The IDFC Bank’s senior Director-HR quit the company to join the HR leadership team at L&T Finance Holdings. Dinanath Dubhashi, who’s the MD & CEO at L&T Finance Holdings, stated that the company is looking at strategic restructuring and hiring, and getting Pandey is a significant move towards strengthening the HR function. L&T Finance has undergone a huge turnaround under the able leadership of Dubhashi, and as it is looking at yet another leap, strengthening the HR team could come in handy. Pandey shares that his decision to join L&T Finance is based on the fact that he saw a tremendous opportunity to partner with the business. Pandey is a postgraduate in human resources management/personnel management from the Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, and started his career with the Indian Air force’s Technical Branch in 1984. A seasoned HR professional with over 30 years of experience, including over 21 years in the banking, BPO, life sciences industries and nine years in the Indian Air Force, Pandey carries a wide array of experience. He had joined IDFC Bank in November 2015, prior to which, he was associated with ICICI Bank for over a decade, where he joined as the head of HR for customer service and phone banking groups, in December 2005. Growing up the ranks over the years, he moved into the role of business HR head for retail assets in May 2007, and then zonal HR head for the East Zone. In June 2013, he took over as the Deputy General Manager-HR heading the recruitment practice for the Bank.
In what could be described as a crunch situation, the IL&FS Financial Services Ltd. Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Ramesh Bawa called it quits leaving the company at a time when the group is facing a severe liquidity crunch and downgrades. The non-banking arm’s CEO’s exit comes at a time when defaults by IL&FS group entities have rocked India’s credit markets. Both ICRA and Care Ratings have cut the ratings of the group’s debt instruments to as low as they can go. “The liquidity profile of the group has been under pressure given the delays in fund raising as initially envisaged, deterioration in credit profile of key investee companies and the sizable repayment obligations at the group level in the near term,” ICRA had earlier said in an emailed statement. The group had planned a Rs.4,500 crore rights issue and Rs.3,500-crore long-term credit from its shareholders including Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India Ltd. But these plans are yet to be finalized. An emergency board meeting on Saturday failed to secure immediate liquidity support.
Hormusji N Cama, Director, Mumbai Samachar, was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2018-19.Cama was earlier the President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for two terms as well as Chairman of the Press Trust of India (PTI) & Media Research Users Council (MRUC). Cama continues to be an active member on the Board of INS, PTI and MRUC till date. Meanwhile, Madhukar Kamath, Chairman Emeritus, DDB Mudra, representing the advertising agency category on the Council was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Bureau for the year 2018-2019. The publishers’ representatives on the Bureau’s Council of Management for the year 2018-2019 are Cama, Devendra Darda of Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd. (secretary), Shailesh Gupta of Jagran Prakashan Ltd., Debabrata Mukherjee of Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., Chandan Majumdar of ABP Pvt. Ltd, Raj Kumar Jain of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Pratap G. Pawar of Sakal Papers Pvt. Ltd., and Riyad Mathew of Malayala Manorama.
Co-founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the CEO and CTO respectively, have ended their innings with the firm as they say they are ready for the next chapter. Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion six years ago, and today claims to have 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. There is speculation that the reason behind this move could be friction with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over how Facebook’s fastest-growing revenue generator is run. According to some pundits in the corporate world, they are of the opinion that the duo may have wanted to run Instagram more independently than their parent company wanted. And went to add that this could have a negative impact on Facebook. This is not the first time that bigwigs of the firm have departed. This sudden loss of the pair follows the departures of WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton and a reshuffling of Facebook’s executive ranks earlier this year. Instagram had been hailed in Silicon Valley as a flashy acquisition done right, with the team kept relatively small and Systrom having the freedom to add features such as peer-to-peer messaging, video uploads and advertising.
(Extreme right) Alpana Kirloskar, CMD, Kiara Life spaces, receiving the IWEC award for her successful, women-owned business venture, at the hands of Ruth Davis, Chairwoman IWEC, Harjinder Kaur, incoming president FICCI FLO and Neena Malhotra, IWEC board member, at Shanghai, China.Alpana Kirloskar, Chairperson & Managing Director, Kiara Lifespaces, was awarded with the IWEC (International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge) Award recently. She was among three women awardees from India, who was honored for her successful women-owned business venture, Kiara Lifespaces. Over 350 people attended the conference to listen to keynote speakers and panelists discuss about doing business in China as well as to meet and honor 47 women from 18 countries. Alpena achieved a degree in architecture and worked in the family construction business. She also started an interior design firm designing model apartments for several real estate firms and private homes. “The biggest challenge that I have faced through my journey has been the feeling of being left out because I was a woman! I had to work hard, and prove myself and finally, at the age of 50, I got the good fortune to start my own real estate project! It is a male dominated industry, it’s the elephant in the room that nobody talks about, but an all women experience. It makes us who we are - strong, resilient, multi-taskers, excelling in everything we do to get our respect in society. I am truly humbled to accept this award not just for myself but also on behalf of all the women who have persevered to make a mark in a patriarchal society. I would like to end by quoting Winston S. Churchill: ‘Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts,’” said Alpana Kirloskar, while talking about the challenges she faced in her business venture.
Ashok Pamidi is appointed as the new CEO of NASSCOM Foundation. NASSCOM Foundation, the social arm of the IT industry’s apex body, National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM), announced that Ashok Pamidi, Senior Director, NASSCOM, has taken over as the CEO of NASSCOM Foundation. He comes with a diverse experience of 29+ years in the IT industry and is also a Senior Director and leading the NASSCOM’s Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, at present. Pamidi has also worked as the Regional Head–Karnataka, NASSCOM, and had the responsibility for Member relationships, Membership expansion, Budgets and budgetary control for the region. In his new position, Pamidi will be responsible for membership development and also lead the small and medium enterprise (SME) initiatives for NASSCOM. Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation, Arun Seth expressed that they are delighted to welcome Ashok Pamidi as the CEO of the foundation, who will bring in the right mix of technological and social expertise. As a non-profit organization driving technology for good, the NASSCOM Foundation works with the apex body’s member companies, non-governmental organizations, emerging social enterprises and the government to foster a strategic relationship between technology and development.
Cash-strapped Reliance Communications will completely exit the telecom business to concentrate on real estate in future. This was announced by billionaire Anil Ambani recently. The first priority for RCom, which is credited for democratizing telecom services through cheaper offers in the early 2000s, is to resolve its over Rs.40,000 crore debt, he told shareholders at the company’s 14th annual general meeting. Pointing out to the 133- acre Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) on the outskirts of the financial capital, Ambani said there is a huge realty play opportunity that RCom’s erstwhile corporate headquarters possesses, and pegged the potential value creation at the site at Rs.25,000 crore. RCom owes over Rs.40,000 crore to a group of 38 lenders, including Chinese banks, and was resolving the debt through a strategic debt restructuring (SDR) process. Ambani said he is confident of getting a resolution in the next few months, and added that other monetization measures, including sale of telecom infrastructure and fiber to Reliance Jio, are at an advanced stage of closure. Anil Ambani also thanked his elder brother Mukesh Ambani, who is credited with conceptualizing the undivided group’s telecom foray and also bought the assets as part of the beleaguered RCom’s monetization efforts.
With concerns and complaints, including those around fake news, mobile messaging app WhatsApp has appointed a Grievance Officer for India and detailed out a process on its website. The key demand has been to address fake messages. The Facebook-owned company has updated its website to reflect the appointment of a ‘Grievance Officer for India’. The update mentions that users can seek help through the mobile app, send an email or write in to grievance officer Komal Lahiri, who is based out of the US. Lahiri is the senior Director, global customer operations and localization at WhatsApp. Users can now reach out to the company’s support team directly from the app under the Settings tab and if they wish to escalate the complaint, they can contact the grievance officer. A section within the FAQs reads, “You (users) can contact the Grievance Officer with complaints or concerns, including the following: WhatsApp’s Terms of Service; and Questions about your account.” This has been done as the government has been pressing WhatsApp to develop tools to combat fake or false messages. India is WhatsApp’s biggest market with more than 200 million users. In July, it limited message forwards to five chats at a time and removed the quick forward button to discourage mass forwarding. It has also introduced a ‘forward’ label to help users identify such messages. This move is significant as the Supreme Court last month agreed to examine a petition alleging that WhatsApp does not comply with Indian laws, including the provision for appointing a grievance officer. The apex court had sought a reply on the matter within four weeks. With general elections slated for next year in India, the government is taking a tough stance on the spread of misinformation through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
With the tenure of John Quattrone, Senior Vice President of General Motors, global human resources, who joined the company in 2014, coming to an end, GM has found a replacement in Jose Tomas. It has been over four decades, that GM has had Quattrone’s association with the company, since 1975. Quattrone who is 64, began his career with GM in 1975 at the Fisher Body Syracuse Plant, and since then has held a number of jobs in personnel, labor relations and human resources. Recalling Quattrone’s role, the Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said, “John has played a crucial role in the development of GM’s senior leadership team as well as serving as a trusted adviser and counsellor on many important issues across the company.” And went on to add, “In addition, he’s been a big part of the cultural transformation that has occurred at GM over the past several years, led by his passion for the company and its people. John leaves a legacy based on vision, dedication and a strong commitment to building relationships throughout his career.” Tomas who is 49, who joins GM from health benefits company Anthem Inc., will report to Barra and serve on GM’s senior leadership team. Tomas, who served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Anthem, has more than 20 years of experience in human resources. He previously worked for Burger King Corp. and also worked in the transportation and logistics industries.
It just took two days after the news came of the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, that the government elevated many of their juniors to the ranks of Managing Directors (MDs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) for public sector banks. Five of the new MD and CEOs are currently functioning as Deputy MDs of State Bank of India (SBI). Mrutyunjay Mahapatra and Padmaja Chundru, both Deputy MDs in the State Bank of India, have been appointed as MD and CEO of Syndicate Bank and Indian Bank respectively, according to official orders. Three other Dy MDs of SBI — Pallav Mohapatra, J Packirisamy and Karnam Shekhar — have also been appointed as MD and CEO of Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Dena Bank, respectively. They all will have tenures till the date of their superannuation. Mohapatra and Packirisamy’s tenure will last till February 28, 2021. Shekhar will be the MD and CEO of Dena Bank till June 30, 2020. Mahapatra and Chundru will have tenure till the date of their superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2020 and August 31, 2021, respectively, the order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi okayed the new appointments. Dena Bank will be merged with the Bank of Baroda as per the latest move announced by the Ministry of Finance as part of the restructuring exercise undertaken by the government in the wake of high non-performing assists (NPAs).
Steve Correa has called it a day at Diageo India, as he picks up an entrepreneurial voyage. With this move, the chief human resource officer ended a four-year-long association with the beverage alcohol company. Taking his passion of coaching forward, Correa has gone solo and launched his entrepreneurial venture, Steve Correa and Associates. Talking about his passion, which has driven him to venture in the field, he said, “My experience with it (coaching) has not been a recent one. I have always been inclined towards it and it has been a part of my repertoire even during my corporate tenure. My passion for coaching stems from my personal purpose to ‘follow my light, as I support others follow theirs’.” This is the second stint at coaching for the founder and CEO of Steve Correa and Associates, and he couldn’t be more excited. He is certified by the International Coach Academy in Melbourne, Australia and the International Coach Federation, USA. Correa joined Diageo India in September 2014, and admits that the four years he spent with the company will be very memorable. An XLRI Jamshedpur alumnus, he began his career in 1989 with Modi Xerox. Over the years, the HR veteran has worked in varied sectors, such as telecommunications, FMCG and IT, in companies such as Vodafone, Unilever, Patni Computer Systems, and Reliance Jio Infocomm, besides Diageo India.
by Joe Williams
