The Power of Purpose: Leaders Building Businesses That Make a Difference

In an era where impact matters as much as innovation, purpose-driven leaders are reshaping the business landscape. These visionary entrepreneurs blend profit with positive change, building organizations that solve real-world problems while inspiring trust, loyalty, and long-term growth. Their commitment to values, social responsibility, and meaningful action demonstrates how purpose can be a powerful engine for sustainable success, proving that when businesses stand for something bigger, they create a lasting difference in society.

Rakesh Malhotra, Founder & Mentor of Livguard Energy Technologies Private Limited
Driven by innovation and an unwavering commitment to sustainability, Livguard — founded by Rakesh Malhotra — is redefining the landscape of energy-storage solutions in India. Under his visionary leadership, the company has built a wide-ranging and future-ready portfolio that includes inverters and batteries, lithium-ion inverter batteries, automotive batteries, and integrated solar systems designed for modern homes and businesses. Each of these solutions reflects Livguard’s focus on high performance, long-term reliability, and meaningful impact.
More than just powering households, Livguard’s technologies enable thousands of families and enterprises to transition toward clean, dependable, and smarter energy. This purpose-driven approach aligns with the growing global mandate for sustainable power and positions Livguard as a catalyst in India’s evolving energy future.

Guided by a pioneering spirit, Mr. Malhotra has shaped Livguard around the promise of “Powering the Homes of Tomorrow,” building a company where innovation serves society and energy becomes efficient, accessible, and sustainable for all.

Arunava Chatterjee, Founder & Director of INVESMATE Group

Arunava Chatterjee, the founder of INVESMATE Group, is widely recognised for his contribution to financial literacy and data-driven investing in India. Through two major initiatives of INVESMATE Group, INVESMATE INSIGHTS—a SEBI-registered equity research platform—and INVESMATE, a leading stock-market education initiative, he has built an ecosystem that turns complex market data into actionable insights. With 15+ years of market experience and a Post-Graduation in Securities Markets (Research Analysis) from NISM, he continues to drive innovation in research and education. Driven by a vision to make stock market more accessible, he has penned down his thoughts in the book “Learn, Invest & Grow”, that tells the real stories of successful investing.

Dr. Jothi Neeraja, Co-Founder & Managing Director of People Tree Hospitals
Dr. Jothi Neeraja, Co-Founder & Managing Director of People Tree Hospitals, represents a new wave of doctor-entrepreneurs redefining Indian healthcare.
From her beginnings as a small-town obstetrician in Kadapa, she built one of Bengaluru’s most trusted hospital brands—300+ beds, 20+ specialties, and a record of 78 investor exits. She attracted investments from Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office and attracted BlackRock’s first entry into Indian healthcare.
Now, through Maarga Healthcare, Dr. Neeraja is taking on India’s mental-health challenge—building a tech-enabled ecosystem combining psychiatry, neuromodulation, VR-based therapy, and counselling. A first-generation woman founder, she champions accessible, ethical, and investor-ready healthcare that proves compassion and commercial success can go hand-in-hand.

Anish Aryan Arora, Founder of LaFetch
LaFetch sits at the centre of a growing shift in how Indians discover what to wear. People scroll through endless feeds and crowded marketplaces, drowning in options without clarity. LaFetch was created to fix that. “Discovery in India shouldn’t feel like a hunt,” says Anish Aryan Arora, Founder of LaFetch. “We want to redefine how people find and buy homegrown fashion online, making the journey intuitive and curated.” LaFetch focuses on premium homegrown labels, using a strict verification framework to ensure authenticity and originality. With 60-minute delivery across Delhi NCR, it brings speed without compromising brand value. In a space full of noise, LaFetch adds structure and becomes a true reference point for Indian fashion.

Nikhil Jhunjhunwala, Founder & CEO of Webi7 Digital Media & Learn Digital
Nikhil Jhunjhunwala is a purpose-driven entrepreneur shaping India’s digital future through his ventures Webi7 Digital Media and Learn Digital. Under his leadership, Webi7 has powered growth for 250+ brands, delivering performance-focused digital strategies recognized for measurable impact. His second venture, Learn Digital, has trained 20,000+ learners across corporate, advertising, medical and IT courses, reflecting his mission to upskill one million Indians for the future workforce. Featured by Forbes India, The Economic Times, Zee Business, ANI News, and Business Connect, Nikhil has also been honoured as “Digital Consultant of the Year 2019” by The CEO Magazine. His work stands at the intersection of purpose, innovation, and nation-building — empowering India through skills and digital growth.

CA Vinit Deo, Managing Director of Posiview Capital Advisors
As Managing Director of Posiview Capital Advisors, Vinit has spent the past two decades building a trusted advisory platform for MSMEs, family offices, and fast-growing companies seeking M&A and fundraising support. Having worked on over 200 advisory and 100 fund-raising transactions, he has seen firsthand the challenges MSMEs face—succession gaps, limited access to capital, and the need for strategic partnerships to scale.
At Posiview, his team guides the founders through the full M&A and fundraising journey, from defining objectives and identifying the right partner to valuation, due diligence, negotiations, legal documentation, and post-deal integration. Posiview’s USP is finding and working with under-the-radar opportunities in the Rs 25-250 crs range across sectors and connecting to the right buyers or investors in India and international markets. Posiview also works on buy-side mandates with corporate clients to find them the right acquisition targets.

Anantha V R, Founder of Hidecor
Anantha V R is the Founder of Hidecor, a pioneering workplace design and build firm transforming how fast-growing companies approach their workspaces. With over 21+ years of experience he has built his career with tremendous success across technology, enterprise mobility, IT advisory, software products and ICT services, he brings a rare mix of strategic insight and operational depth. An MBA by qualification, he has a proven track record in turning around businesses, launching new products and building high-performing business units.
For more than a decade, he has led Hidecor’s evolution toward behaviour-driven, functional and future-ready workspace design, shaping offices as operational systems that influence culture and performance. He oversees vision, growth strategy and overall P&L, ensuring long-term value creation and continues to design workplaces that truly work in the real world. A committed fitness enthusiast and active contributor to social causes, he blends discipline, innovation and human-centred leadership to redefine the future of workplaces.

Vivek N, Executive Director of ELV Projects
As an Executive Director of ELV Projects, Vivek N plays a pivotal role in sales, marketing and customer relationship strategy while overseeing fund-raising, project conceptualization and execution. With more than 15 years of leadership experience in multinational organizations and eight years of entrepreneurial experience, he brings strategic vision, process discipline and execution excellence to the company. A Master’s graduate in Computer Science from the USA, he began his career in technology, building and leading cross-functional teams across geographies and founding a successful IT consulting firm before transitioning into real estate.
At ELV Projects, Vivek has been instrumental in driving fund-raising initiatives through NBFCs and AIFs, structuring and closing key financial deals, identifying and acquiring strategic land parcels and conceptualizing new project pipelines. His contributions also include construction and operations management, setting up Prodigies International School, and establishing the Sales, Marketing and CRM framework. His automation-led, customer-first approach continues to strengthen brand positioning and drive scalable growth.

Kanu Priya Taneja, Chief People Officer of Credera India & APAC
Kanu Priya is a global HR transformation leader known for steering multi-country people strategies and shaping organizations through periods of rapid growth and change. With deep expertise in post-acquisition integration and cultural transformation across India, APAC, EMEA, ANZ, the UK, and North America, she has played a pivotal role in unifying diverse teams and building scalable, future-ready talent ecosystems.

At Credera, she anchors the people agenda for multiple high-growth consulting brands, championing governance, digital HR, and leadership development. A PROSCI-certified change leader, she is widely regarded for her ability to blend purpose, people, and performance to strengthen enterprise impact globally.

Her leadership philosophy focuses on creating high-trust, high-performance workplaces where innovation and inclusion thrive. As a strategic voice in the HR community, she continues to influence future-of-work conversations, shaping how organizations build resilience, agility, and human-centric cultures at scale.Nishant Kohli, Founder & CEO of NRI Nivesh
NRI Nivesh stands out as a leading physi digital platform empowering the global NRI community, guided by the vision of its Founder and CEO, Mr Nishant Kohli. With more than 20 years of experience, he has transformed the way NRIs connect with real estate and financial opportunities in India by championing trust, clarity, and informed decision-making. Under his leadership, NRI Nivesh has conducted hundreds of in-person exhibitions, tax clinics, and investor programs across multiple countries, bringing India’s top real estate brands and financial experts directly to NRI families. Signature initiatives such as India Property Expo, NRI Tax Clinic, Financial Literacy Workshops and personalized NRI Nivesh Baatcheet consultations reflect his mission to simplify taxation, compliance, and investments for NRIs. Mr Nishant Kohli’s purpose-driven approach is building a global community of confident and financially aware NRIs who stay closely connected to India’s growth story.

Moneycontrol Journalists are not involved in creation of this article.