The First Woman Director of IOC Board

Sukla Mistry became the first woman director of the Indian Oil Corporation Board. Indian Oil Corporation is India’s largest oil refiner and fuel retailer. She was appointed on 7 January 2022, Monday.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) confirmed Mistry’s appointment in a tweet on its official handle. “Indian Oil welcomes Ms Sukla Mistry as Director (Refineries), the first woman Director on Indian Oil Board. With a rich experience of over 35 years in refining and petrochemicals, Ms Mistry takes over the reins of the refining business and operations of India’s largest refiner,” IOC tweeted.

“A red-letter day for Indian Oil… Ms Sukla is a trendsetter and has broken multiple glass ceilings through her dynamic leadership and focus on excellence,” company chairman S M Vaidya tweeted.

Born into a family of humble economic means in the Sunderban, in the West Bengal State, this appointment of Sukla Mistry marks a milestone in the gender diversity in the energy sector of India. This indicates rising opportunities for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Ms Sukla Mistry is a graduate of metallurgical engineering from Bengal College of Engineering. To support her family and siblings, Sukala had sacrificed her higher education despite being selected in IIT Kharagpur. She joined Indian Oil in 1987. She has worked at IOC’s refineries at Barauni, Haldia, Digboi and Panipat as well as at the Refineries Headquarters. Mistry has execution-related experience in various greenfield and brownfield projects in refineries.

She has been honoured with the awards like Petrofed Best Woman Executive Award (2009), Petrotech Ojaswini Award (2016), SCOPE Award for Outstanding Woman Manager (2016-17) and ET Prime Women Manufacturing and Operational Leadership Award (2021).

–Poorna Krishnan