EY announces Finalists for the 26th EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Awards Program

• K V Kamath, Padma Bhushan recipient and Chairman, Jio Financial Services, will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Dr. S Somanath, the former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will be felicitated with the Special Jury Award.
• These Finalists have combined revenues of over INR 1,86,000 crore and employ almost 3,00,000 people worldwide.

New Delhi, 24 February 2025: EY India announced nine exceptional entrepreneurs as the Finalists of 26^th Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (EOY), representing bold and resilient Indian ingenuity from leading conglomerates, family businesses, start-ups across different sectors. They will be recognized at a celebratory Awards gala evening on Wednesday, 5 March in the presence of Honorable Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri. Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi.

The 10-member independent jury panel of EOY 2024 Awards comprises some of India’s most eminent business leaders, led by the Jury Chair, Sajjan Jindal, JSW Group. The panel includes Vellayan Subbiah, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance and Tube Investments of India, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, HCLTech, Dinesh Kumar Khara, State Bank Of India, Sunil Kant Munjal, Hero Enterprise, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Info Edge, Shweta Jalan, Advent International, Shailendra Singh, Peak XV, Gaurav Trehan, KKR India, Ranjan Pai, Manipal Education and Medical Group.

The EOY Jury has selected Padma Bhushan awardee and Chairman, Jio Financial Services K V Kamath, as the Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to the Indian financial services industry and his visionary leadership that has inspired a generation of leaders. 

Dr. S. Somanath will be honoured with the Special Jury Award for his pivotal role in transforming ISRO by leading some of India's most defining space missions, and leaves behind a legacy of innovation and scientific excellence.

Rajiv Memani, Chairman and CEO, EY India, said, "I congratulate our Award Finalists, who represent India’s resilient spirit in the midst of a complex global landscape. They comprise bold entrepreneurs who have scaled unique business ideas with a strong moat and those who have transformed existing businesses through technology and innovation. I extend my heartiest congratulations to these shapers of India’s tomorrow. I also congratulate to Mr. K.V. Kamath for winning the Lifetime Achievement Award and Dr. S. Somanath for receiving the Special Jury Award.”

The Awards will spotlight winners across multiple categories, with the national winner representing India at the esteemed EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from 3-6 June 2025.

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2024 India Awards Finalists boast a collective revenue of nearly INR 2 lakh crore with a combined market cap of over INR 7 lakh crore and are instrumental in providing employment to almost 3 lakh individuals - in India and globally. They are:

1. Dr. Anish Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Group
2. Himanshu Baid, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Poly Medicure
3. Kamesh Goyal, Founder and Chairman, Go Digit General Insurance
4. Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson, Thermax
5. Nithin Kamath, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zerodha
6. Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties
7. Pradeep Rathod, Chairman and Managing Director, Cello World
8. Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, MakeMyTrip
9. Sameer Nigam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PhonePe 

Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Program Leader, said, "It is a privilege for us to celebrate and honour passionate innovators in business who are shaping the future of our country through the value they have created for their stakeholders. Each one of them is touching lives of millions of Indians through their products or service, creating a legacy that would continue to inspire generations of entrepreneurs to come. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the EOY 2024 Finalists and express my deep appreciation to our distinguished Jury for their invaluable insights.”

Over the past 26 years, winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year India Awards have included, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries (2000), Late Ratan Tata, Tata Group (2003), Kumar Mangalam Birla, Aditya Birla Group (2005), Anand Mahindra, Mahindra Group (2009), Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Airtel (2004), Late Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Hero Group (2001), Sajjan Jindal, JSW Group (2022), Harsh Mariwala, Marico (2020), Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Samvardhana Motherson Group (2016), Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Serum Institute of India (2014), Sanjiv Bajaj, Bajaj Finserv Limited (2017), to name a few of these, N.R Narayana Murthy, Infosys (2003), Uday Kotak, Kotak Mahindra Bank (2014), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon (2020), and, Vellayan Subbiah, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance and Tube Investments of India (2024) bagged the World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ title.

Read more about the 26th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Awards Program at EY Entrepreneur Of The Year India | EY - India

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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