This year the ranking is dominated by brand guardians from the tech and media sectors, with tech accounting for six positions in the top ten. Tim Cook who’s overseen Apple’s record-breaking year sits at second place. Apple became the first company to achieve a USD 3 trillion market valuation. Mr Cook is joined by brand guardians of household names. Tencent’s Huateng Ma is at fourth, Google’s Sundar Pichai is in fifth and Netflix’s Reed Hastings sits at seventh position. David Haigh, Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance puts things in perspective. “Ultimately, the role of a brand guardian is to build brand and business value. Our ranking recognises those who are building business value in a sustainable manner, by balancing the needs of all stakeholders—employees, investors, and the wider society. More and more, the CEOs ranked in the Brand Guardianship Index must work in partnership to build a sustainable future, redefining the role of a CEO from ultra-competitive entrepreneur to collaborative diplomat,” he says.

Among other informative stories, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects India’s growth at a rate of nine percent in the coming fiscal year. That would mean that the country could retain its pole position as the fastest-growing major economy. Through its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF raised the growth projection from 8.5 to 9 percent. “India’s prospects for 2023 are marked up on expected improvements in credit growth and subsequently in investment and consumption, and building on better-than-anticipated performance of the financial sector,” the report said. On the other hand, announcing that India’s recovery is on a solid path, the United Nations in January reported that the country recorded the highest estimated growth rate among major economies last year, and is set to be on the same trajectory this year and the next one as well. This was a part of its annual World Economic Situation and Prospects report.

There are several other stories of interest in the magazine and we do hope you enjoy going through them.

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