BS Awards for Corporate Excellence: Power-packed jury to pick winners today

A power-packed jury led by Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and comprising the country’s leading legal, management and private equity leaders will meet today to decide the winners of Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence for 2022.

Other jury members include JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal, Sorin Investments founder and Chairman Sanjay Nayar, EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, McKinsey & Company Senior Partner Noshir Kaka, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Managing Partner Cyril Shroff, Bain Capital Private Equity India Chairman Amit Chandra, and Multiples Alternate Asset Management founder and Managing director Renuka Ramnath.

The jury, which will meet virtually, will select the best in corporate India from a list of top performers. While the initial list is based on key financial data compiled by Business Standard Research Bureau for the financial year ended March 2022, the short-listed candidates will also have to stand out, based on qualitative aspects to be picked as a winner.

In all, there are seven awards, including “CEO of the Year”, “Company of the Year”, “Star MNC”, “Star PSU”, and “Star SME”. One award each is also planned for “Start-up of the Year” and “Lifetime Achievement”.

The period under review is the fiscal year ended March 2022 — a year of revival after several lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the previous year and one that was hit by uncertainties due to the second Covid-19 wave.

The jury consists of the best of India Inc. Birla, an astute industrialist and, at 55 years, among the youngest jury members, has been at the helm of the Aditya Birla group for the past 28 years. Birla’s strategy and vision, which saw several mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad, has helped the group companies emerge as sector leaders — be it cement or metals.

Under his leadership, the group’s turnover has grown 30 times to $60 billion. The Indian multinational group, which operates in 36 countries across six continents, plans to enter the paints business by March 2024.

Sajjan Jindal heads the JSW conglomerate, and is solely responsible for making JSW Steel among the top steel producers in the country. Under Jindal, the group has expanded its power business and forayed into high-growth sectors like cement, infrastructure, and paints. Through JSW Ventures, it invests in early-stage start-ups, while through JSW Sports, the group owns stakes in various teams (IPL’s Delhi Capitals; ILT20’s Dubai Capitals, etc). The group’s annual revenues now exceed $22 billion.

The former CEO of KKR India and now founder and chairman of Sorin Investments, Sanjay Nayar has been involved in several marquee private equity deals in the country. Prior to KKR, he headed Citibank India. His family owns a majority stake in Nykaa.

Renuka Ramnath is one of the most experienced private equity fund managers in India with an outstanding track record of investing capital in India raised from across the world. Ramnath had earlier built several businesses in the ICICI group, including investment banking, e-commerce, and private equity. As the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) for close to a decade, she had led ICICI Venture to become one of India’s largest private equity funds. Ramnath set up Multiples — a $2-billion fund — in 2009. She is the founder and CEO of Multiples Asset Management.

Memani, who joined EY in the mid-1980s, rose to become the chairman and regional managing partner for EY India. Memani is also a member of EY’s global executive board and chairman of its global emerging markets (GEM) committee. In his role as chairman of the GEM committee, Memani’s responsibilities include connecting emerging markets with developed markets as well as recommending investment plans for EMs. He is a member of the National Council of the CII, in addition to being the chairman of its national committee on tax.

Kaka, who led McKinsey India as its managing director from 2011 to 2016, headed McKinsey’s global analytics practice from 2016 to 2020. Kaka has founded the firm’s global outsourcing and offshoring practice and the business technology office in India. He has been a member of McKinsey’s shareholders council (the firm’s global governance board) and sits on the advisory board of the McKinsey Knowledge Centre. He is currently a senior partner and co-leads the firm’s technology, media and telecommunications practice globally.

Shroff, managing partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, is among the country’s top lawyers with a vantage view of Indian companies. He has consistently been ranked as “star practitioner” in India by Chambers Global and is often regarded as the “M&A King of India”. A thought leader and a visionary, Shroff is known for advising on many first of its kind transactions in India. He has over 40 years of experience in a wide range of practice areas, including corporate and securities law, banking, bankruptcy, disputes and infrastructure.

Chandra, who founded Bain Capital Private Equity’s India office in 2008, is a partner and chairman of India for the firm. He is also a member of the financial and business services vertical and a member of the Asia-Pacific leadership team. Prior to Bain Capital Private Equity, he was managing director of DSP Merrill Lynch where Chandra had direct oversight of its global markets & investment banking business.