Mohan Valrani, the vice chairman and managing director of Al Shirawi Group, walked away with the top prize at the Indian CEO Awards, held on Monday evening at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai.
Valrani was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the growth of Al Shirawi Group, one of the UAE’s largest family firms.
The audience at the event were treated to speeches from guest of honour HE T P Seetharam, the Ambassador of India to the United Arab Emirates, and ITP chairman and BBC television presenter Andrew Neil.
In total, 13 members of the Indian expatriate community in the Gulf were honoured for their work in various fields, from construction to finance, and from philanthropy to law.
Alam Steel Group founder Shyam Bhatia picked up the Outstanding Contribution Award, five decades after his arrival in the UAE. Pure Gold Group chairman Firoz Merchant was named as Philanthropist of the Year for his work in assisting inmates in local jails with paying off their debts.
The Female CEO of the Year award was won by Scholars International Group founder Aparna Verma, while UAE Exchange boss Promoth Manghat was named Finance CEO of the Year.
Other winners on the night included Dubai-based lawyer Ashish Mehta, Skyline Group founder Kamal Puri and Sudhir Goyel, the managing director of Gulf Petrochem.
Raging Tiger founder Rohan Mehta walked away with the Young CEO of the Year award, while Suneel Aggarwal picked up the Industry CEO of the Year trophy.