Leaders Extraordinaire: India's Best CEOs Are Leading from the Front, Transforming Businesses in Uncertain Times

THERE WAS A TIME when we, as cub reporters, would ask chief executives what their companies would look like a decade later. Cut to 2025. Today, while the broad objectives of a company may be clear, operational strategies are only good for two or three years at best. Course correction is inevitable, given the constant disruptions CEOs must deal with: geopolitics, supply chains, or trade and tariffs. ITC Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri calls it ‘TURN’ — turbulence, uncertainty, rapid change, leading to novel strategies. A key weapon in tackling these rapid changes is technology. As the India findings of the ‘EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey: Global Confidence Index 2025’ released earlier this year show, 86% of CEOs recognise the pivotal role of emerging technologies, marking them as a key investment priority for the next 12 months. In fact, 90% believe successful AI adoption and workforce upskilling will define industry leaders. Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani says it loud and clear: “AI will not replace people, but people who use AI will replace those who don’t.”