8 Indians among world's best performing CEOs

Eight Indian CEOs have made it to the list of 100 best performing global chief executives, compiled by Harvard Business Review (HBR).

On an average, these CEOs have delivered a total shareholder return of 1,385 per cent during their tenures and increased their firms' market value by $40.2 billion (adjusted for inflation, dividends, share repurchases, and share issues). 

HBR stated this year's list looked at criteria like making the group truly global and financial performance during their tenure and also in terms of corporate social performance for the selection process.

Find out more about Indian CEOs in the list and the top 10 best performers...

Y C Deveshwar (Rank 7)
ITC Chairman

Deveshwar was first among the Indian CEOs featured in this list, and cornered the seventh place overall.

Under his leadership, ITC delivered industry-adjusted shareholder returns of 1,574 per cent and saw its value increase by $45 billion.

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Subir Raha (Rank 13)
Former chairman and MD, ONGC

One of India's most influential corporate honchos, Subir Raha played a key role in making ONGC highly successful.

During his tenure as Chairman and Managing Director from May 2001-2006, ONGC's market capitalisation increased more than 10 times to Rs 200,000 crore, and became the leader among all public and private sector companies in India in terms of net worth.

Subir Raha passed away in February 2010.

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Mukesh Ambani (Rank 28)
Chairman and CEO, Reliance Industries

India's richest man Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and initiated Reliance's backward integration journey from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, petroleum refining and going up-stream into oil and gas exploration and production.

Reliance Industries under his leadership has grown to become India's second-largest Indian company by turnover.

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A M Naik (Rank 32)
Chairman and Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro

A M Naik joined Larsen & Toubro as a Junior Engineer in 1965. Naik rapidly rose to positions of increasing responsibility as he moved from General Manager to Managing Director and CEO, culminating in his appointment as Chairman in December 2003. 

Naik's broad global perspective has seen the company expanding its horizons beyond domestic frontiers, positioning itself to become a true international player.

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A K Puri (Rank 38)
Former CMD, Bharat Heavy Electricals

A K Puri, former managing director, BHEL is ranked the 38th best CEO. It is one of the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India's in the energy-related/infrastructure sector.

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Sunil Bharti Mittal (Rank 65)
Chairman, Bharti Airtel

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder, Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, one of India's leading business groups with interests in telecom, retail, financial services, realty and agri-products.

Sunil started his career at 18 after graduating from Panjab University in India in 1976 and founded Bharti.

Today he heads a successful enterprise which employs over 30,000 people. Bharti Airtel, the flagship group company, has a market capitalization of over $30 billion.

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Naveen Jindal (Rank 87)
CEO, Jindal Steel & Power

Jindal Steel & Power was a moderately performing enterprise when Naveen Jindal first took over its Raigarh and Raipur operations in 1993.

Today, JSPL operates the world's largest coal-based sponge iron manufacturing plant in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, and plants in Jharkhand and Orissa.

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V S Jain (Rank 89)
Former Chairman, SAIL

V S Jain took charge of the office of Chairman of SAIL on 11 June 2010.

SAIL, which has been recently accorded the status of 'Maharatna' by the government, is currently preparing for divestment of 10 per cent of its equity in two tranches and is implementing a Rs 60,000-crore modernisation and expansion plan in its plants and mines.

With Verma at its helm, SAIL is poised to attain greater heights.

Click NEXT to find out who are ranked as the world's 10 best CEOs...

Steve Jobs (Rank 1)
Former Apple CEO

The best-performing CEO over the past 17 years globally was Steve Jobs of Apple. From 1997 to 2011, Apple's market value increased by $359 billion, and its shareholder return experienced average compound annual growth of 35 per cent.

"That remarkable accomplishment is likely to go unbeaten for a long time," HBR said.

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc passed away in 2011.

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Jeff Bezos (Rank 2)
CEO, Amazon.com CEO

Jeff Bezos played a key role in the growth of e-commerce as the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Inc.

Under his guidance, Amazon.com became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and the model for Internet sales.

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Yun Jong-Yong (Rank 3)
Former CEO, Samsung Electronics

Jong Yong Yun has served as CEO of Samsung Electronics Co since 1997.

Under his leadership, Samsung's revenues grew five-fold to $103 billion, achieving a ranking in the Top 50 companies in the 2007 Fortune Global 500. Samsung is the world's largest technology company by revenues from 2009 to 2012.

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Roger Agnelli (Rank 4)
Former CEO & president, Vale

Roger Agnelli was the former chief executive of Vale. Vale is a Brazilian multinational diversified metals and mining corporation and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil.

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John C Martin (Rank 5)
Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences

Martin joined Gilead Sciences in 1990. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1996 through May 2008.

Prior to joining Gilead, Martin held several leadership positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Syntex Corporation.

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Chung Mong-Koo (Rank 6)
Chairman, Hyundai Motor Company

Chung Mong Koo is the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, the largest carmaker in South Korea.

He is credited with improving the reputation, perception and sales of Hyundai vehicles by shifting the automaker's emphasis from production to quality.

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David Simon (Rank 8)
CEO, Simon Property Group

David Simon heads Simon Property Group, an American commercial real estate company, ranked 1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust.

David Simon was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of Simon Property Group in October of 2007. He has been Chief Executive Officer of Simon Property Group since 1995.

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Margaret C Whitman (Rank 9)
CEO, Hewlett-Packard

The highest-ranked woman on the list is Meg Whitman, currently the CEO of beleaguered HP, whose performance as the CEO of eBay from 1998 to 2008 earned her the 9th spot.

Interestingly, overall, only 1.9 per cent of all the CEOs studied were women.

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John T Chambers (Rank 10)
Chairman & CEO, Cisco Systems

John Chambers is Chairman and CEO of Cisco. He has helped grow the company from $70 million when he joined Cisco in January 1991, to $1.2 billion when he assumed the role of CEO, to record revenues of $46 billion in FY12.

In 2006, Chambers was named Chairman of the Board, in addition to his CEO role.