T Rabi Sankar appointed as Deputy Governor, RBI
T Rabi Sankar takes over as the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and has been appointed as part of the central bank’s recent redistribution of portfolios of the deputy governors. He succeeds B. P. Kanungo and will hold the post for a tenure of three years. In his previous role as Executive Director, he was in charge of portfolios in the department of currency management, Information Technology, external investments and operations, government and bank accounts, and Payment and Settlement Systems. He will also expedite other key functions with the foreign exchange department, right to information and internal debt management department. Sankar has had a career graph as a central banker, having joined the RBI in 1990 working in various positions with the apex bank. He has served as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Consultant during 2005- 11 on developing government bond markets and debt management. He represented RBI on international forums like Bank for International Settlements and various internal and external expert committees and working groups. He is also Chairman, Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), member of Board of Directors, ReBIT and member of Governing Council IDRBT. An alumnus of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sankar holds a Master of Philosophy in Economics.
Varun KandhariMars Wrigley elevates Varun Kandhari
Mars Wrigley promotes Varun Kandhari as Director, marketing and customer marketing – India, succeeding Yogesh Tewari. In his new role, Kandhari will be responsible for leading the marketing and customer marketing functions for Mars Wrigley India across all categories. He will also be a part of the leadership team for India as he completes seven years with the chocolate and confectionery company. He joined the maker of Snickers and Twix brand of chocolates in September 2014 as senior brand manager and gradually worked his way up as Marketing Manager - Chocolates, in October 2017. As a marketing manager, he helped the company in developing its innovative pipeline and also run campaigns for Snickers and Galaxy brands. In previous stints, Kandhari has worked with Hindustan Unilever on prime brands such as Surf Excel and Wheel.
Noel TataNoel Tata steps down, exodus of senior leadership
Noel Tata, Managing Director at Tata International will step down and relinquish his executive responsibilities with the company with effect from November this year. Noel, Group Chairman, Ratan Tata’s half-brother will turn 65 but is likely to continue as the non-executive chairman of Trent, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. Tatas has witnessed senior leadership exits within the Tata Group in recent times when the conglomerate is seeing a mixed performance with some of its businesses languishing and others flourishing. While Pratap Bose the design head of the group’s flagship Tata Motors, is leaving after a 14-year stint, the automobile major is in search of a CEO candidate to replace Guenter Butschek, who is on an extension till June-end. Richa Sharma of Tata Consumer Products is also on her way out after leading its packaged foods business for seven years. Titan & Tata Elxsi’s Chief Financial Officers V Ramakrishnan, S Subramaniam & Muralidharan H V, respectively, are superannuating.
Rahul BajajRahul Bajaj resigns as Chairman Bajaj Auto
Ushering in a new change, noted industrialist and auto industry veteran Rahul Bajaj, non-executive director and Chairman of Bajaj Auto has hung up his boots. His resignation is effective from April 30, 2021, has been tabled taking into consideration his progressing age and Niraj Bajaj, a non-executive director of the company, has stepped in as the Chairman of Bajaj Auto effective from May 1, 2021. In another move, Rahul Bajaj had also stepped down as the non-executive director at Bajaj Finance, effective April 30. Rahul Bajaj, however, will be involved as the Chairman Emeritus of the Company for a term of five years effective from May 1, 2021. Rahul Bajaj has steered the company since 1972 and helmed affairs of the Bajaj Group for five decades. The Pune-based two and three-wheeler manufacturer acknowledges his wisdom and he will be available from time to time in an advisory role and as a mentor. Likewise, Rahul Bajaj Sameer Garde the board of directors has nominated and the remuneration committee has approved the appointment of Rahul Bajaj as Chairman emeritus of the company. In 2020, Rahul Bajaj, 82, had decided to quit his executive role to become a non-executive director while holding the position of Chairman after leading it for 33 years.
Sameer GardeCisco’s President Garde quits
Sameer Garde, Cisco President (India and SAARC), has resigned from his post; a four-year stint with the global networking solutions provider. While Garde’s next move is not known, industry watchers hint at his likelihood of joining the social sector. Meanwhile, Cisco is scouting for Garde’s successor and is expected to make some announcement soon. It was in 2017 that Garde had taken over as the President of Cisco’s India and SAARC operations in July 2017 and will continue to hold office till the end of July this year. It was under Garde’s leadership, that Cisco raked in a revenue of $49.3 billion globally in the last fiscal ending July 2020. The company has also seen strong growth in its India business, positioning it amongst the highest growing markets for the company.
Mahendra ItkarkarMorgan Stanley appoints ex-army personnel as ED-HR
American Multinational Investment Bank Morgan Stanley appoints Major Mahendra Itkarkar (Retd.) as Executive Director – Human Resources who will lead the company’s Employee Relations (ER) in India. He brings in over 18 years of corporate experience within the HR portfolio. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Itkarkar helmed ER teams at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius with a key focus on ER Advisory, Investigations and Employee Support. He was also involved in supporting APAC Country ER Advisors on ER matters. His illustrious corporate stints also include his responsibilities as Manager - Employee Relations at Infosys where he led the Development Centre HR team and Corporate HR. As the Head of Corporate and Client Background Check Operations for Infosys, he was responsible for strategising and executing BGV delivery for over 1,45,000 employees in more than 80 countries in Financial Solutions executing roles as Site HR, COE and OD responsibilities across Operations, Technology and other corporate functions. He was associated with the Indian Army for six years prior to his corporate journey as Officer Commanding, Infantry Brigade Workshop. He was responsible for over 120 Army personnel and managed them in his various roles across departments such as Human Resources, Administration, Training and Development, Performance Management, Coaching and Mentoring. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Sardar Patel College of Engineering (SPCE), Mumbai.
Deepa SridharDeepa Sridhar and Aastha Bansal bag key roles with Warner Media
Deepa Sridhar is the new director of marketing for South Asia at Warner Media, an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that owns HBO. Deepa will be reporting to her regional marketing lead-based in Singapore. She brings in more than two decades of her experience working across corporate communications and public relations portfolio. With a vast experience in this domain, Deepa is an accomplished communications professional. Her core competencies are focused on Media Strategy & Brand Reputation, Crisis Communications and Brand Solutions. She has worked on brands across a diverse set of industries, including aviation, hospitality and entertainment media as part of teams both on the agency as well as the corporate communications platforms. In another move, the company has also appointed Aastha Bansal as lead-corporate communications for South Asia. The two senior-level changes within the organisation are aimed at strengthening its core leadership team. Aastha brings in over 15 years of prolific exposure in Public Relations, Corporate Communications, Customer Relationship Management and media relations. She has contributed and led groundbreaking brand campaigns working with organisations like MSL, AvianWE, Adfactors PR and others. In her current role, Aastha will oversee all aspects of brand communications across the children’s entertainment and corporate PR segments. She will also be responsible for internal stakeholders and global teams in pushing the brand.
Pratap BoseTata Motors’ Pratap Bose resigns
Pratap Bose, former Vice President of Global Design, Tata Motors, has stepped down and is touted to join Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) - Mahindra Advanced Design Europe (M.A.D.E). The centre is part of the Mahindra Global Design Network that includes the Mahindra Design Studio in Mumbai and Pininfarina Design in Turin, Italy. To be launched on July 1, 2021, the M.A.D.E. centre is located close to renowned design institutes like the Coventry University and Royal College of Art and will leverage the skills and expertise from this region. Bose is expected to help design Mahindra’s future SUVs and its upcoming electric vehicles. Mahindra had announced that they will be setting up a dedicated design centre that steers the new future design direction of Mahindra’s products, especially, its SUV (sport utility vehicle) and MUV (multi utility vehicle) range. Bose has had a successful 14 years with Tata Motors and worked his way up as Vice President, Global Design in 2019. He led a team of 180 employees at Tata Motors while managing three design centres located in Turin, Pune and Coventry (UK). He has also had stints with automobile giants like Piaggio, Mitsubishi. Bose is a recipient of the popular car and bike Automotive Person of the Year 2021 that recognised his stellar role and was acknowledged for a large part of the turnaround seen at Tata over the past 3-4 years. Starting with the Tiago hatchback, then the Tigor and Hexa, his team’s design work has propelled the brand into contention once again. Pratap Bose’s most recent creation was the new Tata Safari, which is quite popular. He also gained much appreciation for his design of the Tata Harrier, Safari, Nexon EV and Nexon. Meanwhile, Tata Motors has announced Bose’s successor Martin Uhlarik as the Global Head of Design.
Subir ChakrabortyExide rejigs top deck, appoints Subir Chakraborty as CEO
Exide Industries has reorganised its top deck and appointed Subir Chakraborty as MD and CEO, replacing veteran Gautam Chatterjee as part of senior management rejig at the storage battery major. Chakraborty will hold office for a period of three years from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2024. Meanwhile, stalwart Chatterjee, who has been with the company for the past 39 years, has retired but will hold the position as whole-time advisor to the board of the company. Chakraborty was the deputy managing director (DMD) of the company in May 2019, having joined the company in 1996. He also served as a director on the board for the last eight years. He has since held several senior-level positions including heading and supervising critical functions like automotive, industrial and submarine. Prior to his stint with Exide, Chakraborty was the CEO of MSA (India). A mechanical engineer from IIT, Madras, and PGDM from IIM, Calcutta, he brings in his vast experience in sales, marketing, projects and general management.
Mahesh BalasubramanianBalasubramanian appointed as MD of Kotak’s insurance arm
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) has appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as Managing Director (MD) of the company. Balasubramanian replaces G. Murlidhar, who has retired from the company. He has over 20 years of professional entrepreneurial experiences in financial services and kick-started his career in 1992 with Godrej & Boyce. Balasubramanian then moved on to Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company in 1994, as the first regional head for the retail business in the West. During his five-year tenure, he led the expansion of the vehicle finance business, making Cholamandalam a key and profitable player in the Western zone. By 1999, he had switched and joined the Murugappa Group where he was responsible for its business planning, improving operational efficiency, exploring new initiatives, mergers and acquisitions. In 2000, he turned entrepreneur and co-founded Apnaloan.com-India’s first and largest online loan marketplace for credit cards, unsecured loans, car loans and mortgages. As Executive Director and Business head, he got more than 20 leading Indian/Foreign Banks and NBFCs to participate in the marketplace. His strong career graph took a new turn when in 2005, Balasubramanian joined Kotak Mahindra Bank as part of the core team of the Retail Liabilities and Branch Banking Business. He was instrumental in setting up and leading the retail and institutional sales, government business and cross-sell verticals. In his last assignment, he was also the Head of Branch Banking Division. After successfully setting up and building significant scale across the business in assets, liabilities and branch-led banking, in 2014, he was given the opportunity to become the founder CEO of Kotak Mahindra General Insurance.
Samir SeksariaTCS promotes Samir Seksaria as CFO
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the global IT major, consulting and business solutions organisation, has appointed Samir Seksaria as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He replaces V. Ramakrishnan who has retired from the company effective April 30, 2021. Seksaria started his career with TCS in 1999 and was involved with consulting assignments involving regulatory compliance and M&A spin-offs, amongst other functions during his early years with the company. He moved on to Corporate Finance in 2004 and played a critical role in the company’s IPO. Prior to being appointed as CFO, he helmed the financial analytics, planning and business finance functions at TCS. In the past two decades, Seksaria executed an exemplary role in the company’s financial transformation that involved simplification, cash management, planning and forecasting, and contract structuring.
Peshotan DastoorMF veteran Peshotan Dastoor joins UTI
UTI Mutual Fund has roped in Peshotan Dastoor as Group President and Head of Sales as he steps down from his role as India’s National Sales Director with Franklin Templeton Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd. He will be responsible for developing UTI’s sales strategy while leading the sales team, as well as exploring new opportunities for growth and distribution. A seasoned financial wizard, he successfully led the Sales of Retail and Institutional Business in his previous and most recent role with Franklin Templeton. In his long 27 years career graph, he has dedicated his valuable 12 years to various positions at ING Bank while also taking the lead as Head of Institutional Sales business at ING Investment Management India Pvt. Ltd. An expert in the financial services sector, his expertise lies in developing and expanding distribution networks. He was pivotal in designing and launching innovative packaged investment solutions for its clients both at Franklin Templeton and ING Investment Management.