A prominent international figure in the world’s motorsports circuit, Narain Karthikeyan holds the prestige of being the first Indian to compete in the Formula One Championship. Drawing inspiration from his father - a racer who has seven South India Rally titles to his name, Karthikeyan raced for several teams across the world in his formative years. In 2010, Karthikeyan was awarded the Padma Shri Award - India's fourth highest civilian award for his astounding performances in motorsports. After ending his single-seater career in 2019 Karthikeyan continued to work extensively with automotive OEMs in manufacturing and development.
For Narain Karthikeyan, shifting gears from racing to entrepreneurship was a natural progression; Karthikeyan hails from a family of entrepreneurs - a 100-year-old reputed business house with various philanthropic and commercial interests in energy, education, healthcare, and textiles. In addition to co-founding Leap Green Energy, Karthikeyan joined forces with his childhood friend, Christopher Sargunam, to found DriveX – a digital-first company that helps sell, trade and distribute pre-loved motorcycles and scooters. Within two years of the company’s formation, in 2022, DriveX was valued at ₹178 crore, backed by the TVS Group - one of the biggest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. As Founder & Managing Director at DriveX, Narain Karthikeyan oversees critical areas including operations, production, sales and marketing, and tech.