Category: Leaders

THE MIDAS TOUCH

Sheikh Ahmed is the Chairman of Dubai Airports, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group comprising Emirates Airline and dnata. He launched Emirates as the world’s fastest growing international carrier with a fleet of more than 150 aircraft covering over 100 destinations across six continents. The airline has achieved a rare feat of recording impressive profit figures for 25 straight years. dnata is one of the largest combined air service providers in the world, serving over 300 airlines in 35 countries with efficient cargo and ground handling, catering and travel services, effectively transforming Dubai from an attractive global tourist destination with a mix of leisure and luxury to the world’s most promising global aviation and logistics
hub.

VISIONS OF THE TYCOON

Taking into account Dubai’s strategic proximity to Europe, Africa and Asia, Sheikh Ahmed identified aviation industry as the main growth engine potentially driving Dubai’s economy as a global center for trade, commerce and tourism.
Aviation sector today accounts for over 17% of Dubai’s total workforce and Sheikh Ahmed, the Two-time flag-bearer for the UAE at the Olympics, is credited with numerous landmark achievements that the world has watched with bated breath. He has been instrumental in developing Dubai International as the world’s fourth busiest airport for international passenger and cargo traffic with a network of over 220 destinations served by more than 150 airlines and launched flydubai that emerged as the second largest contributor to air traffic at Dubai International covering more than 45 destinations with over 820 flights a week. Several ambitious projects including launch of Dubai International’s Terminal 3 in 2008, Dubai Duty Free recording one of the biggest single airport retail operations in the world in terms of turnover with revenues of US$1.46 billion in 2011, opening up of Concourse A in 2013, intended to accommodate 90 million passengers at Dubai International were undertaken by him. Sheikh Ahmed is actively engaged in charitable work alongside holding a number of government positions and playing an increasingly pivotal role as the Chairman of Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank and Chairman of Dubai World, the conglomerate that includes

the world’s third-biggest ports company, DP World. Sheikh Ahmed is also the Chairman of Alliance Insurance Company, The British University in Dubai, The Dubai Power & Energy Committee, Wasl Hospitality, Noor Investment Group and Noor Takaful.

CAPTURING GLOBAL ATTENTION

Sheikh Ahmed, the face of the aviation industry in Dubai, has also received several international honors including the Legion of Honor, the highest French Civilian Award, Verfassungsportugaleser, one of Germany’s highest honors for outstanding services to the City of Hamburg and special recognition by the Royal Aeronautical Society, UK. In 2013, he was presented with an honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from City University, London – Cass Business School, in recognition of his outstanding leadership skills in aviation, entrepreneurship, banking and finance sectors in the UAE.

TAKE THE WORLD IN YOUR STRIDES

The man who put Dubai on the global aviation map envisions the upcoming Dubai Expo 2020, as a big time opportunity to mark an up cycle trend in aviation with an expected 70 million passengers flying on about 300 aircrafts while keeping an eye on alleviating congested airspace in the Middle East with air traffic management solutions sewn into the system.

Trump has consistently received backlash for his populist, protectionist, and nationalist policies, by the world liberals. He has even been polled as the least popular US President in the history of modern opinion polls. His lack of experience in administration and politics has gone heavily against him. Figures have always spoken badly for him. While 64% rated for Barack Obama that they had confidence in him to do the right thing when it came to international affairs, only 22% showed confidence in Trump on same parameters. Actually, majority of voters have shown low opinions of his character and competence.

However, the question is: has this affected Trump? Not really, as he has continued with his policies, statements and ideas as if oblivious of any critic’s or opponent’s existence. It has definitely given him an advantage too; he is able to show he has done something, as consistent focus on corrections, he has been able to deliver finally.

Actually, his wins are more than his losses, in any field, be it business, politics or his personal life. He has managed his business well, and according to March 2018 estimates by Forbes magazine, he is the world’s 766th richest person with a net worth of US$3.1 billion. He has co-authored several books, including The Art of the Deal. He owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he produced and hosted the reality television show The Apprentice from 2003 to 2015.

POPULIST & PROTECTIONIST

Trump’s win of the US President’s election wasn’t easy, as he entered the 2016 presidential race as a Republican; however, he defeated sixteen opponents in the primaries. His political positions as populist, protectionist, and nationalist were severely criticised on media, but finally these very positions helped him seal the deal. He was even accused of making false public statements in his campaign; however, the final result was that he was elected president in a surprise victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as he became the oldest and the wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, and the fifth to have won the election while losing the popular vote. His election and policies have sparked numerous protests.

During his presidency, Trump ordered a travel ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, citing security concerns; a revised version of the ban was implemented after legal challenges. He signed tax cut legislation, rescinded the individual insurance mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act, and opened the Arctic Refuge for oil drilling. He enacted a partial repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act that had imposed stricter constraints on banks in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. In foreign policy, he pursued his America First agenda: he withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the Iran nuclear deal. He recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He imposed import tariffs on various goods from China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

After Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate coordination or links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in its election interference. Trump has repeatedly denied accusations of collusion and obstruction of justice, calling the investigation a politically motivated witch hunt.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Trump’s ancestors originated from the German village of Kallstadt in the Palatinate on his father’s side, and from the Outer Hebridesin Scotland on his mother’s side. All of his grandparents and his mother were born in Europe.

Trump’s paternal grandfather, Friedrich Trump, first immigrated to the United States in 1885 at the age of 16 and became a citizen in 1892. He amassed a fortune operating boom-town restaurants and boarding houses in the Seattle area and the Klondike region of Canada during its gold rush. On a visit to Kallstadt, he met Elisabeth Christ and married her in 1902. The couple permanently settled in New York in 1905. Frederick died from influenza during the 1918 pandemic.

Trump’s father Fred was born in 1905 in The Bronx. Fred started working with his mother in real estate when he was 15, shortly after his father’s death. Their company, “E. Trump & Son”, founded in 1923, was primarily active in the New York boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Fred eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks, and apartments. The company was later renamed The Trump Organization, after Donald Trump took charge in 1971.

Trump grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and attended the Kew-Forest School from kindergarten through seventh grade. At age 13, he was enrolled in the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, after his parents discovered that he had made frequent trips into Manhattan without their permission.

In 1964, Trump enrolled at Fordham University. After two years, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While at Wharton, he worked at the family business, Elizabeth Trump & Son. He graduated in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in economics.

Trump did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War. While in college from 1964 to 1968, he obtained four student deferments. In 1966, he was deemed fit for service based upon a military medical examination and in July 1968, after graduating from college, was briefly classified as eligible to serve by a local draft board. In October 1968, he was classified as 1-Y, “unqualified for duty except in the case of a national emergency,” and given a medical deferment which he later attributed to heel spurs; in 1972, the medical deferment was changed to 4-F, “not qualified for service.” In the draft lottery in December 1969, Trump’s birthday, June 15, received a high number which would have given him a low probability to be called to military service even without the 1-Y medical deferment.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation is a U.S.-based private foundation that was established in 1988 for the initial purpose of giving away proceeds from the book Trump: The Art of the Deal.

The Foundation has given to healthcare and sports related charities, as well as conservative groups. It gave $926,750 to about 40 groups, with the biggest donations going to the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, the New York–Presbyterian Hospital, the Police Athletic League, and the Clinton Foundation.

The President of the US is not the most powerful person in the world because of his personality. He is the most powerful because of the authority he holds and the decisions he can make. Trump has a lot to prove to offset his bad decisions and statements. He has to pull his act together and take the right policy decisions, which are in the best interest of not only his own country, but also in the larger interest of the world.

CARRYING FORWARD THE LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

All dreams are made of a magical concoction whose ingredients comprise passion, grit and an insurmountable determination to work hard and win against all odds. Sajjan Jindal inherited this magical concoction and chiseling his dreams, developed one of India’s leading business houses, with a workforce of over 40,000. Diversifying his Group gradually to master other verticals, he forayed into cement, infrastructure, energy and so on, with a dream to help build a new nation. Leading India’s largest private steel producer, Sajjan Jindal has displayed mettle of steel as he has guided JSW Steel through the strategic tie-up with the world’s sixth-largest and Japan’s second largest steel producer JFE Steel.

Son of the Indian businessman and parliamentarian, Om Prakash Jindal and India’s richest woman, Savitri Jindal, Sajjan Jindal belongs to the highly revered Jindal family and the JSW Group, whose net worth is USD 13 billion.

He and his brothers, Prithviraj, Ratan and Naveen, each run their own businesses that were primarily inherited from their father. Married to Sangita Jindal, who is the Chairperson of JSW Foundation, they have two daughters, Tarini and Tanvi, and a son, Parth. He holds B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore being affiliated from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, Karnataka. Joining the family business right after his graduation, he moved to Mumbai to look after the western region operations of O.P. Jindal Group in 1983. He promoted Jindal Iron and Steel Company Ltd. (JISCO), for manufacturing of Cold Rolled and Galvanized Sheet Products in 1989, promoted Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Ltd. (JVSL), JSW Energy Ltd. (JSWEL), Jindal Praxiar Oxygen Ltd. (JPOCL) and Vijaynagar Minerals Private Ltd. (VMPL) to ensure complete integration of the manufacturing progress in 1995. In 2005, he merged JISCO and JVSL to form JSW Steel; their holdings group has the same name, JSW.

HELPING INDIA GROW

Commanding one of India’s fastest growing conglomerates, JSW Group which is a USD 13 billion company and an integral part of the O. P. Jindal Group, Sajjan Jindal has developed some of the major projects in India and has played a key role in nation building. He asserts, “We pursue growth zealously. In the face of all challenges, the most effective way to overcome them was to grow. Faster than the market, bigger than the competition.” Guiding JSW to become one of India’s top business houses, his innovative and sustainable ideas have helped all verticals of the Group: Steel, Energy, Cement and Infrastructure. Believing in creating values of the highest order, he has invariably focused on creating superior strength of products & services, a differentiated product mix, state-of-the-art technology, and then excellence in execution and focus on sustainability for assured success and growth. Like all great leaders, he too initiated with small steps and a humble beginning in the steel sector of India; however, with consistent efforts guided his Group to expand its presence across India, South America, South Africa and Europe.

DESERVING RECOGNITIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

He has received the Willy Korf/Ken Iverson Steel Vision Award for his contribution to the steel industry, the ‘Outstanding Business Leader of the Year Award’ at the 14th edition of the CNBC IBLA 2019 Awards, the Outstanding Business Leader of the year 2018 award, CEO of the Year award, JRD Tata Award for Excellence in Corporate Leadership in Metallurgical industry, National Metallurgist Award in Industry category instituted by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, Best CEO award, and several other prestigious national and international awards. An ex President of the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), he is a renowned and respected practitioner of sustainable business practices.

Melinda Gates has come far off from just being the wife of Microsoft Founder Bill Gates. Ms. Gates is a social activist and philanthropist by nature. With the establishment of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ms. Gates aims at giving a suitable platform to people around the world to help them achieve their dreams. Whether it is the poor health of the person associating with the organization or it is his/her social, economic, or educational requirement, she has specific models designed for people with specific needs.

IMPROVING LIFESTYLES

Under her leadership, the Foundation takes care of even the minutest details that can add to the quality of life of the people who collaborate with it. Melinda Gates aims at igniting the cognitive and conative aspects of humans across the globe. Under her strict supervision and direct guidance, the Foundation takes every possible measure to improve the health status and living conditions of the underprivileged people besides ensuring their wellbeing.

From providing underprivileged masses with basic and advanced financial tools to making the farmers learn the best ways of increasing production, the foundation takes care of every requirement of a common man.

EMPOWERING THE FUTURE GENERATION

Ms. Gates is also committed to revolutionizing the educational scenario in the USA. She is well aware that students are the future of tomorrow; hence, through the Foundation, she ensures enhancing the college completion rates of students so that the literacy rates are higher and useful for the world as well as its inhabitants. What’s more, through the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, she helps students fund their higher studies.

A RESULT-ORIENTED PERSONALITY

While most of the charitable organizations look at the individuals with respect to the issues they face, the Gates foundation is a bit different. Melinda Gates focuses on individuals and not on issues. She emphasizes the measurement of how effective the strategies have been in improving the quality of life of each individual. Her result-oriented nature is far beyond numbers and figures. It is about the intensity of smiles that it brings across.

Being co-chair with her husband, Ms. Gates takes the responsibility of setting the goals and providing valid direction to the working of the Foundation. She has always remained active whenever it is about women and children. She puts a strong emphasis on crucial aspects like maternal and child health while helping individuals understand the importance of family planning in a better way. Under her guidance, the Foundation provides life-saving vaccines, effective medicines, and advanced diagnostics to those who need it the most.

The user-specific models that are designed to ensure proper maintenance of global health and development are the consequences of Ms. Gates’ vision of treating every individual equally and giving adequate attention to their special needs.

Mr. and Ms. Gates’ initiative is not confined to any particular nation. The organization has its branches all across the globe, including Africa, Europe, India, China, and the Middle East, so that the people worldwide get a chance to associate with it. For her association with India, Melinda Gates was honored with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of the nation, for her ‘distinguished service of a high order’ in 2015.

TRANSFORMING THE WORLD

Believing that the path out of poverty begins when the next generation can access quality healthcare and a great education, she has been impactfully working in developing countries, focusing on improving people’s health and wellbeing, and helping individuals lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. She seeks to ensure that all people – especially those with the fewest resources – can access the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.

Ms. Gates has been actively offering people tools to lead healthy and productive lives, helping them lift themselves out of poverty.

Through her Foundation, she has helped people adopt new farming technologies, invest in new business opportunities, or find new jobs.

She feels that women and girls have a unique power to reshape societies, and when one invests in a woman’s health and empowerment, it has a ripple effect, helping families, communities, and countries achieve long-lasting benefits.

The youngest leader of the United Kingdom in two centuries, most importantly its first prime minister of South Asian heritage and a Hindu, Rishi Sunak says that accepting the role of UK PM was his dharma – “about doing the things that were expected of you and trying to do the right thing.” The Conservative leader is well versed in economics, and UK citizens appreciated his role as the finance minister, and at this moment of the financial crisis, he is an excellent choice to manage the country’s economy and make a stunning comeback. As the Prime Minister of the UK Rishi has to tame soaring inflation, make the sluggish UK economy grow, ease pressure on its overburdened healthcare system, and “restore the integrity back into politics”.

What it takes to make the cut is right decisions and risk taking ability, which the 42-year-old world leader is known for. He quit a dream career as an investment banker in Goldman Sachs to go for an MBA and then employment. He also knew that following his faith publically may make him a target for western media, but did not change his stand. He has always stood up for what he thought to be correct. He took a stand for his traditional and religious values, and was strong and determined about his economic policies and ideas.

HUMBLE ROOTS, GREAT EDUCATION

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton on May 12, 1980, to Indian immigrants, with roots in Punjab and East Africa. They met and married after their families migrated in the 1960s to Southampton in southern England. Rishi’s father became a general practitioner for the National Health Service. His mother, a pharmacist, owned and operated a small pharmacy, for which Rishi, the eldest of their three children, would eventually keep the books. Later, during his political career, he would underline this fact to relate his experiences working in the family business and the values he gained from them with those of Conservative Party idol Margaret Thatcher, who was the daughter of a grocer.

Rishi was fortunate to embark on a path travelled by the most privileged in society. He grew up watching his parents serve the local Indian community, and wanted to make that same positive difference to people as their Member of Parliament. He was first elected to the UK parliament in 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. A game-changer in his life was good education. Rishi’s parents worked hard to give their children the best of education. Their sacrifices enabled him to attend private school at Winchester College, where he became the head boy. He went on to study philosophy, politics, and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Trading and Investment Society that helped students with opportunities to learn about financial markets and global trading. While at Oxford, Rishi also had an internship at the headquarters of the Conservative Party. During his student life, he volunteered his time to education programmes that unfolded opportunities. In his summer vacations, he also waited tables at a Southampton Indian restaurant. Today, as a politician, he aims to ensure that every individual gets the benefit of good education.

After graduating from Oxford in 2001, Rishi became an analyst for Goldman Sachs and worked for the investment banking company until 2004. He quit the job and pursued an MBA at Stanford University as a Fulbright scholar. At the Stanford University, he met his future wife, Akshata Murthy, daughter of the Indian billionaire and cofounder of technology giant Infosys, Narayana Murthy. After Stanford, he began a successful business career that included stints at Goldman Sachs and as a hedge fund manager.

In a successful business career, Rishi co-founded a large investment firm, working with companies from Silicon Valley in the US to Bengaluru in India. He used this experience to help small and entrepreneurial UK companies grow successfully. From working in his mother’s small chemist shop to building large businesses, he realised how policies could support free enterprise and innovation to ensure future growth.

MAKING OF A WORLD LEADER

By the time Rishi switched to politics in his early 30s, he was already wealthy on his own. In 2010, he began working for the Conservative Party. During this period, he also became involved with Policy Exchange, a leading Conservative think tank, for which he became head of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Research Unit in 2014. In the same year, he was chosen as the Conservative Party’s candidate for the House of Commons from Richmond in North Yorkshire, a safe Conservative seat in the north of England long represented by one-time party leader William Hague.

In his first speech in the UK Parliament, Rishi shared a story from the days of his first campaign. It is about a farmer in Yorkshire who remarked, when Rishi was introduced to him as “the New William Hague”. “Ah yes Haguey! Good bloke. I like him. Bit pale, though. This one’s got a nice tan.” William Hague himself praises him as “down to earth – a non-ideological Conservative”.

In May 2015, Rishi was elected by a commanding majority to the Parliament from Richmond, North Yorkshire, a seat he still holds. He joined the “leave” camp on the issue of Brexit, which he said would make the United Kingdom “freer, fairer, and more prosperous.” He was re-elected to Parliament in 2017 and 2019, and he voted three times in favour of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans. In January 2018, he entered Government service as the Minister for Local Government, became Chief Secretary to the Treasury in July 2019, and was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in February 2020 and stayed on this position till July 2022.

Almost immediately after becoming the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi faced the challenges posed by the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. As the British economy was clobbered by the shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus, his office tried to offset about £330 billion ($400 billion) in emergency funds for businesses and salary subsidies for workers to retain talent and ease the burden of the lockdown on people and businesses. His rescue programs became widely popular, helping him become a welcome face of the government at daily media briefings.

MAN OF THE MOMENT

Rishi Sunak resigned from the cabinet on July 5, 2022, and declared his intention to replace then UK PM Boris Johnson as leader. He lost to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for the top job, which she could not sustain beyond 45 days, and paved the way for Rishi to become the first person of colour and first Hindu to lead Britain.

The journey as the UK PM so far has been a mixed bag for Rishi, but he is doing better than his predecessors, say observers. “Since Sunak has taken over, the polls have stabilised and the Labour lead has narrowed…,” said British polling agency YouGov on his 100 days in the office. On his personal rating, the agency assessed, “The Prime Minister’s personal favourability rating is comparatively better than those of his predecessors, sitting at -29 compared to Boris Johnson’s final score of -40 and Truss’s rock bottom -70.”

A senior Indian businessman and philanthropist known for his significant contributions to the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla is the Founder and Chairman of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers. His success story and leadership style are inspiring examples of entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Passionate about making the cheapest vaccines for the underprivileged people of the world, he exports his products to 100 different countries

BY JYOTI VERMA

Arevolutionary leader who transformed medicine in India, Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla not only helped India become self-reliant decades ago by manufacturing vaccines at affordable prices, but also empowered the country to serve many countries across the globe. Today, his company, Poonawalla Group includes the privately owned Serum Institute of India (SII), India’s top biotech company and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally (more than 1.3 billion doses). Dr. Poonawalla’s strong belief in “No Compromise with Quality” and willful commitment in “Health for All with Affordable Vaccines” has today lead SII to earn the title. It is estimated that about 65%

of the children in the world receive at least one vaccine manufactured by the Pune-based company. Notably, the SII supplied the measles vaccine to UNICEF and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) from 1990 to 2016, preventing an estimated 22 million deaths.

Headquartered in Pune, India, the Cyrus Poonawalla Group of Companies is a diversified group with business interests that include pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, finance, clean energy, hospitality and realty and aviation with the emphasis on quality, innovation, dedication, and customer support.

BEGINNING OF A GLORIOUS JOURNEY

Dr. Poonawalla hails from a traditional Parsi family of Maharashtra. He started SII in 1966 because he wanted to diversify away from horse breeding. His family owns India’s largest stud farm—the Poonawalla Stud Farms— that was set up in 1946. Their horses have won many classics. A chance meeting with a veterinary doctor led the leader into vaccines. Then, the farm’s retired horses were donated to government-owned Haffkine Institute in Mumbai, which made vaccines from horse serum. Dr. Poonawalla soon decided to extract the serum from horses and produce vaccines on a mass scale. Horse serum is used for creating vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and scarlet fever.

Dr. Poonawalla began with a small laboratory in a corner of his stud farm. The first vaccine produced was for Tetanus Antitoxin in 1967. The major breakthrough came in the mid- 1980s when he got pre-qualified or accredited for supplying vaccines to the United Nation agencies. Thereafter, there was a meteoric rise for the company, Dr. Poonawalla said in an interview. Gradually, the SII produced a range of vaccines for DTP, measles, and snake-venom, to name a few, and became India’s largest manufacturer of vaccines in just one year. By 1998, SII was exporting its vaccines across the world and almost every second child in the world was vaccinated by one of its vaccines.

A LEADER PAR EXCELLENCE

Dr. Poonawalla’s leadership style is a blend of vision, innovation, social consciousness, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the world. His visionary thinking allowed him to anticipate future needs in the healthcare sector and invest in innovative solutions. He foresaw the demand for vaccines and positioned his company to be a global leader in vaccine production. His commitment to research and development led to the creation of effective and affordable vaccines. He encouraged innovation within his organisation and consistently sought ways to improve and expand their product portfolio.

Dr. Poonawalla was not afraid to take calculated risks. He invested significant resources into expanding his company’s manufacturing capabilities and increasing production capacity, even when faced with uncertainties. His global outlook allowed him to understand the broader healthcare challenges faced by various countries. This perspective enabled him to produce vaccines that addressed the needs of diverse populations.

“DR. CYRUS S. POONAWALLA IS PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING THE CHEAPEST VACCINES FOR THE UNDERPRIVILEGED PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. HE BELIEVES THAT GETTING MONEY IS NOT ALL A MAN’S BUSINESS. TO CULTIVATE KINDNESS IS A VALUABLE PART OF THE BUSINESS OF LIFE“

DEDICATED TO PHILANTHROPY

Dr. Poonawalla takes equal pride in his philanthropic policies. He is passionate about making the cheapest vaccines for the underprivileged people of the world. He believes that getting money is not all a man’s business. To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life. He has followed this philosophy since beginning. He has worked with the United Nations. He exports his products to 100 different countries.

This list of Dr. Poonawalla’s humanitarian work towards his society is unending. He not only made his immense contribution through his institute, but also advanced to help the country in the sector of education and infrastructure. He has opened schools, gave funds for the construction of roads, highways, parks and rehabilitation centre for leprosy and handicapped people. He is also an Executive Council Member of Poona District Leprosy Committee, which is a charitable trust. He provided donations to organisations working towards a better future of the people as well.

To improve the lives of people of Pune, he also participated in Confederation of Indian Industries’ Program of “Zero Load Shedding” by Captive Power Generation by Private Companies. In addition, Dr. Poonawalla also organises free rubella immunisation camps for the girls of slum areas in collaboration with Rotary International.

COMMITTED TO NON-VIOLENCE

An author, speaker and renowned humanitarian, Ms. Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee is known all over the world for promoting peace, solidarity and culture. Belonging to one of the finest lineages in the country, she is the grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi and carries a fine legacy of non-violence, peace and harmony with her. She has dedicated her life to Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti by propagating the life-mission and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi amongst different sections of society.

“BEING A SOURCE OF BREAD AND BEAUTY TO MILLIONS IN INDIA, A HAND-SPINNING WHEEL, THE CHARKHA, IS ALSO A MEDITATIONAL THERAPY. METAPHORICALLY AND LITERALLY, THE SUBJECT AND THE WORLD OF KHADI ARE INSEPARABLE FROM MY LIFE, SHE SAYS”

Ms. Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee was born to the youngest son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Devadas, and daughter-in-law, Lakshmi Gandhi – the daughter of India’s last Governor-General C Rajagopalachari – on 24 April, 1934. She was the eldest child of her parents, and her childhood was rife with some of the most momentous memories with Mahatma Gandhi. She fondly remembers being a part of his evening prayers in Delhi and even visiting him at the Aga Khan Palace where he was put under house arrest in 1942 for 21 months.

AN UNFORGETTABLE CHILDHOOD

The granddaughter of both Gandhiji and Rajaji, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee’s childhood was populated by freedom fighters and leaders, who laid the foundation for an independent India. She is 88 now, but there was a time when, as a sprightly little girl growing up in Delhi in the 1940s, she bore witness to World War II, the tumultuous run-up to India’s freedom, the country’s tragic partition, and Gandhiji’s assassination.

Ms. Bhattacharjee spent some quality time with her grandfather and was highly influenced by his efforts to end social disparities, his way of life, and his ideologies. Currently, an Honorable Trustee of Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust (KGNMT), Ms. Bhattacharjee has dedicated her life to working for Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti. She also works for rural women and children with the KGNMT set up by Mahatma Gandhi.

Ms. Bhattacharjee’s husband was eminent economist, the late Dr. Jyoti Prasad Bhattacharjee. Her daughter Sukanya Bharatram is married to Mr. Vivek Bharatram and they have a son Akshar Vidur Bharatram. Tara’s son Vinayak Bhattacharjee is married to Louise Versteegh and they have three daughters — India Ananya, Anoushka Lakshmi, and Andrea Tara.

Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee had the position of Vice-Chairperson of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti for nearly nine years. Gandhi Smriti is the site of the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi for truth and non-violence. She is also involved with Save the Ganga Movement, a Gandhian non-violent movement to protect rivers and the environment of the country.

WORKING FOR THE GREATER GOOD

For the last three decades, Ms. Bhattacharjee has been working with all devotion for the KGNMT, founded by Mahatma Gandhi in the memory of his wife. The trust is one of the oldest pre-independence, nongovernmental institutions serving the needy women and children of rural India. In 2019, she was appointed the chairperson of the National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi. In 2016, Ms. Bhattacharjee was decorated with one of France’s top honours, The Order of Arts and Letters for her contribution in promoting peace, solidarity, culture, education and development.

Ms. Bhattacharjee is a leader who stands apart on the principles and values she follows. Just like her grandfather, she is also a staunch supporter of non-violence. “Non-violence and peace are a celebration of our consciousness to honour life and creation. This celebration of our consciousness should be translated into the objective of a people’s movement for cleaning the human mind of violence and protecting the environment from pollution. This celebration is a universal message that goes beyond the social, political and religious divisions,” she says.

According to her, non-violence means much more than just the lack of violence. It is also action and introspection. Nonviolence is the courage of truth with love. It is the reawakening of the spirit in harmony with nature and the environment and all forms of life.

She also suggests one to understand Satyagrah, which is the quintessence of Gandhism. In a letter to Lord Hunter, Gandhiji explained Satyagrah to be a movement based entirely upon truth. It replaces every form of violence, direct and indirect, veiled and unveiled and whether in thought, word or deed. Satyagraha is for the strong in spirit. A non-believer or a timid person cannot follow it. And, to follow it, the most important training is mental not physical.

Ms. Bhattacharjee promotes Khadi fiercely. The handspun fabric that was introduced by Mahatma Gandhi is a symbol of growth and creation. “Being a source of bread and beauty to millions in India, a hand-spinning wheel, the Charkha, is also a meditational therapy. The world again needs to get acquainted with the fabulous texture of the handspun fabric and the hand-spinning wheel. I am unfolding the meaning of life and creation on the threads of Charkha. Metaphorically and literally, the subject and the world of khadi are inseparable from my life,” says Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee..

She has penned down some vivid and inspirational moments from her childhood in her book – Reflections of an Extraordinary Era that she published a few years ago. The book is an inspirational and vivid behind-the-scenes biography of the Gandhi family and the commotion of India’s independence. In the book, the author recollects Bapu’s evening prayers in Delhi, visiting him at the Aga Khan Palace, and later meeting him in Shimla during her school break. Inspiring and heart-warming, the book presents small but priceless memories of Gandhiji’s illustrious life, from Satyagrah to his efforts to end social disparities at Harijan Ashram, kindness towards those visiting him for advice, and his life as a family man.

LEADING A NO-FUSS LIFESTYLE

To be an inspirational leader, one has to be grounded and in touch with their inner self all the time. Ms. Bhattacharjee is very clear on how she wants to spend her time and what she wants to give attention to. Her lifestyle is truly inspiring and one can learn a thing or two about mindful living from her.

She gives a lot of importance to a good night’s sleep. “It helps you to be energetic and positive in the morning,” she says. As soon as she wakes up, she avoids any gadgets or even the newspaper. She says that it is best to avoid any negative or chaotic thoughts to enter your mind first thing in the morning. Instead, she starts her day with some positive affirmations and setting the tone for the day. She also likes to call an old friend in the morning to get some positive vibes through a good conversation. “Finish difficult tasks in the morning and give proper nourishment to your body every day,” she adds. As for her tips for leading a mindful life, all she has to say is that one should keep searching for peace of mind. Never deplete your energy with negative thoughts and give the mind lots of uncluttered moments. “A mind free of fear, free of clutter is an energetic mind,” she underlines. As a life lesson and people who worship Mahatma Gandhi, Ms. Bhattacharjee always says that one should keep Gandhiji in their conscience. She urges people to read his writings to understand him best and then follow his principles. She is hopeful in today’s youth, who question the norm and search for Gandhian thoughts.

Starting his career in 1961 on the shop floor of Tata Steel, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnace, he was made the Chairman of Tata Sons by JRD Tata in 1991. Under his stewardship, Tata Tea acquired Tetley, Tata Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Steel acquired Corus transforming the Tata Group into a global business house, whose 65% revenues come from abroad. His role was also prime in the development of the world’s cheapest passenger car, Tata Nano. His vision and trust in the young and promising business leaders was conspicuous when he invested his personal savings in Snapdeal – one of India’s leading e-Commerce websites.

ACQUISITIONS AND AWARDS

During his tenure, the group’s revenues grew manifold, totalling over $100 billion in 2011–12. Even after retirement in 2012 on his 75th birthday, he remains super-involved through various memberships and affiliations, including chairmanship emeritus of Tata Sons, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Council of Management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; and membership of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. He serves on the board of trustees of Cornell University and University of Southern California, on the board of directors of Alcoa Inc., and on the international advisory boards of Mitsubishi Corporation, JP Morgan Chase, Rolls-Royce, Temasek Holdings and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He has received Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and Padma Bhushan in 2000 – the second- and third-highest civilian honours awarded by the Government of India.

HUMBLE DISPOSITION

Ratan Tata was generally considered by the top business leaders of the country, the flag bearer of international dreams of India Inc. when he was at the helm of affairs at the Tata Group. However, he always found the fact “awkward to acknowledge”.

Those who know him closely wouldn’t be surprised by his down-to-earth attitude, as he is a very private person. However, when it came to colossal or seemingly impossible business targets, he made them appear simple and without the usual corporate struggles.

In the 16 years he was leading the Tata Group, he transformed the disjointed group into a cohesive global organization and increased the net worth of the organization from Rs. 13,000 crore to Rs. 129,994 crore.

IMPRESSIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE

Ratan Tata is a skillful leader and a man of ideas. In his typical high “dare quotient” style, he is recognized for increasing the competitiveness of the Group, going global with acute wisdom, and aggressively acquiring in cross-border deals, without compromising on the ethics of the Group.

He is part of the Tata legacy, but has carved a commanding height of his own.

He successfully filled JRD Tata’s shoes and proved himself another worthy legend in the Indian business community.

Dr. Habil Khorakiwala is a visionary who saw much ahead of his times what others couldn’t even visualize, and invested in research in antibiotics strongly convinced that it would not only bring huge commercial success, but more importantly would also lead to everlasting good of humankind.

Thus, he set out at a very early age to establish Wockhardt as a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology organization, providing affordable, high quality medicines for a healthier world. As no pharmaceutical and biotechnology organization would go the distance and stay the course without robust research and development, Dr. Khorakiwala industriously built it brick-by-brick to mould it as India’s leading research-based global healthcare enterprise with relevance in the fields of Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and a chain of advanced Super Speciality Hospitals.

He shares, “The secret to success in research is no different from the secret of success in business. One sees what everyone sees. But, one must imagine what no one else does. It is all in the mind. We have made a commitment to humanity that with our drug discovery programme, we will save millions of lives worldwide.”

AMBITIOUS DREAMS OF A YOUNG MIND

Drawing from the entrepreneurial spirit of his grandfather and father – who migrated from Palanpur in Gujarat, India to establish businesses in Mumbai as they wanted to make a mark in Mumbai convinced that in the future Mumbai would make its mark in the world – Dr. Khorakiwala joined his father’s company in 1966, Worli Chemical Works, and helped him turn it around when it was on the verge of closure.

Earlier, deciding to seek a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy at the age of 17 in 1959, which obviously made his father happy as he had just bought Worli Chemical Works, Dr. Khorakiwala enrolled himself in the L.M. College of Pharmacy in Ahmedabad, and later took admission in the Master of Science course in Pharmacy at Purdue University in the US.

He reminisces, “I was all of twenty-four when I completed my Master’s programme at Purdue and returned home. As soon as I got back, I immersed myself in work, joining my father’s company. It provided a good training ground.”

ON TO BIGGER THINGS

Years passed, and several important changes took place in Dr. Khorakiwala’s professional life. In 1972, he suggested to move their manufacturing facilities to Aurangabad, as the Government had decided to promote it as a destination for new businesses.

In 1973, Worli Chemical Works was registered as Wockhardt Private Limited and by 1976 the business was finally shifted to Aurangabad, giving way to the beginning of a new phase for Dr. Khorakiwala. The Government of the time had enacted the India Patents Act, 1970, which came into effect in April 1972. While the pharmaceutical industry considered the provisions of the Patents Act a mixed bag, Dr. Khorakiwala felt that the new law also gave a boost to domestic manufacturing of drugs and pharmaceuticals.

He shares, “It was clear to me that we had to adopt a more aggressive approach to growing our business given the opportunity being provided. I knew the current structure of production and sales would not last for too long. We were at the cusp of change and Wockhardt had to ride the new wave.”

Eager to innovate and expand, he decided to manufacture nutritional and healthcare products, which was also a first in the industry. Dr. Khorakiwala reminisces, “No pharma company had till then entered this segment of the food industry. There were companies in the nutrition business and there were companies in the pharma business. I viewed both as being part of a common healthcare products industry. We launched a baby food brand, Dexolac, and then we bought a popular brand, Farex, from Glaxo. Marketing baby foods also gave us experience in the marketing of branded products. But I would always insist that we adhere to a strictly ethical route in the marketing of baby foods.”

CONSISTENT GROWTH

The 1980s proved to be a decade of growth for Dr. Khorakiwala, as in 1979 his manufacturing facility at Chikalthana in Aurangabad became operational and With the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas of January 2003, Indian companies were allowed to make overseas investments up to 100% of their net worth, and within a few months Dr. Khorakiwala acquired the UK based CP Pharmaceuticals. However, much before that in 1998, Wockhardt had already become the first Indian pharmaceutical company to buy a British pharma company by acquiring Wallis Laboratories. Later, he acquired Morton Grove in the US and Pinewood in Ireland.

Building on Wockhardt’s strengths in areas beyond its existing synthetic, chemistry-based pharmaceutical business, Dr. Khorakiwala explored, entered and expanded operations in a range of new areas. By 2008, he was operating the second-largest private hospital chain after Apollo Hospitals.

Zealously working on approval of new chemical entities, he has initiated several Phase III clinical trials in the US and Europe – having completed Phase I & Phase II studies – which are likely to be completed he also registered Wockhardt Synchem Private Limited, manufacturing bulk drugs at Ankleshwar in Gujarat. In 1983, he established Wockhardt Hitech Laboratories Private Limited, manufacturing nutritive foods at Kalol in Gujarat. In 1989, he diversified into medical services business and opened a day care OPD centre in Kolkata, and then next year followed it up with a super speciality hospital in Bangalore, the Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute. This was followed by the incorporation of Wockhardt International Limited for importing and exporting pharmaceutical products.

With the onset of New Economic Policy of 1991 and then the SEBI Act of 1992, he announced his decision to go public, and by December 5 managed to raise INR 675 million, while aiming for INR 580 million. Wockhardt became the first pharma company in India to go in for a public issue after the liberalization in 1991. With a robust performance, between June 1989 and June 1993 Wockhardt’s income had risen by 187% and profits before tax had grown by 385%. and approved by end 2020 or early 2021.

BACK TO THE SOCIETY

Dr. Khorakiwala established Wockhardt Foundation in 2008, which employs modern business practices. Through its flagship programme, Mobile 1000, it aims at operating a thousand mobile health vans in rural India, administering free primary healthcare to 25 million Indians every year.

Through its Pronto Toilets programme, it aims to construct more than 60,000 household toilets in Odisha. Other initiatives include health centres, Little Hearts, Pronto Bio Toilets, e-learning, Khel Khel Mein, the Wockhardt Skills Development Institute, SHUDHU water purification tablets, the Swachh the Bharat recycle machine and the Adarsh Gram Yojna.

An ever-optimist, Dr. Khorakiwala exhorts his fellow entrepreneurs and Indians, “We are on the threshold of a new phase in the development of the Indian pharmaceutical industry. For the Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry, the best is yet to come!”

The above-mentioned stunning genius, today, is best known as the Co-founder of Facebook. He is also one of the richest persons, an Internet entrepreneur, an economist and an angel investor.

BORN TO BE BIG

Born in 1982 in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a wealthy Jewish Brazilian family, he went to Harvard University in 2006 and graduated in Economics (Honors). His father Roberto Saverin has several businesses in clothing, shipping and real estate, and his mother, Paula, works as a psychologist.

Savvy, adaptable, and inherently strategic, Eduardo is considered the force that really made Facebook get off the ground, as he established Facebook’s first income-generating partnerships with Apple, Paramount Pictures, and others, as the first investor to put his money in the venture. He later worked as Co-founder, Chief Financial Officer and Business Manager of Facebook.

Currently, he makes seed, early-stage and growth technology investments as an angel investor and mentors a variety of companies from all parts of the world.

THE BILLION DOLLAR STORY

Eduardo made a friendship with Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard University and as both of them realized that a dedicated social networking website for Harvard students was lacking, together they created and launched TheFacebook.com in February 2004 with Eduardo taking care of the servers. Within three months, by April 2004, based on Facebook’s exponential success, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and the third co-founder – Dustin Muskovitz, established a full-fledged limited liability company under Florida law, by the name The Facebook. Just two months later, by June 2004, Harvard had accepted that thefacebook.com had achieved unprecedented popularity.

Later, Eduardo went to New York for an internship at Lehman Brothers and launched another start-up – a job boards site called Joboozle.

THE MAGNIFICENCE CONTINUES

Being one of the richest in the world, the humble Eduardo credits his grandparents for being his inspiration in life. He is proud of the fact that, “All of us, always, ended up doing something.” He married Elaine Andriejanssen in June 2015, whom he met while he was a student at Harvard. She also has several businesses in Massachusetts.

With the legacy of being a Co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo further launched an impressive business of assisting startups through angel investing, his business base being in Southeast Asia. Though Eduardo likes to play safe on his investments, the interest of his investments has majorly been Asian tech companies as he has made about 20 personal investments in tech startups, which include Hampton Creek – a fraught egg-free-mayonnaise company, Orami – a female-focused e-commerce company, Redmart – a Singapore-based online retailer, etc. His other investments include Flightcar – a company that lets people who park at the airport rent their cars out to other travelers, and Silvercar – a company that only rents out silver Audi A4s.

The best thing about him is that he knows deep in his heart: “I’ve done it before; I can do it again”.