Volume4 issue 16 corporate citizen

TÊTE-À-TÊTE Shantanu Bhamare, CIO, Systango November 16-30, 2018 / `50

Volume 4, Issue No.16 / Pages 68 / www.corporatecitizen.in

Panel Discussion

Keynote

Understanding Disruptive Leadership

Porus Doctor

Partner, Deloitte, on the challenges and opportunities for CFOs

Interview

Sanjay Bhutani, Country Manager, Bausch & Lomb, India

Survey

Corporate Recruiters Survey Report 2018 Loved And Married Kalpesh and Neha Saraf, the quintessential corporate couple

-Corporate

Stalwart 7-

‘Human Resource’ is about ‘Human Possibilities’ Father of HRM, Dr. T.V. Rao, Chairman, TVRLS and Founder & First President, NHRDN, on why HR management is now more about human possibilities

2 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Aravind Krishnan Editor-In-Chief’s Choice

Dr. (Col.) A Balasubramanian

Why I returned to India with my Harvard MBA

Aravind Krishnan wrote recently in Poets&Quants about what he learned in earning an MBA from Harvard Business School. Here he writes about what he’ll do with the degree

W

hen I informed people that I would be moving to India after my MBA from Harvard Business School, reactions varied from happiness to surprise to sympathy. A few of my well-wishers were simply disappointed that I was not taking up a high-paying job in the land of opportunity and dreams, the United States of America.

This is my reasoning behind my decision to forego the American dream to build my career in India. I will limit this story to professional reasons, even though several personal reasons strongly influenced the decision.

I believe this is the most opportune time to launch a career in India and I believe I possess the most agency to make a difference in India than any other place in the world.

I recently paid a brief visit to the dilapidated manufacturing facility in the picture above. The facility, overgrown with shrubbery and resembling a metallic graveyard, was once the toast of the town. Within these

ruins lie the reasons for my decision to make a difference in India.

I hail from Kerala, the southernmost state in India.

Apart from its pristine natural beauty, coconut trees, and beautiful beaches, Kerala is known as one of the last standing bastions of socialism.

I grew up in a family dedicated to safeguarding the environment. My parents built a company, Travancore Sulphates Limited (TSL), which was a pioneer in pollution abatement technology. Unfortunately, TSL failed within a decade, crippling my family financially, impoverishing a hundred employees and their families, and leaving many customers bereft of cost-effective effluent treatment. A diagnosis of TSL’s failure reveals the usual suspects: a hostile government, a corrupt bureaucracy, and lack of growth capital. This was an era when any form of equity funding, like venture capital or private equity, were alien concepts, businesses instead relying solely on debt as a source of external funding.

The image of a company being smothered out of life by an antagonistic political system and inefficient labor and financial markets left an indelible mark in my childhood, and, over time, shaped the purpose of my life.

PURPOSE NO. 1: I WANT TO HELP BUSINESS FLOURISH IN INDIA

Though Kerala, India is known for it natural beauty, it has also known poverty and socioeconomic upheaval. When factories close, families suffer

My early initiation to the harsh realities of doing business in India could have had two effects on me: get tired of the system and escape to a better market, or stay home and try to change the system from the ground up. I chose the latter. While it is improbable that a few individuals can transform the political system or reform labor markets in such a huge and diverse country, it is possible for individuals like me to help build robust financial markets. And that is where I have decided to focus my efforts, at least during the initial years of my career.

I will be a private equity investor doing growth equity and buyout deals across industries in India. I hope to be a facilitator for infusing much-needed equity capital to fund prudent growth, while helping businesses establish more robust management systems and proNovember 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 3

Editor-in-Chief’s Choice / Aravind Krishnan cesses and improving corporate governance, thereby providing Indian companies the same resources that TSL didn’t have access to 25 years ago.

What Indian businesses need is not dumb money, but active investors who can not only provide capital but also be agents of transformation across key functions. Private equity as a business model relies on improving the underlying health of the business, and this can be leveraged to create world-class companies in India. An investor’s role doesn’t end with building better-run companies, but often creating entire industries, supply chains, and markets.

PURPOSE NO. 2: I WANT TO LEVERAGE BUSINESS TO SOLVE INDIA’S GRAVEST PROBLEMS

What Indian businesses need is not dumb money, but active investors who can not only provide capital but also be agents of transformation across key functions - Aravind Krishnan

One of my biggest takeaways from Harvard Business School is the capacity of private enterprise to solve the most serious problems faced by the world today — poverty, malnutrition and diseases. NGOs and charities can bring to light many of these issues, but only companies that seek profits can have sustained impact at scale. I believe being an investor endows me with the agency to help build companies and create industries that can focus on solving many of the problems India faces today, especially in agriculture, food security, healthcare, and financial inclusion. My personal dream is to influence the creation of agriculture supply chains and technology-enabled healthcare delivery with the power of smart capital.

On the other end of the spectrum, private equity can also help revive struggling companies hurt by challenging macroeconomic conditions. Interestingly, the non-performing assets/loans problem that has afflicted the banking sector in India today can only be solved through fresh capital infusion, where the PE industry can play a leading role.

While I don’t have grandiose visions of being able to solve any of these problems on my own, I hope to be a catalyst in bringing about necessary changes.

OPPORTUNITY NO. 1: INDIA IS A BEACON IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY WITH STAGNANT GROWTH

The global economy has been challenged in the recent past by a rapidly aging population, a deflationary environment, and depressed oil prices. Growth has been hard to come by, with rates only marginally improving in early 2017. The long-revered principles of globalisation are facing a crisis of faith as nationalistic sentiments take centre stage, as evidenced by the U.S. presidential election and Brexit in 2016. As investors and managers search for the Holy Grail of growth, India with its 6% to 7% per annum GDP growth is a beacon in this rather gloomy global economy.

As India assumes the mantle of fastest-growing major economy in the world (moving past China post-demonetisation), it is expected to be a major driver of global growth. India is today the fifth-largest economy in the world in nominal terms and the third-largest on a pur-

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chasing power parity-adjusted basis. India’s rich demographic dividend, with the world’s largest working population, a large and growing domestic market, expected productivity improvements, and a government-funded infrastructure investment drive position the country to grow in excess of 7% per annum over the next decade. Unlike the export-driven growth model of East and Southeast Asia, the bulk of India’s growth is going to come from its own burgeoning domestic market, insulating the economy to some degree-from worrying global trends like anti-globalisation and nationalism.

On the flip side, the single biggest drag on growth in India is abysmally low investment levels, both public and private. The stressed balance sheets of India Inc. and the bad loan problems faced by Indian banks have put a straitjacket on the private sector to deploy capital.

Long-term capital is, therefore, essential for the investment cycle to pick up. I believe PE firms like the one I am going to work for should be in the vanguard of this effort to improve long-term investment, especially in manufacturing and infrastructure.

OPPORTUNITY NO. 2: THE CURRENT POLITICAL DISPENSATION INSPIRES CONFIDENCE

Markets and business can thrive only in the presence of a strong, supportive government and effective regulation. I have never been more confident in the effectiveness of government in India than I am today. I believe the biggest success of the government to date is not in reforms or governance, but in the confidence it has inspired among the youth of the nation. The current regime has often been criticized for focusing on form over substance. But the intangible benefits of form should not be overlooked. By running successful marketing campaigns around snazzy initiatives like “Make in India” and “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” (Clean India Movement), promoting a sense of national pride, and undertaking bold moves like demonetization, the government has been successful in (a) motivating a generation of young Indians to work hard and contribute to the national cause and (b) inspiring confidence in domestic and global companies alike.

I believe the government has been able to back up the form with real substance in the form of progressive reforms, better governance, higher transparency, and a rigorous focus on improving the business climate in India. The highlight of the first three years of the Na-

The Indian diaspora - a few classmates from Aravind’s Harvard Business School section

tional Democratic Alliance government has certainly been the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax to create the single largest market in the world, while the opening up of sectors like insurance, real estate, and defence have provided the appetite for investment.

While the botched execution of demonetization cost India dearly in terms of short-term growth and caused endless hassles to its people, the long-term benefits of pushing hundreds of millions of Indians into the digital economy are astounding. However, the government has significant ground to cover in land and labor reforms, solving India’s ballooning bad loan problem and building world-class infrastructure.

AGENCY: AS AN INDIAN, I BELIEVE I CAN HAVE THE MOST IMPACT IN INDIA

History has thrown up several exceptional luminaries who have been able to change people’s lives globally.

While global impact is a great end-state to aspire toward, I want to start by targeting smaller communities.

I have spent all my life with the exception of two years at Harvard Business School — in India. I believe, given my background, networks, and cultural context, that I can perform the best to my capabilities and have the most impact within India.

We can always descend to displacing and diffusing responsibility and expect someone else to transform the country. “Why should I leave my cushy job in Silicon Valley and start a company in India? Someone else will do it.” In response, I ask, “If not you, then who?” One can also come up with reasons to delay a move back to India, but I strongly endorse the idea that the best time is now.

Let me be honest in saying that my motivations are

not purely selfless or altruistic. I concur that along with potential impact on society, my chances of personal success are also enhanced if I work in India, making it a win-win proposition.

The global economy has been challenged in the recent past by a rapidly aging population, a deflationary environment, and depressed oil prices. Growth has been hard to come by, with rates only marginally improving in early 2017

THE INDIAN DREAM

I have been immensely lucky in the educational and professional opportunities I’ve received. I couldn’t have been better positioned to pay it forward than I am today. And I choose to start paying it forward to the communities I grew up in, the institutions that shaped me, the people who contributed to my success, and the country that spent hard-earned taxpayers’ money to pave the path I have taken. These contributions should not be taken for granted.

I actively post on social media about India and the Indian government, mostly its positive attributes.

While this could be perceived by some as bordering on firebrand nationalism, frankly it comes from a place of gratitude and love for the nation. I consider myself lucky to have gotten the opportunity to start a career trajectory in India from which I can have significant impact. I hope I can contribute to India’s growth as a stronger, more equal nation while flourishing as a professional and individual. I aspire to help transform India into a country where ordinary citizens can dream to make a difference, where meritocracy trumps caste and religion, and where people can cross social class lines through hard work and determination. I long for the creation of the Indian Dream.

(This article was originally published in www.poetsandquants.com and the link to the article is: https:// poetsandquants.com/2017/07/11/why-i-returned-toindia-with-my-harvard-mba/) November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 5

Contents 20

Corporate Stalwart - 7

‘Human Resource’ is about ‘Human Possibilities’ Father of Human Resources Management in the corporate world, Dr. T.V. Rao, Chairman, TVRLS, Former Professor, IIMA, Founder & First PresidentNHRDN, on why HR Management is now more about human possibilities

9 COLLYWOOD Chatpata Chatter from the Corporate World 14 WAX ELOQUENT Who said what and why 16 EXPERT VIEW Why good corporate governance is essential for good health of companies and India’s blooming economy 6 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Volume 4 Issue No. 16 November 16-30, 2018 www.corporatecitizen.in

19 BOOK REVIEW A closer look at Sameer Dua’s bestseller book ‘Become: The 5 Critical Conversational Practices that Shift WHO YOU BE as a Leader’ 30 panel discussion What a disruptive leadership is, its characteristics and how customers can bring disruption?

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34 INTERVIEW Sanjay Bhutani, Country Manager, Bausch & Lomb, India, on his career, the need to always upskill and the formula for success in the corporate world 38 PILF Session An elegant panel discuss on the future of books and the power culture of reading

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42 TÊTE-À-TÊTE Shantanu Bhamare, CIO, Systango, talks about the CIO role and what does it take to keep oneself ahead

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46 KEYNOTE Porus Doctor, Partner, Deloitte, talks on the challenges and opportunities for the finance function of CFOs 48 UNSUNG HEROES Success story of mechanical engineer, VK Bansal, a pioneer in the field of coaching for IIT-JEE

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50 LOVED & MARRIED Quintessential corporate couple, Kalpesh and Neha Saraf on how they enjoy their career along with a happy family life 52 CAMPUS PLACEMENT Yogesh Kumar Barange, on his campus placement and how he overcame all the hurdles including third stage cancer to come out a winner in life

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contents

Editor-In-Chief Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian Consulting Editor Vinita Deshmukh vinita.corporatecitizen@gmail.com

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Assistant Editor & Senior Business Writer Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com Senior Sub-Editor Neeraj Varty neeraj.varty07@gmail.com Creative Direction Sumeet Gupta, www.thepurplestroke.com Graphic Designer Shantanu Relekar

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Writers Delhi Bureau Pradeep Mathur mathurpradeep1@gmail.com/ Sharmila Chand chand.sharmila@gmail.com

55 MOBILE APPS The best apps to improve your golf skills

Kolkata Bureau Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar sangeetagd2010@gmail.com

56 HEALTH Motivation and preparedness of gritty ladies from India in their quest for mountaineering and fitness

Pune Bureau Joe Williams / Kalyani Sardesai / Namrata Gulati Sapra Advertising and Marketing Manager Delhi: Mohamed Rizwan riz.mohamed@hotmail.com

58 SURVEY The Corporate Recruiters Survey Report 2018 to understand the hiring trends of companies globally vis-Ă -vis MBA graduates 66 LAST WORD What the jobs of the future will incorporate

Chennai: Anil Kumar Menon anil.menon@corporatecitizen.in

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collywood

People in the news

IDFC Bank’s Ajay Pandey to join L&T Finance The IDFC Bank’s senior Director-HR quit the company to join the HR leadership team at L&T Finance Holdings. Dinanath Dubhashi, who’s the MD & CEO at L&T Finance Holdings, stated that the company is looking at strategic restructuring and hiring, and getting Pandey is a significant move towards strengthening the HR function. L&T Finance has undergone a huge turnaround under the able leadership of Dubhashi, and as it is looking at yet another leap, strengthening the HR team could come in handy. Pandey shares that his decision to join L&T Finance is based on the fact that he saw a tremendous opportunity to partner with the business. Pandey is a postgraduate in human resources management/personnel management from the Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, and started his career with the Indian Airforce’s Technical Branch in 1984. A seasoned HR professional with over 30 years of experience, including over 21 years in the banking, BPO, life sciences industries and nine years in the Indian Air Force,

Cama elected ABC Chairman

Pandey carries a wide array of experience.

He had joined IDFC Bank in November 2015, prior to which, he was associated with ICICI Bank for over a decade, where he joined as the head of HR for customer service and phone banking groups, in December 2005. Growing up the ranks over the years, he moved into the role of business HR head for retail assets in May 2007, and then zonal HR head for the East Zone. In June 2013, he took over as the Deputy General Manager-HR heading the recruitment practice for the Bank.

IL&FS Financial Services MD, CEO resigns In what could be described as a crunch situation, the IL&FS Financial Services Ltd. Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Ramesh Bawa called it quits leaving the company at a time when the group is facing a severe liquidity crunch and downgrades. The non-banking arm’s CEO’s exit comes at a time when defaults by IL&FS group entities have rocked India’s credit markets. Both ICRA and Care Ratings have cut the ratings of the group’s debt instruments to as low as they can go. “The liquidity profile of the group has been under pressure given the delays in fund raising as initially envisaged, deterioration in credit profile of key investee companies and the sizable repayment obligations at the group level in the near term,” ICRA had earlier said in an emailed statement.

The group had planned a `4,500 crore rights issue and `3,500-crore long-term credit from its shareholders including Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India Ltd. But these plans are yet to be finalised. An emergency board meeting on Saturday failed to secure immediate liquidity support.

Hormusji N Cama, Director, Mumbai Samachar, was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2018-19. Cama was earlier the President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for two terms as well as Chairman of the Press Trust of India (PTI) & Media Research Users Council (MRUC). Cama continues to be an active member on the Board of INS, PTI and MRUC till date. Meanwhile, Madhukar Kamath, Chairman Emeritus, DDB Mudra, representing the advertising agency category on the Council was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Bureau for the year 2018-2019. The publishers’ representatives on the Bureau’s Council of Management for the year 2018-2019 are Cama, Devendra Darda of Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd. (secretary), Shailesh Gupta of Jagran Prakashan Ltd., Debabrata Mukherjee of Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., Chandan Majumdar of ABP Pvt. Ltd, Raj Kumar Jain of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Pratap G. Pawar of Sakal Papers Pvt. Ltd., and Riyad Mathew of Malayala Manorama.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 9

collywood IWEC award for Alpana Kirloskar Instagram co-founders quit Co-founders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the CEO and CTO respectively, have ended their innings with the firm as they say they are ready for the next chapter.

Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion six years ago, and today claims to have 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.

There is speculation that the reason behind this move could be friction with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over how Facebook’s fastest-growing revenue generator is run. According to some pundits in the corporate world, they are of the opinion that the duo may have wanted to run Instagram more independently than their parent company wanted. And went to add that this could have a negative impact on Facebook. This is not the first time that bigwigs of the firm have departed. This sudden loss of the pair follows the departures of WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton and a reshuffling of Facebook’s executive ranks earlier this year. Instagram had been hailed in Silicon Valley as a flashy acquisition done right, with the team kept relatively small and Systrom having the freedom to add features such as peer-to-peer messaging, video uploads and advertising.

Alpana Kirloskar, Chairperson & Managing Director, Kiara Lifespaces, was awarded with the IWEC (International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge) Award recently. She was among three women awardees from India, who was honoured for her successful women-owned business venture, Kiara Lifespaces. Over 350 people attended the conference to listen to keynote speakers and panellists discuss about doing business in China as well as to meet and honour 47 women from 18 countries. Alpana achieved a degree in architecture and worked in the family construction business. She also started an interior design firm designing model apartments for several real estate firms and private homes. “The biggest challenge that I have faced through my journey has been the feeling of being left out because I was a woman! I had to work hard, and prove myself and finally, at the age of 50, I got the good fortune to start my own real estate project! It is a male dominated industry, it’s the elephant in the room that nobody talks about, but an all women experience. It makes us who we are - strong, resilient, multi-taskers, excelling in everything we do to get our respect in society. I am truly humbled to accept this award not just for myself but also on behalf of all the women who have persevered to make a mark in a patriarchal society. I would like to end by quoting Winston S. Churchill: ‘Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts,’” said Alpana Kirloskar, while talking about the challenges she faced in her business venture.

Ashok Pamidi new CEO of NASSCOM Foundation Ashok Pamidi is appointed as the new CEO of NASSCOM Foundation.

NASSCOM Foundation, the social arm of the IT industry’s apex body, National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM), announced that Ashok Pamidi, Senior Director, NASSCOM, has taken over as the CEO of NASSCOM Foundation. He comes with a diverse experience of 29+ years in the IT industry and is also a Senior

10 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Director and leading the NASSCOM’s Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, at present. Pamidi has also worked as the Regional Head–Karnataka, NASSCOM, and had the responsibility for Member relationships, Membership expansion, Budgets and budgetary control for the region. In his new position, Pamidi will be responsible for membership development and also lead the small and medium enterprise (SME) initiatives for

(Extreme right) Alpana Kirloskar, CMD, Kiara Lifespaces, receiving the IWEC award for her successful, women-owned business venture, at the hands of Ruth Davis, Chairwoman IWEC, Harjinder Kaur, incoming president FICCI FLO and Neena Malhotra, IWEC board member, at Shanghai, China.

RCom exits telecom

NASSCOM. Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation, Arun Seth expressed that they are delighted to welcome Ashok Pamidi as the CEO of the foundation, who will bring in the right mix of technological and social expertise. As a non-profit organisation driving technology for good, the NASSCOM Foundation works with the apex body’s member companies, non-governmental organisations, emerging social enterprises and the government to foster a strategic relationship between technology and development.

Cash-strapped Reliance Communications will completely exit the telecom business to concentrate on real estate in future. This was announced by billionaire Anil Ambani recently. The first priority for RCom, which is credited for democratising telecom services through cheaper offers in the early 2000s, is to resolve its over `40,000 crore debt, he told shareholders at the company’s 14th annual general meeting. Pointing out to the 133acre Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) on the outskirts of the financial capital, Ambani said there is a huge realty play opportunity that RCom’s erstwhile corporate headquarters possesses, and pegged the potential value creation at the site at `25,000 crore.

RCom owes over `40,000 crore to a group of 38 lenders, including Chinese banks, and was resolving the debt through a strategic debt restructuring (SDR) process.

Ambani said he is confident of getting a resolution in the next few months, and added that other monetisation measures, including sale of telecom infrastructure and fibre to Reliance Jio, are at an advanced stage of closure. Anil Ambani also thanked his elder brother Mukesh Ambani, who is credited with conceptualising the undivided group’s telecom foray and also bought the assets as part of the beleaguered RCom’s monetisation efforts.

WhatsApp Grievance Officer for India With concerns and complaints, including those around fake news, mobile messaging app WhatsApp has appointed a Grievance Officer for India and detailed out a process on its website. The key demand has been to address fake messages. The Facebook-owned company has updated its website to reflect the appointment of a ‘Grievance Officer for India’. The update mentions that users can seek help through the mobile app, send an email or write in to grievance officer Komal Lahiri, who is based out of the US. Lahiri is the senior Director, global customer operations and localisation at WhatsApp. Users can now reach out to the company’s support team directly from the app under the Settings tab and if they wish to escalate the complaint, they can contact the grievance officer. A section within the FAQs reads, “You (users) can contact the Grievance Officer with complaints or concerns, including the following: WhatsApp’s Terms of Service; and Questions about your account.” This has been done as the government has been pressing WhatsApp to develop tools to combat fake or false messages. India is WhatsApp’s biggest market with more than 200 million users. In July, it limited message forwards to five chats at a time and removed the quick forward button to discourage mass forwarding. It has also introduced a ‘forward’ label to help users identify such messages. This move is significant as the Supreme Court last month agreed to examine a petition alleging that WhatsApp does not comply with Indian laws, including the provision for appointing a grievance officer.

The apex court had sought a reply on the matter within four weeks. With general elections slated for next year in India, the government is taking a tough stance on the spread of misinformation through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 11

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New voyage for Diageo India’s CHRO, Steve Correa

GM names new head of HR With the tenure of John Quattrone, Senior Vice President of General Motors, global human resources, who joined the company in 2014, coming to an end, GM has found a replacement in Jose Tomas. It has been over four decades, that GM has had Quattrone’s association with the company, since 1975. Quattrone who is 64, began his career with GM in 1975 at the Fisher Body Syracuse Plant, and since then has held a number of jobs in personnel, labour relations and human resources. Recalling Quattrone’s role, the Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said, “John has played a crucial role in the development of GM’s senior leadership team as well as serving as a trusted adviser and counsellor on many important issues across the company.”

And went on to add, “In addition,

he’s been a big part of the cultural transformation that has occurred at GM over the past several years, led by his passion for the company and its people.

John leaves a legacy based on vision, dedication and a strong commitment to building relationships throughout his career.” Tomas who is 49, who joins GM from health benefits company Anthem Inc., will report to Barra and serve on GM’s senior leadership team. Tomas, who served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Anthem, has more than 20 years of experience in human resources. He previously worked for Burger King Corp. and also worked in the transportation and logistics industries.

Major moves with banking movers It just took two days after the news came of the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, that the government elevated many of their juniors to the ranks of Managing Directors (MDs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) for public sector banks. Five of the new MD and CEOs are currently functioning as Deputy MDs of State Bank of India (SBI).

Mrutyunjay Mahapatra and Padmaja Chundru, both Deputy MDs in the State Bank of India, have been appointed as MD and CEO of Syndicate Bank and Indian Bank respectively, according to official orders. Three other Dy MDs of SBI — Pallav Mohapatra, J Packirisamy and Karnam Shekhar — have also been appointed as MD and CEO of Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Dena 12 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Bank, respectively. They all will have tenures till the date of their superannuation.

Mohapatra and Packirisamy’s tenure will last till February 28, 2021. Shekhar will be the MD and CEO of Dena Bank till June 30, 2020. Mahapatra and Chundru will have tenure till the date of their superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2020 and August 31, 2021, respectively, the order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi okayed the new appointments. Dena Bank will be merged with the Bank of Baroda as per the latest move announced by the Ministry of Finance as part of the restructuring exercise undertaken by the government in the wake of high non-performing assists (NPAs).

Steve Correa has called it a day at Diageo India, as he picks up an entrepreneurial voyage.

With this move, the chief human resource officer ended a four-year-long association with the beverage alcohol company.

Taking his passion of coaching forward, Correa has gone solo and launched his entrepreneurial venture, Steve Correa and Associates. Talking about his passion, which has driven him to venture in the field, he said, “My experience with it (coaching) has not been a recent one.

I have always been inclined towards it and it has been a part of my repertoire even during my corporate tenure. My passion for coaching stems from my personal purpose to ‘follow my light, as I support others follow theirs’.” This is the second stint at coaching for the founder and CEO of Steve Correa and Associates, and he couldn’t be more excited. He is certified by the International Coach Academy in Melbourne, Australia and the International Coach Federation, USA. Correa joined Diageo India in September 2014, and admits that the four years he spent with the company will be very memorable. An XLRI Jamshedpur alumnus, he began his career in 1989 with Modi Xerox.

Over the years, the HR veteran has worked in varied sectors, such as telecommunications, FMCG and IT, in companies such as Vodafone, Unilever, Patni Computer Systems, and Reliance Jio Infocomm, besides Diageo India.

Compiled by Joe Williams joe78662@gmail.com

wax eloquent

India is taking off

Take a look at what our corporate leaders have to say about recent trends and their experiences in the business world

What India means to the West

India needs more global expertise

“When it comes to advice the rule is very simple, you seek out the best advice— whether it’s about curing gout, launching a rocket, or fiscal policy.”

Kaushik Basu,

former World Bank chief economist Courtesy: https://www.wsj.com

“It would be in Western interest that India emerge more rapidly as a source of global demand and supply, thereby reducing excessive dependence on any single geography. There are larger political principles to prove by ensuring India’s success. It will affirm that democratic politics and high growth economics are not mutually exclusive, as well as establishing that democratic values are global and not just Western.”

S. Jaishankar,

President, Global Corporate Affairs, Tata Group Courtesy: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk

Data usage for benefit of India “I believe India will rise from a lowly 135th rank to be among the top three nations in fixed broadband at a pace that will surprise the world. We have to be mindful that data is the most important resource in this new world. And India and Indians will generate a humongous amount of data. It is important that we utilise this rich resource for the benefit of India and Indians, with adequate safeguards.”

Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries (RIL) Courtesy: https://www.businesstoday.in

Social media is not reality

“We all get influenced in some way or another, and we often try to create a reality based on what we see on social media. Ask yourself for what you truly desire.

If we are able to define our desires, we will start getting answers from there.”

Aarti Asrani,

Author, alternative therapist, coach, health and wellness consultant

Courtesy: http://www.youthincmag.com

14 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Trying to build a world which can work in harmony “I’m a strong believer in free markets but also believe that there are people, especially in India, who are disadvantaged at birth. I am trying to build a world which can work in harmony with both these conflicting facts—a world where markets determine success or failure but people who are disadvantaged have an equal chance to succeed.”

Kaushik Anand, India Head, CapitalG Courtesy: https://www.forbes.com

We need tax system that is optimal “In India, our experience has been that lower rates of taxes have led to higher collection of taxes and higher rates of growth. So, we need to have a tax system that is optimal.”

Adi Godrej, industrialist

Courtesy: https://www.financialexpress.com

Youth need to invest in enhancing who they are

“Suffering comes because you want to hit the finish line without running a race.

Youth is a segment of life when our energies are at the peak. Most youth don’t understand that it won’t stay that way after sometime.”

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder, Isha Foundation

Courtesy: https://www.google.co.in

Technology no more an enabler but business itself

Budding entrepreneurs…

“Just believe in your idea with full conviction, be flexible to change as more often than not your idea that you start off with initially becomes something completely different and for better. Be ready to put in insane amount of hard work. It’s not going to be easy, but don’t give up.”

Rahul Gupta,

Co-founder & CTO, blackNgreen Courtesy: https://www.techpluto.com

Reap benefits of weak currency

“It’s high time India should start taking advantage of a weak rupee. With rupee weakening exports become more competitive. It’s time India took advantage of US-China trade war and bring in some manufacturing to South Asia.”

Mark Mobius, Founding Partner, Mobius Capital Partners Courtesy: https://www.moneycontrol.com

Wholesale reforms of the tax system “It is a very positive long-term reform for the country, establishing a single tax rate by having only one tax rate across the country. That is very important progress that India is developing a single market. It does not seem to have delivered on the revenue front as originally planned.

But it is very hard to predict how much revenues you are going to get when you have made such wholesale reforms of the tax system.”

“Technology is no more an enabler, but it is becoming the business itself. A new model will be evolved in the next 2-3 years. In this transition, the pecking order will change and today’s leaders need not be leading and likely some new set of leaders will emerge in the Indian IT landscape.”

Krishnakumar Natarajan,

executive chairman of Mindtree

Courtesy: http://mydigitalfc.com

Brian Coulton, global economist, Fitch Ratings Courtesy: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

5G backbone for emerging era of IoT

To keep myself grounded

“If I start worrying about people’s expectations of me, it will affect my performance—be it positively or negatively.

I am more concerned with my expectations and pushing myself to achieve them.”

“The 5G technology has the potential for ushering a major societal transformation in India by enabling a rapid expansion of the role of information technology across manufacturing, educational, healthcare, agricultural, financial and social sectors. 5G is the next generation of mobile Internet connectivity that would offer much faster and more reliable networks, which would form the backbone for the emerging era of Internet of Things (IoT).”

Rajen Vagadia, Country Manager & Senior Director, Business Development, Qualcomm India Courtesy: https://www.teleanalysis.com

Higher crude and falling currency are blessing in disguise

Mira Erda,

“Relative weakening of the rupee against the US dollar and high oil prices are actually a blessing in disguise. A strong currency can make the economy extremely uncompetitive and we sorely need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels for our energy needs. Higher oil prices help in incentivising search for alternate sources of fuel and also curb unnecessary waste in energy consumption.”

Courtesy: https://www.firstpost.com

Courtesy: https://www.moneycontrol.com

formula car racer

Dheeraj Singh, Head-Investment, Taurus Mutual Fund

Believe in the transformative power of Indian entrepreneurs

“Policymakers must believe in the transformative power of Indian entrepreneurs to succeed globally and allow those entrepreneurs to sit at the table and be part of decisions regarding privacy and data flows.”

Lenard Koschwitz,

director, Allied for Startups Courtesy: https://scroll.in

Compiled by Rajesh Rao rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 15

Expert View

Good Corporate Governance is Essential for Blooming Economy

by S K Jha

(IRS (retd) and former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax)

T

The downfall of IL&FS happened because of a failure of good governance, because the warning signs were not recognised, and there was a cover up instead of remedy. But the larger danger is that it is threatening to have other repercussions, especially to investor confidence in the Indian financial markets

here is a popular saying, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. This is true not only for our physical health, but for all walks of life. Prevention against the ills of the country comes from good governance provided by the government. Similarly, corporate governance of a high standard prevents sickness in companies. Healthy and expanding companies are not only good for their shareholders but they also constitute an integral part of the rising national economy and thus of the financial well-being of the country.

IL&FS imbroglio

Some recent happenings related to corporate misgovernance have been seen as the cause for the fall of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), which has been one of our biggest shadow banks. Shadow banks or non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are strong complements of our banking system. They advance loans to most of our infrastructure ventures, both inside and outside the country, as loans for infrastructure sector are for longer duration which banks do not finance.

The borrowings from banks from depositors are for short duration and hence they advance with short durations in mind.

Corporate governance of our public sector banks came under question when non-performing-assets (NPA) rose to mammoth proportions, which stand at `11 lakh crore today.

Our biggest private sector bank ICICI has come under the investigative lens for the alleged conflict of interest of its top executive leading to her resignation. The IL&FS happenings have been a major cause for the current meltdown in the stock exchange, besides the other reasons of the falling rupee and rising oil price. The fall of IL&FS has rung the alarm bells for mutual funds too, as it has been closely connected with many mutual funds. The government has initiated steps to see that the fall of IL&FS does not ruin our economic health.

Rise and fall

IL&FS was founded in 1987. Initially, it was 16 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

promoted by the Central Bank of India (CBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Unit Trust of India (UTI). Over the years, it broad based its shareholders by inducting Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI), Orix Corporation of Japan and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

As on today, LIC is the single largest shareholder in the company. The central mandate of IL&FS has been catalysing the development of innovative world class infrastructure in the country, while also undertaking world class civil contracts outside the country. This company

has been widely acknowledged as the pioneer of Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The company developed marquee roads, townships and water treatment projects.

The company has a very complex structure with 348 entities with more than 200 subsidiaries. The company was, till recently, rated as a blue chip company with a ‘AAA’ rating until August 2018. Its internal sickness was suddenly discovered in September 2018, when it became apparent that the company was failing in its debt-servicing. The company was seen to be under a debt pile of `91,000 crores which was

too heavy to pay-even the interest thereon.

The top executives and directors of the company started resigning for personal reasons when these top people had been receiving sizeable emoluments compared to the market rate.

The directors and auditors always portrayed a rosy picture about the company to cheat shareholders, public and the government. Dividends were being paid out of borrowings, as there was no profit to pay dividends. There was a liquidity crisis in the company.

Emergency action

The government took an immediate step by approaching the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), taking its approval to suspend the board of directors and appointing a new board composed of government selected members headed by leading banker Uday Kotak. This sudden action was taken when the suspended board was in the midst of restructuring its asset and liability profile. The government considered it as a sham exercise to further dupe the shareholders and the people by disguising the affairs of the company.

It is believed that the government contended in its application before the NCLT that IL&FS is a ‘Titanic ship’ and that the board of the company was responsible for the negligence, incompetence and for putting a veil on the actual state of the company with the intent to mislead the people. The management not only failed, but was involved in operation cover-up as has been alleged in the stand of the government before the NCLT. Public money was managed in an unscrupulous manner. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) too has been asked to probe the transactions of the company. Senior executives, including those who resigned are under the scanner and investigation. Normally, the government does not do what it has initiated against IL&FS, and the last it did so was in 2009 when the board of Satyam Computer Services was superseded on the allegation of total collapse of corporate governance and fraud perpetrated by the directors and auditors.

The IL&FS happenings have been a major cause for the current meltdown in the stock exchange, besides the other reasons of the falling rupee and rising oil price. The fall of IL&FS has rung the alarm bells for mutual funds too, as it has been closely connected with many mutual funds November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 17

Expert View Compounding events

The problem with IL&FS has come at the most inopportune time when our rupee is continuously falling and oil price is constantly rising.

It may seriously affect the credibility of our NBFCs and our debt market. Already, it is seen that DSP Mutual Fund as sold the non-convertible debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Company Ltd at a discount. As on today the loan book of NBFCs is at `22 lakh crore and if the problem of IL&FS is left uncontrolled then it will have a catastrophic effect on this sector.

Danger to NBFCs and MFs

owners as announced at the moment. While saving the company, the new board has also to endeavour to see that its projects for infrastructure development of the country are not impaired. Recently, a life line project for Ladakh region for constructing a tunnel at Zoji La had been undertaken by IL&FS which may be the longest two-way tunnel in Asia, and the same should be completed while fighting for the financial health of the company.

IL&FS presents the latest example of the lack of corporate governance or mis-governance. Corporate governance comprises the mechanism, process and relations by which corporations are controlled and directed.

Good corporate governance nurtures the health of the company and takes steps for the growth of the company while serving the interest of all the stake holders and also of the public and society at large, with corporate social responsibility.

Well managed companies work because of the passion of the management, and not due to any fear of regulatory authority or pecuniary interest

Respected foreign institutional investors have a stake in this ailing company and if they lose their money because of wilful corporate failure then it will have an adverse impact on future foreign investment in our financial schemes. On the top of all these issues is the fund of common citizens who have invested in mutual funds for more security and less volatility, and mutual fund money has gone into IL&FS and similar other NBFCs. These serious issues have forced the government to push the panic button by suspending the board and having a board of some distinguished professionals. The government fears that continued problems may trigger a debt market sell-off and mutual funds may start selling government securities. The arising liquidity crunch can further add to more fall in the stock market.

Misgovernance multi-effects

On the contrary, corporate mis-governance stifles the growth of the company. Corporate misgovernance can happen due to many reasons such as greed and personal interest of the management, negligence and lazy approach, non-experience, lack of passion, etc. The reasons can be any, but

Immediate steps

What needs to be done to abate the problem?

The government, and more particularly the RBI, have to come out with strict regulatory measures for the safety of NBFCs. There should be constant monitoring of the functioning of these companies.

Auditors should be taken to task by the newly constituted National Financial Regulatory Authority (NAFRA). The first task of the new board of IL&FS will be to seek timely payment to its creditors and doing its debt-servicing effectively. The assets of the company have to be sold quickly in a transparent manner, but at the best possible price so as to generate funds to pay off the loan. There will be no fund infusion by the government or even by the 18 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

it is the company which becomes the victim along with the shareholders, people and ultimately the country. The probe will find out the circumstances behind the mis-governance of IL&FS. Satyam Computers was hurt by the greed and fraud of the management and lack of interest of the auditors in doing proper audit. Public sector banks suffered due to the twin reasons of corruption and due diligence by the concerned executives while giving loan. Conflict of interest also plays a major role with top management while not looking for the interest of the companies they manage. Sometimes, even a good management falls in the vicious trap of mis-management when the company is not run ethically. If a company wants to rise by giving bribes, then the automatic side-effect is fudging the accounts to generate cash for bribe.

The fudged book account of a company is one major symptom of corporate mis-governance in which auditors become team members with the top management. Rosy pictures are created in the fudged accounts when the real situation is otherwise.

Multi-national Enron is a classic case of a company getting bankrupt due to fraudulent activities and giving bribes to secure international contracts. Along with Enron, even their auditor firm Arthur Anderson which was a leading audit company died its natural death for being complicit with the management of that company. In our country too, the leading audit firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers suffered due to being a silent partner with the management of Satyam Computers.

Passion, not money

Corporate governance will prosper if the top management takes pride in nurturing the companies headed by them. To illustrate this point I cite the example of late Sri Sumant Moolgaokar who headed Telco (now Tata Motors). He used to say that while entering the Telco factory in Pune, he stood still at the factory gate for some time as he used to feel proud seeing the factory he had given birth to.

For late Sumant Moolgaokar his creation was like his child. This is the satisfaction the management should have, and not what money they get from the company. It is a natural by-product that the salary of the management will grow with the growing company. The scenario should not be otherwise.

Well managed companies work because of the passion of the management, and not due to any fear of regulatory authority or pecuniary interest.

book review

From Being to Becoming A closer look at Sameer Dua’s best-seller book ‘Become: The 5 Critical Conversational Practices that Shift WHO YOU BE as a Leader’. The interesting thing about the book is that it pretty much became a best-seller within hours of its release: #1 Amazon Bestseller in Business Communication; #1 Amazon Bestseller in Economics Text Books; #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Business Communication #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Economics; #1 Amazon Movers and Shakers.

What’s more, it also received the #Bestseller Badge by Amazon within the first six hours of being released. Here’s finding out more

Strengths of the book

Dua’s prose is structured in a simple, easy to understand manner by using COACH as an acronym for the leadership conversational skills of C-Care O-Observe A-Actions C-Commitment H-Holding space of conversation Each of these domains needs to be mastered for generating great results; each is as important as the other and just as challenging. Furthermore, each chapter includes ‘what if questions, generative practices, reflective opportunities, myths and facts around the topics’.

By Kalyani Sardesai “All results come from prior conversations. All of them: the good ones, the bad ones and the so-so ones. They come from the conversations we have and the conversations we don’t have; from the conversations we do well, to the conversations we do poorly. Our conversations don’t just describe, they generate.”

- Bob Dunham In short, the above quote is the essence of ‘Become’, the latest literary offering by management coach, educationist and author Sameer Dua encapsulated by this quote of Bob Dunham – Founder, Institute for Generative Leadership, USA, who happens to be Dua’s teacher and coach.

Simple, lucid and yet elegantly worded, the book touches upon the fundamentals of the critical leadership-coaching conversations that enable leaders to generate results that are both extraordinary as well as long-lasting. These are vital conversations, yet one rarely finds the skills of effectively having these conversations in an organisational setting.

The authorial argument is convincing.

You don’t become by knowing more. You ‘become’ by shifting your practices, and with respect to leadership, by shifting and creating new conversational practices. Which is why this book is not about understanding new concepts but about learning new practices to shift ‘who you be’ from moment to moment.

In addition, Umang Bedi, MD (India and South Asia) of Facebook and Sheeja Shaju, Somatic Leader and Coach at In-

of the beginner. As George Leonard says: Mastery is not really a goal or destination but rather a process, a journey. Masters are always in this ongoing process of becoming by going deeper into the subject.”

Time, patience and reflection

stitute for Generative Leadership, India have also contributed to this book.

The power of conversation

The book is meant for all those leaders and managers interested in learning the leadership conversational skills required to generate results.

As Dua points out: “Most people presume that beyond speaking and hearing, there isn’t much going on in a conversation. This understanding is however, grossly inadequate and blind to the power latent in conversations.”

In other words, words are not things, they are the representations and symbols we use to process our perceptions of reality, yet few leaders understand how vital they are to the productivity of their organisation.

“The key attribute of a master,” explains Dua, “is to retain the posture or attitude

Author

Sameer Dua Title

Become Publisher

Harper Business Pages

366 Price

`399

Despite the easy language and breaking down of complex topics, this book is not a breezy, one time read. Become will demand your time and patience-and require you to mull over it. Read it slowly, ponder over it and allow the conversations to sink in before reading further.

Like the author suggests: “Read this book as if you were the coach for your co-workers, clients, your manager, the members of your family and everyone else you interact with closely. After reading my recommendations and practices, it may be tempting to assess what others may not be doing. Don’t surrender to these assessments, they will only disempower you.”

In a nutshell, thou shalt not judge others!

At the end of the day, says Dua, “Become is about what you can produce in powerful conversations, not by becoming a critic to others. If you learn from this book, you will support others, not just criticise them.”

As noted executive coach Marshall Goldsmith points out in the foreword: “This is Powerful stuff. I suggest you try it for the sake of your colleagues, family, friends, and yourself.”

Powerful yes, easy no

But as Dua reassures you: “If you read this book as I have suggested, and engage with the practices, you will develop a new ability to not only generate extraordinary results, but also enable others to do so.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 19

Corporate Stalwart - 7

‘Human Resource’ is about ‘Human Possibilities’ Known as the Father of Human Resources Department in the corporate world of India since the 1940s, Dr. T. V. Rao says we need to adapt to the changing times where millennials (youngsters born between 1983 and 2002) form the major workforce particularly in technology dominated fields. With the socio-cultural and familial environment changing drastically where barriers between seniors and juniors at the workplace has merged, it is time we renamed it the 'Human Possibilities' department instead of ‘Human Resources’ department. A human being cannot be a 'resource' as he is a living being with his mind, heart and intellect working in his own space of things. Hence, 'human possibilities' would signify the variegated possibilities of individual performance that could reflect on the company’s performance. An insight into his take on HR and how other countries do it

By Neeraj Varty

HR

is not just a crucial business function; the success of HR in any country is often tied to its Human Development Index, a global index which measures human development in nations. Since the 1970s, India has implemented a series of breakthrough HR initiatives, but its overall Human Development is less than satisfactory. To analyse the challenges faced by India and the steps it has taken to overcome it, the National Institute of Personnel Management

20 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

(NIPM) organised a session called NATCON 2018, chaired by none other than the legendary Dr. T.V. Rao, who is credited for the introduction of the human resource development function in India in the 1970s.

Dr. Rao chatted with a panel of experts from countries around the globe, to understand the challenges faced by their countries and compare them with the HR movement in India. Corporate Citizen brings you the riveting session.

If an institution creates a culture where everyone is an institution builder, then wonderful things can happen. When it comes to performance culture, India has wonderful examples

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 21

Corporate Stalwart - 7

The Indian Perspective Dr. T.V. Rao

Chairman, TVRLS, Former Professor, IIM-A, Founder & First President-NHRDN oday, I see performance culture being promoted in several countries. I want to talk about this culture from the Indian experience. My thoughts go back to 1974, when the idea of reviewing the existing performance appraisal system was floated. The idea was to get people to enjoy their work and take joy in it. Udai Pareek of IIM-Ahmedabad and I interviewed about 40 officers (GMMs, JGMs, DGMs, Managers, Covenanted Officers and Supervisors) from L&T to review the existing system. On the basis of their review we suggested the introduction of an Integrated Human Resources Development system to include Performance Appraisal, Potential Appraisal, Career Planning and Development, Feedback and Counselling, Training and Organisation Development. To quote the report, "We recommend that Performance Appraisal, Potential Appraisal, Feedback and Counselling, Career Development and Career Planning and Training and Development get distinct attention as unique parts of an integrated system which we call the Human Resources Development System". (Nowhere in international literature was the term Human Resources Development System known to have been used until then) Since that time, HR has come a really long way in India. Just last year at a CII event, I came across a group of people from across countries, who were chatting during a tea break. One of them, a young girl herself, headed an IT company. She was voicing her concerns to the group. She expressed that the average age of employees in her company was 24 years, and being 34 years of age, she found it challenging to manage employees in their 20s. This intrigued me and I asked her how she was manoeuvring these challenges. She said that her company had implemented a number of measures to reach out and connect with employees. These included policies such as work from home and flexible timings, which went a long way in making employees more comfortable. She said that her company also trusts their employees to take the right decisions, which fosters a culture of understanding. The third point she iterated was that her company was hierarchy-less, which got rid of formal structures altogether. This meant that everyone interacted with each other on an equal basis based on mutual respect.

T

22 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

In the last few years, we have taken numerous measures to create and foster a performance culture in India.

We have done 360 degree feedbacks, we have built assessment centres, and we have constructed a competency environment Hearing her brought a smile on my face. My mind went back to the past. This is exactly what Dr Vikram Sarabhai envisioned when he started the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad. He imagined organisations without hierarchy, where everyone is treated with respect and given freedom to make their own decisions. He imagined a world without barriers, where everyone is treated equally and there is dignity of labour. Today his dream is a reality.

This kind of leadership is not just limited to IIMs. It is practiced at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This is especially admirable because it is a government organisation which has freed itself from the shackles of bureaucracy.

If an institution creates a culture where everyone is an institution builder, then wonderful things can happen. When it comes to performance culture, India has wonderful examples.

If only this culture is replicated across government organisations, productivity would increase significantly. If an organisation has 15-20% of people giving outstanding performance and the rest are average, it leads to demoralization among employees in the organisation. It makes them feel undervalued and underappreciated. This negative mindset leads to a further deterioration in their work and the output of the company eventually suffers. In a bid to create a performance culture, sometimes the opposite is achieved.

This type of toxic culture was prevalent in India in the 1970s. This is what we emphasised when we called for a re-haul in 1974. In our minds one thing was certain, we must find a way to delink appraisals from rewards. Please note that we didn’t say we have to delink performance from rewards. But reducing a human being’s entire year's work to mere numbers is not fair.

When I visited the Disha Foundation a couple of years ago, Sadhguru said, "A human is not a resource, and to call a human a resource is a crime." I didn't agree with this statement of his, but he also said "A human is a possibility, and you can't measure possibilities." I liked this statement.

HR departments can be called ‘possibility departments.’ (laughs) In the last few years, we have taken numerous measures to create and foster a performance culture in India. We have done 360 degree feedbacks, we have built assessment centres, and we have constructed a competency environment.

We have done fabulously on these fronts. Even multinational companies who enter India can vouch for this.

All is not rosy, though. Despite all the measures we have taken, when we look at the Human Development Index, India ranks at 139th among 186 countries. This is an alarmingly low rank by any standard. For comparison, Australia is at No. 3, Hong Kong at No. 7, Sri Lanka at 76, and Malaysia is at 57. How is it that despite doing so well in HR, we are so behind in Human Development?

I feel the answer to this is that we have done many things, but we have done them wrongly.

In an attempt to improve performance, we have tried to control people, not build people. But the real question is, at what cost? If leadership is hierarchical, we know what the result will be. We started by saying that the job of the HR is to create happiness in the workplace. It is time for India to introspect.

Dr. T.V. Rao - I would like to start with Australia, which has the Human Development Index rank of 3, and it is also a Commonwealth country. Ms Rosemary, what is the secret? What is it that Australia has done that makes it so successful in HR? Also, everything has a flipside.

So what are some of the concerns that HR in Australia needs to address?

Australia:

‘What good is Performance if it is not Ethical?’

Rosemary Guyatt

General Manager, People and Culture, Australian HR Institute I don’t know exactly what it is that makes Australia rank so high, but I can say that that rank is in danger of slipping.

There are a number of concerns that HR in Australia is currently facing. Let me start with some stories about HR in Australia. If you looked in the newspaper, walked into a boardroom or a party, or had a conversation at the water cooler at any office in Australia this year, you would invariably find three topics of conversation, namely – 1) How is it that we managed to turn six Prime ministers in eight years?

2) The financial sector is going through gross misconduct investigations, and 3) The infamous ball tampering incident by the Australian cricket team.

All these incidents are related, and that is what I want to talk about today—the connection between performance culture and ethics. What happens if we disregard ethics in the pursuit of performance?

Take the example of the Australian Cricket team. In March 2018, the men's Australian cricket team was involved in a ball-tampering scandal during and after the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town when Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball to make it swing in flight.

Captain Steve Smith and Vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved and all three received unprecedented sanctions from Cricket Australia.

Was all of this worth winning a match?

One act of ball tampering resulted in

One act of ball tampering resulted in shock, disrepute, and brought global shame to Australia. What good is performance if it is not ethical? shock, disrepute, and brought global shame to Australia. What good is performance if it is not ethical?

Our financial services sector is in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Finance is Australia’s biggest industry, and its banks are some of the most profitable in the world. Despite its strong position, Australia’s banking and financial services sector has been rocked by a series of scandals over the last decade, with all the “Big Four” largest banks being accused of serious misconduct. As a result, a royal commission, Australia’s highest form of public inquiry, has been called to investigate the scale of wrongdoing and help restore confidence in the sector.

Even though the investigation has only just started, it has already uncovered widespread examples of careless, and at times fraudulent, lending practices.

Loans were given indiscriminately, customers were charged dubious fees.

Thanks to conscientious activists and whistleblowers, these organisations are now being held accountable.

There cannot be prosperity without ethics. An organisation without ethics may make money in the short term, but it will eventually crumble.

In my opinion, Education + Enterprise x Ethics = Future Prosperity.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 23

Corporate Stalwart - 7 Dr. T.V. Rao - I visited Hong Kong around 30 years ago, and came back very impressed with their HR practices. One company I visited felt that the designations they have assigned to their employees don’t do them justice. So they allowed employees to print any designation they deemed fit on their visiting cards, except for the Managing Director. They also said that your salary won't change. This led to an increase in performance. Tell us about the Hong Kong perspective.

Hong Kong

‘Performance is about maintaining Quality’ David Li Chi-Ming

President – HKIHRM, Hong Kong erformance must not just be about achieving targets. It must be about maintaining quality.

Unless quality is maintained, output is irrelevant. In Hong Kong, small businesses constitute 85% of the business.

These small businesses maintain the

P

same quality standards as large businesses.

In Hong Kong, we have a high ranking post of the Chief Secretary in the government. The Chief Secretary formulates and implements government policy, gives advice to the Chief Executive as a member of the Executive Council, and is responsible for managing the Government's relationship with the Legislative Council and drawing up the Government's legislative programme.

Performance and standards are scrutinized and maintained by the Executive Council. Whether big business or small, they have to maintain these standards. It is when everyone takes it upon themselves to adhere to the highest standards of accountability that we can achieve superior performance culture. If the efficiency of the government bodies increases, this in turn puts pressure on private companies to be on their toes. It is through this cohesion that performance culture can be built.

Performance must not just be about achieving targets. It must be about maintaining quality. Unless quality is maintained, output is irrelevant

24 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Dr. T.V. Rao- I must ask Musharrofji what lessons India can learn from Bangladesh. I think one lesson which we certainly can learn is in the area of micro finance. Grameen Bank has been a source of inspiration for many in the last two to three decades. Please share with us what Bangladesh is doing to improve its performance culture, and why are both India and Bangladesh struggling when it comes to our human potential?

Bangladesh

Focus on Productivity Md. Musharrof Hossain

President, Bangladesh Society for Human Resources Management (BSHRM) & President, Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resources Management (APFHRM) India and Bangladesh are similar in several ways.

We share a common history and a similar culture, and we are both ranked close to each other in the Human Development Index. HR in Bangladesh is going through a very optimistic and positive phase under the leadership of our Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina.

In the past, Bangladesh has had a mixed performance culture. It differs with the government sector and private sector, and between MNCs and small companies. The government sector employs 3% of employees, but it is a powerful sector. This is the least

Dr. T.V. Rao - There is something to learn from every country—how they tackle their challenges. I would now like to turn to Malaysia. I think it was sometime in the 1980s that Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad started the 'Look East' policy.

Another policy I admire about Malaysia is that when India was struggling with Five-Year Plans, they learnt from India and started 30-Year Plans. What is the secret of Malaysia's success?

Malaysia

On a Mission to Skill and Grow Aresandiran J. Naidu President – MIHRM, Malaysia

hr

productive sector in Bangladesh. The private sector is much more productive. There are several challenges in creating a performance culture. There is resistance to change, shortage of money to implement processes, and lack of education. The first generation entrepreneurs lacked education, but this is now changing, as several second generation entrepreneurs are educated in the West and they return to their home country to start businesses. The government is also changing its mind-set and becoming more productive, as employees there realise that poor productivity will leave them redundant.

The participation of women in the workplace is gradually increasing. In my own organisation, we have 51% female employees. Flexible timings are also being introduced in organisations. Change is happening, and I hope that in a few years, Bangladesh will be among the leading countries in performance management.

There are several challenges in creating a performance culture. There is resistance to change, shortage of money to implement processes, and lack of education. First generation entrepreneurs lacked education, but this is now changing

was the first job I had. I joined at age 23, and have been there since.

I have observed the changes happening in HR since the beginning, and although they are welcome, there is a lot more to achieve. Let me give you some basic statistics of Malaysia first. We have a population of 33 million. The labour force is 68%. On capability ranking, we rank 23rd in the world. Our retirement age is 60.

What is it that drives performance management in Malaysia? The Prime Minister has a clear mission that we would be a developed nation by 2020. We had an aim for 55% skilled population. When we started in 1993, we had only 18% skilled workforce.

The government passed a legislation which made it mandatory for every company, national or foreign to pay 1% of their salary to a fund, managed by the government, called the Human Resource Development Fund.

We used these funds to start skilling centres to skill labour. Companies too can skill their workforce and claim a refund. Over two decades, the percentage of our skilled workforce has skyrocketed.

Last year, we introduced another legislation called the Employment Insurance System from 1st January 2018. This allows employees of companies to leave their company on a voluntary basis for up to six months, and register for social funds.

During these six months, they will be trained and up-skilled. These are the systems put in to grow the nation. We are committed to providing more opportunities for employees to grow and for the workforce to skill themselves, so that we together can grow as a nation.

The Prime Minister has a clear mission that we would be a developed nation by 2020. We had an aim for 55% skilled population.

When we started in 1993, we had only 18% skilled workforce. The government passed a legislation which made it mandatory for every company, national or foreign to pay 1% of their salary to a fund, managed by the government, called the Human Resource Development Fund. We used these funds to start skilling centres to skill labour

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 25

Corporate Stalwart - 7 Dr. T.V. Rao- Let’s now move on to Mauritius, which is quite close to Malaysia in the Human Development Index, despite being much smaller in size. What is the key to Mauritius's progress in HR?

Mauritius

Investing in Human Development key to Success Areff Salauroo

President, AHRC & President MAHRP, Mauritius

Mauritius is sometimes called 'Chota Bharat' (Laughs). We have a population of 1.3 million. Mauritius has a strong human capital foundation developed through consistent and equitable investment in human development. This enabled us to exploit advantages, learn from expertise brought in through FDI and maintain competitiveness in a fast evolving international market. Education and health services are free and have been expanded in recent years, in order to create further employment opportunities and ensure inclusive growth. Keeping education free or at the very least very affordable

is the key to developing a skilled workforce. The educated and adaptable workforce were essential elements of the 1980s exportorientated growth. We imported workforce from India, Bangladesh and many other countries. Around 90% of entrepreneurs in the export processing zone (EPZ) and in the manufacturing sector are Mauritian nationals. Businesspeople had the human capital, education and knowledge needed to exploit market opportunities.

From the beginning, we have been observing what successful countries are doing, in order to improve our performance management. The world is becoming globalised. We must keep up with this pace. We still have many challenges like achieving gender equality, and we are working towards it.

Education and health services are free and have been expanded in recent years, in order to create further employment opportunities and ensure inclusive growth.

Keeping education free or at the very least very affordable is the key to developing a skilled workforce

26 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Dr. T.V. Rao - I have visited Sri Lanka several times in the last 20 years, and I was very impressed by their seriousness in learning. If you do a competency management workshop in Sri Lanka and go back after six months, you will see that they have all become competency experts. Fifteen years ago, I was astounded by the best HR practices followed there.

Can you tell us how Sri Lanka has managed to improve its HR proficiencies as well as earn a good Human Development Index rank?

Sri Lanka

Happiness is the Benchmark Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri

Vice President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM), Director and the Chairman of the Board of Management of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

i

think if anyone outside Sri Lanka knows everything about HR practices practiced there, it is Dr. T.V. Rao. Dr. Rao quoted some gentleman saying 'How can you call a human being a re-

Spiritual leader Sadhguru

The only benchmark for 'A great place to work' is the happiness and wellness of the employees. In my organisation, my people are not called employees, they are called members.

Organisations need to instil high performance culture at the time of inception source?' The same thing happened to me. I was asked once, how can you call human a resource when resources are material? Why not call them human capital? I think that is even worse than calling them resource. He also talked about having less hierarchy or a lean structure of management. In Sri Lanka, that has always been there. The boss and the employee usually travel by the same mode of public transport.

There aren’t many rigid structures there. In fact, Human Resource Management wasn't taught in colleges here for a long time, except maybe for expats. When several companies started investing in Sri Lanka in the 1980s, they had to start adapting to cultures there.

Sri Lanka has a population of 22 million, in a land mass of around 65,000 square kms. We have around 1.5 million government employees and more than 11 million employees working in the private sector. Our retirement age in the public sector is 60, and you can extend it to 62. We don't have a retirement age in the private sector, but it is traditionally taken as 55, as EPF can be taken from age 55.

Our unemployment rate is less than 3.8%. We in fact have a shortage of labour. We need more hands than we have in factories and organisations. Our number one source of manpower is foreign employment. Number 2 is the apparel sector- manufacture and exporting. We have scarcity of labour in the steel manufacturing sector, and other private sectors. That is where our situation stands.

The bright side is that the National Vocational Authority of Sri Lanka has around 250 government sponsored vocational training institutes around the country. Many students are taking interest in these institutes, looking to up-skill themselves. We have started some best practices which are garnering acclaim. We have started HR awards for performance excellence. I believe, the only benchmark for 'A great place to work' is the happiness and wellness of the employees. In my organisation, my people are not called employees, they are called members. Organisations need to instil high performance culture at the time of inception.

‘Human Possibilities’ You get to do more only when you enhance your capabilities. How organised your body, mind, emotions and energy are right now is how much you get to do. Whether you can do it like someone else or not is not the point. Are you doing it to your full potential? That is the point.

If you want to function to your full potential, you have to see that there are no inner issues anymore. Your work is about external issues. Action is always about the external, not the internal. Most people are working for their satisfaction. They would be lost without work. They are working to make themselves into something.

As long as you are doing work to find yourself or fulfil yourself, how much ever you do, it is not enough, there is something within you which always wants a little more.

If you are still working in pursuit of happiness, it is time to change. If you are doing work as an expression of your joy, then time is not a problem.

There are 24 hours in a day. How much you can do will happen, what you cannot do will not happen – simple! But are you working to your full potential?

Most people are not busy, they are preoccupied. If they look at their body and their mind, a lot of their activity is unnecessary, especially mentally.

Generally, more than 80% to 90% of the mental activity in human beings is unnecessary. If you drop all that unnecessary activity, you will not feel you have done too much.

Mentally I never feel exhausted, nor do I feel stressed because I only think what I want to think. I don’t think anything that I don’t want to think. But when there is no organisation in the mind and body, you will always feel overworked. You will always feel time is not enough.

But the main problem is that your life is going away without realising your full potential. In your life, if you do not do what you cannot do, it is not a problem. But if you do not do what you can do, your life is a tragedy.

The main problem is that your life is going away without realising your full potential. In your life, if you do not do what you cannot do, it is not a problem.

But if you do not do what you can do, your life is a tragedy People are taking so much care to maintain their machines outside.

You send your car or motorcycle for servicing. Have you done any service to your body and your mind? Have they been taken care of properly?

Nothing has been done. If you do a little bit of servicing every day for the body and mind, you will see, suddenly you function much better.

If you start doing a simple kriya or meditation for a few minutes a day, what you are doing in eight hours right now could easily be done in four hours. You will have a lot of time on your hands.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 27

Department of Information & Public Relations Government of Sikkim

SIKKIM An epitome of progress

S

ikkim’s developmental journey has been marked by a period of phenomenal achievements under the leadership of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling, who recently etched a milestone by becoming the Longest Serving Chief Minister of any state in the country.

24 years under the stewardship of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling has steered Sikkim towards emerging as an ideal in terms of sustainable development, protection of nature and culture, pro-poor and pro-people policies, educational excellence and an increasingly popular tourist destination.

Path breaking policies like organic farming, conservation of nature and skill development amongst other visionary policies, stand testimony to why Sikkim is rising as one of the most progressive states in the country.

Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling accorded the Grand Prix One World Award Ambassador of an Organic Himalaya to the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Lifetime Achievement Award to Shri Pawan Chamling First Organic Farming State in the Country First Nirmal Rajya First Open Defecation Free (ODF) in the country

R.O. No. : 163/IPR/Pub/Dis/18-19

Dated: 21.08.2018

R.O. No. : 164/IPR/Pub/Dis/18-19

Dated: 21.08.2018

panel discussion

Disruptive Leadership 30 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Prajakta Kulkarni: This focus on disruption and disruptive leaders, where is this coming from and what’s the need for all of this?

Dharmesh Parmar: When I was preparing for this, I thought let me go look at some data.

And the first data that I looked at was about population. In 1750, the world population was around 800 million, 100 years later in 1850, the world population was 1.2 billion. It grew

Pics: Yusuf Khan

As consumers, we are all surrounded by disruption, and when we say disruption, it's not just in business, it could be in religion, in politics, it could be in science. Disruption could be anywhere in the world—disruption exists everywhere in life. However, it is also important to talk about the people or leaders who are enabling these disruptions. It is people out there who are able to self-reflect and have a good understanding of their customers, they are challenging the status quo and importantly they are able to leapfrog into the next big idea or technology and bring it to life in a way that creates value for their customer. In the panel discussion, held recently at the 12th National Business Convention, of Balaji Institute of International Business (BIIB), Pune, panellists - G Pratap, Senior Director-HR, Maersk GSC, Shivani Talesera, Head-HR, Actis Technologies, Dharmesh Parmar, Senior Manager, HR, Oracle, and Prajakta Kulkarni, Head HR (India), Lenovo Global Technology (Moderator), discussed what a disruptive leader is, leadership characteristics and how customers can bring disruption By Harsh Thind

"In 2050, the world population would be nine billion, out of which 3.2 billion will be in the continent of Africa while 4.5 billion will be in Asia. The average age will be coming down, while in Africa it will be on an upswing.

So the disruption that is going to happen from a disruption perspective will be in Africa. Countries like England, New Zealand and Germany - they will no longer be Christian dominated countries. Population will drive politics and politics will drive the economy" — Dharmesh Parmar

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 31

panel discussion by almost 30%; in 1945, almost another 100 years later, it almost doubled to 2.5 billion. In 2017, it was seven billion. In 2050, the world population would be nine billion, out of which 3.2 billion will be in the continent of Africa, while 4.5 billion will be in Asia. The average age will be coming down, while in Africa it will be on an upswing. So the disruption that is going to happen from a disruption perspective will be in Africa. This is one set of data and a couple of other disruptions that will happen are in countries like England, New Zealand and Germany-they will no longer be Christian dominated countries. So if you are going to be a leader who will drive the business or your corporation in these countries, you need to start thinking on what this disruption is going to do.

The reason I wanted to mention population is because population will drive politics and politics will drive the economy. Another data I thought would be interesting is that we are taught to look West, towards US and Europe, but this data will be a little different. If you look at the fortune 500 companies, 126 of them are American companies and 120 are Chinese. If you look at the top ten banks of the world, four are Chinese, that too the top four.

So that's one data.

One more data that was very interesting is the reserve currency of the world. The reserve currency of the world today is dollars. I started looking from 1450 to 1530, that is, in a span of 80 years, it was Portuguese and the next 110 years it was Spanish, and after Spain it was the Dutch, which was the reserve currency for the next 80 years from 1640 to1720. After the Dutch, it was the French. Theirs was the dominant currency for the next 95 years, from 1720 to 1850.

After the French, it was England for another 105 years and 1920 onwards it is the US dollar. If you look at the previous years the average span is around 100 years. The US currency is touching the 100th year. After that, no one knows it may be crypto currency. It's a disruption that's going to happen and we as leaders should be conscious of this.

Another data point is that the cost of living is going to come down as our mobile phones have replaced a few items. I think the cost of living is going to come down because 3D printing is going to replace a lot of manufacturing activities.

There are already companies who are constructing buildings, which are 70% cheaper and 50% faster to complete. So think about the industry you want to step in and about the disruption in it. These are the points I thought would be good for students, which will provoke them to think about the next disruption.

Shivani Talesera: An insightful point that should be thought of is the way the world is moving towards digitisation. There is disrup-

tion in every sector. I think we are disrupting unknowingly or knowingly. It is not happening only today, probably it has been happening earlier too. It is just that the pace has increased now, the buzz is more and the reason for it is the kind of ever changing environment in which we are surviving. Everyday there new things that happen. Any technology that comes today, gets the next version very fast. You get something more with better features, with better pricing and that is where the disruption is coming. That's why startups are coming up.

What is the ultimate goal of any organisation? There are certain sets of revenues that we are trying to generate, there are certain sets of business models that we are running. We are organisations running with the same set of business model maybe for years but there is a point at which we start changing and so we have to put up a new strategy to it. Every aspect of the business requires a new strategy so that we can get something that is more productive. It can save our time and yet get the better results. Hence it

affects every individual personally. And with the ever changing environment we need to survive.

It looks close to innovation but it is not yet as important an aspect.

In my career journey I have seen a couple of disruptions that might not be as innovative as the data Dharmesh points out, but it does happen. I have worked for an Indian organisation and I have seen the organisation grow from few thousands to say, 14,000 employees and how things changed in the organisation and how the disruption came. We as an Indian organisation have started with a particular way of working, wherein the focus was more on people and business at the same time. But when you grow globally and you have organisations and offices in 22 countries, it impacts the overall revenue.

Disruption is the need of the hour because we all have to deal with it. It impacts our daily life and business. We need to choose the industries and sectors growing in the future. So that is my point of disruption and that is where leadership comes into the picture.

G Pratap: You have already heard about disruption and the data shared and the prospectus given was an introduction as to what the larger picture looks like. So how are you disrupting yourself and how you're preparing yourself to disrupt the companies you are getting into? The

"When you grow globally and you have organisations and offices in 22 countries, it impacts the overall revenue. Disruption is the need of the hour because we all have to deal with it. It impacts our daily life and business. We need to choose the industries and sectors growing in the future" — Shivani Talesera

32 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

point is when we talk about disruption when we talk about agility a lot of things are going to happen in the corporate world. So if you want to be selected by a company you have to be agile.

Coursera and Udemy are the universities of the future. Are you disrupting yourself by creating a learning mind-set not just in college but also in futuristic learnings in these places? The leaders are looking at people like you who could write algorithms in different software. That's what people are looking for-for people who would come in and disrupt or enable disruption.

Let me share a story in terms of disruption and leadership. We wanted to hire a CEO who could come in and disrupt the company in a big way. So we hired a gentleman who used to run Target India, one of the biggest retail chains of the US. So this gentleman came in and looked at three or four different things. He set up a digital centre in Bengaluru to take the IT infrastructure to a completely different level. At senior leadership, 60% of people do not succeed predominantly because of culture related challenges. So people like him come in and create or rather disrupt.

Just to list a few things, changing the operating model from a water-flow methodology to a completely agile way of working, not just for the area he was responsible for, but also for the larger company-that's disruption. Num-

"Our IT industry forgets programming after eight years and now such people are losing their jobs left, right and centre. We are also seeing automation happening; a lot of jobs which were there earlier are not there anymore. Robots will replace humans because they are becoming smarter than humans and more predictable than humans. There are companies bringing robots everyday to replace humans" — G Pratap

ber two, setting up the centre I talked about.

Significantly looking at moving things like data related to technology into platforms, which are very futuristic. Working on the larger cultural aspects of the organization along with leaders to get into areas which require disruption.

Hence if you're able to disrupt the organization, bring in the kind of DNA to influence larger leadership and take up global roles. By this I just wanted to give a flavour in terms of what is disruptive leadership and how leaders create disruptive organisations.

If you are not clear in your mind in terms of how you are disrupting, there could be a disconnect when you sit in front of these companies for an interview. It is high time to look at our mind building and at disruptive DNA. To look at areas where you are comfortable and bring in the healthy discomfort in those areas that's the basic way to start to disrupt yourself and then keep looking at what your goal is. Because there will no more be ‘I'm from marketing’, or ‘I’m from HR’. Everyone will become a technology leader or has to become a technology leader. You need to have knowledge of all the fields because those are the people who will go places. The middle layer of managers will be completely frozen. They are going to go away very soon and the VP's will start working with top IT talent directly.

Can you imagine, our IT industry forgets programming after eight years and now such people are losing their jobs left, right and centre. We are also seeing automation happening; a lot of jobs which were there earlier are not there anymore more. Even AI is a little distant pure automation, that is, robots will replace humans because they are becoming smarter than humans and more predictable than humans. There are companies bringing robots everyday to replace humans. harshthind10@gmail.com

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tadka

Tax returns filed but zero tax paid In the last four years, the government's efforts to widen the tax base resulted in an 80% jump in number of returns. However, a large number of these individuals are paying no tax at all. As many as 2.02 crore individuals filed income-tax returns in 201718 declaring their income, but paid zero tax since they are not in the taxable income bracket yet, reported TOI. The number of such companies was 3.9 lakh. This could indicate a large number of eligible people still evading taxes.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 33

Interview

Working for a smaller company as the CFO involves the same nuances as that for a larger organisation. If you go to a bigger company the ticket size of the transaction might perhaps increase but the challenges you face are almost similar

34 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

‘Vision’ for

Success Success is a not an easy hill to climb. It requires passion, dedication and an insatiable ability to learn. Add to this recipe a dash of humility, and you have Sanjay Bhutani, Country Manager at Bausch & Lomb, India. Sanjay is articulate, outspoken and possesses a wealth of knowledge from his spectacular climb up the corporate ladder. Corporate Citizen met Sanjay over coffee as he shared his views on his career, the need to always upskill yourself, and the formula for success in the corporate world

By Neeraj Varty Take us through your career.

I am a cost account company secretary by education. I have done law and I have also done global business management from IIM Calcutta. My journey started as a management trainee in the year 1989. I was also pursuing company secretary and law that time and when I acquired my degrees, I thought why not look at something where I can make use of my both qualifications as well as the cost accountancy. I got an offer from a very small company which was coming out with a public issue. And I was still young and not married at that time so my parents were skeptical about my decision to leave then. You will not get a girl to get married to if you go to a small company, they said. But the way I looked at it, the opportunity to grow in a smaller company was much higher than that in a larger one.

So I took the plunge and I straightaway went from an assistant manager to the CFO of the company. When the company went public in 1995, that public issue was oversubscribed by eight and a half times at those times. This was a massive success. My gamble paid off in a big way.

How was it like working for a smaller company?

Working for a smaller company as the CFO involves the same nuances as that for a larger organisation. If you go to a bigger company the ticket size of the transaction might perhaps increase but the challenges you face are almost similar. At that time, there was a craze of people working for multi-national companies, especially amongst people working in domestic companies, so I thought that I should go and work for a multi-national as well.

MNCs are where you got to know how the Industry outside India works and where are we are lacking, because you have a certain thought process while you were working for a domestic company which is poles apart from the train of thought and functioning style of MNCs. Pics: Yusuf Khan

How was it different working for an MNC?

I got an offer from Schlumberger which was into oil and IT. And Schlumberger was a November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 35

Interview company where people would give up their arm and leg to get a job. I joined as India’s CFO for a couple of years and then Schlumberger sold off that business because it was more of an oil company and they didn’t kind of understand what the IT is, so they weren’t able to make it very successful. Then I joined a distribution company which was in telecom where we were the largest distributor for mobiles and the wireless equipment for Nokia. I joined there as CFO and this is where I learned how you can grow the company.

The company had about 25 million dollars in revenue when I joined in 2004-05 and we took that company to 250 million dollars in the top line in a remarkably short time. So the speed and execution is very important and when you’re growing so fast from 25 million to 250 million, your credit policies and other metrics have to be very strong. This discipline helped me when I moved to Bausch & Lomb.

Tell us about your journey in Bausch & Lomb.

I started as the India CFO and I always had the passion for business. So I used to always work with the sales team, the business team and with HR to determine how we can improve the business outcomes. Even if I was making policies, I always ensured that the market share or sales should not get impacted. For that, you need to meet customers, understand what the sales team wants so that also helped me connect better with my employees. I went on to win the award from Global CFO in 2007. So thereafter my role expanded and I started looking into different countries like Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Pakistan, and Indonesia etc. Then I thought of enhancing my education because once you’re getting into more global roles you need to go back to school and learn the nuances for managing a global business.

So I went to IIM Calcutta, did a two year global business management executive course from there which really helped me to understand how people in Japan think or how people in Singapore or Malaysia think. If you say something to them it might have a different meaning in Japan. Different cultures perceive the same actions differently. This insight helped me a lot and thereafter I became the AsiaPacific finance director. But always in my heart, I wanted to do a commercial role. Then Bausch & Lomb was acquired by a company called Valeant and then where this opportunity came.

I am in this role for the last five years and very passionate about what we do.

What is your market share?

We are the market leaders in India by far. We’ve got about 60% share in contact lenses and about 80% in the solution.

In MNCs you don’t have a personal relationship with people and people keep changing across the world, so who’s your boss today may not be your boss tomorrow. But if you’re working for a domestic company you interact with them on a daily basis and there is a personal relationship

36 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

India is a huge market also.

It is indeed a huge market but it is still untapped to a large degree. The potential is huge and that’s why we are very optimistic.

What’s the difference in work culture between a domestic company and an MNC?

I don’t know as of now because I have been working with multi-nationals for the past twenty years now and maybe if I compare that time to now, I feel we have got more autonomy, more independence when you’re working for a multi-national company compared to when you’re working for a domestic company. But having said that, in multi-nationals if you’ve got independence and autonomy you also have got a lot of accountability. So if you don’t deliver in one or two years then you’re not delivering, and the road ahead is bleak. In MNCs you don’t have a personal relationship with people and people keep changing across the world, so who’s your boss today may not be your boss tomorrow. But if you’re working for a domestic company you interact with them on a daily basis and also there is a personal relationship. You have a personal equation with management in domestic companies which is not there with MNCs. There are pros and cons to both; it just depends on how one chooses to look at it.

You have graduated from IIM Calcutta, which is I think as close to ivy league as you can get in a country like India, so your view is obviously from a cream of the crop institute.

Do you feel there is a gap between what the educational output of the country is and requirements of the industry?

I would not say there is a gap but I think the education and industry need to work together. You can’t work in isolation. For example, industry needs more people coming on board. You can’t run companies without people. So industries need to participate and interact with the students, help them by giving internships and on the other side, institutes need to understand that the business environment is changing almost on a daily basis. So you need to keep revising the syllabus you teach to the kids. It should not be running the same old courses that were there 20 years ago. And believe me, when I went back to college everything had changed from when I graduated. For example, when we passed out we used to have vertical structures and you are taught how to manage a vertical structure. But they are not there anymore.

You have flat organisations. So how do you manage a flat organisation is very different from what was taught to us. I advocate that even if you’re working, every five years you should go back to the school. One should always be open to learning, no matter what point in their career they are at.

That’s really incredible because most successful corporates have a kind of hesitancy going back to school.

It’s because when I went back to school, I acquired knowledge which helped me handle diverse countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan apart from India.

So how is the approach different for South-Asia as compared to say Europe or America? What do you do differently in these markets?

It depends, for example, Asia right now is growing so you need to have different strategies for Asia versus the mature markets of the US. Also, there needs to be a price difference because there is an affordability issue. So what sells or people can afford in the US, might not be affordable here. So each market has to be approached differently. Cultural nuances must also be considered while marketing the products in different markets.

Do you believe in carrying your work home or do you believe in the demarcation between work life and personal life?

I believe in it but I still carry work back home. You have to do it because at times you’ve got boundaries and stretched targets so shutting off from work is unavoidable. However, ideally I do advocate a demarcation. You shouldn’t compromise on time spent with family.

Do you think women are adequately represented in Bausch & Lomb?

Not really. But we are getting there. Our target is to increase diversity by 1% every year. So we were about 8-9% now, but we still have a long way to go.

Hopefully, we shall bridge the gap in the coming years.

What is crucial for a business to succeed?

I believe meeting customers is very important. And if you are not thinking out of the box then you will be obsolete. All these ideas come from the brand. It’s important to be in touch with the people. So for example recently in Bausch & Lomb, we were losing market share. We went to the market to try and understand what is happening. The sales people told us that, ‘sir, you make only one delivery in a day and J and J, is giving us two deliveries in a day’. Generally if the customer comes in they would call the distributor and they will call the company and then ship the product. So if they want to close the deal they have to wait till evening. To combat this, we extended the time for our warehouse from 3:30 PM to 5 PM. We also introduced our mobile app, which has made it much more convenient for people to book their orders 24/7.

Continuous interaction with customers and changing with the times is essential for success.

Do you think lenses have gone from a utility device to a fashion accessory in India?

Not completely. Let me give you some numbers. In the US, among people requiring vision correction, 70% wear lenses. In Japan, I think maybe 40% of people wear contact lenses. China would be about 30%, Singapore would be 35%, but India is only like 5-6%.

I think the awareness is lacking. People think lenses are more expensive and difficult to put it in. People in the US know if you wear contact lenses you get a better vision. If I am wearing glasses my side vision is partly compromised. If you’re wearing contact lenses it is much better. If you’re playing sports, spectacles can’t be used. So contact lenses like that are much better. Also, people often tend to forget their glasses. With lenses, you don’t have to worry about misplacing them while travelling.

What’s your idea of relaxation when you do get the time from your busy schedule?

When I have time to myself, I just prefer to do nothing (laughs).

What advice would you give to students who are just about to start on their career or are readers also who are about the same age group.

Do what you are passionate about.

neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

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tadka

ISRO conducts successful launch Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently, successfully conducted a night launch of its trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-42 (PSLV C-42) carrying two UK satellites. This was the full commercial launch after many years as no Indian Satellite was launched this time and both the UK satellites were the main.

With this project, Antrix, ISRO’s commercial arm, will earn upwards of `200 crore. “We have an order book of `980 crore, with `500-600 crore contracts in pipeline for launch services in this fiscal (2018-19) and next fiscal (2019-2020),” S Rakesh, Chairman and Managing Director, Antrix, recently told a news agency.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 37

Parents should make it a point to take their kids to book exhibitions which will enlighten them ­‑Uday

It’s fascinating to see the different avenues of reading, the advent of digital media has brought in ­‑Milee

PILF Session

Booked for life...

Reading a book takes you on a magical journey and transforms you. There is nothing more precious than the smell of a new book. The advent of technology has made possible reading books on the go. E-books, kindle, audio books and others have grabbed the reader’s attention. Although this shows a perfect picture, measures should be taken to spread the practice of reading even more. At the recently concluded Pune International Literary Festival (PILF), a session moderated by Archana Sarat, a flash fiction author and poet and an elegant panel comprising Milee Ashwarya, Editor-in-Chief of Penguin Random House India, Uday Mahurkar, Indian journalist, political analyst and author, and Shatrujeet Nath, author and creator of the runaway national bestseller series Vikramaditya Veergatha, spoke about the future of books and the power culture of reading.

Corporate Citizen brings you the excerpts By Ekta Katti 38 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Photo Courtesy: PILF

Story telling has evolved drastically with the advent of pocket-sized books, e-books, web series and much more ­‑Shatrujeet

Reading has been an inevitable part of our lives. The emergence of digitalisation has opened new doors ­‑Archana

Archana Sarat: Reading has been an inevitable part of our lives. The emergence of digitalisation has opened new doors. With changing trends, it would be intriguing to know the views of our esteemed guests on the evolution of books.

Milee Ashwarya: It’s fascinating to see the different avenues of reading since the advent of digital media has brought in. Be it any form, reading has definitely picked up. However, I would urge people to read more. Reading a physical book has its own charm. These days the rise of e-books, audio books and also short-form books are successful in grabbing people’s attention. Also, it is a must for publishing houses to understand the audience and their demands. While publishing

Panellists (Left to Right): Uday Mahurkar, Milee Ashwarya, Archana Sarat (Moderator) and Shatrujeet Nath

any kind of books they should know its readership and how to indulge them in reading books.

Writing a non-fiction book is a work of passion. And I am glad to inform that there is a rise of 60-70 per cent in readership of this kind.

When it comes to serious reading it is not just history books that one should read. Other areas like true crime, travel and humour should also be given importance. A new crop of authors is focusing on writing about feminism too. Times are changing and it makes sense to change with it and address readers’ demands.

Uday Mahurkar: No doubt the number of book readers is increasing. But the point is how many of them are into serious reading like history, biographies and others. The present number of readers is not doing justice to our country’s

census. Also, I urge people to read more serious books. Indians ought to know our country’s history. Knowing about the people who fought for us is a must. Reading such books will enlighten them about our rich past. Such knowledge will certainly shape their future. Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started a campaign called ‘Vache Gujarat’ to spread the essence of reading.

He started visiting various schools and colleges in Gujarat where he read books with the kids. This campaign brought in a welcoming change.

Shatrujeet Nath: Digital reading is going to be more and more invasive. Story telling has evolved drastically with the advent of pocket-sized books, e-books, web series and much more. The key here is to experiment. A well-written synopsis could make a great web

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 39

PILF Session series which would further make a bestseller book. It’s interesting to start somewhere and land in the same place. Some authors are following this which shows their openness to change. For instance, the 'Maurya', a web series, which was later converted into a book.

Even for that matter, the books which inspired 'The Game of Thrones' caught attention only after its blockbuster series. It also depends on how franchisable the book is.

Archana: What about the dwindling attention span of readers? Have books these days become petite?

Earlier, Penguin never acquired any book which was less I urge people to read more than 60,000 serious books. Indians ought words. to know our country’s history.

Recently, they Knowing about the people printed a book who fought for us is a must which was ­‑Uday around 30,000 words. Have the norms changed?

Milee: Actually, it depends completely on the kind of readership we have. We have published books with one lakh fifty thousand words owing to its readership. Such books have sold quite well. Yes, there is an increase in the number of people who are reading serious books. However, let’s not forget that India is a vast and diverse country where most of the population is young.

We would want to cater to them also, which is why accessible books are on the rise these days.

It’s a challenge to keep the readers engrossed.

Frankly, to increase the readership we have to understand and cater to all kinds of readers. Publishing houses have to be tuned in to the readers.

Shatrujeet: I had a word limit of 80,000 for my first book. However, later I was allowed around 5000 words more. So, I don’t feel that word count is an issue. Also, there isn’t a decline in the reader's attention span. I have seen readers wait for years for the release of their favourite book. In fact, I feel that our patience with less engaging content is dwindling.

It’s simple, if the content is gripping, readers will go back to that book. The attention of the reader should never be questioned. Rather we should focus on coming up with more engaging matter. I am being bombarded with messages on my social media as to when I would release my next book. The number might not be large, but I would still be happy writing for the niche crowd.

Uday: Milee, is there a rising trend these days amongst youngsters

favouring books which speak volumes of their icons?

Milee: Most of the readers are interested in academic books. The market for such books is huge. The readers are always curious to read about the latest trends in academics and technology. This beat is picking up quickly. Also, books on academics are selling like hot cakes online.

Milee: Certainly! Today’s youth is in pursuit of reading books which can help relate with their icons. They look at their icons as role models and hope to reflect their success. So yes, there has been a rise in publishing such books. Also, these days we are Archana: Sometimes even if the publishing a lot of books about Incontent of the book isn’t dian heroes from various walks engaging, it becomes of life. The aim is to edua bestseller. So, cate the youth about is designing Today’s youth is in the hard work these and good pursuit of reading heroes have put in. marketing books which can help

relate with their icons Uday: So, what ­‑Milee are the challenges that this sector is facing?

Milee: It’s a task to come up with books and content which the readers find interesting. The readers are spoilt by options – there are web series, e-books, short form content and much more. It’s quite challenging to create content that is gripping and which the readers would read in a limited time. Hence, it becomes very competitive.

Uday: Are books on technology well received?

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the need of the hour?

Milee: If you are saying that a book is a bestseller, it means that the content is engaging. There is a demand in the market and hence the book must be selling.

These days marketing and publicity have become very important. A lot of work goes in before and after the book gets published. One thing is sure that the cover attracts the audience. A right cover and a perfect title and pitch can do wonders. No doubt these things are secondary. What takes the driver’s seat is the content. These days, most of the books are sold online. A catchy title

If you are saying that a book is a bestseller, it means that While doing that, dealing with piracy the content is engaging. becomes a grave task. In a populated There is a demand in the country like India, piracy is very difmarket and hence the book ficult to curb. Once the book is out, it must be selling become easy for them to make copies and ‑ ­ Milee sell them. However, we are taking measures from

our end to reduce this. It’s tough for writers to be full-time authors. Every time a pirated book is sold, the authors lose their royalty. With the boom of technology, the synopsis is circulated on digital media within a matter of days. This has to stop somewhere. What we tried is, to release the e-books once the book caught the reader’s eye.

This limited piracy to some extent.

Uday: I think the government has to play a big role in this. They should make stringent laws against piracy.

Shatrujeet: The interesting thing about piracy is it’s good for authors who have just begun their career. Some readers are reluctant to pay and read a book by a fresher. When my first book was released, plenty of them read the PDFs. But I guess that it’s fine until you get a feedback. Later, you realise that this is The hoopla about any working against me. book before being on the The moment it starts stands will determine how hitting your pocket, it well it will do looks scary.

­‑Shatrujeet

appeals the right audience. The timing of the book is also crucial. Marketing and campaigns act as an eye opener for the audience.

Uday: Marketing is always the key. And not forgetting that your contacts in this sector will play a huge role in marketing your books. Some books sell, courtesy the author’s connection in the field.

Shatrujeet: The hoopla about any book before being on the stands will determine how well it will do. No doubt, marketing is important, but I feel that the author should be out there communicating with the readers. Publishers have plenty of books in their kitty. Hence, they cannot use the same strategy for all. After a couple of months, when the book is still in the stalls, that’s when the author has to come in the picture and engage the crowd. With me, I make sure to respond to every reader who writes to me on social media. Ultimately, the author has to build a relationship.

Archana: The next biggest challenge any publishing house faces is piracy. What are your views about it?

Milee: It’s a very sad state. Book publishing in our country is still trying to make its mark.

Archana: There is a thin line between history and mythology. Do you think that the line is blurring in our country?

Uday: I am quite open about this topic and have an unorthodox view about this. The kind of evidence that is emerging makes me believe that the Ramayana is history. To support this, bifurcation of what history and mythology are, should be established.

Shatrujeet: There is a bit of mythology in history and vice versa. As a creator, this works for me. However, the reality is that the lines between history, mythology and legend have always been a blur.

Archana: Diversity and inclusion were the two keywords this year.

Penguin published a lot of books that highlighted this cause. What would be the keyword for the coming year?

Milee: Being united is very important. I hope that these two keywords still prevail in the next year. We try to encourage writers of all genres.

The field is always abuzz with keywords. At the same time, I feel that we should take pride in who we are and what we are doing and take it further. We should be proud of our rich culture

and try to spread this awareness through art and its various forms.

Archana: The youth of our country should become voracious readers. What should be done at home to encourage reading?

Milee: Children see, children do! It’s always better to teach them with an example. I feel that parents have to take a book in their hand before teaching the kids. They should become avid readers themselves, and their children will soon follow them. The other thing the parents can do is pay visits to book shops with their kids. That will surely encourage them. Also, events like these can open new horizons for youngsters.

Uday: Book exhibitions are a great way to promote reading. Parents should make it a point to take their kids to such exhibitions which will enlighten them. I have been a reading enthusiast, especially books on history, all through my life. I am happy to see my kids pick up the same habit. It doesn’t matter what genre inspires them, as long as they are reading books, it will surely stimulate their thought process. ektaakatti@gmail.com

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tadka

Apple achieves 'Mission: Impossible' of reaching 2 billion iOS device shipments Apple broke the one-billion iOS device barrier in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a quarterly conference call, the following January. The timing of the announcement suggests that it has taken Apple just over three and a half years to reach the second billion, a shorter period of time than it took to hit the first billion. The number covers all iOS-based devices, including iPhones and iPads. It has already hit 1 billion iPhones sold, which the company achieved in the summer of 2016.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 41

I do not agree that all leaders are born with leadership qualities. Leaders can be made and not only leaders have to create followers, but in today’s time leaders also have to create other leaders. Corporate leaders can be groomed by learning and development

42 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Stay Current To Get Ahead A 2017 Gartner survey shows that the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in India is transitioning from delivery executive to business executive, from controlling cost and engineering processes, to driving revenue and exploiting data. A Global Delivery Executive, Entrepreneur, Thought Leader, Management and Leadership Guru, BI & Advanced Analytics and Data Security and Privacy Expert, Shantanu Bhamare, CIO, Systango (HQ London, UK), who has over 25 years of experience working in the IT industry, says that the role of CIO has become a hot cake in the industry today, but at present there are very few CIOs in India. In an exclusive interview with Corporate Citizen, Bhamare talks about the CIO role and responsibilities and what does it take to keep oneself ahead in this disruptive technology and information driven world

By Rajesh Rao

In your 25 years of career journey, you have worked with MNCs in India and abroad. What are the work culture differences you have experienced?

Most of the companies I worked for were USA MNCs and few Indian MNCs—there was a huge difference in the work culture. For example, IBM believes in delivery on time and quality, they also give you freedom to devise a strategy and lead from front; they do not see how many hours you have put in the company, there is no recording of in-out timekeeping in IBM—they give a card just to open the door. IBM is also a performance, personal development and learning organisation, they do not believe in recording your work times.

But in Indian companies, if I am 30 minutes late to work or leave early, I got to regularise my attendance by my manager, even if I am at a senior level. In the US, MNCs see that the work is delivered and they are not bothered about when you are coming in and going out from work—for them it does not matter. In Indian MNCs, there is a culture of policing and micromanaging the employees, not giving them freedom to devise a strategy and execute.

Another example I can give is, let’s say your hobby is painting—if you are working abroad, you are allowed to take a sabbatical for 4-6 months and come back and join work after the break. Here in India, it will be considered as a career break—no one will take you back in the workforce and so many questions will be asked by a recruiter about the break and since work done in sabbatical period is not related to your profession, it’s 100% break for them. Another

example is, let’s say some student or professional has very good experience and is doing something innovative with technology, but not having any educational certificate or a degree—such a student is given an opportunity to work in companies abroad. In India, you will rarely find such examples. But, in my experience, abroad, especially in the West, it is exactly opposite—they see your knowledge and not your certificate.

You have taken various roles and responsibilities in your career journey, how did you prepare yourself to take bigger challenges in your career?

You got to keep learning and learning should never stop till you die. It is not so that if you are for 2025 years in an industry, you don’t have to learn anything. You got to give some time for learning new technologies and personal development— even though I am working in the corporate world, I have to spend couple of hours, checking what is happening in the world, what new technologies are coming. Either learn yourself or attend some courses or conferences. In my case, I believe in self learning. When I was working with Datapro, it was all Microsoft technology. When I joined Selectica,

it was all about Java—I did not attend any class in Java, I learnt myself. I am a quick learner, but that does not mean every person will be like me. So, either you learn yourself or you attend classes or conferences—any method you chose, but you got to learn. However, you have to balance between your professional working time, personal time and time to learn new technologies and trends.

Take us through your education and career journey.

I completed my academic degree of Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Computer Science from College of Engineering Pune (COEP), in 1994 and then I did a Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Computing from C-DAC, Pune in 1996. I also did Mobile Computing from IIT-Bombay in 2006 and went on for my MBA in IT and Finance from IIBM Pune in 2008. Recently I have done Project Management Institute (PMI) Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC), from Pennsylvania, USA in 2013. At that time I was the sole representative from India to do this master class course and our faculties where from Harvard University. So, I can very much say that I have done Global Leadership Master Class from Harvard.

You got to keep learning and learning should never stop. It is not so that if you are for 20-25 years in an industry, you don’t have to learn anything. You got to give some time for learning new technologies and personal development November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 43

TÊTE-À-TÊTE My first job I started my career in the 1996 as a product developer with Datapro Infoworld in Pune, which had small software division of about 25 people developing customised applications for various industry sectors and there main business was into trainings. It was my idea as to why not develop a product out of customised solutions, which you can sell to particular segment. Instead of developing customised solutions for every customer, I thought why not productise it and sell it to Oil & Gas Industry, Manufacturing, etc.

My idea was liked by the Software Division Head and we started the product development. This product went on to be exhibited in a Microsoft Conference in Seattle, USA. Owning patent in US for co-inventing Then I moved to Selectica, in US, which was again a product development company. I was working in their engineering team. There I was working on couple of products like Selectica Pricer, Selectica Workflow, Selectica Contract Management. I have a co-inventor patent registered on my name for Selectica Pricer, in US. It is a product which solves complex pricing algorithms and problems. Pricing becomes complex when there is tiered pricing, bundling, mandatory items, optimal items, upsell, cross-sell, etc. Selectica Pricer product is used by companies like IBM, CISCO, BMW, GE Health Care, Abbott, MCI, Accenture, Fujitsu,

the functionality and helped them migrate from Weblogic Server to Open Source, providing an ecommerce functionality.

Providing innovative solutions After that I joined IBM, in Pune, as Deputy General Manager, in their Application Innovation Services (AIS) department. What AIS really means is that you are understanding existing applications of clients and providing them innovative solutions. While at IBM, I was working on various different projects, in different domains, in different countries.

Taking the role and responsibility of CIO After six years I left IBM and joined TIBCO Software, in Pune, which is into niche market of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). Through TIBCO I managed Reliance Jio account for 4G Program.

After which I joined Xpanxion International as an Associate Vice PresidentSoftware Services. My CIO role started with the company called Netcore Solutions. My job was to basically take care of a project which included

If you change job every 2-3 years you get benefit of salary increment and also knowledge increment, you work on different technologies, different domain, you get to know new processes, new culture, etc. etc.—because their pricing problems are that complex. Why it becomes complex, because these companies have number of products, many options, permeations and combinations and that is the reason it becomes complex to sell it. As pricing becomes a complex issue, Selectica Pricer was designed to solve these issues.

Providing eCommerce functionality After Selectica, I joined Tech Mahindra, wherein I was working for British Telecom project. It was an eCommerce project and they required help to migrate from BEA Weblogic Server to Open Source OFBiz, because nowadays every company is moving towards open source, to save on licencing fee. So, obviously these are Open Source frameworks for ecommerce and it was me who understood

integrating all the softwares and tools of NetCore, which will give right information, at right time to right people, along with personal security, physical security, data security and privacy, as the role and responsibility of a CIO. To manage infrastructure, build strong relationship with existing customers, media inter views, managing internal and external communications and looking for new accounts, is also the role of a CIO.

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Communication and Media solutions After Netcore, I joined Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), as a Director Communication & Media Solutions. By communication I mean with reference to telecom, which is not just about phone calls and SMS anymore, they have also got various apps, which is also related to communication.

Recently, this year in August 2018, I joined Systango, as CIO. It is headquartered in London, UK. They have a development centre in Indore, in India, where I work. As a CIO my job is to build strong relationship with existing clients, delivery oversight, data security and privacy.

Tell us about future we expect to see in the next five-ten years.

in India and what can one do about that?

Earlier, people were talking about Business Intelligence (BI) and Advanced Analytics, but now Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking shape worldwide. For example, Intelligent Chatbots, Driver less Cars, Drones, and other areas like Internet of Things (IOT), folded devices, etc. You will see that in near future, human’s will be embedded human— there will be chips embedded say in various parts of their body, to make them superhuman. It is no more fiction, it is soon coming to reality.

There are lot of arguments and debates on this topic. I do not agree that all leaders are born with leadership qualities. Leaders can be made and not only leaders have to create followers, but in today’s time, leaders also have to create other leaders. Corporate leaders can be groomed by learning and development.

Leadership crunch is definitely there in India.

As a Leader you got to be visionary, take risks, lead from the front, lead by example, and these are the qualities which are missing.

How are future technologies going to affect the job opportunities?

Have you seen the difference between managing old employees and the new millennial employees?

If someone is not updating, learning, reskilling for new technologies and the advances that are coming soon, they may become obsolete and end up jobless. Why so many layoffs are happening here in IT companies, it is because of automation and because those in jobs are not learning new technologies. They are still working in old technologies, when technology is changing at fast pace.

You were sole representative from India to do the Leadership Master Class, in US. Tell us how it happened.

You got to put 7-8 years in any PMI Chapter, at a leadership level. I was VP of the PMI Pune chapter, under my leadership PMI Pune won the best chapter in the world award in category II, as well as I got awarded by PMI USA as a “Best Volunteer Leader Of The Year 2008-Asia Pacific Region” at Denver, Colorado, USA, in October 2008. So, they see who are the good leaders from PMI chapters from all over the world and select only 20 leaders, and I was selected from India. Meetings happened in different continents of the world. I graduated in 2013.

PMI’s Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC) is a yearlong initiative that provides intensive training, development and support for a limited group of volunteer leaders who meet or exceed the learning level of the experienced volunteer leader.

Is there leadership crunch

Certainly, there is a difference between these two generations. Earlier people were more loyal to the company, like in my case I was with Datapro (4 years), Selectica (5 years), IBM (6 years). But, the new generation, they want to join a new company every year—it is good and bad also. It is good to do job hopping, but not in one year. It should be at least 2-3 years in start of the career and there is a reason to it. If you change job every 2-3 years you get benefit of salary increment and also knowledge increment, you work on different technologies, different domain, you get to know new processes, new culture, etc.

However, I would not suggest any fresher, spend a long time, say more than three years in their first company. If I spend 5-6 years in first company, then I will have only that company’s knowledge and will only know processes of that company. But, if I join a new company after 2-3 years, I will learn new processes, new technologies, new domain, will work in new environment and there will also be monetary benefit. So, one should join new company after 2-3 years, in their initial career stage and later as you get senior anyway the number of options become less. At the beginning of your career, you have many options, which is the reason why freshers do job-hopping.

How important is the role of CIO for the companies today?

The role of CIO got introduced into the industry in the last ten years and started first in the western countries. As for why there was the need—data security and privacy, being compliant to various standards like The International Standard for Service Management (ISO 20K), Information security standard (ISO 27K), and so on, which is a huge concern in IT industry in recent times and that is the reason you need CIO to manage these compliances and acts. The CIO role has become a hot cake in the industry now. There are many associations—I am member of CIOs of India, CIO Forum, CIO Club and CxO Club.

However, there are very few CIOs in India, they

are learning how to become a CIO and how to get that knowledge and skill.

What is the difference between the role of CIO and Chief Technology Officer (CTO)?

In short CIO takes care of the data security and privacy, compliance and infrastructure part and CTO takes care of the technology upgradation part. If you are a technology company, CTO’s job is to look out for what technologies are coming in the market and roll-out those technologies in the product and services of that company.

Being a CIO, my job is also, building strong relationship with existing customers, working with the vendors and improve bottom-line of the company. CIO is also responsible for the maintaining infrastructure of the company. Like in our case, we have lot of servers—how we can maintain those servers and ensure there is a near to no downtime, because in IT, downtime is not acceptable by clients and that is also the job of a CIO.

What are the disruptions we are waiting to see in the near future?

Internet of Things (IoT) started in India, in the last five years and is used in many industries.

Basically, IoT means deployment of sensors on which you want to collect data or track—some examples of IoT are Industrial Automation, Smart Home, Smart City, Traffic monitoring, Health monitoring, Security, Transport and Logistics, Daily life and domotics. Examples of AI or Machine Learning are Chatbot, driverless cars, drones, image recognition, sound recognition, retina recognition automating repetitive work, etc.

In the USA the five human jobs that are replaced by AI are, courier jobs by delivery drones, cooks job by Robotic Kitchen (Moley), cashiers by AI Shopping Tech (Amazon Go), Customer Service Representatives by ChatBots, and drivers by Self Driving Technology. rajeshrao.rao@gmail.com

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tadka

Indians spent over `50k crore on Chinese phones in FY18 Consumers in India spent more than `50,000 crore in FY18 on purchasing smartphones made by just the top four Chinese brands, nearly twice what they spent on them in the previous fiscal. That trend is set to continue with Chinese brands dominating the Indian smartphone market.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 45

CII-CFO Meet 2018

The CFO’s Role has

Evolved

The scope of the finance function has grown far beyond the traditional finance boundaries to address a much wider spectrum of issues and concerns. This means that from processes involving compliance, regulatory issues and risk management, including people management and strategic management, the involvement of the CFO is now required for boardroom decision making. With an emphasis on the strategic role of chief finance officer in an organisation, Porus Doctor, Partner, Deloitte, in his theme address at the recently held CII-CFO Meet 2018, at Hotel Hyatt Regency, in Pune, talked about the challenges and opportunities for the finance function, while navigating through this uncertain times.

Corporate Citizen brings you the excerpts By Vineet Kapshikar CFOs should participate in the boardroom decision making

Today’s business environment requires CFOs to be strategic partner with CEO and other C level executives in the organisation, considering the evolution of the finance function and the finance culture in the organisations. The finance function will be compelled to take its culture which encompasses information generation, control and equality through all levels of organisation.

One thing is for sure, you cannot choose the change when the world around you changes, and you cannot choose not to change when the world is changing. Change is mandatory, the only choice is, how do we respond? In this era of VUCA, CFOs are confronting with significant challenges while navigating through the challenges.

Challenges of CFOs

Working cohesively with CIOs First challenge CFOs face is when navigating through the technological disruptions and working cohesively with the CIO of the organisation.

If you are CFOs today, of all the frustrations of the IT, you are bound to get an earful - excessive investments made, multiple deadlines missed, little or no return on investments and so on. To complicate matters, many CFOs did not know if the CIOs are actually doing a good job or not.

What does exactly a good IT function look like, how should IT be evaluated and what are the trouble signs for an enterprise if they are not prepared for the future from a technology disruption standpoint.

IT expenses continue to be the most significant items on the SG&A expenses and there is a growing need to effectively manage the CFOCIO relationship. It requires focus on communication on governance and assessment to create an overall framework to analyse current and future IT capabilities. CFOs and CIOs can help to improve the valuation of IT by establishing a broad organisation wide governance model for majority of IT spending decisions and such a model with appropriate stakeholders can lead to joint ownership and better resource allocation, commitment to execution of IT projects.

Having right finance talent A major challenge for CFOs today is, have you got the right finance talent that you need to succeed as the CFO of the future? Economic volatility, tax reforms, technology disruptions, increasing compliance, the scope of the CFOs’ responsibilities is continuously evolving and expanding and calls for a team of highly-skilled leaders as well as deep bench strength. Identifying and keeping the talent is far from easy, in fact it is the talent paradox, despite continuing high unemployment rates, CFOs cannot find the talent that they need. In 2018 Deloitte Survey of CFOs, we find that developing, reskilling and managing talent has become a big challenge for finance teams. Fifty per cent of CFOs who responded feel that hiring and retaining key talent is a great concern and at the same time, 44% of CFOs say the availability of the right skilled talent is itself is a challenge.

In view of difficulty of finding the right talent

46 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

in the finance team, it might be easy to view everyone on your team as essential. After all it takes time and money to develop critical resources. The simple questions to answer here are, what knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences you need now? What about going forward, who on your team best embodies these skills, if someone critical resigns tomorrow, do you have the bench skill to backfill that position, is current talent capable of developing a successor? Given your priorities of finance in the next 12 months, who are your key members you can count on to execute these priorities and in other words do they team-up and do they teamwork?

Effectiveness of compliance and anticorruption programmes The effectiveness of compliance and anti-corruption programmes in the volatile environment, in the light of the increase of the regulations and scrutiny both in India and abroad. CFOs need to focus on structuring robust compliance programmes and ensure that they are effective. To say that the enforcement landscape has been stepped up, would be an understatement. Align-

“The CFOs’ role has evolved with time, which highlights the growing importance of finance for driving business decisions and preparing the organisation for future growths.

The CFO of the future must enable innovation and manage risk better”

improvement is within the reach of a finance function. Many companies after all remain capital intensive; still, some see low levels of turnover for accounts receivable and higher turnover for accounts payable.

Further, boards understand that efficient management of working capital can potentially free up cash flows for other users that can build shareholder value, such as mergers and acquisitions for CFOs charge the growth and determine to steer strategy - there may be no better place to look for that cash and working capital improvements.

Use of technology to create value Bad decisions are made in organisations where there are squishy goals, competing interest, bad assumptions, not enough time, insufficient information or simply not enough talent. There are countless ways to miss the mark; on some level making a bad decision is unavoidable, no one can be always right, but leading companies tend to make fewer bad decisions, especially to come to those that can drive or destroy significant value, decisions that matter, how do they do that?

Having structured processes in places is not enough to turn into a good decision. Even with your most knowledgeable people and leading processes, line spots and biases can still negatively affect decisions that truly matter. A CFO’s perspective and insight in particular can help to mitigate these spaces. In fact, in their roles as catalysts, CFOs have the opportunity to lift overall performance and create value at better decisions with the use of big data and analytics.

Conclusion

Pic: Yusuf Khan

ing compliance practices and policies is fundamental to promote in a more transparent chain of value. For the CFO overseas, risk of the cost of not having adequate controls in place can be much greater in terms of monetary and reputational damage if there is compliance. Moreover, having a low-level of confidence is obviously out of line as companies have created anti-corruption programmes and the disclosures shared with shareholders and regulatory authorities on these programmes are sufficient. Enhancing compliance programmes may help a company to avoid prosecution is equally important, it may also help to safeguard its harder reputation and rank. Some of the key elements of an effective an-

ti-corruption compliance risk management programme may include a risk assessment and risk management gap analysis, monitoring transaction testing and training whistle-blower system.

How to optimise the working capital?

Many companies have the opportunity to increase shareholder value by managing working capital in a more efficient manner. CFOs may want to address the challenges to free up the cash that can be used to fuel growth but as guardians of working capital, CFOs often are positioned to do the strategic vision and lead the working capital of optimisation effort. Additionally, establishing the infrastructure to support working capital

It is important for a CFO to constantly broaden their own skillsets and experiences and build a smaller understanding of the business regulatory environment, digital and other technologies.

The CFOs’ role has evolved with time, which highlights the growing importance of finance for driving business decisions and preparing the organisation for future growths. The CFO of the future must enable innovation and manage risk better. The role of CFO is shifting from being that an accounting profession to a strategist and a catalyst.

In a recent survey, Deloitte had conducted, 65% of CFOs believe that playing a strategist role will be the priority for the future as compared to 32% of today. Sixty five per cent is a significant shift from being an accounting professional and moving towards catalyst and strategist. Change is not only likely it is inevitable and CFOs are facing complex decisions on many fronts and knowing exactly how to proceed at any given time is harder than it looks, a smart move for any business could be a disaster for another and determining the strategy requires experience and insight. It is not easy being a CFO these days. vineetkapshikar@gmail.com

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 47

Unsung Heroes-14

Even Muscular Dystrophy could not come in his way!

A mechanical engineer, VK Bansal suffered a hereditary muscle disease with no cure and confined to a wheelchair. He took to teaching and today he has become a pioneer in the field of coaching for IIT-JEE “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

—Christopher Reeve

H

e was a mechanical engineer working for JK Synthetics Ltd, a polyester plant in Kota. In 1974 he started having trouble climbing steps; he later discovered he had muscular dystrophy, a hereditary muscle disease for which there is no cure. He was shocked when he realised that he had to be confined to a wheelchair. A local doctor warned him that death was imminent, while another more optimistic physician in London advised him to take up teaching. In 1981, he began teaching, starting with one Std VII student. Devoid of a teaching background, he was not sure whether he could teach. Today, his coaching centre has eight floors that are connected by wheelchair ramps. He has become a pioneer in the field of coaching for IITJEE, with a thriving business that grosses close to a billion rupees per annum.

We are talking about VK Bansal, the founder of “Bansal Classes”. The success of Bansal Classes led to the establishment of many more coaching institutes, several of them started by Bansal’s former employees. Some even teach students how to clear the entrance exam to get into Bansal Classes. Amazingly, Kota, which at one time was famous for the Kota saree and Kota stone, has now become a hub for coaching classes.

Bansal was born in Jhansi on 26 October 1946. His family owned a sweet shop in the city.

After passing high school at the top of his class, he went on to study engineering at the Banaras Hindu University, graduating with a degree in

mechanical engineering in 1971. Shortly after graduating, he married and moved to the city of Kota, Rajasthan to work as a mechanical engineer for JK Synthetics Ltd, a polyester plant that shut down in the late 1990s. It was shocking when in 1974, his efforts to get treatment for muscular dystrophy at AIIMS and many other hospitals in the country failed. “I had dreamt of becoming the chief engineer of a plant or a general manager, but things went in a totally different direction,” he says.

Within five months of starting his tutorial with just one Standard VII student, he had another student, and the next year he managed to get another. He was not sure whether he could teach engineering students. “My aim was to settle down with an income that matched what I used to draw at JK Synthetics,” says Bansal. “At first, I used to teach six students around my dining table. Then I added a few stools to make it 12.” In 1983, he met G.D. Agrawal, who ran a Mumbai-based IIT coaching institute. Agrawal motivated Bansal to do the same. From 1981

48 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

to 1991, Bansal kept himself so busy fourteen hours a day—eight hours at JK Synthetics and six hours in studying and teaching—that it left him with no spare time to think of his disability. During these ten years, he taught students of Standards X and XI, as well as students for the PET and IIT entrance. He got more confident as he coached PET students at National Coaching Institute at Kota Junction. He took voluntary retirement from JK Synthetics in 1991 and devoted himself fully to “Bansal Classes”.

One of his students got through to IIT-Roorkee in 1985, and a similar feat was achieved in 1986. Soon, Bansal found himself with more students than he could handle. “I had to devise a test to select a few whom I could teach— and we follow that practice even today,” Bansal explains.

Although he cannot stand without support, he zips from classroom to classroom in a motorized wheelchair. The coaching empire represents a quantum leap for a man who began teaching one student, that too free of charge, in 1974.

“

“Teaching is my breakfast, lunch and dinner. In a classroom, energy also flows from the students to the teacher.

Sometimes, when I am stuck over a problem, a bright student can end up teaching me. I have always kept an open mind on that”

“We were engineers working for industries,” says Pramod Bansal, CEO, Bansal Classes. “Teaching was not exactly in line with our profession. But as we had the background and aptitude it needed, we started Bansal Classes.”

Bansal teaches about 17,000 students every year, nearly 25% of whom get through to the IITs. All in all, he has taught till date some 1.5 lakh students out of which more than 20,000 have made it to the IITs. Interestingly, Bansal Classes does not market its services, instead relying on word-of-mouth publicity. It only advertises on two occasions: when the admission dates for the IIT-JEE classes are announced, and when the results of the IIT-JEE entrance exams are declared. By the late 1990s, Bansal’s students have begun to regularly figure in the top 100 of the IIT entrance test ranks.

V.K. Bansal, now 60, claims that he is worth more than $20 million—and the industry he created, along with its ancillary businesses, is worth millions more. Now he has enough money to take care of his needs, even if he quits teaching today, he asserts. But he enjoys teaching too much to do so! Requests to set up similar coaching class centres in Dubai have been pouring in, but Bansal has, so far, refused to expand his business anymore.

To gain entry to Bansal’s classes, Standard X students must have secured more than 75% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

They must also pass Bansal’s entrance exam.

Despite having never advertised his classes, his reputation lures students from all over India.

Bansal’s classes cost ₹40,000-50,000 per student, setting the benchmark rate across Kota, even across India. His highest paid teacher earns ₹30 lakh annually—and Bansal gifted him a car at Diwali 2016. Bansal admits that the business model has been highly profitable, but says that that’s not what drew him to the classroom. “I have never chased money, money has chased me,” says Bansal. He credits his students with helping him outsmart the doctors’ prognosis. “In a classroom, energy also flows from the students to the teacher,” he says. “Sometimes, when I am stuck over a problem, a bright student can end up teaching me. I have always kept an open mind on that.”

Bansal has begun handing over the business’ responsibility to his children. His two daughters head offshoots of the academy in Jaipur and Ajmer, and his son helps out with the one in Kota. But Bansal says it’s too soon to retire; he has just constructed a new campus. “If I don’t teach, I will die,” he says, setting his wheelchair in motion for the next class. Today, he starts

studying at 7 am, and works on practice problems until noon. After lunch, he goes to class, where he gets the answers to the problems, and gets home around 8 pm, and does homework until midnight. He has developed an intensive study system that bombards students with test questions for nine hours a day for two years.

In 2007 Bansal Classes has opened a new, bigger campus that is better equipped than some IITs and is fully wheelchair accessible for Mr Bansal, who still teaches up to five classes a day.

Of course, his mobility has declined to the point where he can barely lift a pen. But he says being in a wheelchair 12 hours a day means he has more time to think of challenging questions for students. “Teaching is my breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he says.

He underwent bypass surgery and treatment of dural hematoma (bleeding in the brain). In Jan 2014 Bansal made a video narrating his life story for a seminar held in the Neurology Department of AIIMS, New Delhi. He says that he had been writing for six hours daily, because of which the muscles of his hand were still functional. Till 2012, he used to take lectures for 7-8 hours daily, because of which his lungs and heart are still functioning normally. The five hundred neurologists attending the seminar felt that it was simply miraculous. The life and work of VK Bansal is itself really a miracle that will continue to inspire millions of people in the years to come!

The above story is featured in “Unsung Heroes-Real stories to inspire you” ISBN 97881-7108-902-4 by Maj (Retd) Pradeep Khare (pradeepkhare2011@gmail.com). It is published

by Better Yourself books, Mumbai.

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tadka

Is world’s largest desert ‘Sahara’ turning green?

According to a study published in a journal ‘Science,’ scientists have predicted that shifts in the local environment triggered by the solar panels and wind farms have the potential to increase precipitation and vegetation in the Sahara desert, especially in the neighbouring Sahel region, a semi-arid area that lies south of the giant desert. “This increase in precipitation, in turn, leads to an increase in vegetation cover, creating a positive feedback loop,” said study co-lead researcher Yan Li, a postdoctoral researcher in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois, in a statement.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 49

Loved & Married too It is not often these days that a college romance fructifies into wedlock. Corporate Citizen unlocks the story of love that has culminated into marriage, for we believe in the stability of a relationship and family unit. We bring to you real-life romances that got sealed in marriage

First comes family The quintessential corporate couple, Kalpesh and Neha Saraf, prove that it is very much possible to enjoy a career along with a happy family life, peace of mind along with professionalism and stability with the dynamism of growth

By Kalyani Sardesai

T

his love story was scripted about a decade back on the campus of Sri Balaji Society, Pune. Both of them being batch mates for the MBA marketing course, he asked her to help him study finance—a subject new to an IT engineering graduate. Being a BBA degree holder, she did help out successfully.

One thing led to another, and six months into the academic session Kalpesh Saraf knew Neha Shah was 'The One' for him. From finance to family may sure seem like a dramatic transition in such a short span, but the young man knew exactly what he was doing. "I wanted a girl who shared my deep sense of commitment to family.

Having lost my dad pretty early in life, and being the only son to boot, I was extremely close to mom and very conscious of my responsibilities to her," he shares.

Naturally, this meant a nuclear set up consisting of just husband and wife would not be possible—something that a young and modern wife would want. "However, when I saw how close Neha was to her own family, how particular she was about caring for them, I knew she would understand. And she did," he says. What's more, he did not wish to shift out of his home town Pune either, given his mother's comfort in her later years.

Neha agreed readily, and the duo was ceremoniously wed in a traditional function in 2010 on completion of their MBA programme. Considering that both were Gujaratis as well as individuals with a shared value system, the families were only too happy to give the young couple their blessing.

It helped that their differences only helped

Problems and obstacles arise in each and every marriage, but the trick is never to let the pursuit of big goals or the presence of big problems take away from the small joys of life it could be as simple as pulling up one's car to the road side to share chaat or paani puri together—Kalpesh

50 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

to strengthen the bond the two of them shared.

"He's an extrovert, a full-on people's personsomeone who can hold a conversation even with a complete stranger. On the other hand, I am more reserved and take my time opening up," smiles Neha. "But he was loving, kind and responsible—all the qualities that I would cherish and respect in a life partner."

The building blocks of marriage

Post marriage Kalpesh and Neha lived with his mother, an arrangement that proved advantageous to everyone. "An older person around is always a support system and helps keep you grounded," they say.

Sure, there were adjustments to be made but both Kalpesh and his mom were more than happy to let Neha fly-even if it meant taking up a six month project in Mumbai in the course of her job at Mondelez. "She would come down to Pune A happy family: Neha, Kalpesh with their daughter, Shanaya on weekends and we would spend some quality time together," says Kalpesh."We knew this stint would benefit her, and did all we could to help." with roses and expensive gifts. "Even a small thing like surprising her with paan-something A little while later, their bundle of joy Shanshe thoroughly enjoys-adds to the moments we aya was born completing the happy little famspend together," says Kalpesh. "We believe in ily picture. As of now Kalpesh is working with grabbing them every chance we get."

NASSCOM as lead, while Neha has just taken a break from her current job as seSo how do they manage conflict and resolve quarrelsome situations. nior manager at Firstnaukri.com, The loss of Kalpesh's mom in 2016 an Infoedge company. "Lately, has helped them both mature-and Shanaya seems to be needing a bit take charge of things both big and more of her time. So she has taksmall. "Earlier on, mom was there en this little break from her career. to provide a calmer perspective. But But she will also utilize her time to when you lose an elder, you tend to pursue a certification or qualificagrow up in every way," says Neha. tion of some kind that will help her • Trust get back to work as and when she Kalpesh, admittedly, being the decides to do so," says Kalpesh. "A • Respect hot-tempered one also tends up be-

The mantras of a marriage

point that I wish to make here is ing the one doing most of the apolthat priorities evolve as time goes • Sharing ogising. "However, when tensions on, and balance is key to every in- responsibilities really build up, just go to bed and let things be for the moment. The stitution, including family." next morning is usually brighter," Married for eight years now, their • Cherishing the he grins. mantras for togetherness are simple: small moments Amidst all this, he is particular trust, respect, space and sharing. of life about spending enough time with "He has always helped me out with his wife and daughter. "I usually household chores and that's a very • Valuing friends come home by 6-6:30 pm and from significant contribution," she says. and family then, till we go to bed, my whole To which Kalpesh adds that respontime is devoted to both of them," sibilities divided are responsibilities he says. At the same time, he is pretty happy at shared. "These things add to the quality of life work and enjoying his time in office. that you share," he says.

Problems and obstacles arise in each and every marriage, but the trick is never to let Bringing up the baby the pursuit of big goals or the presence of big Like every young couple, bringing up their child problems take away from the small joys of life it to the best of their ability and understanding could be as simple as pulling up one's car to the is important to both Neha and Kalpesh. As in road side to share chaat or paani puri together. all other aspects of their life, here too, balance "Romance is in the small moments, and so is the rules. "We believe in handling each situation difbeauty of life, " says Kalpesh. ferently. Give her a loving home, be liberal and understanding, but also be strict as and when However, their notion of romance is a deparrequired," says Neha. ture from the conventional candle light dinner

Affirms Kalpesh, "Doing well at school is fine, but along with that, respect for elders and getting along with peers are qualities that are very important too. There can be no compromise there. She needs to understand from a young age that human relationships are important-be they with friends or family."

To that end, the couple also has a big friend circle with whom they enjoy plenty of quality time. "Every weekend, either we are in their home, or someone drops by. Luckily, most of our friends have kids of a similar age so that helps Shanaya make some great friends too," says Kalpesh. "A support system like that is important for a young family."

At the end of the day, though, a simple truth keeps them going." A couple must always remember that despite the differences they may have, their destiny at the end of the day, is the same," they round off.

Something to ponder over, for sure. kalyanisardesai@gmail.com

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tadka

India's first centre to “analyse data”opened India’s first Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA), which will assist the government in the adoption of data analytics in governance, was inaugurated by the Minister for Electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, in Delhi recently. “India has emerged as a big centre of data and analytics today and hence the world is looking at us,” said the minister.

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 51

Campus Placement

Nothing is

impossible You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and twice as beautiful as you’d ever imagined. Don’t let cancer force you to sell yourself short or forget your worth. This is what Yogesh Kumar Barange is all about—he overcame all hurdles including 3rd stage cancer and now steps into the corporate world with an MBA under his belt, sending a message to his juniors that nothing is impossible

By Joe Williams After 10,000 capsules, 180 injections, eight operations, an XDR TB patient and last but not the least a cancer patient, Yogesh Barange still hit the bull’s eye in a telling fashion. He says, “Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” He now works as a business intelligence executive for HomeTown.in, an online shopping business for furniture and home decor.

Early life

Yogesh Barange passed out from St. Xavier’s school and then completed his graduation from Career College Bhopal. It was not just studies for Yogesh, but he was also a middle distance champion (400m) in school. His elder brother was studious and a topper in school, so he would always hear his teachers saying, ‘Yogesh, learn from your brother Kamlesh’. Although academics took a back seat in his life, he did have a liking for subjects like history, statistics and case studies. And as he moved out of the school, things changed and so did his academics, as he started to be among the best students of the college. He says, “Sometimes I feel that I lost some good chances during my school days not being among the top52 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

pers, despite having the best around me, my parents and teachers at school.”

Yogesh’s father is a retired BHEL employee, who is now busy with agriculture, and his mother is a homemaker. Brother Kamlesh is an engineer, working for Huawei, in Kuwait.

Academic life

“My school and college days went quite well. School days, I enjoyed the most. Always a personal favourite of the teach-

ers, being good in sports and average in academics, I had some good friends and some lasting friendships. I also played school level cricket which later helped me play four years of professional cricket in Vadodara for U-17 and U-19 and was fortunate to be friends with some cricketers who are representing India, the IPL and Ranji teams currently.

“Then came my college BIMM, a place which has shaped me into a confident person. When I was part of the BIMM student council as Vice President, I enjoyed just everything.

The responsibilities, duties and sudden action planning made me a more mature person. For me, problems were just a way towards glory. Networking was the best thing I gained from being a VP. Also when I was not well and suffering from TB, I decided not to quit and went ahead with Yogesh at his convocation my duties. My college journey was superb for me except for ceremony some bad moments.”

“One was when I started ted. I tested positive my 1st MOC of my batch for cancer, though my that too for Deloitte. I still family did not tell me. remember I was shivering, “They came with fearing, what if I screw up on me to Mumbai and stage? It would have a direct admitted me to the impact on the seniors’ placeTata cancer hospital. ment, as the company had On 1 July 2017, after come with that intention. all tests and scans, But everyone’s support made the doctor told us me stand tall that day-I still Never quit in your life. I never that I was suffering remember my legs shivering from Lymphoma 3rd while speaking, but I never did. I am fighting today and will fight stage cancer, which let it affect my tone. I sound- tomorrow, because I am living to make damaged both ed like a professional, and my world shine like the brightest star of had my lungs and some that was the start of my turnpart of my brain. I ing into a confident person.” the universe. Everyone faces problems was already battling “I worked for Airtel in life—please do what is good for you with Level 1 TB, and broadband in Bhopal disone more surprise tributing flyers on the roads always. Don’t worry about what people came my way—I got until 11 pm at night. Work- will say and react promoted to Level ing hard is the only way to 2 XDR TB for which I took 180 injections from August 3 make a human shine. The tough struggles will always 2017 to 31st January 2018, in a row. My rear had become make you a champion. And going through hell will always rock hard due to the insertion of needles every day, but I make you stronger.” had to bear everything.”

Fight against cancer “I took six sessions of chemotherapy. I went through a lot those days. I killed 95 per cent of cancer cells after my “The story starts from October 2016 when I was given the 4th chemotherapy, all thanks to my mother and her love responsibilities of VP at BIMM. That was when my health and also due to Ayurvedic medicine. My doctors were went down. I started coughing. And it was so intense that still shocked to know that 95% of the cancer cells were I used to cry while coughing. I went to the doctor and killed. Cancer had given me mental, physical and emohe shocked me saying that it was level 1 TB and I started having 16 tablets a day. Everything went well but I kept on tional pain. Everyone supported me in my fight against losing weight, from 85 kg to cancer—my family were my pillars of support, especial56 kg, at the time of my first ly my mother. Without her I would not be living today chemotherapy. I got placed and sharing my life experiences with you. My father and and started my job from brother are my lifelines.”

15th May 2017, but I worked “People ask me if I have seen God. Yes, I have an answer just for 15 days and I had to to them. My family is my God. I have gone through so go back home. The toughmuch pain that I wish no one goes through the same. People est phase of my life was just stayed away from me when they saw me without eyebrows. about to start. Before that I People look at cancer patients with a feeling of awe.” suffered from hyper drug “I have received huge emotional and financial support reaction all over my skin, from Sri Balaji Society throughout my MBA course—eswhich was the fault of the pecially Bala sir, Vikas sir, Biju sir and Archana Ma’am. My hospital where I was admitbatch mates, the “Exemplars” and my juniors, the “ChamNovember 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 53

Campus Placement pions”, have supported me always. They welcomed me like a star at the convocation.”

ness and I proudly say that my family is my “LIFE”, says Yogesh.

Placement worries

He was a candidate for over ten companies and made it to the last round in nine companies. Finally it was HomeTown, and this happened in the year 2017. He did have experience of working for 28 months in two companies, Airtel and ICICI Bank before HomeTown. For him his future got a kick-start with this future group as it opened a new lease in his life. Most importantly, it helped him in making a good base in the competitive corporate world. According to him, the best part of being with HomeTown is that they help aspirants build their future.

Placement is a word every student hears when he/she enters college and for Barange too, it was no different. Thanks to the ambience in his college, the seniors in the college were at the forefront to help juniors, preparing them for the judgement day. So, there was no fear factor involved for Barange. The best part of this college was that it was not just the student who was worried, but the entire college faculty and batch mates. That boosted his confidence and he wanted to give his best. A fighter, as he was better known, challenges were nothing new and Barange would take them head on, as he was well aware that the journey in the corporate world would not be easy.

On his success

“The credit for my success goes to my family. They are my everything and the way they have been with me throughout made me go screaming for success. I have fought many battles especially going through the third stage of cancer.

Pain has made me dedicated and courageous to go for wins in upcoming battles. The human brain is the most powerful weapon, and if you have mastery over it, you are a genius. In my opinion, if you lose heart at the start, you can never win.

I have learnt that defeats make you hungry for victory and you will clear all battles with efficiency. Continuous efforts and sheer hard work makes a champion,” says Yogesh.

Current designation and role

“Right now I am working as a business intelligence executive in Mumbai looking into an important analysis of reports, which are important for business and operation metrics. I was earlier a part of the e-commerce team handling catalogue listing for homeware products of HomeTown and other market places like Paytm, Flipkart etc.,” says Yogesh.

Yogesh getting his treatment

The best achievement for me was when I killed 3rd stage lymphoma cancer cells in my body just after the fourth dose of chemotherapy. That day, I saw my family’s happiness after six months of pain

Happiest moment in life

“The best achievement for me was when I killed 3rd stage lymphoma cancer cells in my body just after the fourth dose of chemotherapy. That day, I saw my family’s happiness after six months of pain. They have sacrificed everything for me and I owe my life to them”, adds Yogesh.

What is Life all about?

“Life, for me, is the best four-lettered word. I have been through so many ups and downs that I have started seeing my life from an angle of enjoying and living each day. It’s good to dream and think about the future. Without dreams there will be no life. But dreams will only be fulfilled when you work day in and day out. I have fallen on ‘n’ number of occasions but still I am fighting to make a name for myself. I always believe that you get only one life - dare to be different because many don’t venture out of their comfort zone for fear of failure. My life has always tested me on all parameters, whether profession, personal or spiritual”, says Yogesh.

Who is more important?

“My life is fully dedicated to my family and their happi54 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Yogesh with his friends

Advice to others

“Never quit in your life. I never did. I am fighting today and will fight tomorrow, because I am living to make my world shine like the brightest star of the universe. Everyone faces problems in life—please do what is good for you always.

Don’t worry about what people will say and react. Always think about your glory and success. Never quit because the day you quit, this world will devour you up”, says Yogesh.

Six tricks to share

• Be uncomfortable, that’s the way to success. Never settle yourself to one thing. Your brain is a clever machine, it will always tell you to select the most comfortable thing as it can be achieved with ease, but remember, being out of comfort zone will make you achieve glory at a faster rate.

• Problems are opportunities. Try always to hunt for them.

The corporate world needs a candidate who dares to be different and find solutions to problems and if you continue doing it, salary will be no bar.

• Always be in a gratitude phase. Never show tantrums or attitude to your subordinates or anybody. Life is bad, it will hit you in the face when you are at the top to make you realise it.

• Always be ready to help others. Also pause if someone is using you. Help people always, because you never know when you will be on the other side of the river.

• Always remember and analyse the mistakes done by you.

• Love your parents. They are your GOD. They have worked day and night to give you the best amenities-to give you the best food to make you strong and confident to rule the world.

Therefore, always love them the most. All will leave your side when you are at your worst, but they will be with you to protect you. Love and respect them. Live for their happiness. joe78662@gmail.com

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tadka Dealers reverse GST claims worth `17.45 cr

The consistent efforts by the Commercial Taxes Department to find out fake input tax credit claims (ITC) followed by several arrests have evidently created fear in errant businessmen. As a result, various dealers in Bengaluru have reversed their ITC claims of `17.45 crores after they realised that they had based their claims on fake GST invoices, Karnataka Commercial Taxes Commissioner M.S.Srikar said.

Mobile apps

Best apps for Golf

There is one thing Global CEOs, MDs and Corporate Executives have in common – they love Golf. Golf is not just a sport, it is a networking medium for corporates. If you love golf and are looking to improve your game, or are a young executive looking to bond with your boss on golf course, Corporate Citizen brings you the best apps to improve your golf skills By Neeraj Varty

The Grint They have done an excellent job at making an intuitive design that works quickly on the course, displays important yardage information, and boasts more features for free than any of their competition. You are displayed key information like the front, centre, and back distances to greens. Additionally, players can easily adjust layup distances and yardages to hazards are included (which most of the other apps charge for). You can also keep track of your stats, play games like Stableford against your playing partners, and enter your group scores easily during the round.

Golfshot The Golfshot app is easily one of the best golf apps out there, whether you’re a casual links lover or a serious golfer. The app, which is available for Android, Apple, Apple Watch, and Android Wear, has both free and pro features. The free features use GPS and your input to track each shot you hit on the course and which club you were using — great data for personal improvement. It also lets you see the distance to the centre of the green, keep the score of up to a foursome, review stats, and check golf news.

Hole19 Available for Apple and Android mobile devices, including watches, Hole19 provides a high-quality golf GPS app for free. And what sets this app apart from the rest is the excellent user interface and intuitive, stylish design. You can view your distance to the front, centre, and back of the green on tons of courses.

You also get a bird’s eye image of the course, not a cartoonish rendering that lets you see hazards, doglegs, and anything else the course may be hiding. Hole19 also has a great scorecard function that looks professional and fun, more at home on a professional sports app than a free golf one.

GolfLogix Most golf GPS apps are focused on helping you get onto the green. However, GolfLogix takes it one step further. This hugely popular golf app has added a feature that lets golfers see the green as they would in a video game or during a broadcast of the Master's, with a 3D, topographical and in-depth map of each green.

neeraj.varty07@gmail.com

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 55

Health

Mountaineering for fitness Canadian-born Dr Vidya Ranga, a fitness influencer and Paediatrician at Vatsalya Nursing Home, Mysore is an avid mountaineer. She has scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, at the Uhuru Peak in Tanzania and successfully stepped on to base camp of Mt. Everest too. Then there are two gritty ladies from India in their quest for the ‘Antarctic’ dream – Tanvi Buch, a 24-year-old Mumbai-based architect and photographer and Kolkata-based Madhabilata Mitra, an accomplished model and certified instructor from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI, Darjeeling). Corporate Citizen shares the fitness stories of these mettlesome women, the preparedness and motivation

F

By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar “Fitness is a way of life, involving serious dedication and time management. When you can habitually make attempts to stay fit, fitness transforms to be a regular aspect of your life. To allow lethargy overrule your life, is alarming in today’s age. Fitness should be a regular thing,” said Vidya Ranga, fitness influencer and Paediatrician, Vatsalya Nursing Home, Mysore. She is better half of Arjun Ranga, MD, Cycle Pure Agarbathies.

Vidya Ranga initially started her fitness journey in the first year of medical college. “At the time, the main idea was to work on myself, and try to look better, but that evolved into a whole different experience all together.

My husband had visited interesting places and spoke a lot about these places. I realised that no women in Mysore had done this (adventure sports). We started small as I gathered a few of my friends, and we began training. We began, running up the steps at Chamundi Hill in Mysore, or went to the gym, running and cycling every other day”.

Starting with her first trek at Mt. Kota Kinabalu, in Borneo Malaysia, she realised that she not only enjoyed the climb but took a liking to the outdoors too. “I realised how unpredictable nature is and nothing can beat the view of the sunrise from a mountain top. That’s when I realised I was comfortable with high altitudes and that’s when I signed up for the Mt. Everest Base Camp expedition with a bunch of friends.”

Fitness Training On her mountaineering health mantra, Vidya said, “You need to have a strong endurance. Besides, a high level of fitness, you also need to have a lot of confidence in yourself. You also should be comfortable at high altitudes and have the ability and preparedness to face the worst that could happen.”

She reiterates that instead of prepping for a certain expedition, maintaining a regular fit-

56 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

ness regime is advisable. This must be done by managing one’s time, between work and social engagements. “You tend to neglect your own health when travelling for work, and so when you inculcate a regular fitness regimen, it becomes a lifestyle. And one can even mix it up, be it through running or cy-

Vidya Ranga

Gearing Up for a ‘Polar’ Passage

Tanvi Buch

What connects Janice (Jan) Meek – a Guinness World Record holding polar adventurer, ocean rower and international motivational speaker to Tanvi Buch and Madhabilata Mitra? Come December, both Tanvi and Madhabilata will be India’s first ever ‘Polar Maidens’ as they join a six-member all women international team in exploring the South Pole. The December mission starts with a flight from South America, reaching Antarctica, thereon travelling to a special camp called the ‘Union Glacier’, from where the team would head to the ‘magnetic’ pole.

“Just what Jan Meek says — don’t ask “why?” ask “why not”. Make sure your time on this planet is worth the while,” said Tanvi Buch, Mumbai based architect and photographer, as she quoted her 74-year-old British Team Lead, Janice Meek.

As for 36-year-old Madhabilata Mitra, “As a mountaineer, I am addicted to any extreme event,” she said. “Mountaineering helps me to develop my interest in extreme sport.

Besides, the basic training structure of mountaineering and expedition are almost the same. I just need to prepare myself for the extreme climatic condition. The schedule that I am following here at Skulpt is enough to condition myself for the Scotland training”, she said.

(Left to Right) 3 of a kind - Tanvi, Janice Meek and Madhabilata

then submitted all proofs of her mountaineering and other outdoor experiences and as she said, “All proofs and obviously my madness for extreme sports!”

Tanvi said that she was looking for a work-term as an intern (as part of her degree studying Natural Resources Conservation at the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.); when her parents happened to meet Rajiv Dalal at a school reunion. Later, she was introduced to Janice Meek and the rest just fell into place.

Training and Endurance On preparing for her Antarctic mission, Tanvi said that, “We are focusing on core strength and overall strength and stamina. I have good stamina but, must focus on building strength and endurance. Exercises such as pulling a tyre (as a dummy for the sledge) while walking for a long time; upper body, core and lower body training, jump rope, some yoga for mental and physical resilience etc. are what I try to incorporate as much as I can through the week. While eating well will also be a key aspect; there isn’t a prescribed diet, yet.”

“In the seven-day Scotland training, we will be focusing on physical endurance, mental fitness, and teamwork and goal setting. We will prepare ourselves for the surface by trekking, walking uphill and training for physical endurance. We will also be focusing a lot on yoga for an overall sound fitness and recovery,” Tanvi said.

cling”, she said. “What I have observed, is that goals keep you Globally Connected motivated and don’t let you get It was providence that connected both stagnated. Which is why I have Tanvi and Madhabilata to Rajiv Dalal, made sure to sign up for another Head Coordinator of (marathon) immediately just to the ‘Polar Maiden’ project. keep me motivated.”

Madhabilata went through an She has juggled both trekking online interview with the expedition expeditions and her cycling Madhabilata Mitra team leader. Following which she interests. “I also, cycled from Manali to Khar-dung La Pass, which was an incredible experience, and it made me decide that cycling should also be an a toll on you. Dedicate quality time every day part of. There is one across the Spiti Valley, and integral part of my fitness regimen. So, I am for yourself and your health.” said Vidya.

I am also keen on maybe the one in Northeast part of a brevet now, which would entail that “I get up very early and hardly watch any through Sikkim.

I need to cover a certain distance in a certain TV. I am in bed by 10 pm. My typical day starts time, and all the medals come in from Paris at 4:45 am—I’m done with my workout by 7 Fitness Tips because it is part of a randonnée club.” am. And If I want to run more and cycle more, “Do the little things to help yourself every “I’m planning to do the Bengaluru full marI just wake up earlier. So that way I’m at work day— make the right decisions, try to avoid athon soon, commemorating my 42th birthand available during the same hours every day. ordering out, learn the basics of cooking, beday, I thought I could run the 42 km marathon.

And if I wish to work out more, I simply get cause it makes you incredibly independent, However, next year I have my eye on a few inup earlier.” and it’ll take you places. I think keep yourself teresting cycling expeditions that I want to be a sangeetagd2010@gmail.com active, because of long working hours can take November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 57

Survey

90% of Corporates across Asia-Pacific, including India plan to hire MBA graduates MBA is one of the most popular post graduate degrees all over the world, and there is a very good reason for that. 81% of corporate organisations around the world plan to hire MBA graduates in 2018, while in Asia Pacific that number goes up to 90%. Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global, nonprofit association, has conducted The Corporate 2 Recruiters Survey Report 2018 to understand the hiring trends of companies globally vis-Ă -vis MBA graduates. Corporate Citizen brings you the results By Neeraj Varty

5858/ /Corporate Corporate Citizen Citizen/ /November November 16-30, 16-30, 2018 2018

Methodology

Analysis in the 2018 Corporate Recruiters Survey Report is based on responses received from 1,066 employers in 42 countries worldwide who work directly with participating business schools, including 20 percent in the Fortune Global 100.

Summary Overall, 81 per cent of responding companies report plans to hire recent MBA graduates in 2018, compared with 70 per cent that hired them in 2017. Though larger companies are more likely than smaller companies to have 2018 MBA hiring plans, startup companies have the largest increase between their 2017 MBA actual hiring rate (55 per cent) and 2018 projected hiring rate (77 per cent).

Internships continue to be an avenue to jobs for many business school graduates. MBA internships are offered by most employers in Asia-Pacific and the United States, while business master’s internships are offered by most employers in Europe.

Most companies plan to increase starting base salaries for new business school hires compared with last year.

Around the world, MBA graduates continue to command a salary premium relative to direct-from industry hires and bachelor’s degree hires.

Key Findings Overall, 81 per cent of responding companies plan to hire MBA graduates in 2018.

Overall, more than 7 in 10 responding companies plan to hire talent from a variety of other business master’s programme types.

Consistent with past years, mid-level positions are the most common placement for new business school graduates in 2018.

Business development, data analytics, and marketing are the top three job functions employers plan to fill with new business school graduates in 2018.

Most companies report that they have increased their budget for employee education and talent development compared with five years ago.

Employer plans to hire international business school graduates have softened in 2018.

Most employers will bring on MBA interns in 2018.

November November 16-30, 16-30, 2018 2018/ /Corporate Corporate Citizen Citizen/ /5959

Survey Company Direction in 2018, by World Region

Expected Company Headcount 2018, by World Region

Across world regions, most companies plan to expand and increase their headcount in 2018.

Overall, 69 per cent of responding companies report plans for growth and expansion in 2018 and 65 per cent of companies expect to increase their organisational headcount.

Maintain

Expand/Grow 6%

6%

15%

21%

Challenges Overcome

Increase

9%

5%

3%

22%

31%

Asia-Pacific

Europe

4%

30%

30%

30%

57%

64%

68%

60%

66%

Asia-Pacific

Europe

% of respondents

% of respondents

73%

69%

Decrease

10%

22% 21%

79%

Maintain

Latin America United States Latin America United States

% of respondents

2018 Outlook: Company Direction 6% 19%

8% 33%

5% 21%

7% 21%

10% 13%

11% 20%

22%

75%

59%

74%

72%

78%

69%

38% 40%

Consulting

Energy/ Utilities

Finance/ Accounting

Healthcare

Across all company types, sizes, and industries, most plan to grow in the near future, with the exception of government owned companies.

11% 24% 65%

Technology Manufacturing Non-profit/ Government

Products/ Services

Hiring Trends and Projections

% of respondents

2017 (Actual) 70%

81% 45%

MBA

% of respondents

2018 (Projected)

53% 36%

Master in Management

Master of Accounting

87% 35%

91%

46%

42%

41%

Master of Finance 85%

90%

52%

Master of Data Analytics More companies plan to hire B-School Talent in 2018, but projections have moderated compared with recent years.

Overall hiring projections for 2018 vs. Actual Hiring 2017, by candidate type overall, a greater share of responding 60 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Bachelor's

Experienced direct-from-industry hires

companies plan to hire MBA and business master’s talent in 2018 compared with the share that hired them in 2017. But, hiring projections for 2018 have moderated compared with recent years in some regions for specific degree types.

Hiring Trends and Projections: MBA Four in five companies plan to hire MBA graduates in 2018

MBA Hiring Projections, by World Region, 2009 to 2018

Europe

% of respondents

US

APAC

55% 38% 33%

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

*Latin American data not displayed due to insufficient sample in past survey years.

Hiring Projections for MBAs 2018 vs Actual Hiring 2017, by Region

% of respondents

2017 (Actual)

82%

2018 (Projected)

90%

81% 54%

Asia-Pacific

64%

Europe

77%

85%

63%

Latin America

United States

Nine in 10 (90 per cent) companies in Asia Pacific plan to hire MBAs in 2018—the highest share of any world region and steady compared with 2017. Eighty five per cent of US companies, 81 per cent of Latin American companies, and 64 per cent of European companies plan to hire MBAs in 2018.

Startup companies have the largest increase between their 2017 MBA actual hiring rate (55 per cent) and 2018 projected hiring rate (77 per cent).

MBA hiring demand is strongest among companies in the health care, technology, and energy/utilities industries. Hiring projections from nonprofit/government employers is down compared with past years. neeraj.varty07@gmail.com November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 61

Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian

From The Mobile

What an eye opening story...

There’s a bakery shop near our house. Often, on my way back home in the evening, I buy some stuff for tomorrow’s breakfast. Today, as I was about to leave the bakery, I met our neighbour Irfan who was also leaving the same shop. After the exchange of some traditional greetings, the conversation went as follows: I asked: “What have you bought?”

Irfan replied: “Nothing much Hanif, just some chicken patties and some sweetmeats for my wife and children”.

Jokingly, I enquired, “Why so? Hasn’t your wife cooked today?”

Irfan said: “No, Hanif, it’s not like that. Actually today in office we were a little hungry so my colleagues ordered some patties and sweetmeats. Since, I had this at the office I thought to buy some for my family too. It’s not fair that I eat whatever I like at the office while my kids and wife remain bound to eat whatever is cooked at home.”

Confounded with great surprise, I stared at him because I never thought this way before.

I said: “What’s the big deal, Irfan? If you eat food of your own choice at the office, your wife and children would also be having whatever they like to eat at home.”

Irfan replied: “Not at all, Hanif! My wife saves for me from everything there is. Even if someone from neighbourhood sends something, my wife first saves some for me and then distributes it among my kids. It would be very selfish if I just enjoy good things with my friends and not with my family.”

Amazed upon hearing this I said: “Enjoying? This bakery stuff is what you think is enjoyment?”

He said: “Whatever Hanif! I dread the time when on the Day of Resurrection I’ll be questioned about this. That I took someone’s daughter into marriage and had fun with my friends while she ate whatever little was available.”

Completely stunned, I couldn’t move my eyes off him while he continued.

Irfan: “Look, when we get married to someone’s sister or daughter, they are Human Beings as well. Just like us. They too have hunger needs. They have their desires as well. They too wish to taste lots of de-

62 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

licious foods or foods of their choice and to try different kinds of lovely outfits. They also want to move and travel around. Keeping them caged like a bird, providing them meals twice a day and having a sense of smugness for doing all this is selfishness. And the way we treat the daughters of other's is the way our own daughters and sisters will be treated because what goes around comes around.”

His last words shook me to a great degree. I never thought like this before. Concluding the conversation with Irfan I said, “Great! You have made me think from a different perspective.”

I turned back to the shop.

Irfan: “Where are you going?”

I replied, “To buy some ice-cream…actually I had some ice-cream at the office today.”

Irfan and Hanif took their respective paths. Irfan was glad to have a positive impact on Hanif. On the other hand, Hanif, now, knew how to keep his wife and kids happy and acknowledge all the efforts his wife does for his happiness.

Adapted from “Pious Muslim Husband and Wife”.

When God created woman When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day.

An Angel came by and asked, “Why spend so much time on her?”

The Lord answered, “Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her?”

She must function in all kinds of situations.

She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time.

Have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart.

She must do all this with only two hands.

She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day.

The Angel was impressed, “Just two hands that’s impossible! And this is the standard model?”

The Angel came closer and touched the woman.

“But you have made her so soft, Lord”.

“She is soft”, said the Lord.

“But I have made her strong. You can’t imagine what she can endure and overcome”.

“Can she think?” The Angel asked.

The Lord answered, “Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate”.

The Angel touched her cheeks.

“Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her”.

“She is not leaking...it is a tear”. The Lord corrected the Angel.

“What’s it for?” Asked the Angel.

The Lord said, “Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride”.

This made a big impression on the Angel, “Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvelous”. The Lord said, “Indeed she is”.

She has strength that amazes a man.

She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens.

She holds happiness, love and opinions.

She smiles when she feels like scream-

ing.

She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid.

She fights for what she believes in.

Her love is unconditional.

Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life The Angel asked, “So she is a perfect being”?

The lord replied, “No. She has just one drawback. She often forgets what she is worth”.

Effects of bhakti 1. When BHAKTI enters FOOD, FOOD becomes PRASAD. 2. When BHAKTI enters HUNGER, HUNGER becomes a FAST. 3. When BHAKTI enters WATER, WATER becomes TEERTHAM. 4. When BHAKTI enters TRAVEL, TRAVEL becomes a PILGRIMAGE. 5. When BHAKTI enters MUSIC, MUSIC becomes KIRTAN. 6. When BHAKTI enters a HOUSE, HOUSE becomes a TEMPLE. 7. When BHAKTI enters ACTIONS, ACTIONS become SERVICES. 8. When BHAKTI enters in WORK, WORK becomes KARMA. 9. When BHAKTI enters a MAN, MAN becomes HUMAN.

Go not to the temple - by Rabindranath Tagore

Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, First fill your own house with the Fragrance of love...

Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God, First remove the darkness of sin from your heart...

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer, First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen...

Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees, First bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden.

Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins, First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you!

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 63

Claps & Slaps Corporate Citizen claps for the silent evolution of e-rickshaws plying in pockets of city neighbourhoods as a mass transport mode Popularly called the ‘Toto’ in Kolkata, these eco-friendly threewheeled battery-operated vehicles are prominent across pockets of New Delhi, Dehradun and Lucknow too. But, what is laudable is that about 1.5 million of these battery-powered rickshaws have surpassed the total number of electric passenger cars that were sold in China since 2011. In the national capital, the number of e-rickshaws has risen from 4,000 in 2010 to more than 10,0000 by 2017, according to a report by the New Delhi-based Centre for Civil Society. Unfortunately, while China, the world’s largest auto market enabled significant subsidies to encourage purchases of battery-powered cars, India’s e-movement has hardly managed any tax breaks from the state.

With lack of financial subsidies, the e-rickshaw expansion often falls short of appeal. Banks too shy away from lending money to rickshaw drivers with low incomes. Despite these hitches, hand-rickshaw pullers and the cycle rickshawalas who provide the last mile connectivity have been gradually upgrading their pedal-pushed vehicles to battery-operated ones. Thus, enabling considerable relief from day long strenuous pedalling; saving physical energy, while adding more mileage to trips in return for more lucrative earnings. Kolkata has seen an upsurge in ‘juggad’ based models where rickshaw pullers who do not have the wherewithal to buy a factory-made e-rickshaw that costs anywhere round `70,000 to `80,000, go for the cheaper retrofit variant. New RTO laws to enable registration of these vehicles has added a safety twist to these vehicles but imposing of the law needs strengthening. According to consulting firm, A.T. Kearney, “As many as 11,000 new e-rickshaws hit the streets every month, and annual sales are expected to increase about nine per cent by 2021” And, cashing in on the moment is SmartE, an Uber-style app that uses 800 odd e-rickshaws around New Delhi. Cab startup Ola too has plans to ply 10,000 e-rickshaws next year. As transport economist Aniruddha Dasgupta said, “People’s lifestyles are evolving. Public transport is getting upgraded. So why not the humble rickshaw?”

64 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Corporate Citizen slaps the lack of national pride and civic sense amongst railway passengers who have been known to vandalise railway inventories – the occurrences have unfortunately become worse Indian Railways had to incur losses of `4,000 crore over the last 3 fiscal years owing to these thefts. Unimaginably, data released by CPRO’s Central Railway office spells out that 79,350 hand towels, 27,545 bed sheets, 21,050 pillow covers, 2,150 pillows and 2,065 blankets amounting to `62 lakh were stolen between April to September 2018 alone. The Western Railway authorities have audited some 1.95 lakh towels, 81,736 bed sheets, 55,573 pillow covers, and 7,043 blankets as stolen from Indian trains in the last fiscal. They said that property worth `2.5 crore was stolen last fiscal, which does not include other damaged property. While the cost of individual items such as each blanket at `132, a towel at `22 and a pillow at `25, might seem frugal, the enormity of the theft is a disgrace.

Travellers do not even spare basic amenities wherein some 200 toilet mugs, around 1,000 taps and even 300 odd flush pipes are stolen every year. Besides, tray tables, upholstery, dislodged armrests, ripped curtains, taps, trash cans, mirrors and faucets have been reported stolen or misplaced. Such mentality poses a challenge for the mammoth Indian Railways that has attempted modernising trains with electronic sensor-driven taps and CCTV cameras. But these ‘high-value’ amenities most often do not even last their maiden trip.

The railways are left with no other option but, to replace these with cheaper alternatives. The Tejas Express was flagged off on its maiden journey earlier this year, and the Indian Railway officials were aghast to discover that passengers had nicked away headphones, damaged LCD screens, soiled the toilets and defiled the semi-luxurious train; most of its Jaguar toilet fittings were also stolen. The Mumbai-Manmad Panchavati Express was vandalised soon after it was upgraded with ‘modern’ facilities at a cost of `38 crore. The Indian Railways ended up with an additional repair bill of `9 lakh for the damage. Its time we realise the thin line guarding personal and national custody of civic property!

(Compiled by Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar)

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CORPORATE CULTURE

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank on women in leadership and gender diversity

INTERVIEW

An in-depth interview with Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director India with Kingston Technology and Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR, at Jindal Steel & Power

Dynamic Duo 21 MEERA SHANKAR AND AJAY SHANKAR

UNFLINCHING SUPPORT

November 16-30, 2018 / Corporate Citizen / 65

the last word

Ganesh Natarajan

Rising Opportunities The jobs of the future will incorporate a heady mix of storytelling, visual and sound effects and technology, and will need people with the ability to work with cyber-physical processes and big data emerging from multiple sources

I

t gave me a sense of pride and humility to stand before a vast assemble of students at my alma mater, NITIE where I had the privilege to be the Chief Guest of the annual convocation. Very conscious of the fact that I was standing in the shows of a giant like Dr Kurien, the inspirer of Amul who was the Chief Guest at my own convocation in the nineties, I shared some thoughts on the future of India and our youth.

We can all be proud of the fact that India is indisputably the fastest growing economy in the world. The 8.2 per cent GDP growth recorded in the first quarter of the current fiscal, with double-digit growth in manufacturing should give us the confidence that for well trained and ambitious young folks, there will be no dearth of opportunities to monetise. The external environment shows positive signs too with global growth projections upgraded to 3.6 per cent this year, well above the 2016 and 2017 achievements.

India is expected to retain its position as the fastest growing major economy in 2019, a projection that augurs well for job creation for the hundreds of millions of young job-seekers who expect that their country will give them the opportunity to do better than the previous generations, which is often the best indicator of upward movement of an economy.

Opportunities in the New Economy One concern, which I shared with

the large assembly is the impact that new developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and robotic process automation can have on traditional jobs. Old jobs may be under threat but new jobs there will be in plenty! In my own industry, Information Technology and Digital, a NASSCOM study has identified opportunities in eight new areas including AI, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, User Experience and Mixed Reality, Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics and Data Sciences, which were not even heard of a few years ago and

This world of Fast, Focused, Flexible, Friendly and Fun is what makes me breathe fresh air everyday at 5F World today are creating thousands of job opportunities worldwide.

The jobs of the future will incorporate a heady mix of storytelling, visual and sound effects and technology, and will need people with the ability to work with cyber-physical processes and big data emerging from multiple sources in the environment. The future of the car industry might actually see designs crowd sourced from potential buyers and converted to a drive-away model through 3D printing and instantaneous robotic assembly.

For young folks entering the job and entrepreneurship world in 2018 and beyond, there are mul-

66 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018

Ganesh Natarajan with NITIE Director, Dr Karuna Jain

tiple opportunity streams—from traditional and smart manufacturing to logistics to digital transformation applied in virtually every business sector and healthcare, agriculture, smart cities and Government. The understanding of re-engineered processes, the technology push and customer pulls that change businesses at breathtaking speeds and the imperative to build the work force of the future with new attitude and skills— all this will be needed to lead in the coming years.

As one bright NITIE student correctly wondered, is anything I have learnt in the last two years going to prepare me for these rapid changes? The answer is, you have the industrial engineering discipline to understand new concepts and learn skills that will enable you to cope and succeed in the new world and the management training to build energised teams, new markets and innovative strategies for success. But you need to be quick to adapt.

The road less travelled - new vistas of opportunities As a NITIE alumnus who has seen it all, led successful teams and companies in India, China, Japan, Europe and the US and built consulting and startup investment companies, I can confidently say that my finest moments have been in the last year, as I took on the Chairmanship of Social Venture Partners India and Pune City Con-

nect. In Pune we partner with the Government to bring better education, digital empowerment and skills to every citizen and nationally at SVP we are a group of over two hundred industry leaders seeking to enable a million sustainable livelihoods for our countrymen.

Believe me, there is no better entrepreneurship than social entrepreneurship and no joy which is greater than putting smiles on the faces of large numbers of empowered communities around the country… and the world!

When I started my new group —5F World, it was with the conviction that the future belongs to those who can think and act fast, be very focused on their chosen path to success, retain their flexibility to incorporate new concepts, technologies and learnings—all in an environment that is designed to be friendly. This world of Fast, Focused, Flexible, Friendly and Fun is what makes me breathe fresh air everyday at 5F World. For a true patriot and entrepreneur, there are many opportunities to truly live up to the inspiring words of one of India’s greatest sons, Swami Vivekananda.

“Arise Awake and Stop not until the Goal is reached.”

Dr Ganesh Natarajan is an alumnus of NITIE and the Harvard Business School and PhD from IIT Bombay.

He is now the Chairman of 5F World, Social Venture Partners India and an investor in India’s digital eco-system.

Printed and published by Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian on behalf of Sri Balaji Society. Editor: Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian.

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68 / Corporate Citizen / November 16-30, 2018