Vishakha Mulye: A Transformational Journey of ABCL’s First Women Director

Sakshi Jadhav, Apoorva Bajj

Jan 2, 2025 — 8 min read

Vishakha Mulye Success Story

Vishakha Mulye is a trailblazer in India’s financial sector. She has reached here with her transformative impact on the financial services industry, leadership, and strategic vision. Mulye has shattered glass ceilings for women in business. She is the first woman to join the Aditya Birla Management Corporation board. She has been on a roll of tremendous achievements since she started her career. She has come a long way from being a Chartered Accountant to becoming the CEO of Aditya Birla Capital. She is known for driving the company to grow, being digital and customer-first.

This StartupTalker story explores Vishakha Mulye's leadership journey, which has led her to where she is today. We’ll examine how she built her legacy at ICICI Bank and discuss how she managed and transformed ABC into a tech-driven powerhouse.

Vishakha Mulye's story is one of resilience, a reputation for excellence, and vision. In this article, we will learn about her achievements, net worth, controversies, interesting facts, and more.

Vishakha Mulye - Biography

Name	Vishakha Mulye
Education	Chartered Accountant
Position	CEO, Aditya Birla Capital
Net worth	$96 million
Website	Adityabirlacapital.com

Vishakha Mulye - Career
Vishakha Mulye - Aditya Birla
Vishakha Mulye - Controversies
Vishakha Mulye - Awards and Recognitions
Vishakha Mulye - Interesting Facts

Vishakha Mulye - Career

Vishakha Mulye’s stellar career demonstrates her exceptional leadership capacities and powerful strategic acuity in the Indian financial space. Mulye has been able to innovate and inspire excellence in the changing world of finance. This is possible only because of her foundational years at ICICI Bank and her transformative role at Aditya Birla Capital.

Vishakha Mulye started her professional life at ICICI Bank. She reached the top because of her analytical skills and strategic sense. Having graduated as a chartered accountant, she executed her strategies and helped ICICI build its position in the banking ecosystem.

She played key leadership roles in ICICI Bank. She was positioned as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at ICICI Bank. Financial restructuring, corporate strategy, and operational improvements have been a part of her organizational growth.

Mulye transformed the private equity arm of ICICI Ventures into a powerhouse as the Managing Director and CEO. Under her, it steered bold investments, diversified into new sectors, and put the stakeholder’s best interests front and center.

ICICI Ventures sustained growth despite challenging economic conditions because Mulye identified high-potential opportunities. She introduced new investment strategies in ICICI. Moreover, she improved ties with global partners and defined the firm as the private equity leader.

Vishakha Mulye, the general insurance arm of ICICI Bank, proved herself versatile. Beyond understanding financial risk management and operational excellence, her deep knowledge of the company contributed much to its market dominance.

Her time at ICICI has allowed her to navigate regulatory landscapes. Moreover, she introduced technology-driven solutions and improved customer satisfaction.

In 2022, Vishakha Mulye, the CEO of Aditya Birla Capital (ABC), led the company towards a new chapter. She became the financial services arm of the Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Birla Capital. This arm consists of businesses ranging from life insurance to asset management, private equity, and lending services.

Mulye brought her experience, strategic vision, and leadership skills to strengthen ABC as a leader. Her charge was to steer the organization through a dynamic competitive landscape while focusing on sustainable growth and innovation.

Transformative initiatives have characterised Vishakha Mulye’s tenure at Aditya Birla Capital:

Mulye has been working on expanding ABC into India's markets. Her plans include especially the underserved regions. She has championed inclusive financial products and services that reach a broader customer base.
Mulye knows that technology plays a vital role in modern finance. She has strived to digitize ABC’s operations to make its employees and customers happier. She’s taken ABC to the forefront of digital transformation, using advanced analytics and AI-driven customer solutions to achieve this.
Mulye has overseen ABC’s diversification of offerings. New products and increased emphasis on existing portfolios in life insurance and more were being offered.
She has transformed ABC’s core strategy to integrate sustainable and global best practices, with a keen eye on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.
She also leads the ABC culture of excellence. She has invested in building talent, collaboration, and organization.

ABC under Vishakha is not about numbers and financial performance. She’s one of the most respected leaders in the financial services industry. Thanks to her ability to inspire her teams and drive impactful results.

Vishakha Mulye - Aditya Birla

Vishakha became CEO of ABCL in 2022. Since then, she has helped transform the company’s course. ABCL, the Aditya Birla Group’s financial services arm, is the conglomerate’s cornerstone. Moreover, under Vishakha's leadership, it has undergone a complete turnaround.

Her journey into leadership at ABCL has been a relentless focus on transformation. She planned to do all this by integrating data, digital capabilities, and technology. This strategic vision has accelerated growth momentum and increased profitability of the company’s diverse business verticals, making it even more dominant in the market. Vishakha has reimagined the company’s business model. Furthermore, she made ABCL a genuinely modern, customer-centric organization. Under her leadership, ABCL never failed to provide financial solutions precisely and efficiently.

Vishakha’s digital-first, customer-first approach leads this transformation. She has led the development and launch of Aditya Birla Capital Digital (ABCD). ABCD is an omnichannel D2C solution that combines the group's full suite of financial services. This platform has grown with a massive investment of INR 100 crore. Moreover, this makes it a much-needed platform to unify the customers’ experience. The platform offers a single interface for loans, investments, insurance, and payments. The accompanying mobile app was built to be intuitive and user-friendly. Moreover, it mimics a seamless digital-first solution to meet evolving customer expectations.

Besides improving the individual customer experience, Vishakha has prioritized supporting the MSME sector. Moreover, she launched Udyog Plus, a pioneering digital B2B lending platform. This initiative provides seamless lending and value-added services to the specific needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises. Aditya Birla Group encompasses over 250 million customers across 14 ABCLs. Moreover, it is a trusted partner to businesses and individuals alike.

Vishakha’s managerial leadership has been focused on digital innovation and making significant strides in business growth and fundraising. Marquee investors who have invested in the company have bolstered its capital base. Her efforts have resulted in ABCL seeing its profitability improve across its operations. Moreover, its status as a market leader in the financial services sector is reinforced.

Vishakha is a key figure in the Aditya Birla Group. Moreover, she is a member of the board of directors of ABCL’s operating companies. The ABCL's operating companies include:

Aditya Birla Finance Limited
Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited
Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited

She also leads the strategic direction at ABC Foundation and NPCI International Payments Limited.

Vishakha launched ABCL’s omnichannel architecture, which reflects her commitment to digital reinvention. The company has blended the physical and digital by allowing customers to interact on their preferred channels. Moreover, this enables frictionless acquisition and retention of customers at scale. Her vision is born from a profound knowledge of the changing financial landscape. She is committed to delivering on customer needs with precision, simplicity, and innovation.

Aditya Birla Capital has become an innovative and forward-looking organization under her leadership. Her strategic focus has revitalized ABCL, its customer-centric ethos, and bold initiatives. Moreover, she re-energized ABCL and established a benchmark for the financial services industry. Aditya Birla Capital is ready to take its journey as a leader in economic innovation. Furthermore, bringing unparalleled value to its customers and stakeholders under Vishakha's leadership.

Vishakha Mulye - Controversies

During Vishakha Mulye's tenure as managing director and CEO of ICICI Venture, the private equity firm became controversial when investing in Subhiksha, a now-bankrupt South-based retailing company. The focus of scrutiny was this investment: It was a question of what due diligence and risk management processes were undertaken before committing capital.

The widely discussed case in the Indian financial sector was of Subhiksha, whose financial collapse left creditors and investors with losses. The retail company went into insolvency, and its entire story is controversial. However, according to ICICI Venture, it made a financial profit from the transaction. The fallout, however, led to discussions over the obligations of venture capital and private equity firms when backing high-risk ventures.

Vishakha Mulye, well known for her strategic leadership and clear-eyed approach to challenges, did not comment extensively on the Subhiksha matter, saying it was sub judice (under judicial consideration). Her stance on the matter was so reserved that it spelled out her adherence to legal and ethical propriety.

From a philosophical point of view, Mulye looked at the whole venture capital private equity space and the fact that not all investments add net worth to the investor. She said that in the sector, for every five successful decisions, there could be one misstep, which is the nature of the business. Her pragmatic outlook revealed her to be more attentive to the volatility and complexities of financial markets.

Although she never faced scrutiny regarding the Subhiksha controversy, she contributed brilliantly to ICICI Venture and the ICICI Group. She did many notable things during her time, such as navigating complicated financial environments and carrying out large fundraisings and mergers. In her illustrious career, the Subhiksha case was a learning moment about her ability to navigate difficult situations while always keeping her eye on long-term value creation.

Vishakha Mulye - Awards and Recognitions

Awarded with the title of Young Global Leader in 2007 by the World Economic Forum
‘India CFO Award’ in 2006 from IMA India for 'Excellence in Finance in a Large Corporate'
‘CA Corporate Leader Award’ 2008 from the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
’Most Powerful Women’ in Indian Business’ by Business Today
‘Most Powerful Women’ by Fortune India.
Inducted into Business Today’s ’Hall of Fame’
Received the ‘GR8! Women Awards’ from the Indian Television Academy in 2012
Received Mukta Sanman In 2019 at News 18 Lokmat's award ceremony
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s CA Corporate Leader Award, 2008
World Economic Forum’s Young
IMA India’s CFO Award, 2006

Vishakha Mulye - Interesting Facts

Vishakha Mulye is the first woman in the Aditya Birla Group. She joined the Aditya Birla Management Corporation board, the group's apex decision-making body.
As a chartered accountant by trade, she brings expertise to her leadership positions. Before ICICI Bank, she worked on the front-end needs of different monetary territories. Moreover, she focused on domestic and foreign value-driven universal banking.

FAQs

Who is Vishakha Mulye?

Vishakha Mulye is a prominent Indian business leader and the CEO of Aditya Birla Capital Limited. She has over three decades of experience in banking and finance.

What is Vishakha Mulye net worth?

Vishakha Mulye net worth is $96 million (December 2024).

What was Vishakha Mulye’s previous role before joining Aditya Birla Capital?

Before joining Aditya Birla Capital as CEO, Vishakha Mulye served as an Executive Director at ICICI Bank.

Must have tools for startups - Recommended by StartupTalky

Manage your business smoothly- Google Workspace
International Money transfer- XE Money Transfer
Grow your business with Tiktok Tiktok for business