Icons of Influence Paras Shahdadpuri Chairman, Nikai Group Diplomat-turned-entrepreneur Paras Shahdadpuri founded Nikai Group of Companies in 1995. The global conglomerate evolved from a modest trading enterprise into an international operation within two decades, with diverse business interests in electronics and appliances, information technology, general trading, and food. Based in Dubai, Nikai boasts over 400 own-brand products across electronic appliances, home entertainment, and white goods. With direct operations in more than 60 countries and a customer base exceeding 60 million worldwide, Nikai has firmly established itself in some of the most competitive global markets, including the US. The company is now entering a rapid expansion phase into African and Asian markets, particularly focusing on the Maghreb region. Nikai’s excellence has been recognised with ‘Superbrand’ status conferred by the International Superbrands Organization in 2011 and from 2016 to 2018. Paras himself has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Bharat Shiromani Award. Related Stories How should regional and global retailers weather the Covid-19 crisis? Revealed: Influential Indians in the GCC: Business legends India and the GCC: Bound by history You might also like Sunil John Dr. Thumbay Moideen Vidya Chhabria Mohan Valrani K. Rajaram Dr. Adnan Chilwan Sanjiv Kakkar Ram Kumar Thota Raghu Malhotra Sunil Kaushal Atif Rahman Amit Jain Rishi Kapoor Vasu Shroff Anil Pillai Bal Krishen Rohit and Sharad Bachani Raju Ramesh and Sunil Paul Ayesha Depala John Paul Joy Alukkas Geet Bhalla and Digvijay Pratap Snehal and Sunita Hadani Nisha Jagtiani Kunal Kapoor Dino Varkey Ashish Panjabi Joy Alukkas Yogesh Mehta Yusuff Ali M.A. Ravi Pillai Micky Jagtiani Sunny Varkey Sunil Vaswani Shamsheer Vayalil Firoz Merchant Rajen Kilachand Azad Moopen Tony Jashanmal Paras Shahdadpuri Dr. Zulekha Daud Adeeb Ahamed Dhananjay Datar Rizwan Sajan PNC Menon Sima Ved Shaji Ul Mulk Ramesh Prabhakar L.T. Pagarani Ram Buxani Surender Kandhari Sohan Roy Shyam Bhatia