Mukesh Ambani resigns-Akash to Chair Jio Infocomm, Isha to helm retail

Akash Ambani steps in as the new chairman of India’s leading wireless carrier, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., as Mukesh Ambani resigns from Reliance Jio, handing over the baton to his firstborn, Akash (30). The Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the world’s 10th-ranked billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, might no longer be on the board of Reliance Jio but would be involved in the business-related growth strategy for the Jio platform. Underlying Akash’s induction is billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s more significant succession planning goals. With the telecom sector nestled with Akash, twin sister Isha Ambani is the next contender for the chairperson’s role with Reliance’s retail arm. Patriarch Mukesh has thus anointed two of his children to steer vital units in his $217 billion empires. An alumnus of Yale University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Isha Ambani has had a stint with McKinsey & Company. Akash was a non-executive director on the board of Reliance Jio and has been closely involved with developing RIL’s digital ecosystem around Jio’s 4G service and the 2017 JioPhone launch. Akash is an alumnus of Brown University and an economics major. Since 2014, Akash and Isha have been on the boards of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, which operates supermarkets (offering consumer electronics, food and grocery, fashion, jewelry, footwear, clothing), JioMart and digital arm Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL). Anant (26), the youngest sibling, has recently been inducted as an RRVL director and has been a JPL director since May 2020.

Shelly Kohli

Unilever’s Shelly Kohli joins United Breweries

United Breweries Ltd (UBL) has roped in Shelly Kohli, Unilever’s former Head of Legal Counsel to steer its legal and compliance vertical. Shelly headed legal counsel for Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care and Homecare divisions, which manufactures prominent brands Lux, Pepsodent, and Surf. Based out of Bengaluru, Shelly will be in charge of all corporate compliance and legal matters at UBL, which also owns the Kingfisher beer brand.She is an alumnus of the New York University School of Law (2003), and the University of Mumbai (1999) began her career with ARA Law. Subsequently, she worked with Crawford Bailey & Co, Wadia Ghandy & Co and Trilegal. In 2010, as Senior Counsel for legal and compliance for South Asia, she worked with GE (Energy Management). In 2015, she had a significant stint with Levi Strauss & Co as Assistant General Counsel - South Asia, Middle East, and North Africa divisions. In 2019, she moved on and joined Unilever.

Pankaj R. Patel

Zydus’s Patel appointed as RBI part-time director

Pankaj R. Patel, chairman of Zydus Lifesciences, has been appointed as a part-time non-official director in the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBl). His tenure has been approved for four years from the date of notification of his appointment, or “until further orders,” whichever is earlier. Patel is on the Board of various institutions, including Invest India. He is a member of the Mission Steering Group (MSG), the highest policy-making and steering body constituted under the National Health Mission (NHM) and of the Drug Technical Advisory Board by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. He chairs the Board of Governors and Society, IIM, Udaipur, and is a board of governor member at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Patel has complete control over Zydus Lifesciences (formerly Cadila), co-founded by his late father in 1952. During 2016-17, Patel was also the President of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). Since 2011, he has been the Executive Chairman, Vice President and Trustee of the Gujarat Cancer Society and Chairman of the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute.

Mohan Wilson

Mohan Wilson takes charge as Director of Marketing, Nissan India

Mohan Wilson takes over as Nissan India’s Director of Marketing, Product & Customer Experience for Business Transformation. He replaces Sriram Padmanabhan and will report to Rakesh Srivastava, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India. Padmanabhan moves on as the Japanese automaker’s Director of Marketing, Product, and Customer Experience for Nissan Motor Australia. Wilson will be based in Chennai and is expected to concentrate on future product strategy and build a strong brand that will be consumer-centric and skewed towards customer experience. Nissan will primarily leverage Wilson’s global experience gained at the Nissan Motor Corporation’s Global HQ in Yokohama, Japan. Before his India appointment, Wilson was the head of Global Marketing Planning for Nissan Motor Corporation’s premium car brand INFINITI. Wilson brings in 20+ years of sales expertise and cross-functional experience, working across geographies in Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, and India. His knowledge depth transcends brand building, MarCom, customer experience, product and data-driven marketing, and corporate strategy. He is integral to Nissan’s new Model Launch introductions for INFINITI globally with the all-new QX60 & QX55. Wilson was associated with global auto major Audi before joining Nissan. He is an alumnus of the London School Of Business, Gothaer AG, and RFH Cologne, Germany.

U.K. Sinha

SIS appoints former SEBI Chairman as an independent director

SIS Limited has appointed U.K. Sinha as an independent director. SIS is a multinational and essential services market leader in India and Australia. Based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, Sinha’s appointment is subject to shareholders’ approval. He currently serves as a board member of Vedanta Limited, Havells India Limited, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, Aavishkaar Venture Management Services Private Limited, and Cube Highways Fund Advisors Private Limited. Sinha served as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) during 2011-2017 and has been credited with upholding significant regulatory amendments in the takeover code, foreign portfolio investors, alternate investment funds, REITs, InVITs., and corporate governance. Before his office with the SEBI, Sinha was the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. Before becoming a UTI office bearer, Sinha was the Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance. An officer of the Indian Administrative Service (1976), he holds a master’s degree in science and a bachelor’s degree in Law.

Deepak Shikarpur

Rotary International felicitates Shikarpur

Pune-based Deepak Shikarpur, an IT stalwart, and an avid champion of IT literacy, has been appreciated by Mark Maloney, Rotary International President, and Gary C.K. Huang, the Global Chairman of the Rotary Foundation. Adding yet another feather to his cap, Shikarpur joins the list of 38 distinguished Rotarians who have been shortlisted and nominated from amongst 1.2 million members across 180 countries. A digital literacy activist, he has authored close to 45 books and has been building momentum to bring digital literacy to the masses. A career counsellor and IT entrepreneur, he has received several accolades, awards, and citations for his literary work from government and non-governmental bodies.

Sanjiv Mehta

Unilever Indonesia onboards HUL’s Sanjiv Mehta

Hindustan Unilever MD and CEO, Sanjiv Mehta has been elevated as President Commissioner (non-executive chairman) of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk (Unilever Indonesia). Mehta’s appointment is part of a top-level administrative change and is subject to approval from Unilever Indonesia’s shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for July 28. Mehta will join the public company’s board of commissioners and chair the board in a non-executive capacity. Meanwhile, he will continue to lead the Indian arm of the business, including his role as President of Unilever, South Asia. The responsibility of the board of commissioners of Unilever Indonesia entails overseeing policy and implementation of the corporate governance plan of the company. It is an advisory to the board of directors in deploying management functions. Unilever Indonesia was established in 1933 and, in 2021, posted a turnover of $ 2.7 billion. It is one of Indonesia’s prominent companies employing nearly 5,000 people and manufactures over 40 Unilever brands, including local jewels Bango and Sariwangi, across its nine factories. Mehta’s association with Unilever began in September 2013. He is given credit for the Indian arm, gaining a three-fold increase in its market capitalization to a total of Rs 5.2 lakh crore.

T N Hari

T N Hari exits BigBasket

T N Hari, the chief human resources officer (CHRO), of BigBasket, the online grocery mart, has stepped down to invest his energies into the school he has co-founded - the Artha School of Entrepreneurship. Tanuja Tewari, VP- HR of Bigbasket.com, will likely step into Hari’s shoes. Announcing his exit on LinkedIn, Hari summarized his seven year journey with BigBasket, which had become a family for him and where he learned immensely, helping him develop character. BigBasket has since been successfully taken into the fold of Tata Enterprises. He has co-founded the Artha School of Entrepreneurship. One of the successful angel investors and an author, T N Hari has been integral to several management teams across five start-ups, of which three are Unicorns. In his 20 years+ experience in the Start-up ecosystem, the last seven years saw him donning different hats of an advisor to VC Firms, a mentor for start-up accelerators, a sounding board to founders, and a columnist. He helped shape five successful exits in different industries, including an IPO on NASDAQ, and is a Strategic Advisor with the Fundamentum Partnership. He is an alumnus of IIT Chennai and IIM Kolkata and kick-started his career as Head HR - New Initiatives with Tata Steel in Jamshedpur.

Shilpi Kapoor

Airtel Payments Bank onboards former AMEX executive

Shilpi Kapoor takes charge as chief marketing officer (CMO) with Airtel Payments Bank and will lead the bank’s marketing and corporate communication function. As one of the bank’s executive committee members, she will work closely with the bank’s MD and CEO, Anubrata Biswas. Her responsibilities include planning, developing, implementing, and monitoring the payment bank’s marketing strategy. She will oversee market research, product marketing, marketing communications, pricing advertising, and public relations. Shilpi has 19+ years of experience in brand management, sales, and marketing, FMCG brands, BFSI, telecom, and the auto sector. Before joining Airtel, she was director of marketing at American Express and led their brand strategy and communications. An alumnus of Amity University, she is accomplished in special leadership excellence and digital marketing programmes from the Harvard Business School and Northwestern Kellogg University.

Asit Rath

Aviva appoints Asit Rath as CEO&MD

Life insurance company Aviva India has onboarded Asit Rath as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), effective July 11. Rath is currently the CEO of Prudential Myanmar Life Insurance. He will succeed Amit Malik, who will exit his 10-year-old stint with the company. He brings 22 years of banking and insurance experience across India and Myanmar. He has strong distribution experience working with ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential Life in India. Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited is a joint venture between Aviva International Holdings Limited, a UK-based insurance group, and Dabur Invest Corp. Aviva International has had a longstanding association with India since 1834.