Mukesh Ambani’s net worth soars higher, re-joins Rs.10 lakh crore club

Mukesh Ambani, Chairperson Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) continues to exhibit his business savviness as he re-joins the Rs.10 lakh crore club becoming the richest man in Asia in recent times. With RIL’s stock hitting fresh lifetime highs, Ambani’s ‘work from home’ agenda with his team of investment bankers has infused a sequence of transactions for its tech driven, telecom arm in Jio Platform. With news of Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company to invest Rs.9,093.60 crore for a 1.85% equity stake in Jio Platforms, Ambani grabbed headlines as he raised a whopping Rs.87,655 crore in the past six weeks. The Abu Dhabi investment will be RIL’s 6th investment in Jio, which has an equity value of Rs.4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs.5.16 lakh crore. The market report states that RIL stock has risen about 80% from its low figures in March, which has sharply outperformed “the market from the depths of a sharp correction which was triggered by the COVID pandemic.” Ambani and family own about 50.5% in RIL which they aim to further enhance via its recently concluded rights issue at Rs.53,000 crore and is India’s biggest rights issue ever. RIL’s spectacular rally in its stock brings its market capitalisation to over Rs.10 lakh crore (over $130 billion) and inches along with global tech majors in size such as FAANG: Netflix: $200bn, FB: $600 billion, Amazon: $1.2 trillion, Apple $1.6 trillion, Alphabet $960 billion.

Veteran Jim Hamilton to lead OmniActive Health

Jim Hamilton assumes office as the global CEO of OmniActive Health Technologies and will be based in the US. An industry veteran in the nutrition products industry, he has held key management positions in his career graph of 35 years. Before joining OmniActive, Hamilton recently held the position, as President and CEO of Neptune Wellness Solutions. His five years of leadership at Neptune saw him delivering significant business turnarounds through acquisitions and timely divestitures. He was previously a member of DSM Nutritional Products Human Nutrition’s global business management team, responsible for their North American operations. Co-founded by Sanjaya Mariwala, OmniActive has thrived in the nutrition products for the past 15 years under his leadership as the Executive Chairman of the company. Mariwala believes in Hamilton as the right leader for OmniActive’s next phase of growth. “He has a proven track record of successfully driving businesses forward and positioning them for success”, said Mariwala.

Automaker GWM freezes its India leadership

Great Wall Motors of China (GWM) has appointed James Yang as the President and Parker Shi as Managing Director of its Indian arm. The company’s top decks have been filled in following the automaker’s India debut at the February Auto Expo 2020, when the company signed a pact with General Motors (GM) to take over its plant in Talegaon, near Pune. Yang brings in rich experience in project and marketing management and in R&D forays and will oversee GWM’s India project in its entirety. He will primarily focus on R&D, plant, and industrial operations in India. Shi’s immense global presence adds to his contribution in expanding the automaker’s business in the Middle East, Africa, and Australia before getting a berth with the India project. Shi will hold reins for GWM’s commercial operations in India. The company had appointed Hardeep Singh Brar in January 2020 as the chief of marketing and sales for its India operations with the promise of launching its Haval brand. Although the company had showcased its illustrious line of cars the Haval H9, F7, F7X, H concept, F5, GWM R1 electric version and Vision 2025 concept, the carmaker has yet to firm up models that it plans to launch in India.

Nokia officiates Sari Baldauf as its chairperson

Telecom veteran Sari Baldauf,has officially taken over the reins as chairperson of Nokia, from her predecessor Risto Siilasmaa who has stepped down after eight years with the Finnish multinational telecommunications, IT, and consumer electronics giant. Baldauf stands as one of the most influential woman executives in the global telecoms sector. The move follows Nokia’s announcement in December 2019 that Siilasmaa would step down, with Baldauf getting nominated to take over in April 2020. However, the handover was delayed due to the company’s rescheduled Annual General Meeting. She re-joined the Nokia board in 2018, having played her role previously as a board member between 1994 to 2005. Baldauf’s leadership will primarily focus on improving Nokia’s financial results and delivering the company’s innovative product roadmap while supporting and challenging its management team. She faces the uphill task of sorting out Nokia’s battle for 5G supplier contracts with rivals Ericsson and Huawei, among other contenders. Ericsson and Huawei had put pressure on Nokia’s sales and cash reserves resulting in Nokia’s recent poor performance after it failed to secure a few high-profile 5G deals in China. Media reports suggested the company had hired an investment bank to help defend a possible hostile takeover. Baldauf lends a legacy in being the last remaining executive team member of the group that was chaired by former CEO Jorma Ollila, which had turned Nokia, a tiny Finnish tech unit in the 1990s into a global entity.

Carat India onboards Anita Kotwani as CEO

Anita Kotwani joins as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of London based Carat India, the flagship multinational media and digital marketing communications company under the Dentsu Aegis Network. She succeeds Rajni Menon, who helmed affairs for about three years for Carat. In her new role, Kotwani will report to Kartik Iyer, President Media Brands and Amplifi, and will take charge of the Carat’s domestic strategic progress and business growth in India. Kotwani is expected to lead Carat India to take on new opportunities in tune with the upcoming changes in market dynamics. Her role will focus on developing and leading significant tools and capabilities within Carat to help deliver enhanced integrated client solutions. Kotwani quit her previous role as Senior Vice President, New Business at Mindshare India prior to joining Carat. She brings in two decades of experiences working across brand categories that include consumer durables, FMCG and MNC brands, and financial services. She’s also known for her role as Client Lead, The Walt Disney Business. A valuable 16 years of her career graph has been dedicated to Mindshare wherein the last two years have seen her help diversify Mindshare India’s offerings across data, digital and content, for driving exponential growth for the company. She has worked across prominent client relationships for brands such as Kellogg, ABG, ICICI Group, Byju, Facebook and the Walt Disney Company.

Thierry Delaporte joins Wipro, becomes first non-Indian IT chief

Wipro has roped in Thierry Delaporte as its new CEO and MD, replacing incumbent Abidali Neemuchwala. The move makes history in India’s IT sector as Delaporte becomes the first-ever non-Indian CEO to helm affairs in one of India’s homegrown IT companies. Delaporte has since relinquished his role as CEO of Capgemini to Aiman Ezzat who recently took over the reins at the top. Delaporte’s appointment follows Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji’s lookout to navigate Wipro’s fortune in the near future. “I am looking at teamwork. Other soft things that are needed in leadership is a certain sense of empathy and vulnerability,” said Rishad Premji. Delaporte is not new to the Indian IT sector, having set roots in 1995 when he started auditing for Capgemini through its acquisition of Sogeti, the company’s technology and engineering services arm. He held many diverse positions within the company initially as an internal auditor, later led finance operations across regions outside Europe. He also headed their sales and its global financial services strategic business unit before moving to join in as the head of the company’s Latin American operations. In 2018, Delaporte was elevated as Capgemini Group CEO. He is also described as a calm and composed intellectual who led the integration of iGATE, that Capgemini acquired in 2015.

Abhinav Bhatia is first Indian Director of Enterprise Ireland

Abhinav Bhatia has been promoted as Director-India & South Asia of Enterprise Ireland, an Irish government organisation responsible for venture capital investments and export development for Irish enterprises in world markets. Bhatia is the first Indian to hold this position and will be based out of Enterprise Ireland’s India HQ at Mumbai. Bhatia has relinquished his former role as Vice President with the Irish entity where he supported ICT and FinTech companies, enabling them to expand into India and South Asian markets. His past mentorship background will be rallied around providing market intelligence, strategic advice and access to Irish companies interested in business outcomes in South Asian markets. “There are about 100 Irish companies active in India and my aim remains to grow that number and further strengthen the relationship between Ireland and India,” said Bhatia. The enterprise that manages direct investment portfolio of more than 1,200 clients with an investment value exceeding $850m and global revenue exceeding $21bn; has entrusted Bhatia for managing forays of Irish companies’ into the Indian market across diverse sectors like Education, Life Sciences, IT and FinTech. His experiences with foreign companies viz their internalisation strategy and active engagement within the innovation ecosystem is expected to bring in domain expertise to its India team.

Kuppuswamy helms Chennai-based HR Startup

Former TCS veteran,Suresh Kuppuswamy has been roped in as CEO of Chennai-based startup, Adrenalin eSystems Limited that specialises in HR and HCM solutions. Adrenalin eSystems, a global HR software solutions company helps transform how organisations hire and manage their talent which includes solutions based on performance management, HR analytics, and payroll management. Kuppuswamy relinquished his previous position as the CEO of Sterling Software Private Limited, a subsidiary of Computer Age Management Services (CAMS), to join Adrenalin. He is expected to lead Sales and Delivery across geographies in his new leadership role and take on the additional responsibility of customisation and marketing of their HR solutions. A seasoned professional, Kuppuswamy has had previous stints working with IBM and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), BPO, IT Software Services, Product, Business Consulting and Global Sourcing. He has had a strong association with prominent industrial and business confederations and is an eminent speaker at various businesses and socio-economic forums on global sourcing and entrepreneurship.

Simpson Emmanuel takes charge as GM, Roche India

Roche Products (India) Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of the Swiss drug firm appointsV Simpson Emmanuel as general manager for cross-functional gains. Post his appointment in 2014, he has led various teams at the domestic and global scales. Armed with 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, Emmanuel will be responsible for overseeing strategic planning, new product planning and access, marketing and sales management. India is seen as a priority region for its parent Switzerland-based Roche and expects Emmanuel to find new ways in shaping up the healthcare ecosystem. He is expected to tie-in with their existing customers by embracing next-generation ideas and technologies that have the potential to transform patients’ lives. With a master’s degree in Health Economics from the University of York, U.K., Emmanuel also holds a postgraduate diploma in business administration in marketing and systems and a bachelor’s degree in physics.

Ex-Google CFO to head Twitter

Twitter inducts Patrick Pichette, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Google as Chairman of its board. Pichette, the social network’s lead independent director since 2018, replaces Omid Kordestani, who will continue as a director with the company. Pichette’s appointment as Chairman marks history as he becomes the first outsider to helm Twitter’s affairs. Pichette’s presiding role with the social network entity is expected to rein in a greater management stability with a stronger focus on the company’s financial outcomes. Pichette has stated that "His appointment demonstrates Twitter’s "commitment to good governance" and described it as evolving the company’s governance structure "in line with best practices". The move comes three months after Elliott Management, the $40 billion hedge fund, sought to overthrow CEO Jack Dorsey, as they demanded an improvement in Twitter’s corporate governance, a higher share price Index for Twitter which also ailed from unprofitability and a high executive turnover. Industry watchers suggest that Pichette’s lead entry is part of the agreement that allowed Dorsey to stay on with Twitter following an agreement in early March, which also handed board seats to Elliott. Pichette has in recent times publicly supported Twitter’s stance on moderating social media, especially on the platform’s fact-checking, also, on moderating tweets by US President Donald Trump, garnering enough social media noise between Trump and Dorsey in the recent past.

NABARD appoints G R Chintala as new Chairman

G R Chintala takes over as Chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Chintala replaces H K Bhanwala who has been heading the apex Agri-finance institution for the past six years and more. Chintala has helmed diverse roles prior to his chairmanship with NABARD, the most recent post was that of Managing Director of NABARD Financial Services, a Bengaluru-based subsidiary of NABARD. He was also the Vice President of Hyderabad-based Agri-Business Finance Ltd., and as the Director of Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow. His diverse experience is expected to further enhance NABARD’s engagement with agriculture and rural development issues. Chintala, an alumnus of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, joined NABARD as an officer and worked in various capacities at their Mumbai head office, and other regional offices at Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, New Delhi, and Bengaluru. He has had first-hand experience in handling multiple consultancy assignments including the plan that led to the amalgamation of regional rural banks (RRBs) in 2006 paving the way for the consolidation of 196 RRBs.

REC Ltd appoints Ajoy Choudhury as Finance Director

Ajoy Choudhury takes over as Director (Finance) of REC Ltd, the state-owned power sector lender as he steps in to fill the position left vacant by Ajeet Kumar Agarwal, the former Director (Finance), REC. The move follows Agarwal’s superannuation from the company’s services on May 31, 2020 which led Choudhury to move away from his previous designation as Executive Director (Finance) for the company. An old hand with REC, Choudhury, an eminent member of the senior management team, has in the past expedited responsibilities across diverse finance portfolios such as Corporate Accounts, International Finance, Loans & Recovery, Contracts Management and Resource Mobilisation and Treasury. Choudhury also brings in his rich experience of working with reputed PSUs like Power grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and NHPC. A nominee Director on the Board of REC Power Distribution Company Ltd - a fully owned subsidiary of REC, and TRN Energy Pvt Ltd, Choudhury has also been a core team member of the Government of India’s flagship ‘Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana’ (UDAY), that aims to turnaround distribution companies (Discoms) in the Indian power sector.

CFO, OLA Financials steps in as interim CEO

Harish Abhichandani will take over as interim CEO of OLA Financial Services Pvt Ltd (OFS), the entity which was spun off from its parent ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd marking the company’s vertical expansion into the payments and financial services domain. Abhichandani fills in for Nitin Gupta, former CEO of Ola Financial Services who has stepped down from his position. Gupta, the co-founder of PayU India, had joined OFS in 2017. Abhichandani’s interim CEO position will be in addition to his current post as Group CFO. OLA Financials runs its wallet product and payment services via Ola Money. Abhichandani has in the past successfully accelerated business as the Head of OFS’s UK operations. OFS has in the meantime raised fresh funding of Rs.200 crore from Matrix Partners and Flacon Edge as part of its on-going funding. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, OLA has reiterated that the company is seeking to not only enhance its reach and capabilities of its core ride-sharing platform but, also building products and service innovations that would make the company more relevant. Market watchers said that through these funding modes, OFS is seeking to secure additional equity financing in the immediate future.