Tuesday, July 22, 2008

RCOM Ltd.’s arm


When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Investee:
RCOM Ltd.’s arm

Investor: Fortress Capital, HSBC, et al

Investment Value: $337.5 mn

According to Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman, RCOM, “We are excited about the tremendous growth potential in the Indian telecom infrastructure business. Our strategy to create a separate company for infrastructure businesses has resulted in tremendous unlocking of value for over two million RCOM shareholders. RTIL, as an independent telecom infrastructure provider, has significant growth potential and is on track to become the leading player in India. RTIL will be listed in the future and provide investors another attractive opportunity to participate in India’s incredible telecom growth.” RTIL has already filed the draft Red Herring prospectus with SEBI and would hit the capital market soon to raise an expected Rs.6,000 crores from the public.

Reliance Telecom Infrastructure Limited (RTIL), the hived-off tower business subsidiary of Reliance Communication (RCOM), shelled out 5% of its stake to seven investors – Fortress Capital, George Soros, Galleon, GLG Capital, HSBC, DA Capital and Newsilk – for Rs.14 billion in July last year. The deal put the valuation of its tower business at about Rs.270 billion. The Anil Ambani owned RCOM is one of the first telecom companies in India to separate its tower business. RTIL builds, owns and operates communications towers and related assets under long term contracts. The company intends to invest Rs.46.23 billion in setting up 16,000 towers by 2009.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


Friday, July 18, 2008

THE CRITICS


IIPM, GURGAON

“I have nothing against the car but I have reservation on the usage of the car. This (launch of the car) represents the bankruptcy of the government, policy makers and authorities in meeting social responsibilities.”
R. K. Pachauri, Nobel laureate
R. K. Pachauri

Nobel laureate

“Tatas were given land valued at Rs.1,000 crores, free, as also Rs.135 crores in incentives such as power and water. Everything is free. After getting so many things free, the Tatas should give 10 lakh cars free.”
Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress supremo
Mamata Banerjee

Trinamool Congress supremo



“The fact is that the Rs.1 lakh car is now here, it will be exponential in terms of numbers growth. This just doesn’t let me sleep. This car will not lead to mobility or equity but add to congestion and pollution.”
Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment
Sunita Narain

Director, Centre for Science and Environment


“We will have to wait for the car to hit the markets as currently we don’t know the specifications, the features and the performance of the car.”
S. Nakanishi, MD, Maruti
S. Nakanishi

MD, Maruti


For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus


Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Opposite sides of the spectrum


When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

What colour do you associate Coke with? Red?

Yes! It’s the red colour that makes it distinct and gives it a unique identity, apart from other factors like the brand name, flavour, shape of the bottle etc. After all, if Coke is evaluated as a brand, the colour red would be contributing 40% to its equity.

A question that comes to mind is – if Coke is red, then what colour is Pepsi associated with? Blue??

Pepsi tried to go blue. It wanted to associate itself with the colour blue. It was ready to shell out a neat $500 million (Rs.17.50 billion, approximately) to go blue. For 40 years, it has used the colour mix of red and white and blue so as to give it a distinct colour identity. Pepsi went to the extent of painting blue a concord supersonic jet to carry the colour message to bottlers around the world. This colour differentiation would help in giving Pepsi an identity distinct and different from Coke. To increase the association of the colour with the brand, Pepsi highlighted the colour blue in all its advertisements. What I’m trying to say here is that colours compete as much as brand names do. Close your mind’s eye and try to think of Coke – you will see a splash of red. Then think of Pepsi and you will, probably now, think of blue. If this exercise had been done a few years back, you would have been unable to decide whether Pepsi was blue or red.

What is it that made Pepsi turn electric blue? Is it then true that Pepsi’s erstwhile red and blue combination served just as a reminder of Coke? To cut a long story short, the bottom line is, when it comes to colours, be opposites if you are competitors. Many brands, consciously or otherwise, have followed this.

• Perk is blue while its competitor, Kit-Kat, is red.
• Kodak is yellow while the counterpart, Fuji, is green.
• Polo is green and blue while Minto is now red and yellow.
• Hertz picked up yellow, so Avis picked red.

There’s a powerful logic in selecting a colour that is opposite to that of your major competitor. It is more important to create a separate brand identity with the help of colour than it is to use the right symbolic colour. To put it simply, consider this example. For an eco-friendly product the right symbolic colour is probably green, but if your competitor has chosen it first, it’s best to avoid green and choose a contrasting colour. This way, you shall be saved the pain of being a ‘me-too’ product, and would have a distinct identity. Remember, Pepsi learnt it the hard way... after 40 years!

What is brand recall? It’s finally your ability to stand out in a crowd of similar sounding, similar looking products. To be successful, a brand needs to stick out like a sore thumb in the market place. This immediately makes it more noticeable and memorable. Think of the corporate world where everybody is dressed in blue or black suits. An orange suit would immediately be noticed and remembered. Similarly, in the market place, a colour strikingly different from your competitor’s will make you stick out, get you noticed and remembered. With the help of advertising, you could strengthen this association of the desired colour with your brand and help it build strong colour equity.

If you are the first to enter the market, you have a choice of which colour to associate your brand with. When you are second, it has to be a colour strikingly different from your competitor’s. When you have the freedom to choose, a colour should be chosen with great care. Colours influence us in a variety of ways. They seem to have a direct physical impact on us. Donald Kaufman conducted experiments to show how colour influenced our daily lives. He found that when we are placed in a room with red light and all of a sudden the light is switched to blue, instantaneously, our body temperature falls.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Saturday, July 12, 2008

George Wills, Regional Operations Manager, Porsche (Middle East, Africa & India)


IIPM - Admission Procedure

What’s your India strategy?

We have a bag full of ideas, but we will look at the market closely. After Delhi, we are contemplating to build centres in high-potential regions such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and so on.

Is Porsche planning an assembling plant in India?

We do not intend to produce or assemble Porsches here. These coveted cars are known for and expected by consumers to be ‘Made in Germany’.

As compared to China, how has the Indian market matured for Porsche?

There is an evident change in the Indian market. However, what is different in the Chinese scenario is that the Chinese are making things overnight and there is tremendous wealth created there. Nevertheless, India too is a high potential market, just like China, but things do not move as fast here as we might expect it to be.

About prospective launch of track speck Porsches?

Specialised cars like the Porsche 911 GT3 & GT3 RS are not the first car of the prospective customer. These cars are specifically used and most certainly are not meant to be driven every day because they are hard set. But the market for such cars in India will also grow in the near future.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


Friday, July 11, 2008


IIPM, GURGAON

Actually the real issue is that marketers are running short of niche identifying USPs, in the face of heightened competition, where product benefits are no longer sacrosanct. If a Motorola launches a successful ‘slim’ phone, Nokia wastes no time to attach itself to the slim advantage. Similarly, if Saffola vegetable oil boasts health advantages, Dhara too latches on to such a healthy benefit in no time. Look carefully and you’ll find that such clutter breaking propositions, borrowing heavily from the Indian cultural fabric, are mostly being seen in sectors, where respective product attributes are almost negligible. With the product attributes between cola drinks Coke and Pepsi nearly fizzling out, for example, consciously or unconsciously, Coke eventually resorted to a brand campaign that touted ‘sabka thanda ek’, harping on the unity that the drink brings among people... another takeoff on the typically desi ingrediant of ‘unity in diversity’. “Sabka Thanda Ek strengthens the universal appeal of the brand amongst consumers. It offers a higher order of emotional benefit of bringing people together,” offers Venkatesh Kini, Vice President-Marketing, Coca-Cola India.

Marketer 4Ps Business and MarketingSantosh Desai believes that brands now-a-days, are clearly seeking a much larger platform, as also a role to play in the social life of consumers. “The Surf ‘Do bucket pani...’ spot for example, endeavours to connect with the audience on a larger platform. There was a time when brands shied away from reality, showcasing their product attributes in a make-believe world using either humor or glamour to tell their story. But, brands are no longer running away from reality, instead they are celebrating it,” he avers.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Oriental Insurance Co.


When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

A premium The Oriental Insurance Co.growth of 11.4% – highest amongst the PSUs, even better growth in profits… no wonder why it made it to the list. But the good news is Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. is expecting to keep up the good work. According to M. Ramadoss, CMD, Oriental Insurance Company, “We hope to continue our path of profitable growth of at least 10% in the current year.” Well, it doesn’t end here! The company is currently in the middle of developing its IT infrastructure in order to step up its efficiency levels as Ramadoss makes it clear, “In FY 07-08, our focus would be on developing information and technology software for our business.” To substantiate the fact, the Integrated Non-life Insurance Application Software (INLIAS) is being tried out on a pilot basis, in more than 250 offices and will be further implemented in 600 of its branches. The implementation of this software is being done with an objective to speed-up the company’s operations across the board and will also unlock efficiency in areas as diverse as claims, underwriting, re-insurance, accounts et al. The company seems to be quite categorical about increasing its focus on some specific sectors like health, rural cover and personal accident.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Laughing all the way to its Bank


When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Business ethics, social responsibility and customer friendliness comprise its philosophy

“I will Laughing all the way to its Bankrather opt for zero business than doing business worth millions which are based on unethical practices,” said the HDFC CEO at an internal organisational meeting a few months ago. Reminiscing about it, an ex-employee explains that this one sentence epitomises the business philosophy of a corporate, whose ethical mindset and environment is shaped by those at the top. As an organisation, HDFC encompasses the simple, but mostly forgotten, tenets of integrity, transparency and fairness in whatever it does. These fundamental and sound principles have increased its credibility and have made it one of India’s most admirable companies.

Here’s an example to establish this fact. Another former employee explains how he had cracked a lucrative deal with a large company to handle its gratuity and pension funds. Later, the client was unable to fulfil some compliance norms and present some of the documents. “We were in a position to still accept the statement from the client. But as an organisation governed by ethical principles and practices, we simply refunded the entire amount.” As he narrated the story, the admiration for his ex-company was clearly visible. Each and every relationship that HDFC strikes with borrowers, depositors, agents, shareholders, or other stakeholders is valued and that explains why most former and current employees proudly proclaim their relationship with HDFC.

In an era where success or failure of organisations is judged by respective toplines, bottomlines, market capitalisation, and market shares, HDFC seems to be an exception. “HDFC has followed the basics, and focused primarily on quality rather than quantity. Its approach has been customer-centric and this has certainly helped them achieve quality. They are not into customer acquisition, but believe in building long and cherished relationships built on trust with customers. It takes into consideration customer’s feedback and this has helped it to constantly innovate products based on the customer’s needs. The quality of service too is unparalleled,” exudes Sumit Taneja (who has invested in HDFC Mutual Fund). It has neither believed in the market share game, nor does it compete on price points. Its focus throughout has been on transparency, professionalism and customer services without comprising on quality. While HDFC agrees that market share is important, yet it does not want to engage itself in any practices that would hurt long-term profitability, or worse, the credibility and image of the company. Defying the commonly-held belief that numbers are critical, HDFC and its several subsidiaries have occupied coveted positions merely by focusing on “need-based selling strategy.” If customers require a certain product or service, HDFC will launch it.

This does not mean that the Bank is not gaining market share. In the housing finance segment, HDFC’s market share in the first quarter of current financial year has moved up from nearly 29% to about 35%. In comparison, most competitors have seen their housing finance business witness a downturn; for many, growth rates were down by 40%. HDFC has not only added value to shareholders wealth, but has also strived to add the much-needed value for the country. And its efforts towards betterment of the poor are no less than the efforts to make its business strong.


To cite an example, HDFC bank follows a four-tier pyramid structure to provide microfinance to poor farmers. At the first tier, it offers amounts ranging between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 12,000 through self-help groups. At the second level, it helps those who need finance to take care of harvested crops. The Bank also offers pre-house and post-house warehouse receipts finance to help farmers get a better price for their produce. It has dedicated sales machines in more than 1,000 co-operative banks, which are involved in the microfinance business. Due to constant efforts, HDFC feels that it can quadruple its microfinance business from the existing Rs 500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore in next 24-30 months, and cover six million poor families.

But having social principles as a foundation is not enough. And HDFC understands this principle. While ensuring that the Bank has a strong footing in the market, it has chalked out clear financial objectives. These include increasing return on equity every year (by one percentage point), maintaining gross Non Performing Assets (NPAs) below industry norms (it was under1% on six months overdue basis), growing loan approvals by 25% per annum, and maintaining a cost-to-income ratio below industry norms (HDFC’s was under 14%). It earned a PAT of Rs 1,019.20 crore in the first half of 2007-08, which was higher than the Rs. 664.84 crore it earned in the same period in the previous fiscal. According to Keki Mistry, MD, HDFC, the Bank will be able to sustain a 25% growth over the next few years. HDFC has positioned itself as a bank that’s approachable and easier to deal with. No wonder, it proudly boasts of the Best Retail Bank in India award (conferred it to at the 6th Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Award).

In other businesses, like life insurance, the HDFC brand is making inroads into rural areas, and stretching distribution networks at the grassroots level. In the general insurance business, HDFC has overcome niggling problems it faced initially, like the HDFC Chubb fiasco, and is racing ahead after striking a deal with ERGO. But, in sync with the underlying business philosophy, all businesses are loaded with tons of of ethics, social responsibility and customer friendliness. For HDFC, its customers are its deserving ambassadors.


Edit bureau: Gyanendra Kashyap with inputs from Niharika Patra

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!


Tuesday, July 08, 2008

ADMIRATION UNLIMITED


Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Why do we admire companies, brands, products, institutions, individuals and even so called failures?


“You always admire what you don’t really understand.” That was said by the French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. “Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a perpetual succession of miracles rising into view.” That was poet and politician Joseph Addison. Please keep these two homilies in mind when you next discuss an admired brand, product, organisation, individual or even disparage the same.

We all know we admire Dhirubhai Ambani despite tall tales of how he had managed the ‘environment and the system’. We all know we admire Maruti as a brand that has been around us even as India emerged from a deep slumber of isolation and obscurity and transformed into a rampaging elephant, or a tiger if you wish. We all know that we admire Nelson Mandela for the brilliant manner in which he led the process of transforming South Africa from a nation riven by racism and hatred into a modern democracy. We all seem to know what and who we admire.

But do we really know why we admire those we chose to admire? For instance, why and how is it that Dhirubhai Ambani has become one of the most admired icons of contemporary India Inc.? Do we even understand how Dhirubhai created the behemoth called Reliance and how it went on to become so big?

Or, take the example of the Tata Group. Do we admire J. R. D Tata for the innovative and brilliant entrepreneurial ideas that he generated or do we admire him because of his insistence on sticking to moral values and ethics at a time when India was descending into the worst form of crony socialism?

Go global and you will find the dilemma even more acute. Do we admire Henry Ford for creating the modern assembly line in manufacturing plants or do we chastise his legacy for his allegedly pro-Nazi leanings? Do we admire Bill Gates for the ‘windows’ that he gave to the world or do we hate him for his allegedly monopolistic tactics? Do we admire Sam Walton for helping American consumers buy as cheap as possible or do we chastise his legacy of paying as less as possible to American workers?

The problem with compiling a list of most admired companies is the element of subjectivity involved in the whole process. As Pascal pointed out about four centuries ago, we often admire those that we don’t understand. So we admire Dhirubhai Ambani probably because we really don’t understand how he operated and ended up creating such a gargantuan corporate empire. We admire V. Kurien, the man behind Amul, not just because he created the most successful cooperative in the world; but also because he worked the corridors of power in mystifying ways. There are many who admire and yet are sceptical about the success of Kurien because he was apparently ‘dictatorial’ and intolerant of critics. Similarly, talk of the most successful politicians and statesmen across the world and you will find the same mixture of intense admiration coupled with a tinge of scepticism.

Then again look at how Addison has talked about how admiration can be a phenomenon that can even transform into mistrust and dislike after a while. That’s because parameters on which we decide whom to admire keep changing with time. Look at it this way: in the era of intense socialism when Amitabh Bachhan was the angry young man who fought against greedy ‘businessmen’, Dhirubhai Ambani could possibly not have been as admired as he is today. Henry Ford is no longer as admired today as he was about 50 years ago because our attitudes towards labour, work and management have changed.


But some things remain constant across time and attitudes. No matter what parameter we decide, J. R. D Tata will always remain one of the most important ‘brands’ and institutions of India. And no matter what happens, Reliance Industries will be admired (as feared by rivals), at least for some time to come. Meanwhile, we hope you ‘admire’ this loving compilation of India’s most admired companies!

Meanwhile, about India...

The 4Ps B&M ranking of India’s most admired companies is based on the S&P CNX 500 list, which includes only those listed companies that have a minimum record of three years with a positive net worth (you will read more about our methodology on page 48 and the detailed explanatory tables on pages 50-51). But, going forward, you will find a few companies in our special ‘sector-wise admired companies’ package that do not belong to the original list of admired companies that were listed in Dalal Street. We have taken the editorial liberty of including some companies in the package that our core team believed had performed outstandingly & most inventively in the respective sector in the year 2007.

DLF, for example, does not find a place among our original ranking of most admired companies (the S&P CNX 500 takes into account listed companies as on March 30, 2007; DLF was listed on 5th July). But the year 2007 has been a watershed for DLF and so it finds a presence in our subsequent editorial package. Or take the IT sector, the most inventive strategy in 2007 has been adopted by MNC behemoth Hewlett-Packard, which again is not listed in India. So HP features prominently in our editorial pick for the IT sector. And in any case, the times... they are changing and who is admired can possibly even change as quickly as monsoon clouds race away across the horizon. Have a good read...

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career



Monday, July 07, 2008

Lagaan reaping dividends


IIPM, GURGAON

On beating Sholay and market forces...

A
three hour plus package when it was released in the theatres, about cricket, tax and colonialism – and still evoking interest after six years when the DVDs hit the stalls – that’s the magic of Lagaan.

The package having Lagaan and Chale Chalo (the documentary on the making of Lagaan) combined, has crossed 2.5 lakh units, surpassing the DVD sales of Sholay. A lot of research has gone into the package that has a deftly-crafted wooden box with memorabilia inside like cards, a film strip and a whole lot for the connoisseur’s collection. This combined with contests for the consumers for that wee-bit of market push saw this feat achieved. The entire package is priced at Rs.1,999, the DVD and VCD separately costing Rs.399 and Rs.199, respectively.

Lagaan managing the DVD sales of this scale with these prices, brings us to the question of figures that can be reached after the (in)famous price-slash of Moser Baer. The prices slashed to 34 and 28 for DVD and VCD, respectively, has shaken the industry, let alone the competitors! With T-Series and Ultra following suit, the market is on the verge of a veritable purge!

All this taken, will the rentals of DVDs and VCDs surge? Who has truly felt the Indian consumer’s urge?

Edit Bureau: Srinivas Chetan

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Kingfisher Airlines


IIPM - Admission Procedure

The flamboyant Mallya has managed to build a branded castle in the air too...

It daredKingfisher Airlines to be different and chose to tread along the high-quality, highprice corridor while the herd was fast galloping down the low-cost, low-prices alley. The result – Kingfisher Airlines! And the brand image – eminently sustainable. Its public perception hasn’t changed for over two years now (Kingfisher celebrated its second year of inception on May 9, 2007). With orders worth Rs.100 billion during 2005-06 alone and being the only Indian airline to place an order for 5 A380 superjumbos, the airline is also mulling an IPO to raise Rs.60 billion, which would help finance its future purchases. Perhaps the first airline ever to have received accolades even before completing a year, it was awarded with the ‘Best Airline of The Year’ award and also landed the Skytrax Award for ‘Service Excellence for a New Airline’. Mallya is also currently identified among those interested in the low-cost carrier Air Deccan. Being a liquor baron (where advertising is banned), Mallya is happily pumping capital into the airline so that it serves as an ad for even his liquor brand. No wonder, despite ‘not’ being a profit-making airline yet, Kingfisher is easily noticed. Binit Somaia, Regional Director, Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, says, “In a short span, Kingfisher has set new benchmarks for airline service, driven by innovation and investment.” Even the Panasonic Toyota For- mula One willfully accepted Kingfisher as its official sponsor in January this year. Sure, Indians can be proud of this truly indigenous brand!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An
IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit Below....
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
The Indian Telecom Sector
The Sensex rise and fall means
Ambitious Ambanis!
Warming up for doomsday?
IIPM is A World of Career

Friday, July 04, 2008

S. GOPALAKRISHNAN...


S. GOPALAKRISHNAN...

CEO & MD, Infosys Technologies Ltd.
That’s Infosys’ very own Kr(r)is(h)!

Replacing Nandan Nilekani as the CEO & MD of Infosys Technologies Ltd. was never easy, but this man actually made it look smooth! S. Gopalakrishnan (who was the President and JMD since August 2006) was amongst the founder members of the company. He was the prime force behind management of design, development, implementation (and other unheard tasks during those times in India) since the very beginning. He played a key role in aggressively pioneering areas like customer services, technology et al at Infosys. And being a weathered rock when it comes to M&As, he talks of his company’s future merger strategies as, “About 85% of acquisitions fail to deliver value. We are cautious and selective in acquisitions. We want to make sure it’s on our terms...” Proof enough why he’s a leader well-versed with business strategies to take total control of dynamic modern businesses.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of
IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)