Ambira flies home

Dear Madhukar, XL UAE, Kim,

Ambira was discharged yesterday morning from Rashid Hospital and has flown home to Delhi where she will undergo physio and related treatment. The recovery has been miraculous due to her tenacity; prayers ,good wishes , help and assistance from XL UAE Alumini as well as the larger XL community across the globe, Kim for the collection of all the emails and above all Prof. Madhulkar the moving/driving force .

Cheers ,
Trevor

Ajit Singh - IR90 Batch - going places

Ajit Singh - IR90 Batch has just been promoted to "Managing Director" at NYSE Euronext this March 2008.

Thanks KNV for this info.

XLBang sent Maria Pinto to the Hyatt in Goa last year

Folks,

Maria Pinto won the trip to the Hyatt in Goa last year and this year it could be you! We have a great holiday package up for grabs courtesy www.holidayiq.com.

If you miss out on that, you can always get Rs 1,000 vouchers for Reliance Time Out shops.

The XLBang Annual Dinner
Gateway Residency Hotel
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Cover: Singles - 200, Married couples & families - 400, Guests - 400 each
(We've dropped the rates a bit.)

Thank you sponsors!

Principal Sponsor (Day 0)
Deutsche Bank

Diamond Sponsor (Day 1)
Upside Learning
Dell

Gold Sponsor (Day 2)
3M India
SAP
Airtel
Wockhardt

Beverage Sponsors (Night 2)
Blender's Pride & 100 Pipers from Seagrams - Pernod Ricard
Fosters from SAB Miller

Gifts (Weekend 1)
www.holidayiq.com
Reliance Time Out

Bay Area picnic June 1st (Sunday) at Ed Levin Park (Milpitas)

We have reserved a partially shaded picnic spot (‘Spring Valley’, picture below) at the Ed Levin Park in Milpitas for our Sunday Picnic. The event starts at 11am. We have a decent sized crowd with many first timers. If you are interested in attending, please respond to this survey ASAP. The weather forecast is not very sunny, so it should be a lot of fun. This is a great opportunity to know other XLers in the Bay Area & their families. Please spread the word to other Bay Area XLers. If this meet is a success we will have the momentum for future meet ups too.

More detailed information will be sent to all confirmed attendees by Saturday morning.

Regards,
Tipu
IR96
408 316 0371 (cell)

Which part of the park?

Here are the directions:

How to Get There

Traveling on either Interstate 680 or 880, take the Calaveras Road exit in Milpitas. Drive east towards the foothills along Calaveras Road. Calaveras Road passes through the southern portion of Ed Levin Park. There are two main use areas in the park. The Sandy Wool Lake area is located north of Calaveras Road and the Spring Valley Pond area is located south of Calaveras Road. To reach the Sandy Wool Lake area, take a left turn off Calaveras Road onto Downing Road. Travel north along Downing Road to reach Sandy Wool Lake, the hang gliding area and the main trail use areas. To reach the Spring Valley Pond area, continue along Calaveras Road, past Downing Road and turn right into the park area to reach the Ranger station, Visitor Center and Spring Valley Pond. Spring Valley Golf Course parking and Club House is located across Calaveras Road from the Visitor Center.

XL Bangalore Alumni Meet (May 31st, Gateway Residency Hotel)

The XLBang Annual Dinner
Gateway Residency Hotel
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Cover: Singles - 250, Married couples & families - 400, Guests - 400 each

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Principal Sponsor:
Deutsche Bank Platinum Credit Card

Diamond Sponsors:
Dell
3M
Airtel
Hewitt
SAP Labs
Wockhardt Hospitals

OMAXI Patrons:
Seagrams
SAB Miller

Foreign Students from 4 Countries

From The Telegraph


Jamshedpur, May 27: Students from four countries, including France, Sweden, Philippines and Germany, would come to XLRI as part of an international students exchange programme.

Officials of the B-school said that for the first time students from so many countries would be on the campus as part of the exchange programme.

“Except Germany, all other countries have confirmed the students’ participation at the exchange programme to begin in September. The students from abroad would stay at the B-school for four months,” said Shivapada Ray, the in-charge of students’ exchange programme at XLRI.

The management schools, which have confirmed participation, include Asian Institute of Management (Manila), EM Lyon and IESEG School of Management (both based in France) and Malardalen University (Sweden).

About 15 students from the four management schools abroad would be part of the students exchange programme.

...As a part of the exchange programme, students from XLRI would also visit he B-schools in Philippines, France, Sweden and Germany.

...In fact, XLRI has signed memoranda of understanding with about 15 management schools in the US, Belgium, the UK, Manila, Hong Kong, France and Sweden for students’ exchange programme.

31 May : Alumni Meet in Kolkatta

Dear XLers,


The XLRI Alumni Meet at Kolkata is taking place on the 31st of May at the pristine grounds of Royal Calcutta Golf Club from 7 pm onwards.

--
Best Regards

Sudipto Dey
XLRI Jamshedpur

Drive to Residency Road and not Airport Road this Saturday!!!

The XLBang Annual Dinner
Gateway Residency Hotel
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Cover: Singles - 250, Married couples & families - 400, Guests - 400 each

Do...
... call your buddies and families and come.
... give the car to the valet.

Don't...
... go to Airport Road. It's at the Gateway Residency Hotel this year.
... ditch if it rains, most of the party is in the hall and in the covered verandah.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Principal Sponsor:
Deutsche Bank Platinum Credit Card

Diamond Sponsors:
Dell
3M
Airtel
Hewitt
SAP Labs
Wockhardt Hospitals

OMAXI Patrons:
Seagrams
SAB Miller

XLRI to monitor Mid Day meal programme in Jharkand

From The Telegraph

XLRI to monitor mid-day meal

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Ranchi, May 15: The Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, would evaluate the implementation of mid-day meal scheme in the state. The decision was taken today during an important meeting chaired by state chief secretary A.K. Basu. HRD secretary J.B. Tubid, finance commissioner Raj Bala Verma and director (primary education) P.C. Mishra attended the meeting among others. The method of evaluation of the scheme would be decided in near future during a meeting between XLRI authorities and state HRD department. Monitoring of mid-day meal scheme would be given utmost importance. The onus will be on the block education and block programme officers, in case of any laxity, sources said. The authorities also decided to construct kitchen shades in all the schools covered under mid-day meal scheme at the cost of Rs 60,000 each. Mata Samitis, entrusted with the task of preparing food in schools, will also be imparted training on nutritious food. The members of Mata Samitis would be given remuneration based on daily minimum wages. A proposal to introduce filters for safe drinking water in all the schools was discussed at length during the meeting.

People in the know, say that XLRI was not even consulted or their assistance requested before the government published this information.

California Alumni - Picnic 1 June

Hi everyone, over the past few days there has been a lot of enquiries about the upcoming Bay Area alumni picnic. We are going to have a large group this time, with many new faces. We have almost finalized the place - it will be one of the Santa Clara County Parks. The picnic will start at 11am (adjusting for IPL) on Sunday, June 1st. We will make a paid reservation in advance so that we can give out proper directions to the picnic spot. To help us organize this event better, I have created this survey, which asks for basic information & food choices. If you are working/ living in the California Bay Area, please fill this. Even if you aren’t attending, it will help us make sure you get information on future alumni get-togethers.

Please complete the survey by Tuesday, & forward this message to other Bay Area XLers we may have missed.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Thanks,

Tipu Purkayastha

IR96

Saratoga, CA

Pune Meet - May 31st

On May 31st we are getting together at Pradip Dubashi's residence at 7.30 pm.Pradip has once again graciously agreed to organise the breaking of ice and guzzling of cocktails at his place.

After that at sharp 10 pm we go to the CPR club Police recreation club a short 5 minute drive from Pradip's place for dinner.Those of you who have been to an earlier meet at Pradip's place would be aware of this arrangement.

For directions to Pradip's place you can call Pradip.

The drinks would be arranged and contributions will be made to Pradip

Will post a msg. about the amount of contribution is the next couple of days.

Regards.
Prakash Sukhatme.

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay (05FPM) appointed Perot Systems Head HR Asia Pac

From Moneycontrol India

May 23: Perot Systems Corporation (NYSE: PER), today announced the appointment... Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay as Head of Human Resources for the company's Asia Pacific Region.

....Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay will be responsible for the group's global talent acquisition, resourcing and retention strategies. As such, he will oversee performance management, rewards & recognition, career planning & development, as well as employee communications & relationship management.

Dr. Bandyopadhyay has over twenty four years of professional experience in the areas of Institution, Organization and Human resources development. Prior to joining Perot Systems, he was heading the global HR function of Cambridge Solutions, a multinational IT and ITES organizations, as its Chief People Officer.

Having earned a doctorate in HRD from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Dr. Bandyopadhyay has undertaken training at various human process and organization development programs at NTL, USA, in addition to adult learning theories at Interactive Consultants, Canada.

June 1: Alumni Picnic - Bay Area, California

the picnic will be on Sunday June 1st, at around 10am (before it gets too hot). I am still finalizing a place. Since we have a pretty large contingent this time, I am trying to find a place where we can reserve a few tables.

Possible venues (thanks KP Naidu & Sandra):

Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas

Central Park/Lake Elizabeth in Fremont.
Almaden Lake Park (off Almaden Expwy, Los Gatos)

Guadelupe River Park and Gardens (Coleman Ave, San Jose)

Nothing fixed yet, so if others have suggestions, send them my way.

Also, Shailley from the 98 IR batch has been 'volunteered' to help - thanks, Shailley .

Regards,

Tipu

31 May : Bangalore Invitation

Fellow XLBangers,

We're just a week away from our annual bash.

Annual Dinner Details:
Date – Saturday, May 31, 2008
Time – 7:00 PM
Place – Gateway Residency Hotel, Residency Road

Cover - Singles - Rs 250, Married Couples & Families - Rs 400,
Guests - Rs 500 each

Like always, we have excellent sponsors without whom this would not be
possible:

Principal Sponsor:
Deutsche Bank Platinum Credit Card

Diamond Sponsors:
Dell
3M
Airtel
Hewitt
SAP Labs
Wockhardt Hospitals

Excitement Sponsors:
Seagrams
SAB Miller

Holiday Sponsor:
Holiday IQ (www.holidayiq.com)


See you next week!

Kuru

24 May : Chennai Meet

On behalf of the entire XL Community, you are cordially invited to spend a fun filled evening with us on 24th may 2008 at Accord Metropolitan, G.N.Chetty Road.

Thanks & Regards
Chennai Team

Update on Ambira

Promita passed on the message that :

Ambira is recovering well - she walked to her physiotherapy session today, and had been walking about the ward for the last few days. Of course, she has intermittent pain, but that is decreasing. Plans are on on how and where she is will now go to Delhi, etc. She is on the net, as well. A bit worried about attendance and stuff

Annual XL Canada Summer Picnic July 6th

The XL Canada Picnic is now set for Jul 6th, 2008 (Sunday).
Venue : Sunnybrook Park, Toronto
Format : Potluck

Have one drop out - Rajiv Burman - he is shifting that week end.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on 6th.

Regards,

Siddharth & Bala

Invitation Mumbai Meet 24th May

Dear all,

You are cordially invited for the XLRI Annual Alumni Meet to be held from May 24th, 8 pm at the Hyatt Regency, Sahar Road, Mumbai. The cover charges are Rs. 800/- per head. I am enclosing a copy of the invitation. Please accept our most sincere apologies for the delay.

Please forward it to every XLer you know.

Thanks and hope to see you there,


Akshay Sinha

Abhijit Bhaduri's new website

Abhijit Bhaduri - XLer & author of "Mediocre But Arrogant" has consolidated all his writings on one dedicated domain -http://abhijitbhaduri.com/

XL Alumni Meet in Basel on May 31st

Dear All

I invite you to the Alumni Meet in Basel on Saturday,May 31st, 2008.

The programme is as follows:

1) 5.15 p.m-7.30 p.m. : We meet at Bar Rouge, Ramada Plaza, Messeplatz for drinks. (Seating has already been booked in the VIP area at the bar so that we don't face any problems, 31st being a Saturday)

2) 7.30 p.m-9.30 p.m. : We proceed towards Jeffrey's, The Thai Restaurant, Riehenring, for dinner ( Its just about 150 mts from Bar Rouge. Booking has been done and we shall have a corner of the restaurant all to ourselves)

I look forward to meeting you all. Let us all spend an evening remembering the good old XL days.

Warm regards

Ashish Pant

PMIR -09

IIM - XLRI Alumni Meet on the 30th of May (KUWAIT)

Dear All,

it is indeed a great achievement for all of us to identify around 62 of us in this small but rich country:)

Wanted to share with you couple of action points where we would definitely require your suggestions.

1. Location - When we were planning the event a week back we had never expected to reach the numbers that have now. We are expecting a gathering of close to 120 people, which includes all of us along with our families, guests from the Kuwait Corporate Houses, Officials from the Indian Embassy, our sponsors (I am not sure as to how many we are going to have now), and representatives from the media. We had initially booked the Le Meridean (we had been able to negotiated a rate of 7 kd per person) but now it seems that we might not be able to accomodate ourselves into it. The other options that we are considering are Safir International (they are asking for around 10 KD per person) and Hotel Ritz in Salmiya (they are also asking for around 7 kd per person). Please let us know of your views with this.

2. Sponsorship - We are trying our best to have our meet sponsored and for the purpose, we have requested our company (Alshaya), and would also like to request all of you kindly help us with this in our respective companies or with those who you feel can help us with this event. I have attached along with this email a proposal that we, at Alshaya, have created and have shared it with our top management for taking a decision.

3. Inviting the Indian Ambassador - Ours is not a registered organisation and hence the protocol restricts his visit. There are now 2 options available to us:

a. Have our Association registered before the meet and invite him. This would entail nominating some office bearers for the registration purpose and later having democratic process of electing the office bearers.

b. Going ahead without inviting the Ambassador but inviting some other important officials from the Indian Embassy.

4. Inviting other Dignitaries - We would like your views and help of having some more dignitaries from the Kuwait Corporate Houses being invited for the meet.

5. Agenda - Below is the agenda that we have planned for the meet and would like to have your views on it.

1	Introduction, "KUWAIT IIM & XLRI Chapter : Road Ahead" & Vote of Thanks	Speech	Anshuman	5 minutes	7.00 pm	7.05 pm
2	MBAs Going Global (Alumni Achievements)	Presentation	Taranjeet/Hashim	25 minutes	7.05 pm	7.30 pm
3	Nostalgia @ IIMs/ XLRI (Campus Tour)	Presentation	Interns	15 minutes	7.30 pm	7.45 pm
4	Kuwait IIM- XLRI alumni meet Inaugration - Appreciation & Thoughts for Chapter - "The Rise of India"	Inaugration Ceremony & Speech	Indian Embassy Official	15 minutes	7.45 pm	8.00 pm
5	Memories of Campus & Words of Encouragement (From Senior Alumni)	Speech	Senior most Alumni	10 minutes	8.02 pm	8.12 pm
6	Expectations from Alumni (Kuwait Corporate House)	Speech	Guest 1	10 minutes	8.14 pm	8.24 pm
7	Expectations from Alumni (Kuwait Corporate House)	Speech	Guest 2	10 minutes	8.26 pm	8.36 pm
8	Presentation by Lead Sponsor			10 minutes	8.46 pm	8.56 pm
9	Press Release to Media representatives & Photo Session	Media	Animesh	10 minutes	9.00 pm	9.10 pm
10	Game of Housie (1 number to be announced between each point discussed above and the final set of numbers to be announced before musical event)	Intermittent Entertainment Activity	Anshuman (Moderator)	10 minutes	ongoing	ongoing
11	Distribution of Souvenirs (Prize to Housie Winner, Gifts for Guest including Choclates for kids) & Invitation for Dinner	Gift Distribution	Interns	10 minutes	9.15 pm	9.25 pm
12	Musical Event	Entertainment	Calden/ Taranjeet	15 minutes	9.30 pm	9.45 pm

Please use the following the spreadsheet is as follows: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pJ1zJA5f%20WexvYX9N8pnUWJg&hl=en

XL Alumni Meet in Delhi - 17th May

Hello all,

finally returned last night, was able to download and upload the pics of the 17th evening (and early morning;0)

So thanks to all - to all those who could make it, inspite of the special effects provided by the delhi weather...

....and to the enthu team of the interning students' of 09 batch, who planned, slogged and rolled-out the evening for all... Kudos to them!!

I have created a slide-show of the photos which I managed to take (about 50 of them), which can be seen here:

http://xlers.blogspot.com/

Or else you can have look at the individual pics, which are uploaded here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/madhukar.shukla/AlumniMeetDelhiNCRMay17

(as you will appreciate, it is very difficult to click photographs, when one has to hold a glass full of liquid in one hand ;-)...

I also missed out some of the pics like the dance-floor in action, director's 3-minute speech inviting all alumni to the 5th Annual Alumni Homecoming '08 (November 15-16, 2008), with which we plan to kick-off the 60th Year of XLRI, etc...

in any case, these pics, will give a one a feel of the evening (and help create the sense of regret for those who missed the meet ;0))

ciao

madhukar

HongKong Alumni Meet - 16 May

HK Alumni Get-Together (May 16th) - some Pics

Courtesy Hemant Lodha (BMD 98)

Singapore meet pictures

Rajesh Soundarajan (Ciggy) of the 99 batch has put up some pictures of the Alumni Meet in Singapore on his facebook account

http://is.gd/irZ

Edited on 22 May to add:
More Pictures here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/chintan.agarwal/XLRIAlumniMeetSingapore
Photo Credits: Mayur Bhutani

and here
http://xlers.blogspot.com/2008/05/singapore-alumni-meet-may-16th-pics.html

Trevor Devas - BM76 - Laugh and live longer

Trevor Devas has brought out a book of jokes.

More details and ordering information on the site : Laugh and Live Longer

Annual XL Canada Summer Picnic (July 13,2008) - With FAMILY

Hi all.
It is nearly time for the XL Canada Annual Picnic. With Spring already here it is time to look forward to our annual get together. Please block your calendars for July 13,2008.

The format for the picnic as always remains the same - POT LUCK
as does the location - SUNNYBROOK PARK, North York, Toronto

Just a couple of changes this year. First we decided to shift from Saturday to Sunday, got feedback that this will be less stressful and hopefully longer picnic time spent.....

Second, we plan to book the picnic area to avoid having to keep shifting around (we had to do quite a bit last time)... hoping we are not late for that already....
I will give other details closer to the time....

Just to confirm , we are now nearly 35 Xler's in the list in XLCanada (see attached). Apologise in advance to any I have missed.
Request you to please update changes on the list.
Looking forward to seeing you all for the picnic.
Regards,
Siddharth & Bala

16 May : Singapore Meet : Change in location

Junta:

Here’s some exciting change.

Feedback we did receive
On the venue and the location
Some wanted to see the XLRI Singapore
Others preferred avoiding parking rates in city.

Thinking Tanking we did
What better place than ol’ Alumni Campus
We put fight
And did grab the XL Campus for the get-together.

So here goes
for drink, food and merry
Old Monk replaced by Johnnie Walkers and the Absolute
This is as close as we could get to Wet Night.

Date: May 16, 2008; 8:00PM
Location: XLRI, Singapore
Families: Families, Significant others welcome!
Address: (Image International) 167, Jalan Bukit Merah, Connections 1, Tower 5, 7th Floor.

Ask the cabbie to drop @ the Jalan Bukit Merah Swimming Pool and Tower 5 is across the road.

31 May : Bangalore : Shaken & Stirred

Friends,

The mother of all XL alumni events is back. The XLBang Annual Dinner 2008.

When: Saturday, May 31, 2008

Where: Gateway Residency Hotel, Residency Road (please don't go to the Royal Orchid by force of habit)

How: Drive there and use the valet parking

Ingredients of Great Alumni Meet:

• The sweat of many Summer Trainees, so take good care of them when they come calling
• Lots of your batchmates, so make sure you call everyone and make sure junta comes
• Lots of sponsorships, more sponsorship = lower rates = greater turnout, so please get us some sponsorships from your organisation or pass on some interested contacts
• Seagram's by the case with lots of ice, Fosters & Castle Lager
• Great Music

Shake vigorously and serve fresh. Serves 250 XLers.

See you there!

Kuru

Mail from Prof. Premarajan - 75 respondents needed

forwarded mail---------------

As most of the PMIR alumni of years 1996 to 2006 may be aware, I had set out on a Survey of MCD students to study the stability of Career Anchor. I was very happy to recieve personal mails from you and touched by the offer many of you made to volunteer for additional work to help out on this endeavour. However, I am a little puzzled to note that of the 500 plus students who have taken the course during this period, I have got response from only about 125.

You would appreciate that to make this a meaningful exercise, I would need at least another 75 response. Others are kindly requested to take a few minutes (certainly not more than 10 mts) and help with the survey.

I would greatly appreciate if you can visit the link http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227QDZ744GP

and fill up the survey questionnaire and make this a successful venture.

Good news on Ambira

I just got a message from Promita in Dubai.

"Ambira is now recovering slowly but surely. Is walking back from the loo - about 20 meters, once or twice a day. She had to go for a cat scan today, so was on drips till dinner. Still, she was sitting up in bed thereafter, and sipping coffee and later ate well. Real progress."

I hope the progress continues steadily. But it is really heartening to hear that she is walking, even if it is just a little bit. Prayers are still needed. But it looks like she is out of any immediate danger.

XLRI to double GMP intake for 2008-09

From The Financial Express

Jamshedpur, May 12 Premier B-school XLRI is set to double its intake of candidates for the one-year general management programme (GMP) course, from around 53 last year to over 100, for the 2008-09 academic session.

"XLRI is also planning to expand international exposure for the students through tieups with major universities across the globe," said Father Abraham, director XLRI, speaking at the graduation ceremony for the 2007-08 batch.

According to associate dean (GMP & defence programmes) Pranabesh Ray, the B-school had selected only 61 out of the 1,552 valid applications it had received for its 2007-08 GMP batch.

XLRI has been increasingly attracting managerial talent for its GMP course from across the country. The ratio of the number of applicants spurted 152% for the 2007-08 session.

The B-school has enriched its GMP course recently by reducing number of core courses to 14 by introducing long-duration courses for an integrated coverage of the subject. In addition, the number of optional courses has been increased from 12 to 16.

Besides focusing on basics as well as advanced concepts of management, the course also provides international exposure in the form of internship and projects.

XLRI's 53-student batch of 2007-08 session received 101 job offers from 54 Companies, as against 23 last year, in completion of their course.

The average salary of the batch for global and domestic assignments increased by 20 to 30% at $1,30,000 and Rs 17.8 lakh, respectively.

Invitation - XLRI Alumni Meet 2008, Delhi - 17 May

Ajay Mallapurkar (02PMIR): The New Consulting Chief of Ma Foi

Chennai (May 7th, 2008): Ma Foi Management Consultants has named Ajay Mallapurkar as Chief Executive Officer, Ma Foi Consulting Services Ltd. (MCSL). He was the General Manager for the Western operations of Ma Foi Management Consultants.


From The Hindu

Sumeet and Poonam Kapur's (87 BMD) firm gets IBM award

Sumeet Kapur and Poonam Kapur's (87 BMD) firm Global Groupware Solutions has got a major IBM award. Sumeet sent me a mail which details out how their Employee Relation Management tool "Smiles" got the IBM Beacon 2008 award for "Software as a Service (SaaS) Innovation"

Read the entire Article at http://gautamghosh.net/

Hyd XL Alumni meet - report and pics

It was a great meet with more than 60-70 XLers across batches and programs turning up and total number of people easily edging past 100.

Awesome arrangement by the summer trainees and the venue at Taj Banjara was perfect for those interested in keeping their spirits up, shaking a leg, catching up with friends or in making new ones :-)

Tonnes of thanks to the summer interns Harbir and co. for putting together a stupendous show. And of course to our lead sponsor Indu Projects, and co-sponsors Seagrams, Pepsi, SABMiller, Dell, Deloitte, Microsoft.

Have clicked some snaps which can be seen on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gautam/sets/72157604989853270/

5 snaps are also on facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13407050479

People on XLers Unlimited community can check the pictures here http://xlrialumni.ning.com/photo

Prof. Madhukar Shukla who came down for the meet has also clicked some pics and am sure he'll be uploading them as soon as he gets to campus tonight :-)

regards
GG
http://gautamghosh.net

Madhukar posted more pictures at http://xlers.blogspot.com/

Entirely agree with GG and Hari!

it was a great evening - very enjoyable, and very efficiently rolled out!!

Harbir, Neeharika, Siddhartha, Ajay, Satya (and all others, behind the scene, I may not be aware of)

As Hari mentioned/ implied... you guys have created benchmarks for which your juniors may - actually, will - curse you ;0)...

thanks on behalf of all of us... (and behalf of all those of us who refused to leave till 1:30am - so much to catch up, grax, reminiscence and conspire... and we kept you people - the gracious hosts - up at the venue ;0) - thanks and apologies ;)

Thanks to all who came and made the event a great success..., and to all who helped the team to organise the meet...

...and, of course, to the sponsors (I am not mentioning them by name again since GG's post has already done that, and it will look pretty artificial and redundant to repeat the same)... but must mention our own Xlers who helped us to get these sponsorships... and so guys, let's also thank

- Kumara Guru (05 GMP - ISB), who put us in touch with Indu Projects, and actully worked to get them to be the principal sponsors

- Ranjeev Lahkar (00PMIR), and Srinivasivas Prasad "Sugga" (97PMIR) , who I believe/ suspect - not sure ;0) - had some major role to play in the sponsorship from Microsoft ;0)

- SV Nathan (83PMIR) from Deloitte, who as usual supported (though we missed his company, as he was travelling)

- Anil Chilla (00BM) whose first sponsorship from Dell, did wonders to the tempo/morale of the team, who were organising the event

...and of course for the "liquid/spiritual" stuff, (and to get us the pan-India sponsorship for the alumni meets) thanks to:

- Bikram Basu (94PMIR) - yes, please "PMIR" ;) - Marketing Controller, Seagram

- Shantanu Das (96PMIR) Head Organisational Effectiveness, SAB-Miller

- Pavan Bhatia (90PMIR) and Vikas Joshi (99PMIR) for Pepsi/Frito-Lay...

Folks!

being trigger-happy with my camera, I have taken about 80+ pics... and have uploaded them (Entirely Unedited;0) at:

http://xlers.blogspot.com/

(as slide show)

and at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/madhukar.shukla/AlumniMeetHyderabad10MAY08

Ambira Update & Dubai meet with Prof Sarin-May 15th

XLer Trevor D'Souza went to visit Ambira yesterday and he reported that :

Yesterday,popped in to Rashid hospital to wish Ambira on her Birthday and for a speedy recovery. The good Filipina nurses in the Trauma Ward sang birthday greetings in the morning to pep up her spirits. She was in fine fettle.

Met Prof Sharad Sarin & his wife, Prof Uday Damodaran and Radhakrishnan and had a spirited converasation. Radha, Sharad and self came up with the idea of having an XL get together on Thursday the 15th as Sharad Sarin would like to met all the Xlers and be able to make it by 9.00 pm after his class. He will then be sprinted/ whisked away to the airport to catch the 2.00 am flight to Cal as was done a year ago. Radha has graciously volunteered to arrange the venue at the India Club if there is no other place.However he requires the no. of attendees for doing the needful in informing the Club.

Johnson/ Leya could you kindly muster in the crowd as always with your excellent organizational & persuasive skills& graciousness.
Warm regards,
Trevor

XLer Leya also asks if someone can help get an appointment for Ambira:
Ambira’s mother wants to have a second opinion regarding her fitness to travel. The earliest appt with the Dubai Neuro Spinal Clinic we have got is 19th May so we are trying with the Bone & Joint clinic but they also seem to be full up.

If anyone have any contacts with the Dubai Bone & Joint centre and can help to get an earlier appt, please let me know.

Thanks
Leya

Again, if anyone wants to sms Ambira, the number is +971503832367
The phone will be with her mother (or whoever is with her) ; the reception in the hospital is very poor and it is difficult to get through. SMS is preferable to phone calls which may disturb her when she is resting.

Alumni Meet Singapore : 16th May

Dear XLer,

I take pleasure in inviting you to the XLRI Simgapore alumni meet, as per the following details:
Date: 16th May
Venue: Aangan restaurant, Peninsular Plaza
Time: 8:00 PM
Estimated expenses: About $25 per head

This is part of the meets organized by XL interns each year undergoing summer training at various locations. Since Fr. Jesurajan would be in town on the day, we would also invite him to the meet. I am sure this would be a unique opportunity for all to get in touch with XLers in Singapore and know about the latest at XLRI, Jamshedpur. Please confirm your participation by replying as soon as possible so that we can make the arrangements accordingly. I also request you to pass on the message to fellow XLers who might be interested in attending the meet.

Thanks and regards,

Chintan Agarwal
BM, 2007-09

Ambira: Happy!

Email update from XL Alumnus Trevor in Dubai:

Dropped in at Rashid hospital yesterday to visit Ambira.

Ambira has recovered quite well after her surgery and is very responsive. However at times she feels a bit low. Her Mum is very courageous and has a very positive temperament.

We all chatted for over a hour laughing away and I conveyed Madhukars message that all was well and he would take care of the academic front using his astute resourcefulness. (A+s all the way) Her Mum was delighted and we chuckled as Ambira gave a broad grin. She is indeed a tough cookie inspite of the trauma and tries her best to deal with the situation.The Hospital care is excellent as well as the attending surgeons.

Madhukar the family was touched to receive the huge and lovely Birthday Card excellently worded signed by all XL faculty and fraternity- a fine gesture on XLs part.

Prof Damodaran too dropped by yesterday and wished her a speedy recovery.

Her birthday is today and we sure will have a day long bash true to XL tradition, with all the patients in the Trauma ward joining in as well as with the docs and nurses.!!!! We'll take care of the Cops and the Director - the tricks of the trade eloquently/brilliantly taught at the alma mater by a motley bunch of world renowned Profs..............

Cheers,
Trevor

Ambira on path to recovery

Prof Uday Damodaran from Jamshedpur campus is currently in Dubai. He visited Ambira earlier today and had this to report:

Went and visited Ambira. Was really happy to see her in good spirits (and to see her mother's positive attitude) Ambira was in good spirits, chirpy and chatty. She had only two 'worries':

1. Losing out on attendance in Prof. Premarajan's course (!!) 2. Is sick of hospital food (rice, rice, rice...) Wanted Appam and stew
(!!!!)

a. About the first, told her that we will 'handle' Prem
b. About the second promised to get her some good authentic mallu appams tomorrow] [Come to think of it both her 'worries' have a mallu connection]

Please convey news to others. And, Ambira and her mother are touched and moved by the numerous XLers who are calling on them, sending messages, helping out.

Uday

Be in Hyderabad : Tomorrow evening

Hi folks,

Hope you have marked out your calendars and are going to be there at the Moonshine hall at Taj Krishna from 7.30 pm for the Annual Big Summer Alumni Bash!
http://xlers.blogspot.com/2008/05/xlri-alumni-meet-at-hyderabad.html

Here are just some of the things in store:

1. Very nominal charge since the summers have done an awesome job in getting sponsorships. Cheers to them!
2. The presence of Prof. Madhukar Shukla (http://www.madhukarshukla.com/), the node of all alumni activities
3. Amazing games, quizzes, fun activities to keep you hooked!
4. Booze and drinks to get the spirits soaring.
5. A promised performance by the original composer of "XL ki kudiyan" (http://xlers.blogspot.com/2007/11/xl-ki-kudiyan-on-youtube.html) Rohit Munjal himself! Someone get a guitar along!


If you haven't done yet, confirm the number of people you'll be getting along, to Harbir of the 2009 batch.

And pass this along to XLers of your batches and in your organization too who might not yet have updated their details on the egroup!

A big thank you to the sponsors who are making this such an amazing experience for all of us!

Principal Sponsor - Indu Group (http://www.induprojects.com)

Co-Sponsors: Dell (http://www.dell.com), Deloitte (http://www.deloitte.com), Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) Pepsi (http://www.pepsiindia.co.in) SABMiller (http://www.sabmiller.com) and Seagram India (www.seagramindia.com)

Be there, or be sorry you missed it :-)

By the way, if any of you are attending the SHRM India meet today (http://gautamghosh.net/2008/05/02/shrm-india-meeting-on-9th-may/) let's meet up!

ciao,
GG
XL pmir '99
http://gauteg.blogspot.com

Recent Books Published by XLRI Faculty

A.K. Pani, E-Procurement in Emerging Economies: Theory and Cases, Idea Group Publishing, Hershey, USA (2007)

Pitabas Mohanty, Principles of Corporate Finance, Tata McGraw-Hill Publication, 2007.

P.K. Padhi, Labour and Industrial Laws, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi, 2007.

Vishwa Ballabh, Institutional Alternatives and Governance of Agriculture, Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2007.

Ramachandran, N & Ram Kumar Kakani, Financial Accounting for Management (2nd Edn), McGraw-Hill Series, McGraw Hill Education, July 2007.

Ram Kumar Kakani & Tanmoy Chatterjee, Instructor’s Manual for Financial Accounting for Management (2nd Edn), McGraw-Hill Publications, July 2007.

S. Jayapandian, Accounting for Managers, Anne Books, India, 2007.

Sanjay Kumar, Decision Sciences and Technology for Globalization (co-edited with B S Sahay, J N D Gupta, S Batra and Sushil Kumar). Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 2008.

M.G. Jomon, India in the Emerging Global Order (co-edited with Prof. Amar KJR Nayak), Tata McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Vishwa Ballabh (Ed.) Governance of Water: Institutional Alternatives and Political Economy, New Delhi, Sage, 2008

--
Posted By Madhukar to XLRI Jamshedpur - News and Latest Updates at 5/08/2008 05:14:00 PM

Latest update on Ambira

Johnson sent this message :

I had visited Ambira at the Rashid Hospital, Dubai, last evening, 07/05.

Couldn’t speak to her as she seemed to be partially sort-of asleep/resting.
I didn’t then want to converse with her so as not to disturb/tire her.

Spoke to her mother.
She said probably in a month to 6 weeks period, Ambira could start to walk, and in 3 months-time, she could, hopefully, come back to normalcy.

Getting Balanced, Getting High

My Career Anchors according to Edgar Schiens Model are:

Getting Balanced and Getting High

Getting Balanced – These people believe in integrating the
professional life with the total lifestyle. They enjoy working for organizations that recognize personal and family concerns.
Getting High - High career anchor indicates a passion for solving the unsolvable – a constant drive to take on challenge.

They are the same as they were when I first took this test on Campus in Premu's MCD course. (I still have a copy of my Self Assessment Report from this course)

I retook the test and got these results, because Prof. R K Premarajan is currently trying to re-survey all his ex-students and verify whether the career anchors have remained constant or not after venturing out into the workplace.

If you were a student of his between 1998 and 2006, please read the message below and help him with his survey.

From: Prof. RK Premarajan

Subject: Study on Career Anchor Dynamics from XLRI by Premarajan

Dear all,

Greetings from XLRI!

You would recall that you had taken several inventories as part of the course Managerial Competencies & Career Development (MCD) during ther final year of your PMIR programme at XLRI. Now that you have worked for a few years ranging from 2 to 10 years, I am very keen to undertake a research study to understand the stability of career anchor. This would require me to gather data on what your career anchor is today and compare it with what it was when you were a student. Of course, there would be a few additional questions that I would need your input.

I would greatly appreciate if you can visit the link
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227QDZ744GP
and fill up the survey questionnaire and make this a successful venture. Your response within the next 10 days would be of great help.

Please do not hesitate to send in your comments/feedback, if any to prem[@]xlri[.]ac[.]in or rkprajan[@]yahoo[.]com

With regards,
Premarajan

XL Alumni Meets in May - Schedule

Hello folks!

Here is an update on the Annual XL Alumni Meets being organised this month - so please book your dates.

This being the "version 1.2", we have some greater clarity about the dates and venues... and some will get confirmed by the next spam/update ;0)

The organising teams of Hyderabad and Delhi have given special permission to a non-XLer to attend their meets

(actually, I pleaded and promised them that I will behave nicely and properly - in XL tradition;0)

So please do book your date!!... and join in..

ciao

madhukar

Hyderabad: May 10th (7pm onwards)
Hotel Taj Krishna (Moonshine)

Contacts:
Harbir Singh Rissam
Neeharika Bhupati

Siddhartha Parida

Singapore: May 16th

The Wine Company, Dempsey Road

contacts:

Chintan Agarwal

Rajesh Soundarajan 99BM

Ramesh Ramakrishnan 85BM

New Delhi/NCR: May 17th
Tivoli Gardens, Chhattarpur Road

Contacts:
Devika Rajeev

Manish Bhagat
Ankit Goyal

Chennai: May 24th
The Accord Metropolitan, GN Chetty Road

Contacts:
Mulpuri Raja Rajeswari
Abhiseg Elijah

Krishanu Bhattacharya

Mumbai: May 24th
Hyatt REgency (Regency Ballroom), Sahar Road

Contacts:
Akshay Sinha

Ritesh Agrawal

Bangalore: May 31st
Contacts:
Sharath N

Sugandha Agnani

Kuruvilla Kurian 96BM

Kolkata: May 31st/ June 7th
Contacts:
Sudipto Dey

Bharath S

Rohit Parmanandka

8 May : Summers, Art, and Booze

Executive Summary:

Free booze and dinner with the summer trainees and Bengali art exhibition at KGA, Thursday, May 8th, 7:00 PM.

Details:

Hi,

It's been a while since we've had a program, so it's nice to have a welcome dinner for the batch of summer trainees. There are about 25 of them working with various Bangalore blue chips like IBM, E&Y, Yahoo!, ITC, and Madura Garments.

We'll also be having an exhibition of Bengali art. It is part of the inauguration of the second in the series of "Best of Bengal" art exhibitions, brought to Bangalore by Arun D'Silva and Amitabh Bhattacharya of the batch of '80, in association with Gallerie Karma of Kolkata.

They have been gracious enough to sponsor the dinner & cocktails so a big round of applause to them.

The dinner is on Thursday at 7:00 PM at the KGA poolside (Airport Road).

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Kuru


Hi everyone!!

Rdg Kuru's mail..We'll look forward to meeting all of you at the KGA on 8th eve. Some awesome water colours will be on display thanks to our link up with Gallerie Karma of Kolkotta. Special prices for XLers so be sure to pick up one.

We plan to welcome the summer trainees as well so some innovative welcome drink recipes may be a good idea.

Special invite goes out to any out of town "80 batcher who may be visiting Bangalore on 8th... Just shout and we'll pick you up...

Cheers,

Arun and Amitabh. IR '80


HI ALL

It is a pleasure to invite you to the innauguration of the second in the series of "Best of Bengal" art exhibitions, being brought to Bangalore by us, in association with Gallerie Karma of Kolkotta. This time we are featuring 15 artists, and as always,the emphasis is on nurturing hitherto unknown talent from the state of West Bengal.

The exhibition is scheduled between 5th May and 10th May at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore,(Thimmaiah Road) and on 10th & 11th May at the lovely tea house "Tranquiltea", located in the campus of the Lakeview Farms, on the Marathahalli - Whitefield road, (near the Shell petrol bunk).

The inauguration of the exhibition is scheduled for 5th May at 6pm at the Alliance Francaise, and we would specifically look forward to you joining us on this occasion. We have invited a few close friends for this inauguration, and we are sure you will enjoy their company.

Warm Regards
Arun D'Silva and Amitabh Bhattacharya
BATCH of '80

Update on 8th Morning

A reminder of this evening's dinner with the Summers and Bengali Art.

Thanks to the elections, instead of an evening with "free booze" it'll be an evening "free of booze".

Thanks again to Gallerie Karma for sponsoring the dinner.

See you there.

Kuru

Invitation - XLRI Alumni Meet 2008, Hyderabad

Hello,
On behalf of the entire XL Community, you are invited for an evening filled with fun and nostalgia on 10th May, 7 p.m onwards at the TAJ Krishna (Moonshine).

You are most welcome to bring along your significant other and kids to provide them with a glimpse of the good old times at your alma mater, not to mention the first hand experience of the XL culture!!



Please cascade the invitation to your batchmates and fellow alumni members. Hoping to see you there…it won't be the same without your presence!

Thanking you,

Regards
Harbir Singh Rissam
Class of 2009
PM&IR
XLRI,Jamshedpur

Update on Ambira

SMS from Leya this evening

"Ambira out of theatre. Briefly saw her. Still gaga from anesthesia but wriggled fingers. Praise be to God."

have slightly uncrossed my crossed fingers... but this is a good news ;0)

ciao

madhukar

Audacious? Brajesh Bajpai (BMD 96) in Business Today

From Business Today

Walking the talk

T.V. Mahalingam

May 1, 2008

Regular walkers at the windswept Bandra promenade in Mumbai are likely to spot a professorial-looking man walking briskly past entwined couples and sleepy constables, barely throwing them a glance. Only an avid follower of business magazines or the burgeoning business news channels would recognise 57-yearold Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico, one of India’s fastestgrowing marketers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs).

Harsh Mariwala

Mariwala follows a rigorous physical regimen that sees him hit the treadmill, take long walks on the sea face, and play golf whenever he can find the time. It’s, therefore, no surprise that Mariwala is tough to keep up with when he is walking.But then, so is it with the company that he heads. As the financial results for 2007-08, which were declared last fortnight, reveal, Marico has clocked group revenues of Rs 1,907 crore—up 22 per cent over the previous financial year.

Since 2003-04, revenues have grown at a compounded annual rate of 21 per cent, something few FMCG marketers can match. Net profits are up 30 per cent for the same period. To cap an impressive run, look at it this way: The group has experienced 30 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and 34 quarters of profit growth.

Click here to Enlarge

But even that’s not enough for Mariwala. “We want to be the fastest-growing FMCG company. And we want to do that consistently. There is no point in growing one year at 30-40 per cent and the next year at zero,” says Mariwala.

To get that consistent high growth, Marico has a hand of four good cards. The first is a portfolio of established businesses and brands (businesses like hair oils and edible oils, and brands like Parachute and Saffola); the second card is the hunger to create new business models, the Kaya Skin Clinics being just one example of this; third, the international operations have grown from strength to strength.

Finally, the company has a distinct style of doing things, be it product innovations or the acquisition strategy.

Terra Firma

The Marico way A four-pronged strategy for growth. Strengthen existing brands like Parachute and Saffola by adding new brand extensions, adding value by adopting a health positioning, and launching more variations. Examples: Saffola atta mixes and Parachute gels Expand the international consumer business with key acquisitions in geographies like South Africa and Egypt. Also eyeing the booming African markets, and strengthening its position in Bangladesh and West Asia A focus on health and wellness, with ` close to 65 Kaya Clinics. Kaya has got into the weight-loss space with Kaya Life Clinics Develop new products by prototyping them in small markets

And then, of course, there is the story of Marico’s transformation from being a pure oils player to one focussed on health and wellness. Like Mariwala says: “Overall, I would classify the change that we are going through in four different buckets. Transition from hair oils to value-added FMCG products; from a purely Indian firm to a global entity; from low value to high value-added products, and from being only in the products space to becoming a solutions player (by taking the services route with skincare).”

Saugata Gupta

Oil is clearly Marico’s base. Despite stiff competition from the likes of Dabur and Emami, Marico has been able to increase its share of business in coconut oil and edible oils. Overall, Marico has a market share of 56 per cent in the coconut oil category with Parachute, Nihar, and Oil of Malabar. Parachute’s market share for the last year is about 48 per cent in volume terms.

Along with the traditional, Marico is constantly pushing the envelope towards new businesses. Late last year, the company prototyped a diabetes management atta mix in Delhi and the NCR. With this prototype and the cholesterol management product that it introduced the year before that, Marico has signalled its intentions to enter the functional foods markets, which, though still nascent in India, are expected to grow rapidly.

Milind Sarwate

Explains Saugata Gupta, CEO, Consumer Products Business: “One of the reasons why FMCG companies in general have had growth issues is that they have a single source of revenue—just a plain product model. Take the case of a company in soaps and detergents. Just because disposable incomes are going up does not mean that people are going to start bathing more.

Therefore, we have to look at a product-plus model.” Sure enough, in December 2007, the company launched the Parachute Advansed Starz range of products, including a shampoo, gel and a non-sticky hair oil targeted at kids.

Beauty and wellness

Another ace in Marico’s pack is its successful entry into the services play, with the Kaya clinics. Since starting its first clinic in 2002 in Mumbai, the company has come a long way. “On the first day we launched our clinic in 2002, not a single customer came. The second day, a customer walked in and then signed on our register saying that we are a thousand times better than a competitor. Then we knew that things would work out,” recalls Kaya CEO Rakesh Pandey, an engineer by qualification who can wax eloquent on peels, skin renewal and polishing systems.

Kaya opened 18 new skincare clinics in 2007-08, taking the total number of Kaya Skin Clinics to 65. Of these, 56 are spread across 18 cities in India, while nine are in West Asia. In typical Marico style, Kaya also extended its offerings by getting into the weight-loss space, opening three Kaya Life Clinics in 2007-08.

During the year, Kaya clocked revenues of Rs 100 crore. But more than its increasing contribution to group revenues, Kaya holds the promise of boosting the company’s bottom lines, thanks to its distinct service model. Typically, kickstarting a Kaya clinic takes Rs 1-1.3 crore (including technology investments and interiors) in a metro city. The clinic breaks even in about nine months in a metro and takes a little bit longer in smaller cities. Given that Kaya is still in expansion mode, significant margin accrual may not happen in the near future, but nevertheless, it’s a significant engine for the group’s growth.

Vijay Subramaniam

To boost its product revenue stream, Kaya began prototyping its “shop-in-shop” model through kiosks at malls. “We are now present in about 36 locations like Shoppers’ Stop, Hypercity and Lifestyle. We are looking at 100-plus such outlets in the future,” says Pandey. Currently, 12-14 per cent of Kaya’s revenues come from products. “Kaya has already turned around but its effects on margins will start kicking in later. But it’s still in an investment phase. After hitting break even, margin accrual will happen faster and better,” says Vinod Kamath, CFO, Marico.

Spreading wings

Another significant aspect of the Marico story has been its rapidly growing international business and its string of international acquisitions. Marico Chief for HR & Strategy Milind Sarwate narrates an interesting story about the company’s way of doing business. Even as Marico was negotiating its first acquisition in Egypt for the haircare brand Fiancée from the Egypt based Ready group, the company appointed a country head.

“We had the audacity to appoint the country head for Egypt even as the negotiations were going on. The guy (Brajesh Bajpai from Frito Lay) had the audacity to join as Country Head with nothing on the ground, when acquisition papers were yet to be signed,” recalls Sarwate, who has worked on most of the company’s acquisitions.

It’s perhaps this hit-theground-running attitude of the company that has seen its international business grow rapidly over the past couple of years. Last year, international operations accounted for nearly 16 per cent of the group turnover, clocking over Rs 300 crore. International revenues grew by an astounding 59 per cent. In 2006-07, revenues from international operations were at Rs 117 crore, or about 10 per cent of the group’s revenues.

Rakesh Pandey

With twin acquisitions in Egypt and a recent acquisition in South Africa, Marico is well set to tap the booming markets for beauty care products in Africa and West Asia. Marico has also been very astute in picking its acquisition targets. For example, last November Marico entered South Africa, but not in a conventional, mass category. It chose to enter the fast-growing South African ethnic haircare and healthcare market through the acquisition of Enaleni Pharmaceuticals’ consumer division. The market for ethnic hair care and related products in South Africa is estimated at Rs 600 crore. In 2007-08, Marico clocked a turnover of Rs 20 crore in South Africa.

“We expect to capitalise on the rapidly growing ethnic hair care market driven by the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy in South Africa. South Africa and Egypt are our gateways to that region,” says Vijay Subramaniam, CEO, International Business, Marico.

The company’s Egyptian brands Fiancée and HairCode added nearly Rs 88 crore to the turnover. So, what does the future hold for Marico? “We don’t want one growth engine. We want all the product categories to grow. All products have to deliver at least double-digit growth,” says Mariwala. Keeping up with him will then get even tougher.