Moneycontrol, Waterfield advisors aid India's premier family Businesses

Moneycontrol’s prestigious ‘Indian Family Business Awards 2022’, co-created with Waterfield Advisors, honoured the extraordinary accomplishments of India’s family-owned businesses that have showcased remarkable resilience through their journey and contributed towards India's progress. The event took place in Delhi in the presence of distinguished personalities from various sectors.

Chandra R Srikanth, Editor – Technology, StartUps & New Economy, Moneycontrol in the welcome address said, “Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat has become a clarion call in the last decade. For generations, India's great business families have been making in India and for India. Family businesses constitute more than 70% of India's annual GDP and have deep-rooted values and traditions, it focuses on sustainable growth that can outlive generations. We at Moneycontrol have great faith in the Indian narrative and through the 2nd edition of the Indian Family Business Awards 2022, we aim to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of family enterprises, which constitute nearly 85% of India's corporate landscape and have played a vital role in the nation's economic advancement,”.

Two enlightening panel discussions followed, with industry stalwarts engaged in insightful conversations about pertinent topics. The first panel titled ‘Key-trends in succession planning and family offices’, delved into the intricacies of succession planning in family businesses. Moderated by Ashwin Mohan, Editor (Deals), Moneycontrol along with esteemed panelists, including Rishabh Shroff - Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Soumya Rajan - Founder & CEO, Waterfield Advisors; and Pallavi J Bakhru - Partner and Leader, Private Client Services, Grant Thornton Bharat, shared their expertise and perspectives on this critical subject.

The second-panel discussion titled ‘Gen Next Legacy Builders: Young guns steering family businesses’, explored strategies to overcome stereotypes while upholding family legacies. Moderated by Soumya Rajan - Founder & CEO, Waterfield Advisors, and Chandra R Srikanth, Editor – Technology, StartUps & New Economy, Moneycontrol with the distinguished panelists including Roshni Nadar Malhotra - Chairperson, HCL Technologies Ltd; Sudarshan Venu - Managing Director, TVS Motor Company; and Puneet Dalmia – Managing Director, Dalmia Bharat Group, provided thought-provoking insights into this subject of immense significance.   

In his keynote address, The Chief Guest of the evening, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs said, “Despite the setbacks we are seeing in the short term, we have seen nearly a decade of controlled inflation. In the India story of 75 years, India in this nine-year period has experienced the lowest inflation rate that we have ever experienced, as I mentioned at an earlier engagement that I had in another program just before this, and Moneycontrol is known for its research so I would urge Moneycontrol to research the India story from the last 75 years and I dare say these nine years has offered India and all Indians with the newest inflation rate over the nine-years. The world today recognizes India as one of the largest opportunities for Indian businesses and for investors around, and all of this has been possible because of all of you ladies and gentlemen and the Indian Businesses who have contributed with ideas, who have contributed with words and have contributed to creating economic value to create jobs in India and making India another economically strong country.”

The event moved ahead with the award ceremony where Chief Guest Piyush Goyal felicitated the businesses. The jury for the event was Soumya Rajan, Founder & CEO, Waterfield Advisors; Sonu Bhasin, Founder, FAB; Gaurav Dalmia, Chairman, Dalmia Group Holdings; Vishesh C. Chandiok, CEO, Grant Thornton Bharat; Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Capital Funds Ltd; and Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge evaluated the winners of the evening through a 3 stage jury selection process.

After the successful conclusion of the award ceremony, Soumya Rajan, Founder & CEO, Waterfield Advisors said, "I extend my sincere congratulations to all the winners, for whom these awards symbolize the utmost acknowledgment of their accomplishments within their specific industries. This recognition serves as a powerful motivation to persistently pursue excellence. Since our inception in 2011, Waterfield has advised some of India's most iconic business families. This experience has provided us with an in-depth understanding of the diverse functions of family enterprises in society.  They are not just economic powerhouses but also community builders. In 2021, we partnered with Moneycontrol and Grant Thornton to create the Indian Family Business Awards. Our aim was to acknowledge and celebrate the excellence and innovation of family-run businesses in India. We are proud to be the co-creators of Indian Family Business Awards 2022."

Moneycontrol Indian Family Business Awards exemplify Moneycontrol & Waterfield’s commitment in recognising and encouraging India's dynamic family business community.  The evening offered a glimpse into the tenacity, innovation, and vision that drive family-owned enterprises to flourish in today's dynamic business environment.