India Inc's most powerful CEOs ET Bureau
The wait is finally over for the corner-room denizens of Corporate India. That most definitive of power listings, The Economic Times Corporate Dossier' India Inc's Most Powerful CEOs', is here and it reinforces what we have said all along: Power is not just about controlling assets or generating profits—it's about inspiring positive change.
All through 2008-09, the dramatic story of the Nano captured the public imagination and Ratan Tata, the driving force behind the little car, demonstrated tremendous fortitude through all the trials and travails he faced.
Mr Tata deservedly ascends to the top spot in the power rankings this year, displacing Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, who is now in the second position.
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| 1) Ratan Tata(Tata Group) |
 Previous rank: 2
Theatre of Operations: Everwhere except Singur
Bragging rights: Just launched the world's cheapest car
Started his career with: National Radio And Electronics Company (Nalco)
It's in his genes: The head of the $62 billion House of Tatas has capitalised on the group's reputation for honesty and integrity and turned 'Tata' into a royalty-earning brand name that's used by the 100-plus companies within the fold
Leadership style: Aloof and understated
Allies: His favourite companions are his German Shepherds
Famous Quote: "A promise is a promise"
Big ambitions: Turn the Nano into a best-seller in Europe and the USA
Little known indulgence: Piloting his business jet
Future woes: The debts accrued in the Jaguar and Land Rover acquisitions
Home away from home: Alibagh, where he's designed and built a bungalow |
2) Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries) 
Previous rank: 1
Theatre of Operations: The seas off Andhra Pradesh to the coast of Gujarat
Bragging rights: Asia's richest man
It's in his genes: Thinks big, like his father, the late Dhirubhai
Leadership style: Relationship-based , entrepreneurial
Family relations: Husband to Nita, father to Akash, Anant and Isha
Famous Quote: "I have to eat my dal, roti, chawal. I have not developed a taste for other food."
Thorn In His Side: Continuing dispute with enstranged brother Anil over natural gas supplies from the Krishna-Godavari basin
Big ambitions: To build global-scale decentralised manafacturing in India, Gandhi-style
Big indulgence: Antila, the 27 storey home he's building on Altamount Road, Mumbai, at an estimated cost of $1 billion
Home away from home: South Africa, once the IPL matches start
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| 3) NR Narayana Murthy (Infosys Technologies) |
 Previous rank: 3
Bragging rights: Set to become Amar Chitra Katha's first living comic book hero
Started his career with: Patni Computers
It's in his genes: A believer in simple living and higher thinking, he is the billionaire-next-door in Bangalore, like Warren Buffet in Omaha
Leadership style: Statesman-like . Has handed over executive responsibilities to the younger set at Infosys and now likes to be called ‘chief mentor’
Family relations: Husband to Sudha Murthy, now a famous author, father to Akshata and Rohan
Famous Quote: "Our market cap is $15 bn when our employees walk into the office every morning and it's zero when they walk out in the evening"
Big ambitions: Seen as a future President of India
Little indulgences: Creating luxurious, world class campuses for his company's employees
Future woes: The global recession is likely to affect the software industry the mostest |
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India Inc's most powerful CEOsSource:ET
