Top Indian leaders in Arab World: UAE residents dominate list

UAE is a land of opportunity – not only for its citizens, but also for the millions of expatriates that call it their home.

This is evident from the new ‘Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World’ list revealed by Forbes Middle East.

The ranking has two lists – one owners and the other of the top executives in the region.

“The Forbes Middle East Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World ranking recognises the achievements of those Indian expats who have forged large enterprises within the region and beyond,” says the international magazine.

Sunil Vaswani Chairman and CEO of Stallion Group claims the No. 1 spot in the list of top Indian business owners in the Arab World, displacing the No. 2 ranked Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of LuLu Group International, from the top spot.

Chairman of Landmark Group Mukesh Jagtiani is ranked at No. 3, followed by BR Shetty of NMC Healthcare and Rajan Kilachand of Dodsal Group, both ranked at No. 4 in the business owners list. Sunny Varkey of Gems follows the list at No. 6, PNC Menon of Sobha Group of Companies at No. 7 and Ravi Pillai of RP Group of Companies is ranked at No. 8 on the list.

Aster DM Healthcare’s Azad Moopen at No. 9 and Korathe Mohammad of KM Trading Co round up the Top 10 Indian business owners in the Arab World. As is evident, all of the Top 10 are based in the UAE.

In fact, in the owners and founders category, 90 out of the Top 100 businessmen reside in the UAE, with five based in Kuwait and the remaining three business leaders residing in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.

In the Top Executives list, the No. 1 slot is taken by V Shankar, Group ED & CEO - EMEA & Americas, Standard Chartered Bank. Second on the list is Sanjeev Chadha, CEO – Asia & MEA, Pepsi-Cola International, followed by Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive VP - MENA, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine & Belarus, Unilever, Vishesh Bhatia, CEO, Jumbo Electronics Co and Deepak Babani, CEO, Eros Group. All the top five executives are based in the UAE.
In the Top 10, nine are based in the UAE.

Across both categories, the ranking welcomes a number of newcomers this year, with 26 in the owners and founders category and 11 in the executive management line-up.

Sector-wise, retail dominates the business owners’ category, with 20 entries, followed by diversified companies with 19 and industrials, with 10.

Playing an increasingly important role in the region, the top 100 non-resident Indians (NRIs) who are business owners/founders, 61 are in charge of companies that have been in operation for 20 years or more, with four companies established more than six decades ago.

This year’s line-up includes 100 Indian business owners and founders, as well as 50 C-level executives, many of whom have reached great heights from the shores of the UAE.

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