories (2015) and Survive Or Sink: An Action Agenda for Sanitation, Water, Pollution, and Green Finance (2018). She has been recognised with national and international honours across her career: she received the Padma Shri in 2007 and has appeared on lists and rankings that have highlighted her influence in global business.

Her interests outside work include reading, classical and Western music, bird‑watching, trekking and wildlife photography. She has also been active in public initiatives addressing water, sanitation and environmental issues, and after retirement signaled a desire to devote more time to women’s empowerment and water and sanitation projects.

Personal life

Kidwai was married to Rashid Khalid Kidwai, who founded a women‑centric grassroots trading NGO and was a former corporate executive; he passed away in 2021. She has a daughter, Kemaya Kidwai, and a stepson, Rumaan. Her family background includes ties to the industrial Thapar family through her maternal grandfather.

Latest updates

In 2015 Kidwai and her husband helped establish the India Sanitation Coalition, an NGO focused on water, sanitation and hygiene. She retired from her executive role at HSBC at the close of 2015 and has since maintained an active presence in corporate boards, advisory councils and non‑profit work, particularly in areas linked to environment, water and women's leadership.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Naina Lal Kidwai, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories

Published a collection of profiles and voices of women leaders; inspired by social issues affecting women.

2015
Survive Or Sink: An Action Agenda for Sanitation, Water, Pollution, and Green Finance

Contributed to and published work on sanitation, water and environmental finance.

2018
Contemporary Banking in India

Authored a work on banking in India.

2012
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Career Highlights

  1. Chairperson of HSBC Group of Companies in India until October 2015
  2. Chief Executive of HSBC India (2007) and later Chairman and Country Head (from 2009)
  3. Vice Chairperson and Head of Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley India and JM Morgan Stanley (1994–2002)
  4. Head of Investment Bank and Head of Global NRI Services, ANZ Grindlays Bank (1982–1994)
  5. Early career at Price Waterhouse & Co. (1977–1980)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Naina Lal Kidwai born?

Naina Lal Kidwai was born on 1957.

What is Naina Lal Kidwai known for?

Naina Lal Kidwai is known for banker, Chartered Accountant, Business Executive.

What is Naina Lal Kidwai’s marital status?

Naina Lal Kidwai's marital status is listed as Widowed.

Who is Naina Lal Kidwai married to?

Naina Lal Kidwai is publicly listed as married to Rashid Khalid Kidwai.