Vellayan Subbiah, executive vice-chairman of Tube Investments of India (TII) and chairman of Cholamandalam (Chola) Investment and Finance, has been named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 at an award ceremony in Monaco’s Salle des Etoiles.
Mr Subbiah was selected from among almost 5,000 programme participants that included 51 winners across 47 countries and jurisdictions competing for the global title. He is the fourth winner from India in the award’s 24-year history.
Mr Subbiah was described by EY as a “transformative business leader” with an ambition to change the trajectory of his country, his companies and his people.
His professional journey, which began as an engineer and then a strategic consultant, shifted towards entrepreneurship when he started taking up leadership roles in his family’s business nearly 15 years ago.
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He first successfully navigated Chola through the fallout of a troubled partnership amid a global recession, ultimately becoming the company’s chairman and growing its market capitalisation by a factor of 60 over the course of his tenure.
Starting in 2018, he took on leadership of TII, a 70-year-old manufacturing company, and began to transform the business through investment reallocation and acquisitions.
Since taking over he helped TII’s share price grow by a factor of 13. TII’s subsidiary, CG Power, has just commenced building India’s first outsourced semiconductor and test facility.
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Carmine Di Sibio, EY global chairman and chief executive, said: “The impressive growth of the businesses he’s led have been remarkable, but his story goes far beyond numbers.
“He also has an exemplary track record on giving back through education scholarships, health innovations and environmental stewardship.”
Mr Subbiah said: “As part of a fourth-generation family business, the spirit of entrepreneurship runs deep within me, and I continue to be equally inspired by those who came before and those who follow.
“I’m steadfast in my belief that by approaching challenges as opportunities and committing ourselves to a path of self-improvement, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.
“Thanks to my incredible colleagues who have made it all possible, and I hope to further the legacy of past winners of this great award by continuing to elevate others along the way throughout my entrepreneurial journey.”
The EY organisation hosts the annual World Entrepreneur of the Year event to celebrate the accomplishments of “visionary leaders who are transforming industries, growing the economy and answering the call to address global challenges”.
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