Indian Aces 2025: How 25 Family Dynasties are reshaping the Gulf's $2bn business landscape

Arabian Business

23-06-2025

From a single grocery store to a 50-outlet GCC empire. From trading electronics in Deira to commanding billion-dollar conglomerates across continents.
These are stories of 25 Indian Family Dynasties, representing more than succession stories – they embody the Gulf's economic transformation over five decades, with combined operations spanning 101 countries and employing over 100,000 people.
The 25 leaders recognised in this category represent enterprises that span three generations, collectively employing hundreds of thousands across sectors from healthcare to retail, hospitality to logistics.
Family Dynasties: Where legacy meets revolution
The Family Dynasties category of Indian Aces 2025 tells a story that runs deeper than succession.
It's about businesses that began as trading posts and textile shops, now commanding billions in revenue across continents. But what makes this year's 25 standout isn't just their scale. It's how they've turned inheritance into innovation.
Take Dino Varkey at GEMS Education. Third-generation leadership of a business that started nearly 60 years ago. But under his direction, GEMS isn't just running schools – it's shaping global education policy.
Varkey sits on World Economic Forum councils, speaks at international summits, and drives conversations about the future of learning. This isn't traditional family business management. It's influence that transcends sectors.
The numbers tell part of the story. Feroz Allana's IFFCO Group: $8 billion in revenue, operations in 50 countries, 15,000 employees from 67 nationalities.
Shamlal Ahamed's Malabar Gold & Diamonds: 200 outlets across 13 countries, $7.5 billion annual turnover. These aren't family shops that got bigger. They're global enterprises that happen to be family-owned.
But scale alone doesn't explain their recognition. What matters is how they're redefining what family business means in the modern Gulf.
Selina Ved, second-generation at Apparel Group, didn't just join the family firm. She built Nessa.com from scratch, integrating AI tools and creator content to capture changing consumer behaviour. Her platform recorded 300 per cent growth in a year. This isn't about preserving tradition. It's about using family resources to build something new.
The same pattern appears across sectors. Adel Sajan at Danube Group took a building materials business and turned it into a lifestyle brand, launching e-commerce platforms and virtual design tools during the pandemic.
Online sales grew several-fold. Rohan Mehta at Petrochem Middle East is pursuing executive education at Harvard whilst driving digital transformation in petrochemical distribution.
What's striking is the educational foundation. These leaders combine family business experience with formal credentials. Winchester College and University of Sheffield for Varkey. Harvard Business School for multiple members. Northeastern University for Mehta. Georgetown for Rahul Jagtiani. This isn't about learning the trade from the ground up anymore. It's about bringing external expertise into family enterprises.
The geographic expansion matters too. Businesses that started in single cities now operate across multiple continents. Tony Jashanmal's retail empire spans from Kuwait to India.
Rajen Kilachand's Dodsal Group operates in 22 countries. Anil Ramchandani's Kachins Group has moved from Dubai tailoring into West African markets. These leaders aren't just inheriting local businesses. They're building international platforms.
Technology integration is reshaping traditional industries. Mahesh Shahdadpuri at TASC Outsourcing is exploring artificial intelligence applications including early forms of artificial general intelligence.
Vidya Chhabria at Jumbo Electronics has built omnichannel retail platforms. Girish Narayanan at Granteq introduced video conferencing technology to the UAE before it became standard business practice.
The philanthropy component runs deeper than corporate social responsibility. Rajen Kilachand has donated over $200 million in 15 years, funding institutions at Boston University and supporting global charities.
Lekhu Pagarani's Choithrams operates through a foundation that partners with Médecins Sans Frontières and the UN World Food Programme. This isn't about giving back. It's about building parallel institutions.
Healthcare representation is particularly strong. Akbar Moideen Thumbay oversees operations treating patients from 175 countries through seven academic hospitals.
Zunubia Shams leads Zulekha Healthcare Group across the UAE and India, driving community health initiatives including cervical cancer prevention programmes. These aren't just family businesses in healthcare. They are healthcare systems.
The retail presence spans from traditional formats to digital platforms. Choithrams operates 70 locations across the GCC. Landmark Group runs 2,200 outlets in 17 countries with 50,000 employees.
But alongside these established players, leaders like Selina Ved are building digital-first beauty platforms that carry 14,000 products from 250 brands.
What emerges from this year's Family Dynasties category is a group that's rewritten the rules of succession. They haven't just inherited businesses. They've inherited platforms and used them to build influence that extends far beyond their original sectors.
Educational policy. International trade. Healthcare systems. Digital commerce. Philanthropic institutions.
The old model of family business – learning from elders, maintaining traditions, growing gradually – has been replaced by something more dynamic.
These leaders combine family resources with global education, traditional values with technological innovation, local roots with international expansion.
This isn't about preserving legacy anymore. It's about using legacy as a foundation for transformation.
And that transformation is reshaping not just their businesses, but the broader economic landscape of the Gulf region.
RANK NAME DESIGNATION COMPANY
1 Dino Varkey Group CEO GEMS Education
2 Rahul Jagtiani Group Director Landmark Group
3 Shamlal Ahamed Managing Director of International Operations Malabar Gold & Diamonds
4 Adel Sajan Managing Director Danube Group
5 Dr. Dhananjay Datar Chairman and Managing Director Al Adil Group
6 Feroz Allana Director – IFFCO Allana Group
7 Tony Jashanmal Group President Jashanmal Group
8 Aarti Jagtiani Director Landmark Group
9 Lekhu Thakurdas Pagarani Chairman Choithrams
10 Ravi Menon Chairman Sobha Group
11 Abdulla Ajmal CEO Ajmal Group
12 Ramesh S. Ramakrishnan Chairman Transworld Group of Companies
13 Raju Shroff Chairman Regal Group of Companies
14 Rohan Mehta Managing Director Petrochem Middle East
15 Vidya Chhabria Chairperson Jumbo Electronics
16 Akbar Moideen Thumbay Vice President – Healthcare Division Thumbay Group
17 Selina Ved Co-founder and Director GCC Nysaa (JV with Apparel Group)
18 Girish Narayanan Managing Director Granteq
19 Rajen Khilachand Chairman and President Dodsal Group
20 Mahesh Shahdadpuri Director NIKAI
21 Hashim Vahedna Director and Vice President Vahedna Group of Companies
22 Prashant Goenka Director Emami
23 Anil Ramchandani Director of Business The Kachins Group
24 Zanubia Shams Co-chairperson Zulekha Healthcare Group
25 Rahul Shetty Managing Director Peninsula Hospitality