Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman.

He is chief executive officer (CEO) of Future Group, and Managing Director of Pantaloon Retail
Born into a small trading family, India's retail czar, Kishore Biyani, replaced conventional wisdom with "guts and instincts" to create Future Group, a $1 billion company that includes Pantaloon Retail, a department store group; Big Bazaar, the company's name for hypermarkets; Food Bazaar supermarkets, and Central Mall, a more upscale aggregation of merchandise. Known for his insights into Indian consumer behavior, Biyani also represents an enigma to the country's emerging retail players, both domestic and foreign. He offers some glimpses into what makes him tick in his recent biography titled, It Happened in India: The Story of Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central and the Great Indian Consumer, coauthored with Dipayan Baishya. The book has sold some 100,000 copies, more than any other business book published in India so far. In an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton, Biyani, who has often been called "the Sam Walton of India," talked about leadership, the Indian retail market and why he would never consider collaborating with Wal-Mart, among other topics.

India's mall king, his Future Group has over 17 million square feet of retail space in 90 cities and 60 rural locations. Plans to add 9 million square feet over 3 years. Stock fell 60% in the past year because of high debt and sluggish sales. Raised $170 million by taking venture capital arm Future Ventures public in March. Older daughter Ashni is a director of Future Ideas, group's innovation and incubation cell. Loves playing table tennis and places a bet before starting a game

Net Worth$475 million

Considered a pioneer of modern retail in India, Kishores leadership has led the groups transformation into Indias leading player in the consumption sector. Regularly ranked among Indias most admired CEOs, he is the author of the book It Happened in India. He has won multiple awards from government bodies and the private sector in India and abroad and is on the board of a number of bodies, including the National Innovation Foundation in India and New York Fashion Board.