Musician Shankar Mahadevan and fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore have been named among 15 winners of the annual 21st Century Icon Awards, unveiled virtually from London on Thursday. "While this award is so special and it means the world to me, I think it is also important for us to focus on this deadly virus and let it not dampen our spirits," said Mahadevan, awarded the 2020 Magnificent Performing Arts Award.
"I want to share that this award is a great signal for the industry and it is a huge inspiration for me," noted Rathore, the recipient of the Exquisite Art & Fashion Award.
The awards, devised as a celebration of dynamic entrepreneurs and successful individuals chosen from hundreds of nominations from around the world, are organised by Squared Watermelon Limited in partnership with ELITE, the London Stock Exchange Group's international business support and capital raising programme, with other supporters named as Bentley, Stefano Ricci, KPMG and Coca-Cola.
Among some of the other 2020 winners included the Dedicated Stalwart Award for Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman of Dabur India Ltd, and Competitive Sports Awards for Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle and Argentinian polo player Adolfo Cambiaso.
“The next generation of leaders and businesses are truly inspiring and we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of their journey and continued success,” said Tarun Ghulati, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Preeti Rana, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Squared Watermelon Ltd.
The panel of judges for the 2020 awards, which were transformed into a virtual setting due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, included a range of industry and political leaders including Baroness Sandip Verma from the House of Lords, Ibukun Adebayo from the London Stock Exchange, Hugo van Vredenburch from Goldman Sachs, David Sayer from KPMG, and curatorial expert Dr Amin Jaffer, among others.
