Ms Moneypenny: Manisha Girotra

Manisha Girotra
41, CEO and Country Head, UBS India
(Number of times in BT's Most Powerful list: 3)

They don't call her the Queen Bee of Indian M&A for nothing. In 2010, Manisha Girotra, CEO and Country Head of UBS, was back at what she does best - playing a role in billion dollar cross-border transactions.

And there was plenty of action, what with nearly 44 per cent, or $24.8 billion being the share of outbound deal volume in the first nine months of 2010. Girotra got a chunk of the action when she advised Zain in Bharti's acquisition of the African telecom operator. She was also advisor to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries in the acquisition of shale gas assets in the United States.

Biggest achievement in 2010: Advisor for big-ticket acquisitions Being a powerful woman is important because: It would be rewarding to inspire even a handful of women Tip for work-life balance: Live in the moment and enjoy every moment that you have away from work A workplace without women is: Unthinkable - just like food without spice

It is not just the big boys who are keeping her busy. "The most aggression and hunger for M&A is among the mid-cap companies," says Girotra. It is a good time to go shopping overseas, she adds, what with the developed economies still not out of the woods and valuations stagnant in the Western world. Girotra's mandate in India now extends beyond investment banking. She is also heading the commercial banking operations - UBS India got its first branch licence from the Reserve Bank of India in early 2008, and Girotra's focus is to have a full-service bank providing services in commercial and high-end retail banking. "The Indian corporate is very sophisticated and looking for all services under one roof," she explains.

However, you don't have to be a genius to figure out what gets Girotra's adrenaline racing - the hunt for that next big deal, even if it means staying away from home on Sundays. "This is the best time to acquire," stresses Girotra. And the best time to be a deal maker.

-Rajiv Bhuva

The 30 Most Powerful Women
1.Schauna Chauhan 2.Zarin Daruwala 3.Lynn de Souza 4.Tanya Dubash 5.Shyamala Gopinath 6.Vinita Gupta 7.Kaku Nakhate 8.Vedika Bhandarkar 9.Manisha Girotra 10.Lalita Gupte 11.Usha Narayanan 12.Akhila Srinivasan 13.Leena Nair 14.Vinita Bali 15.Chanda Kochhar	16.Roopa Kudva 17.Naina Lal Kidwai 18.Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw 19.Zarina Mehta 20.Zia Mody 21.Kalpana Morparia 22.Vishakha Mulye 23.Swati Piramal 24.Meher Pudumjee 25.Madhabi Puri Buch 26.Chitra Ramkrishna 27.Preetha Reddy 28.Shikha Sharma 29.Mallika Srinivasan 30.Sangeeta Talwar