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Nyrika Holkar, Executive Director of Godrej & Boyce. Harshith Dambekodi For Forbes asia This issue coincides with our annual Forbes Global CEO Conference, a gathering of business leaders from across the world, who will converge in Jakarta mid-October. The conference theme, The World Pivots, denotes the fast-evolving context that businesses are required to keep pace with these days. This calls for a recalibration, if not reinvention, almost in real-time. Our cover story featuring a fourth-generation scion, who’s focused on future-proofing her storied Mumbai-based family conglomerate, is in sync with this theme. Nyrika Holkar is leading an overhaul of privately held Godrej & Boyce, which makes everything from simple door locks and furniture to liquid propulsion engines and satellite thrusters that were used in India’s successful mission to the moon two years ago. Holkar, 43, is tipped to succeed her uncle and company chairman Jamshyd Godrej, who together with her mother, Smita Godrej Crishna, shares an $11.2 billion fortune that puts the siblings among India’s 100 Richest, an annual list published in this edition. The Godrejs’ net worth is slightly up in a year, when two-thirds of those in the ranks are less well-off, resulting in a $100 billion decline in collective wealth. The Holkar profile and the accompanying list were both helmed by Anuradha Raghunathan, our longtime contributor in Chennai. The Trump administration’s 50% tariffs on the country was an unexpected pivot in U.S.-India trade relations and led to the dampening in overall sentiment, which the government moved quickly to address by cutting the goods and services tax ahead of the Diwali festival season. Founder and CEO of Singapore-based investment firm Tiga Investments. Munster Cheong for Forbes Asia Another veteran Forbes Asia contributor, Singapore-based Jessica Tan, recounts the tale of the successful third act of self-made billionaire George Raymond Zage III. The America-born Singapore citizen is a former Goldman Sachs banker and hedge fund manager, who helped a number of businesses in the region to recover and prosper in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. Less than a decade ago, Zage decided to pivot and use his finely honed dealmaking skills to create longer-term value with his own firm, Tiga Investments. During the pandemic, Tiga scooped up stakes in two companies, LGBTQ dating app Grindr and premium office-space provider The Executive Centre (TEC). Grindr’s successful New York listing in 2022 made Zage a billionaire; now TEC India’s upcoming listing, which includes its Indian, Southeast Asian and Middle East operations, could be another multibagger for Zage. Illustration by Neil Jamieson For Forbes This issue also features The Forbes 400, the annual list of America’s richest people compiled by our U.S. colleagues, accompanied by a striking photorealistic illustration. Asian immigrants feature on this list, starting with Taiwan-born Jensen Huang at No. 8, the founder of Nvidia, which became the world’s most valuable company in July with a market cap of $4 trillion. As the world rebalances, let’s be prepared to be shaken out of our comfort zones and, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, to change often. As always, comments welcome at executiveeditor@forbesasia.com. Got a tip? Share confidential information with Forbes. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
