Mahatma Gandhi influenced my thinking on wealth, says Azim Premji

Tech magnate and Wipro Ltd’s founder-chairman Azim Premji said Mahatma Gandhi’s idea that the wealthy must be trustees of their wealth for the good of the people resonated with him much before he became rich. The billionaire businessman said his thinking and actions on what he should do with the privilege of his wealth were influenced by his mother and Mahatma Gandhi, whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year. Premji, who transformed Wipro from a company making vegetable oil to a diversified conglomerate, was addressing the graduating students of the Gujarat Vidyapith, founded by Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad in 1920.

The 74-year-old business tycoon, one of the richest Indians who has donated a large part of his wealth for philanthropic causes, said the Mahatma’s life was “the greatest of inspirations”.

“It was Mahatma Gandhi who, after my mother, most strongly influenced my thinking and actions on what I should do with the privilege of my wealth,” Premji said at the 66th convocation ceremony of the university.

“The Mahatma’s idea that the wealthy must be trustees of their wealth for the good of the people and the community, has resonated with me from much before I became wealthy,” he said. Premji said the idea of “trusteeship,” unlike many other economic ideologies, does not put the rich in the dock just for possessing wealth.

Karan Kumar moves on from Fabindia as Chief Brand and Marketing Officer

Karan Kumar, chief brand and marketing officer at Fabindia, has decided to move on from the company. Kumar joined Fabindia in January 2017 as head of brand and marketing and was elevated to his current position in April 2018. However, he’s yet to reveal his next move.

Before joining Fabindia, Kumar had a 15-year long stint at ITC. In his last role at ITC, he was the Head of Marketing, eCommerce, Portfolio Strategy, Digital Experiences in Retail. He joined ITC in 2001 as Assistant Under Training and rose to leadership roles across various brand categories at the company. Kumar did his MBA from International Management Institute, New Delhi.

Mindtree CFO Pradip Menon quits

Mindtree Ltd’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Pradip Kumar Menon has resigned after a little over a year, in the latest exit at the IT services firm after its hostile takeover by Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) in June. There have been at least six top-level exits at the Bengaluru based firm since June, including those of Co-founders and Vice Presidents (VPs).

“Pradip Kumar Menon will be relieved from the services of the company from the close of business hours on 15 November,” Mindtree said in an exchange filing. Someone from L&T is expected to take over as CFO, but Mindtree has maintained that the company “is in the process of taking necessary steps to fill the vacancy”. Menon, who had joined the firm in September 2018, played a key role in overseeing L&T’s acquisition of 60% stake in Mindtree. Prior to joining Mindtree, he was CFO and whole-time director at AkzoNobel in India. He has also worked with Unilever for more than 20 years.

Singapore based Aqilliz appoints Prateek Dayal as Chief Strategy Officer

Aqilliz, a blockchain for marketing solutions provider, has appointed ex-HSBC APAC Innovation SVP, Prateek Dayal as Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining Aqilliz, Dayal was APAC Innovation SVP at HSBC. He also previously served as Head of Strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland; VP of Mobile and Digital at Barclays Bank and McKinsey & Company prior to that. “Helping to solve real-world problems that are affecting an array of industries while working hand-in-hand with a world-class team, is something that I am genuinely looking forward to,” said Dayal.

“The marketing industry has evolved in leaps and bounds in the past number of years, but the resulting complexity now presents the ecosystem with a lack of transparency, trust and convenience. These key problems can and will be addressed, it is just a matter of expertise and innovation, which is exactly what we at Aqilliz are offering. I feel privileged to have been associated with some leading organisations in the past, each with their own unique strengths, but when the chance to help build Aqilliz,” added Dayal.

TVS boss Venu Srinivasan receives prestigious Deming award

TVS Motor Company Chairman, Venu Srinivasan has been awarded with the prestigious Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination And Promotion Overseas’ at a ceremony held in Tokyo. Srinivasan is the first industrialist from India to receive the prestigious award in the field of Total Quality Management (TQM).

The Deming Prize is the highest award for TQM in the world and is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the dissemination and promotion of TQM. The prize is sponsored by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). Candidates of this award require a recommendation from the members of the Deming Prize Committee, and whose primary activities must be limited to outside Japan.

Accepting the award, Srinivasan said, “I am truly honoured by the recognition conferred upon me by the prestigious Deming committee and JUSE. This stands as a testament for me and all my colleagues & associates who have worked hard to implement Total Quality Management at Sundaram-Clayton and TVS Motor Company since 1989.” As the past president of CII and Chairman of the National Committee for Quality, Srinivasan played an active role in accelerating TQM promotion across the country.

Google India appoints Sanjay Gupta as new country manager

Google announced the appointment of Sanjay Gupta as its new Country Manager and Vice President of Sales and Operations for India. He will take on the role early next year and will be based out of Mumbai working closely with the teams in Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. Gupta will contribute to Google’s ongoing efforts to expand the internet ecosystem in the country, by driving Internet adoption among consumers and businesses and accelerating innovation, the tech giant said in a release. The move comes after Rajan Anandan quit in April this year to join Sequoia Capital India. Gupta has previously worked with Disney India and major of his major achievements there was his role in making Star one of the popular media companies of the country. He was also instrumental in making Hotstar one of the most popular video streaming platforms in the country. Before that, he has worked with Hindustan Unilever where he headed marketing.

He has completed his post-graduation from IIM Calcutta and did his engineering from Delhi College of Engineering.

Gupta said that he is delighted to take on the challenge of leading and shaping Google’s chapter in India. He further added that it is an exciting opportunity to “leverage the power of technology to solve some of India’s unique challenges and make the Internet an engine of economic growth for people and communities”.

Speaking about the appointment of Gupta, Scott Beaumont, President of APAC, Google said, “Our Indian operation is important and strategic for its own sake but also for the innovation which then feeds breakthroughs elsewhere in Google. We are delighted to have Sanjay join us. We are excited to combine his expertise, experience and leadership with our teams and build further on our existing efforts in this highly dynamic, competitive and exciting digital economy, looking to build a more helpful and inclusive Internet for everyone in India.”

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari to make biopic on NR Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murthy

After wrapping up work on Panga, director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is all set to make a film on the lives of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murthy. The director took to Instagram to share a long note about the project, titled Murthy.

Ashwiny shared a picture with Sudha, calling her ‘Sudha Maa’. “Two opposite personalities. I don’t have a picture with Mr Narayana Murthy. But spent hours chatting with Sudha Maa - that’s what i call her now,” she wrote. She also recalled her journey so far as a creative artist and then as a filmmaker. “Been working for almost 21 years now. Started off with designing events and logos while studying in art school. I needed the money to feed my art supplies and education. Then joined as an art trainee at Leo Burnett. Spent 16 years in advertising and marketing with the most amazing people who are my dearest friends too. Left advertising in 2015 to an un-known world of Bollywood only for the passion of telling stories,” she added.

Smriti Singh quits Flipkart as CHRO

After a short year-long stint as CHRO, Flipkart, Smriti Krishna Singh has stepped down. The news was revealed through an e-mail that was sent out by Kalyan Krishnamurthy, group CEO, to a select few executives of the company. From employee rewards and talent management, to employee engagement and learning and development, Singh handled some of the key functions in HR at Flipkart. Singh took up the position of CHRO at Flipkart in December, 2018 and was reporting to Krishnamurthy.

She was appointed as the chief of HR at a time when Flipkart was going through major changes—Walmart had acquired the e-commerce company and a lot of re-shuffling was going on. This is the first exit of a C-suite member at Flipkart, after Ananth Narayanan, who stepped down as the CEO of Myntra and Jabong last year. Prior to this, Singh was the CHRO and head of CSR at Sony Pictures India. With an experience of more than 20 years in HR, Singh has worked in multiple sectors, such as information technology, tech and broadcasting. An honours graduate in psychology from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Singh has worked with some big names, including GE, NBC and Gen-pact. After completing her MBA in HR and marketing from the International Management Institute, Singh started her career in HR with Xerox, a technology company for printing solutions.

Rohit Thakur moves on: Lakshmi C to take over as head HR at Accenture

Rohit Thakur, India HR Head at Accenture has called it quits. He will be replaced by Lakshmi C, who is currently, India HR service delivery lead responsible for recruiting, learning, HR Tech and process team. Lakshmi has been an old hand at Accenture having spent more than 16 years with the company. Prior to this, she was with iGate Global Solutions for five years.

An MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur 1996 batch, Lakshmi will be a member of the Accenture India GU council and be part of the geographic HR leadership team. She will be responsible for talent strategy, HR service delivery and HR across India. As per an internal communication, Lakshmi resumed her new office from November 1, onwards.

Thakur’s next destination is still not known. He had joined Accenture from Microsoft some 2.9 years ago. At Microsoft, he was heading HR for India. Thakur is also from XLRI Jamshedpur 1993 batch. Thakur has more than 25 years of experience in HR and IR. After passing out from XLRI, he took his first opportunity to work with Eicher Goodearth. The role majorly involved IR and collective bargaining for the Eicher R&D centre based out of Ballabgarh, Haryana. His last position at Eicher was deputy manager HR. After that, he moved on to work with Bausch&Lomb India where he handled learning and development function and was also the plant HR lead. Thakur has also worked with GE where he served the longest stint of his career. He first joined GE in 2001 as organisation and staffing lead. In 11 years he grew to the role of HR Director at GE where he was heading the HR function for the energy and infrastructure business. Thakur is also an alumnus of Shri Ram College Of Commerce.

RBI SEARCH PANEL HUNTS FOR NEXT DEPUTY GOVERNOR

A search panel headed by the Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba is said to have interviewed at least 10 candidates for the post of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) deputy governor. The contenders’ list comprises names such as RBI’s Executive Director, Michael Patra and external Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Chetan Ghata. The position of RBI’s deputy governor fell vacant after Viral Acharya resigned six months before the scheduled end of his term. According to media reports, Patra and Ghate were among the economists who were interviewed by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) search panel. Apart from the Cabinet Secretary, the search panel of FSRASC includes RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Financial Services Secretary and other independent members. IAS officer Kshatrapati Shivaji is also said to be in the running for the RBI’s deputy governor post. Shivaji has been the CEO of SIDBI and principal secretary in the Ministry of Finance and is currently India’s executive director at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Arunish Chawla, who currently is working as a bureaucrat at the Indian Embassy’s economic wing in Washington Manoj Govil, the principal finance secretary of Madhya Pradesh have possibly been interviewed for the post as well, the agency added. The finance ministry, in September, received about 100 applications for the post but short-listed about seven names who were called for the interview on 7 November. According to the notice, the appointment of the RBI’s Deputy governor will be for a period of three years and the person will be eligible for re-appointment.

Paytm Partners with Singaore based Codashop

Singapore-based Codashop, a gaming and entertainment top-up platform announced a strategic partnership with Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led digital payments company Paytm. Through this collaboration, both Paytm and Codashop aims to capture the digital gaming and entertainment market in India. Also, it will allow Codashop users to make their purchases online using Paytm’s payment gateway, according to a press statement.

Puneet Jain, senior Vice President of Paytm, said that online gaming and entertainment segment has always been their growth potential, and through this alliance, the company is said to enrich the experience of Indian users. “India’s mobile gaming market is estimated to grow from $1.1 Bn in 2018 to $2.4 Bn in 2020, at a compound annual growth rate of over 49%, and we believe that this partnership with Paytm will further help us expand and grow our presence across India,” said Philippe Limes, the CEO of Codashop (Coda Payments). Limes further said that the Indian youth these days prefer mobile devices because of its flexibility, easy accessibility and convenience. “Codashop’s rich portfolio of games and entertainment content will complement with Paytm’s deeper consumer engagement, and help us accelerate our plans in the Indian digital gaming and entertainment industry,” Limes added.