COLLY WOOD

Visionary financial-sector veteran, Uday Kotak, Founder, CEO, and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has resigned, effective September 2023. His resignation has ended his 38-year-long innings with the bank, a dream that created a solely Indian investment banking firm on the lines of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. His resignation indicates the onset of a gradual succession planning, wherein he will steer the flagship, during the transition phase as the acting CEO until 31 December, 2023. Uday Kotak will continue as the bank's non-executive director and a significant shareholder. Meanwhile, Dipak Gupta, the current Joint Managing Director, will undertake the role of the MD and CEO until 31 December, 2023, subject to the approval of RBI and the bank members. Taking to Social Media, Uday Kotak announced, “Succession at Kotak Mahindra Bank has been foremost on my mind since our Chairman, myself and Joint MD are all required to step down by year-end. I am keen to ensure a smooth transition by sequencing these departures. I initiate this process now and step down voluntarily as CEO.” In February, the board had engaged Egon Zehnder, a consulting firm to seek a chief executive officer to replace billionaire Uday Kotak. He has been leading the bank since its inception as a non-banking financial institution in 1985 and becoming a commercial lender in 2003. It is the only Indian private-sector lender that has retained the family names of its promoters. Kotak has a net worth of about $13.4 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Dr. Kanan receives the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award

Dr Ravi Kannan, a Surgical Oncologist and Director of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Assam becomes the only Indian to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2023. He has been lauded for enabling a pro-poor healthcare and people-centric stance in treating cancer in Assam. Although Dr. Kannan has origins in Chennai, and has worked at the Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai; he moved to Silchar in Assam. Despite the state facing insurgencies, bomb blasts and natural calamities, Dr Kannan stood by his vision. During multiple visits to the state, he realised that the underprivileged were dying of cancer without even knowing what was happening to them. The pro-poor initiatives include free treatment, food, and lodging, ad hoc employment for caregivers. It facilitates a homecare programme for patients who are unable to continue their treatment due to logistics issues and poverty. Dr. Kannan is focused on decentralising cancer care by setting up small- er hospitals in different parts of the state, including Tripura, relieving patients from traveling far for a hospital or treatment. Consequently, the patient compliance rate in treatment has risen to 70 % from 28%. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation has appreciated Dr. Kannan’s leader- ship, which has transformed the CCHRC into a full-fledged comprehensive cancer hospital and research centre. It began with limited facilities, but under his leadership, the hospital is abuzz with 28 departments entailing oncology, pathology, microbiology, epidemiology, radiology, tumour registry and palliative care. CCHRC employs 451 people, a significant growth from the initial 23 staff members.

Mansi Madan Tripathy promoted as Country Chairperson, Shell India

Mansi Madan Tripathy

Mansi Madan Tripathy is the newly appointed Country Chairperson with Shell India, effective October 2023. She will be succeeding Nitin Prasad who has been the Country Chair since 2016 and will relocate to India (New Delhi) from Singapore. Mansi is expected to oversee the Shell Group of companies in India, including her role as Vice President of Shell Lubricants for Asia Pacific. The new role expands Mansi’s 11 years of association with the British multinational oil and gas company. In previous roles she has been the Managing Director, of Shell Lubricants, Indian sub-continent, and as Head of Marketing (CMM). In previous stints, she has had a successful career journey with Procter and Gamble (P&G) and quit the company in 2012 to join Shell. Her multiple roles with P&G included top management roles as Director – Global Shave Care, Director-Consumer and Market Knowledge - Australasia, ASEAN, India, and Korea, and Associate Director, Consumer and Market Knowledge, Baby and Fem Care. She kick-started her career as an engineer with Bharat Electronics (1993-94). She is an alumnus of the SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) - MBA, Marketing and the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra.

Suzlon Group ropes in former ABP CPO

Kavita Dasan has joined Suzlon Group as Head of Talent Management and Employee Engagement, effective August 2023, and will be based in Pune. A talent strategist, she is a Gallup Strength coach and is considered a passionate people practitioner. She was Chief People Officer (CPO) with the ABP network since 2019 before embarking on her new role with Suzlon. She built an open, creative and learning culture in ABP through her innovative talent strategies, leading to total rewards, and other diversity and inclusion programmes, employee well-being, employee branding and talent management. In her 20+ years of work experience, she has donned multiple roles including HR Vice President with DHFL and Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd., Deputy General Manager with DCM Shriram Ltd., Chief Manager of Talent Acquisition with Vihan Networks Ltd. and Times Internet. Kavita began her journey as an Officer-HR with the Malaysian multinational company, Chase Perdana Berhad. She is an alumnus of Delhi University and IIM, Ahmedabad.

Railway Board appoints Jaya Verma Sinha as CEO and Chairperson

Jaya Verma Sinha

Jaya Verma Sinha takes over as CEO and Chairperson of the Railway Board, becoming the first woman ever to hold the apex post in the Railway Ministry’s 105-year-old history. She replaces Anil Kumar Lahoti, assuming charge from September 2023 till 31st August, 2024. She's scheduled to retire on 1st October , 2023, but will be re-employed on the same day for the rest of her term. She was the railway’s spokesperson during the tragic Balasore accident, that killed nearly 300 people in Odisha, due to the complex signalling system. Prior to her current appointment, she worked as a Member of Operations and Business Development of the Board and was tasked with the transportation of freight and passenger services. Her career entailed working across several areas including operations, commercial, IT, and vigilance. She was lauded for her role in the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), established to provide the Railways with a strong IT backbone, including the development of the Freight Operations Information System (FOIS). In one of her previous four-year stints as Railway Advisor, High Commission of India in Dhaka, and Bangladesh, she inaugurated the Maitree Express, connecting Kolkata and Dhaka. An alumnus of Allahabad University, she joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988, working across three railway zones-Northern, South-Eastern railway, and Eastern divisions, becoming the first woman Principal Chief Operations Manager (South-Eastern Railway). She secured a top rank in the civil services examination and joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) in 1988, which barely had any women employees at the time. Her first posting was with the Allahabad Division of Northern Railway as Divisional Commercial Manager.

Akash, Isha, Anant inducted in the RIL board

Isha Ambani, Anant Ambani
and Akash Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has set the ball rolling for a steady succession plan for his children in the flagship company. Meanwhile, spouse Nita Ambani has stepped down from the board but will attend all board meetings as a permanent invitee and in an advisory role. She will continue to devote her time to the Reliance Foundation, as its Founder-Chairperson. He announced at RIL’s 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) that Ambani twins Akash and Isha, and their younger brother Anant, as non-executive directors, pending approval by its shareholders. The siblings are currently on the board of RIL's several operating companies, and the new announcement will be their first-time induction into the parent RIL’s boardroom. Over the past few years, the siblings have been actively managing Reliance’s main businesses, including digital services, retail, and energy, and are on the boards of important subsidiaries. The 66-year-old Mukesh was re-appointed as the RIL Chairperson for another five years in July and has pledged to mentor his children in providing a ‘collective leadership’, to enhance RIL’s growth and value. Akash is an economics graduate from Brown University and chairs Reliance’s telecommunication unit, Jio Infocomm, effective June 2022. His twin sister, Isha, is an alumnus of Yale University and holds an MBA from Stanford University. She is the director of Reliance’s retail unit and Reliance Retail Ventures. Anant, also a Brown University alumnus, heads Reliance’s energy businesses, and global operations in green energy. Mukesh Ambani’s net worth is $94.7 billion as per the Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Rankings. The new board reshuffle is seen as a bid to avoid any messy succession struggle between siblings, as was faced by Mukesh and brother Anil, following the demise of their father and RIL Founder Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002.

Citi’s Balasubramanian steps in as banking head

Balasubramanian K

Balasubramanian K will take charge as the Head of Citi Groups’ Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) for South Asia and India. He will hold a parallel position as Citi’s current Head of Corporate Banking, South Asia, replacing veteran banker Ravi Kapoor, who is slated to retire from Citi after a long innings of 18 years with the banking major. Balasubramanian joined the company as Citi’s Head of Corporate Banking Group in November 2017. A seasoned stalwart, he has 27+ years of banking experience across different markets and served clients across Citi’s prime clientele and multiple geographies across India. Citi leveraged Balasubramanian’s extensive understanding of the client’s business, longstanding customer relationships and industry knowledge. As one of the most senior credit approvers for the Citi South Asia franchise, he is also a Citi India management committee member, working on several strategic initiatives for the India office across multiple legal vehicles. He has assisted clients in raising capital (across public markets—bonds and equity and private markets; bank loans and private equity), leveraged finance for acquisitions, aggregating more than US$ 150 billion, building structured financing and risk management. He worked on initiatives, promoting India as a global destination for investments. In his last role before joining Citi, he was Group Head— Corporate Bank, HDFC Bank (2016-2017). He began his career journey as an intern with PwC in 1992. He has had an illustrious career journey with innumerable positions with the Citi group as Vice President (1996- 2005), Director and Corporate Bank Head (2006-2007), Managing Director – Corporate Bank (2008-2016), and Managing Director and Head Corporate Banking, South Asia. As an alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, he has qualifications from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (1992-1995) and the Institute of Cost and Work Accountants of India (1990-1992).

Shoppers Stop promotes Kavindra Mishra as CEO and ED

Kavindra Mishra has been promoted as the new CEO (chief executive officer) and ED (executive director) of Shoppers Stop, following former CEO Venugopal Nair’s resignation. The board has also approved Mishra’s appointment as an Additional Director of the company. Nair will continue to guide and advise Mishra over the next six months, ensuring a seamless transition. In the interim, BS Nagesh, the company’s Non-Executive Chairman will handhold the new ED and CEO during the transition period. Mishra was Chief Commercial Officer and CEO of Homestop, for the past six months, managing the commercial aspects of Shoppers Stop’s business. His skills as a business leader, strategic expert, and overall understanding of the retail industry are expected to guide the retail chain’s future growth. Before joining Homestop, Mishra worked as the MD (managing director) and CEO at the House of Anita Dongre, including clothing brands AND, Anita Dongre, and Global Desi. He was the MD at Pepe Jeans India for six years, managing the company’s transition from a joint venture to a 100 % subsidiary of Pepe Jeans Global. He co-founded Zovi.com, a startup funded by Tiger Global and Saif Partners. Mishra is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Some of Mishra’s earlier stints include Tommy Hilfiger India and United Colors of Benetton. He is an avid marathon runner and was recognised by The Economic Times as one of the Inspiring CEOs of 2022.

Mahindra Logistics ropes in former Tata-Boeing’s CFO Designate

Saurabh Taneja will take over as the new Chief Financial Officer(CFO) of Mahindra Logistics effective September 1, as per a regulatory filing confirming his appointment for the key managerial position. Taneja will replace Yogesh Patel, who resigned from the organisation effective March 2023. A Chartered Accountant, Saurabh brings 21 years of work experience with Fortune 100 companies and the Big 4 consulting firms. He has worked across diverse sub-finance-led subdomains and geographies. In his previous role, before joining Mahindra Logistics, he was the CFO (nominee) with Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited for 5+ years. His other significant roles include his nine years journey with the GE group across diverse portfolios – as CFO, GE Diesel Loco JV & Finance Controller - GE Transportation (South Asia), Vice President - Tax Controller and Financial Reporting Leader (GE India). In his previous career stints, he has been associated with PwC India, Canada and American Express. He is an expert in policies, implementation of new regulatory changes, internal controls, IT systems, operational and financial procedures and ensuring the integrity of financial information and reporting. Mahindra Logistics is an integrated logistics and mobility solutions provider, offering supply chain solutions to industries including automotive, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce. Saurabh Taneja is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business (ISB) and Corporate Finance Institute (CFI).

Wipro ropes in former Deloitte AI Strategy Leader

Brijesh Singh joins Wipro Limited as Senior Vice President and Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) head for Wipro Enterprise Futuring. Reporting to Nagendra Bandaru, Managing Partner and President, Wipro Enterprise Futuring, Singh will be focused on advancing Wipro’s ai360 strategy. Singh’s appointment follows Wipro’s launch of its ai360 and a $1-billion investment in the AI domain for advancing AI capabilities over the next three years. Singh’s key responsibilities entail building capabilities to support and accelerate AI adoption across Wipro’s portfolio and delivering AI-first solutions to clients. His appointment is expected to steer Wipro’s commitment to integrating AI responsibly into every platform, tool and across solutions used internally and offered to clients. The new investments and Singh’s role are expected to bring value, productivity and commercial opportunities through AI application and generative AI. Singh brings 30+ years of experience, including seven years of expertise as AI Strategy Offering Leader with Deloitte Consulting. He is a practice leader in AI competency, enabling conversational AI and AI Ops marketplace offerings. He is alumnus of BIT Sindri (Electrical Engineering). In his previous stints, Singh was a partner at Verizon Enterprises Solutions, Senior Director at Siemens, Associate Partner with IBM, and an earlier stint as Regional Manager with Wipro Technologies.