Indian Heroes : Indian Entrepreneurs/BIOGRAPHIES

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Rajat Kumar Gupta is the managing director of McKinsey & Company worldwide. He joined the firm's New York office in 1973, assumed leadership of its Scandinavian offices in 1981, and joined the Chicago office in 1987. He assumed the role of office manager there in 1989, was elected managing director of the firm in 1994 and re-elected twice, once in 1997 and again in 2000.

Since joining the firm, Gupta has directed a number of projects aimed at helping companies develop new product/market strategies and reorganize for improved effectiveness and operations capabilities. He has a broad range of consulting experience with a variety of industries, including telecommunications, energy, and consumer goods.

Gupta is Chairman of the Board of the Indian School of Business, and is associated with many other professional and business affiliations, including: Private Sector Representative to the Board of the Global Fund for Aids, Malaria, and Tuberculosis; Chairman of the Board of Associates of the Harvard Business School; and Dean's Advisory Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

Gupta holds a bachelor of technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Lakshmi Narayanan is the vice chairman and ex-CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) . He was the CEO and president of Cognizant until 2006. [1]


Lakshmi Narayanan, vice chairman of Cognizant Technology SolutionsLakshmi has played a leading role in the global information technology industry for more than 25 years, managing divisions and business units in Europe, India and the United States. Since joining Cognizant Technologies in 1994, he has been instrumental in formulating the company’s strategy and building and managing the organization’s development centers in India, where he is based. A member of Cognizant’s Board of Directors, Lakshmi spends time traveling extensively in the U.S. and Europe to meet clients.

He has recently been elected the Chairman on NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies). President's Message

Lakshmi began his career at Tata Consultancy Services, growing through the ranks from developer, to technologist, to program manager, to business leader. He was a regional head of Tata in India when he joined Cognizant as CTO. He holds a BS and MS in science and electronics from Bangalore University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He is now the vice chairman of Cognizant Technology Solutions.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Jagdish Khattar is the former Managing Director of Maruti Udyog Limited. Prior to this post, he has been an officer of the Indian Administrative Service with more than 37 years of experience. He is the current vice-president of 'Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers'. He has overseen a restructuring of the company in face of increased competition caused by the foray of various foreign car players in the Indian market.
[2] Background
Khattar completed a Bachelor in Arts(Honours) degree from St Stephen's College, Delhi and his LLB from Delhi University. He then joined the Indian Administrative Service, serving as:

officer of the Uttar Pradesh State Government, 1965-1979
director of the Tea Board of India, London office, 1979-1983
chairman of the Tea Board, Ministry of Commerce, 1983-1984
chairman and managing director of Uttar Pradesh State Cement Corporation from 1984-1986
secretary and then chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation, Transport Department, 1986-1988
and joint secretary in the ministry of steel, Government of India, 1988-1993.

In Maruti Udyog
Khattar joined the company on July 01, 1993 as director(marketing) and went on to become executive director(marketing). In 1999, he was appointed as the second Managing Director of Maruti Udyog. That year, on August 18, 1999, after a controversy between Suzuki and the Indian Government, he was nominated by the Government of India and appointed to the post of managing director and chief executive officer. In order to fulfill a revised joint venture agreement that stated that the Government of India and Suzuki take turns appointing a new Managing Director and Chairman every tenure, Khattar resigned and was immediately re-appointed as managing director, nominated by Suzuki, on May 30, 2002.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Rajeev Karwal is one of India's top names in retail business. He is credited with bringing LG to India in 1997. Rajeev also served as the CEO of Electrolux, Kelvinator and also of Reliance Retail.

Rajeev has founded Milagrow Business & Knowledge Solutionsin 2007.

In a very short time, he rose on to become the most visible symbol of consumer durable retail in India.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Nusli Wadia is an Indian Parsi entrepreneur, and an important figure in the Indian textile industry and real-estate business. He is the son of Neville and Dina Wadia, and the grandson of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan.

Nusli is the chairman and majority owner of Bombay Dyeing, a major Indian textile company, and has vast holdings in real estate across Mumbai. He is married to Maureen Wadia, who heads Gladrags Magazine and is one of the forces behind the Miss India beauty pageant. One of their sons, Ness Wadia, is managing director of Bombay Dyeing, and other, Jeh Wadia heads Go Air.

Nusli Wadia is a member of the Wadia family, and a direct descendant of Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia, Sir Cowasji Jehangir (Readymoney) and Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, as well as a distant relative of JRD Tata. On January 19th, 2007, Nusli Wadia was involved with carrying a gun with live bullets on plane, he was flying from Bombay to Dubai.[1] In 2003 Nusli accompanied his mother Dina on a visit to Pakistan, during which he visited the mausoleum of his grandfather in Karachi.[2]
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Naina Lal Kidwai (born 1957) was the first Indian woman to graduate from the Harvard Business School. As of 2006, she is the Chief Executive Officer of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation India branches.

Fortune magazine listed Kidwai among the World's Top 50 Corporate Women from 2000 to 2003. According to the Economic Times, she is the first woman to head the operations of a foreign bank in India.

Naina Lal Kidwai is currently the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India. She has been awarded with Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours bestowed by the Government of India. The announcement was made by Rashtrapati Bhawan on 26 Jan 2007.

Naina has got the honour for her exemplary work in the promotion of Trade and Industry.

Contrary to what most people believe, Naina Lal is not a chartered accountant. She only trained for her chartered accountancy with Price Waterhouse but then dropped out to pursue an MBA at Harvard instead. Her mother is the industrialist Lalit Mohan Thapar's sister and her cousin, Gautam Thapar currently manages Ballarpur Industries Ltd, one of the largest manufacturers of paper in the country.

She began her career in banking with ANZ Grindlays Bank (acquired by Standard Chartered bank in 2000)and then moved on to head the Indian operations of Morgan Stanley. She left Morgan Stanley in 2002 to join HSBC India as head of its investment banking business. In May 2005, she was named country head of the HSBC Group in India.

Naina is married to Rashid Kidwai who runs the NGO, Digital Partners.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Ness Wadia born on May 30, 1970 is an Indian businessman and is the son of Nusli Wadia and Maureen Wadia and the heir to Bombay Dyeing. He is the great grandson of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Ness has a younger brother Jeh Wadia who spearheads GoAir.[1] He is currently dating popular Indian actress Preity Zinta.


Early life and business
Joint Managing Director of The Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd., flagship Company of the Wadia Group, , Ness is strategically involved in the Textiles & Polyester Divisions & spearheads the newly incorporated businesses of Real Estate Development, Shopping Centres & Retail.

After completing his education at Lawrence School, Sanawar, India, and in England at the very prestigious Millfield School, Ness studied International Relations at Tufts University, Boston, USA. Thereafter he joined Bombay Dyeing in 1993 as a Management Trainee and worked his way across the company in many segments of manufacturing, marketing, projects and other related disciplines till 1998. He then took leave of absence to complete his Masters Degree in Science of Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick with a thesis on ‘Leading to Success in India’ which focused on leadership, trust & knowledge. After his Masters in 2001, he returned as Deputy Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing and was later promoted to Joint Managing Director.


Wadia's group
Based on a legacy that dates back to early 1736, Wadia Group is one of India’s major corporate houses[citation needed]. The Group's first business venture, over 270 years ago was in marine construction. The Wadias were a significant contributor to India’s maritime power, having built 355 vessels, including the first ships constructed for the British Navy outside England. Today, Wadia Group is a multi-product conglomerate with diversified presence in several key growth industries which includes airlines, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, plantations, foods, electronics, light engineering, health, laminates, real estate and consultancy. Consistently, the Group companies have emerged as market leaders in fields they have entered. And over the years the Group has developed an enviable record of successfully managing diverse technologies.Today, the Group employs 35,000 people, a great many of whom have been associated with the company for more than 25 years.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Simone Tata, neé Dunoyer, currently the Chairperson of the Trent Limited, is an Indian businesswoman. French by birth and educated in Switzerland, she came to India in 1955, and joined Lakmé as a director in 1961, rising to become its Chairperson in 1982. She was appointed a director in Tata Industries in 1989.

As the Chairperson of Lakmé, she was referred in the Indian media as the Cosmetic Czarina of India.

Eyeing growth in the retails sector, in 1996 Tata sold of Lakmé to HLL, and created Trent from the money it made through the sale. All shareholders of Lakmé were given, equivalent share in Trent.

Simone Tata was the wife of late Naval H. Tata and is step-mother to current Tata group chairman Sri Ratan Naval Tata.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Aditya Mittal is a Member of the Board of Directors and President and Chief Financial Officer of the world's largest steel firm Arcelor Mittal, which is majority owned by his father Lakshmi Mittal, who was ranked the fifth richest person in the world by Forbes in 2006.

He has a Bachelor's Degree of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1996. He worked for a short time in the mergers and acquisitions department at investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston. He joined the family business in 1997 and was appointed Head of Mergers and Acquisitions in 1999, and has been involved in several purchases since then as Mittal Steel has played a major role in the consolidation of the global steel industry. He is based in London. He was involved with a merger proposal between Arcelor and Mittal Steel. He suggested to his father and pursued the acquisition and merger of Arcelor to Mittal in 2006. The two companies were merged in 2006 and the new merged company is called ArcelorMittal.

Aditya Mittal is married to Megha. He has one sister, Vanisha, who is married and has been a member of Mittal Steel's board of directors since December 2004.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Vittal Mallya (b. 1925 - d. 1983) was an Indian entrepreneur best known as the former Chairman of the India-based United Breweries Group.

Youngest of the three children of an army doctor Lt Col Bantwal Ganapathi Mallya, Vittal Mallya capped an academic career with two of India's most prestigious educational institutions (Doon School and Presidency College) and traveled abroad for over two years to gain first-hand, practical knowledge that he believed to be more valuable than formal education. In 1947, at the age of 22, Mallya was elected as United Breweries' first Indian director. After a year, he replaced R. G. N. Price as the chairman of the company.

Mallya initially operated from Calcutta and married much later after he had become the chairman of United Breweries Limited. He migrated to Bangalore with his wife, Lalitha Ramaiah and son, Vijay in 1958.

Despite ill health that followed a massive heart attack at a relatively young age of 39, Mallya slowly and steadily built the UB Empire and diversified into a host of allied businesses. His business acumen was evident when he defied all odds to acquire a host of breweries during the heady days of prohibition of the Janata Party regime of Morarji Desai.

In the early '80s, Mallya started handing over the mantle of control - primarily beer and spirits - of the large UB Empire to his son Vijay, whom he had sent to the United States and England to train with some of the best global corporations. At the same time, he encouraged his son to expand the business beyond the shores of India and subsequently opened offices in New York and London. Today, United Breweries Group is the world's 2nd largest brewer and the largest in India.
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
Kanwal Rekhi



Our third honoree… help put a new face on Silicon Valley's picture of success.

Kanwal Rekhi made his millions by launching and then selling his own start-up. But he found out in a rather devastating way that his image (translate that to ethnicity) was considered detrimental to the Silicon Valley success story and he was forced to take a lower profile in his own company.

It was an episode that would eventually lead him to re-establish the roots he had forsaken in coming to America and in turn, helped sprout a whole new generation of East Indian entrepreneurs, so that today, the Indian face is very visible on the frontline of our world-famous high-tech industry.

Kanwal Rekhi was born in 1945 in Rawalpindi… the third of eight children of an Indian army officer. Within two years of his birth, Kanwal's family fled the newly partitioned Muslim Pakistan with little more than the clothes on their backs and settled in Kanpur, India.

After what he described as a middle-class upbringing with an emphasis on education, Kanwal graduated from the highly-esteemed IIT Bombay with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering.

He came to America to earn a Masters in Electrical Engineering at Michigan Tech University.

Newly arrived, he recalls having only $10 in his pocket. He found a room at the YMCA for $4 a night. That first day, he found a job washing dishes for $1.25 per hour. After a full day's work, with meal provided, he had earned $10… and that's when he knew he could survive in America. "I had a place to sleep, food in my stomach, a little extra money in my pocket… and a sense of purpose," Kanwal said.

He took on odd jobs at night as a busboy, doorman and even factory welder.

While he was still in school, he somehow struck up a pen pal relationship with an American-born woman named Ann Holt who would soon join the Air Force. They corresponded for three years before they actually met. Within a few weeks of their meeting, they decided to get married. By this time, he had gotten his Master's degree and was working as a computer engineer. He made a promise to Ann that they would be well off by the time he was 40.

They moved to San Jose and several engineering jobs later, at the age of 36, Kanwal, along with two Indian colleagues, started Excelan, a computer networking company. Kanwal ran the company for awhile and worked hard to fit the role of American CEO, shaving his beard, buying lots of suits and white shirts and taking speech therapy. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Venture Magazine in 1987. But when it was time for the company to go public in 1987 and Kanwal and his Indian partners met with about 100 venture capitalists to raise money… they consistently heard the same objection from the investors -- that the company lacked the right manager, it needed someone to look the part and play well to Wall Street. They were happy with Kanwal's performance as chief executive. It was just a matter of what face to put on the company. It wasn't hard for Kanwal to decipher the hidden message. Before Excelan went public, the backers asked Kanwal to step down as CEO in favor of a retired Hewlett-Packard executive. He was told the move would preserve his investment… that his own net worth would be at risk if the stock didn't fly.

The company went public… it was a successful IPO, but the newly-hired HP executive didn't work out and within a year, Kanwal moved back in the top job…. until a year later, in 1989, when Excelan was sold to Novell for $210 million dollars.

Kanwal was 41… he was a year late, but he had basically kept his promise to Ann.

Again, though, he was elbowed out of the top job… and then passed over when the CEO position was vacated yet again. Years later, one investor admits the board probably should have let Kanwal run the company.

"Back then, Indians weren't perceived as winning CEO's," this investor told Fortune magazine. "We didn't know if people would trust them as managers," he said.

After one rebuff too many, for reasons that had little to do with merit, Kanwal left Novell in 1995. He felt burned out, his children were growing too quickly, so he took his family on a long road trip -- covering six to seven thousand miles in 30 days.

Back home after a whirlwind tour of America, with no job to go to, Kanwal was told by Ann go somewhere-anywhere--during the day and come home in the evening. He turned to a group called TIE which he had helped start in 1992. TIE stands for The IndUS Entrepreneurs, a Silicon Valley based non-profit support network that helps bring young Indian entrepreneurs along, providing advice, contacts and funding. Up until now, Kanwal had not been too active in TIE. In fact, he said, "I was as de-Indianized as anybody," having moved to America, married an American, followed the American track to success, gone to football and baseball games and kept up with American politics. "India wasn't a part of my life, he said.

But that was about to change dramatically. Word got around that the former Chief Technology Officer of Novell was available as a resource… and Kanwal was soon advising 8 to 10 entrepreneurs a day who sought him out. These daily interactions and the much-appreciated mentoring began to stoke the fires of this once burned out man. He saw his mission in advancing Indian entrepreneurship and wealth creation as a way to gain clout for his community. He was determined to show that Indians can run companies as well as engineer them. TIE sprung up new chapters across the country and to date, its entrepreneurs have created $75 billion dollars in new market capitalization.

Since his Excelan days, Kanwal has witnessed and indeed helped bring about the emergence of Indians in upper management and given them a voice at the highest levels. A recent Business Week article reported that 40 percent of Silicon Valley startups have Indians in high positions.

Today, Kanwal Rekhi is a key investor in and a sage to the Valley's affluent Indian community. He has funded 15 companies as of 1998.

Having succeeded as an economic entrepreneur, he has become a social entrepreneur, investing to have an impact on society.

Kanwal says, "As a Sikh, I believe that you work hard to make an honest living, you thank God for your good fortune, and you share your wealth with others. But rather than just give someone help for today and making them happy for that one day," he said, "you can give them the chance for an education and set them up for life."

Because education was so essential in his success, Kanwal pledged $5 million dollars to the Foundation for Excellence, which identifies bright, but poor students in India and pays for their college tuition AND living expenses, so that they don't burden their families. The Foundation has funded more than 1,500 students so far. Kanwal's particular interest is in supporting disadvantaged girls. "That's how you leverage education for the whole family," he said. "If you educate a boy, you have educated a person. If you educate a girl, you educate a family down the road."

In addition, Kanwal donated $5 million dollars to his alma mater in Michigan as well as $5 million dollars to his alma mater in India, IIT Bombay to ensure quality education for coming generations. His donation in Bombay, in particular, made a splash because giving money to your old school was an unfamiliar practice in India up until now. In fact, when Kanwal first went back to his university, he was shocked at how rundown it was. That discovery prompted his gift to the school. Others have since followed Kanwal's gesture, and Kanwal has helped raise nearly $200 million dollars for higher education in India.

In fact, Kanwal now travels to India every other month to help bring America's free market ways to India. He sees that as the avenue to success for India as a nation. He has met resistance to be sure, but says he's making inroads. His goal now, he says, is to "help transform India in my lifetime."

Just recently, he returned from a worldwide TiE conference, where he's been named chairman of Global TiE with its 30 chapters.

Kanwal, who is well off enough that he never has to make another dime in his life, says he's looking to be paid in another way. "A man needs to be paid, whether it is financial payment or emotional payment. I have more money than anybody can consume in 1,000 lifetimes. So I am using my resources to get the emotional satisfaction of being able to help, to make a difference."
 

ankitgokani

MP Guru
VIJAY MALLYA
Achievement: Chairman of the United Beverages (UB) Group; Launched a new domestic airline called Kingfisher Airline; Rajya Sabha M.P.

Vijay Mallya is the Chairman of the United Beverages (UB) Group. He recently launched a new domestic airline called Kingfisher Airline which is making great waves. Vijay Mallya is famous for his flamboyant and flashy lifestyle.

Vijay Mallya is the son of a famous industrialist Vittal Mallya. He assumed the Chairman of the UB Group in 1983 and took the company to great heights. Under his dynamic leadership the group has grown into a multi-national conglomerate of over sixty companies. During this process United Beverages acquired several companies abroad. The UB Group has diversified business interests ranging from alcoholic beverages to life sciences, engineering, agriculture, chemicals, information technology and leisure.

In 2005, Vijay Mallya established Kingfisher Airlines. In a short span of time Kingfisher Airline has carved a niche for itself. It was the first airline in India to operate with all new aircrafts. Kingfisher Airlines is also the first Indian airline to order the Airbus A380.

Vijay Mallya has other interests too apart from business. He has won trophies in professional car racing circuits and is a keen yachtsman and aviator. Vijay Mallya has also won numerous trophies in horse racing including several prestigious Derbies.

In 2000, Vijay Mallya entered politics superceded Subramaniam Swamy as the president of Janata Party. Presently, he is a Rajya Sabha M.P.
 

manthan_479

Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
book "Men of Steel" and "Wings of Fire" by APJ Abdul Kalm is a must read 4 evry mgmt. student.

Men of Steel has some get BIOGRAPHIES of Indian Entrepreneurs.
 

prarthitrmehta

New member
Its truely Good to read to Literature.This one is giving a lot of information on the asociated subject.It is really a good piece of information.
 
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