Premji and Agarwal feature amongst top 2021 philanthropists
Azim Premji, Founder and Chairman, Wipro India, and Anil Agarwal, Founder and Chairman, Vedanta, have been recognised in the Forbes list of ‘Asia’s 2021 Heroes of Philanthropy’. Agarwal and Premji were lauded for their generous contributions towards India’s betterment in the past few years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Agarwal pledged a 5-year plan of $660 million supporting healthcare to animal welfare causes under the Anil Agarwal Foundation. Likewise, Premji donated about $1.3 billion of his family’s wealth in 2021 to social causes through the Azim Premji Foundation. Premji also received the 10th annual Dr. Ida S. Scudder Humanitarian Oration, established by Christian Medical College, Vellore (CMC) and the U.S.-based Vellore CMC Foundation. The Premji Foundation has contributed enormously towards education and runs the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru. The foundation has reserved financial grants for several not-for-profit organisations and funded stakeholders in the healthcare sector. Anil Agarwal, has separately featured as the only Indian to have endorsed ‘The Giving Pledge' initiative in 2021. An initiative ushered by Bill Gates in association with the Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet, Agarwal has pledged 75 per cent of his wealth towards social good. Agarwal is the 4th Indian to have signed ‘The Giving Pledge’ since its inception in 2010 and spent around Rs 1,000 crore on its social impact initiatives in the past three years, impacting some 4.2 crore lives nationwide. In its 11th year, ‘The Giving Pledge’ is a movement of global philanthropists committing to ‘give’ a significant chunk of their wealth for charitable causes.
Nooyi mentors Nair – CEO’s ‘Sister Act’
As Kolhapur born, Leena Nair, takes over as global CEO at the $10-billion Chanel, based in London, she has had her moments of anxiety and self-doubt. But, coming to the rescue during these moments is Leena’s mentor, none other than Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo. Nooyi shattered the glass ceiling by her ascent to the top of the U.S. food and beverage giant in 2006, and no wonder Leena Nair takes inspiration and guidance from Nooyi. Nooyi, the India-born, IIM-educated former PepsiCo top brass, published her memoir ‘My Life in Full: Work, Family, and our Future’, tracking her life from her formative years in India to her growth at the Yale School of Management and her final rise to the top of the global corporate ladder with PepsiCo. But for Chanel’s Nair, a role model herself with an impressive record of accomplishments as the former CHRO of Unilever, Nooyi has become her ‘right choice. “All of you know me as pretty confident. But let me tell you, there have been a couple of times I’ve asked questions to Indra, am I good enough or why me?. She has given me the proverbial kick in the pants to go and get over myself and get back my confidence and given me the shake-up that all of us need from time to time,” said Nair.
Rashmi SharmaCoca-Cola appoints Unilever’s Rashmi Sharma
Rashmi Sharma will take over the reins as Global Leadership and Learning Director at the Coca-Cola Company and has quit her role with Unilever as the Global Learning and Wellbeing Partner - Southeast Asia. Rashmi is expected to drive future-focused capabilities across employees, leadership levels, and functions for their bottling Investments Group globally in her new role with Coca-Cola. She brings over 16 years of experience working across global FMCG, technology, and consulting sectors with prominent global people practices companies like IBM, Aon, Aditya Birla Group (Idea), and Unilever. In her last role with Unilever, she led well-being for the company’s global beauty and personal care category across Southeast Asia. Her crucial focus at Unilever was an organisational transformation for developing future-ready leaders. Rashmi led the future of workplace learning strategy, deployed global leadership assessments, and was one of the internal development coaches for Unilever’s top 100 global leaders. As an HR advertisement consultant, Rashmi spearheaded learning, talent, and leadership solutions for clients across technology, banking and media sectors, while steering large HR transformation initiatives across businesses. At Idea, Rashmi handled talent management, careers and succession, learning, diversity and culture, HR analytics, employment branding, HRBP, and graduate hiring. A well-being expert and former start-up founder, she has co-authored Aon’s first HR transformation case study for Ivey School of Business. An author on leadership, she runs a newsletter community and is a TEDx speaker. Rashmi is an alum of the Xavier Institute of Management with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Delhi University.
Himanshu ChakrawartiSnapdeal ropes in Chakrawarti as President
Himanshu Chakrawarti joins as President of Snapdeal, thus firming up the company’s leadership post-filing its initial public offering (IPO). Chakrawarti will steer the e-commerce platform’s Bharat-focused value commerce strategy and other growth-related operational initiatives. In the new role, he will be responsible for setting a strategic direction and overseeing complete operations, including curating brands, guidance on pricing strategy, and product design for Snapdeal. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore, Chakrawarti brings 30+years of experience in the retail sector and lifestyle brands. His in-depth understanding of value retail and omni-channel distribution operations in India and expertise in building brands is expected to add value to Snapdeal’s Power Brands programme. He brings in his forte to build teams, processes, and business acumen to serve Snapdeal’s value-conscious buyers. Before joining Snapdeal, Chakrawarti was the CEO at Unlimited Fashion, Arvind Lifestyle’s Brand value fashion retail chain. He was responsible for channelling strategic direction and overseeing operations, especially when V-Mart Retail acquired Unlimited Fashion, adding nearly 75 stores in West and South India. Chakrawarti led the direct integration of all Unlimited stores with top e-commerce platforms, enabling real-time inventory visibility and fulfilment. He has had a previous stint as the CEO of HiCare Services and as former CEO of Essar-owned The MobileStore during 2011-2015.
Eishin ChihanaEishin Chihana to helm Indian arm of Yamaha Motor
Eishin Chihana will take charge as the Chairman of India Yamaha Motor (IYM), effective January 1, 2022, replacing Motofumi Shitara, who will be incorporated within Yamaha Motor Corporation, Japan. Other than bikes, Chihana will also lead Yamaha’s businesses in marine engines, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), generators, and personal watercraft. He is expected to steer innovation, bring new products, and be instrumental in launching a new brand strategy, ‘The Call of the Blue,’ to strengthen its position in the Indian market. Chihana has been associated with Yamaha Motor and its group companies worldwide since 1991 and holds strong expertise across different verticals in sales, marketing, and business management, with a critical focus on its motorcycle business operations across European, North American, African, Middle Eastern, and ASEAN markets. He brings his expansive experience managing overseas sales of a wide variety of Yamaha Motor’s product ranges and cross-functional abilities in helming the Indian arm of the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer. Chihana hopes to leverage the Indian market relying on the aspirations of the Indian youth populace. India allows the company to penetrate the market in meeting evolving expectations through Yamaha’s technological and engineering advancements.
Sharad AggarwalSharad Aggarwal promoted as CEO of Godfrey Phillips
Sharad Aggarwal has been promoted as the CEO of Godfrey Phillips India, the flagship company of Modi Enterprises. He will take over from Bhisham Wadhera, and report to Bina Modi, the President, and Managing Director, Godfrey Phillips India. Aggarwal was the COO and Whole Time Director of Godfrey Phillips and has been with the organisation since 1994. He is expected to create a sustainable business with sales and profit growth and raise value proposition for all stakeholders. As the COO, Aggarwal ensured that the company invested in the best international technology, processes and attained certifications for its state-of-art manufacturing facilities across India. He wears multiple hats as an Executive Committee Member of FICCI, core member of PHD’s Environment Committee, and a member of the Governing Council of GMA, a local body committed to the causes and development of Ghaziabad’s Industries and Institutions. An alumnus of the Harvard Business School, he holds a degree in Electronics from REC, Nagpur, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management with Gold Medal from IMT, Ghaziabad. Godfrey Phillips India owns Four Square, Red & White, and Cavenders cigarette brands.
Naveen MuraliPepperfry onboards ex-Asian Paints and Oracle Marketing guru
Naveen Murali takes over as the VP and Head of Marketing of Pepperfry, the furniture, and home products marketplace. He will be responsible for its marketing and brand strategies focused on driving brand awareness across the profitable untapped markets and also capture a fair share of the existing furniture and home décor industry. The company looks upon Murali as a ‘new age marketing evangelist,’ working towards breaking consumer barriers in online-shopping, especially for Pepperfry’s big-ticket home furniture and furnishing products. Murali brings his decade-long experience in marketing, sales, and building business competencies. Before joining Pepperfry, Murali has been associated with Asian Paints as Senior Manager, marketing and business development, for its international business and with Oracle across its business and marketing roles. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Murali, holds a degree in engineering from NIT, Warangal.
Tanvi ChoksiTanvi Choksi appointed as JLL HR Head for the Asia Pacific
Tanvi Choksi will take over as the Head of Human Resources (HR) for JLL’s Asia Pacific region, effective January 1, 2022, becoming integral to the company’s Asia Pacific Executive Board. She has been inducted within the firm’s Global HR leadership team as its Asia Pacific representative. She succeeds Helen Snowball, who will be moving on to a global HR role leading JLL’s new People Solutions and Experience function. Tanvi is expected to bring forth her deep expertise and passion for people management. Meenakshi Cornelius, currently Head of HR, Asia Pacific at JLL Work Dynamics Account Management, will fill into Tanvi’s previous role with JLL. Tanvi joined JLL in 2017 and has over 17 years of work experience across diverse industries, working with different facets of Human Resources, including Organizational Design & Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, and HR Transformation. In her previous role as the Head of Human Resources for India, Tanvi provided the business with strong people leadership, especially during the pandemic. Under her leadership, JLL won multiple awards and accolades, including Great Place to Work for five years, Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces in Real Estate. Mumbai-bred, Tanvi holds a finance degree from Mumbai’s SIES College of Commerce and Economics, and an MBA in Human Resources from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Anupal BanerjeeFSS ropes in former Tata Tech, Viacom HR Veteran
Anupal Banerjee, the former CHRO with Tata Technologies’ (TTL), has joined as CPO (Chief People Officer) of Financial Software & Systems (FSS), a technology company providing payment software solutions and payment processors. Banerjee recently announced his departure from TTL, having spent close to five years leading the Company’s HR function. He had hinted on Social Media that his next assignment would be related to online payment and fintech domains. He joined TTL as their Chief Human Resources Officer in February 2017 and will bring his experience to enrich people’s lives by making payments and banking easier. Before his TTL stint, Banerjee was VP-HR with Viacom 18. In his early career moves, Banerjee worked with Ashok Leyland at its management-development center for 3 years, moving on to Infosys, where he stayed for close to 6.5 years and was the senior HR manager in his last position with Infosys. In 2008, he had a 2-year stint with WNS Global Services as the senior vice president (SVP) and headed its’ total rewards programme, HRMS, and payroll. He then worked for three years with Capgemini as the head of global rewards. He is an alumnus of the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business (Advanced Human Resource Program) and North-Eastern Hill University (Mechanical Engineering)