India’s Anshula Kant appointed World Bank MD and CFO

The World Bank Group announced that Anshula Kant, Managing Director of the State Bank of India, has been appointed its next MD and CFO. Kant will be the first woman CFO of the Bank. “Anshula brings more than 35 years of expertise in finance, banking, and innovative use of technology through her work as CFO of the State Bank of India,” World Bank Group President, David Malpass said in a statement. “She’s excelled at a diverse array of leadership challenges including risk, treasury, funding, regulatory compliance and operations. I look forward to welcoming her to our management team as we work to increase our effectiveness in supporting good development outcomes,” Malpass added.

Kant will be responsible for financial and risk management and report to Malpass. Her duties will include risk management and financial reporting and she will work with the Bank’s CEO to mobilise financial resources. Kant holds an Honors degree in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College and a post-graduate degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.

LinkedIn appoints Ashutosh Gupta as Country Manager for India

Professional social media network, LinkedIn, has appointed Ashutosh Gupta as its Country Manager, according to media reports. The appointment will come into effect on September 2, 2019. Gupta will replace Mahesh Narayanan, who was Country Manager for India from January 2019 to June 2019.

Gupta has over two decades of experience in the Internet and IT & Software Services and has worked in companies such as Google, Cognizant, and Infosys. Gupta joined LinkedIn in 2013 as the head of LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions. In 2016, he moved to Singapore to build LMS’s Online Sales Organization (OSO) for the Asia Pacific and China. Gupta will relocate to India from Singapore to assume his new responsibility and will also continue to look after LMS’s Online Sales Organization (OSO) for the Asia Pacific and China. On his appointment, media reports quoted Gupta as saying that he is “excited and humbled” to take on the role of Country Manager.

Manoj Kumar Nambiar elected Chairman of MFIN

Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) has elected Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Managing Director of Arohan Financial Services, as its Chairman. Vineet Chattree of Svatantra Microfin will be the Vice-Chairman, the industry association and self-regulatory Organization (SRO) for the microfinance industry in India said. “In the 10th year of MFIN, it’s time that we start celebrating this sector which has played a significant role in getting rural India into the folds of financial inclusion,” said Nambiar. MFIN Chief Executive Officer, Harsh Shrivastava, also announced the induction of Gyan Mohan and Jagadish Ramadugu in its governing board. The microfinance industry saw a 38 per cent growth in its gross loan portfolio at Rs.1.87 lakh crore in the financial year 2018-19. Gross loan portfolio of the sector was Rs.1.35 lakh crore in 2017-18. The total number of microfinance accounts stood at 9.33 crore as on March 31, 2019, registering a growth of 21.9 per cent over 2017-18, according to a report launched by Microfinance Institutions Networks (MFIN). The members collectively disbursed 3.25 crore loans worth Rs.82,928 crore in 2018-19. MFIN comprises 56 NBFC-MFIs and 40 associates including banks, small finance banks and NBFCs.

Former Tata Communications MD Vinod Kumar moves to Vodafone Group

Former Tata Communications Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Vinod Kumar, has joined Vodafone Group Plc as CEO of Vodafone business, according to media reports.

The telecom major said in a statement that Kumar will take his new post with effect from September 2. He will report to Vodafone Group Chief Executive Nick Read. “Vinod is a very experienced business leader with a breadth of experience from across the globe. He is a great addition to Vodafone and the Executive Committee,” Read was reportedly quoted in a statement as saying. Kumar had been with the Tata company since 2004 and was appointed its CEO in 2011. He has previously worked with Asia Netcom, WorldCom, Global One and Sprint International. According to reports his last day at Tata Communications was August 5.

Praj awarded Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award 2019 for 2G biomass to bioethanol technology

Praj Industries (Praj), a globally leading engineering company offering sustainable solutions for bioenergy, high purity water, compressed biogas, critical process equipment and skids, breweries and industrial wastewater treatment, has been awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award, 2019 in the engineering sector in recognition of ‘enfinity’, its second-generation biomass to bioethanol technology.

Dr. Tushar Patil (General Manager - Advanced BioFuels and Chemicals) accepted the trophy and certificate from Lt. Gen. J.S. Ahluwalia (Chairman, IOD) and Mr. R.V. Deshpande (Revenue Minister of Karnataka) at a glittering ceremony in Bengaluru recently. The jury comprised environment, health & safety, energy and climate change experts, under the chairmanship of Justice (Dr.) Arijit Pasayat, former Judge, Supreme Court of India.

Speaking about this recognition, Mr. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries said, “We are happy to see that our team’s efforts in developing and deploying innovative technology solutions in the advanced biofuels space globally are being recognised. The Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation award for our proprietary platform technology, ‘enfinity’, is testament to Praj’s technology leadership in the bio-fuel space. It spurs us to continue our mission towards ‘sustainable decarburization through circular bio-economy’, a philosophy that drives truly sustainable growth and development.

Nupur Garg joins YourNest Venture Capital’s Advisory Board

YourNest Capital Advisors announced that Nupur Garg, till recently Regional Lead-South Asia for International Finance Corporation (IFC) and an independent director on the Board of SIDBI has joined the Advisory Board for its Second Fund. Garg is listed among India’s top 100 Women in Finance (AIWMI 2019) and her addition will lend significant strength and capabilities for YourNest India VC Fund II, the second fund from YourNest.

A CA and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Business, Garg has global experience spanning private equity investing, operations and finance in leading global organizations like PwC, Discovery Networks and IFC – an arm of the World Bank Group. She has operated in different South Asian economies where she was instrumental in structuring and implementing complex business transactions and partnerships. Her professional journey has had a consistent entrepreneurial theme involving the building of businesses and teams and has allowed her to develop a wide range of technical and functional skills. Her specific areas of expertise include private equity, strategy, investments and finance, governance and operations. At SIDBI, Nupur co-chairs the sub-committee for its Fund of Funds vertical and serves as an external expert on the investment committee for the INR 10,000 crore Fund of Fund for startups. Nupur Garg said, “I am pleased to be a part of YourNest.”

PayU India MD, Jitendra Gupta quits; likely to start new venture

Jitendra Gupta, who had been leading PayU’s credit business put in his papers in late June and may start his own venture later in 2019. Pallav Jain, Country Head of PayU Finance, which runs the pay later product LazyPay, is expected to replace Gupta. Gupta had joined PayU in 2016, when he, along with Co-Founder Amrish Rau at Citrus Pay, sold the company to PayU for $130 million in cash. Gupta and Satyen Kothari had found Citrus Pay, a digital payments company in 2010. Then after six years, they sold the company in what is known as the biggest fintech buyouts in India at the time.

The deal led the founding team to mop up an estimated $60 million and even the employees of the Mumbai-based Citrus Pay earned handsome payouts. It was under Gupta’s leadership that Citrus grew to gain the attention of many investors. Gupta holds a rich experience in banking and financial services industry and is considered an expert in the payments industry. Before he co-founded Citrus, he has also worked with ICICI. Now, after resigning from PayU, Gupta plans to start a new venture, which is also likely to be in the fintech space. However, he shared that he is still doing the research and testing out some ideas.

Balbir Singh Dhillon appointed as head of Audi India

Balbir Singh Dhillon, who is currently heading dealer development, has now been elevated to head of Audi India. He takes over the new role from September 1, 2019, onward. India born Dhillon, joined Audi India for his second stint in August 2018 and has 23 years of automotive experience. Dhillon, an industry veteran who has spent nearly 12 years in the Volkswagen group, will take charge of the company, replacing German-born Rahil Ansari, who will be moving to the company’s headquarters in Germany wherein he will be taking over the role of Senior Director, Central Sales Controlling at a global level. Dhillon re-joined Audi India in August 2018 after his previous stint between 2007 and 2012 as head of Sales Field Force. Balbir has had stints at Audi Middle East, Porsche India and Honda India in his previous roles.

Bezos’ divorce finalises, MacKenzie walks away with $38 billion

As Amazon turned 25, its Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’ divorce from MacKenzie Bezos-his wife of 25 years—was finalized when a judge signed an order for separation and making MacKenzie richer by a whopping $38 billion. Bezos gets roughly $1.52 billion a year since she got married to the Amazon Founder and CEO.

According to a Bloomberg report, a King County judge in Washington (Seattle) signed an order setting the stage for the transfer of 19.7 million shares of Amazon.com (four per cent holding that is valued at $38 billion) to MacKenzie. The moolah takes her to the 22nd place on the “Bloomberg Billionaires Index’’—a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Jeff has retained 12 per cent stake (59.1 million shares) worth $114.8 billion in Amazon, still making him the richest man on Earth. The Bezos couple finalized their divorce in April in what was reported as the biggest divorce settlement in history.

MacKenzie has decided to donate half of her $38 billion worth alimony to investor Warren Buffett’s philanthropic campaign—the Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge, founded in 2010 by Buffet along with Bill and Melinda Gates, has drawn 204 billionaire pledgers, including WhatsApp Co-founder Brian Acton, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk and Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

“My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty,” 48-year-old MacKenzie wrote in an open letter recently. MacKenzie has also given her stocks in other companies. “Happy to be giving him all of my interests in the Washington Post, Blue Origin (private space company) and 75 per cent of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares,” she tweeted recently. The pair first announced plans to separate in January following reports of Jeff cheating on his wife, claims that he denied later. The separation happened as the company turned 25 on Friday. “On August 5, 1994, Jeff launched a company called Cadabra Inc,” according to the Seattle Times. In October 1994, Bezos changed the name to “Amazon” which today is an e-commerce behemoth worth $950 billion.

Sudha Murty’s new book released

Infosys Foundation Chairperson and author Sudha Murty’s 2019 book for children (aged five and above) titled ‘How the Sea Became Salty’ has been released. Sharing the news about the new book, publisher Puffin said in a statement that they are “thrilled to announce the release of How the Sea Became Salty a superbly illustrated, brand new chapter book in A Puffin Chapter Book Series by one of India’s favorite author, Sudha Murty.” The story is narrated in Mrs Murty’s characteristic simplicity and wit, and the illustrations make it an exciting read for kids.

Beginning her career as a computer scientist in the 1960s, Mrs Murty was one of the first women to enter into the engineering field which was then dominated by men. Apart from books for children, she has written novels, travelogues, technical books, collection of short stories and non-fictional pieces, too. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She has been awarded the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature, the Padma Shri in 2006, and the Attimabe Award from the Karnataka government for excellence in Kannada literature in 2011. The writer, through her simple and genial words, captures life—its vicissitudes and vibrancy, easily and comfortably.

HDFC Bank launches global search for CEO Aditya Puri’s successor

The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has plans to begin a global search to find a successor to the founding-chief executive, Aditya Puri, who retires in October 2020.

“The nomination and remuneration committee of the board will constitute a search committee to undertake a global search of both internal and external candidates,” the second largest bank said in FY19 annual report.

Puri turns 70 next year and has been instrumental in getting the bank to its current stature as one of the most valued banks globally, in terms of price to earnings ratio. There are reports that Puri, an ex-Citibanker, may continue as the non-executive chairman post retirement.

Puri, the Managing Director and Chief Executive, has been with the bank since 1994, making him the longest-serving head of any private bank in the country. During his tenure, Puri has led the bank through two major mergers in the Indian banking industry— merger of Times Bank Limited and Centurion Bank of Punjab Limited with HDFC Bank. Meanwhile, Puri has seen a whopping 41% increase in total remuneration in FY19 to Rs.13.67 crore. HDFC Bank’s annual report for 2018-19 showed his salary grew to Rs.10.73 crore from Rs.7.26 crore in the previous fiscal, while the value of his perquisites grew to Rs.2.26 crore from Rs.1.82 crore. Stock options exercised by Puri amounted to Rs.42.20 crore as against Rs.31.41 crore, as per the annual report.

Puri, who has around four decades of banking experience in India and overseas, graduated from Punjab University, with a B.com degree followed by a certification course from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, as an associate member.

OLX India appoints Sapna Arora as Chief Marketing Officer

OLX has announced the appointment of Sapna Arora as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). In her new role, Arora will be responsible for leading the brand marketing initiatives of the company. Previously, she has served in various leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle and Bennett Coleman and has extensive experience of nurturing billion-dollar brands such as Pantene, Whisper, Tampax, Tide, Stouffer’s, and Mortein, among others.

Sushil Kumar, General Manager, OLX India, said, “As OLX takes the next big leap in its positioning in India, Sapna will spearhead the brand’s marketing journey with her accomplished vision and experience. She has worked on some of the most iconic brands in India and we look forward to her contribution in our next phase of growth.”

Talking about her new role at OLX, Sapna Arora said, “I admire OLX’s strong brand recognition, high consumer awareness, and rich brand heritage. I am excited to be working on the brand.”

An alumnus of St. Stephens College, Delhi University, Sapna holds an MBA Degree from IIM Bengaluru.