Cholamandalam Investment's Vellayan Subbiah named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024

Vellayan Subbiah, Executive Vice-Chairman of Tube Investments of India (TII) and Chairman of Cholamandalam (Chola) Investment and Finance Co. Ltd., has been named the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024. This award, held at Monaco's Salle des Etoiles, recognizes Subbiah's outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship and marks the fourth time an Indian entrepreneur has won this prestigious title.

Selected from nearly 5,000 participants, including 51 winners from 47 countries, Subbiah's transformative leadership and commitment to sustainability and community welfare set him apart. Since taking over leadership roles in his family’s business nearly 15 years ago, Subbiah has navigated Chola through challenging times, significantly increasing its market capitalization. He also led TII through a comprehensive transformation, growing its share price 13-fold and spearheading the establishment of India’s first outsourced semiconductor and test facility through its subsidiary CG Power.

“Vellayan possesses all of the qualities one looks for in an entrepreneur,” said Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO. “The impressive growth of the businesses he’s led has been remarkable, but his story goes far beyond numbers. His humble and personable approach to leadership and his philosophy of enabling others to 'enter a better life' embody what it means to be EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year.”

Upon receiving the award, Subbiah expressed his gratitude and dedication to continuing his entrepreneurial journey. “I am deeply honored and grateful to be recognized as the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year. As part of a fourth-generation family business, the spirit of entrepreneurship runs deep within me. I firmly believe that by approaching challenges as opportunities and committing ourselves to a path of self-improvement, there is no limit to what we can achieve,” he said.

Rajiv Memani, Chairman and CEO of EY India, praised Subbiah's achievements, stating, "Vellayan has grown and transformed his businesses to remarkable scale through a customer-centric approach, innovation, and long-term sustainability at the core. He is a business leader driven by a purposeful vision of nation-building and transformative change."

The EY World Entrepreneur of the Year event celebrates visionary leaders who transform industries, grow the economy, and address global challenges. The 2024 winner was chosen by an independent panel of judges based on entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact, chaired for the second consecutive year by Hernan Kazah, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Kaszek Ventures.

In the past decade, India has celebrated three winners of the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year: Uday Kotak in 2014, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 2020, and Vellayan Subbiah in 2024, with Narayana Murthy also having won the award in 2003.