Hurun shines the light on India’s next-gen under-50 leaders in first-ever country study based on growth multiples

The ASK Private Wealth and Hurun India Successor 50, on Wednesday highlighted the Under-50 next generation leaders, who have been instrumental in driving growth multiples of their family owned enterprises.

Vikash Lohia, the second generation of Jupiter Wagons, who heads the commercial activity of the Indian manufacturer of railway freight cars and wagons maker, tops this Hurun list, having helped multiply Jupiter Wagons’ market cap 152.8x to ₹10,736 crore.

Amit Dahanukar, the chairman and MD of Tilaknagar Industries, a leading family-led business in the alcobev space, and Abhyuday Jindal (third generation) at Jindal Stainless have held the combined second spot, multiplying their companies’ market cap by 52.5x.

The study looks at the rise in growth multiples of companies in the 2020 to 2026 period.

Hurun India’s founder and chief researcher Anas Rahman said: “India is on the cusp of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in its history. Over the coming decade, an estimated $2 trillion in family business value will pass from founders to their successors, making the next generation arguably the most consequential cohort in Indian capitalism today.”

“The founders who built post-liberalisation India are handing over the reins, and the question the country must ask is not a sentimental one. It is an economic one: can the next generation compound what was created before them?”

Several women across companies are rewriting the playbook on what business succession can look like. This list of women is led by Rama Kirloskar, joint managing director of Kirloskar Brothers where the market cap of the company has grown 17.7x.

The second leader is Soumya Chava, executive director of Laurus Labs, who has helped the market cap of the company growth 16.2x since 2020. Third in this segment is Avarna Jain, vice chairperson of Saregama India, where the market cap has grown 14.8x.

Devansh Jain, the third generation of the INOXGFL Group and the list's only green-energy successor, delivered a 20.5x growth multiple since March 2020, with 37% revenue growth YoY, surging his company's valuation past the ₹1 lakh crore-mark.

The pre-eminent corporate employers on the 2026 ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Successors 50 list include Samvardhana Motherson International, under the leadership of Laksh Vaaman Sehgal, boasting a workforce of 127,886 employees; and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, under Shashwat Goenka's leadership, with 55,000 employees, among other big names of India inc.

Karan Adani, the managing director of Adani Ports & SEZ, tops the ‘Absolute Value Gainers’ segment, helping the ₹42,149 crore base jump 7.3x—or ₹2,56,525 crore value gained—to ₹3,09,784 crore in terms of market capitalisation. He is followed by Aalok Shanghvi and Vidhi Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (₹1,72,135 crore value gained) and Priya Agarwal Hebbar of Hindustan Zinc (₹1,56,991 crore value gained).

TVS Motor’s chairman and managing director Sudarshan Venu is fourth in this segment with a value gained of ₹1,49,770 crore. At fifth place is Varun Jaipuria, executive vice chairman of Varun Beverages, who has helped generate a value gain of ₹1,14,421 crore.

Rajesh Saluja, co-founder, CEO & MD, ASK Private Wealth, added: “This Successors 50 list highlights a powerful shift in India’s business landscape, spotlighting the country’s dynamic next-generation business leaders.”