Cricket, cricket... we agree with Bipasha
Basu, who sure told Ajay Jadeja off. But then, with World Cup 99 around this summer, can
patriotism, cricket, and England ever be de-linked in this country? Ask any CEO how he
feels about this third umpire thing, and he'll show you his kit-bag, cap, T-shirts,
glares, and passes--all packed for Old Blighty. In fact, there aren't going to be too many
to write about next month unless we're in England too. Vijay Mallya, the
43-year-old Chairman of the UB Group, for one, has booked a box, and cancelled all his
business engagements so that he can enjoy the semi-finals and the finals in mid-June,
1999, with his family and "some friends." As for Deepak Parekh,
54, the Chairman of the HDFC, he will visit London on a "part-business,
part-pleasure" trip around the same time. Ask him about the Cup Of Life, and he
grins: "I've got VIP passes. Standard Life and General Electric were nice enough to
send me some" (since he is on their local boards). And he will be accompanied by his
lovely wife, Smita, 47, who will add her own style of elegance to the stands.
The most sporting business
baron appears to be Kabir Mulchandani, the 26-year-old CEO of Baron
International, who is offering our cricketers, who will be sweating it out from May 14,
1999, a great incentive: win, and drive away from Lord's in a Mercedes each. Ask Kabir
which head the money will go out of, and he says: "We have a promotions budget. But,
for this, we will dish it out of our profits." Adds Kabir: "Cricket is something
that unifies the country, and we'd like to capture our little piece of this fever."
Will this bowl over the customer too? Only Britannia's CEO, Sunil Alagh, knows the answer
to that one.
We are bowled over by Suresh
Krishna, the 61-year-old CEO of Sundram Fasteners, who is proving to be a
master-blaster of the manufacturing world. Under his captaincy, the Chennai-based
fastener- and radiator-cap maker has managed to bowl out its competitors to bag General
Motors' Best Of The Best Suppliers award for the third year in a row since 1996.
What makes Suresh's hat-trick remarkable is not just that his company beat out 30,000
other suppliers to be one of the 184 winners, but that no more than 14 of them manage to
retain their awards year after year after year. Says Suresh, matter-of-factly: "We
had a good year. There were no rejections." Translation: not 1 of the 3.64 million
radiator-caps that Sundram Fasteners supplied to General Motors in 1998 turned out to be
defective! Since it is such drive that puts Suresh and his team a head above their rivals,
we wish the Indian cricket team would draw some inspiration from them on the field.
Cricket isn't an artistic
influence yet, though. While Ceat's CEO, Harsh Goenka, 41, hosted his Flashback To
Fastforward exhibition--he talked about it first here--Tina Ambani redeemed
our faith in her commitment to art, with her fourth successful Harmony exhibition.
Everyone--from Parmeshwar Godrej and Anuradha `Anu' Mahindra, to Gita Piramal and Simi
Garewal, to Hema Malini and the Ambani family--was present. Anu Mahindra, who was
impressed by the show, felt that "it had initiated a process of promoting art as a
dynamic aspect of design, space, and living-style." RIL's Joint Managing Director and
Tina's hubby, Anil Ambani, turned up in a pair of smart black jeans and a black T-shirt,
complementing his wife's black fuschia saree, at the evening do. "Art is such a
personal thing. All you need is to find something that moves an emotion within you,"
says the charming Tina, who recently turned 40. Ask her if she feels her age, and she
laughs in a wonderfully unabandoned manner, and retorts: "A woman is like a Persian
carpet: the more mature she grows, the better she looks." If that isn't a complete
woman, we don't know who is.
Women sure call the shots nowadays, and
there's one lady who makes the dreams of young models come alive. She gave Lisa Ray,
Aishwarya Rai, Diana Hayden, Aditi Gowartrikar, Dino Moreathe list is endless their
breaks. Yes, we're talking about the one and only Maureen Wadia, the
53-year-old wife of Bombay Dyeing CEO Nusli Wadia. "I have an eye for spotting
talent," she confesses. "Models are being exploited today. My aim is to bring in
professionalism into this field, and give these youngsters what they deserve." Her
model-hunt each December, in the form of the Gladrags Megamodel & Manhunt, has proved
to be a stamp of quality for anyone who participates. And it isn't as if she'll groom you
only if you're rich. "My doors are open to anyone who wants to be a model. There's no
fee either," she clarifies. So, how does she see her role as a search professional?
"I want to make the youngster more sophisticated so that he can face the new India
with confidence." So, if you have a talent, call Maureen.
If you are dissatisfied with the Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE), however, go to Anand Rathi. According to its new
President, the BSE is going to get better, more professional, and pro-active than ever.
The 52-year-old chartered accountant, who worked with the A.V. Birla Group for as many as
20 years, feels that investors need to be really looked after. "They are my real
customers," he says, in his stolid, believe-me fashion. "I want to do something
for them." Hoping to make the BSE a self-regulatory organisation, he says:
"That's how stock exchanges are run abroad." Well, Anand has as much of a chance
of doing that as Azhar has of winning the World Cup, we reckon.
Cricket, cricket... we agree with Bipasha
Basu, who sure told Ajay Jadeja off. But then, with World Cup 99 around this summer, can
patriotism, cricket, and England ever be de-linked in this country? Ask any CEO how he
feels about this third umpire thing, and he'll show you his kit-bag, cap, T-shirts,
glares, and passes--all packed for Old Blighty. In fact, there aren't going to be too many
to write about next month unless we're in England too. Vijay Mallya, the
43-year-old Chairman of the UB Group, for one, has booked a box, and cancelled all his
business engagements so that he can enjoy the semi-finals and the finals in mid-June,
1999, with his family and "some friends." As for Deepak Parekh,
54, the Chairman of the HDFC, he will visit London on a "part-business,
part-pleasure" trip around the same time. Ask him about the Cup Of Life, and he
grins: "I've got VIP passes. Standard Life and General Electric were nice enough to
send me some" (since he is on their local boards). And he will be accompanied by his
lovely wife, Smita, 47, who will add her own style of elegance to the stands. 
The most sporting business
baron appears to be Kabir Mulchandani, the 26-year-old CEO of Baron
International, who is offering our cricketers, who will be sweating it out from May 14,
1999, a great incentive: win, and drive away from Lord's in a Mercedes each. Ask Kabir
which head the money will go out of, and he says: "We have a promotions budget. But,
for this, we will dish it out of our profits." Adds Kabir: "Cricket is something
that unifies the country, and we'd like to capture our little piece of this fever."
Will this bowl over the customer too? Only Britannia's CEO, Sunil Alagh, knows the answer
to that one. 
We are bowled over by Suresh
Krishna, the 61-year-old CEO of Sundram Fasteners, who is proving to be a
master-blaster of the manufacturing world. Under his captaincy, the Chennai-based
fastener- and radiator-cap maker has managed to bowl out its competitors to bag General
Motors' Best Of The Best Suppliers award for the third year in a row since 1996.
What makes Suresh's hat-trick remarkable is not just that his company beat out 30,000
other suppliers to be one of the 184 winners, but that no more than 14 of them manage to
retain their awards year after year after year. Says Suresh, matter-of-factly: "We
had a good year. There were no rejections." Translation: not 1 of the 3.64 million
radiator-caps that Sundram Fasteners supplied to General Motors in 1998 turned out to be
defective! Since it is such drive that puts Suresh and his team a head above their rivals,
we wish the Indian cricket team would draw some inspiration from them on the field. 
Cricket isn't an artistic
influence yet, though. While Ceat's CEO, Harsh Goenka, 41, hosted his Flashback To
Fastforward exhibition--he talked about it first here--Tina Ambani redeemed
our faith in her commitment to art, with her fourth successful Harmony exhibition.
Everyone--from Parmeshwar Godrej and Anuradha `Anu' Mahindra, to Gita Piramal and Simi
Garewal, to Hema Malini and the Ambani family--was present. Anu Mahindra, who was
impressed by the show, felt that "it had initiated a process of promoting art as a
dynamic aspect of design, space, and living-style." RIL's Joint Managing Director and
Tina's hubby, Anil Ambani, turned up in a pair of smart black jeans and a black T-shirt,
complementing his wife's black fuschia saree, at the evening do. "Art is such a
personal thing. All you need is to find something that moves an emotion within you,"
says the charming Tina, who recently turned 40. Ask her if she feels her age, and she
laughs in a wonderfully unabandoned manner, and retorts: "A woman is like a Persian
carpet: the more mature she grows, the better she looks." If that isn't a complete
woman, we don't know who is. 
Women sure call the shots nowadays, and
there's one lady who makes the dreams of young models come alive. She gave Lisa Ray,
Aishwarya Rai, Diana Hayden, Aditi Gowartrikar, Dino Moreathe list is endless their
breaks. Yes, we're talking about the one and only Maureen Wadia, the
53-year-old wife of Bombay Dyeing CEO Nusli Wadia. "I have an eye for spotting
talent," she confesses. "Models are being exploited today. My aim is to bring in
professionalism into this field, and give these youngsters what they deserve." Her
model-hunt each December, in the form of the Gladrags Megamodel & Manhunt, has proved
to be a stamp of quality for anyone who participates. And it isn't as if she'll groom you
only if you're rich. "My doors are open to anyone who wants to be a model. There's no
fee either," she clarifies. So, how does she see her role as a search professional?
"I want to make the youngster more sophisticated so that he can face the new India
with confidence." So, if you have a talent, call Maureen. 
If you are dissatisfied with the Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE), however, go to Anand Rathi. According to its new
President, the BSE is going to get better, more professional, and pro-active than ever.
The 52-year-old chartered accountant, who worked with the A.V. Birla Group for as many as
20 years, feels that investors need to be really looked after. "They are my real
customers," he says, in his stolid, believe-me fashion. "I want to do something
for them." Hoping to make the BSE a self-regulatory organisation, he says:
"That's how stock exchanges are run abroad." Well, Anand has as much of a chance
of doing that as Azhar has of winning the World Cup, we reckon.