Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

19 entrepreneurs in race for Ernst & Young awards

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

In all, 19 top Indian business leaders have been selected as finalists for this year's Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards by a panel of judges, chaired by Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj.

Among the finalists are Sunil Kumar Alagh of Britannia Industries, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon India, N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys, K M Mammen Mappilai of MRF, Ravi S Deol of Barista Coffee, Sanjeev Aggarwal of Daksh Services, Naresh Trehan of Escorts Heart Institute, Pramod Bhasin of GE Capital India, and Kwang Ro Kim of L G Electronics India.

The others who are also in the race for the prestigious awards are Ratul Puri of Moser Baer India, Rajesh Jain of Panacea Biotec India, Ajjay Bijli of PVR, Raman Roy of Wipro Spectramind eServices. B V R Mohan Reddy of Infotech Enterprises, Ashwin Dani of Asian Paints, Rajesh Hukku of i-flex Solutions Anilkumar Manibhai Naik of L&T, Anil Agarwal of Sterlite Industries. and Pankaj R Patel of Zydus Cadila Healthcare.

The eminent six-member jury includes SBI chairman Janki Ballabh, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Rakesh Mohan, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, chief economist Omkar Goswami, and Sanmar group chairman N Sankar.

Bajaj will announce the winners at the Awards Banquet in Bangalore on October 10. The Entrepreneur of the Year will represent India at the third Ernst & Young's World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Monte Carlo in 2003.

Award winners from 35 countries are expected to compete at the world entrepreneur program, launched last year.

The EoY award recipients will also represent India at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year International Conference at Palm Springs in California, being held on November 21-24, 2002.

Apart from the Entrepreneur of the Year awardee, winners will also be selected in other award categories, based on attributes like leadership, financial performance, innovation and company sustainability.

Ernst & Young, India's chairman and managing partner Kashi Memani said in a statement that entrepreneurs were the lifeline of this country, according to a company release in Bangalore on Saturday.

"The finalists for this year awards are exceptional. In a society that has traditionally valued career security and stability, stories of these finalists will inspire many gifted people who need a little dose of courage to set up ventures of their own. This will stimulate economic activity," Memani stated.

The EoY program was first launched in the US in 1986 to celebrate the achievements of outstanding individuals who head growing, dynamic businesses, and make significant contribution to their respective economies.

The program is conducted in 20 countries. Some past winners of the EoY awards include Brijmohan Lal Munjal of Hero Group, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Azim Premji of Wipro, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com.

Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee, Jerry Yang of Yahoo, and Scott Kriens of Juniper Networks.

Setting a benchmark in business advisory services, Ernst & Young is one of the leading global professional services firms, which helps companies to identify and capitalise on business opportunities.

With the Andersen Partners joining in recently, Ernst & Young has emerged as one of India's leading professional services firm.

ALSO READ:
More Money Headlines

Tell us what you think of this report