Falguni Nayar

Founder and CEO of Nykaa — the investment banker who left a top finance career at around fifty to build India’s leading beauty retailer, and briefly became the country’s richest self-made woman.

Falguni Nayar (b. 1963, Mumbai) spent roughly two decades in finance, rising to managing director at the Kotak Mahindra group across M&A and institutional equities, before leaving at around fifty to found Nykaa (FSN E-Commerce Ventures) in 2012. She built it on a disciplined, inventory-led model — controlling authenticity and curation in a market wary of counterfeit cosmetics — into an omnichannel beauty-and-fashion business and, in 2020, a rare woman-led Indian unicorn. Nykaa’s November 2021 IPO made her, on paper, India’s richest self-made woman, before a post-listing correction, a bonus-issue controversy, and intensifying competition tested the company.

Notable achievements

• Rose to managing director at the Kotak Mahindra group across M&A and institutional equities over roughly two decades.
• Left finance at around fifty to found Nykaa in 2012 with about $2M of her own capital.
• Built a disciplined, inventory-led beauty model in a cash-burn e-commerce era, plus an omnichannel and private-label business.
• Made Nykaa a rare woman-founded Indian unicorn (2020) and led its November 2021 IPO.
• Became, on paper, India’s richest self-made woman at listing; remains among India’s wealthiest self-made women.

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