BW Businessworld Unwraps its Special Issue Showcasing India's Most Valuable CEOs of the Year

In the era of strenuous economic times, a whole lot of industry leaders have stepped up their game, demonstrating exceptional courage against all odds and challenges and have triumphed in their respective fields, generating an extraordinary value for their stakeholders as well as their vendors.

Special Edition: Most Valuable CEOs

In the special edition of BW Businessworld, their latest issue exhibits most valuable CEOs on their cover. Led through a multi layered process along with BW Businesworld knowledge partner, TechSci Research, twenty-one outstanding leaders have been selected, paying respect to their valuable thinking and management.

Noteworthy performances of the year

HUL, TCS, Tata Steel, Wipro, SBI, IOC, HDFC Life, Dabur India, Biocon, Nestle India, among others, are part of this elite club with notable performances marching ahead with high growth numbers while discharging its social commitments.

Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, TCS stated, "Our profitability continued to be industry-leading, with the operating margin at 25.3 percent, and net margin at 20 percent. Our earnings per share was at INR 103.62, growing 16.1 percent over the prior year. Our cash conversion continued to be very strong, with a cash conversion ratio of 104.2 percent and free cash flow of INR 36,985 crore." while talking about the standout performance of TCS in the financial year 2021-22 wherein the company generated a consolidated revenue of INR 1,91,754 crore.

In the mention of notable performances, Praveen Sinha, CEO & MD of Tata Power Company said, "We made a solid progress on some of our key issues and continued to strengthen our balance sheet. Leveraging our robust operating cash flows, we brought down our net debt to underlying EBITDA to 3.92 percent." He further added, "Our domestic as well as international credit ratings received an upgrade in FY22, with our average borrowing cost narrowing 36 bps y-o-y to 6.82 percent."

Star CEOs in the challenging economic environment

The list of twenty-one most valuable CEOs in the cover page consisted of esteemed names such as Ravi Chawla, Gulf Oil Lubricants India; Vibha Padalkar, HDFC Life; Rakesh Khanna, Orient Electric; Siddharth Mittal, Biocon; Pradip Kumar Todi, Lux Industries; Shrikant M. Vaidya, IOC; Hitesh Oberoi, Info Edge; Sanjiv Lal, Rallis India; Thierry Delaporte, Wipro; Sunil D'Souza, Tata Consumer Products; T.V. Narendran, TSLP; Murali K. Divi, Divi's Industries; Mohit Malhotra, Dabur India; Amitava Mukherjee, NDMC; Balfour Manuel, Blue Dart; C.K. Venkataraman, Titan Company; D.K. Khara, SBI; M.R. Jyothy, Jyothy Labs; Chacko Purackal Thomas, Tata Coffee; Mithun Chittilappilly, V-Guard Industries and Suresh Narayan, Nestle India.

Indicators to the final countdown

For a detailed study, multiple factors had been taken into consideration to shortlist and come to a final conclusion. The CEOs nominated were filtered on a minimum three-year tenure with their company with a trading history of at least 700 days in a period of thirty-six months. Moreover, revenues were also taken into a major consideration, with greater than INR 250 crores for the financial year 2021-22.

All the companies shortlisted were looked upon their positive growth rate as well as their high income and market capitalisation. Nonetheless, an average growth rate was given a weightage of 75 percent wherein other parameters were looked into a weightage of 25 percent, in a collective manner. Post reviewing the parameters, eligibility criteria were rechecked for ensuring the best results. The time frame taken into analysis of the finances of each company was a period between 2018 to 2022.

At the mission with a vision

In conversation with BW Businessworld, Murali K. Divi, MD & CEO of Divi's Laboratories stated, "The uncertain market condition, induced by the pandemic and geopolitical disorder, has resulted in business transformation for one and all. At Divi's, we adapted and calibrated ourselves to emerge stronger from the adversity and sustain our market leadership in the API business segment." He further added, "We strive to create brand value by adopting sustainable practices and implementing green chemistry principles."

On the note of expanding horizons, T.V. Narendran, Chairman of Tata Steel Long Products (TSLP) mentioned, "TSLP grew its top-line by 43 percent (Y-O-Y) to INR 6,802 crore. Focus on operational and cost efficiencies led to TSLP reporting its highest ever EBITDA of INR 1,289 crore during the year compared to INR 1,154 crore in FY 2020-21. Strong capital management and deleveraging of the balance sheet also grew the bottom line (profit before tax) to INR 858 crore from INR 615 crore in FY21 (40 percent increase on Y-O-Y basis). Moreover, in keeping with the Tata ethos, we will be prioritising the promotion of inclusive social development through our CSR initiatives in health, education, sanitation and livelihood enhancement."

In regard to the outlook and the drive for consistent growth, Pradip Kumar Todi, MD of Lux Industries spoke to BW Businessworld, stating, "Growing exports will address a widening China+1 opportunity, enhancing the company's global footprint. At Lux, we are optimistic that the company's take-off based on these initiatives shall translate into enhanced value for those associated with our company."

The latest issue of BW Businessworld also gives a special focus, contemplating the question of 'multitasking' in the 'Last Word' column with Bibek Debroy, Chairman, EAC-PM with his expert opinion exercising questions on time management and his take on why multitasking is a myth.

Click here to view the complete list of BW Businessworld Most Valuable CEOs 2023