The country’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has kept salary, perquisites and allowances and commission together at Rs.15 crore since 2008-09, forgoing almost Rs.24 crore per annum. This is at a time when remunerations of all whole-time directors of the company, including cousins Nikhil and Hital Meswani, saw a handsome rise in the fiscal year. In a statement RIL said the compensation of Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, has been set at Rs.15 crore, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels. His remuneration for 2017-18 included Rs.4.49 crore as salary and allowances, which is marginally higher than the Rs.4.16 crore he got in the previous 2016-17 fiscal. Commission however was unchanged at Rs.9.53 crore while perquisites have declined to Rs.27 lakh from Rs.60 lakh. Retirement benefits are Rs.71 lakh. RIL’s non-executive directors, including Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani, got Rs.1.5 crore each as commission, besides sitting fees. The commission was Rs.1.3 crore in the previous year. Nita Ambani, a non-executive director on the company’s board, earned Rs.6 lakh as sitting fee.
S. Gopu, the HR director of state-owned ITI Ltd will take an additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director following the retirement of P. K. Gupta. Gupta had joined the company in January 1979 as Assistant Executive Engineer at ITI Bangalore Plant. K. Alagesan, Director - Production, has taken charge as Director (Marketing) for a period of three months.
Harshvendra Soin’s loyalty to the company saw Tech Mahindra elevating him to the Chief People Officer. Soin has been associated with the company for the past six years, heading enterprise business as the senior vice-president and country head. In the past he was head, global leadership acquisition and development, and head, business HR for APAC and IMEA (Telecom & Enterprise). He took charge from Rakesh Soni who will assume an advisory role in the organisation. A seasoned campaigner and HR professional, Soin was the chief people officer at Fortis Healthcare for three years before Tech Mahindra. He was responsible for developing the HR Strategy for Fortis Healthcare and led the change towards institutionalising processes and helping in a rapid scale-up through availability of talent. A law graduate and an MBA in personnel management and industrial relations from Punjab University, Soin was also the chief people officer at Aditya Birla Retail for two years between 2007 and 2009. He has also worked towards creating innovative HR processes and policies in Bharti Enterprises where he was Senior Vice President – People Excellence before moving as the Head – HR for Bharti Retail. He has also worked with the Oberoi Group and Punwire.
A whopping pay package of $128 million could make Nikesh Arora one of the highest-paid US executives after he was named to lead Palo Alto Networks Inc. The 50-year-old-Arora is entitled to equity awards worth $126 million as he took over as the chief executive officer of the firm early last month. Arora spent two years at SoftBank Group Corp. as founder Masayoshi Son’s No. 2, became Japan’s best-compensated public company executive in 2015. At SoftBank, Arora helped Son become the primary financier behind an anti-Uber alliance and led investments in Indian e-commerce provider Snapdeal.com and real-estate website Housing.com. The entire pay package at Palo Alto Networks for Arora is $1 million in salary, a $1 million target bonus and $40 million of restricted stock that vests over seven years. Besides he is also entitled to receive stock options valued at $66 million that will vest in increments if the shares climb up by at least 150 per cent. He’ll get all of them if the price quadruples. Meanwhile, Arora’s predecessor, Mark McLaughlin, was the fifth-highest-paid U.S. executive in 2015.
The Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy, a baby of the Government of India has constituted a group of eminent persons which will be led by Baba Kalyani, Bharat Forge chairman. The commerce ministry has set up a committee to make its special economic zone (SEZ) policy compatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules after the US challenged India’s export subsidy programme at the multilateral trade body. The SEZ Policy was implemented in the year 2000. The group will evaluate the SEZ policy, suggest measures to cater to the needs of exporters in the present economic scenario and make the SEZ policy WTO-compatible, suggest course correction in SEZ policy, make comparative analysis of the SEZ scheme and dovetail the SEZ policy with other similar schemes. The group is required to submit its recommendations in three months’ time, according to a statement issued by the commerce ministry. The US on March 14 this year challenged India’s entire export subsidy regime in the WTO including the merchandise exports from India scheme, export-oriented units scheme and sector-specific schemes, including electronics hardware technology parks scheme, special economic zones, export promotion capital goods scheme, and a duty-free imports programme for exporters. Both sides engaged in consultations but failed to resolve the matter bilaterally. The WTO has set up a dispute panel to give its verdict on the matter. Trade minister Suresh Prabhu has said India should not be singled out just because it is growing faster, and should be given a chance to phase out export subsidies over a period of eight years, as was the case with other countries. The other members of the committee include Ravindra Sannareddy, MD, Sricity SEZ Ltd; Neel Raheja, group president, K Raheja Group; Arun Misra, MD, Tata Steel SEZ Ltd; Anita Arjundas, MD, Mahindra Life Space Developer; Ajay Pandey, MD & group CEO, GIFT City SEZ Ltd; Srikanth Badiga, director, Hyderabad Phoenix Developer, and government representatives.
The former easyJet executive Cornelis Vrieswijk takes over as the new CEO of the Wadia Group-owned GoAir and he will report to the airline’s chairman and managing director Jeh Wadia and the airline’s board of directors. Besides his over 20 years’ experience in various sectors of the aviation and travel industry, Vrieswijk has had stints with major brands such as Thomas Cook Group, Transavia Airlines and easyJet Airline Company. During his stint with easyJet, Vrieswijk has achieved significant operational performance. “He has rich experience in driving ventures, transitions, turnarounds and large-scale projects for diverse and multifaceted organisations with emphasis in aviation/travel and aircraft maintenance industry on the European stage,” said GoAir in a statement about Vrieswijk who has significant expertise in international business development, operational streamlining, aircraft engineering, maintenance and process automation. He will work with the board and leadership team to expand and implement a range of strategic initiatives to lead the airline into its next phase of growth, said Jeh Wadia. Commenting on the move, Vrieswijk stated that his primary focus at GoAir will be to build the airline to a strong position and modelling the desired changes for further growth and expansion.
The post of Deputy Governor RBI which has been vacant since the retirement of S. S. Mundra in August 2017, has been finally filled up. The government named Mahesh Kumar Jain, managing director and chief executive officer of IDBI Bank for the post. Jain who has been successful with the Indian Bank as its executive director first and CEO later, will be the fourth deputy governor of RBI and his term is for three years. In all, RBI has four deputy governor posts, two are from within RBI, while one is a commercial banker and one is an economist. The other deputy governors at RBI are Viral Acharya, B P Kanungo and N S Vishwanathan. Jain put in place a turnaround strategy for the IDBI bank which included identifying areas of cost reduction and revenue maximisation. During his term, the bank sold its stake in NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) to shore up capital. With three decades of experience, Jain has served on the boards of Exim Bank and the National Institute of Bank Management, among others. He has also been a part of several committees of the banking sector, including as secretary to the Basant Seth Committee on review and revamp of audit system in public sector banks (PSBs) and as a member on a government committee on public interest litigation related to non-performing assets (NPA).
After being among the many legends in the world of cricket, and one of the most sought-after sportsman of the country, Virat Kohli adds another feather to his cap as he is the only Indian who makes the cut in the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes according to Forbes. The Indian skipper is placed 83 among top athletes of the globe and in the process has scaled six steps from 89 in the 2017 list, as a result of his salary/winning of $4m and endorsements worth $20m. Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather and football legend Lionel Messi head the charts of athletes hailing from 22 countries across the globe. Close on the heels of Messi is another football legend, Cristiano Ronaldo. Mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor and Brazilian footballer Neymar complete the top-5 list. Ironically all are men and not a single woman’s name appears in the list. Sprint king Usain Bolt has seen his stakes take a dip and is now No. 45 on the list. Tennis legend Roger Federer is seventh on the list while his fiercest rival Rafael Nadal completes the top-20 list by occupying the 20th spot. Mayweather heads the world’s highest-paid athlete for the fourth time in seven years, thanks to a $275 million payday for his August boxing match against UFC star Conor McGregor. Messi’s annual salary and bonus exceeded $80 million, making him the highest-paid player on the pitch this year. The top-20 are: Floyd Mayweather, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor, Neymar, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Stephen Curry, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Kevin Durant, Lewis Hamilton, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Canelo Alvarez, Tiger Woods, Drew Brees, Sebastian Vettel, Derek Carr and Rafael Nadal.
In line with the strategic priority for Whirlpool India to expand the cooking and built-in appliance portfolio, the board of Whirlpool India today approved a proposal to enter into a strategic joint venture with Pune-headquartered Elica and acquired 49% equity in Elica PB India Pvt Ltd. As part of the joint venture, Elica PB India will manufacture and distribute cooking and built-in appliances under the Whirlpool brand in India. Elica PB India is a subsidiary of Elica S.p.A. Italy and has been operating in India since 2010. The parties expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2018. Sunil D’Souza, Managing Director of Whirlpool India said in a statement, “The cooking and built-in appliance space is poised for very strong growth in India based on increasing consumer demand. Whirlpool aims to expand its portfolio of innovative products with Elica’s impressive capabilities in consumer insights, design, manufacturing and also broaden its distribution. This association will bring outstanding product innovation and provide more options to the kitchens of our consumers.” Speaking about this joint venture, Pralhad Bhutada, CEO of Elica PB India said, “Elica PB has built a very strong product portfolio and distribution network for the Elica brand. With the addition of Whirlpool brand’s products, we will be offering two very appealing appliance brands to the Indian consumers and we are confident that we can take both these brands to greater heights.” Whirlpool India Limited, headquartered in Gurugram, is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of major home appliances in the country.
Vishpala Reddy has been elevated to an APAC role in less than a year after she joined Uber as chief people officer for India and South Asia. In her new avatar, she will head HR for Australia, New Zealand, and North Asia, in addition to India & South Asia. Uber is undergoing a cultural change under the leadership of its global CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. From focused efforts to improve upon diversity and inclusion, to working around the new cultural norms, Uber is driving this change in all directions. “We want to create a workplace that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of the cities we serve. By creating an environment where people from every background can thrive, we’ll make Uber a better company, not just for our employees but for our customers too,” said Vishpala while commenting on the move taken by the company. Vishpala started her career with Cognizant Technologies, later worked extensively as senior consultant with Hewitt Associates, in the area of performance and rewards. She has also been with American Express and has played a vital role in driving the transformation of the India business, and introduced proactive measures and programmes that helped position Amex as an employer of choice. Known for her passion to lead innovative and sustainable HR practices with measurable impact, Reddy has been honoured with external recognition for her contributions and for being a thought leader. She was an active member of the executive board of the National Human Resource Development Network (NHRDN) 2016–17 and has also led their Young Minds Advisory Board. Known to champion various diversity and inclusion initiatives, she actively advocates the development of women leaders from various walks of life.
While the Reserve Bank of India is in the news these days, their top guns are finding greener pastures elsewhere as Bandhan Bank appointed Harun Rashid Khan, a former RBI deputy governor, as non-executive chairman. Khan’s appointment will be for a period of three years, or till the expiry of his term as an independent director, whichever is earlier, the bank said in a regulatory filing. Khan will be the independent director of the bank at a remuneration of Rs.24 lakh per annum, subject to RBI and other approvals. In addition, Khan will be entitled for sitting fee and other expenses such as expenses related to travelling, accommodation for attending company meetings, etc. Khan retired as the deputy governor RBI after serving for 38 years. Meanwhile, the board also made changes as Pravir Kumar Vohra was appointed an Additional Director (category being Independent, Non - Executive) of the bank, also for a period of three years.
by Joe Williams
