Fortune India 40 Under 40 2026: Next-gen leaders must balance legacy with innovation, say Madhav Singhania, Rishabh Shroff

The next generation of business leaders will need to balance legacy with innovation as India enters a new phase of economic growth, said Madhav Singhania, Joint Managing Director and CEO of JK Cement, and Rishabh Shroff, Partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, at the Fortune India 40 Under 40 2026 event on Wednesday.

Speaking at a panel discussion titled ‘The Next-Gen Leadership Mantra’ in Mumbai, the two leaders outlined key opportunities and challenges for businesses, ranging from India’s consumption story, and sustainability to artificial intelligence, global expansion, and ease of doing business.

India’s consumption story offers a key opportunity

Singhania said India’s demographic dividend and rising consumption present a significant opportunity, particularly for businesses in construction and building materials. “We come from the cement business, and we have also invested in paints and construction chemicals. A large opportunity that we see is in India’s consumption story,” he said, adding that demand for building materials is likely to rise as India’s development gathers pace.

However, he said growth must be accompanied by a greater focus on sustainability. Given cement’s high carbon footprint, the industry will need to find ways to decarbonise operations through measures such as green energy and alternative fuels.

Logistics, construction efficiency, and AI to shape building materials

Singhania identified three major trends that could shape the building-materials industry.

The first is the decarbonisation of logistics, with LNG and electric trucks emerging as potential alternatives as transportation accounts for a substantial portion of costs.

The second is the growing focus on faster and easier construction, reflected in the adoption of ready-mix concrete, prefabricated construction and products requiring fewer paint coats.

The third is artificial intelligence, which he said could improve manufacturing efficiency, particularly in energy-intensive cement plants.

“Energy is a big cost,” Singhania said, highlighting the potential for AI to improve plant operations and optimise energy use.

For Shroff, AI represents one of the biggest challenges for the legal profession and other knowledge-based businesses.

A fourth-generation member of a 109-year-old family business, Shroff said each generation had faced a different economic environment. His generation, he said, now has to prepare the business for an AI-driven future.

“The nature of the knowledge economy is completely disrupted,” Shroff said, noting that AI tools can increasingly perform tasks such as drafting legal documents that traditionally required lawyers.

Indian firms are developing global ambitions

Shroff also highlighted the growing global ambitions of Indian companies. Businesses are increasingly expanding overseas, forming international joint ventures and establishing subsidiaries, creating demand for cross-border legal and advisory expertise. “Indian companies have global aspirations,” he said, pointing to the expansion of Indian businesses into international markets as a significant trend.

This shift, he added, is also creating new opportunities for professional services firms as companies increasingly require advice on foreign laws, cross-border transactions and overseas expansion.

Both leaders flagged structural challenges that India must address to realise its long-term economic ambitions.

Singhania identified ease of doing business, consistency in government policy and dispute resolution as three key priorities. Greater policy predictability and faster dispute-resolution mechanisms, he said.

According to Shroff, stronger dispute-resolution mechanisms would be critical to attracting global capital. “If you want to attract global capital to India—Saudi money, US money, Korean money—our courts need to be able to handle that kind of scale and workload,” he said.

Next generation seeks new models of doing business

Shroff also pointed to a generational shift in attitudes towards traditional businesses. Younger professionals and entrepreneurs, he said, are increasingly drawn to family offices, investment platforms and newer business models rather than capital-intensive legacy businesses.

For established businesses, the challenge will be to combine professional management and innovation with the strengths of legacy enterprises while adapting to changing expectations among younger leaders.