FInally, the
Bulldog is retreating into his kennel-tenaciously. Since he will celebrate his 70th
birthday in the first year of the New Millennium, G.V. Ramakrishna, the
ex-chairman of the ex-Disinvestment Commission, believes that the time has come for him to
fly South. To Chennai, actually, where the former IAS officer (1952 Batch) had always
planned to settle down after a surprisingly exciting career spanning 5 decades. In fact,
it may still not be the typical pensioner's paradise for the iron man who tried to bring
law into our stockmarkets as the first chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of
India, order into our disinvestment process as the first chairman of the Disinvestment
Commission, and economics into our diplomacy as India's first ambassador to the European
Union. ''I will settle down there, and decide what to do only after a couple of months,''
is all that the diminutive, cigar-smoking GVR, who loves walking in Delhi's Lodhi Gardens,
will say. Bless you, sir, we're going to miss one of the sharpest-and most honest-minds in
the history of policy-making...
He's cooler than managers
half his age-and it started showing when he was half his age. Fresh out of
IIT-k(haragpur), 54-year-old R(aj) K(umar) Caprihan was one of the chosen
few admitted to IIM-c(alcutta) way back in 1967. The rest is history: a brash RK then
refused to enrol because he didn't think it was necessary to have an MBA degree from a
B-school to make it. With his success with the Kelvinator brand in the Eighties proving
that he is one of the coolest ones, everyone now agrees that there are exceptions that
etc. etc. etc.. Since then, the low-profile marketing whiz has insisted on chucking up
comfortable jobs for uncomfortable challenges: from Kelvinator, he moved to Samsung, and
then, LML, where he has just put in his papers. ''You need to do different things all the
time. It's not enough to follow what others have done,'' explains RK, who isn't saying
anything more than that he's off on his own this time, with three start-up ideas to choose
from. Our only clue: RK loves networking-and the Net...
If you were to
discover that the head of your favourite mutual fund was also an astrologer, would you
immediately pull out all your money? Or would you hand him all your life's savings to
manage? Not to worry. Vibhav Kapoor, the 44-year-old CEO of IL&FS
Asset Management-who also advises the India funds of the global investment bank,
Oppenheimer-never mixes fortune-telling with fortune-making. Still, he can't but help
notice the similarities between his hobby and his work; both, he says, are about
forecasting. But how? Turns out that Vibhav warmed to the dismal art after he was
introduced to it by one of his father's friends when he was a young lad, and later, he
became a disciple of the Bangalore-based astrologer, B.V. Ramana. So, what makes a good
CEO? Pat comes the reply: ''Someone whose Jupiter is on the ascendant.'' And we thought it
was someone who could foretell the future shape of competition!...
Lobsters,
ham, and onions, cooked together with chillies, tamarind, turmeric, tomatoes, and rice.
That may make for a mean paella, but the senor who loves dishing it up is no Spaniard.
Cooking is just one of the 36-year-old Rajeev Karwal's three passions.
The other-which he shares with his first, Shobha-is collecting clocks from all over the
world. ''I believe that a complete manager is one who can survive geography, technology,
and time,'' claims Rajiv, who suddenly quit as LG Electronics' hi-profile marketing head
last month to join Philips as its Vice-President (Consumer Electronics Business). He must
be pretty complete since he hasn't just survived; Rajiv has thrived in his 15-year career,
moving up and away from Onida to Surya Roshni to LG Electronics, and now, Philips. But he
prefers to be known as a simple Indian, who believes firmly in the importance of the
family. On week-ends, Rajiv has no time for anyone else. And all his 20 clocks will vouch
for that...
He's a collector
without a handicap. Twenty-five years ago, Kavas Jamshed Bharrucha picked
up his first Ara water-colour for Rs 200. Now, the 52-year-old CEO of Colour Chem has a
contemporary Indian art-collection that is the envy of every art-dealer in Mumbai. From
M.F. Husains to Arpita Singhs to Jogen Chowdhurys, Kavas has them all, with his South
Mumbai home looking quite the gallery. Says the pucca chartered accountant, who worked his
way to the top after starting off as a works accountant at Colour Chem: ''If you want to
be a CEO, you need to have wide interests. The broader, the better.'' That's why Kavas is
also a golfer, with a handicap of 20 that he isn't happy about-at all. ''I simple don't
get enough time to hit the course,'' laments Kavas. Clearly, art always triumphs over
sport.
FInally, the
Bulldog is retreating into his kennel-tenaciously. Since he will celebrate his 70th
birthday in the first year of the New Millennium, G.V. Ramakrishna, the
ex-chairman of the ex-Disinvestment Commission, believes that the time has come for him to
fly South. To Chennai, actually, where the former IAS officer (1952 Batch) had always
planned to settle down after a surprisingly exciting career spanning 5 decades. In fact,
it may still not be the typical pensioner's paradise for the iron man who tried to bring
law into our stockmarkets as the first chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of
India, order into our disinvestment process as the first chairman of the Disinvestment
Commission, and economics into our diplomacy as India's first ambassador to the European
Union. ''I will settle down there, and decide what to do only after a couple of months,''
is all that the diminutive, cigar-smoking GVR, who loves walking in Delhi's Lodhi Gardens,
will say. Bless you, sir, we're going to miss one of the sharpest-and most honest-minds in
the history of policy-making... 
He's cooler than managers
half his age-and it started showing when he was half his age. Fresh out of
IIT-k(haragpur), 54-year-old R(aj) K(umar) Caprihan was one of the chosen
few admitted to IIM-c(alcutta) way back in 1967. The rest is history: a brash RK then
refused to enrol because he didn't think it was necessary to have an MBA degree from a
B-school to make it. With his success with the Kelvinator brand in the Eighties proving
that he is one of the coolest ones, everyone now agrees that there are exceptions that
etc. etc. etc.. Since then, the low-profile marketing whiz has insisted on chucking up
comfortable jobs for uncomfortable challenges: from Kelvinator, he moved to Samsung, and
then, LML, where he has just put in his papers. ''You need to do different things all the
time. It's not enough to follow what others have done,'' explains RK, who isn't saying
anything more than that he's off on his own this time, with three start-up ideas to choose
from. Our only clue: RK loves networking-and the Net... 
If you were to
discover that the head of your favourite mutual fund was also an astrologer, would you
immediately pull out all your money? Or would you hand him all your life's savings to
manage? Not to worry. Vibhav Kapoor, the 44-year-old CEO of IL&FS
Asset Management-who also advises the India funds of the global investment bank,
Oppenheimer-never mixes fortune-telling with fortune-making. Still, he can't but help
notice the similarities between his hobby and his work; both, he says, are about
forecasting. But how? Turns out that Vibhav warmed to the dismal art after he was
introduced to it by one of his father's friends when he was a young lad, and later, he
became a disciple of the Bangalore-based astrologer, B.V. Ramana. So, what makes a good
CEO? Pat comes the reply: ''Someone whose Jupiter is on the ascendant.'' And we thought it
was someone who could foretell the future shape of competition!... 
Lobsters,
ham, and onions, cooked together with chillies, tamarind, turmeric, tomatoes, and rice.
That may make for a mean paella, but the senor who loves dishing it up is no Spaniard.
Cooking is just one of the 36-year-old Rajeev Karwal's three passions.
The other-which he shares with his first, Shobha-is collecting clocks from all over the
world. ''I believe that a complete manager is one who can survive geography, technology,
and time,'' claims Rajiv, who suddenly quit as LG Electronics' hi-profile marketing head
last month to join Philips as its Vice-President (Consumer Electronics Business). He must
be pretty complete since he hasn't just survived; Rajiv has thrived in his 15-year career,
moving up and away from Onida to Surya Roshni to LG Electronics, and now, Philips. But he
prefers to be known as a simple Indian, who believes firmly in the importance of the
family. On week-ends, Rajiv has no time for anyone else. And all his 20 clocks will vouch
for that... 
He's a collector
without a handicap. Twenty-five years ago, Kavas Jamshed Bharrucha picked
up his first Ara water-colour for Rs 200. Now, the 52-year-old CEO of Colour Chem has a
contemporary Indian art-collection that is the envy of every art-dealer in Mumbai. From
M.F. Husains to Arpita Singhs to Jogen Chowdhurys, Kavas has them all, with his South
Mumbai home looking quite the gallery. Says the pucca chartered accountant, who worked his
way to the top after starting off as a works accountant at Colour Chem: ''If you want to
be a CEO, you need to have wide interests. The broader, the better.'' That's why Kavas is
also a golfer, with a handicap of 20 that he isn't happy about-at all. ''I simple don't
get enough time to hit the course,'' laments Kavas. Clearly, art always triumphs over
sport.