GG Gets Special Best Blog Award

Here is a news about Gautam Ghosh (99PMIR) - or rather, about GG's Blog - from the Recruiting.com site:



Everyone knows by now that two weeks ago, Jay-Dee made a tragic mistake and accidentally left Gautam Ghosh, the Indian HR Thought Leader, off of the voting list for the Best HR Blog of 2005.

I didn't say anything at the time. Jason apologized and Gautam graciously accepted. And I thought that was that.

But then I started thinking. (It happens once in a while). I thought that the optics on this thing weren't very good. Someone might think that we'd cut Gauty deliberately because he lives in India and it would cost us lots of money to fly him to Las Vegas if he won. I went to Jay-Dee.

"Jay-Dee, we've got to do something. Everyone is going to think we cut Gautum because he lives in India."

"Gautum lives in India? I thought he worked in a casino."

"No. He lives in Bangalore. Listen, we've got to do something. Give him a special prize."

"Okay, give him a hundred Starbucks."

"There's no Starbucks in India!"

"Really!!! Okay, listen, Ileane Frank just donated an iPod Shuffle to the prizes. There's only one. Let's give it to him."

"Yeah! Great! What's an iPod Shuffle?"

"I don't know."

"And, what should we give it to him for? What award?"

"Just make one up."

The problem was solved. Then I realized something. The Las Vegas prize is awarded by a jury. Not popular vote. So, no one would have thought that we screwed Gautam anyway.

But we're all happy he's getting a special prize all the same. And not a consolation prize. Because he's a winner even without an award and doesn't need to be consoled.

Mind you, now I've got other worries. Will an iPod work in India? And does he have the bandwidth to download songs? Ugh! That's enough thinking already. Please, brain, leave me alone!

But, friends, before I go, I'm proud to announce that the Recruitosphere's award for HR Thought Leader of the Eastern Hemisphere for 2005 goes to .......drums...... The Indian HR thought leader himself, Gautam by Ghosh.

Gautam, Gautam, he's our man.
So say the boys from Canuckistan.

Alumni HomeComing 2005: Registration Form

Homecoming 2005
November 19-20 (Sat-Sun) @ XLRI

...plan to return to/revisit the roots: have a trip down the memory lane, network with those who passed through the same portals across batches, interact with the current batch and faculty (and the old stalwarts in the mess, hostel and staff;0), discuss and participate in what XL and alumni need from - and can do for - each other, etc.... and of course, touch base with the alma mater (remember Bodhi Tree? Dadu's? Evening Dosawala? Enright Hall?;0)

Download the Registration Form
(or mail me for the form - your early registration will help us plan better)

Sneak Preview:
19th Nov:
We plan to start by 9:30 after registration (so do plan, to reach here by 18th evening). There are number of things we have planned, e.g.:

- take you down the memory lane, re-introduce you to XL now (and that more it changes, the more it remains the same;),

- discuss what XL and its alumni can do for each other, and can work together on. Also share the vision of XLRI (we started this exercise last year, and are in the process of implementing it)

- a huge lunch, hosted by Director, XLRI, with the whole community (students, faculty, staff, XL board of governers) in the hostel lawns

- an interaction with the current batches on "What it Means to be an XLer"

- Like last year, in the evening, we have a Big Event planned - a panel/debate - in Tata Audi. This year's theme:

"India Inc. has failed Mera Bharat"
- and this, naturally, followed by Cocktails and Dinner

20th Nov:
Well, you have a choice. You can decided to:
- join the Golf
- play cricket with the students, staff, faculty
- go on a trip to Dimna
- or visit old haunts like Frank's
... plan your own agenda with friends and batchmates. Basically, the idea is to have fun.... and all arrangements will be made.

"Officially" we will close with lunch at Beldih Club, hosted by Mr Bushen Raina, President, Alumni Association (BME 73, and MD Tata Tinplate)
[... this is because, some may like to catch the evening train back to Kolkata to take morning flights.]

But "Unofficially", we don't close :0)... hope that many of you will stay back and overnight (I mean so much to catch up - batchmates, Frank's, evening Dosawala, Basanto...

Remembering Mahesh... He still makes a difference!

This week's Star TV episode of Kaun Banega Karorepati (KBC) featured the Bollywood star-couple Kajol and Ajay Devgan, and was dedicated to Cancer Rose day. The money they win was to go to Mahesh Memorial Trust

And they won... Rs 1 crore!!!





Yes, this was a tribute to Mahesh Mahadevan (78BMD), who could play his guitar (and "raghupati raghav raja ram") holding it above his head, who ventured into composing music from a corporate career - and won the National Award for his first film "Nammavar"... And though he is no more with us - his motto remained "Live - Beyond Cancer"...

...And he lives - and still makes a difference in the lives of people.



Before his death, in his will, Mahesh ("Dracula Mahesh" he used to call himself, while living on blood transfusions) formed the Trust, which will aid and support institutions involved in the treatment of cancer and create public awareness about the disease.



The list of trustees reads like the city's "who's who" directory and includes Kamal Hassan, Mani Ratnam and former cricketer K. Srikkanth.

The obituary on the site of Mahesh Memorial Trust reads:

Mahesh Mahadevan, the respected composer and music director, passed away in the early hours of October 29, 2002. He was 47 years old and had been battling cancer for 13 years. In these 13 years of affliction he had brought to his life and the life of those around him a joy that epitomizes the trust’s motto "LIVE – beyond cancer".

Mahesh was a very versatile and talented person. He handled his business and creative interests with dexterity. An MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, he was a Director of Finance and Administration at Real Image Media Technologies. Prior to this, he worked in various capacities as a Corporate Manager in companies including Chennai based India Pistons Ltd..

Mahesh had developed a childhood passion based on prodigious talent for music. Over the last decade, Mahesh has composed more than 250 popular advertising jingles including the extremely popular Regaul Blue jingle. He has also directed the music for six very successful multi-language motion pictures. His first feature film, Nammavar, won him the national award for the best music.

Nammavar (Tamil) - 1994

Kuruthi Punal (Tamil) - 1995

Preeminchu Kundaam Raa (Telugu) - 1997

Pelladi Choopistha (Telugu) - 1998

Padutha Theeyaga (Telugu) - 1998

Alavanthan (Tamil) [background score] - 2001

Moonnilonnu (Malayalam)

Vaanam Vasapadum (Tamil) [ongoing project]

Untitled film by Janaki Vishwanathan (Tamil) [ongoing project]

Over the last ten years, Mahesh was actively involved in cancer counselling and in motivating other cancer patients to approach treatment with a positive attitude. His work in this area has been of immense help to patients.

It is coincidental (or perhaps not so, really, given the common DNA of XL) that the last page of Abhijit Bhaduri's (84PMIR) book Mediocre But Arrogant ends with this letter from Fr Hathaway (or Fr Hathi... No prizes for guessing the person;0):

"...No, you were not here to understand the Corporate Sector or the intricate theories of management. You came here to understand yourself and your strengths. To believe how easy it is to make a difference. That is the purpose of higher education.... There are no limits to which we can grow as human beings. Every morning we get up and make a choice about how much we will do to make a difference... Too many people give up the opportunity because they do not believe they can make a difference. I do hope this education has given you the belief within.... Never underestimate your ability to make a difference"

Mahesh intuitively understood this wisdom.... And continues to make a difference!

XLRI Regional Alumni Meet @ Kolkata September 10th

A Touch of Class

It took three months of meticulous planning, numerous meetings, unearthing and contacting alumni from across the decades... and, in the process, a core team of XL alumni (see the team in action at the end of this page) formed and came together at Kolkata.

XLRI Regional Alumni Meet, held at Nalbon, Kolkata on September 10th '05, was a different event than what many had experienced previously...

what with Fr McGrath, Fr Abraham, Fr Casimir Raj, and Bushen Raina joining in..





well... if you want to know more...

just go to
http://xlalumnimeetkolkata.blogspot.com/

All India Release of Mediocre-But-Arrogant

A novel about love and life in "Management Institute of Jamshedpur" by Abhijit Bhaduri (84PMIR) 


Abhijit is traveling through India for the launch:
Schedule is as follows:

Mumbai
9th Aug 2005 at 5:30pm (by Shyam Benegal)
Oxford Bookstore
Apeejay House,
Dinshaw Vacha Marg,
Churchgate,
Mumbai.

Delhi
11th August at 6.30pm (by Gurucharan Das)
India International Center
40, Max Muller Road
New Delhi - 110003.

Bangalore
(1) 13 August at 1:00pm (by Dr Prakash Apte, Director, IIM/B)
Apeejay Oxford Bookstores Pvt Ltd
Leela Galleria, The Leela Palace
Shop # B4 - B8
# 23 Airport Road, Bangalore 560008

(2) 13th August at 7:30pm (exclusively for XLers + spouses)
Karnataka Golf Association
Airport Road
Bangalore

Hyderabad
14th August at 1:30pm (exclusively for XLers + spouses)
Country Club
Hyderabad



The Novel was earlier released at:

Kolkata
3rd August 2005 at 6:30pm (by Russy Mody)
at Oxford Bookstore
17, Park Street, Kolkata 700 016, India.
read coverage:
The Telegraph (August 4th, 2005)
Indian Express (August 4th, 2005)

Jamshedpur
4th August at XLRI (1:00 pm) (by Bushen Raina)
Read Coverage:
The Telegraph (August 5th, 2005)

Making Learning Fun...

Deccan Herald carried this story today under the column "Pioneers"

A high profile job fetching an obscene salary could not confine him to the corporate circle; when he decided to quit his corporate job years ago and took an entirely different path. A graduate from XLRI, Tarun Chandna wanted to give tomorrow a different perspective so he chose to be known as “a social entrepreneur” instead of an entrepreneur.


Tarun Chandna (92PMIR)


Tarun is one of the pioneers in the field of ‘adventure education’ and one of the co-founders of iDiscoveri. He has also worked with programmes like Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, California and Singapore.

iDiscoveri is a learning, teaching and research organisation that works at making learning more experimental, meaningful, understanding and interesting. The organisation works in coordination with schools by guiding their teaching and overall techniques, to impart lessons in children more conveniently and interestingly. “We believe that children can realize their true potential by getting in touch with nature. We guide them instead of imposing lessons on them,” says Tarun.

His passion for adventure, strong belief in outdoor education and learning by hands on experiences drove him to start small projects that could help children learn immensely while having fun. “They grasped their lessons faster because they learnt them through experiences and could understand them well,” mentions Tarun.

....At present, iDiscoveri has three sub-branches. Besides this, it also conducts workshops on positive parenting and maintaining relationships. iDiscoveri also helps people make a school and training its faculty from scratch. By now, three such schools including two Heritage schools in Delhi have asked him to join them.

Note: The article fails to mention the other co-founders of iDiscoveri - so I must mention them: Gaurav Sakhlani (92PMIR), Ronny Gulati (92BMD), Ashish Rajpal (92BMD) and Lokesh Jindal (92BMD).

XL Celeb Watch

Ramchandra Rao (80PMIR) has joined the Hinduja group as Senior Vice President (HR). He was earlier the Vice President (HR), Wockhardt

Shantonu Aditya (84BMD) is joining Sahara One as its CEO. Shantonu was earlier the President, Alliance One (a JV between Discovery and SET) and the Head of Distribution of Sony Entertainment Television, India.

Gautam Sen (84BMD) will be the Editor of Top Gear, an auto magazine from the BBC stable, which is being launched in india by the Times of India group. Gautam ws earlier the Editor of Delhi-based "Auto Motor & Sport".

Dr Om Sitoula (84BMD) was decorated with Mahendra Vidya Bhusan Class 1 by His Majesty King Gyanendra of Nepal. Mahendra Vidya Bhusan Class 1 is the highest medal of Nepal for academic achievement

Abhijit Bhaduri's (84PMIR) forthcoming novel Mediocre But Arrogant ("a story of love and life in the fictitious Management Institute of Jamshedpur (MIJ)") was featured in the article "A Novel Pastime" in Business World (June 13th)

Ajay Bagga (90BMD) who was CEO, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund has taken over as the new CEO of Sabre Capital. Sabre India is an AMC, promoted jointly by Sabre Capital (of former Stanchart CEO, Rana Talwar) and Tamasek Holdings.

Shantonu Aditya to join Sahara One as CEO

MUMBAI (June 10, 2005): SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya has quit and is joining Sahara One as Chief Executive Officer. His responsiblity will extend to all Sahara's media and entertainment businesses (excluding news).


Shantonu Aditya (84BMD)

Aditya is likely to join Sahara One in the first week of July, a source said. SET India and Percept officials were not available for comment.

Sahara's media and entertainment businesses operate under Sahara One. Last year, Sahara entered into a joint venture management company with Percept. Aditya will replace Peter Isaac who was heading this company.

Sahara has ambitious movie plans with 40 projects on the floor. Aditya will drive this as well as the domestic and international distribution of movies. Sahara is also planning launch of a movie channel later this year.

...Aditya joined SET India in 2001 to lead Sony's distribution business. He went on to head the distribution joint venture company between SET India and Discovery Communications India set up in 2002.

SET Discovery expanded its bouquet and currently distributes not only the Sony and Discovery group of channels but also MTV, Nick, Animax, Ten Sports, Sab TV, NDTV 24x7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit.

A management graduate from XLRI Jamshedpur, Aditya had worked with UB group ( McDowell &Co ) in sales and marketing in Delhi and luggage major Blow Plast in various capacities.

Schedule of Alumni Meets (May 27-29, 2005)

The following is the schedule of the Alumni Meets this coming week-end. Most meets will start around 7:00pm.

If you are an XLRI alumnus, please confirm your participation (with/without spouse/family) with the contacts. Please also check the cover charges from them:

New Delhi (May 27th), Friday
India Habitat Centre
Contacts:
Mohit Raina - mohitspace [at] yahoo.co.in (9810943279)
Rajiv Chandran - rajiv.chandran [at] gmail.com (9334624641)
Nikhil Moorthy - nikhilm.06 [at] astra.xlri.ac.in

Bangalore (May 28th), Saturday
Royal Orchid Park Plaza
Contacts:
Desmond Nikhil D'Souza - desmondnikhil [at] yahoo.com (9880544623)
Dhananjay Misra - dhananjaym.06 [at] astra.xlri.ac.in

Kolkata (May 28th), Saturday
The Park, Park Street
Contacts:
Sujot Malhotra - sujotmalhotra [at] yahoo.com (09331213222)
Sivaram Yadavalli - yds_ram [at] rediffmail.com (9830846570)

Mumbai (May 28th), Saturday
The Hyatt Regency, Andheri East
Contacts:
Abhishek Tripathi - tripsabhishek [at] yahoo.co.in (9892123970)
Nitya Wakhlu - nitya_wakhlu [at] yahoo.co.uk

Hyderabad (May 29th), Sunday
The Taj Banjara
Contacts:
Ankush Kedia - ankush_kedia [at] yahoo.com (9848738202)
Piyush Sarode - piyushs.06 [at] astra.xlri.ac.in (9848467574)

From MD (India) to Head (Asia-Pacific)

CVL Srinivas, who is the managing director of Maxus India, will now also look after the agency's operations across the Asia-Pacific.


CVL Srinivas (93BMD - Maxi Secy, too!!)

Speaking to agencyfaqs! from Bangkok, where he is at the moment on a trip, Srinivas delineates his role. “My responsibilities would entail building the Maxus brand across the region. I will be working with the heads of the agency at various offices in APAC to further this objective.”

With blue chip clients such as Titan, Britannia, Hero Honda, Hutch, Walt Disney, Pidilite, Tata Motors (Maxus handles the SUV business) etc on its rolls, Maxus is a strong entity in India.

...“There are markets, however, where operations are not as large as in India, and I would concentrate my attention in these areas. Overall, growing the business in the region through new and existing clients is part of my responsibility,” says Srinivas, who will be based in India.

A mechanical engineer from BITS, Pilani with a management degree from XLRI, Srinivas took charge of Maxus India early 2004 after Bashab Sarkar, the erstwhile head of the agency, put in his papers the year before.

Prior to heading Maxus, Srinivas was the COO, north & south at Madison Media – an agency he joined in mid-1998.

He was part of the start-up team that set up Fulcrum in 1995, and spent a year before that at Lowe (then Lintas) working largely on brand Brooke Bond.

Alumni-in-Making: "Cerebrating" the Success

Well... these are not alumni - at least not so far. So one can say that this posting is about "alumni-in-making":0).

The news came this morning through a mail from National University of Singapore:


Sivaram Vadavalli & Rakesh Vyas

Amit Chitnis & Subramanian Raman
The Team that made it to the Finals
"It gives us immense pleasure to inform that a team from XLRI School of Management has made it to the Grand Finals of Cerebration: The Global Business Challenge organized by the National University of Singapore Business School.

Facing tough competition, starting with 323 team registrations, to 115 teams in Round One and 20 teams in Round Two, this team came out winning and has made it to the top 8 teams so far. The Grand Finals will be held in Singapore and the teams are being flown here on a fully sponsored trip for this event."

The Final run-up (out of 61 b-schools from 18 countries) is:

Instituto de Empresa (Spain)

Chicago Graduate School of Business (USA)

Richard Ivey School of Business (Canada)

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (India)

XLRI School of Management (India)

Rotman School of Management (Canada)

NUS Business School (Singapore)

Graduate School of International Management, IUJ (Japan)

Go, man, go!!!

A New Director at Cadbury India

V Chandramouli (91BMD) is joining Cadbury as Director (Strategy, Innovation, and International Business). Economic Times Reports:

"The marketing and sales head of consumer durables company Mirc Electronics which operates under the brand Onida and Igo, V Chandramouli... is moving out to join confectionery major Cadbury as a director.

Chandramouli V (91BMD) on left
...Mr Chandramouli has been with Mirc Electronics for the past four years as vice president of marketing, sales and service... When contacted Mr Chandramouli confirmed the developments, “I have put in my papers and would move on by the end of next month. I will be positioned as director (strategy, innovations and international business). FMCG as a business is looking exciting again and so I have decided to move on."

In his previous jobs he has worked in the area of consumer marketing being associated with Asian Paints and the consumer finance arm of General Electric GE Countrywide...."

The New MD of The Carlyle Group (India)

Well, this not exactly a "news", since it happened a few months back - but I discovered it only today...

Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announced that Shankar Narayanan has joined as Managing Director in India to lead venture and growth capital investments there.


M Shankar Narayanan (89BMD)
Said Wayne Tsou, Carlyle Managing Director and Head of the Carlyle Asia Venture Group, "I am pleased to welcome Shankar to Carlyle. He has a very impressive track record in India having invested in a wide range of businesses spanning a variety of sectors in both traditional private equity and venture capital. Shankar’s rich experience in building and running private equity businesses will be a major asset to our expanding investment activities in India.... Shankar’s appointment in India is a reflection of Carlyle’s strong commitment to enlarging our Indian private equity business and funding the growth and vibrancy of the private sector in India."

....
Mr. Narayanan, 42, has more than ten years of private equity experience in India. He started his career with Citibank, was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hathway Investments in India, and was then based in Hong Kong covering India for Deutsche Bank Capital Partners. He has served on the Board of Directors of Johnson Tiles, Exide Industries, Hathway Cable, Asianet Satellite Communications, Prism Cement, Tata Infomedia, Kirloskar Systems, AFL Limted and Pushpa Polymers, all were private equity investments with which he was associated.

Mediocre But Arrogant - Abhijit Bhaduri's Forthcoming Novel

Abhijit Bhaduri's (84PMIR) debut novel "Mediocre But Arrogant" is getting published in June'05.



The announcement reads:

"Mediocre But Arrogant is the debut novel of Abhijit Bhaduri. Set against the backdrop of a fictitious business school in the steel city of Jamshedpur, India, this is a story of how the two years of doing an MBA transforms Abbey's life, perspective and relationships. Anyone who has lived in a school or college hostel will be able to identify with the characters of this funny but insightful novel.

Abbey - the narrator and protagonist is in MIJ - the coveted Management Institute of Jamshedpur, as an act of "serendipity". That is where he meets several classmates in the Boys Hostel - Harpal Singh alias Hairy, David Chummanoor - Chumma for short, Arunesh Nanda - the guitarist who sings Dylan songs and the mysterious, enigmatic Rascal Rusty. And then there are girls ... Ayesha for one.

There is Dadus Dhaba. Basanto, the Mess Bearer who doles out pieces of chicken to the select few as if it was a state secret. Ganauri - the dhobi who comes to pick up the laundry on his moped.


Will Abbey find the love of his life? In a Darwinian microcosm of the corporate world, MIJ has taught Abbey to hone his survival instincts and shave off jagged edges of his character. Is this what he wants to be?"

Here is a shade of Abbey's Micro-Economics class-notes:


So Folks!... Watch out for the release

...and for more info, check:
http://mediocrebutarrogant.blogspot.com

[As the EBC Radio (NJ & Eastern Pennsylvania, USA), on which Abhijit hosts the popular show called "Movie Magic" which is on the air every Sunday (1:00-2:00pm) describes him: "Abhijit is a versatile cartoonist, singer and mimic who works in Human Resources for a large Fortune 500 company"]

Vineet Nayar takes over as President of HCL Tech

The Economic Times (April 6th, 2005) reports this news about Vineet Nayar (85BMD):



"NEW DELHI: HCL Technologies has appointed Vineet Nayar as President. He will be responsible for HCL's Software & Infrastructure business accounting for 86% of HCL's $750 million revenue run rate global services business.

Nayar started his career with HCL in 1985 as a management trainee and has held diverse portfolios in Sales and Strategic Marketing and has been an integral part of building HCL's business to its global scale and stature. He pioneered HCL's foray into the Remote Infrastructure Management business.

"Vineet has demonstrated strong leadership skills during his 20 years with HCL. I feel confident that his global outlook, leadership skills and demonstrated track record of building new businesses will take HCL's Software & Infrastructure business to the next trajectory of growth,’’ says Shiv Nadar, Founder HCL, and Chairman & CEO HCL Technologies.

Nayar takes over the reins from Mr. S Raman, Co Founder of HCL and President and COO of HCL's software business.. "

Self Worth over Net Worth

Sanjay Anand (80PMIR), earlier Head-HR for Amex, is featured in Business World (April 4, 2005) issue:



"It's a dilemma that also strikes many a man at some point in his career; but it is much harder to resolve than for a woman!

After 15 years in the business, Sanjay Anand knew corporate life wasn't giving him a buzz anymore. "Something was nagging away inside," he says. "I realised what I really wanted to do was to be closely involved with young minds, because that's where you can really make a difference."

Today, Anand is doing just that - teaching business and economics at Pathways World school in Gurgaon. But the leap from Amex to education took 10 agonising years. "My goal was to move out by age 50," says Anand. It finally happened in 2004, with a couple of years to spare.

Anand is thoroughly enjoying himself. Every day there is a sense of achievement. In a reversal of gender stereotypes, the 1980 batch XLRI graduate says he can "afford" to teach because he has the luxury of having a wife who's earning well (spouse Smita is head of consulting at Hewitt Associates). "She enjoys the corporate world much more than I did," he admits."

X-Factor (March '05) Issue

Download X-Factor (March'05) Issue [pdf 417kb]
[right click and save]

Hamaara "Vaachak"...reaches Election Commission

For the first time in India (and world?), the election results for the recent state elections of Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand, could be read out - in English and Hindi - by your computer, if you logged on to the Election Commission site.

This news item from TOI reads:

"Now your personal computer can read out election results in Hindi and English in a clear human voice with an Indian accent. This has been made possible through a special software — Vaachak — developed by city based software company, which employs latest speech technologies to convert the text into speech. The software is being used by the Election Commission (EC) for the first time in India during the counting process for the state elections of Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand on February 27.

...Vaachak was developed by Vinamra, an MBA degree holder from XLRI Jamshedpur, and his elder brother Vibhu, an IIT-Kanpur graduate in 2001 and since then they have been working to apply it in different fields and improvising its applications.

"It is a boon for almost half a million illiterate Indian population which knows only native language as well as the 95 per cent among literates who do not know English," said Vinamra. "It can also pave way for a future model for E-governance in India as Vaachak has the ability to convert text into other Indian languages as well," he added.

The addition of this latest technology is a part of the ongoing efforts of the EC to enhance its information delivery mechanism. Vinamra met senior officials at the EC earlier this month and proposed a speech enabled web based solution.

On February 10, he got a green signal from EC and within 10 days made a live demonstration. Satisfied with the test trials, the EC decided to deploy it for the coming election results on February 27.

Vinamra said that the same technology can also be used to provide information on telephone through interactive voice response system..."

[Vinamra "Vaachak" Agarwal" is from the 2001BMD batch, and though he has been covered onece earlier on xlalumni blog... magar, kya karen? he keeps on appearing in media again and again ;0)]

One more Kaul-ing: The New Pizza Chief

Media seems to have become positively biased towards the Kauls from XLRI!!! :0)

After Rajiv Kaul's coverage, this time it is about Ajay Kaul of 89BMD batch...

...this news item from Economic Times (March 2, 05), reports:

"It’s the year of homecoming for the Fredies (Foreign Returned Desi Executives).

So it wasn’t surprising when Coca-Cola India announced Vikas Gupta as its marketing head recently. He comes back after a five-year stint at Atlanta. Mr Gupta follows many other Fredies who have come home in the last few months.

They include the high-profile CEO of Britannia , Vinita Bali, Whirlpool MD, Arvind Uppal, Pepsi’s marketing head Punita Lal, and the new Domino CEO Ajay Kaul, who has been moved from Indonesia to head the pizza major’s Indian operations."

(the news about Vikas Gupta (88BMD) was already covered in an earlier posting)

Redmond Kaul-ing

I am afraid the link to this news-item about Rajiv Kaul (92BMD), in Business Today (Feb 27, 2005)is subscription based. So, I am doing what needs to be done - Pasting it!

Rajiv will be, as was reported in Economics Times earlier (Feb 4, 2005), the Head of "the Emerging Markets Group including the BRIC countries. Emerging countries are estimated to contribute about 40 pct to 50 pct of Microsoft’s business. In his new role, Mr Kaul will lead three teams in the US to devise strategies to create new business models and develop new partnerships suited for emerging markets."



After nine years in Microsoft India, four of them as Managing Director, Rajiv Kaul is moving on to bigger things at the software colossus. More specifically, he's headed to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond where he will head a newly-created group that will look after Windows in emerging markets. "Discussions had been on for a few months," says the 36-year-old Kaul, when asked about this move. It will be some time yet before he moves out. "I do not expect to move before April or May at the earliest. It's not too easy to physically leave India," he says. Kaul is particularly proud of Project Shiksha (computer literacy in schools for teachers and students) and Project Bhasha (computing in local languages), which he conceptualised and implemented in India. "These two have become global best practices for the company, and working on them, particularly Shiksha, has given me project experience at a global level, which I guess will hold me in good stead for my new assignment," he says. It's a window of opportunity, alright.

X-Factor (Feb '05) Issue

Download X-Factor (Feb '05) Issue [pdf 728kb]
[right click and save]

New Marketing Chief of Coca Cola India

Coca-Cola India has announced the appointment of Vikas Gupta (88BMD)as the Vice-President (Marketing for) India division that also includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives.

He will assume his new responsibilities at Coca-Cola India from March 1, 2005. Gupta replaces Shripad Nadkarni, the erstwhile marketing chief of Coca-Cola.

Vikas has worked with companies like Brooke Bond and Procter & Gamble India in their marketing departments between 1984 and 1994. He joined Coca-Cola India marketing team in 1994 and held various portfolios, including brands and regional marketing assignments. He moved to join Coca-Cola's marketing team at Atlanta in 1999 until his return to India last year.

Making the announcement, Sanjiv Gupta, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India, said, "We are delighted to have Vikas Gupta join us and look forward to propelling our marketing success to even greater heights under his leadership."

Vikas Gupta said, "I am excited to return to the Coca-Cola family that continues to create excitement in the markets and has won scores of national and international marketing excellence awards."

Vikas is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur where he specialized in marketing and finance. Along with an extensive experience in marketing, he brings along an excellent knowledge of Indian markets, consumer insights and hands-on experience of having worked with the Coca-Cola system in India and Atlanta.

A Virtual Interaction...

KN Venkataraman aka "KNV" (90BMD), and the Finax Secy of that batch - and currently based in USA - met the present batches in the virtual space on the night of Feb 6th-7th.

Making Her Own Rules

Eco Times published an article on the 1980 batch Gold Medalist, Nidhi Reddy:

For Nidhi Reddy, XLRI alumnus, who runs Chennai-based Nidhi Reddy Consultants, success has been largely thanks to her “immense self-belief and being able to chart out her own path”, which has helped her face adversities and challenges with ease.




"I have not had any mentor in particular. I am glad that I have been able to trace my own path and have always done what I believed in..."

Read on...

Tsunami: Appeal from Director, XLRI

January 20, 2005

To : The Alumni


Dear Alumni/ae :

All of us are shocked by the havoc done by tsunami in a few minutes in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. Many of our own have suffered material and personal loss.

Faculty, staff and students of XLRI have generously contributed to the tsunami relief. The staff have made sacrifices to contribute for the fund.

Our Alumni in the South are involved in relief and rehabilitation work. Among them, Mr K Pandiarajan, MD of Mafoi [an alumnus of 84batch] has involved a group of NGOs in the rehabilitation work. He has taken up this task, in spite of his heavy responsibilities with missionary zeal. He has adopted three pronged rehabilitation programmes :

- Adoption of children
- Vocational Training
- Entrepreneurship Development

Part of the XLRI collection will go to Mafoi, which has Sornammal Education Trust as its Development arm. The other part will go to Andamans which needs more help.

I invite all the Alumni to join us in helping Sornammal Education Trust to execute its development programmes. It will be a lasting development for those people. I request to be generous toward this project so that XLRI family can help at least 100 children.

Your generous demand drafts should be in favour of “Sornammal Educational Trust”, Chennai and sent to :

Mr K Pandiarajan
Managing Director
Ma Foi Consultants Ltd.
8, Khader Niwaz Khan Road
Chennai 600 006
Phone : 044-28333351
Email : kpr [at] mafoi.com

Yours sincerely,

N Casimir Raj, S.J.
Director, XLRI
Email : director [at] xlri.ac.in

X-Factor 2nd Issue (Jan 05)

The wait is over.
Stop refreshing your inbox...
Stop asking your friends when it will come...
Say goodbye to those withdrawal symtoms...
The latest issue of The X-factor is here...
Its bigger than before. Its better than before.


Download your copy of
The X-factor:
Essential Reading for the XLer

New Business Head of HT Media Marketing

exchange4media News Service reports (Jan 4, 05):

Benoy Roychowdhury (85BMD) will join HT Media Marketing Organisation as Business Head (Media Marketing) and will be based in Delhi. This is a new position created by the company.


Benoy Roychowdhury(left)during a meeting

The official communiqué issued by Rajiv Verma, CEO, HT Media, states that “This change is designed to create an organisational structure for HT Media Sales Organisation that will optimise and strengthen organisational capabilities and support the company’s growth and value creation strategy. Given the organisation’s agenda of growth in Bombay, refocus on Hindi and entry in new Categories like radio, it will be imperative that we strengthen our organisation capabilities to take on the challenges ahead.”

In past, Roychowdhury has worked with companies like Procter and Gamble and Whirlpool. He is and MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur of 1985 batch. His previous assignments included Director Market Development – Asia, being based at Hong Kong and Vice President Sales, Trade Marketing and Logistics for South Asia Market, He started his career as a Management Trainee at Godrej P&G....

XLer CEOs in India

Somehow, this information never gets highlighted in/by XL... so this is just a partial list of XLers across batches, who head a company in India
[please note that this is not a comprehensive list - and lists only those XLers who are CEOs in India]

...any additions to this list are welcome

Manet Paes (71BMD)
Managing Director
Alliance Airways

Sankaran Raghunanthan (84BMD)
CEO
Blueshift Ltd

Ravi Mehrotra (85BMD)
Managing Director
Franklin Templeton India MF

Vineet Nayar (85BMD)
CEO
HCL Comnet

Raman Madhok (81PMIR)
CEO & Dy Managing Director
Jindal Iron and Steel

Amar Babu (89BMD)
Director (Sales Marketing Group) South Asia
Intel Corp

Ajay Bagga (90BMD)
Managing Director
Kotak Mahindra MF

Sujit Baksi (72PMIR)
CEO and India Head
Lehman Brothers BPO

Vikram Rao (75BMD)
Group Executive President
Madura Garments

K Pandiarajan (84BMD)
Founder & CEO
Ma Foi Consultants

CVL Srinivas (93BMD)
CEO
Maximise India

Rajiv Kaul (92BMD)
Managing Director
Microsoft India

N Krishnakumar (81BMD)
Co-Founder & MD
Mindtree Consulting

Madhukar Kamath (76BMD)
Managing Director & CEO
Mudra Communications & Advertising

Akash Khurana (77BMD)
MD & CEO
Nimbus Communications

Jagdish V Dore (73BMD)
Managing Director
Novartis Enterprises

Georges Zacharias (82BMD)
CEO
Sify

B Muthuraman (75BME)
Managing Director
Tata Steel

Percy Siganporia (74BMD)
Managing Director
Tata Tetley

Bushen Raina (73BME)
Managing Director
Tata Tinplate Ltd

Rana Sinha (78BMD)
Managing Director
Telcon Ltd

Bijou Kurian (81BMD)
Chief Operating Officer
Titan Watches

Kalyan Ganguly (73BMD)
President
UB Group Beer Division

Anurag Behar (92BMD)
Managing Director
Wipro Fluid Power