2022 | Gaja Capital

2022 Winner

The 2022 Gaja Business Book Prize shortlist featured a diverse selection of stories, showcasing enterprises and their leaders. Among the shortlisted books were “The Ambuja Story” by Narotam Sekhsaria, “Disrupt and Conquer: How TTK Prestige Became a Billion Dollar Company” by T.T. Jagannathan and Sandhya Mendonca, “Harsh Realities: The Making of Marico” by Harsh Mariwala and Ram Charan, and “MAVERICK EFFECT: The Inside Story of India’s IT Revolution” by Harish Mehta.

The Gaja Business Book Prize 2022 winner was Harish Damodaran, the National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. He is an experienced journalist and the author of “India’s New Capitalists: Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation.” Harish Damodaran’s winning book, “Broke to Breakthrough: The Rise of India’s Largest Private Dairy Company,” narrates the inspiring journey of Mr. RG Chandramogan and his enterprise, Hatsun Agro. It details the company’s humble beginnings of selling ice creams in pushcarts in Tamil Nadu during the 1970s, to becoming a publicly-listed company with an impressive revenue of over Rs 6,000 crores.

Hear Harish Damodaran talk about his book

2022 Jury

Manish Sabharwal

Jury Chairman

Manish is a successful serial entrepreneur, currently co-founder and chairman of TeamLease Services. Manish also currently serves as an Independent Director on the Board of the RBI, as member of the Central Advisory Board on Education in the HRD Ministry and Member of Advisory Board of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Imran Jafar

Imran is a founding member of the Gaja Capital team and has over 22 years of experience in private equity, pharmaceuticals, and technology services. Imran has co-led investments in the education and consumer clusters. He holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a master’s degree in software engineering from BITS-Pilani.

Dr. Lakshmi Venu

Dr. Lakshmi Venu is the Joint MD of Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), which forms part of the $8.5 billion TVS Group. She is also the Deputy MD of TAFE Motors and Tractors Limited. Dr. Venu’s focus at SCL has been to create a sustainable foundation for the companies’ future growth and to create flexible and agile companies for a VUCA world.

Michael Queen

Michael is a reputed successful global investment professional, currently Chairman of the University of Surrey. He was formerly Chief Executive of 3i Group plc and served as Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association. He is also serving as the Chairman of Thames Bridge Capital, where he provides strategic advisory to alternative asset managers and corporates.

Neelkanth Mishra

Neelkanth Mishra is currently the Chief Economist, Head of Global Research, and member of the Board in Axis Capital. Until recently, he was the Co-Head of Equity Strategy, APAC and India Equity Strategist, and Securities Research, at Credit Suisse. He is part of the Advisory Council to India’s 15th Finance Commission and has been an advisor to government committees such as the Revenue Neutral Rate Committee on GST and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee.

Prithvi Haldea

Prithvi is a member of several capital market related committees of SEBI and has served as a member of the Indian finance minister’s high level expert committee on corporate bonds and securitization. Prithvi has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1989, he set up Prime Database, India’s first and largest repository for all primary capital market offerings.

Shailesh Haribhakti

Shailesh Haribhakti is an experienced accountant and an independent board member of several leading Indian companies. He is also the Chairman of DHC (Desai Haribhakti) one of India’s leading accountancy and advisory firms. He is actively involved with several prominent financial institutions in India, including the NSE, CII, IMC and ASSOCHAM.

Upendra Kumar Sinha

Upendra Kumar Sinha headed the RBI Expert Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He was the Chairman of the SEBI, having served two consecutive three-year terms, starting in 2011. He was also the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI Mutual Fund. He was selected for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 1976.