COLLYWOOD PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Farhad Forbes, co-chairman of Pune-based heavy engineering firm, Forbes Marshall, has been re-elected as the global Chair of Family Business Network International (FBN), becoming the first non-European to have had his tenure extended for a second term. FBN’s India chapter is a collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with close to 300 members from 133 business families, including prominent corporates such as TVS, GMR, Murugappa, and DCM Shriram group. FBN founded in 1989 is a group of business-owning families, based in Lausanne (Switzerland), facilitating relationships within business families, and raising awareness on the importance of the family business models in society. A federation of 32 Member Associations spread across 65 countries globally, the global network comprises 4,000 business-owning families, involving 17,000 individuals which include 6,900 Next Generation members. The FBN Mission is to offer business families a safe arena to learn from, share with and inspire each other about guiding family involvement in their respective businesses.

Sitapati quits HUL, joins Godrej CPL

Sudhir Sitapati, Executive Director - Foods and Refreshments, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has stepped down and will be replaced by Srinandan Sundaram, effective July 1, 2021. Sitapati quits HUL to take over as MD and CEO of FMCG major, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), effective from October 18, 2021. The FMCG veteran began his HUL journey in 1999 as a Management Trainee and successfully managed his roles across sales and marketing. As ED, HUL, he was instrumental in transforming the company’s tea business into a purpose-led category that regained market leadership and has gained considerable market shares in the past three years. Bringing in over 22 years of vast experience, his strong track record mirrors his customer development as well as marketing skills. Sitapati has also been at the forefront of bringing in cutting-edge technology and transforming the company’s CD organisation into a High Tech – High Touch team. The Shikhar app, launched under his leadership, has lent a competitive edge to the business, especially during the pandemic and is the largest e-B2B app in India today. He also mobilised the merger of Adityaa Milk and more recently, helped align GSK Consumer Healthcare business into HUL, bringing in iconic brands like Horlicks and Boost into the Unilever family. The Unilever Food Solutions business was re-tuned and transformed into a growth engine under Sitapati’s leadership.

Uday Shankar (left) with James Murdoch

Ex-CEO Star India, floats SPAC with Murdoch

Uday Shankar, former chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Star India and President - Walt Disney (APAC) has joined hands with his former employer James Murdoch, also the Founder and CEO of Lupa Systems - to float a blank check company - Seven Islands Inc. that is scouting to raise $300-345 million in an initial public offering (IPO). The Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) has plans to target and acquire companies in sectors across media, entertainment, consumer technology, healthcare and education across South and Southeast Asia, with a primary focus on India. Other members include the executive team of Seven Islands Inc. and partners at Murdoch’s Lupa Systems’ India operation as well as Lupa Systems, including Jeff Palker, general counsel. Interestingly, Gary Knell, Chairman, National Geographic, is set to serve as a Director with SPAC which plans to raise $300 million by offering 30 million units at $10. Lupa is a NY- based private investment vehicle with a presence in Mumbai and has in the past invested in the online learning institution, Harappa Education in India. Murdoch’s and Shankar’s association dates back to when Shankar was in-charge of News Corp.’s Asia business in the late-2000s.

Bata ropes in former Britannia exec

Bata India has appointed Gunjan Shah as its new CEO. Shah moves in from Britannia Industries Limited relinquishing his role as a former chief commercial officer with one of India’s leading food companies. He has also been appointed as a whole-time director of the Switzerland-based Bata for five years with effect from June 21, 2021. To be based out of Gurugram, Shah replaces Sandeep Kataria who was promoted as the global CEO of Bata Brands in November 2020. For Bata, India serves as the largest market by revenue amongst its 70 markets. Shah’s career spans across consumer durables, telecom and FMCG, which includes working with brands such as Asian Paints and Motorola in the early stages of his career. He joined Britannia in 2007 and has played a crucial role in growing the company’s businesses by leading several divisions of the company for more than a decade. An alumnus of the IIM-Kolkata, he also holds a Bachelor of Technology (Computers) from VJTI, Mumbai. Shah is skilled in his understanding of the Indian market and its complexities which is backed by decades of experience working with mega-brands.

ZoomInfo appoints Chetna Mahajan as CIO

ZoomInfo has appointed Chetna Mahajan as its Chief Information Officer (CIO) and will be reporting directly to Chris Hays, Chief Operating Officer (CEO), ZoomInfo. With two decades of experience in technology and operations, Chetna will spearhead ZoomInfo’s IT strategy in accelerating its digital transformation and operations. Prior to ZoomInfo, she was the Vice President of Business Systems and Data Analytics at Conga, a leader in commercial operations transformation, overseeing a portfolio of 150-plus business and enterprise systems. She was also involved with security and compliance, client engagement, revenue growth, as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions. Prior to Conga, Mahajan served as a Senior Director of Business Systems, Intelligent Automation, and Digital Experience for Symantec, the cybersecurity software company where she led multiple global digital transformation initiatives and automation for new business applications. She has also had successful stints in her earlier senior roles at Delta Dental of California, Boeing, Sun Microsystems, and the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology.

Ford India elevates Kapil Sharma as GM - Consumer Marketing

Ford India has promoted Kapil Sharma as General Manager (GM) - Consumer Marketing and will report directly to Rahul Gautam, Vice President of marketing and Anurag Mehrotra, President and Managing Director, Ford India. He will also report to Sinead Phipps, the IMG Comms leader. Sharma will steer Ford’s business forward with integrated marketing and communications efforts. As the current head of communications, Kapil Sharma will now helm dual roles as the new GM-consumer marketing as well as his existing responsibility as head of PR, communications and CSR at Ford India. Sharma joined the American MNC and auto major in September 2013 as the Manager, Corporate Communications. Prior to Ford, he worked with BMW India as it is manager for press and corporate affairs. In a career spanning over 15 years, he has had previous stints with Genesis Burson Marsteller and Mileage Communications. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Communication Management and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) from the National Institute of Advertising (NiA).

Palekanda joins Netflix, Srishti Behl quits

Uber’s Nanjappa Palekanda has joined streaming services & production major Netflix as Vice President, Talent Experience and Operations. Prior to joining Netflix, Palekanda, a top-notch techie was the Senior Director, People Business Operations with Uber, where he was a member of the CHRO’s staff. He led a team working across functions of Employee Experience, HR Service Delivery, M&A, Risk & Compliance and Portfolio Management. A seasoned professional, he brings in 18 years of experience working for prominent companies, including his four years with Uber which he has relinquished in favour of Netflix. A software engineer, Palekanda kick-started his career with Infosys in 2003 and later became Associate Manager, Global Campus Recruitment and Relations for the company. Post his Infosys stint, he invested over 10 years of his career with Google which has been his longest stint and served the company in various roles, including Lead – HR Business Partner. Meanwhile, Srishti Behl Arya, Netflix India’s original films director will quit the streaming service after a three-year stint with the company. Srishti is a veteran content creator who joined Netflix in May 2018 when it was in the process of expanding its India content team. She was instrumental in building Netflix India’s original film slate which began its journey with Hindi and then gradually moved onto regional markets to combat the competition across streaming platforms.

Goldman ropes in Nahar from Uber Technologies

Peeyush Nahar, former Vice President (technology), Uber Technologies Inc. has joined Goldman Sachs Group as the global head of its consumer business, which includes its online bank, Marcus. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Nahar managed technologists who worked on Uber app’s payments, infrastructure, fintech and other services. Prior to his stint with Uber, Nahar worked at Amazon, where he enabled the retailer’s lending and machine-learning platform for its Alexa product. Nahar becomes the third global head of consumer banking with Goldman Sachs in September 2020, when Harit Talwar stepped down to become the division chairman, handing over the top job to Omer Ismail. Ismail, who officially took over in January 2021, soon relinquished his position with Goldman Sachs and joined Walmart Inc’s fintech venture.

Swaminathan Subramanian

Swaminathan quits Sterlite to rejoin Fullerton India

Swaminathan Subramanian rejoins Fullerton India Credit Company Limited (Fullerton India), after a span of nearly four years. He will take over as Chief People Officer (CFO) at Fullerton, which is one of the leading Non-Banking Financial Company with a strong pan-India presence. To expedite his new role, he has stepped down from Sterlite Power, where he was leading the HR function as Group Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for India and Brazil. With over 23 years of global experience in various HR leadership positions, Swaminathan has worked across diverse geographies such as Africa and the Middle East. An expert in the areas of consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and human resources, he has had successful stints working with prominent global corporations such as Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan, Barclays, Reliance Capital and Accenture.

Shathi Sharma appointed as VP, HR at Reliance Retail

Shathi Sharma takes over as the new Vice President – HR for Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited. She brings in more than 20 years of experience across areas for building business and Human Resources (HR) teams across sectors such as telecommunication, manufacturing, retail, and banking. Prior to joining Reliance Retail, Shathi was associated as CHRO at Dixcy Textiles for about three years and served an equal term prior to that as HR Head Circle with Telenor for their US and UK operations. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C), she began her career at GE. She navigated multiple leadership roles in human resources function across organisations such as Emirates NBD, Madura Fashion (a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital), Telenor and the Landmark Group.