Kiran Mazumdar Shaw awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019

NEW DELHI: Biocon chairman and managing director (CMD) Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was honoured with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2019 on Wednesday and will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from June 4 to June 6, 2020.
The event was attended by over 500 business personalities to celebrate the 21st edition of the EOY Awards in India.
Synonymous with the Indian biotech industry, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has been at the forefront of innovation and has enabled affordable, life-saving medicines through her strong investments in research.She is also among the earliest Indian signatories to the Giving Pledge -- a global commitment to dedicate majority of her wealth to philanthropy.
Awards were also announced for nine other categories, with the winners representing both mature industries and unicorns, riding the wave of change and transforming India’s business landscape.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) Awards is is celebrated across 60 countries. It recognises exceptional entrepreneurs who are creating successful global enterprises.
Minister of railways and commerce & industry Piyush Goyal was the chief guest of the event, while minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Thakur was the guest of honor at the awards.
“Entrepreneurship has always been the strength of India. I congratulate all the finalists and winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of the Year Awards. The ingenuity and passion of entrepreneurs will have a big role in accelerating our economy to US$5 trillion growth target," Thakur said.
The other category awards included: Startup award to Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO, Nykaa E- Retail; Transformational Impact Person of the Year to Tuhin Parikh, senior MD (real estate), Blackstone India; manufacturing to Arun Bharat Ram, chairman, SRF; for services to Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO, Zoho Corporation; financial services to Yashish Dahiya, CEO and co-founder, PolicyBazaar; consumer products & retail to Kuldip Singh Dhingra, chairman, and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra, vice-chairman, Berger Paints; life sciences & healthcare to (Hon) Brig Dr Arvind Lal, chairman and MD, and Dr Om Manchanda, CEO, Dr Lal PathLabs; entrepreneurial CEO to K B S Anand, MD & CEO, Asian Paints; energy, real estate & infrastructure to Ravi Raheja and Neel Raheja, group presidents, K Raheja Corp.
Rajiv Memani, chairman of EY India, said: “The winners of this year come from both long-established and new-age businesses, but what is common to them is how they have transformed their companies or reimagined the entire sector by taking bold bets, and using technology and innovation to delight their customers. These inspiring entrepreneurs have pursued a strong purpose and focused on creating long-term value for all stakeholders.”
The winners were selected by an eminent eight-member independent panel led by Uday Kotak, managing director and chief executive officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The other members in the panel were Deep Kalra, founder, group chairman and group CEO, MakeMyTrip Limited; Kunal Shroff, co-founder and managing partner; ChrysCapital, Gopal Srinivasan, founder, chairman, and managing director, TVS Capital Funds; Naina Lal Kidwai, chairman of Advent Private Equity; Sameer Sain, co-founder, Everstone Group; Vijay Sankar, deputy chairman, The Sanmar Group; and Jalaj Dani, co-promoter, Asian Paints.
The 17 finalists of EOY Awards 2019, including several unicorns, have a combined revenue of over Rs 100, 000 crore and employ more than 115,000 people.