The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Aliiance government is all set to showcase leading lights of India Inc led by Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry before top business honchos of the US at the India-US CEO Forum Jan 26.
There will be 17 Indian chief executive officers (CEO) who will participate in this meeting, according to business chamber sources here. These include, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director (CMD), Reliance Industries Ltd; Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group; Sunil Bhari Mittal, chairman and group CEO, Bharti Entreprises; Sashi Ruia, chairman, Essar Group; Hari S Bhartia, co-chairman and MD, Jubilant Life Sciences; and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon.
Among others are Anand Mahindra, CMD, Mahindra and Mahindra; Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC; Chanda Kochar, CEO and MD, ICICI Bank; Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman, State Bank of India; Vishal Sikka, CEO & MD, Infosys; B Prasada Rao, CMD, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited; Sudhir Mehta, chairman emeritus, Torrent Pharmaceuticals; Preetha Reddy, executive chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Entreprises; Anurag Kumar, director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; and D.K. Saraff, CMD, ONGC.
Industry sources said historically an equal number of CEOs would be participating from the counterpart country and in this case also it is expected that 17 CEOs will participate from the US.
US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Modi will also meet the forum.
It is expected that Honeywell International Chairman and CEO Dave Cote will lead the US CEOs team, which will have big names like Indra Nooyi, chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo, and Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard, among others.
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Apart from the Forum, there will be another meeting -- the US-India Business Summit -- where almost 250 Indian business leaders will participate to meet their US counterpart. The US-India Business Council (USIBC) along with India's Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) are playing a key role in organising this meeting.
USIBC acting president Diane Farrell earlier said: "With business sentiment at an all-time high, the timing could not be better. We see both countries working earnestly and with a firm resolve towards achieving $500 billion in two-way trade over the next five years."