Zia Mody, 

There may be an easy way to rank India’s top industrialists: a look at Mody’s speed-dial list. Known for her astute mind and fierce negotiating skills, she advised telecom major Airtel on its merger with the Telenor Group and Schneider Electric for the acquisition of Larsen & Toubro’s electric and automation business—two of last year’s big corporate deals. Mody, one of the best known corporate lawyers of India, is not just famous for closing deals—she stays ahead of her competition by developing competencies in new evolving areas. With the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation coming into force, Mody says that the data privacy practice is a significant area her firm has expanded into recently. Her firm advised in the first successful closure and acquisition under the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of Bhushan Steel. An influencer on LinkedIn, she is on the national council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and also on the board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration.