EY announces 11 Finalists for the 24th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Awards

• K P Singh, Chairman Emeritus, DLF Group will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award
• The 11 Finalists, having a combined revenue of over INR 2,00,000 crores were identified by an eminent jury led by K V Kamath
• The jury commends the Finalists for their innovation, disruptive business models and building sustainable enterprises 

Delhi, 09 February 2023: EY, the leading professional services organisation, today announced the selection of 12 exceptional entrepreneurs in India as the Finalists for its 24th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ - India (EOY) 2022 Awards. The Finalists have been selected from over 250 outstanding nominations and will be felicitated at a grand celebratory Awards Banquet to be held on 23 February in New Delhi. 

These 11 Finalists and the Lifetime Achievement Winner have combined revenues of over INR 2,00,000 crores, employ more than 80,000 people with over 5,00,000 crores in market capitalization, reflecting the scale and trust they have built over the years. Importantly, our Finalists are contributing to the country’s development by creating enduring profitable enterprises, generating employment, entering new domestic and global markets and are today spearheading sustainability in their businesses. Many of them are taking their legacies forward by empowering the new generation.

An eminent seven-member independent Jury led by K V Kamath, Former Chairman, ICICI Bank, had the notable task of hand-picking the most compelling success stories from among hundreds of noteworthy nominations. The jury panel includes Harsh Mariwala, Founder and Chairman, Marico, Anjali Bansal, Founder and Chairperson, Avaana Capital; Amit Dixit, Asia Head Private Equity, Blackstone; Dr. Anish Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Group; Sunish Sharma, Managing Partner and Founder, Kedaara Capital, Ireena Vittal, Independent Director on boards of Godrej Consumer Products, HDFC, Compass Plc and Wipro.

The Finalists for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2022 India Awards are:

1. V. Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO, IDFC First Bank Ltd.
2. Irfan Razack, Chairman & Managing Director, Prestige Construction Group
3. Samina Hamied, Executive Vice Chairperson, Cipla
4. Pradeep Kheruka, Executive Chairman, Borosil Group
5. Pawan Jain, Chairman and Rubal Jain, Managing Director, Safexpress
6. Vivek Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Gujarat Fluorochemicals
7. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Group
8. Ashok Boob, Managing Director and Siddharth Sikchi, Executive Director, Clean Science and Technology
9. Ravi Modi, Chairman and Managing Director, Vedant Fashions Ltd. (Manyavar)
10. Mahesh Pratapneni, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MedGenome
11. Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, Co-Founders, Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd. (Mamaearth)

K P Singh, Chairman Emeritus, DLF Group, will be felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional work in architecting the real-estate landscape of the country. As the recipient of the 'Delhi Ratna' Award, he is known for pioneering a new era in urban housing and infrastructure development and is among the most recognized real estate developers in the country.

This year, a Special Jury Award has been bestowed upon Deepak Bagla, Managing Director and CEO, Invest India, for his visionary work to attract and facilitate unprecedented foreign investments into the country. With an investor mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, he has been leading the quasi-government entity, blending the best of public and private sectors.

Rajiv Memani, Chairman and CEO, EY India, says, “A vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem has been key to India’s meteoric rise as the fastest growing large economy. At EY, we feel proud that we are making our contribution by fostering and celebrating this zeal through our annual EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Program. Our 2022 finalists comprise start-ups and new-age companies who have created new niche market opportunities as also those who have taken bold steps to build businesses that have stood the test of time and become market leaders. My heartiest congratulations to each one of these exceptional entrepreneurs as they move forward towards their ambitions.”

Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Program Leader, “Despite all odds fueled by a pandemic-induced slowdown, global political instability and weak investor sentiments, India’s entrepreneurial spirit has consistently grown, demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity. Indian entrepreneurship has displayed an indomitable spirit in finding solutions to emerging issues, beckoning a new era of technological breakthrough. We are certain that it will continue to fuel growth for the country on the global stage, both in terms of employment and economic value addition. Our deepest congratulations to the finalists, and thanks to the distinguished jury members.”

The past winners of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year India Awards include, Falguni Nayar (Nykaa), Harsh C. Mariwala (Marico), Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon), Siddhartha Lal, (Eicher Motors), Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Finserv), Vivek Chaand Sehgal (Samvardhana Motherson), Vinita and Nilesh Gupta (Lupin), Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank), Adi Godrej (Godrej Group), Rahul Bhatia (Interglobe Enterprises), Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharmaceuticals), Anand Mahindra (Mahindra Group), Anil Agarwal (Vedanta Resources), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Bharti Airtel), Ratan Tata (Tata Group), N.R Narayana Murthy (Infosys), Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Hero Group) and Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries)

The winner will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) on June 08, 2023. The previous WEOY winners include Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon Limited (2020), Uday Kotak, Kotak Mahindra Bank (2014) and Narayana Murthy, Infosys Technologies Limited (2003)

Read more about the 24th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ at https://go.ey.com/3jyKLk/

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Notes to editors

About EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award

EY Entrepreneur of the Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in 60 countries.

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