ET Awards for Corporate Excellence: Sajjan Jindal — Cast in steel and forged in risk, hues of ambition in a will to drive

Aggressive bets, financial discipline and toughness in the face of challenges have been the hallmark of Sajjan Jindal’s leadership at JSW Group—a formula that’s paid off handsomely across paints, automobiles, cement and ports. This potent mix earned the conglomerate’s chairman the coveted Business Leader of the Year award for FY2025.

The jury hailed Jindal’s leadership consistency and the group’s ability to rebound from turbulence a few years ago. JSW stands stronger, leaner and more diversified than ever.

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Over the past year alone, the group sealed deals worth `41,000 crore in its energy arm and clinched a transformative buyout in paints, catapulting it into the top ranks of a sector that has seen fierce competition of late.

“I’ve always been aggressive and hands-on,” Jindal told ET. “And I don’t believe in failure.”

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It’s the first time Jindal has taken home the Business Leader of the Year trophy. A member of the jury, he recused himself from the discussion and the vote on the category.

“This award means a lot because we built this company from a very small base,” he said. “It’s all teamwork—the recognition belongs to every member of my team. Entrepreneurs get much of the limelight, but my strength lies in a strong team and deeply loyal employees.”

Steel remains the core of Jindal’s expanding business empire. Through acquisitions and capacity additions, JSW Steel continues to lead as India’s largest producer of the alloy, even as its power business, the nation’s fourth-largest, looks to ramp capacity up to 30.5 GW.

Jindal’s ambitions stretch well beyond steel. A strategic pivot into automobiles—via a partnership with SAIC Motor—has signalled his intent to be a key player in the mobility space. JSW MG Motor India, buoyed by the success of its Windsor EV, now ranks as the second-largest electric carmaker, commanding a 35% market share. A line of new-energy vehicles carrying the JSW badge is also on the horizon.

In paints, the `12,915 crore acquisition of Akzo Nobel’s India operations will push JSW into the fourth slot in an industry long dominated by legacy players. JSW Cement, born out of the steel business’s byproduct utilisation, made its stock market debut this year and now operates above 20 million tonnes in capacity, with eyes set on joining the top tier soon.

JSW Infrastructure has evolved from an internal logistics arm to a full-fledged third-party port operator. Now India’s second-largest in the private sector, it targets an ambitious scale-up from 177 million tonnes to 400 million tonnes by FY30.

Across all its listed and unlisted arms, JSW Group’s net sales grew at a five-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5% to 1.9 lakh crore in FY25, while net profit rose by 7% annually to 7,113.2 crore.