Chair of the Board of Directors at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Vice Chair- Governing Council at Indraprastha Cancer Society and Research Centre. Ms Karnad holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and a Bachelor’s
degree in law from the University of Mumbai. She is a Parvin Fellow, Woodrow Wilson School
of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, USA. She brings with her rich
experience and enormous knowledge of the mortgage sector, having been associated with the real
estate & mortgage industry in India for over 40 years.
Ms Renu Sud Karnad joined HDFC Ltd. in 1978. She was inducted onto its Board in 2000 and
her last held position was that of Managing Director. She has been instrumental in building the retail
distribution network at HDFC and has played a key role in introducing several innovative &
customer-friendly products and services in the mortgage market. She has always been an ardent
technology evangelist and has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the company.
Apart from being HDFC’s brand custodian, Ms Karnad is the guiding force behind the formulation
of the organization’s communication strategy and public image.
As a part of the management team, Ms Karnad has played an important role in the successful
transformation of HDFC into India’s leading Financial Services Conglomerate. She is actively
involved in the strategic decision-making in these companies and serves on the Board of several
group companies including HDFC Bank Ltd, HDFC Asset Management Company Limited,
HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Limited, and HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited.
She has served on the Board of various eminent companies and is currently part of the Boards of
ABB India Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bangalore International Airport
Limited and Unitech Limited. Ms Karnad has served as the President of the International Union
for Housing Finance (IUHF), an association of housing finance firms present across the globe.
She has also served as Director, of the Asian Real Estate Society.
Over the years, Ms Karnad has had to her credit, numerous awards and accolades. Prominent
among them being featured in the list of ’25 top non-banking women in finance’ by U.S. Banker
magazine, listed by Wall Street Journal Asia as among the ‘Top Ten Powerful Women to Watch
Out for in Asia’. “Outstanding, Woman Business Leader” by CNBC-TV18, 25 Most Influential
Women Professionals in India by India Today.

SABERA can be credited with creating a unique model for identifying, recognizing, and promoting altruism in society. The individuals, corporates, and communities involved in this selfless pursuit are the role model that India needs and by curating this group, SABERA is in fact, in a way contributing to national service. The sense of purpose and drive demonstrated by the team SABERA is tremendous and extremely infectious. It’s an honor for me to be part of the jury again for the 2022-23 edition.