HCL Tech's Vaidhyanathan bags MMA award

CHENNAI: The Madras Management Association (MMA) awarded Jaya Vaidhyanathan, who heads the Business Consulting Services (BCS) of HCL Technologies, as the Outstanding Woman Manager of the year 2005 recently.

MMA Awards for Managerial Excellence is designed to recognize and reward companies and institutions that are broadly comparable.

MMA awards are given to companies/institutions who have excelled in their business segment and to managers who have directed the various disciplines of management in a focused manner to meet or exceed set objectives.

Having graduated from Cornell University, USA with an MBA and also a chartered financial analyst, Vaidhyanathan started her career as a management trainee in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and in AT&T, New Jersey before she joined the CIBC World Markets, New York as its investment banking head, where she specialized in mergers and acquisitions. It was in the year 2002 she conceptualized the idea of business consulting practice for HCL Technologies. Today, the BCS division of HCL has specialized in compliance consulting, process consulting and core strategy consulting.

"Initially, the practice was adopted in the New York branch of HCL and I drafted the initial business plan and strategy for continuing this business practice. Having worked for one year in the New York branch, I joined the business consulting services division of HCL Technologies in India as its head," said Vaidhyanathan.

Speaking about the award, she said, "Awards are like stepping stones to success. The award from MMA is a great honor for me, which means that it would motivate me to propel greater heights in my professional life in the years ahead."

Besides the MMA awards, she has received lots of acclaim for her work in AT&T and CIBC, where she was the only woman to work for the investment banking division.