EY, the leading global professional services organisation, today announced the selection of 16 of the most exceptional entrepreneurs as Finalists for the 20th Entrepreneur of the Year™ - India (EOY) 2018 Awards. The Finalists have been selected from among over 240 outstanding nominations and will be felicitated at a grand celebratory Awards Banquet to be held on 12 February in Mumbai.   Together, these 16 Finalists have combined revenues of INR 1,16,264crore (US 16.3 billion) and are providing employment to 2,54,738 people in India and globally.   The winners will be announced across several categories, while the national winner will represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from 5 – 9 June 2019.   The Finalists were selected by an eminent eight-member independent Jury Panel led by Uday Kotak, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank. The other Jury Members are Jalaj Dani, Co-Promoter, Asian Paints; Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises; Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy Officer, Wipro; Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson, Thermax; Sameer Sain, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Everstone Group; Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman, The Sanmar Group and Kunal Shroff, Managing Partner, ChrysCapital Advisors.   Uday Kotak, the Jury Chairman and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, says, “As a Jury, we were impressed with the outstanding quality of nominations from across industries and regions. We followed an intense and rigorous selection process, consistently applied worldwide for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Along with my fellow Jury members, I would like to commend the 16 Finalists for their bold vision, innovative thinking, determination to succeed and their ability to build sustainable businesses in a highly competitive market.”   The Finalists for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2018 India Awards are:

• Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AU Small Finance Bank
• Mr. Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Oravel Stays (OYO Hotels and Homes)
• Mr. Sahil Barua, Chief Executive Officer, Delhivery
• Mr. Karan Bhagat, Founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IIFL Investment Managers
• Mr. Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Company
• Mr. Kishore Biyani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Future Group
• Dr. Satyanarayana Chava, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Laurus Labs
• Mr. Binish Chudgar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Intas Pharmaceuticals
• Mr. Tarang Jain, Managing Director, Varroc Group
• Mr. Manu Kumar Jain, Managing Director - Xiaomi India
• Mr. Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Eicher Motors
• Mr. Rajesh Mehra, Promoter and Director, Jaquar Group
• Mr. Nirmal K Minda, Chairman and Managing Director, Minda Industries
• Mr. Ashok Reddy, Managing Director and Co- Founder, TeamLease Services
• Mr. Byju Raveendran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Think & Learn (BYJU’S)
• Mr. Atul Ruia, Chairman and Managing Director, The Phoenix Mills

Click here for more on the Finalists.   Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Ltd. will be felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A highly respected business leader, Mr. Premji has been instrumental in developing the Indian information technology industry. He led Wipro’s transformation from a vegetable oil business into a multi-business technology organization with revenues of over US 9 billion today. In 2001, he founded the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization, with a vision to facilitate a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. A Padma Vibhushan and a Padma Bhushan Awardee, he is ranked among the top philanthropic donors in the world.   Rajiv Memani, Chairman, EY India, says, “Entrepreneurship has taken a new meaning in the current times with Indian ingenuity making a mark across the globe and technology shaping the future. What is common among our Finalists is their ability to create a compelling differentiation, achieve scale at an unprecedented speed and embrace innovation to either improve customer experience or drive efficient operations. Empowered by a strong domestic market leadership, their ambitions have taken global wings.”   The Jury considered a host of criterion including the nominee’s entrepreneurial spirit, recent financial performance, strategic direction, product or service innovation, company leadership including personal integrity and risk-taking, values and key employee initiatives, and involvement with the community.   Says Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Program Leader, “We are witnessing a transformational change in India in nearly all facets of the economy, fueled by digital technologies, coupled with the speed of change. The combined forces of entrepreneurs, businesses and the Government are creating new opportunities and building a new India. Selected by an eminent Jury each of our EOY 2018 Finalists are exceptional entrepreneurs and winners in their own right. They have seized the upside of disruption and demonstrated exemplary business acumen to excel in this transformative age.”   Ashish Gumashta, CEO, Julius Baer, India “We are excited to partner in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Awards 2018 that acknowledges India’s entrepreneurial dynamism and its contribution to economic growth. Across the world, Julius Baer has a long tradition of working closely with entrepreneurs to build lasting relationships. India is amongst the top five countries across the Asia Pacific region in terms of HNWIs and we are delighted to continue to bring Julius Baer’s global expertise and solid heritage of nearly 130 years in private banking, through wealth advisory, legacy planning and philanthropy solutions, along the entrepreneur’s journey and the build-out of the business.”    The past winners of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year India Awards include Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Finserv), Vivek Chaand Sehgal (Samvardhana Motherson Group), Vinita and Nilesh Gupta (Lupin Limited), Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank), Adi Godrej (Godrej Group), Rahul Bhatia (Interglobe Enterprises), Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharmaceuticals),  Anand G Mahindra (Mahindra Group), Anil Agarwal (Vedanta Resources), Tulsi Tanti (Suzlon Energy), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Bharti Group), Ratan Tata (Tata Group), N.R Narayana Murthy (Infosys), Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Hero Group), Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries), and Subhash Chandra (Zee Telefilms).   Read more about the 20^th EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ at ey.com/in/eoy