Eight Indian Americans among Atlanta’s power 500
Eight Indian Americans figure among Atlanta Magazine’s list of the 500 most powerful leaders for 2024, recognizing their influence and leadership. The magazine described this issue “of Atlanta 500 as a resource and not just an accounting of who’s who. It’s an anthology of the power that resides in Atlanta.”
“There are some who are naturally deemed powerful. Politicians. Executives. Celebrities. And the like. But power is not only ascribed to those who are typically powerful,” it said. “There is power in simply improving the lives of the people around you, often without the resources of the aforementioned.”
Describing the collection as “a portrait of the power in Atlanta in 2024,” the magazine said, “much of what Atlanta is today wouldn’t exist without those who challenged and continue to challenge power in every sector that comprises Atlanta 500 and the city at large.”
READ: Raja Krishnamoorthi ranked 24 among 50 Most Powerful Chicagoans (February 21, 2024)
Indian Americans on the list are: Aparna Bhattacharyya, Rohit Malhotra, Shaneel Lalani, Ambrish Baisiwala, Sanjay Gupta, Sanjay Sehgal, Kabir Bardey, and Romil Bahl.
Aparna Bhattacharyya serves as Raksha, Inc’s executive director. The organization, Rashka, which translates to “protection” in a number of South Asian languages, seeks to advance a more resilient and healthy South Asian community via lobbying, education, and private support services.
As an advocate for immigrant victims of sexual violence, Bhattacharyya has held positions as board secretary and member of the founding task force for the International Women’s House, the only shelter in the country that provides services to battered women and children from various ethnic backgrounds, with the assistance of multilingual and multicultural staff. She was recognized in 2013 as a White House Champion of Change.
Rohit Malhotra is the founder and head of the Center for Civic Innovation, which aims to end inequality by giving individuals the freedom to create public policies from the ground up.
In the Obama White House’s Office of Management and Budget, Malhotra worked on pay for performance and social impact bonds as an Ash Innovation Fellow. In 2015, he was named as Echoing Green Global Fellow and was selected for the 40 Under 40 class of 2020 by the Emory Alumni Association.
READ: 10 Indian American women on Forbes 50 Over 50 list (August 16, 2023)
Shaneel Lalani, CEO of Lalani Ventures, immigrated to the United States with his family from Mumbai in 1990 and settled in metro Atlanta. He took ownership of his family’s petrol station and went on to establish Lalani Ventures in 2012.
He has since developed, owned, and leased retail stores, petrol stations, and doctor’s offices across Georgia. Lalani purchased Underground Atlanta in 2020 and is in charge of renovating the 400,000-square-foot property.
Lalani also purchased 34 Peachtree, a 30-story office tower in downtown Atlanta, with intentions to renovate it. The firm has closed more than 150 deals totaling about $750 million under his direction.
Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO and chairman of Portman Holdings graduated from the University of Rajasthan. In his capacity as CEO. He handles activities including real estate development, investment, and capital raising in the United States, China, India, and South Korea.
With over 27 years of worldwide real estate experience, Baisiwala oversaw the expansion of Aldar Properties in Abu Dhabi, a portfolio valued at more than $20 billion before joining Portman.
Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent, CNN, is an Emmy-winning medical reporter and a vital part of CNN’s coverage of health and medical news for all of the network’s domestic and international shows. He works as a surgeon at Grady and Emory universities.
Sanjay Sehgal, is the founder and CEO MSys Technologies, a leading software product engineering and digital transformation services firm with offices in the US, India and Vietnam. With over twenty years of experience in the tech industry, he is also a start-up advisor.
Sehgal co-founded FarCare, Scentric, and Pramana, and he has purchased software businesses Clogeny and DigiFutura. He was named one of Georgia Titan 100’s top CEOs in 2022 and 2023 and is a member of the Forbes Business Council.
Kabir Bardey, is the founder, president and CEO of OneTrust, a privacy, security, and third-party risk technology platform. The firm has purchased nine companies and received over 200 patents since its foundation. OneTrust was acknowledged in the Forbes Cloud 100 list in 2022. Barday is a part of the 2023 Henry Crown Fellows class at the Aspen Institute.
Romil Bahl, who has nearly thirty years of experience driving significant growth for SaaS and IoT firms, is the president and CEO of KORE. He previously served as the president and CEO of Lochbridge, a market-leading provider of digital enablement and loT technology consultancy and solutions.
