Press release

17 Mar 2021

EY announces 14 Finalists for the 22nd EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Awards Program

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EY India

Multidisciplinary professional services organization

  • Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award
  • An eminent nine-member Jury, led by Uday Kotak, selected the 14 Finalists
  • The 14 Finalists, including Unicorns and a Decacorn have a combined revenue of over INR 52,000 crores and employ more than 1,10,000 people
  • The Jury commends the unstoppable Finalists for their resilience, ability to adapt and act fast, innovation, customer-centricity, technology focus, agility and creating a societal impact  

New Delhi/Mumbai 17 March 2021: EY, the leading global professional services organization, today announced selection of 14 of the most exceptional entrepreneurs as Finalists for the 22nd Entrepreneur of the Year™ - India (EOY) 2020 Awards. The unstoppable Finalists have been selected from among over 190 outstanding nominations and will be felicitated at a celebratory virtual awards ceremony on 25 March 2021. The winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from India will represent the country at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) on 10 June 2021.

In the virtual ceremony, winners will be announced across several categories. The evening also comprises an insightful panel discussion where panellists and former World Entrepreneur of the Year™ awardees from India will share their personal entrepreneurial lessons. This exclusive discussion will be hosted at the 2020 virtual awards ceremony to be telecast live starting 7 p.m. on 25 March 2021.

Together, the 14 Finalists including Unicorns and a Decacorn have combined revenues of INR 52,000 crores and are providing employment to more than 1,10,000 people. Underscoring their resilience, the Finalists also reported significantly stronger financial performance in times when global and domestic economic growth rates have been tepid.

The Finalists were selected by an eminent nine-member independent Jury Panel led by Uday Kotak, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank. Other Jury Members include Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon, Neeraj Bharadwaj, Managing Director, Carlyle India Advisors, Jalaj Dani, Co-Promoter. Asian Paints, Amit Dixit, Co-Head of Asia Acquisitions, and Head of India, Blackstone Private Equity, Deep Kalra, Founder and Group Executive Chairman, MakeMyTrip, Rajnish Kumar, Former Chairman, State Bank of India, Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro and Gopal Srinivasan, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds.

Uday Kotak, the Jury Chairman and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, says, “Indian entrepreneurship has come of age. We see budding entrepreneurs from startups to established companies. There are many awards in this country for recognizing businessman, but EOY looks at entrepreneurship as the key lens through which persons and businesses are evaluated. The judging process this year was unique as we assessed the candidates for their ability to carve out a different future from the present. I would like to commend the 14 Finalists for their differentiated business models, bold vision, resilience, innovative thinking, determination to succeed and the ability to build sustainable businesses against all odds.”

The Jury considered a host of criterion including the nominee’s entrepreneurial spirit, ability to navigate through Covid-19, recent financial performance, strategic direction, product or service innovation, company leadership including personal integrity and risk-taking abilities, corporate governance, values, and involvement with the community.

The 14 Finalists for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2020 India Awards are:

  • Ameera Shah, Managing Director, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd
  • Byju Raveendran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. (BYJU’S)
  • Darshan Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Vini Cosmetics Pvt Ltd
  • Deepak Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, Deepak Nitrite Ltd (DNL)
  • Dinesh Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Indiamart InterMESH Ltd (Indiamart)
  • Harsh C. Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd
  • Peyush Bansal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lenskart Solutions Pvt Ltd
  • Samrath Bedi and Mira Kulkarni, Executive Director / Founder and Managing Director, Mountain Valley Springs India Pvt Ltd (Forest Essentials)
  • Srinivas Sadu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Gland Pharma Ltd
  • Sunil Vachani, Executive Chairman, Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd
  • Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India Ltd
  • Sushil Kumar Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aavas Financiers Ltd (AFL)
  • Vikram Chopra, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cars24 Services Pvt Ltd
  • Virendra Kumar Gupta and Umang Bedi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer / President, VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd (Dailyhunt) 

Click here for more information on the Finalists.

Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy, Founder and Executive Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd will be felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Reddy is widely recognized as the architect of modern Indian healthcare. He is also associated with several philanthropic contributions in healthcare such as the Save a Child’s Heart Initiative to address the widespread issue of congenital heart disease in India.

Rajiv Memani, Chairman, EY India, says, “Our EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Finalists have shaped new paradigms in their sectors. With innovation, boldness and execution excellence, they have created differentiated and compelling proposition for their customers. I congratulate each one of these exceptional entrepreneurs, who are focused on creating lasting value for their stakeholders.”

Says Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Program Leader, “Our EOY Finalists have showcased the ability to adapt and act fast to create success in this new world order. They are taking risks with bold new ideas, investing and building profitable enterprises with profound positive impact on industries, societies and individual lives. They are truly the unstoppable entrepreneurs transforming India.Selected by an eminent Jury, each of our EOY 2020 Finalists are exceptional entrepreneurs and winners in their own right.”

The past winners of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year India Awards include Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon), Siddhartha Lal, (Eicher Motors), Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Finserv), Vivek Chaand Sehgal (Samvardhana Motherson Group), Vinita and Nilesh Gupta (Lupin Limited), 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), Tulsi Tanti (Suzlon Energy), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Bharti Group), Ratan Tata (Tata Group), N.R Narayana Murthy (Infosys), Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Hero Group), Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries) and Subhash Chandra (Zee Telefilms).

To watch the live telecast of the EOY presentation you can visit www.cnbctv18.com/ms/ey-eoy2020/

Read more about the 22nd EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ at https://www.ey.com/en_in/entrepreneur-of-the-year/

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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.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, strategy and transactions and consulting services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

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