Radha Vembu, who has topped the Hurun India Rich List 2024 for self-made women with a net worth of ₹47,500 crore, prefers to let her work as Co-Founder and CEO at Zoho do the talking.
By Nichola Marie
In a world where talk is often amplified far more than deeds, a rare few prefer to stay far away from self-promotion and the media glare, remaining practically unseen and unheard even while achieving astounding success. A classic case in point: The calm, task-oriented, low-profile Radha Vembu who has topped the Hurun India Rich List 2024 for self-made women with a net worth of ₹47,500 crore. As the ‘Financial Express’ notes, “In the bustling landscape of India’s billionaires, Radha Vembu stands out for her immense wealth and pioneering role in the software industry. With a staggering net worth of ₹47,500 crore, she is Chennai’s richest individual and India’s wealthiest self-made billionaire businesswoman.”
One of India’s most successful entrepreneurs, Vembu is Co-Founder and CEO of the multinational tech company Zoho, along with her older brother Sridhar Vembu. She is the owner of a majority stake in the privately-funded company which is best known for the online office suite offering Zoho Office Suite, and competes with the likes of Microsoft and Salesforce. Vembu is considered a pillar of strength at the company whose success is said to be a result of long-term investment in product research and development and a concentrated focus on R&D as opposed to marketing. Vembu is also the product manager for email service Zoho Mail, and Director of the Corpus Foundation.
Vembu’s leadership is said to have been instrumental in guiding the company through exponential growth, expanding its global footprint, and cementing its reputation as a trailblazer in cloud-based software solutions. Beyond Zoho, Radha Vembu is also involved as a Director in Highland Valley Corporation Pvt Ltd, a real estate firm, and Janaki Hi-Tech Agro Pvt Ltd, an agricultural NGO.
Her key achievements — besides co-founding and leading Zoho Corporation to become a successful global technology company — include playing a key role in developing and launching Zoho Mail, a popular email and productivity suite; and contributing to the growth and success of the Indian technology industry. Recognition for her contributions to the technology industry have come via notable awards including being listed among India’s richest women by ‘Forbes’ magazine, recognition as one of the most influential women in Indian technology, and the ‘Women in Technology’ award from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Interest in information about the 51-year-old, sari-clad Vembu surged in 2022, when her name featured in third position on Hurun’s list of richest self-made women in India, along with Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
Cut to 2024 – she now tops the list of the country’s self-made women billionaires yet continues to shun the spotlight, with even employees unwilling to reveal more about her, as it would amount to trespassing into her personal life! In a rare quote, Vembu, who stays out of the public eye both online and offline, has maintained, “The quality of product matters, not the people behind it. Most of the senior management does not want any limelight,” she has said.
Born in 1972 in Chennai, Vembu, who hails from Thanjavur, completed her primary education at the prestigious National Higher Secondary School in Chennai. She graduated from the elite Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) in industrial management in 1997. While she was still pursuing her higher education, she embarked on the venture initially known as AdventNet, which would later be known as Zoho Corporation. She co-founded the same along with her brother Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas in 1996. This early start is testimony to her entrepreneurial spirit and foresight in the fast-growing realm of software development.
Zoho Corporation makes computer software and web-based business tools, and is best known for the online office suite offering Zoho Office Suite. It is described as a unique and powerful software suite to transform the way businesses work, no matter the size. Zoho has a presence in seven locations with global headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and corporate headquarters outside of Austin in Del Valle, Texas. It has grown into a global leader in software solutions, with a reported revenue of ₹8,703 crore in 2023.
Milestone Achievement
Last year, Liz Miller, vice president of the US-based Constellation Research Inc, described Vembu at the Truly Zoho event, summing up her role thus: “Part of the Zoho, (the) difference is that among all the tools and platforms, there is a common framework. And if anyone questions who the physical manifestation of that connective framework is… her name is Radha Vembu. The framework to Sridhar Vembu’s big dream.”
The dream has transformed into reality. As a report in ‘The Times of India’ noted, in September 2023, “Software as a Services (SaaS) firm surpassed 100 million users across its 55+ business applications. This made Zoho the first bootstrapped SaaS enterprise to reach this milestone as the company remains a closely held unicorn having raised no external funding. The milestone also comes on the heels of the company reaching $1 billion in annual revenue last year. Zoho has increased its traction from one million users in 2008 to 100 million worldwide 15 years later, with the last 50 million users added within the past five years.”
Thanking customers on the occasion, Sridhar Vembu said, “This is an impressive milestone for any organisation, but it’s particularly sweet for us as a bootstrapped company that has never raised external capital. And we are not done yet!”
Vembu herself has also been quoted as saying, “I’m constantly thinking about how to improve one of the most technically challenging products in the company. We like delighting and surprising our customers with contextual integration.”
Inspirational Note
Vembu’s presence at the top of the 2024 Hurun India Rich List is followed by other influential self-made women entrepreneurs, including Falguni Nayar of Nykaa and Jayshree Ullal of Arista Networks, each with a net worth that exceeds ₹32,000 crore.
Her success is seen as a marker of the broader trend of women making significant strides in the country’s business arena which has been traditionally male-dominated. In India, where the gender divide in tech giants is high, Vembu is indeed an inspiration. Her vision, determination and endless pursuit of excellence as an entrepreneur has the power to motivate more young girls to step into tech and overcome biases and stereotypes.
Vembu’s journey from an IIT graduate to the peak of the software industry is a testament to the transformative power of innovation, as well as perseverance in creating enduring business success. While her success story is proof of the growing importance of Chennai in the global business landscape, it also gives hope and motivation to aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders across the country. Her entrepreneurial journey has made an impact on India’s economic narrative.
Vembu reportedly also looks after the philanthropic activities of Zoho. She is also a member of the board of Go Frugal, a startup run by her other brother Kumar Vembu. She holds the position of Director at Corpus Foundation, a charitable organisation focused on education and healthcare. Looking after Zoho Workplace, she is involved in the process of the 45-plus products of Zoho Corporation. “I am involved in creating a bias-free workplace and personally address internal grievances,” she has said.
Keeping It Simple
While her brother Sridhar Vembu has been running the global company from Tenkasi in rural Tamil Nadu for several years, Vembu herself shuttles between Chennai and Tenkasi apart from its offices across India and abroad.
Hailing from a close-knit family, she is married and lives in Chennai with her family. While her husband Rajendran Dandapani is on the Zoho board, he is also Business Solutions Evangelist at Zoho Corporation and President at Zoho Schools of Learning. In the past, Dandapani has occasionally tweeted about his wife gifting him books and cooking for him. The couple has a son.
Outside of work, Vembu is known to be fond of gardening and attempts to make time for her favourite activity.
Whether plants or profits, Vembu has the Midas touch!
