Mallika Srinivasan included in list of most influential women
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Mallika Srinivasan, chief executive officer of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE), headquartered in Chennai, India, has been named to BBC’s list of the ‘100 Most Influential Women (of) 2016.’
The 57-year-old, known as the “tractor queen” of India, joins a list that includes musician Alicia Keys and American Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.
In an industry that’s dominated by men, Srinivasan said a key to success is being able to stand out from her male counterparts.
“What is important for all women is that you have to be – in content, presentation (and) character – one notch clearly above the men,” says her brief biography on BBC’s website.
Srinivasan earned an MA in econometrics from the University of Madras and earned her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
She serves as a board member for AGCO’s American operations and has received a number of awards, including the 2011 award for Entrepreneur of the Year – Manufacturing from Ernst & Young.
Since 2012, Srinivasan has invested more than $500 million into AGCO and owns about 14 per cent of the company.
In a 2015 interview with Forbes India, Srinivasan said that with a global population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, increasing yield and therefore increasing “farm mechanisation is critical.”
TAFE is the third largest tractor manufacturer in the world behind Mahindra & Mahindra and John Deere.