Leaders shaping the future of business, education and innovation across industries

Across industries, a new generation of leaders is building on established foundations while rethinking how businesses grow, institutions evolve and communities benefit. From real estate and education to technology and leadership, their journeys reflect a shared focus on long-term value, meaningful progress and future-ready enterprises.Gulshan Estate Agents: Turning generational trust into the future of property advisorIn real estate, trust is built over decades, not transactions. That principle lies at the heart of Gulshan Estate Agents, founded in South Delhi in 1959, and now in its third generation of family leadership, with Geet Nayyar as Director, Legal and Finance. Bringing a contemporary lens to a legacy built on integrity, expertise and generational client relationships, Geet is strengthening the firm’s approach to property advisory.His focus lies in the less visible, but critical, dimensions of every transaction, due diligence, documentation and structuring. As South Delhi’s property landscape grows more complex, Geet’s vision is clear: evolve beyond conventional brokerage into comprehensive, credible advisory, while building a firm where reputation continues to compound across generations.Sardar Simarpreet Singh: Carrying a 25-year education legacy into its next chapter Director Sardar Simarpreet Singh, who has spent 12 years at JIS Group Educational Initiatives,is focused on carrying forward a 25-year legacy rooted in the belief that education should widen opportunity, not restrict it. What began as a family conviction about access to education has grown into a network serving 45,000 students1. Over the years, the group has expanded beyond engineering into management, university and medical education, while six of its colleges have received NAAC accreditation2. As the institution adapts to the needs of a changing generation, Singh’s focus remains on building on this legacy while staying true to the idea that shaped its beginnings.Dr. Irfan Khan: Building EBG Group into a future-ready enterpriseWith over two decades of entrepreneurial and leadership experience across electric mobility, wellness, hospitality, real estate, food and beverages, and consumer electronics, Dr. Irfan Khan has built his approach around sustainable growth and long-term value creation.As Founder and Chairman ofEBG Group, he is building a diversified business ecosystem guided by the philosophy of People, Planet and Progress.His vision focuses on transforming fragmented industries into scalable, professionally managed enterprises through strategic partnerships, joint ventures, franchising and asset-light business models.Believing that scale must be supported by strong systems, Dr. Khan prioritises operational discipline, technology integration, governance and leadership development.His ultimate ambition is to build an enduring institution that empowers entrepreneurs, strengthens brands and creates lasting enterprise value across generations, embodying EBG Group’s vision of Empowering a Better Globe.Syed Adil Husain: Scaling Technotask with AI + human support, technology and global expansioSyed has built Technotask around a customer-experience model that combines people, technology and AI. Keeping their focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 India for service delivery, they have grown to more than 5,600 employees and 17+ centres, with operations extending to the UAE & Egypt. Technotask now works across 18+ industries while developing products in voice AI, conversation analytics and contact-centre technology to high volume Customer Experience Environments3. They have successfully deployed this model for several global clients, calling it AI + Human (Hybrid) Support. By reducing customer experience costs by up to 30%. Recently, NASSCOM BPM Confluence validated their approach towards CX and awarded them, under the category "Transforming Customer Experience"4.Siva Sankar and Atul Ghosh: Taking Spirulina Farming to India’s agricultural communitiesCousins Siva Sankar and Atul Ghosh came to spirulina from very different worlds.An NIT Calicut engineer and IIM Kozhikode alumnus, Sankar spent a decade building waste-to-value businesses through Noval Sustainability. In 2011, his algae-biofuel idea made Schneider Electric’s Top 100 Global Ideas.Ghosh brings 25 years of business experience across India, the Middle East, North Africa and the UK, from India’s first ATP tournament, the Tata Open, to global consumer brands.At Novalgae, they help farmers in drought-prone Ballari grow spirulina on their own land: a consistent income for rural families and a new weapon against malnutrition. In Sep 2026, IIMSAM named Novalgae its Constituent Technical and Research Partner.Venkatesh Gomatam: Rethinking how businesses choose their leadersVenkatesh Gomatam sees a leadership appointment as a decision about a business’s future, not simply its next vacancy. Drawing on over three decades across IHG, Accor and Hyatt, the Founder of The Fortitude Keystone brings an operator’s judgement to executive search and leadership advisory. The firm helps founders, boards and growing businesses clarify what leadership must deliver, then assess people beyond credentials for judgement, adaptability and the demands of the organisation. His focus extends beyond finding capable leaders to understanding the conditions in which they can succeed. The ambition: businesses whose leadership develops with their growth, rather than struggling to catch up.Reena Malik: Putting human connection at the heart of leadershipAfter more than 25 years in global leadership, Reena Malik has built her work around a question that often gets lost in corporate strategy: what makes people feel valued at work? A former partner at a Big Four firm and global head of people, she has led culture change and facilitated workshops across more than 35 countries5. Today, through Soul Hearted Consulting,she brings together emotional intelligence, organisational culture and leadership development to help businesses build human-centred, heart-centred workplaces where people feel safe to speak and be included. Her approach is grounded in a clear conviction: kindness, authenticity and integrity are not peripheral to leadership; they are what allow organisations to last.Raja Chellan: Shaping the next phase of EcowrkzRaja Chellan is steering Ecowrkz around the changing way businesses think about office space. The brand has developed a flexible workspace model spanning dedicated desks, private cabins, meeting rooms, virtual offices and other formats designed for teams at different stages of growth. With a strong presence across Chennai, along with branches in Coimbatore and Bengaluru, Ecowrkz is gradually widening its footprint while retaining a professionally managed approach to workspace infrastructure. Under this, Coworkseek allows operations to manage their coworking space. For Raja, the larger focus is on building a network that gives businesses the room to expand, contract or adapt without the rigidity that often comes with a conventional office setup.Swapnil Kale: Exploring Mumbai’s next real estate growth corridorSwapnil Kale, associated with PlotX Developers, is building a real estate investment proposition around emerging land markets and infrastructure-led growth. The company focuses on land opportunities across Pen, Uran, Panvel and Alibaug, connecting its offerings to the wider Mumbai 3.0 development story. The proposed KSC New Town, spanning 124 villages across Raigad district, represents a significant planned expansion of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Kale also explores this investment thesis in his book, Mumbai 3.0 – A Goldmine, examining how infrastructure, urban planning and strategic land acquisition could shape future real estate opportunities.References: Disclaimer: The above content is non-editorial, and TIL hereby disclaims any and all warranties, expressed or implied, relating to it, and does not guarantee, vouch for or necessarily endorse any of the content.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.