Redmond Kaul-ing - Rajiv Kaul (92BMD)

Rajiv Kaul (92BMD), will be, as was reported in Economics Times earlier (Feb 4, 2005), the Head of "the Emerging Markets Group including the BRIC countries. Emerging countries are estimated to contribute about 40 pct to 50 pct of Microsoft’s business. In his new role, Mr Kaul will lead three teams in the US to devise strategies to create new business models and develop new partnerships suited for emerging markets."



After nine years in Microsoft India, four of them as Managing Director, Rajiv Kaul is moving on to bigger things at the software colossus. More specifically, he's headed to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond where he will head a newly-created group that will look after Windows in emerging markets.

"Discussions had been on for a few months," says the 36-year-old Kaul, when asked about this move. It will be some time yet before he moves out. "I do not expect to move before April or May at the earliest. It's not too easy to physically leave India," he says.

Kaul is particularly proud of Project Shiksha (computer literacy in schools for teachers and students) and Project Bhasha (computing in local languages), which he conceptualised and implemented in India. "These two have become global best practices for the company, and working on them, particularly Shiksha, has given me project experience at a global level, which I guess will hold me in good stead for my new assignment," he says. It's a window of opportunity, alright.

Finance seminar over video conference by XL alumnus KNV

From The Telegraph, Friday, February 18, 2005

Students of Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) got an opportunity to interact with USA-based alumni K.N. Venkatraman at a seminar “Careers in Forex, risk management and derivatives market”. The finance association of XLRI, Finax, organised the session. A distinguished alumnus of the 1990 batch, Venkatraman owns a consultancy firm in Delaware, USA. The interactive session was conducted through video-conferencing.

Full Story....

New Marketing Chief of Coca Cola India - Vikas Gupta (88BMD)

Coca-Cola India has announced the appointment of Vikas Gupta (88BMD)as the Vice-President (Marketing for) India division that also includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives.

He will assume his new responsibilities at Coca-Cola India from March 1, 2005. Gupta replaces Shripad Nadkarni, the erstwhile marketing chief of Coca-Cola.

Vikas has worked with companies like Brooke Bond and Procter & Gamble India in their marketing departments between 1984 and 1994. He joined Coca-Cola India marketing team in 1994 and held various portfolios, including brands and regional marketing assignments. He moved to join Coca-Cola's marketing team at Atlanta in 1999 until his return to India last year.

Making the announcement, Sanjiv Gupta, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India, said, "We are delighted to have Vikas Gupta join us and look forward to propelling our marketing success to even greater heights under his leadership."

Vikas Gupta said, "I am excited to return to the Coca-Cola family that continues to create excitement in the markets and has won scores of national and international marketing excellence awards."

Vikas is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur where he specialized in marketing and finance. Along with an extensive experience in marketing, he brings along an excellent knowledge of Indian markets, consumer insights and hands-on experience of having worked with the Coca-Cola system in India and Atlanta.

Temple raider - Ravi Mehrotra - 85BMD

Economic Times
February 15, 2005

Ravi Mehrotra, head of Franklin Templeton Investments, is one of those who believe that the mantra to success in the competitive world of investment management lies in being guided by virtues like discipline, patience and independent thought.

Some of these have paid off, as reflected in Mehrotra’s success in taking Templeton to the top of the mutual fund sweepstakes as the leading private fund house managing assets worth Rs 16,000 crore now.

There is another reason to gloat: the IPO of Templeton Flexicap fund has made history, mobilising over Rs 1,950 crore — a new high for an open-ended equity fund in the country.

Not to mention the record number of investor applications, estimated at two lakh, which poured in riding on the success of star performers in its funds’ stable like Templeton Prima and Templeton Bluechip.

All this could be gratifying for Mehrotra, who was part of the founding team of Kothari Pioneer, the first private player to enter the domestic MF business back in 1993.


A decade later, since taking over the reigns at Templeton, the fund house’s fortunes have been on an upswing, marked by an impressive growth in assets and in the performance of various schemes. For Mehrotra, donning the garb of a marketing man has come quite late.

Prior to his appointment as president of Templeton India in early ’03, Mr Mehrotra was director and chief investment officer (equity). He was in charge of investment strategy, asset allocation and directional support for Templeton’s equity schemes.

The XLRI alumni cut his teeth in investment banking. Starting off at Bank of America in Kolkata, he moved on to Mumbai as a member of the investment banking and treasury group.

In 1991, he left BankAm and co-founded Prime Securities. Two years later he moved to Kothari Pioneer. When Templeton took over Pioneer in ’02 he remained with the fund house.

Mehrotra has the rare gift of being able to demystify the stock markets in a simple, yet intelligent, manner.

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Ravi Mehrotra (85BMD) has been in the media articles (BT,BW, BI, ET, BizStandard,, etc.) so many time during last 8 months or so, that one can create a separate blog to cover him:0)

He was covered on xlalumni blog in August:
http://xlalumni.blogspot.com/2004/08/movements-at-franklin-templeton.html

Politics D-graded by B-grads

From The Times of India, Feb 14, 2005

JAMSHEDPUR: There is some bad news for the Rabri Devis and Chautalas of the country. B-school grads are disillusioned with the political system in the country and some of them are all set to take the political bastion by storm - armed with a vision of "people management".

If this assembly election has seen more than two MBAs, both from foreign universities contesting against political veterans, Jharkhand can expect more management gurus in politics in future - if concern expressed by a student of the Xavier Institute of Labour relations (XLRI) for the country is any indication. Shashank Abhishek who hails from the mica town of Giridih has a sincere urge to weed out "the crop of politicians who are dividing the country on caste and community lines.

The first-year student of this management school, which dominates the human resource segment in Asia, visualises himself as a political leader in future but not before he establishes himself in the corporate world to earn some big money. "Both business and politics are about managing people and if I can manage my business with elan, why not politics?

However, a majority of students, who had just graduated into voters and gathered at the cafeteria on Sunday evening, preferred to remain aloof from politics and politicians and most of them did not have the urge to even exercise their franchise. "It's a waste really since my vote will neither change the system nor will it raise the poor voter turnout in the country," said Kaushik Venkatraman, who was registered as a voter in Chennai.

Full Story...

POISE ... - International Student Exchange @ XLRI

POISE stands for Program for International Student Exchange - XL's student committee for the exchange programme. POISE has been in existence for a few years, but was formalized only two years back.

This year, we've managed to formalize tie-ups with Malardalen University, Sweden and Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. The exchange programmes will commence this year from the batch of 2004-06 - modalities are being worked out. Also, some other tie-ups are in the pipeline.

Vikram P. Dhunta
Business Management II (2003-05)
Secy., Program for International Student Exchange,
XLRI, Jamshedpur
poise@xlri.ac.in
www.xlri.ac.in/studentexchange

XL Celeb Watch : Nandita 2001

From: Shariq Siddiqui

Guess who's the latest XL Celeb on the block! Nan-da-cool! (ref attached)

That too not in some boring corporate supplement, but on the original Page 3 (i.e. Bombay Times). Well technically Page 2, but never mind!
:)

For those (on grax) who don't know who I'm talking about (how dare you!), it's Nandita da Cunha of BM 2001.

Full marks to Harish "Hawkeye" Balan for scanning the party rag even on Sunday ;)

Nan, you'll probably wanna kill me for passing this around...but hey, you gotta bear the price of fame!

Congrats babe!
~~~
Note : Unfortunately it being a scanned picture I couldnt figure out the technology to post it here : (