BT MindRush and India’s Best CEOs awards: India Inc.’s strategy in focus; Vellayan Subbiah named Business Icon

India Inc.’s evolving strategy amid a shifting global and geopolitical landscape took centre stage at the Business Today MindRush and India’s Best CEOs Awards in Mumbai, where Vellayan Subbiah, Executive Chairman, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company and Chairman of CG Power, Murugappa Group, was named Business Icon of the Year.

The event spotlighted how corporate India is positioning itself to leverage the country’s strategic advantage even as global fault lines deepen. Leaders across sectors underscored the “India Advantage” in a fragmenting world, pointing to the need for agility, calibrated risk-taking, and long-term capital allocation.

The MindRush platform brought together a wide spectrum of voices — from market veterans Madhusudan Kela and Shankar Sharma, founders of MK Ventures and GQuant, respectively, to Kirit Parikh, Chairman, Integrated Research & Action for Development and former Member of the Planning Commission. Other speakers included Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Indian Navy; Dr Samiran Chakraborty, MD and Chief Economist (India), Citibank; Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange; Ashwin Arvind, Deputy Executive Director, PSA Mumbai; and Captain Bipin Kumar Dhiman, Nautical Surveyor & DDG (Tech), Government of India.

Speakers such as Atul Mulay, President – Bioenergy, Praj Industries; Ashish Kumar, MD, VERBIO India; Arnab Basu, Chief Industries Officer, PwC India; and Harsh Shah, Director, Shree Naman Group, discussed the current macroeconomic environment and India’s positioning amid ongoing global turbulence.

Swami Gaur Gopal Das, Monk, Life Coach and Author, in conversation with Gaurav Sawant and Business Today Group Editor Siddharth Zarabi, emphasised that “the most certain thing to do is not be impulsive”.

Other eminent speakers included Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life Insurance; Sanjiv Mehta, Executive Chairman, L Catterton; Amish Mehta, MD & CEO, Crisil; and Shanti Ekambaram, former Deputy MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The MindRush event was followed by the unveiling of Business Today’s India’s Best CEOs annual edition and the awards ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Chief Guest Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra IT & Cultural Affairs Minister; Guest of Honour M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance; Aroon Purie, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group; Dinesh Bhatia, Group CEO, India Today Group; Siddharth Zarabi, Group Editor, Business Today; and Alok Nair, COO, Business Today.

In its 14th edition, the Business Today Best CEO Awards used a quantitative analysis of companies within the BT500 universe to arrive at a shortlist. The top three companies across sectors and revenue categories were then evaluated by a high-powered jury led by Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico Ltd, for strategic and qualitative assessment. PwC served as the knowledge partner for the exercise.

The jury comprised Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC India; Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life; Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO, Berger Paints; Kaku Nakhate, Chair, India, BofA Securities; Sanjiv Mehta, Executive Chairman, L Catterton; Amish Mehta, MD & CEO, CRISIL; and Shanti Ekambaram, former Deputy MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

In a special address, Aroon Purie said geopolitics is no longer in the background of business decisions but at the centre, adding that such periods tend to separate those who move early from those who spend too long interpreting developments.

A total of 17 sectoral awards were presented. Arundhati Bhattacharya, President & CEO, Salesforce (South Asia), received the Lifetime Achievement award. Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, NSE, and Nehal Vora, MD & CEO, CDSL, were recognised under Market Infrastructure Institutions. Some categories were merged to reflect the evolving structure of India Inc.

Among the category winners: Cement — Madhavkrishna Singhania, Joint MD & CEO, JK Cement; Chemicals — Anurag Choudhary, CMD, Himadri Specialty Chemical; Auto — Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra & Mahindra; FMCG and Consumer Durables — Sunil Vachani, Executive Chairman, Dixon Technologies; Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare — Shravil Patel, MD, Zydus Lifesciences; Transport and Logistics — Karan Adani, MD, Adani Ports & SEZ; AMCs, Brokerage and Insurance — Karan Bhagat, MD, 360 One Wam; and Agriculture and Allied — Arun Alagappan, Executive Chairman, Coromandel International.

Under the Urban Visionary category, the overall award was conferred on Jinal Mehta, Vice Chairman & MD, Torrent Power. Other winners included: Capital Goods — Sanjeev Sharma, MD, ABB; Oil and Gas — G  Krishnakumar, CMD, BPCL; Infrastructure — S N Subrahmanyan, CMD, L&T; Metals and Mining — Vipul Mathur, MD & CEO, Welspun Corp; Power — Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC; Real Estate — Shishir Shrivastava, Non-Executive Vice Chairman, The Phoenix Mills; Tech Titan (Information Technology) — Sudhir Singh, CEO & ED, Coforge; and Bharat PSU Icon — Manoj Jain, CMD, Bharat Electronics.

The event underscored a central theme that India Inc.’s ability to move decisively, adapt to geopolitical shifts, and scale with discipline will define its next phase of growth.