Indian Aces 2025: When business success becomes social infrastructure

Dr Zulekha Daud, the region’s first recognised Indian woman medical professional, still commands respect after six decades. Alisha Moopen, leading Aster DM Healthcare’s 20 million patients annually. Faizal E. Kottikollon, transforming scrap metal origins into a $215 million conglomerate.

But what makes this year’s Change Makers different isn’t just their business achievements. It’s how they’ve turned profit into purpose – and made that purpose profitable.

These aren’t leaders who built companies and then did good. They’re leaders who discovered that doing good is how you build companies.

When green becomes gold

Take Kabir Mulchandani at FIVE Holdings. His company doesn’t just run hotels – it operates the UAE’s first hotel chain powered entirely by renewable electricity. That’s not just environmental compliance. It’s market leadership.

His $350 million acquisition of The Pacha Group shows how sustainability becomes a competitive advantage, not a cost centre.

Alongside him is Siddeek Ahmed, whose Eram Group deployed over 2,500 e-toilet units across India. His company won India’s first Swachh Bharat hackathon. That’s not corporate social responsibility. That’s engineering solutions to social challenges whilst building billion-dollar enterprises.

Technology leaders are reshaping entire sectors. Ashish Koshy at Inception, G42’s AI company, doesn’t just develop software – he’s positioning the UAE as a regional centre for applied artificial intelligence. His work spans healthcare, energy, and enterprise sectors, creating infrastructure that extends far beyond commercial applications.

Then there’s the cross-border impact. Surender S. Kandhari built Al Dobowi Group across five continents, becoming the MENA region’s largest battery manufacturer.

But his Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple feeds over 1,500 people daily. That’s not philanthropy as an afterthought. That’s community building as core strategy.

The new generation effect

The demographic story matters too. These leaders span generations – from Dr Daud’s six-decade journey to younger entrepreneurs like Amar Nagaram at VIRGIO, who raised $7 million to pioneer circular fashion. One in three operates across multiple countries. This isn’t just business expansion. It’s impact scaling.

What the Change Makers category reveals is that the old boundaries – between profit and purpose, between business and social impact – are dissolving. What’s emerging instead is a new model of leadership.

People who build healthcare networks that serve millions, deploy technology that solves societal challenges, and create sustainable business models that become industry standards.

This is what influence looks like in the Middle East today – and it’s already pointing to how business leadership will evolve across emerging markets.