This year marks 40 years of Behzad Group’s operations. Doha-based CK Menon oversees the operations of the Qatari conglomerate. The firm, which operates across a wide range of business including transportation and steel manufacturing has operations all over the Gulf, as well as in Europe, South America and the US. Elsewhere, the group has also ventured into the IT arena via the Behzad Information Technology Centre in Dubai. A philanthropist, Menon has helped build homes for slum dwellers in his native Kerala, and is the director of that state’s government infrastructure department. In 2009, Menon was given the prestigious Padma Shri award by India.