Forbes India – From Harsh Mariwala To Ashu Suyash: Meet The FILA 2022 Jury

Image: Prasad Gori

Harsh Mariwala
Founder and chairman, Marico (Jury Chair)
Harsh Mariwala, who has built the ₹8,300 crore FMCG giant Marico—led by flagship brands Saffola and Parachute—after starting out with commoditised products such as edible and coconuts oils, now scouts for young Indian entrepreneurs and facilitates the startup ecosystem through the not-for-profit Ascent Foundation. In 2021, he co-authored Harsh Realities, which showcased his entrepreneurial journey. His experience of building traditional large businesses, while maintaining strong corporate governance standards and identifying talent, was invaluable to our exercise.

Image:Mexy Xavier

Ashu Suyash
Entrepreneur, independent director
A financial services veteran, Ashu Suyash transformed Crisil during her six-year leadership tenure into a global analytics and data powerhouse from a single-revenue channel business. During the pandemic, Crisil businesses were resilient serving all its clientele. Under Suyash’s leadership, Crisil, in 2021, launched the ESG compendium, a scoreboard for 225 companies. A former banker, Suyash is an independent director on several large Indian corporates. She brings with her the knowledge of turning around corporations, their need for accountability towards stakeholders and an understanding of India’s deepest social concerns.

Image: Mexy Xavier

Saurabh Mukherjea
Founder, Marcellus Investment Managers
Saurabh Mukherjea’s Marcellus Investment Managers is one of the fastest-growing portfolio management services in the country, managing and advising equity assets in excess of ₹11,300 crore ($1.5 billion). Its investment philosophy revolves around companies with clean accounting practices, superior capital allocation and strong sustainable competitive advantages built around brands, business processes and strategic assets. Mukherjea is the author of six bestselling books. He brought with him his expertise of interpreting financial data, balance sheets and new-age business vision.

Rajat Dhawan
Managing partner, McKinsey India
Rajat Dhawan is a new entrant to the Forbes India Leadership Awards jury. He is a McKinsey veteran of over 24 years and had previously co-led the operations practice in Asia. He advises companies on strategy and performance transformation, and has supported dozens of companies across Asia and Europe on their transformation journey to become national and global leaders. Dhawan has served clients in the automotive, advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and basic materials sectors. His knowledge of global corporate practices made him a vital part of the jury.


V Vaidyanathan
Managing director and CEO, IDFC First Bank
V Vaidyanathan is a new entrant to the Forbes India Leadership Awards jury. A former Citibanker during the 1990s in the consumer banking space, he joined ICICI Bank in the early 2000s and went on to build the bank’s retail banking business, before heading ICICI-Prudential’s life insurance business in 2009. He later led the NBFC Capital First, before taking charge of the newly created IDFC First Bank since late 2018. Vaidyanathan brings to the jury a deep understanding of corporate functioning, strengthening the financial health of organisations and building effective businesses.

Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India

Ankur Gupta
Managing partner, Brookfield Asset Management
Ankur Gupta is a new entrant to the jury. He is head of Brookfield’s India office and also leads their real estate business across the Middle East and South Asia regions. In India, Brookfield has currently deployed around $21 billion in assets, after striking their first deal in the country in 2014. In India, Gupta has led the growth of Brookfield’s real estate portfolio to 45 million square feet in gateway Indian cities. Under his leadership, the Brookfield India REIT got listed on Indian bourses in 2021. Gupta brings with him the understanding of developing businesses from the ground up.