Brave leadership for a bold, new era

The global health crisis has made even the most forward thinking of leaders question not just how they can affect change, but the very assumptions they once held sacrosanct. This truly is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consciously evolve the very nature of leadership, and some have seized it and carved a niche in the process.

Winning the ‘20s will require a fundamentally different approach to business, at a time when the power curve differentiating those at the top of their game and those left in their wake gets ever more accentuated. The transformative power that leadership holds in driving this growth must not be underestimated, and the inaugural edition of the Influential Leaders of New India spotlighted these new-age leaders.

Influential and inspirational leaders: The India context

At a gala evening event organised by Team Marksmen and held in Mumbai, a clutch of select leaders were celebrated and recognised for enabling, influencing, and inspiring teams and organizations, driving change en masse as they translated purpose into action. This one-of-a-kind platform lauded motley leaders helming organizations across diverse industries, embodying purpose and brimming with vision for reshaping India anew.

Speaking ahead of the event, Sudhakar Adapa, Founder & CEO, Commerzify, said, "The role of leadership has never been more vital than it is today. Great leaders are like great orchestrators, deciding the extent, direction, and degree of change needed at any given point, and we salute the spirit of the Influential Leaders of New India, who have blazed a trail of excellence. These unique trailblazers are reshaping the trajectory of not just India’s present, but more importantly its future, and standing in the global order.”

The leaders that took centerstage included the who’s who of India Inc. and those sharply in the ascendance. This included A S Rajgopal, CEO & MD, NxtGen Infinite Datacenter; Aditya Arora, CEO, Teleperformance India; Dr. Arvind Lal, Chairman & MD, Dr. Lal PathLabs; Aseem Chauhan, Chancellor, Amity University; Ashish K Srivastava, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife India Insurance; Atul Chauhan, Chancellor, Amity University; Dr. B. Lakshmi Narayana, MD & CEO, Sahiti Infratec Ventures India; Bhupinder Singh, Founder and Group CEO, InCred; C. P. Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra; Dalip Sehgal, CEO, Nexus Malls; Debasish Chakraborty, CTO & Co-Founder, Perfios Software Solutions; Dinesh Aggarwal, Joint MD, Head – New Business (ISAMEA Region), Panasonic Life Solutions India; Dipali Goenka, CEO & Jt. MD, Welspun Group; Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO, Nykaa; G Eshwar Koushik, MD, SVN Srinivas Group; G Sravani, MD, Kolagatla Swamy FNS Private Limited; Govindarajan V R, CEO and Co-Founder, Perfios Software Solutions; Hari Menon, CEO and Co-Founder, BigBasket; Harish Kohli, President & MD, Acer India; Harshbeena Zaveri, Vice Chairman & MD, NRB Bearings; Jimmy Mistry, Founder & CMD, Della Group; Jubin Peter, MD, Qthree Ventures; Juzar Khorakiwala, Chairman & MD, Biostadt India Limited; Koneru Satyanarayana, Founder & President, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation; Koneru Satyanarayana, Founder & President, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation; Dr. Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD & CEO, Kalorex Group; Manoj Adlakha, SVP & CEO, American Express Banking Corp India; Marzin Shroff, MD & CEO, Eureka Forbes; Masaba Gupta, Designer & Founder, House of Masaba; Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder & MD, UpGrad.com; Moloy Banerjee, Head - South Asia, Linde India; Naresh Naik, Founder and CEO, IREP Credit Capital; Pankaj Arora, MD & CEO, Raheja QBE General Insurance Company; Pradeep Gupta, Co-Founder & Vice Chairman, Anand Rathi Group; Praveen Prakash, IAS, Principal Secretary to C.M., Government of Andhra Pradesh; Rahul Mirchandani, Chairman and MD, Aries Agro Ltd; Rama Mohan Rao Amara, MD & CEO, SBI Cards; Robin Raina, President & CEO, EbixCash; Rohit Ohri, Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India; S Sunil Kumar, Country President; Henkel India; Sachin Pillai, MD & CEO, Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd.; Sanjay Arora, Founder & MD, Suburban Diagnostics; Schauna Chauhan, CEO, Parle Agro; Shrinivas Rao, CEO - Asia Pacific, Vestian Global Workplace Services; Sourav Sen, MD & CEO, Eirich India; Sree Balaji, CEO, iLink Digital; Subramanya Kusnur, Founder & CEO, AquaKraft Projects; Sunil Dutt, President - Devices and Sales & Distribution, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited; Thirumal Govindraj, MD, RMZ Corp; and Vijay Karia, Chairman & MD, Ravin Group of Companies;

In embracing change, industry leaders have shown that even in these tumultuous times, they can gravitate to a higher plane, one that could see them be more purposeful, more humane, and better-connected leaders, all while never losing focusing of overarching organisational goals. On the evidence of the evolution that seems to be playing out around us, many have embraced this new wave of change, and we will all be richer for the experience.

This initiative was brought to you by Team Marksmen, which unravels the unique challenges faced by modern-day businesses by offering solution-oriented knowledge platforms that serve a multitude of industries. These platforms, such as Most Trusted Brands of India and Influential Leaders of New India, provide your personal or professional brand a chance to be front and centre to an apt audience. Additionally, the team delivers thought-provoking content via MarksmenDaily, which offers highly specialised branded content, and actionable insights from across industries.

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