24. Sunil Mittal, 51 Bharti Airtel Chairman Why He heads Bharti Enterprises,one of India's leading business groups with interests in telecom,agri business,insurance and retail. Bharti Airtel,under the leadership of Mittal,has been at the forefront of the telecom revolution and has transformed into the largest mobile phone operator in India with a market value of $25 billion. It has also entered into a joint venture with Wal-Mart to tap the growing retail market in India. Power punch He was one of the first Indians to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area and launched services in Delhi in 1995. What next With the telecom sector going in for 3G technology,Mittal will remain a major player. His insurance venture,in tie-up with Axa,is also expanding.