Rocket Scientist Somanath succeeds Sivan as ISRO Chief
Somanath, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), has been appointed as the Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission for a combined tenure of three years, effective January 14, 2022. He also becomes the 10th Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, succeeding K Sivan in his new role. The ISRO chairman, the Space Secretary, and the Space Commission Chief are usually held by one person, putting Somanath at the helm of the country’s space research programmes. As per the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet’s approval, his tenure is “inclusive of an extension, beyond the age of superannuation in the public interest, or until further order whichever is earlier”. He is expected to collaborate with multiple stakeholders in understanding their needs viz technology, policy, and implementation. Keen on discussing business and profit aspects of space operations, he envisages to create business enterprise around self-sustaining and profitable space technology. An expert in system engineering of launch vehicles, he helmed affairs at the VSSC from January 2018. He took over as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram, and was in charge from June 2015 until January 2018. In prior roles, he served as the Associate Director (Projects) at the VSSC and the Project Director of the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle. He successfully led and accomplished the first experimental flight of the LVH3-X/CARE mission on December 18, 2014. He has been with VSSC since 1985 and was the team leader for the integration of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during its early phases. He took over as Director of VSSC from K Sivan, who had moved on as the Chairman of ISRO. A gold medallist, Somanath pursued BTech in Mechanical Engineering from Kollam’s TKM College of Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science - Bangalore specialising in Dynamics and Control.
Sanjeev ChuriwalaTata Power appoints Diageo’s Churiwala as CFO
Tata Power has appointed former Diageo India executive, Sanjeev Churiwala as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from January 1, 2022. Churiwala replaces Ramesh Subramanyam, the former CFO, moving into a new role within the Tata Group. With his vast Indian and global experience, Churiwala is expected to steer and accelerate Tata Power towards its next profitable and sustainable growth phase. He was a former executive with United Spirits Limited-Diageo, where he was the Regional Finance Director-APAC and Global Travel Retail. He was associated with United Spirits Limited as the CFO since November 2015 and also worked with Holcim’s Indian listed subsidiary Ambuja Cements. He brings in over 27 years of corporate experience in the financial services sector that included reporting and controlling of listed companies, exposure to projects, supply chain, fundraising, and M&A. A Chartered Accountant, Churiwala holds an Executive MBA degree from the London Business School and is a fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, and Institute of Cost Accountants of India.
Alka MittalAlka Mittal becomes ONGC’s first woman CMD
Alka Mittal, Director, Human Resources at the PSU (public sector undertaking) major-Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC), has taken over the additional responsibility as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), becoming the first woman ever to head one of India’s most valuable Navratna companies. ONGC has been operating without a full-time CMD following former chief Shashi Shanker’s retirement on March 31, 2021. Alka will hold the top post for six months, effective January 1, 2022, or until a regular appointment for the position is announced, whichever is earlier. She is the senior-most director on the board and has been holding the post of Director (HR) since November 27, 2018. She brings in over 30 years of experience, having worn multiple hats within ONGC. In her previous role as the chief skill development (CSD), Alka streamlined ONGC’s skill development centres; also implemented the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), engaging more than 5,000 apprentices across all work centres. She was the Head CSR at the corporate office, led the HR-ER functions in various capacities across Vadodara, Mumbai, Delhi, and Jorhat, and headed ONGC’s corporate communications in 2009. She has also been on the board of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) as an ONGC nominee director since August 2015. She is also on the boards of IIM-Tiruchirappalli and NHRDN. Alka is a recipient of the Silver Stevie Award in the Woman of the Year category at the International Business Awards 2021 for adopting best-in-class HR practices. Championing women empowerment, her emphasis is on retraining and reskilling the workforce in changing scenarios. She has steered the People’s Connect Initiative facilitating knowledge sharing from superannuating employees to young professionals within ONGC. Alka is an executive committee member of NIPM (National Institute of Personnel Management), president of Forum for Women in Public Sector (WIPs) Northern Region, and heads ONGC’s Women Development Forum.
Nidhi HolaMarketing expert Nidhi Hola quits Microsoft, joins Dell
Nidhi Hola joins Dell Technologies as the Country Marketing Director and has stepped down as the former Director of Integrated Marketing at Microsoft, severing her over three years of association with the company. She led and defined the marketing strategy for Microsoft’s entire cloud portfolio across the buyer journey. With 21 years of experience in strategy and marketing, she is an expert in driving breakthrough business growth and building competent teams. She began her Microsoft journey as a Director, Partner Marketing, and was engaged in the role for over a year; after that, she became the Director of Integrated Marketing with Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft, she had stints as the Senior Director, Marketing, GoDaddy, served Verisign, Head of Marketing, Asia, and started her career at 20:20 Media, becoming the Account Director during her over nine years of association with the company. Announcing her new move via her LinkedIn post, Nidhi thanked the Microsoft leadership for showing trust in her and added that she would be “taking a whole lot” (from the company) as she moves to the next phase of her career growth. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from the Jesus and Mary College, Delhi.
George KovoorPepsiCo India appoints George Kovoor as SVP, Beverages
George Kovoor takes over as the Senior Vice President (SVP), Beverages, PepsiCo India, succeeding Vishal Kaul, who exited PepsiCo in November 2021. Kovoor will be the GM for the beverages business and over see the brand’s long-term sustainability strategy for both the foods and beverage segments.A veteran, he has been associated with the company for 28 years in various operating roles across India, China, and the APAC (Asia Pacific region). He was the Senior Vice President at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in New York in his most recent role. With the new role at PepsiCo India, Kovoor will be relocating back to India after 18 years. His hands-on understanding of the business and commitment has enabled PepsiCo to develop talent and forge strong stakeholder partnerships. He joins the team at a juncture that coincides with the Indian summer and the expected demand for aerated beverages. But will have to shield the possibility of another Covid-19 peak wave in India with lockdowns, restricted consumer mobility, and shutdowns of marketplaces, theatres, and malls impacting out-of-home impulse beverage consumption.
Rajaram NarayananR Narayanan quits Sanofi
Rajaram Narayanan has stepped down as the Managing Director and Country Chair of Sanofi India and joined as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of SeQuent Scientific Limited, one of India’s Top 20 global animal health companies, backed by the global investment firm—‘The Carlyle Group.’ He succeeds SeQuent’s, Manish Gupta and is expected to oversee the company’s next phase of growth and expansion. Narayanan has served in senior leadership roles across pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and services industries. An industry stalwart, Narayanan began his career at Hindustan Unilever in 1992 and gradually spearheaded India and other Asian markets for over 18 years, building and managing its iconic consumer brands. Rajaram joined Sanofi in 2014 as Country Head and General Manager and was later elevated as Managing Director & Country Chair. At Sanofi, he led strategic reorientation of the company’s India business operations, impacting its growth in critical therapies and significantly transforming its market operations. Before Sanofi, he had a stint as the Chief Marketing Officer at Airtel. He is an alumnus of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BE, Hons), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and underwent the Harvard Business School Executive Education program.
Amit DoshiAmit Doshi quits Lenovo, re-joins Britannia Industries
Amit Doshi, former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Lenovo India, has quit and will join Britannia Industries Limited as the new CMO effective January 17, 2022. Amit will be re-joining Britannia replacing Vinay Subramanyam, former Vice President, Marketing, who quit the company in December 2021. As the new CMO, Doshi steps back into the Britannia fold a second time over, bringing in 10+ years of experience working in the FMCG sector. His first stint with Britannia lasted 8+ years, including his previous roles as the Marketing Manager Britannia in 2013 and as the company’s Group Product Manager from 2009-2013. As part of Lenovo’s India and South Asia marketing leadership team, Doshi shaped equity of Lenovo’s brand portfolio and demand across all lines of business, including consumer (B2C), enterprise, small and medium business (SMB), and its Tablet business. Doshi quit Britannia and joined Lenovo in 2013, and was promoted as the Director, marketing (India and South Asia) in 2018. Doshi started his career with Perfetti Van Melle in 2003 as the Area Sales Manager before joining Britannia. With 17+ years of experience, Doshi is a veteran in marketing and sales across diverse businesses with capabilities in building experience across brand marketing, customer development roles, digital and sales. Doshi is an alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Savitribai Phule Pune University, and DBMS English School, Jamshedpur.
Naveen SoniNaveen Soni takes over as President of Lexus India
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has promoted Naveen Soni as the President of the Japanese carmaker’s luxury car arm, Lexus India, effective January 1, 2022. He succeeds PB Venugopal, who will transition into another senior role in product planning at TKM. In his new role, Soni while competing with European brands and building its fleet size will also have to take cognisance of the government’s high custom duties in the luxury car segment. An industry veteran, he has over 29 years of experience, including 20+ years with Toyota Kirloskar, across business development, marketing, sales, PR, and CSR domains. Toyota entered the luxury car segment in 2017, and Soni has been spearheading its sales and service as senior Vice President throughout 2020-2021. He has been associated with the company since 2001, wearing different hats in previous roles as the Vice President and General manager at Toyota Kirloskar Motors Pvt Ltd and Project General Manager at Toyota Motor Asia Pacific. He also had a stint as a former manager with the Mahindra Group. He was involved in developing key models like the Glanza and Urban Cruiser. Soni’s elevation comes when the company seeks to expand its business in the domestic market, focusing on increasing its footprints in the e-vehicle segment. An alumnus of the Institute of Management Development & Research, Pune and IMDR, he holds a degree in Mechanical engineering from the MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur. He has held key roles as co-Chairperson of the environment and sustainability panel of CII Karnataka, Chairperson of the CSR Panel of SIAM, and President of SAFE (Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment) Council of SIAM.
Vinod KannanVistara promotes Vinod Kannan as CEO
Vinod Kannan is the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vistara, the joint venture airline, between Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore International Airline (SIA). Kannan replaces former CEO, Leslie Thng who is slated to be moving to a senior position at Singapore Airlines and was Vistara’s CEO from July 16, 2017, to December 31, 2021. Likewise, Kannan has stepped down from his previous role as the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), making way for Deepak Rajawat to pick up the baton as the company’s new CCO. Kannan has played a critical role in launching Vistara’s international operations, expanding the airline’s domestic network, fleet size, and driving the airline’s steady growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kannan began his stint with Vistara as the Chief Strategy Officer in June 2019, taking over as the CCO in January 2020. He has since developed, executed, and sustained Vistara’s corporate strategy and commercial success. He is expected to continue strengthening the airline’s position in both the domestic and international markets. An airline sector veteran, Kannan brings more than 20 years of experience working with Singapore Airlines (SIA), holding several senior positions in the airline’s head office in Singapore and overseas. He has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and the University of California, Los Angeles. Since the airline’s inception, Deepak Rajawat, also a Vistara old-timer, held several leadership roles in corporate planning and finance. He was the Divisional Vice President & Head of Corporate Planning with Vistara until December 31, 2021.