The Top Most Influential Business Leaders to Follow in 2024
With the most influential leaders in an ever-evolving landscape, businesses emerge but only a few and very selective business leaders leave a remarkable impression on the world. The cornerstone of such impactful enterprises often lies in their leadership. As we dive into the profound business leaders who continue to excel and flourish, drawing inspiration from these transformative business leaders reshaping our world is paramount.
Radhika Gupta
She is an Indian business leader serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Edelweiss Asset Management Limited. With a meaningful purpose in joining Edelweiss Global Asset Management as the business head of multi-strategy funds, Gupta played a pivotal role in directing the team’s investment strategies, distribution and platform development. Remarkably, she holds the distinction of being India’s sole female head of a prominent asset management firm and is credited with establishing the nation’s inaugural domestic hedge fund. She is recognised as “the girl with the broken neck”.
Jan Koum
Koum left his home country Ukraine at 16 and settled in the United States where he has resided ever since. Discovering his interest in programming, he pursued studies at San Jose State University. During the years of pursuing studies at San Jose State University and as a security tester at Yahoo in 2010, he established Whatsapp. The messaging app gained popularity and crossed over a billion global users. In 2014, Koum sold Whatsapp to Facebook for a staggering $19.3 billion.
Reshma Saujani
Born on November 18, 1975, she is a multifaceted American figure known as a lawyer, politician, civil servant and the visionary behind “Girls Who Code”, a nonprofit organisation fathomed to bolster female participation in computer science and bridging the gender gap within that industry. Her career in city governance served as the role of the Deputy Public Advocate at the New York City Public Advocate’s Office. A profound trailblazer in her own right, Saujani ventured into politics contesting as a Democratic candidate for Public Advocate in 2013, where she secured the third position in the primary. Her remarkable initiative, “Girls Who Code”, founded in 2012, earned her a place in Fortune’s prestigious 40 under 40 list.
Dara Khosrowshahi
The CEO who was brought into Uber after a series of scandals ousted the previous leader, Travis Kalanick, is hailed for his diplomatic yet decisive approach. At Expedia, he achieved full gender parity in the workforce and upon joining Uber, initiated a shift in company culture by emphasising diversity and ideas over hierarchy. Under his leadership, Uber aimed to increase female representation and took swift action, dismissing over 20 employees due to sexual harassment complaints while diversifying its services beyond ride-hailing.
Eric S. Yuan
The CEO of Zoom Video Connections was hailed as the top CEO to work for in the US according to Glassdoor’s 2018 ranking. Yuan founded Zoom, a company that specialises in cloud-based video conferencing solutions, after experiencing dissatisfaction with existing conferencing tools during his tenure at WebEx. He was determined to develop and create the most reliable and efficient system Zoom. Today, the company boasts over 1000 employees and a valuation of $1 billion. For Yuan, success means one who embraces happiness and passion in one’s work. He emphasised that successful companies prioritize customer focus and adaptability to navigate ongoing changes.
Sam Altman
His journey began at 19 when he delved into entrepreneurship in 2005. By 2014, he helmed Y Combinator, putting investments into 1,400 startups including Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Alongside Elon Musk, he co-founded Open AI. Ataman emphasizes the significance of diverse experiences and learning from them.
