Ambani and Jeff Bezos combat for India’s consumer segments

Mukesh Ambani takes on Jeff Bezos head-on as Amazon Inc forays into diverse sectors such as grocery delivery, insurance and drugs in India setting a consumer battleground with Ambani’s Jio platforms. Amazon’s business move coincides with similar expansion plans by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for its Jio platforms. Ambani’s retail to energy conglomerate raked in more than $20 billion worth of investments within two months from A-listers including Facebook and Alphabet’s Google to create a gigantic Indian internet sector. Reliance’s retail unit recently acquired a majority stake in top e-pharmacy Netmeds plans are also on the anvil to add a portfolio of financial products and services including mutual funds, insurance and brokering. The recent launch of JioMart in 200 cities is expected to pick up an averaged 250,000 orders per day. In the ongoing contest between Amazon and Jio over Future Retail, one of India’s largest grocery chains, that controls Big Bazaar, Reliance is reported to be negotiating an acquisition. While experts say that Amazon Inc, which holds a minority stake in Future Retail, may be unwilling to allow its rival to gain control, Amazon is also reportedly said to be in talks to buy a 9.9% stake in Reliance Retail. Amazon has been delivering prescription and over-the-counter medicines and herbal remedies in Bengaluru and very recently embarked on selling a paperless car and motorbike insurance. It piloted a restaurant delivery service to Prime subscribers in Bengaluru and also proposes to unveil wealth management services in 2020.

Fortis Healthcare Limited, re-branded

The Board of Directors of Fortis Healthcare Limited has rebranded the group as Parkway and will discontinue using the old ‘Fortis’ brand worth, as part of their new corporate identity. This will entail excluding the ‘Fortis’ name, brand, and logo. The move is seen to disassociate itself from the company’s ex-promoters and forge a new brand identity. The Board has given in-principle approval for changing the name and branding of the company and all its subsidiaries.

EC Lavasa resigns, to step in as VP ADB

Election Commissioner (EC) Ashok Lavasa has put in his papers and requested President Ram Nath Kovind to relive him by August 31. This falls in line with Lavasa’s appointment as Vice-President (VP) with the ADB (Asian Development Bank) for helming roles within the bank’s private sector operations and public-private partnerships. He succeeds Diwakar Gupta, whose term with the Manila-headquartered regional bank ends on August 31, 2020. While Lavasa is scheduled to assume office with ADB in September 2020 for a three-year tenure, there is no confirmation yet on whether his resignation has been accepted by India’s President. Lavasa who joined as the EC on January 23, 2018, has over two more years left to complete his term as the EC of India and would have retired as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in October 2022. Thus, Lavasa’s ADB move cuts short his chance of becoming the next in line CEC in 2021, heading the poll panel. This is the second time in history marking the premature exit of a presiding EC. A retired 1980-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, he retired as Union Finance Secretary, and also held key positions as Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary and Civil Aviation Secretary. As Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in 2001-02, he also looked after matters pertaining to ADB.

Elon Musk 4th richest, Ambani 6th

Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla becomes the 4th richest person worldwide as his net worth rose to $84.8 billion as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) - a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. The Silicon Valley inventor-entrepreneur’s net worth coincides with a rise in Tesla Inc shares by 11% on August 17, 2020. Elon’s new billionaire status has soared past Bernard Arnault, French luxury tycoon and the current wealthiest non-American on the BBI. Social media giant Facebook’s (FB) CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, holds the third position amongst the world’s 500 richest people. With Elon’s elevation on the BBI, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries is now placed sixth on the billionaires' list, with a total net worth of $78.8 billion (closing in on $80 billion plus). Ambani, however, still remains the highest-ranking among the 14 Indians in this prestigious list. He held 4th position on the list as on August 8, 2020. Elon Musk had overtaken Warren Buffett in July and became the 7th richest person globally. Buffett’s decline in his net worth is a result of donating Berkshire Hathaway shares worth $2.9 billion to charity. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and FB’s Mark Zuckerberg continue to be top three globally wealthiest individuals.

Kamala Harris makes history as American VP nominee

Kamala Devi Harris, the U.S. Democratic Party’s Vice-Presidential nominee has made history as she becomes the first African-Indian to achieve this position in the upcoming Presidential elections. California Senator, Kamala Harris, as Joe Biden’s running mate in the upcoming November elections becomes the first woman and also the first Indian-American to have found this pride of place. Harris’s nomination also reflects her sense of pride in her Indian ancestry. She gives full credit to her mother Shyamala Gopalan, a Tamilian-Indian-American and a leading cancer researcher and activist, for being her strong pillar. It was in the 70’s that Shyamala Gopalan, a single mother toiled hard to make it possible for her daughters to succeed. She said that her mother, originally from Chennai, “always wanted to instil in a love of good idli”. Her mother would take her and her sister, Maya to India because she wanted her daughters to understand their maternal roots. Her mother’s strength has shaped up Kamala’s strong personality as she tweeted on how her mother encouraged the Harris sisters to act instead of whining. Kamala also cherishes her lineage, especially her maternal grandfather P V Gopalan, a civil servant. She remembered how she and her grandfather would go on long walks in erstwhile Madras where he would tell Harris about “heroes” involved in the freedom struggle in India; also, would say that ‘It’s on us to pick up where they left off’. “Those lessons are a big reason why I am where I am today,” she added. The Harris sisters also bear the influence of the African-American community as their parents were involved in the civil rights movement.

Ashwani Bhatia appointed as MD, SBI

State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Ashwani Bhatia as the Managing Director for a period running up to his date of his superannuation on May 31, 2022. Bhatia will be replacing P K Gupta who superannuated on March 31, 2020. Bhatia has been recommended by the Banks Board Bureau, headed by B P Sharma, former Department of Personnel and Training Secretary, for the prestigious position. He will have to gradually step down from his current role as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at SBI Mutual Fund. Prior to his stint with SBI Mutual fund, he helped revamp the entire credit structure and processes of SBI. He has also held a prime position as President and CEO and whole-time director with SBI Capital Markets. He brings in 33 years of experience with the SBI. Bhatia has traversed through various functions and assignments possessing rich experience in various facets of commercial banking including forex and treasury, retail credit and liability and corporate credit.

HCL veteran Arjun Malhotra chairs Dallas based IT firm

Accolite, the Dallas-based IT services firm has appointed HCL co-founder Arjun Malhotra as Chairman to its Advisory Board. Malhotra’s expertise, strategic insights and network across the board is expected to scale up and attract top notch talent for Accolite in its bid to transform the company into a $500 million enterprise. A bootstrapped IT services firm, Accolite specialises in the BFSI services and other verticals including healthcare, telecommunication, logistics and product engineering solutions. Malhotra began his career in 1975, when he co-founded and grew the HCL Group from a six person “garage operation” to one of India’s largest IT majors. He took over HCL’s US operations (HCL Technologies) in 1989 and led its expansion to nearly $100 million in annual revenues. He brings in 50+ years of his industry experience including his role as Chairman and CEO of financial services firm Headstrong before it was acquired by Genpact in May 2011. Prior to Headstrong, he was CEO and Chairman of TechSpan, which was eventually merged with Headstrong in October 2003 wherein Malhotra enabled seamless integration across businesses and cultures, resulting in the company’s growth as an IT-based Financial Services companies. An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur with B.Tech. (Hons.) in Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering, he is the recipient of the prestigious Dr B.C. Roy Gold Medal. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Mukesh Ambani proposes family council

Mukesh Ambani proposes to set up a family council that promises equal representations to all his family members, including his prospective heirs and siblings Akash, Isha and Anant. The 63 year old scion thus joins the emerging trend of family council structures that pushes the purse for collective governance for his sprawling business empire as part of the group’s succession planning process, to be completed by the end of next year. Each member of the Ambani family would hold an equal number of shares in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) post this transaction. Ambani with a current net worth close to more than $80 billion thus hopes to ensure a shared vision of RIL’s future for his family whereby all members will be provided a common forum for confronting and resolving any possible conflicts when he hands over the reins to the next generation. The family council move is expected to mobilise separate verticals within RIL into retail, digital and energy to be helmed by the three Ambani siblings, ensuring synergies between group companies. RIL’s succession planning model will include an adult member of the family and Ambani’s three children, with a proposal to include external members as mentors and advisors, for collective decision making. In a series of rejigs in recent years, Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita, and the three children have rearranged their shareholdings in RIL by acquiring shares from each other. On the hindsight, the family council move is seen as a lesson Mukesh Ambani drew when he swallowed the bitter pill, post the death of his father and RIL founder Dhirubhai, that had instigated a bitter rivalry with his sibling Anil Ambani, eventually splitting the Ambani empire.

Anil Goteti resigns from Flipkart

Veteran Anil Goteti, reporting to Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Flipkart Group CEO has resigned but will remain with the company till November 2020. As Goteti relinquishes his position as Vice President, Customer growth and monetisation of the Walmart-owned company, he will continue to serve the company as an advisor post his tenure. An alumnus of IIT-Madras and Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management, Goteti has put in his papers to pursue his personal entrepreneurial goals. In his most recent position with Flipkart, he was responsible for managing and acquiring new customers, growth of its transacting base, loyalty program and advertisements. Goteti’s journey with the e-commerce company began in 2012 as Director of its books and ebooks segment; he also has led the Bengaluru-based online retailer’s businesses in the mobile phone category, furniture business as well as the Flipkart 2Gud marketplace for refurbished goods. Prior to his Flipkart stint, he had worked with McKinsey and DFJ Mercury, a venture capital firm. In Goteti’s absence, Flipkart will be transitioning responsibilities to Vikas Gupta and Prakash Sikaria, who will also be reporting to Krishnamurthy. While Gupta will continue to lead Marketing, Research & Insights, Customer Programs and Big Billion Day, Sikaria will lead the company’s Loyalty and Supercoins programs; also drive its Ads and Video campaigns. May 2020 saw Flipkart elevating five of its executives as Senior Vice President (SVPs) Manish Kumar, Anand Laxminarayan, Ranjeet D, Ravish Kumar Sinha and Ravi Iyer. This totals to 14 SVPs in Flipkart, reporting directly to Krishnamurthy.

Kaushik Khona appointed as CEO, GoAir

In a strategic move, GoAir has appointed Kaushik Khona as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing industry veteran Vinay Dube. The announcement follows the Airports Authority of India (AAI) putting the airline on a cash and carry mode from August 11, 2020. The no-frill carrier GoAir has been asked by AAI to clear its unpaid dues of about Rs.50 crore. Khona brings in 32 years of corporate experience in senior CXO levels across diverse functions and sectors. In previous roles, he’s had successful stints with the Wadia Group, the Dunlop Tyre Group and as a partner to MTalati & Talati LLP, leading the consulting, business reengineering and finance consulting practice at the firm. Khona’s repertoire includes top rungs positions as Vice President, corporate finance, and strategist for the Wadia Group; he was also instrumental in turning around several businesses at Dunlop Tyres across Germany, the UK, and India. He has also been involved in extensive corporate restructuring for a Shipping Venture and a financial and business restructuring for a German India joint venture in renewable energy.

Ola co-founder Ankit Jain also quits

Ankit Jain, co-founder of Ola Electric has quit and becomes the 2nd co-founder to have quit the company in recent times. His resignation comes after spending 18 months at the SoftBank-backed venture; adding to the series of an exodus of its top deck as the ride-hailing firm continues to face business losses, post the Covid-19 pandemic. Ola Electric that is yet to start its operations in any meaningful way thus gets leaner as it loses yet another co-founder in Ankit Jain. Industry watchers state Ola’s move in bringing in a new top executive at Ola Electric Ola’s electric-mobility arm, might be the reason for Jain’s resignation. Jain has been one of the closest confidants of Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola. Speculations are on regarding Jain continuing in an advisory position with the company. Jain’s move comes close on the heels of Sanjay Bhan, Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Ola Electric’s and CEO Arun Srinivas’s recent departure from the company. Jain had quit McKinsey to join Ola in 2016 and was pivotal in setting up Ola Play, the incab entertainment solution before he embarked upon its electric-mobility project. An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Jain was amongst Aggarwal’s close-knit team including co-founders Ankit Bhatti, Pallav Singh and Pranay Jivrajka. While Bhatti and Singh have quit Ola, Jivrajka has been elevated as a co-founder recently.

Atit Mahajan joins as MD, CMA CGM India

Atit Mahajan has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) for India operations by CMA CGM Group into Shipping and logistics. A qualified Chartered Accountant, brings in extensive industry experience and strong leadership abilities in the Indian shipping and logistics sector. He’s also seasoned in core areas of Strategy, Finance and Cost Management function which he has been professing for the past 18 years. Prior to his new position as MD, CMA CGM India, Mahajan has also served with CMA CGM Group subsidiaries as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at CEVA Logistics India Pvt Ltd and as Chief Operating Officer (CFO) of LCL Logistix. CMA CGM began operations in India in 1989 and grown to a network of 27 offices.