The industry’s finest gathered at the 7th Surya Nepal the boss Top 10 Business Excellence Awards at a glittering ceremony held in Kathmandu on 8 June, 2010.
the boss Top 10 Business Excellence Awards is a tribute to the spirit of entrepreneurship and the passion for business excellence in Nepal. The Awards seek to serve as a platform recognising the contribution of the business community to the national economy. In its seventh year, the Awards are a prestigious landmark on the corporate calendar of Nepal. The event is largely participated in and endorsed by the business community, policy makers, corporate leaders and the chambers of commerce and trade of the country.

The Awards are among the most prestigious and highly coveted in the industry. Constituted by the boss magazine - the country’s leading business and management magazine propagating ideas of free market and liberal economics, the Awards were held for the first time in 2004.

Winners were chosen through an evaluation process that included qualitative research and financial reviews. This year a panel of five eminent judges representing business and commerce expertise judged the awards. Awards were presented in these categories: Best Commercial Bank, Best Development Bank, Best Finance Company, Best Insurance Company, Person to Watch, Top 3 CEOs, Best Entrepreneur, Best Woman Entrepreneur, Best
Social Entrepreneur, FNCCI-NYEF award and Top 3 Management Students.

A distinct highlight of the event was the chief guest and distinguished keynote speaker, Manvinder Singh Banga. Banga is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management and is an international figure known for his rare combination of intuition and analytical ability. An illustrious career with Unilever which has worldwide business in 88 countries, Banga is also a non executive director on the board of Thomson Reuters among other positions in his portfolio. He was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours

In an inspiring speech, Banga illustrated leadership traits through his journey of personal experiences. On crisis he said, “In the last couple of days that I have been here I have met several business leaders and have been amazed at their ability to be positive, optimistic and deliver great results despite the external environment. I can only imagine what they may be able to do if conditions were more favourable. And in a way that is my point. In Chinese the word crisis is made up of two characters - one stands for danger and the other for opportunity. A crisis gives you the opportunity to experiment - a license to change - it provides the impetus to leave no stone unturned. You may not feel this today but you will benefit enormously in terms of personal growth from this trial by fire!”

Banga held his audience spellbound as he spoke about different facets of trials and triumphs and the circumstances and challenges that have made him who he is. He resonated with the crowds when he said, “I believe leaders are made… not born. What do I mean? I mean that I have benefited enormously by learning about leadership from the people around me - my family as well as those at work. I have learnt by watching them or through the experiences they gave me or shared with me.”

Dr Jagadish C Pokharel, vice chairman, National Planning Commission, was guest of honour and presented the Lifetime Achievement Award.