Great Manager Awards 2024: Celebrating leadership that combines innovation with empathy

The ninth edition of the Great Manager Awards 2024 recognises leaders who balance innovation and drive growth while prioritising human connection.

Excellence in leadership is the driving force behind any organisation’s success. It is more than just achieving results—it’s about inspiring teams, building strong cultures, and leading with empathy. Modern managers make a difference by guiding their teams through uncertainty and providing clarity and support. They create an environment where progress is embraced, however, human connection and empathy remain at the forefront of leadership.

The Great Manager Awards 2024—an initiative of People Business in partnership with T A Pai Management—celebrates leadership, inspiring teams, driving innovation, and moving organisations forward.


Now in its ninth edition, the programme recognises exceptional managers, organisations, and HR leaders who play a vital role in nurturing people-first cultures.

Behind this recognition is a rigorous selection process. Over 100 leaders—including CEOs, CHROs, and CXOs—have collaborated to carefully evaluate and uncover stories of resilience, innovation, and people-first leadership.

During the opening address, Dr Sandeep K Krishnan, CEO and Partner, People Business, discussed how, over the last nine years, this research on great managers has become the largest study in the world.

Mervyn Raphael, Managing Partner, People Business, emphasised that GMA continues to honour exemplary leadership, driving a culture of excellence and growth across industries.

The CEO Insights Roundtable at the GMA brought together leaders to discuss a theme that resonates strongly in today’s world—The decisive decade: Balancing tech and touch. With technology evolving faster than ever, the conversation focused on how businesses can use it to move forward without losing the human connection that keeps organisations grounded.

Panellists across industries shared the view that businesses are transitioning from products to customer experiences. To drive the customer experience, companies need to build and inspire the right teams, with inclusivity as the cornerstone. Given the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, technology and solutions must ensure that every section of society has a voice.

The panellists reiterated that while the workforce will initially resist the adoption and implementation of new technologies, a great manager will be someone who can bring people together and convince them that technology will transform the future.

The awards also featured keynote addresses from Harish Kohli, President and Managing Director, Acer India, and Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Food Marketplace, Swiggy. They offered their perspectives on leadership in today’s technology-driven world, emphasising the need for leaders to strike a balance between innovation and affinity with the workforce's needs.

Overall, the leaders were convinced that businesses must find ways to innovate, embrace technology, and stay efficient while understanding that success is still about people. The organisations that promote leadership and managerial excellence in this direction will move towards building the companies of tomorrow.

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