India / Global - 2025 - Coherent Market Insights (CMI) was pleased to serve as Research Partner for the ET Edge 40 Under 40 – South Edition 2025, a distinguished platform that recognizes extraordinary young business leaders driving innovation and economic growth across South India.
Mr. Mohit Shrivastava, AVP – Research & Consulting, Coherent Market Insights, presented a well-curated, structured, and evidence-led research methodology to identify the region’s most promising leaders under the age of 40. Keeping the initiative in mind, the methodology is built on the foundation of credibility, transparency, and balanced representation. His address outlined the multi-stage screening process, sector mapping framework, weighted scoring model, and independent jury validation system included in the evaluation framework.
Advancing Leadership Excellence Across South India
ET Edge 40 Under 40 – South Edition 2025 acknowledges the emerging business leaders who have a knack for demonstrating measurable growth, innovation, and strategic impact across industries in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
The initiative takes into consideration individuals shaping both traditional industries and next-generation business models, with South India serving as a dynamic hub for technology, manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems.
CMI’s Role: Designing a Structured and Transparent Evaluation Framework
Coherent Market Insights, being a Research Partner, designed and implemented a rigorous, multi-phase evaluation framework. The framework included identifying South India’s most distinguished business leaders under 40 years of age. The methodology employed by the company was rooted in measurable performance metrics, objectivity, and balanced sector representation.
Identification and Longlisting
Stringent eligibility screening was the first step of the evaluation process. Candidates were required to be under 40 years of age as of October 31, 2025, have significant business presence across South India, and possess a minimum of three years in a strategic leadership role such as Founder, Co-founder, CEO, or equivalent.
Professional background, leadership trajectory, innovation, measurable growth, and recent business achievements were the parameters that were taken into consideration when assessing profiles. The ET Edge microsite acted as credible platform for sourcing leaders through corporate filings, business intelligence platforms, startup ecosystems, industry associations, editorial outreach, and structured nominations.
Candidates were mapped across the technology, healthcare, manufacturing, BFSI, consumer goods, infrastructure, and emerging industries in order to ensure comprehensive ecosystem coverage. In order to maintain enterprise-size parity, organizations were further categorized by revenue bands—Emerging Businesses (below ₹50 crore), SMEs (₹50–₹100 crore), and Large Enterprises (above ₹100 crore). The longlist demonstrated participation across Tier 1 as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and prioritized gender inclusivity.