Kaku Nakhate
44, President & Country Head Bank of America Merrill Lync
(New on BT's Most Powerful list)

As far as second stints go, they can't get sweeter than this one. In July 2009, 44-year-old Kaku Nakhate, then Head of Global Markets, left DSP Merrill Lynch after 19 years to join J.P. Morgan India. The merger with Bank of America had just been completed and Nakhate was a part of the team set up to integrate the two teams. Once that task was complete, Nakhate was on her way. Only to return in June 2010 - in style - as Country Head.

Biggest achievement in 2010: Succeeded Kevan V. Watts as India head Being a powerful woman is important because: It helps you to change and direct the firm to achieve common goals and objectives Tip for work-life balance: Have strong collaborations at work and home A workplace without women is: A workplace without diversity

So how different is Bank of America Merrill Lynch from the organisation Nakhate left in 2009? "I am new to corporate banking, but otherwise not much has changed. It is interesting how cultures (of the two organisations) are being married in our five branches across the country," says the veteran investment banker.

An early riser, Nakhate begins her day at six a.m. and finishes her Asia calls by eight a.m. She is in office at nine a.m. and does not call it a day before midnight. Mergers can keep you busy.
-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