Telecom Lead India: Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has been ranked at 65 in Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) list of 100 best performing global chief executives.

Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is in the process of launching 4G / LTE services in India, has been ranked at 28. He was ranked third among Indians. Under his leadership, Reliance Industries has grown to become India’s second-largest Indian company by turnover.

Times of India reported that eight Indian CEOs have made it to Harvard Business Review’s list of 100 best performing global chief executives.

Larsen & Toubro Chairman and Managing Director AM Naik has been ranked at 32. Under Naik’s leadership, the company has expanded its horizons beyond domestic frontiers, positioning itself to become a true international player.

Former Bharat Heavy Electricals CMD AK Puri (Rank 38) is ranked fifth among the Indians.

On an average, these CEOs have delivered a total shareholder return of 1,385 per cent during their tenures and increased their firms’ market value by $40.2 billion (adjusted for inflation, dividends, share repurchases, and share issues).

Jobs of Apple, who has been the best-performing CEO over the past 17 years was number 1 on HBR 2010 list as well. From 1997 to 2011, Apple’s market value increased by $359 billion, and its shareholder return experienced average compound annual growth of 35 percent.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com has now climbed to the number 2 spot, up from number 7 in HBR 2010 list. Under his leadership, the company delivered industry-adjusted shareholder returns of 12,266 percent and saw its value increase by $111 billion.

The highest-ranked woman on the list is Meg Whitman, currently the CEO of beleaguered HP, whose performance as the CEO of eBay from 1998 to 2008 earned her the number 9 spot.

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