Infosys Technologies co-founder and president Nandan Nilekani is 52. Sunil Mittal, CEO of Bharti Enterprises, turns 50 this year. Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways is in his late fifties. So is Subhash Chandra of Zee Entertainment.
Not many moons ago, Narayana Murthi stepped over to the wiser side of 60. There is something curious about this generation of corporate leaders which sets them apart from the rest. It's the role they have played as leaders of disruptive change.
Some attribute their making to the liberalisation of the economy, but it is as easy an assumption as crediting the bathwater with the making of Archimedes. It is one thing to lead a phenomenon, quite another to challenge and alter the status quo.
Disenchantment was a big factor that helped shaped this generation. Turbulence was another