GMR Group Chairman GM Rao has received the prestigious ‘ABlF lifetime Achievement Award’ during the sixth edition of the Asian Business leadership Forum (ABlF) in Dubai.
He was offered the ‘ABlF lifetime Achievement Award’ for wielding his immense influence to mentor a generation of business leaders with old world wisdom and sharp business acumen and constantly placing team, community and country on his lead agenda and contribute towards making world a better place to live, a company press release stated.
ABlF Series' Royal Patron and the UAE's Minister of Culture, Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan conferred the award to Rao during the ABlF2015, which was organised under the theme ‘Technology and Disruptive Innovation in 21st Century Asia’. The event was attended by several top business leaders from Asia, economists, policymakers, investors, diplomats and global think tanks.
Rao, a noted and visionary industrialist, has spent a lifetime nurturing and sharing values of excellence, innovation and sustainability alongside social responsibilities and philanthropy.
He has inspired several Indian companies to think big and build world-class infrastructure projects. Under his exemplary leadership, GMR Group has created many firsts – first for the Group, first for the industry, and first for the country, it stated.
The Group developed India’s first Greenfield airport under PPP model at Hyderabad and also India’s first and largest Brownfield international airport at Delhi. Both of them rank among top airports in the world.
Besides, Rao has set the benchmarks for creating and operating national and international assets of global scale and quality in several sectors including energy, highways, large urban development and airports sectors.
A serial entrepreneur, the company’s Chairman started his entrepreneurial journey from a small jute mill in the remote village and went on to create a mammoth infrastructure conglomerate.
Reacting to the honour that he was extended during the ABlF event, Rao said: “God has given me the opportunity to serve the nation. It is the God’s grace, our honesty and dedication that helped us create landmark assets including the gateway of India, Delhi Airport which is World’s number one airport (in its category) in the national capital.”
Rao’s vision is to make GMR Group an institution in perpetuity and for that family constitution was the first step.
He believes that Corporate Governance and Family Governance are inter-linked blocks completing the cycle of Institution Building.
A committed philanthropist, Rao has dedicated his entire personal wealth to the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, which funds charitable activities and institutions in the areas of education, healthcare, livelihood support and community development.
The ABlF Series is a powerful, global leadership platform that convenes annually in the UAE. The ABlF positions its host nation, the UAE, as the new business epicenter of the world and showcases India as a key partner. Every year, the ABlF Series brings together leading business entities and leaders from nations of the GCC, Africa, Central Asia, South, South East and East Asia, in a congress that facilitates conversation and collaboration especially for Indian business leaders and NRI investors from across the world.