Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, which has interests in steel, energy, infrastructure, sports and auto, among others, won the coveted Business Leader of the Year award.
Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom player, was chosen Company of the Year for its splendid business and stock market performance.
The original CEO-style chief minister, Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, was Business Reformer of the Year, getting the nod of the jury—headed by Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal—for his efforts to push reforms in his state and for being a pillar of stability nationally.
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Rewarding Long-term Performance
The power-packed jury broke the mould and conferred the Lifetime Achievement award on not one, but two statesmen of India Inc—KP Singh of DLF and Cyrus Poonawalla of the Serum Institute of India. The former was noted for his undeniable impact on the urbanisation story in India, and the latter for his pioneering contributions to the pharmaceutical industry.
The jury deliberated for nearly three hours, picking winners in nine categories, holding extensive discussions before making selections. As has always been the norm, jury members recused themselves from discussing and voting on any category in which they had a conflict of interest. The concerned juror always left the room, so others could discuss freely.
HDFC Life chief executive Vibha Padalkar emerged as the winner in the Businesswoman of the Year category from a strong list of nominees, for putting her business on a high-growth path.
Even before the formal process started, jury chair Mittal set the tone with his thoughtful comments. Other members joined in, their views providing context to the awards.
With Mittal on the panel were Uday Kotak, founder, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Noel Tata, chairman, Tata Trusts; Priya Nair, chief executive, Hindustan Unilever; Dr Devi Shetty, founder, Narayana Health; Roshni Nadar Malhotra, chairperson, HCLTech; Sajjan Jindal, chairman, JSW Group; senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi; and Lalit Keshre, chief executive, Groww.
The debate on individual categories began with insights from jury members who knew the concerned industries and the nominees, giving the rest a clearer basis for their decisions. Companies and individuals who beat the odds, came from behind and, overall, displayed resilience and long-term performance, were rewarded.
The jury chose Neal Mohan, chief executive of YouTube, as Global Indian of the Year—a consensus pick from an illustrious list of nominees who showcase the country’s heft in global tech leadership.
The jury adopted a two-step process to select winners. It first shortlisted the top two contenders in each category and then engaged in detailed deliberations on them. The winner was ultimately chosen through a secret ballot.
Jindal sat out the debate and the vote on Businessman of the Year, where he himself was a nominee and eventually won. Mittal stepped out for Company of the Year, while Keshre opted out of the Entrepreneur of the Year discussion. Keshre won that award for successfully building a company that has enabled millions to participate in India’s stock market growth story.
SaaS company RateGain Travel Tech won the Emerging Company of the Year award for its pace of growth and profitability