2023
Asia's
Top CEOs
InfluenceAsia 100: Asia's Top CEOs 2023 recognises the chief executives and CEO-equivalent leaders whose decisions most powerfully shaped Asia's business landscape during the 2023 calendar year.
InfluenceAsia 100: Asia's Top CEOs 2023 recognises the chief executives and CEO-equivalent leaders whose decisions most powerfully shaped Asia's business landscape during the 2023 calendar year. The edition is written from the standpoint of 2023, a year defined by generative artificial intelligence, semiconductor sovereignty, electric-vehicle scale, battery industrialisation, India-led platform confidence, higher-rate banking, energy-security realism, reopened travel, supply-chain redesign, consumer caution and renewed expectations for operating discipline.
The 2023 CEO was judged not only by size, personal fame or market value. InfluenceAsia evaluated the executive's direct role in strategic allocation, institutional resilience, technology leadership, regional competitiveness, stakeholder trust and category transformation. Leaders were rewarded for shaping the competitive grammar of their industries, protecting organisational credibility, and converting 2023's turbulence into durable enterprise direction.
The defining executive of 2023 was a systems leader. Artificial intelligence required compute infrastructure, not rhetoric alone. Electric mobility required batteries, cost control and manufacturing scale. Banking strength required risk discipline as interest rates rose. Travel recovery required network restoration and balance-sheet repair. Energy transition required supply reliability alongside decarbonisation. The strongest Asian CEOs of 2023 therefore combined ambition with operating architecture: they directed capital, talent, platforms, factories, data systems, logistics, trust and institutional narrative with exceptional consequence.
InfluenceAsia includes named individuals, not management teams. Eligible leaders held a formal CEO role or a CEO-equivalent operating mandate in 2023. CEO-equivalent authority includes executive chairpersons with active strategic command, founders in continuing operational control, group managing directors, presidents, major sovereign capital operators, and board-level stewards whose 2023 decisions directly affected enterprise strategy, market structure or institutional value.
100Leaders ranked
99.8Highest score
100Platforms represented
7Research dimensions
Representative Leaders
CEOs that defined the year
The first tier of the 2023 list reflects Asia's executive test: AI infrastructure, semiconductor sovereignty, electric mobility, sovereign capital, energy security and platform discipline.
Jensen Huang
- Platform
- NVIDIA
- Role
- Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Score
- 99.8
Huang stands first because 2023 made accelerated computing the operating substrate of generative AI, and his leadership turned GPUs, software, systems and developer ecosystems into the year's most consequential technology platf...
C.C. Wei
- Platform
- TSMC
- Role
- Chief Executive Officer
- Score
- 99.6
Wei led the foundry platform most critical to advanced chips, AI accelerators, mobile processors and semiconductor sovereignty, sustaining technology execution while global customers competed for capacity.
Mukesh D. Ambani
- Platform
- Reliance Industries
- Role
- Chairman and Managing Director
- Score
- 99.4
Ambani remained Asia's most consequential private-sector platform builder, linking digital connectivity, retail scale, energy transition, consumer finance and national infrastructure into one strategic architecture.
Wang Chuanfu
- Platform
- BYD
- Role
- Founder, Chairman and President
- Score
- 99.2
Wang converted battery depth, vehicle scale, vertical integration and cost discipline into one of 2023's clearest demonstrations that Asian electric mobility could set global competitive pressure.
Satya Nadella
- Platform
- Microsoft
- Role
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Score
- 99
Nadella's Asian-origin global leadership carried exceptional 2023 weight as enterprise AI, cloud productivity, developer tools and platform partnerships redefined how companies adopted generative intelligence.
Lisa Su
- Platform
- AMD
- Role
- Chair and Chief Executive Officer
- Score
- 98.8
Su strengthened AMD's role in high-performance computing, data centres and AI silicon, offering the industry a serious alternative architecture in a year dominated by demand for advanced compute.
Full List
The 2023 ranking
Leaders are ordered by InfluenceAsia score. Each entry identifies the honoree, 2023 operating role, principal platform and concise executive signal.
Showing 100 leaders
| Rank | Leader | Platform | Executive Role | Score | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jensen HuangFounder, President and Chief Executive Officer | NVIDIA | Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer | 99.8 | Huang stands first because 2023 made accelerated computing the operating substrate of generative AI, and his leadership turned GPUs, software, systems and developer ecosystems into the year's most consequent... |
| 2 | C.C. WeiChief Executive Officer | TSMC | Chief Executive Officer | 99.6 | Wei led the foundry platform most critical to advanced chips, AI accelerators, mobile processors and semiconductor sovereignty, sustaining technology execution while global customers competed for capacity. |
| 3 | Mukesh D. AmbaniChairman and Managing Director | Reliance Industries | Chairman and Managing Director | 99.4 | Ambani remained Asia's most consequential private-sector platform builder, linking digital connectivity, retail scale, energy transition, consumer finance and national infrastructure into one strategic archi... |
| 4 | Wang ChuanfuFounder, Chairman and President | BYD | Founder, Chairman and President | 99.2 | Wang converted battery depth, vehicle scale, vertical integration and cost discipline into one of 2023's clearest demonstrations that Asian electric mobility could set global competitive pressure. |
| 5 | Satya NadellaChairman and Chief Executive Officer | Microsoft | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 99 | Nadella's Asian-origin global leadership carried exceptional 2023 weight as enterprise AI, cloud productivity, developer tools and platform partnerships redefined how companies adopted generative intelligence. |
| 6 | Lisa SuChair and Chief Executive Officer | AMD | Chair and Chief Executive Officer | 98.8 | Su strengthened AMD's role in high-performance computing, data centres and AI silicon, offering the industry a serious alternative architecture in a year dominated by demand for advanced compute. |
| 7 | Amin H. NasserPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Saudi Aramco | President and Chief Executive Officer | 98.6 | Nasser led one of Asia's most strategically important energy institutions through volatile demand, capital discipline and the hard balance between energy security and lower-carbon positioning. |
| 8 | Sundar PichaiChief Executive Officer | Alphabet and Google | Chief Executive Officer | 98.4 | Pichai's 2023 leadership was central to search, cloud, mobile ecosystems and AI product direction, with direct consequences for Asian developers, advertisers, enterprises and information access. |
| 9 | Ren ZhengfeiFounder and Executive Leader | Huawei | Founder and Executive Leader | 98.2 | Ren's leadership represented high-stakes technology resilience, as Huawei defended telecom infrastructure, enterprise systems, cloud capability and advanced-device ambition under persistent external constraint. |
| 10 | Pony MaCo-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Tencent | Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 98 | Ma preserved a vast digital ecosystem across communication, gaming, payments, cloud, entertainment and enterprise services while China's platform economy moved into a more disciplined phase. |
| 11 | Robin ZengFounder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | CATL | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 97.8 | Zeng remained indispensable to the battery economy, shaping electric-vehicle adoption, energy storage, industrial supply chains and the cost curve of transport electrification. |
| 12 | Piyush GuptaChief Executive Officer | DBS Group | Chief Executive Officer | 97.6 | Gupta delivered benchmark banking leadership through digital depth, record institutional strength, wealth management scale and disciplined risk control in a higher-rate financial cycle. |
| 13 | N. ChandrasekaranChairman | Tata Sons | Chairman | 97.4 | Chandrasekaran directed one of India's most important corporate systems across technology services, airlines, manufacturing, consumer platforms, electric mobility and long-cycle national industrial ambition. |
| 14 | Yasir Al-RumayyanGovernor and Executive Capital Steward | Public Investment Fund | Governor and Executive Capital Steward | 97.2 | Al-Rumayyan ranked highly for steering one of Asia's most powerful capital platforms across domestic transformation, global investment, industrial formation and strategic asset ownership. |
| 15 | Sultan Ahmed Al JaberGroup Chief Executive Officer | ADNOC | Group Chief Executive Officer | 97 | Al Jaber occupied a defining 2023 position at the intersection of energy supply, industrial modernisation, emissions strategy and global climate finance leadership. |
| 16 | Saad Sherida Al-KaabiPresident and Chief Executive Officer | QatarEnergy | President and Chief Executive Officer | 96.8 | Al-Kaabi's influence came from long-cycle LNG expansion, energy-security credibility and the strategic relevance of gas supply to Asian industrial and power markets. |
| 17 | Khaldoon Khalifa Al MubarakManaging Director and Group Chief Executive Officer | Mubadala | Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer | 96.6 | Al Mubarak's 2023 leadership reflected patient capital at scale, spanning technology, healthcare, industry, energy transition, financial assets and sovereign operating discipline. |
| 18 | Koji SatoPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Toyota Motor | President and Chief Executive Officer | 96.4 | Sato's first year at the helm mattered because Toyota had to clarify electrification, software, hydrogen, hybrid leadership and governance renewal without losing global manufacturing excellence. |
| 19 | Chung Eui-sunExecutive Chair | Hyundai Motor Group | Executive Chair | 96.2 | Chung reinforced Hyundai's status as a design-led and technology-forward mobility group, with electric vehicles, robotics, software and premium brand perception gaining strategic weight. |
| 20 | Tan Hock EngPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Broadcom | President and Chief Executive Officer | 96 | Tan's 2023 significance came from semiconductor profitability, infrastructure software ambition and disciplined technology consolidation at global enterprise scale. |
| 21 | Forrest LiFounder, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer | Sea Limited | Founder, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer | 95.8 | Li turned Southeast Asia's largest consumer internet group toward profitability, proving that gaming, e-commerce and digital financial services could be operated with far greater discipline. |
| 22 | Anthony TanCo-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer | Grab | Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer | 95.6 | Tan advanced the super-app model from growth narrative to profitability path, strengthening mobility, delivery, payments and merchant services across Southeast Asia. |
| 23 | Lei JunFounder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Xiaomi | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 95.4 | Lei linked smartphones, smart devices, internet services and electric-vehicle ambition into a broader intelligent-lifestyle platform with strong Asia-to-world consumer reach. |
| 24 | Shou Zi ChewChief Executive Officer | TikTok | Chief Executive Officer | 95.2 | Chew became one of 2023's most scrutinised global platform CEOs, defending creator-economy scale, trust architecture and operational legitimacy for an Asia-origin media platform. |
| 25 | Liang RuboChief Executive Officer | ByteDance | Chief Executive Officer | 95 | Liang oversaw one of the world's most influential algorithmic content companies as short video, creator tools, advertising technology and AI urgency reshaped digital attention. |
| 26 | Chen LeiChairman and CEO-equivalent Executive Leader | PDD Holdings | Chairman and CEO-equivalent Executive Leader | 94.8 | Chen's leadership remained central to value commerce, agricultural digitalisation and cross-border marketplace acceleration, making the platform one of Asia's most closely watched retail innovators. |
| 27 | Eddie WuChief Executive Officer | Alibaba Group | Chief Executive Officer | 94.6 | Wu entered the CEO seat during a decisive restructuring year, with responsibility for restoring entrepreneurial focus across commerce, cloud, logistics, AI and customer experience. |
| 28 | Wang XingFounder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Meituan | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 94.4 | Wang managed urban services infrastructure across food delivery, in-store consumption, travel, grocery and merchant tools while intensifying operational discipline in local commerce. |
| 29 | Robin LiCo-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Baidu | Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 94.2 | Li strengthened Baidu's transformation around AI cloud, foundation models, autonomous driving and intelligent transport, moving the company further beyond search-era dependency. |
| 30 | Sandy XuChief Executive Officer and Executive Director | JD.com | Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director | 94 | Xu's appointment placed a finance-tested operator at the centre of supply-chain commerce, retail efficiency, logistics credibility and customer trust in a competitive consumption cycle. |
| 31 | Kenichiro YoshidaChairman and Chief Executive Officer | Sony Group | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 93.8 | Yoshida continued to integrate gaming, music, film, image sensors and creative technology into one of Japan's most balanced global enterprise portfolios. |
| 32 | Shantanu NarayenChair and Chief Executive Officer | Adobe | Chair and Chief Executive Officer | 93.6 | Narayen's Asian-origin leadership shaped creative software, enterprise content workflows and AI-assisted design during a year when creation tools became strategically contested. |
| 33 | Arvind KrishnaChairman and Chief Executive Officer | IBM | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 93.4 | Krishna's 2023 relevance came from hybrid cloud, consulting, enterprise AI and portfolio simplification, sustaining an important global technology institution through a new platform cycle. |
| 34 | Eric YuanFounder and Chief Executive Officer | Zoom | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 93.2 | Yuan guided a collaboration platform beyond emergency usage toward enterprise communications, contact centres, AI features and workflow integration. |
| 35 | Yang YuanqingChairman and Chief Executive Officer | Lenovo | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 93 | Yang navigated the PC-cycle reset while repositioning Lenovo around intelligent devices, infrastructure solutions, services and early AI-PC expectations. |
| 36 | Young LiuChairman | Hon Hai Precision Industry | Chairman | 92.8 | Liu's influence rested on global electronics manufacturing, supply-chain diversification, EV components and the operational infrastructure behind many of the world's leading devices. |
| 37 | Lee Jae-yongExecutive Chairman | Samsung Electronics | Executive Chairman | 92.6 | Lee's CEO-equivalent stewardship carried strategic weight across memory, foundry, smartphones, displays and Korea's role in the global semiconductor competition. |
| 38 | Choi Soo-yeonChief Executive Officer | Naver | Chief Executive Officer | 92.4 | Choi advanced Korea's search, commerce, webtoon, AI and content platform ambitions while guiding Naver through global expansion and generational leadership renewal. |
| 39 | Hong EuntaekChief Executive Officer | Kakao | Chief Executive Officer | 92.2 | Hong's leadership mattered because Kakao's communication, mobility, finance, entertainment and commerce services remained systemically important to Korean digital life. |
| 40 | K. KrithivasanChief Executive Officer and Managing Director | Tata Consultancy Services | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | 92 | Krithivasan took command of India's largest technology-services exporter during a softer global demand cycle, prioritising client continuity, delivery depth and institutional succession. |
| 41 | Salil ParekhChief Executive Officer and Managing Director | Infosys | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | 91.8 | Parekh sustained cloud, automation, consulting and large-deal momentum while Indian IT services adapted to tighter client budgets and new AI expectations. |
| 42 | C. VijayakumarChief Executive Officer and Managing Director | HCLTech | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | 91.6 | Vijayakumar strengthened engineering-led services, cloud migration, cybersecurity and digital workplace capability for one of Asia's most globally embedded technology-services firms. |
| 43 | Sashidhar JagdishanManaging Director and Chief Executive Officer | HDFC Bank | Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer | 91.4 | Jagdishan led a historic banking combination and defended retail-banking quality, digital reliability and deposit strength at a defining moment for India's financial sector. |
| 44 | Sandeep BakhshiManaging Director and Chief Executive Officer | ICICI Bank | Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer | 91.2 | Bakhshi continued one of India's most important private-bank execution stories, with digital banking, asset quality, deposit strength and franchise confidence improving in 2023. |
| 45 | Dinesh Kumar KharaChairman | State Bank of India | Chairman | 91 | Khara's CEO-equivalent stewardship of India's largest bank carried national consequence across credit, digital inclusion, deposits, financial stability and public-sector banking credibility. |
| 46 | Helen WongGroup Chief Executive Officer | OCBC | Group Chief Executive Officer | 90.8 | Wong strengthened a regional banking institution through wealth, cross-border customer linkages, disciplined capital management and the integration of Greater China and ASEAN opportunity. |
| 47 | S.N. SubrahmanyanChief Executive Officer and Managing Director | Larsen & Toubro | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | 90.6 | Subrahmanyan remained vital to India's infrastructure and engineering execution, spanning defence, construction, energy, industrial projects and technology services. |
| 48 | Rohit JawaChief Executive Officer and Managing Director | Hindustan Unilever | Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director | 90.4 | Jawa entered a demanding consumer-goods CEO seat with responsibility for pricing, rural demand, distribution depth and brand stewardship in an inflation-sensitive household market. |
| 49 | Falguni NayarFounder and Chief Executive Officer | Nykaa | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 90.2 | Nayar sustained one of India's most important beauty and lifestyle platforms, combining content, commerce, private labels, omnichannel retail and founder-led consumer trust. |
| 50 | Deepinder GoyalFounder and Chief Executive Officer | Zomato | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 90 | Goyal's 2023 leadership was marked by stronger operating discipline in food delivery, quick commerce, restaurant networks and listed consumer-internet credibility. |
| 51 | Nithin KamathFounder and Chief Executive Officer | Zerodha | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 89.8 | Kamath remained distinctive for building a profitable, product-led brokerage institution around low-cost access, financial education, customer restraint and capital efficiency. |
| 52 | Vijay Shekhar SharmaFounder and Chief Executive Officer | Paytm | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 89.6 | Sharma continued to steer a major Indian digital-payments platform through monetisation, merchant finance, consumer services and the challenge of converting scale into durable trust. |
| 53 | Aadit PalichaCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Zepto | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 89.4 | Palicha represented the sharpest youth-led quick-commerce breakout of 2023, proving that urban density, dark-store logistics and speed could command serious institutional attention. |
| 54 | Sriharsha MajetyCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Swiggy | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 89.2 | Majety deepened India's convenience-commerce infrastructure through food delivery, quick commerce, logistics density and urban habit formation. |
| 55 | Kalyan KrishnamurthyChief Executive Officer | Flipkart Group | Chief Executive Officer | 89 | Krishnamurthy led one of India's largest e-commerce platforms through seller enablement, logistics expansion, value retail and category competition. |
| 56 | Bhavish AggarwalCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Ola Electric | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 88.8 | Aggarwal ranked for pushing Indian electric two-wheelers, software, manufacturing ambition and mobility entrepreneurship into a more industrial phase. |
| 57 | Tarun MehtaCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Ather Energy | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 88.6 | Mehta continued to represent engineering-led electric two-wheeler leadership, with product quality, charging networks and disciplined brand positioning in a fast-growing category. |
| 58 | Adar PoonawallaChief Executive Officer | Serum Institute of India | Chief Executive Officer | 88.4 | Poonawalla remained a major healthcare manufacturing CEO, keeping vaccine scale, biomanufacturing capability and global health-supply relevance central to India's life-sciences influence. |
| 59 | Dilip ShanghviManaging Director | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries | Managing Director | 88.2 | Shanghvi strengthened a major pharmaceutical platform through specialty products, global generics, disciplined operations and renewed confidence in Indian healthcare manufacturing. |
| 60 | Kiran Mazumdar-ShawExecutive Chairperson and Founder Leader | Biocon | Executive Chairperson and Founder Leader | 88 | Mazumdar-Shaw retained CEO-equivalent influence across biologics, biosimilars, affordable healthcare and India's biotechnology credibility. |
| 61 | Haruo NaitoChief Executive Officer | Eisai | Chief Executive Officer | 87.8 | Naito's 2023 significance came from neuroscience leadership and the global importance of disease-modifying therapy work in a high-need medical category. |
| 62 | Christophe WeberPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Takeda Pharmaceutical | President and Chief Executive Officer | 87.6 | Weber continued to lead a Japan-rooted global pharmaceutical company through portfolio focus, rare-disease therapies, plasma-derived medicines and international integration. |
| 63 | Toshihiro MibePresident and Chief Executive Officer | Honda Motor | President and Chief Executive Officer | 87.4 | Mibe advanced Honda's transition across electric mobility, hybrid strategy, software-defined vehicles, motorcycles and global manufacturing discipline. |
| 64 | Makoto UchidaPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Nissan Motor | President and Chief Executive Officer | 87.2 | Uchida's 2023 role centred on alliance rebalancing, electrification discipline, product renewal and the rebuilding of strategic confidence after years of governance strain. |
| 65 | Shuntaro FurukawaPresident | Nintendo | President | 87 | Furukawa strengthened Japan's creative-technology influence through disciplined hardware, beloved intellectual property, digital distribution and one of 2023's defining gaming releases. |
| 66 | Tadashi YanaiChairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | Fast Retailing | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | 86.8 | Yanai sustained global retail excellence through LifeWear, supply-chain precision, store execution and the ability to make Japanese apparel discipline travel across markets. |
| 67 | Kwang Mo KooChairman and Chief Executive Officer | LG Group | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 86.6 | Koo's CEO-equivalent leadership mattered across batteries, materials, electronics, appliances, displays and Korea's industrial transition toward future mobility and advanced components. |
| 68 | Shin Hak-cheolChief Executive Officer | LG Chem | Chief Executive Officer | 86.4 | Shin guided advanced materials, battery-materials strategy, specialty chemicals and sustainability positioning at a strategically important Korean industrial company. |
| 69 | Li XiangFounder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Li Auto | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 86.2 | Li ranked for exceptional product-market clarity in family-oriented electric vehicles, strong delivery momentum and a focused approach to premium intelligent mobility. |
| 70 | William LiFounder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | NIO | Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 86 | Li remained central to premium Chinese electric vehicles through battery swapping, user communities, service architecture and new technology showcases. |
| 71 | He XiaopengChairman and Chief Executive Officer | XPeng | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 85.8 | He advanced software-defined mobility, assisted driving, product renewal and strategic partnership value in one of the world's most competitive EV markets. |
| 72 | Li ShufuChairman | Geely Holding | Chairman | 85.6 | Li's active stewardship across global automotive brands, electrification platforms and mobility investments made him one of Asia's broadest automotive portfolio leaders. |
| 73 | Fang HongboChairman and President | Midea Group | Chairman and President | 85.4 | Fang reinforced Chinese manufacturing strength through appliances, smart-home systems, robotics, industrial automation and disciplined global operations. |
| 74 | Dong MingzhuChairwoman and President | Gree Electric Appliances | Chairwoman and President | 85.2 | Dong remained one of Asia's most visible manufacturing executives, with influence built on appliance branding, industrial confidence, channel discipline and operational assertiveness. |
| 75 | Wang LaichunChairwoman | Luxshare Precision | Chairwoman | 85 | Wang led a precision-manufacturing platform embedded in global electronics supply chains, reinforcing Asia's importance to device assembly and component execution. |
| 76 | Suphachai ChearavanontChief Executive Officer | Charoen Pokphand Group | Chief Executive Officer | 84.8 | Suphachai's leadership spanned food, agriculture, retail, telecom and digital services, reflecting the importance of integrated conglomerates in Southeast Asian economic life. |
| 77 | Tos ChirathivatExecutive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | Central Group | Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 84.6 | Chirathivat guided a major retail and property group through tourism recovery, omnichannel retail, hospitality rebuilding and Southeast Asian consumer renewal. |
| 78 | Tony FernandesChief Executive Officer | Capital A | Chief Executive Officer | 84.4 | Fernandes continued one of Asia's boldest aviation recoveries by tying low-cost travel, logistics, digital services and restructuring into a broader travel-platform story. |
| 79 | Goh Choon PhongChief Executive Officer | Singapore Airlines | Chief Executive Officer | 84.2 | Goh led a premium carrier through one of Asia's strongest reopening recoveries, restoring network strength, service reputation and balance-sheet confidence. |
| 80 | Cho Won-taeChairman and Chief Executive Officer | Hanjin Group and Korean Air | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 84 | Cho's 2023 relevance came from aviation consolidation, cargo resilience, network recovery and the strategic future of Korea's national carrier structure. |
| 81 | Nguyen Thi Phuong ThaoFounder and Chief Executive Officer | VietJet Air | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 83.8 | Thao remained a defining Vietnamese aviation entrepreneur, leading low-cost travel recovery, fleet ambition and regional connectivity in Southeast Asia. |
| 82 | Pham Nhat VuongFounder and Chairman | Vingroup and VinFast | Founder and Chairman | 83.6 | Vuong's CEO-equivalent influence rose through VinFast's global-market visibility, industrial ambition and Vietnam's attempt to build a recognised electric-vehicle manufacturer. |
| 83 | Le Hong MinhCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | VNG | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 83.4 | Minh continued to represent Vietnam's homegrown internet capability across gaming, messaging, payments, cloud services and digital platforms. |
| 84 | Ferry UnardiCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Traveloka | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 83.2 | Unardi strengthened travel-technology recovery through domestic demand, financial-service adjacencies, booking infrastructure and Southeast Asian consumer confidence. |
| 85 | Patrick WalujoChief Executive Officer | GoTo Group | Chief Executive Officer | 83 | Walujo took command of Indonesia's flagship digital ecosystem with a sharper focus on profitability, governance, integration and capital-market credibility. |
| 86 | Willix HalimChief Executive Officer | Bukalapak | Chief Executive Officer | 82.8 | Halim advanced a marketplace model anchored in merchant digitisation, online-offline commerce and inclusive access for Indonesian small businesses. |
| 87 | Aaron TanCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Carro | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 82.6 | Tan built regional auto-commerce infrastructure around used cars, financing, insurance and digital trust in a fragmented high-value category. |
| 88 | Lai Chang WenCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Ninja Van | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 82.4 | Lai's leadership remained important to Southeast Asian e-commerce logistics, where parcel density, SME enablement and last-mile reliability define platform commerce. |
| 89 | Min-Liang TanCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Razer | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 82.2 | Tan continued to project a Singapore-founded gaming brand globally through hardware, software, community identity and youth-culture commerce. |
| 90 | Ramon S. AngPresident and Chief Executive Officer | San Miguel Corporation | President and Chief Executive Officer | 82 | Ang's leadership carried Philippine national consequence across food, beverages, infrastructure, energy, airports, logistics and industrial investment. |
| 91 | Enrique K. Razon Jr.Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | ICTSI and Prime Infrastructure | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 81.8 | Razon ranked for operating influence across ports, logistics, infrastructure, energy and water assets that shape Philippine and global trade connectivity. |
| 92 | Nicke WidyawatiPresident Director and Chief Executive Officer | Pertamina | President Director and Chief Executive Officer | 81.6 | Widyawati led Indonesia's national energy champion through fuel supply, refinery strategy, geothermal opportunity and the early demands of energy transition. |
| 93 | Jahja SetiaatmadjaPresident Director | Bank Central Asia | President Director | 81.4 | Jahja represented high-quality Indonesian banking leadership through digital banking, low-cost deposits, asset quality and trusted consumer finance. |
| 94 | Mikhail LomtadzeChief Executive Officer | Kaspi.kz | Chief Executive Officer | 81.2 | Lomtadze remained the defining CEO of Central Asian fintech, combining payments, marketplace, banking and everyday super-app utility at national scale. |
| 95 | Assaf RappaportCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer | Wiz | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer | 81 | Rappaport's cybersecurity leadership captured 2023 enterprise demand for cloud security, rapid product execution and Israel-linked software entrepreneurship. |
| 96 | Amnon ShashuaPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Mobileye | President and Chief Executive Officer | 80.8 | Shashua combined scientist-CEO authority with automotive computer vision, driver-assistance systems, mapping and the long arc of autonomous mobility. |
| 97 | Nikesh AroraChairman and Chief Executive Officer | Palo Alto Networks | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 80.6 | Arora's Asian-origin leadership mattered as cybersecurity became board-level infrastructure across cloud, network security, threat intelligence and platform consolidation. |
| 98 | Jayshree UllalPresident and Chief Executive Officer | Arista Networks | President and Chief Executive Officer | 80.4 | Ullal strengthened the networking layer behind cloud, data-centre scale and AI infrastructure, making her one of the most consequential Asian-origin enterprise technology CEOs. |
| 99 | Mohamed AlabbarFounder and Executive Chairman | Emaar and Noon | Founder and Executive Chairman | 80.2 | Alabbar remained a West Asian builder of place, retail, digital commerce and hospitality, linking urban-brand development with consumer platform ambition. |
| 100 | Peng XiaoGroup Chief Executive Officer | G42 | Group Chief Executive Officer | 80 | Xiao closed the list as a sovereign-technology CEO whose work in AI, cloud, data infrastructure and healthcare technology placed Abu Dhabi in Asia's emerging AI architecture. |
No leaders match the current filters.
Methodology
How InfluenceAsia built the ranking
The ranking applies a structured editorial research process to identify executive consequence within the 2023 assessment year.
Longlist Formation
InfluenceAsia Research prepared the 2023 ranking through a structured editorial research process designed to identify executive consequence within the 2023 assessment year.
Eligibility Review
1. Longlist Formation InfluenceAsia mapped chief executives and CEO-equivalent operators across technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, banking, sovereign capital, energy, electric vehicles, batteries, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer goods, retail, aviation, logistics, e-commerce, digital platforms, manufacturing, enterprise software, cybersecurity and infrastructure.
Evidence Calibration
2. Eligibility Review Each candidate was screened for active leadership authority during 2023. InfluenceAsia assessed whether the individual held a formal CEO role or exercised CEO-equivalent strategic command through founder control, executive chairmanship, managing directorship, group stewardship or institutional capital leadership.
Editorial Synthesis
5. Sector Normalisation Scores were calibrated across sectors to avoid over-rewarding only the largest market-capitalisation companies. A CEO of a smaller but category-defining platform could rank above a larger-company leader if the 2023 contribution was more catalytic, urgent or strategically distinctive.
| Research Dimension | Weight | 2023 Evaluation Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Strategic Contribution | 24% | The executive's direct relevance to the defining business transitions of 2023. |
| Operating Performance and Resilience | 17% | Execution quality, profitability discipline, balance-sheet control, continuity, integration and crisis response. |
| Market and Sector Influence | 16% | Ability to shape industry direction, pricing power, competitive standards, capital confidence or consumer behaviour. |
| Innovation and Technology Relevance | 13% | Contribution to AI, semiconductors, EVs, energy systems, healthcare, digital platforms, manufacturing, financial technology or enterprise software. |
| Regional and Global Reach | 11% | Cross-border significance, exportability, strategic supply-chain importance and Asia-to-world relevance. |
| Institutional Quality | 10% | Governance credibility, succession depth, risk management, stakeholder trust and organisational durability. |
| Stewardship and Long-Term Value | 9% | Sustainability, capability building, responsible growth and the leader's contribution to enduring enterprise value. |
Copyright / Legal
Copyright, editorial independence and legal statement
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2023 InfluenceAsia Research. All rights reserved. InfluenceAsia 100: Asia's Top CEOs 2023, including the ranking order, methodology, scoring framework, editorial thesis, selection notes, leader descriptions, research dimensions and publication language, is an original InfluenceAsia research and editorial compilation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, republished, resold, redistributed, translated, scraped, altered, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or incorporated into any commercial database, ranking product, media package, marketing deck, training corpus or derivative publication without the prior written permission of InfluenceAsia Research.
Legal Disclaimer
This publication is an independent editorial research dataset prepared by InfluenceAsia Research for informational, historical and analytical purposes. It is not an investment recommendation, securities analysis, executive-compensation ranking, official award certificate, employment record, legal opinion, commercial endorsement or statement of affiliation with any listed individual or organisation. InfluenceAsia applies rigorous editorial judgement and good-faith verification standards; however, executive titles, corporate responsibilities, board roles, reporting structures and market conditions may vary by jurisdiction, announcement date and internal governance practice. Readers should treat the ranking as InfluenceAsia's original 2023 assessment of executive influence, not as a legal registry or definitive corporate filing.
Citation
Recommended citation: InfluenceAsia Research, InfluenceAsia 100: Asia's Top CEOs 2023, Annual InfluenceAsia Executive Leadership Index, 2023.