Excellence in Entrepreneurship

Ashok Khade Managing Director, DAS Offshore Engineering Ltd. India's entrepreneurial landscape sometimes reveals inspiring stories of struggle and success. Mr. Ashok Khade's is one such story, because it strengthens our faith in values like hard work, integrity and commitment to excellence. Mr. Khade has seen a fair share of hardships and challenges. Yet, he persisted in his dream of a new day, a new life. In due course of time, he acquired training as a draftsman and went on to draw a new pathway for his career. And progressed from being a poor farmer's son to being written about in USA's leading dailies New York Times and Washington Post. He started his own offshore fabrication business DAS offshore which is today a leading fabrication company in India. The company has been selected as a consortium partner for the 200km pipeline project for Mumbai High.

Excellence in Business Leadership

Milind Barve Managing Director – HDFC Asset Management Company India's finance sector has often lauded Mr. Milind Barve for his many achievements in Banking and Finance. He first made his mark in the finance industry by heading HDFC's Treasury portfolio. After a fruitful 16 year innings in that role, he took the initiative to set up HDFC's mutual fund business as its founding CEO in the year 2000. Under his leadership HDFC Mutual Fund has soared high above its peers as India's largest mutual fund in terms of size and profitability. He is also credited to introduce a unique mutual fund product that achieves two goals: it earns relatively safe returns for the investor, and ensures a regular charitable contribution towards cancer cure for the needy. HDFC Debt Fund for Cancer Cure is the rare act of courage and compassion, a philanthropic feat that few finance professionals could think of.

Excellence in Emerging Excellence

Shivani Dani Director - MoneyBee Institute Pvt. Ltd. At an age when most youths are busy pursuing graduation, Miss Shivani Dani was already working as guest faculty at leading institutes. She was also guiding other faculty members who were pursuing their doctorate in subjects like Derivatives and Debt markets. Clearly, Miss Dani was no ordinary youth. Besides the advantage of an early start, she also had extraordinary command over subjects related to investment management and markets analysis. Even as a student, at National Institute of Securities Management (NISM), she was not just the youngest, but also the brightest, clearing some very difficult exams at first attempt and with unprecedented distinction. She also has the unique distinction of launching a book analyzing the annual budget on the same day as it is presented.

Excellence in Innovation

Mangesh Kale Managing Director - Precision Automation & Robotics India (PARI) For many decades since industrialization, the world looked to the west for its automation technology needs. But Pune-born engineer-entrepreneur Mr. Mangesh Kale changed that scenario by developing world-class automation for key industrial processes like manufacturing, storage, especially for the automobile industry. Since inception of his company PARI in 1999 he has more than impressed the world with his prowess in the field. Customers acknowledge that PARI's automation solutions have significantly enhanced their manufacturing productivity. To date, there are more than 1500 automation and robotic installations developed by him are installed at the facilities of MNCs around the world. The credit for turning Pune city into automation hub must also go to him.

Award for Young Entrepreneur

Akshai Varde Founder MD - Vardenchi Motorcycles When a high-flying airlines executive decides to chuck his job, there has to be a very strong reason. And for Mr. Akshai Varde, nothing can be more powerful a reason than his passion for motorcycles. He quit his job at a leading airline so he could devote all his time to designing and customizing motorcycles. That single decision, that single move has given India a master-craftsman who transforms everyday bikes into one-of-a-kind dream machines. His reputation and extraordinary artistry brought him assignments from exacting customers like Disney, Cannon, Police Watches, Hot Wheels and Bollywood A-listers like Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff and Abhinay Deo. His milestones include winning Royal Enfield's 'Best Custom Motorcycle in 2010 and a joint-venture with Italian Motorcycle company Motomorini. Mr. Varde is often invited by top engineering institutes, like IIT Powai, to enlighten their students with his insights and expertise on the subject.

Excellence in Social Entrepreneurship

Dr. Medha Purao Samant Founder – Annapurna Parivar Compassion can be a powerful tool of social engineering, as Dr. Medha Purao Samant has demonstrated through her exemplary work. Her well-managed philanthropic endeavors through six NGOs that comprise Annapurna Parivaar are changing the lives of people living in the slums of Mumbai and Pune. 'Medhatai' as she is known, serves the poor through microfinance, micro-insurance, community-based pension scheme, hostels for working women and education sponsoring. For countless women who struggle to make ends meet, Medhatai is a ray of hope in their lives. It is Medhatai who helps them gain skills, employment and empowerment. It is Medhatai who helps them make the transition from despair to hope and from uncertainty to optimism. Having dedicated her whole life to social work, naturally, Medhatai has little time to count the many milestones crossed - the many awards and recognitions earned. Being a Ph.D. in social work, she also serves as guest faculty at a few leading institutes.

Maxell Life Time Achievement Award

Ashok Korgaonkar Founder, Managing Partner – Arch Group Consultants The drawing board in Mr. Ashok Korgaonkar's Dubai office can be no common piece of ply. It is the board on which some of the most striking monuments in the Middle East were conceptualized: Grosvenor House, Westin Hotel 1 and 2, Emirates Airlines Headquarters, Green Lakes Towers…the list goes on. As one of our brightest architects, Mr. Korgaonkar has to his credit a number of these towering landmarks that grace the Gulf's skyline. His own career has been no less impressive. From a humble background in Mumbai, he has risen to the heights of fame and success purely on the strength of his work. After working for a leading firm in Bahrain for many years, he opened his own consultancy and soon gained reputation and stature as a leading Indian architect. One of his works, the J.W. Marriott Marquis Hotel is named as the World's Tallest Dedicated Hotel Building in the Guinness Book of Records.