Innholdsfortegnelse for 03-Jan-21 i Business Today

If these two consumer businesses (Jio and Retail) had been separately listed companies, each would be ranked among the top 10 in India today, in terms of value Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion, stated boxing legend Muhammad Ali. That applies to billionaire Mukesh Ambani too. In 1997, his father Dhirubhai Ambani asked him to build Asia’s largest petroleum refinery at Jamnagar in 24 months, against the usual 60 months then. Mukesh Ambani charted out a new work schedule, counting backwards from the target date and pulled it off. When it came to creating two consumer focused businesses almost two decades later, sceptics said it would be impossible for Ambani. He proved them wrong by building India’s most profitable telecom and retail businesses — Reliance Jio and Reliance…

On January 12, 2017, N. Chandrasekaran walked in late for the third-quarter earnings conference call of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The group had announced his appointment as Chairman of Tata Sons just a few hours before the call. Chandrasekaran’s elevation as the top boss of the group was a proud moment for TCS’ top management, but they had no clue about who was going to step into his shoes to lead the IT bellwether, the most profitable firm in the Tata bouquet and a major source of revenue for Tata Trusts. Chandrasekaran, fondly called ‘Chandra’ by his colleagues, turned to Chief Financial Officer Rajesh Gopinathan and made a startling announcement that the board had appointed the then 45-year-old CFO as the new MD and CEO of TCS. Describing Gopinathan as…

Hit by a raging pandemic and the after-effects of the governmenten-forced lockdown, while many companies were scaling down their operations, laying-off employees and trimming salaries, Niine was doing just the opposite. It expanded its operations, recruited new people and annual increments continued like in any previous year. For a company that is less than three years old in the female hygiene product space, it comes out as somebody that likes to punch above its weight. But the size doesn't matter here. Niine thinks on its feet, pulls no punches, and believes in executing its strategy without any distraction. Niine prides itself in thinking like a leader and act like one. That was evident soon after the government announced the lockdown guidelines on March 24, 2020. A vital product like the…

Despite running a company that has been increasing revenues at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 12 per cent over the past four years, Ashish Bharat Ram thinks growth is not his biggest concern. He says while he does talk about growth and aspirations, he wants to ensure that when he goes to sleep at night, he doesn’t have to worry about something that went wrong. This doesn’t mean taking off the thinking cap. “Business strategy is something where the mind works 24x7. I might wake up at five in the morning with some crazy idea. I would send an email to one of my CEOs [he has four]. We chat about it and build upon the idea. Sometimes, it can be a stupid idea and we throw…

“The share price has gone up after my leaving. So, why are people worried about my leaving?” He is one of India's most admired and longest serving professional CEOs. During his 26-year stint at the top, Aditya Puri created India’s second-largest bank from scratch. He may be an inspiration for many entrepreneurs and CEOs, but Puri himself looks up to three others. “Jamie Dimon, Satya Nadella and Mukesh Ambani,” says Aditya Puri, who retired as CEO of HDFC Bank in October this year. He is being modest considering that he is in their league when it comes to shareholder returns, performance consistency and building a future-ready organisation. But he admires 64-year-old Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, for building the most reputed US bank; 53-year-old Nadella for transforming the…

Vibhu Agarwal's prospective vision, hard work and superior leadership style led Jaypeeco India to become the backbone of major national and multi-national companies throughout India. His altruistic attitude and hunger for providing more to people also gave birth to a cluster of businesses & a charitable trust named after his father, Shri Jai Prakash Ji. Keeping diversification atthe core of his journey, he ventured into the OTT industry through his app ULLU in December of 2018. In the span of less than two years, the platform now boasts a total of more than 350 hours of original content across formats and is touted to be one of the fastest-growing OTT platforms. Vibhu's enterprising skills have helped look at the world through a periscope. He successfully identifies patterns and trends that…

It's been five years since Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, took over the ₹ 12,000-crore food major. His report card speaks for itself. The company has achieved an organic CAGR growth of 11 per cent in the last five years, operating margins have increased at a CAGR of 18 per cent, and net profit has risen 36.7 per cent. “In terms of return on capital invested, we were at 31 per cent in 2016 and we closed last year at a little over 90 per cent,” says Narayanan. There is more to Narayanan’s success story. Nestle is a market leader in seven out of the eight categories it operates in, its attrition rate is a mere 3.5 per cent compared to 15 per cent in 2015, and…

BIGGEST STRENGTH OF YOUR INSTITUTION: For any University, the biggest strength is the students followed by the Intellectual capital represented by the team of Faculty and other administrative staff. I am basically a team player and for me everybody who is playing the assigned role is the strength of the Institution. We may not be a team of champions but we are a champion team. ADAPTATION OF TECHNOLOGY BY SANSKRITI IN THE COVID19 ERA: Sanskriti has always been taking the challenges head on and in the same way, it did not take more than 2 days to be ready for holding the classes online. Thanks to our team of dedicated employees and students who rose to the occasion. We were successful in conducting examinations online without any glitches and more…

Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd, recently got a five-year extension till July 2025, making him one of the longest serving CMDs of the country’s largest power generator. This is an acknowledgment of his role in maintaining NTPC’s leadership in the power sector at a time when most other players (especially in non-renewable power) are struggling with mounting debt, falling tariffs and competition from new renewable energy players. It is also a result of his successful efforts to pivot NTPC from coal to green energy. Singh was appointed CMD of NTPC in February 2016. Before that, he was Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd. “He knows the power sector inside out, having worked in different areas — business development, project execution and operations —…

Product innovations and the urge to protect families in case of eventualities arising out of Covid-19 drove people to buy insurance in 2020. Most life and health insurance products saw demand directly coming in from customers. But the fact is the insurance industry was already on the innovation drive pre-Covid. Just in January, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had approved a number of sandbox products targeted at making insurance cost-effective and more relevant for customers. “Some of the products that gained significant traction include Edelweiss General Insurance’s Edelweiss SWITCH, Bharti AXA General Insurance's Pay-As-You-Drive, ICICI PruLife Insurance Outpatient Health cover and Go Digit General Insurance Network-based Accidental Insurance for Rented Motor Vehicle,” says Vaidyanathan Ramani, Head, Product and Innovation, Policybazaar.com. Single owner-multiple vehicles product from ICICI…

Q. What was the problem you were grappling with? A. After college, I joined the sales team of Pond's. I had the opportunity to lead team members who were far senior to me by age. After the acquisition of Pond's, I joined Unilever’s marketing function. Initially, I struggled to adjust to the organisational culture — Unilever was totally different in terms of levels of hierarchy and bureaucracy. However, I quickly learnt to adapt and prospered too. But after five years, I was pushed back into sales. I was dejected and felt it was a signal from the company that I was not good enough to do the job that I wanted. Q. Who did you approach for advice? A. I approached my then manager for his advice. He was someone…

Most young executives dream of making it to the corner room one day. A vast majority never gets to the top job of a CEO. But for those that do, life could be lonely at the top, even frustrating and disappointing at times while searching for the right advice or advisors. Especially dealing with multiple stakeholder expectations and scrutiny ranging from the company’s board to shareholders, suppliers, employees and customers. Coping with the role is not easy. A PwC study of 2,500 companies over the years shows that at least one-fourth of CEO departures in Fortune 500 companies were forced. So, how do the most successful CEOs manage their companies? Harvard Business Review’s CEO Genome Project spread over 10 years set out to pinpoint the specific attributes that define high-performance…

“We had new experiences this year, but it’s not unique to us. Every player globally is facing this” To say that FY20 was a challenging year for the Indian automotive industry would be an understatement. Overall auto industry volumes declined almost 18 per cent in FY20, the worst showing in a financial year in over two decades. What’s more, the domestic passenger vehicle industry also fared poorly with volumes dipping by the same quantum. In this context, it would be unreal to expect the country’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, to not suffer at all. Accounting for one in every two cars sold in the country, the company has an enviable reputation — of having the highest market share for a leader in any major automobile market in the…

On March 17, as India started reporting cases of coronavirus, Hindustan Unilever decided to ask employees to work from home. As the fear of contacting the virus loomed large, MD & Chairman Sanjiv Mehta’s message to his core team was: “Look after our people and the people will look after the business.” Nine months down the line, the 61-year-old head honcho of India’s biggest FMCG company is proud of his employees and business. He says his employees are more agile and resilient than ever and talks about a humble factory employee who told him that he went to work every day not to make soaps but save lives of millions of Indians. “Our first priority was safety of our people across the value chain. Then, we made sure that our…

“From being a company weighed down by debt, to becoming a net zero debt firm, to now sitting on cash, it has been a satisfying journey. Our next stop is 15 per cent EBITDA margin, but it doesn’t end there. We want to be the benchmark in EBITDA in this industry” In the summer of 2003, Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director of Escorts Group, found himself perspiring in the CEO’s cabin of the company’s factory in Faridabad on outskirts of the national capital. Despite the heat, the reason for the power cut sent a chill down his spine — the power department had stopped electricity supply as the company had not paid its bills. For a manufacturing company, it represented a point of no return, the proverbial last nail…

Hindu stan Syringes & Medical Devices (HMD) one of the Top 5 Manufacturers of Disposable Syringes in the World and the largest for Auto Disable Syringes is lead by its dynamic leader Mr Rajiv Nath, Managing Director, to become one India's leading Medical Disposables Manufacturer with offices in USA and UK with an annual turnover of over US$ 95 million. HMD is a trend setter and has pioneered innovative Medical Disposables to compete successfully with entrenched multibillion dollar MNC's and became market leader of I.V. Cannulas, Syringes & Needles in India. HMD has nine highly automated Plants employing over 3500 people and has a nationwide distribution network of over 5000 dealers. HMD founded 1957 was the very first Technical Collaboration between a Japanese Corporation and an Indian MSME set up…

About seven-eight years ago, Deepak C. Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of 50-year-old Deepak Nitrite was planning an aggressive expansion in Europe, backed by acquisitions. During one his meetings in the country, a veteran European industrialist told him, “Deepak, you are here to buy us, while we are looking at your country as one of our most potential markets.” “It was an eye opener,” says Mehta. The chemical industry in Europe was stagnating at 1-2 per cent, while India was growing at over 7-8 per cent. Mehta changed plans and decided to focus on producing more from India. “In a way, I was among the first to promote Atma Nirbhar Bharat, even before our government started promoting it,” says Mehta with a huge grin. Deepak Nitrite’s income grew at a…

Founded in 1992 in Surat, it was a dream-come-true for a young 20-year-old Mr Ajay Ajmera who hailed from Sikar Rajasthan. He stepped into the Surat Textile Industry to change the way it works forever; as a result, he has come to be known as a trendsetter in ladies'fashion and daily wear today. When it comes to new industries and markets, the city of Surat tops all rankings. It was here Mr Ajay Ajmera set out to achieve his goal of creating the finest clothing line in the country. Together with this dream was the hope that his endeavour would help boost employment for several sections of the society. A strong believer of women's Empowerment, Mr Ajmera has always encouraged unemployed women, women out of education, and Indian housewives to…

Can someone buying latest floor tiles for his home in a remote village influence profits and revenues of a city gas distribution (CGD) company which he has not even heard of? It can, in case of Gujarat Gas, India’s largest GGD company and one of the most profitable public sector undertakings. Actually, that is one of the reasons for Gujarat Gas Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar winning the BT’s Best CEO award in the oil and gas category, overtaking other two finalists in the sector, Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani and E.S. Ranganathan of Indraprastha Gas. Ranked overall second after HDFC in Best CEO rankings, Gujarat Gas reported ₹ 10,384 crore income in FY20 with three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.59 per cent. Its profit after tax was ₹ 1,193.32…

Sherbir Panag, Partner in law firm Panag and Babu, took to shooting as a sport at an early age. He started skeet shooting at the age of 12, and went on to compete professionally, including representing the Junior Indian Team at two world cups in Germany, a World Cup in Finland and the Commonwealth youth games. “It (skeet shooting) is the perfect getaway for me, as ranges are typically outside the hustle and bustle of cities,” he says. Skeet requires high concentration and speed. There’s thrill, concentration and technique involved in shooting a high-speed target, but the joy of a hit is unparalleled. For Panag, skeet also carries lessons for crisis lawyers like him. “A target leaving the house is a lot like a case, once it starts it can…

MY FAVOURITE FOOD: I am fond of Indian cuisine and prefer to have Indian food cooked at home most of the time. Quiet often I cook myself when I get time, specially the first and last meal of the day. MY FAVOURITE TELEVISION PROGRAMS: I prefer to watch fast paced thrillers such as Narcos, Money Heist, Mirzapur on Netflix. I LOVE TO PLAY: I always prefer a good workout session with my online trainer but I have also started playing badminton since last 2-3 months and I'm getting pretty good at it but my wife mostly wins when we are playing a game together. You see, you just can't win from your wife!! MY FITNESS MANTRA: Challenging myself everyday keeps me motivated and rejuvenated. Each day gives you a new…

Some businesses shut down, many others struggled, butfew registered a performance as stellar as Mantra Properties, a young Pune-based real estate organization. As Mantra Properties sold a record 675 units between August and October 2020, the buzz around it grew and at the very centre of this phenomenal success has been Mantra's ever-charismatic CEO, Rohit Gupta. Rohit's heart has been with Mantra Properties ever since its inception. "I have been with Mantra right since it was a freshly churned start-up. Ever since then, through all the lows and highs, I have steered Mantra's transformation into a very dynamic organization, among Pune's fastest growing real estate firms. It's been phenomenal, and I couldn't have been more ecstatic." Today, Mantra Properties is one of Pune's fastest growing real estate developers, with projects…

“We work with US and European customers in retail and big restaurant chains. Their requirement has not declined much” Soon after the lockdown began, the Indian shrimp industry plunged into an unprecedented crisis. Exports stopped due to fall in overseas demand and logistic disruptions, while shrimp processors got stuck with their frozen or value-added stocks. Upstream, tens of thousands of farmers were finding no takers for their shrimp harvest, and the price of shrimp, which normally ranged between ₹150 and ₹200 a kilo, slumped to ₹80 in April. While distress sale was the only choice before farmers, processors and traders had the option of not to buy, or buy it dirt cheap and stock value-added products. That is when Alluri Indra Kumar, Chairman and MD of Hyderabad based Avanti Feeds…

Back in the day, Plato described necessity as the mother of invention - something that holds even today. The modern times, with an increased emphasis on diversification of knowledge, has led to the proliferation of e-learning. Dwelling on the same technology, the idea of revolutionizing conventional education in medical studies was something that caught Dr Nachiket Bhatia's attention. The story began with Dr Bhatia Medical Coaching Institute (DBMCI), the pioneer of PG medical coaching in India, which was founded in 1996 by Dr Mukesh Bhatia. Years later, between 2013-17, the company was going through an all-time low phase. Dr Nachiket Bhatia, still in his 2nd year of the MBBS degree, could not but help gravitate to the responsibility of the family business. A few years and many decisions down the…

In the middle of the coronavirus crisis, the ₹12,000-crore, Kolkata-based Shree Cement went ahead and cemented a partnership with one of India’s iconic football clubs — East Bengal Sporting Club — soon after it completed 100 years. Shree Cement picked up a 76 per cent stake in the club, which has since been renamed Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation. “We want to be associated with major activities of West Bengal,” says Shree Cement Managing Director Hari Mohan Bangur. “This is the right time to invest in a global sport like football.” That’s a smart branding move as Shree Cement looks to build on its brand equity in newer markets, even as a vast swathe of the country’s business landscape struggles to find its bearings post-lockdown. The association with East Bengal…

Gauging the risk of lending is the primary task of Rajeev Jain, Managing Director and CEO, Bajaj Finance (BFL), as the non-banking finance company’s (NBFC’s) profit lies in the last instalment of loan repayment. That is why Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown were tough for the lender. Taking up the challenge, Jain, along with Chairman Sanjiv Bajaj, younger son of industrialist Rahul Bajaj, prepared different scenarios and contingency plans under each alternative. The result: BFL’s net profit surged 36 per cent to ₹ 965 crore during the July-September quarter. At a time when everybody was predicting a rise in non-performing assets (NPAs) of lenders, BFL’s NPA shrunk to 0.37 per cent in the second quarter, compared to 0.65 per cent a year ago. Jain earlier told Business Today that BFL…

“Most Indian companies are largely focused on services whereas we have a services business and almost a billion dollar-plus product business” In the first quarter of FY19, HCL Tech went past Wipro to become the third-largest IT services company in India after TCS and Infosys. The architect of this rare change in the industry’s top order was C. Vijayakumar, who took over as CEO of HCL Tech in 2016, and his ‘Mode 1-2-3’ strategy, focused on three points — bolstering the traditional business, tapping the digital transformation market and creating a robust product portfolio. The strategy has helped HCL Tech add over $800 million incremental revenue each year over the past three years and made it one of the fastest-growing companies in the IT sector. The man at the centre…

Premchand Godha, Chairman and MD of Mumbai-based IPCA Laboratories was amused to hear US President Donald Trump term Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) — a drug Trump claimed was helping him ward off Covid-19 — as an antimalarial medicine. The observation was outdated. HCQ, the drug Trump referred to, has not been sold anywhere in the world as an anti-malarial medicine for decades. It was introduced as a medicine for malaria 70 years ago, but is now used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Trump’s endorsement of HCQ gave a shot in the arm to IPCA, one of the leading global manufacturers of the time-tested, patent-expired drug. IPCA saw demand soar globally for a month or two. As Covid-19 was pulling down earnings of businesses in the first quarter of FY21, IPCA’s business and margin…

This is the ninth edition of BT’s ranking of India’s Best CEOs. This year also, we teamed up with PwC to work out a methodology for the survey. This takes into account both quantitative performances as well as qualitative aspects. For this year, we started with the quantitative exercise to shortlist the top three performers in each segment. Before calculating the quantitative performance, we used a series of checks and filters. Our study universe was the BT500 ranking of India’s most valuable companies. Only companies with revenues of more than ₹ 1,000 crore were considered. Data was sourced from Ace Equity. The study period was three years: 2019/20, 2018/19 and 2017/18. Then, companies whose accounting period was between nine and 15 months in these periods were considered. Companies, whose latest…