Top Admired Leaders in India

By siliconindia  |  Thursday, 07 October 2021, 06:14:01 PM IST

Top Admired Leaders in India

India has many talented and hardworking businessmen, among which, a handful have attained the status of being admired and an inspiration. Top admired leaders in India include names like Ratan Tata, Shiv Nadar, Sanjiv Bajaj and Narayana Murthy, among others. Some of the most admired leaders in India are the ones who have challenged the norms and overcome complex encounters to take their companies to soaring heights. They have the vision, zeal, and determination to recognise opportunities and capitalise on them.

Apart from sharp business acumen, the top admired leaders have a philanthropic side as well and have given a lot back to the society – in the form of social reformation, generating employment and donating for causes close to their heart. An exemplification of these attributes is someone like Sanjiv Bajaj whose contributions were significant during the pandemic. It is these attributes that make these leaders a part of our list of most successful entrepreneurs in india. Read on to know more about most admired leaders in India:

Sanjiv Bajaj

Sanjiv Bajaj is the Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, the holding company of the financial services businesses of the Bajaj Group, one of India’s oldest and largest conglomerates, with 9M consolidated revenue of over 58,447 crore ($ 7.14 billion)* and consolidated profit after tax of over 4,648 crore ($ 568 million)* for FY2022-23.

Under his leadership, Bajaj Finserv Limited has emerged as one of India’s leading diversified financial services companies with solutions across lending, life insurance, general insurance, and wealth advisory categories. A famous personalities in finance in India , he has reshaped digital consumer financing in India with a consumer-first, digital approach and a culture focused on excellence through innovative disruption.

Sanjiv is on the board of his group operating companies as the Chairman of Bajaj Finance Limited, Maharashtra Scooters Limited, Bajaj Finserv Asset Management, Bajaj Housing Finance Limited and the two insurance subsidiaries, i.e., Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited. He is also the Managing  Director of Bajaj Holdings & Investment Limited (since 2012) and serves as a non-executive director at Bajaj Auto Limited.

Sanjiv is the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2022-23. He is a member of the Steering Committee appointed by the Government of India for B20 as part of India’s G20 Presidency FY 2022-23.

Sanjiv is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, USA. He is a member of the Board of the Indian School of Business (ISB), a Member of the International Advisory Board (IAB), Allianz SE and the International Technology Advisory Panel (ITAP) of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Regional Stewardship Board for India and South Asia 2019-2020 of the World Economic Forum. Over the years, he has been lauded with several prestigious honours for his contribution to the financial services space, including:

  • AIMA’s Transformational Business Leader 2023
  • AIMA’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2019
  • Economic Times Business Leader of the Year 2018
  • Financial Express Best Banker of the Year 2017
  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017
  • Transformational Leader Award at the 5th Asia Business Responsibility Summit in 2017
  • Business World’s Most Valuable CEOs in India for 2015 and 2016

He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (first class with distinction) from the University of Pune, a master’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering (with distinction) from the University of Warwick, UK and a master’s degree in business administration (with distinction) from the Harvard Business School, USA. He lives in Pune, Maharashtra, with his wife, Shefali and their two children.

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy

Business Info - Founder of Infosys, Narayana Murthy was the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chief Mentor of Infosys prior to his retirement. He now holds the title of Chairman Emeritus.

Awards - Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, CIF Global Indian Award by Canada India Foundation, 25 Greatest Global Indian Living Legends by NDTV, SayajiRatna Award by Baroda Management Association and the Philanthropist of the Year by The Asian Awards. 

Narayana Murthy is the Founder of the Indian technology giant Infosys, where he is currently the Chairman Emeritus. The ‘father of Indian IT’ is one of the most brilliant minds in India and is counted among the most admired leaders by generations of techies for his exemplary business acumen. With a net worth of USD 3.6 billion dollars in March this year, he was recognised as an entrepreneur and global leader of next-generation digital services and consulting by Forbes Magazine. This revered entrepreneur started Infosys with just six people 40 years ago, and today it has its presence in 46 countries with over two lakh employees. An inspiration to the youth, Narayana Murthy is one of those special individuals whose lives personify achievement. 

Shiv Nadar

Business Info - Founder and Chairman Emeritus of HCL Technologies Limited and the Shiv Nadar Foundation

Awards- In 2008, he received the Padma Bhushan which is the third-highest civilian award, for his input in the IT sector. He was awarded the Honorary Doctorate Degree by the Madras University, Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 by E&Y amongst others and ranked #16 in India's 50 most powerful people of 2017 list by India Today magazine.

Known as a pioneer in the Indian IT sector and someone who contributed significantly to the IT transformation in India, Shiv Nadar has been named ‘Magus’ by his friends. A true inspiration, he founded HCL in the 1970s and within a period of 30 years, converted the IT hardware company to an IT enterprise by continually reinventing the focus of his company. What started off from the garage to make microprocessors and calculators, today, can boast of being one of India’s top 3 software services providers. In 2020, he passed the baton to his daughter, Roshni Nadar, who is the current Chairperson of HCL technologies. Shiv Nadar is also one of the country’s leading philanthropists who has committed over USD 1 billion for social causes and supports social missions via the Shiv Nadar Foundation that focuses on empowering people through education.

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal

Business Information – Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal

Awards - Padma Vibhushan which is India's second-highest civilian honour, Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award, declared the tenth richest person in the world in 2005 and the sixth richest in 2011 by Forbes.

One of the most admired leaders in India, Lakshmi Mittal heads ArcelorMittal, which is the largest steel producer globally. He is known to have a Midas touch for his ability to identify businesses in losses and convert them to profitable ventures. Within a span of 365 days, Mittal was able to convert the loss-making state-owned steelworks in Tobago and Trinidad into thriving businesses. And since then, this has been his modus operandi. This admired leader has an eye to recognise potential and the business acumen to generate profit from sinking companies. He is popularly referred to as the steel magnate and one of his notable and latest acquisitions was Essar Steel in 2019, which he got at USD 5.9 billion. His interest in sports is visible from the contributions he makes to finance promising athletes as well as his 20% stake in the English Football League Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He also made a Rs 100 crore donation to the PM cares fund in 2020 to fight the pandemic.

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