NASA appoints Bhavya Lal in key role

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has appointed Indian-American Bhavya Lal as the acting chief of staff of the US space agency. As a member of the Biden presidential transition agency review team, she oversaw the agency’s transition under the new President’s administration. Lal brings in extensive experience in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defence Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020. As an active member of the space technology and policy community, she has chaired, co-chaired, or served on five-high-impact National Academy of Science committees. She co-founded and co-chairs policy track of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies in Space (NETS); she also co-organised a seminar series on space history and policy with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Lauding her many contributions in the space sector, she was nominated and selected to be a corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Armed with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in nuclear engineering, as well as a Master of Science degree in technology and policy, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she also holds a doctorate in public policy and public administration from the George Washington University. She is a member of both the nuclear engineering and public policy honour societies.

Veteran R T Wasan exits Tata Motors

Veteran R T Wasan, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of Commercial Vehicle Division at Tata Motors, has resigned from the company having played a 28-year-old long inning with the auto major. While Tata Motors has yet to officially announce Wasan’s exit, the veteran has shared his intention in a social media post. In a social media post, Wasan said that he was taking a short break before he begins his next professional career. “... Something that I am super excited about and am eagerly looking forward to another engaging, enriching innings. Will be updating the status very soon,” he added. His memorable stint with the Tata Group involved steering the auto giant’s commercial vehicle segment as well as playing a central role in developing Tata Motor’s popular models in the mini-truck segment and also the pickup vehicle categories such as Tata ACE and Tata Intra. In his heydays, he has had the opportunity to be posted at the company’s Dharwad plant in Karnataka, a dedicated facility for manufacturing of small commercial vehicles.

VI appoints Mathan Babu as CISO

Vodafone Idea (VI) has named former National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) executive Mathan Babu Kasilingam as its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Privacy Officer, replacing Amit Pradhan. In his new role, Kasilingam will be responsible for cybersecurity, digital security entities, data privacy norm compliances and other compliance activities with the telecom major. A stalwart, he has had 16 years of experience in the cybersecurity domain working across prominent companies the likes of HDFC Bank and Symantec, amongst others. Armed with a BE in Electrical & Electronics qualification from the Sri Siva Subramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, he also holds a certification in Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos will be donning a new hat as Amazon’s Executive Chairman (EC) as he prepares to step down as CEO of Amazon.com Inc., ushering in a new change nearly 27 years since he set up his internet bookselling enterprise from his garage. Andy Jassy, Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) founder will become Amazon’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with the new transitions slated for the third-quarter of 2021. In a note to employees, Bezos reinforced that as the EC, he will remain attuned to all-important Amazon initiatives but plans to invest more time and energy for his other pet projects - the Bezos Earth Fund, the Day 1 Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and other passions. Bezos said that “I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring.” Bezos’s replacement, Jassy, is a Harvard Business School Alumni and joined the company in 1997. He is instrumental in Amazon’s growth as a cloud platform used by millions. It was Bezos’s leadership that had identified India as a strategic market for the company as early as 2013 and has committed to invest close to $6.5 billion to grow its e-commerce business in this geography. Amazon’s India business, post Bezos’s transition is unlikely to have any measurable strategic impact in the short term for India, which has the potential for becoming one of the world’s largest retail markets in the coming years.

Anjali Vaishal promoted as MD of Adecco’s division

Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), a division of the Adecco Group – the world’s leading HR solutions partner has elevated Anjali Vaishal to the role of Managing Director (MD) for India. While leading the business in India, she will be a part of the Accelerating Growth Markets Executive leadership team at LHH. Her most recent role has been that of a Director with the flagship Adecco Group. Anjali is well-honed in her experience in driving and accelerating business growth in sectors including Entrepreneurship and HR Consulting, IT and Education. She has won accolades and awards for her ability to lead businesses through transformation and achieve outstanding profitable growth. She is also the proud recipient of the Asia Women in Sales Leadership Award.

Kiran Mazumdar receives the Bharat Asmita National Award

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, has been honoured with the prestigious Bharat Asmita National Award by MIT World Peace University, Pune, MIT School of Government, and Bharat Asmita Foundation. Conferred as Bharat Asmita Vigyaan Tantragyaan Shreshtha at the 17th Bharat Asmita National Award, she joins other prominent and recognized awardees - Srikant Datar, Dean of the faculty, Harvard Business School; Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Lok Sabha member; Prabha Atre, renowned classical singer; Sai Paranjpye, celebrated movie director and screenwriter; and Ram Charan, renowned business advisor, author, and motivational speaker. Bharat Asmita National Awards, incepted in 2005 by MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Pune, is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in India. The committee invites more than 15,000 nominations from all walks of society, such as members of the Union and State cabinets, MPs, members of legislative assemblies, councils of different states, bureaucrats, judiciary and teachers in management institutions, film and entertainment fraternity, writers, and NGOs.

Anurag Mehrotra returns as President and MD at Ford India

Anurag Mehrotra comes back as President and Managing Director of Ford India, taking over from Bala Radhakrishnan, the acting President and MD of Ford India Pvt Ltd. (FIPL). Radhakrishnan who has been holding the fort for the past 10 months will now resume office as Director, Manufacturing, FIPL. The move comes just weeks after the proposed joint venture between the U.S. automaker and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was called off. Mehrotra is expected to lead the business and help determine FIPL’s future roadmap, while allocating capital consistent with ‘The Plan’,” as per an internal order signed by Dianne Craig, President, Ford International Markets Group. Mehrotra will be charting out the new game plan for independent operations in India in line with ‘The Plan’ as curated by Jim Farley, CEO, Ford Motor Company. Ford has chosen to go it alone without M&M, a decision that surprised industry watchers as the move could have been a game-changer for both, with regards to economies of scale, joint product development, common sourcing of components et.al. However, Mehrotra’s prior close interactions with the M&M management is seen as a positive for executing proposed contract manufacturing and product sharing agreements. In the ongoing fiscal, Ford India is currently placed third on the export front, close on the heels of Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki India.

Sushant Dash moves in as CEO Tata Starbucks

Sushant Dash will take over as CEO, Tata Starbucks and replace Navin Gurnaney who is stepping down to pursue an opportunity outside of the company. The new role makes Dash the fourth CEO to manage the chain’s business since its India launch in October 2012. Dash will join Tata Starbucks as CEO Designate effective April 1, 2021 before taking over as CEO on May 1, 2021. Dash moves on from his current role with Tata Consumer Products where he is currently the President of the company’s Packaged Beverages Business (India, Bangladesh, and the Middle East). Dash was also part of the core team in 2012 that launched the first Tata Starbucks store in India and was directly responsible for the strategy and marketing of the Starbucks as a brand in the country. Dash is a veteran who in his long 20 years with the company, has been instrumental in growing the branded tea business to its current leadership position. Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 through a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Consumer Products Ltd. and currently operates 216 stores in India across 17 cities.

B S Bedi is new MD, Google Cloud India

Former Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Bikram Singh Bedi, will be the new Managing Director for Google Cloud’s India business, succeeding Karan Bajwa. Bedi joins Google Cloud as he transitions from his role as President Strategy and New Initiatives with Grofers, the online grocery delivery store. He believes that the true test of 2021 will be how enterprises leverage their cloud computing models to modernise and scale for growth and that Google Cloud is committed in helping them accelerate their digital transformation in building a strong foundation for the future. Prior to Grofers, Bedi was instrumental in setting set up of AWS business in India and lead the Indian and South Asian markets for six years. Meanwhile, Bajwa has been promoted as the new leader for Asia-Pacific, leading all regional revenue and go-to-market operations for Google Cloud, including Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Google Workspace. Few organisations running their operations on Google Cloud include Wipro, Sharechat, Tech Mahindra, TVS ASL, ICICI Prudential, nobroker.com and Cleartrip.

Hershey’s elevates India MD, Bhalla, to a global role

Chocolatier Hershey’s India has elevated Herjit Bhalla, Managing Director, to a key global role as Vice President, India and the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (AEMEA). India and AEMEA are seen as critical to the company’s long-term growth plans and Bhalla believes that the global snacking company and one of the largest producer of quality chocolates in North America is poised for resilient growth and execution in a rapidly evolving market. Bhalla spearheaded the 2018 launch of the iconic Hershey’s Kisses in India. Further, building Hershey’s strength in the chocolate category, the company has also introduced the larger Hershey’s chocolate portfolio in 2020. Bhalla has successfully transformed Hershey’s India plans by developing a strong, multi-category play with pole market share across chocolate syrups, chocolate spreads, flavoured milkshake, soya milk and lollipops.

Citibank’s Singla joins Bandhan Bank

Arvind Singla joins Bandhan Bank as Executive President and Head - Operations & Technology. He has since relinquished his previous role as Director & Head-Consumer Operations with Citibank. Reporting to Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank, he will be based out of the bank’s headquarters in Kolkata. With a work experience spanning 36 years, he has exhibited his leadership across financial institutions in transformations, technology, banking operations, and customer service. He was associated with Citibank for 19 years prior to joining Bandhan Bank. An alumnus of IIM-Bangalore and Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, his experience of leading customer operations and transformations for a large bank is seen as a key contributor in his new journey. Bandhan Bank has envisioned a 5-year strategy wherein IT transformation is of key strategic importance.

Titan inducts Behera and Sonthalia

Swadesh Behera will replace Titan Chief Human Resources Officer R. Raj Narayan who is slated to retire from the company on June 30. Behera who joined Titan from Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) also had stints working for Ranbaxy and Coca Cola. In other moves, former L&T Infotech’s Ashok Kumar Sonthalia will be succeeding Chief Financial Officer, Subramaniam, effective July 1, 2021. Subramaniam will also retire from the company with effect from June 30, 2021. Sonthalia joined Titan on February 1 and will be the CFO designate until his appointment becomes effective from July 1. A chartered accountant with around 30 years of experience, his previous roles include key positions with Greaves Cotton, Tata Chemicals and a long-standing association with Tata Steel in various positions.

Jiten Chopra takes over as CFO IndiGo®

Jiten Chopra takes over from Aditya Pande as Chief Financial Officer of IndiGo® airlines effective February 21, 2021. Chopra will report to Ronojoy Dutta, whole-time Director and CEO of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd that operates India’s largest airlines, IndiGo®. Pande is exiting the airlines in pursuit of other interests. Chopra began his journey with the company in February 2020 as Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance. Prior to joining IndiGo®, he has had close to 25 years stint with BSR & Co (KPMG) in the Audit and Risk Management area, also as part of business development, operations and transaction Services. An FCA from The Institute of Chartered Accountants, India (1995) and a CWA from Institute of Cost Accountants, India (1995), Chopra’s appointment comes close on the heels after the largest domestic player in the aviation sector reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. The recent computed loss for the airlines stands at `620.14 crores, for the recently concluded October-December 2020 period.