Four Indians, three PIOs on WEF's young leaders list

Four Indians and four persons of Indian origin aged under-40 have made it to World Economic Forum's 2016 list of 121 young global leaders who excel in public service.

Most people in the Young Global Leaders Class of 2016 come from emerging economies - with over 50 per cent being women.

SHINING STARS
WEF’s Young Global Leaders 2016

THE CELEBS WHO MADE IT

• Amal Clooney
• Ashton Kutcher
• Emmanuel Macron

INDIANS ON THE LIST

• Sheetal Amte-Karajgi
• Dhivya Suryadevara
• Kanika Dewan
• Shaurya Veer Himatsingka

SOME PERSONS OF INDIAN ORIGIN

• Nina Tandon
• Shivan Siroya
• Rohit Chopra
• Divya Seshamani

Among the four Indians selected is Sheetal Amte-Karajgi, grand-daughter of renowned social reformer Baba Amte. Amte-Karajgi, a social entrepreneur, has been "building on her family's legacy on championing for the rights of lepers", WEF said.

The other two Indian women on the list - Dhivya Suryadevara and Kanika Dewan - hold senior leadership positions in corporate India. Suryadevara, vice-president of finance and treasurer at General Motors, has been described by WEF as "one of the rising leaders of General Motors with the responsibility of managing $80 billion in assets". Dewan is president of a mining conglomerate, Bramco group, and a recognised designer. The fourth winner from India, Shaurya Veer Himatsingka, deputy managing director of India Carbon, has been actively espousing the cause of training visually impaired person, and launched a nationwide campaign to stop child sexual abuse, WEF said.

Among the persons of Indian origin who made it to the list is US-based Nina Tandon, the founder of world's first company growing living human bones for skeletal reconstruction, EpiBone Inc.

US-based Shivan Siroya's InVenture, a data-led microfinance company, helps people access credit through phone apps. Also to make it to the list is US-based Rohit Chopra, managing director of Lazard, a financial advisory and asset management firm.

Another name of South Asia origin to feature on the 2016 list is Monica Yunus, daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Monica Yunus co-founded Sing for Hope, a not-for-profit organisation that works to give access to arts to communities in need.

The 2016 class of Young Global Leaders includes celebrities like Amal Clooney, a barrister who specialises in international criminal law and human rights, and Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, described by WEF as an "emerging technology investor who launched an innovation lab to fight child sexual exploitation".

Others who have been named in the past in the Young Global Leader list included British Prime Minister David Cameron, Alibaba Group chief Jack Ma, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Google chief Larry Page.