Dubai: Retail mogul Yousuf Ali M.A, Managing Director of Lulu Group International, has been named as the top Indian business owner in the UAE, according to Forbes Middle East, whilst Sanjeev Chadha, CEO, Asia, Middle East and Africa at PepsiCo International tops the Indian executive’s category.
Forbes Middle East announced the Top Indian Business Leaders of the Arab World 2017 at a ceremony in Dubai on Wednesday evening.
Speaking at the event, Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul, said: “Indians make up the largest expat community in the GCC region, with over 7 million Indians residing and contributing to the economies of the host countries, not only as big business conglomerates but also as professionals, construction workers and in government departments.
He added that it was “a pleasure to celebrate and recognise the Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World.”
The 2017 list of Top Indian Business Leaders comprised 100 business owners and 50 executive management. This year, for the first time, Forbes Middle East also highlighted 28 young and talented next generation business leaders who will take the family legacy forward.
The businesses of the top 100 business owners represent different vital sectors, with most of the leaders running diversified companies, followed by the retail, real estate and construction sectors. 27 business leaders have roots from Kerala, followed by Sindhis and Gujarat with 23 and 16 respectively. Lulu’s Yousuf Ali leads the business owners’ category, followed by Sunil Vaswani, Chairman of Stallion Group and Dr B.R. Shetty, Founder of NMC Healthcare and the UAE Exchange. Eleven business owners have PhDs with five being medical doctors of which three have founded hospitals in the UAE. Total revenues of the top 10 business owners adds up to an estimated $28.9 billion.
The top 50 executives work across different sectors with 15 executives hailing from the banking and financial services. Sanjeev Chadha, CEO for Asia, Middle East and Africa at PepsiCo International leads the executive management category followed by Raghavan Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank and Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank holding the top three positions. 24 of the companies represented by the top 50 executives have revenue of over $1 billion.
