Indian
Talent 
Kumara
Mangalam Birla
Changing
with time..
Kumar
Mangalam Birla , 31 years of age heads the US$ 1.1 billion A V Birla Group
(Textile, Aluminium, Finance etc) based at: Mumbai.
Coming from the well-known Birla industrial family of India, Kumar Mangalam
Birla heads the 38 companies under the Aditya Birla Group. The Group indulges
in a range of activities from commodities to telecom. It was a tough job
for the young Aditya to step into his father's shoes to run the groups
interests in various fields. Whereas his forebears collected businesses
the way some people collect stocks and mutual funds, young Kumar is engaged
in sorting out Birla's potential winners from its also-rans.
The earlier generations of Birlas, had gone into just about any business
for which the $5 billion (revenues) group could get a government license.
Kumar revisited each company and cancelled $2 billion in planned investments
in steel, petrochemicals, paper and fiberglass. "As times change, organizations,
too, have to change," he says.
The image-conscious Birla has devised a corporate logo and increased openness
to investors and analysts by creating a corporate communications department.
This is in contrast to the low-profile corporate image pursued by his
father, who died of cancer three years ago, pushing Kumar into the top
spot at an unexpectedly early age.
Nirav
Tolia
Penny
for your e-pinions
Nirav
Tolia studied biology and English literature at Stanford University. After
deferring plans to attend Harvard Medical School, he worked for McKinsey
& Co. as a business analyst.
In May of 1996, Nirav joined Yahoo! Inc, where he represented the company
on CNN, NBC, and ABC and worked in the marketing group on e-commerce properties.
In April of 1999, he left Yahoo! Inc.'s brand marketing group, where he
frequently represented the company on CNN, CNBC and ABC. 28 year old Nirav
is the co-founder of Epinions.com, an online buyers guide written by and
for consumers.
"My goal is to maintain balance, but currently work is taking precedence.
Though I do care very deeply about my job, I appreciate spending time away
from work as well." His first job was during the summer after fourth grade,
when he opened a car wash in the parking lot of his Dad's office.
e-pinions.com is built around the novel concept of 'Web of Trust', which
consists of a "web" of people who trust each other. Building your Web of
Trust helps the Epinions.com system decide automatically how useful an opinion,
service, or product may be to you. . Today, epinions.com offers over one
million reviews and comments and covers over 150,000 products and services
to help you make better buying decisions. One can earn cash and recognition
for writing opinions.
He was one of the founders of Round Zero, a non-profit organization attempting
to build a community in the Silicon Valley. An intellectual and social group
whose setting is characterized by a relaxed, collegial atmosphere that encourages
the exploration of new ideas and the formation of new friendships.
"I am living my dream job - I love being an entrepreneur!", he confesses.
PNews Star of ‘Star News’
Prannoy Roy was born on October 15, 1949. He graduated from Doon School and went on to Haileybury (UK) to get his A-levels. He did a BSc with distinction from London University, after which he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He pursued a Ph.D from the Delhi School of Economics where he also taught for a year.
In 1987 Prannay Roy shifted to the electronic media. He had people glued to their television sets with “The World this Week”. He is responsible for changing the face of news broadcasting almost beyond recognition. He is aptly termed the brand-equity of New Delhi Television (NDTV).
Sophisticated…handsome… cerebral and a man of few words! Prannoy Roy is more than just an anchor in Star News. He is an economist, a chartered accountant, an author, a computer man owning a software company, a commentator on current affairs and the owner of New Delhi Television.
He is responsible for making political news interesting! It does not matter which political party wins or loses during the elections, one man wins: Prannoy Roy. He dominates the election scene more than any political leader. His speech is soft, facts well researched, and his predictions savvy. He has made Indian elections less mystical and more mathematical, the one whose prime time all the time. In 1989 in collaboration with the Marketing and Research Group (MARG) he conducted an exit poll where he interviewed 77,000 voters who were leaving the polling booths after exercising their vote. He predicted the win of Congress, and when the results were declared Roy had hit the nail on the head!!
He's up at the crack of dawn to play golf and then dashes off to his office for a series of meetings and edit conferences. At the end of the day when most of us are ready to hit the sack Roy is saying, almost in a tone of apology, "We'll be back after a short commercial break. Stay with us."!
Radha Basu
holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from University of Madras and a Master's
degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from University of
Southern California. She has attended the Stanford Business School Executive
Management Program.
As President and CEO of Support.com, a provider of Web-enabled, automated,
personalized support software for e-Business companies she has another long
day at work. "Entrepreneurship
is not new to me; after being in charge of multiple functions in multiple
geographic locations for Hewlett-Packard, that was something people thought
I was good at,” says Basu trying to explain to me why she left Hewlett-Packard
in 1999 to join Support.com. “I wanted to apply my skills to a smaller,
more nimble group which is easier to steer and quicker to change.
Prior to joining Support.com, she had spent two decades there in various executive positions, including a successful tenure as senior general manager of the Electronic Business Software Organization of the company’s Computer Business division. Basu was also instrumental in setting up Hewlett-Packard’s subsidiary in India in the 1980s.
The company has d grown in strength from 35 to about 180 people since Basu took over. Its customers include such heavy-weights as Compaq, Excite@Home, Chase H&Q, Bear Stearns and JC Penney. And the company has filed for an initial public offering.
As a woman CEO, she says that she has never really seen herself from the gender point of view in the workplace.The Valley is known for its diversity. That has been the best catalyst for our business here. So when I am trying to hire somebody, for instance, I do not think in terms of that person’s gender or race.
A firm believer in mentoring, Basu is actively involved with the Indian Business and Professional Women (IBPW), a support network that promotes education, leadership and self-development in women through, seminars, workshops and mentoring services. Ultimately, I think glass ceilings are meant to be broken. If you want to do something, you can always find a way of doing it. Don’t wait for others to do it for you.”
How does she manage to juggle between work and family? It is difficult for anyone with a family and career, she replies. Family is not simply the woman's domain. It is something that a man and a woman build together. So I wonder why I am asked that question and my husband is not? she laughs. It is time we changed our perspectives.”
She is not a party person, she confesses, but she enjoys hiking, Indian classical music and dance. Her long-term plans include more involvement with children's education, and not just in the South Asian context, she specifies. With the collective wealth that we have here in the Valley, and all the power and influence that come with it, I think we can truly make a difference.
She has received numerous awards for her leadership and vision in the corporate field, including the Woman of Achievement Award in 1995, the Excelsior Leadership Award in 1997 and the San Francisco Women on the Web Award early this year.
�Designed for success�
Ritu has made Indian women look beautiful and glamorous in the world of international fashion . She needs no further introduction! She lives in a world of imagination, creativity and passion that she strongly believes permeates her whole existence. She's the one who provides the vivacity on the designer scene. Known as much for her looks as her marketing ability, Ritu Beri is a product of the first batch of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). She is one amongst the handful of Indian designers who shot to fame with the coming of haute couture to India and stay there. Ritu has also trained under famed French embroiderer Lesarge.
Designing was not what she always wanted to do. After completing her graduation from Delhi University in 1987, she began designing clothes for herself. Eventually she began designing for her friends too, and it was then that she contemplated getting into designing as a career.
Says Ritu Beri “When I was struggling to achieve some measure of recognition as a designer, I often wished I had someone with experience in the field to guide me, to give me a helping hand. But there was no one; I had to find my own way”. She made a mark not just in the Indian market but also in international fashions.
The climb up the ladder of success was not very easy, but her patience has paid off. A modest lady, she has plans for the aspiring designers. A promise she made…made to keep. “……to be a helping hand for designers with talent if I was ever in a position where I could assist. Today, the world is still my oyster, and I appear to have succeeded in prising it open just a little.”
Sabeer Bhatia was born in Chandigarh, India.He grew up in Bangalore where
he attended St. Joseph's School. He studied for two years at the Birla
Institute of Technology& Science(BITS), Pilani and went to the United
States in 1988 on a CalTech transfer scholarship at the age of 19. It
was an achievement of extraordinary merit, because the number of CalTech
scholarships awarded each year are few and even these are won only after
passing a test that is considered one of the toughest in the world.
Bhatia did well at CalTech and went on to Stanford for his M.S degree.
Upon graduating, Bhatia briefly worked for Firepower Systems Inc. before
joining Apple Computers where he met his Hotmail co-founder Jack Smith.
Since the company's networks didn't let them connect to America Online,
and the two didn't want to use the office email system to communicate
their private plans, they hit upon the idea of Web-based email- which
they called Hotmail.
Hotmail offered millions of office workers privacy at work. He founded
Hotmail Corp. and sold it to Microsoft Corporation two years ago. The
deal was a significant one with a price tag of $400 million and was most
talked about in the media.
At the end of the deal, he emerged as a sharp-shooting businessman with
extraordinary tactical and negotiating skills. Bhatia worked at Microsoft
for a year after the Hotmail acquisition and broke free to do another
startup- Arzoo.com.
The 31- year old serial entrepreneur sure has more things up his sleeve.
CM of Andhra Pradesh
He was born in Naravaripally village of Chittoor district on April 20, 1950. His father, the late Sri N.K. Naidu was an agriculturist and his mother Smt. Ammanamma is a housewife. After completing his school education in Chandragiri and graduation at Sri Venkateswara Arts College, Tirupati, he went on to complete his Masters in Economics from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. It was whilst he researched for his Ph.D. degree, that he took to politics.
A keen politician, he served as the Coordinator of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), from 1989. The competence with which he effectively handled the party’s role of main opposition in the Assembly won him wide appreciation from both the party and the public.
As Finance Minister in the cabinet of the then Chief Minister N.T.Rama Rao he opined that the Govt could run more effectively and efficiently. His point of argument being “ If companies like Infosys, Satyam, Microsoft, and Reliance can do so well in such a short period, why cannot a government do well?”
The Chief Minister has a modern outlook to administration. His style of functioning is more akin to that of a CEO as compared to a traditional politician. The Chief Minister has a firm conviction that modern technology should be used in the service of the common man. Consequently, he has been laying great emphasis on the use of modern information technology in Governance.
“A man with his head in the clouds and feet on the ground” – was how a leading weekly magazine described him. It reflects his boldness and commitment. The reassuring factor is that he takes small steps to achieve the big goal that is on his mind. Visits of Bill Gates and The US President indicate the interest that is being generated internationally.
He has achieved what no other Chief Minister has done so far. Successfully promoting the IT sector, he has gone to the grassroots level and promoted campaigns like “Janmabhoomi” that have benefited people directly.
Fifty years old and over five years as a Chief Minister, he states modestly that he has still plenty to do to realise his dream for his State.