40 Under Forty: Meet the elite jury shaping India Inc's future
The Economic Times 40 Under Forty is back for its 11th edition, recognizing India's next-generation business leaders. A distinguished jury of 10, led by Rishad Premji, will evaluate 112 shortlisted candidates from over 900 nominations across diverse sectors. The selection process emphasizes business achievements, societal contributions, and diversity, with the final 40 honorees to be revealed at a Mumbai ceremony.
After a decade of spotlighting India Inc's brightest rising stars, The Economic Times 40 under Forty returns for its 11th edition, continuing its legacy as the most coveted recognition for the country's next-generation business leaders.
A star-studded 10-member panel will come together on Wednesday to evaluate and select the latest list of 40 honourees from an exemplary pool of nominations. The high-powered jury includes some of the country's most respected and high-profile leaders, led by Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji.
Joining him on the panel and bringing their deep insights and experience across various sectors to bear are Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Enterprises; Gunjan Soni, country MD, YouTube India; KVS Manian, managing director and chief executive, Federal Bank; Manish Sabharwal, vice-chairman, TeamLease; Nandini Piramal, executive director, Piramal Enterprises; Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and chief executive of auto and farm sector, Mahindra & Mahindra; Sanjeev Krishan, chairperson, PwC India; Zahabiya Khorakiwala, managing director, Wockhardt Hospitals; and Zia Mody, cofounder and managing partner, AZB & Partners.In the running are business professionals and entrepreneurs from a whole gamut of segments.
Diversity of Representation
The segments span startups, consumer, financial services, PE/VC firms, industrial, social and professional services, technology, telecom, legal, art and culture, and sport, besides global Indians. The jury members will have their work cut out with the eclectic mix of 112 profiles in this year's longlist, whittled down from an initial pool of 900-plus.When the process kicked off in April, ET 40 under Forty 2025 saw nominations pouring in through various avenues — candidates themselves, those chosen by their companies, and names suggested by ET 40 under Forty alumni. Besides this, nominations also came in from leading executive search firms, including Accord, EMA Partners, Heidrick & Struggles and Insist Consulting. This was followed by two rounds of screening based on scale, impact, innovation and value created, as well as industry inputs and extensive due diligence to arrive at the first shortlist of 300 and then the final 112.In addition to individual merit, ET has ensured diversity of representation across sectors, gender, geography and non-traditional or impact-driven categories. The jury will take a decision on the final 40 based on factors such as business achievement in current and past roles, and contribution to society, among others.Members will abstain from voting on a nominee in case there's any conflict of interest. At the end of this exercise, the annual study will have a total of 440 individuals, including an alumni body of 400. The results will be announced later this year at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai.
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