Bharti

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, is the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004. Paul J Ostling & NR Narayan Murthy award him the accolade

New Delhi, November 2, 2004 : Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, has been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004. Mr. Mittal received this coveted award at a glittering award banquet here on Monday night from Mr. Paul J Ostling, Chief Operating Officer of Ernst & Young Global and Mr. N R Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys. Also present at the occasion were a large number of the country’s top industrialists, professionals and senior bureaucrats.

A distinguished jury chaired by the icon of Indian entrepreneurship Mr N R Narayana Murthy decided the awards. Other Jury members include Mr A K Purwar - Chairman, State Bank of India; Dr. Jamshed J Irani - Director, Tata Sons; Ms. Kalpana Morparia – Deputy Managing Director, ICICI Bank; Mr Naresh Chandra – Chairman, Committee on Civil Aviation Policy; and Mr. T N Ninan – Editor & Publisher, Business Standard.

Mr. Mittal’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1976 with a bicycle parts business in Punjab. When telecommunications was opened for private participation, he boldly bid for licences in cellular mobiles in the metro markets. His successful entrepreneurial journey is an inspiration to a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs. Mr Sunil Mittal will now represent
India at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award Ceremony in Monte Carlo, Monaco in May 2005.

Apart from the one individual who is named the Entrepreneur Of The Year, winners are also selected in several award categories based on such attributes as entrepreneurial spirit, financial performance, strategic direction, global impact, innovation and personal integrity and influence.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Mr Rahul Bajaj, who has provided a strong leadership to Bajaj Auto and made it a world-class manufacturer of two-wheelers. Mr Bajaj is recognized as one of the most successful business leaders of India.

The Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Ashish Dhawan, founder and Senior Managing Director of ChrysCapital, a leading private equity firm. Habil F. Khorakiwala of Wockhardt was named the winner in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category, while Kalanithi Maran of Sun TV won the award in the Information, Communications and Entertainment category. Dr Ramdas M Pai of the Manipal Education & Medical Group has been named the Services category winner. Mr Subir Raha, Chairman & Managing Director, the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) won the Manager Entrepreneur Of The Year award, while Mr Narottam Sekhsaria of Gujarat Ambuja Cements was awarded the Manufacturing category award.

Says Mr. Rajiv Memani, CEO & Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young India “Each one of the winners has built businesses with immense passion, explored un-chartered territories, created jobs and added vibrancy to the economy. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Award is our way of recognizing these exemplary and inspiring individuals. India’s robust entrepreneurial culture must be encouraged further and will prove to be the differentiator on strengthening the country’s position as a strong knowledge-driven economy.”

“Generations of entrepreneurs have made an immeasurable contribution to the prosperity of nations, and to the quality of lives of people. We must not relent in our efforts to foster an enduring legacy of entrepreneurship for continued progress, socially and economically,” said Deepak Sharma, President, Asia-Pacific & Middle East, The Citigroup Private Bank, adivision of Citibank N.A. and a supporter of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2004.

According to Mr. V V Ranganathan, Ernst & Young’s Country Leader for the EOY Program, “the society in India has traditionally valued the safety and security of a stable career as opposed to the rough and tumble of setting up oneself in business. The post-liberalisation decade has shown that if Indian entrepreneurs are given the freedom to create wealth they will be able to stand on the world stage on their own in areas where they have competitive advantage. So with each such success, these entrepreneurs inspire a lot of talented people in our country to choose entrepreneurship as a career.”

About the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program
The EOY Program was first established in the United States in 1986 to celebrate the achievements of outstanding individuals who head growing, dynamic businesses and are making a significant contribution to their respective economies. The Program is now conducted in more than 50 countries. Some past winners of the EOY awards include Ratan N Tata of the Tata Group, Brijmohan Lal Munjal of the Hero Group, N.R.Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Petroleum, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee, Jerry Yang of Yahoo and Scott Kriens of Juniper Networks.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 100,000 people in 140 countries around the globe operate with the highest levels of integrity, quality and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial,transactional and risk-management knowledge in its core services of Assurance, Tax and Transaction Advisory Services. Ernst & Young Practices also provide legal services in some parts of the world where permitted.

Ernst & Young (www.ey.com/india) operates from 7 cities in India with a work force of over 1500 people, who work towards the firm’s vision of being the trusted business advisor that contributes most to the success of people and clients by creating value and confidence. Global Tax Advisory Services, Risk and Business Solutions and Transaction Advisory Services are the core services offered by the firm.

About Citigroup Private Bank : The Citigroup Private Bank, one of the largest private banking businesses in the world, provides personalized wealth management services for clients through 125 offices in 89 cities in 33 countries. The Citigroup Private Bank offers unmatched global reach, coupled with a full range of portfolio management and investment advisory services from Citigroup Asset Management, an array of structured lending and banking services, as well as expertise from the Global Corporate and Investment Bank. Citigroup Private Bankers act as financial architects, designing and coordinating insightful solutions for individual client needs, with an emphasis on personalized, confidential service. The Citigroup Private Bank provides services and products through various Citigroup affiliates. Not all services and products are available at all locations.