Siddhartha Lal of Eicher Motors is EY Entrepreneur of the year 2018

Azim Premji gets Lifetime Achievement; EOY winners announced in nine other categories by 8-member Jury Panel led by Uday Kotak

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Eicher Motors, was named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 at the 20th edition of the EOY Awards in India, in the presence of over 500 business personalities. 

According to a press release issued by EY on Tuesday, Lal has led an impressive transformation at Eicher Motors since he took over in 2006, helping the company resurrect the Royal Enfield motorcycle brand in India and establishing it as a global brand icon. 

He will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo, to be held between June 6 and 8. 

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji received the Lifetime Achievement Award for putting the Indian information technology industry on the global map and for his philanthropic contributions to society. The release extols Premji for diversifying Wipro from a vegetable oil company to a market-leading technology firm. 

Awards were also announced for nine other category winners who represent both mature industries and unicorns. 

Kishore Biyani, popularly known as the king of retail was conferred the Business Transformation category award for his visionary leadership and for transforming the Indian retail industry. The release said that by constantly evolving, inventing and reinventing businesses, Biyani has built brands that touch the lives of over 500 million customers. 

Byju Raveendran of Think & Learn (Byju’s) got the Start-up category award for delivering record growth of over 100 per cent each year. Ritesh Agarwal of Oravel Stays (OYO Hotels and Homes) received the Services category award for disrupting large global players in the hospitality industry and delivering annual growth of over 300 per cent in the last three years. 

Bhaskar Bhat of Titan Company won the Entrepreneurial CEO for creating markets where none existed and building some of the largest and most trustworthy brands made in India. 

Rajiv Memani, Chairman and Regional Managing Partner, EY India, was quoted in the release as saying that while this year’s winners come from both traditional and new-age businesses, what is common to them is how they have transformed companies or their industries or even created new markets where none existed. 

An eight-member jury panel led by Uday Kotak, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank selected the winners. The other jury Members were: 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.

The winners, consisting of unicorns and market disruptors, have a revenue Rs 1.28 trillion ($19 billion) and employ over 250,000 people worldwide. Farokh Balsara, Partner and EOY India Programme Leader, said each of the winners have been are combining the power of ideas with disruptive technologies to build unique solutions, innovations and create several new possibilities that redefine how people live and work.

The awards

EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018: Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Office, Eicher Motors

Lifetime Achievement: Azim Premji 

Category Winners

Start-up: Byju Raveendran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Think & Learn (Byju’s)

Business Transformation: Kishore Biyani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Future Group

Manufacturing: Nirmal K Minda, Chairman and Managing Director, Minda Industries

Services: Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Oravel Stays (OYO Hotels and Homes)

Financial Services: Sanjay Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AU Small Finance Bank 

Consumer Products & Retail: Rajesh Mehra, Promoter and Director, Jaquar Group

Life Sciences & Healthcare: Binish Chudgar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Intas Pharmaceuticals 

Entrepreneurial CEO: Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Company

Energy, Real Estate & Infrastructure: Atul Ruia, Chairman and Managing Director, The Phoenix Mills