In 1992, Roopa Kudva walked into CRISIL’s CEO Pradeep Shah’s office without an appointment, starting her 23-year career there. She spent over two decades at CRISIL, rising from analyst to CEO. Roopa has spent over 3 decades in leadership roles in India and has witnessed three key phases in India’s growth: the closed economy in the 80s, the post-liberalisation era, and the rise of tech entrepreneurs.She shares bold decisions that defined her journey. Like when she proposed to the then CRISIL CEO to create the Chief Ratings Officer role and pitched herself for it. She got the role, which set her on the path to becoming CEO. We also discuss the leaders who shaped her thinking, K.V. Kamath of ICICI, Piyush Gupta of DBS, and Katharine Graham of the Washington Post.Throughout the conversation, Roopa returns to one idea: there is no single leadership style or fixed playbook. Her journey shows how ambition and initiative to act at the right moment can define a career and the organizations one builds along the way.0:00 —Trailer01:21 — IIM to IDBI03:54 — Work Culture in the 80s05:58 — Rise of New-Age Companies06:55 — The Aha Moment of Leadership View08:52 — Leaving CRISIL After 23 Years10:49 — Choosing Omidyar & Impact Investing16:03 — India’s Evolving Risk Appetite20:40 — Deciding the Next Career Move26:08 — How She Got the CRISIL Job31:09 — Asking for the CRO Role35:48 — Promotions Are Bets on the Future37:37 — The Leader Who Changed Her Philosophy43:40 — ICICI as a Women-CEO Factory45:36 — What Holds Women Back from Rising51:38 — DBS: The Piyush Gupta Transformation55:06 — Entrepreneurs for the Next Half Billion1:02:47 — The New Indian Founder Profile-------------India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text