Influential Leaders of Asia 2026: Full List of Honourees
Team Marksmen Network took its Influential Leaders honours to Kuala Lumpur on 9 October 2026. Here is the full list of leaders recognised at Influential Leaders of Asia 2026.
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Team Marksmen Network took its Influential Leaders recognition outside India for the first time in 2026. It had held the event five times in India before expanding it to the rest of Asia. The event, called Influential Leaders of Asia 2026, took place on 9 October 2026 at Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, Malaysia, under the theme “Leading with Resilience, Rising with Purpose.”
Business heads, industry founders and policymakers from Malaysia, India and the wider region attended the evening. It honoured leaders who are driving organisational change and contributing to Asia’s economic growth.
Influential Leaders of Asia 2026: The Full List of Honourees
The organisers say honourees were shortlisted through research into each leader’s influence, innovation and impact. The leaders recognised at the 2026 ceremony were:
- Dato’ Sri Dr. Haji Irmohizam, Group Managing Director, World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur
- Anuar Shuib, Chairman of the International Development Committee, Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC)
- Asif Abbas, Managing Director, Malaysia & Vietnam, Buhler Group
- Bhavna Agarwal, Managing Director, HPE India
- Bijuraj Sarangi, Managing Director – Business Transformation & Growth, Accenture Southeast Asia
- Dr. V. Sivakumar, Member of Parliament for Batu Gajah and Chairman, Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)
- Hrishikesh Pawar, Managing Director – Malaysia and Brunei, Otis Elevators
- Kenny Ong, Managing Director, Sony Music Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Special Projects Southeast Asia
- Krishan Bhargava
- Krishnamurthy Sriram, CEO and Executive Director, Malaysia, Wipro Unza
- Naveen GV, Chief Global COE Officer & Managing Director, Benchmark Gensuite
- Puneet Bhatla, Managing Director, GE Power India Limited, and GEV Steam Power Services India Leader
- Sagar Dighe, Chief Executive Officer, MAG Culinary Solutions (MAGCS)
- Shailendra Shukla, Managing Director, Mobility Group, Eaton Industries
- Shaji Varghese, CEO, Muthoot FinCorp Ltd
- Siva K Pichai, Managing Director, Asia, BMI Group
- Sudipta Adhya, Managing Director & Co-Head, Bank of New York, India
Shailendra Shukla of Eaton is the only leader recognised at both the 2025 India edition and the 2026 Asia edition.
Keynote and Chief Guest Address
Sharad Gupta, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Team Marksmen Network, kicked off the event. He talked about Asia’s growing weight in technology and industry. He said leaders now have to build trust and resilient organisations while dealing with geopolitical shifts, artificial intelligence and sustainability pressures.
Dato’ Sri Dr. Haji Irmohizam, Group Managing Director of World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, gave the keynote address on “The New Asian Playbook: Leading Through Uncertainty, Winning Through Purpose.” He said no business can predict every disruption, but it can prepare to respond with clarity. He encouraged continuous learning as the basis of that preparation.
Dr. V. Sivakumar was the Chief Guest for the event. His topic was “Asia’s Defining Decade: Unlocking Growth Through Visionary Leadership and Global Collaboration.” He spoke about adopting AI responsibly, creating jobs, investing in people and inclusive growth across the region.
Panel: Building Organisations for Asia’s Next Decade
Anuar Shuib of the MFPC moderated the panel discussion, “From Regional Champions to Global Powerhouses: Building Organisations for Asia’s Next Decade.” It brought together:
- Hrishikesh Pawar, Otis Elevators (Malaysia and Brunei)
- Krishnamurthy Sriram, Wipro Unza (Malaysia)
- Puneet Bhatla, GE Power India Limited
- Siva K Pichai, BMI Group (Asia)
The speakers discussed handling economic and political uncertainty, putting AI to practical use, strengthening organisations and earning trust through governance and sustainable practices.
Rajesh Khubchandani, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Team Marksmen Network, said that true leadership “must be rooted in purpose to navigate complexity.”
How the Platform Has Changed: From India to Asia
Influential Leaders was created to honour leaders in India. Its 5th edition, Influential Leaders of India 2025, was held on 26 September 2025 at the Novotel in Mumbai under the theme “Steering India’s Ascent: Leading with Impact.” Siddharth Mittal of Biocon, Ameera Shah of Metropolis Healthcare, Prachur Sah of Indus Towers and Vijay Chandok of NSDL were among the leaders honoured at that edition. NPCI Group Chairman Ajay Kumar Choudhary gave the keynote address.
In 2026, the organisers took Influential Leaders out of India to Kuala Lumpur. While still recognising a strong contingent of India-based executives, they opened the event to leaders from across Asia.
About Team Marksmen Network
Team Marksmen Network (TMN) is an Indian B2B media company. It runs several recognition platforms, conclaves and industry forums. Influential Leaders is one of them; others include Most Preferred Workplace and Most Trusted Brands of India. More details about the 2026 edition are available on the official Influential Leaders of Asia 2026 page.
This announcement is based on information released by Team Marksmen Network.
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Chirag Thakur
Editor, Business News · CEO Review Magazine
Chirag Thakur covers business news for CEO Review Magazine, along with markets, technology and industry explainers and the magazine's Top 10 rankings of companies and leaders.
