Shobhana Bhartia -The Media Power

Shobhana Bhartia, Vice Chairperson, The Hindustan Times Limited (HT), it seems, never forecloses any options. "We may possibly look at the television business, not in the immediate future, but more on a five-year horizon." Well, this---after a failed attempt at television, Home TV, in the 1990s.
And equally, never jumps into anything without adequate preparation. "The infrastructure is taking time. We'll launch next year," she adds, on the company's eponymous paper's much-awaited launch in Mumbai, the country's biggest newspaper advertising market and bastion of its fierce competitor for daily morning readership, The Times of India (TOI).
The Birla lady joined the family business in 1986, and has been something of an iconoclast, transforming an old tardy organisation in a sector that never thought itself as an industry, into something markedly more innovative, dynamic and attention-getting. Today, she leads a vibrant ten-edition strong newspaper that has already proved all its sceptics wrong in Delhi, and could possibly give the country's most famous media monopoly (TOI in Mumbai) a serious case of jitters.
Even bolder, perhaps, has been Bhartia's inking of the first FDI deal in Indian news print media; she sold a 20-per cent stake in Hindustan Times Media to Henderson Global Investors. This was done after the Government of India changed its FDI-in-print-media policy last year.
Then, there have been signs of aggression on other fronts---as when Bhartia took on the findings of the National Readership Survey (NRS). "The reason we challenged the NRS findings was not because there was a minor difference, not because the Times of India came ahead of us, but because those figures were ridiculous," she says.
And all this while keeping a close eye on consolidating HT, even springing quite a few never-before newspaper innovations in the country in the 2-Minute HT, Brunch weekend reading, HT Sports as a four-page pullout, and HT Premiere. "This kind of product (Brunch) has to catch on. Though we got a great reader response, the advertisers still haven't found a slot for a magazine that comes with a newspaper."
Amongst all this, Bhartia manages to find time to catch up with her reading, especially in areas of interest such as international affairs and foreign policy. She is currently "struggling through" Bill Clinton's 900-page autobiographical tome, and has just finished reading a book by Robert Kagan.
Tempted to ask how she manages work-life balance? "I enjoy my work terribly, so in a sense I don't feel I am working (at all). Or that this is work and this is pleasure, because my heart is very much in my work. It is very much the quality of time you spend with the family."

Vedika Bhandarkar MD & Head (Investment Banking)/JP Morgan India

If you perceive investment bankers as machinists fuelled by greed, hypocrisy and high risk --- you could blame Michael Lewis' Liar's Poker for that imagery perhaps --- you obviously haven't met Vedika Bhandarkar. A few minutes into a conversation with the Managing Director & Head of Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan India, are enough to wipe out those vivid images of fat-cat, short-sighted traders dancing in your head.
Bhandarkar has been in financial services for 14 years now, but you don't see too much of her in the media, pontificating about corporate prospects and fiscal well being. Along with her penchant for the low profile, her candour too is refreshing. For instance, she'll tell you that when she went on maternity leave to deliver her second baby, it was pretty much a tumultuous period for the firm, which was being restructured to become J.P. Morgan Chase. "My fear was: Would I have my job when I returned? Fortunately my firm surprised me positively."
It's not for nothing that J.P. Morgan surprised Bhandarkar positively. In the past six years, Bhandarkar has earned plenty of laurels for herself and the firm, the most recent and significant one being the $1.1-billion TCS public offering, where J.P. Morgan was the joint bookrunner. You won't find her taking individual credit for such deals, and that's largely because the "star" culture is pretty alien to J.P. Morgan. Yet, when it comes to executing and closing out deals, it's difficult to leave out Bhandarkar. Like, for instance, in ONGC's acquisition of MRPL from the AV. Birla group. Right from the outset --- when ONGC Chairman Subir Raha called up Bhandarkar and evinced his interest --- the odds were tipped against the deal. MRPL's balance sheet was a mess, loaded with $1.5 billion of high-interest debt. Bhandarkar and her team pulled off a minor miracle by convincing the 15 lenders to the project to take an average 25 per cent haircut. Today, MRPL has a comfortable capital structure, a healthy bottom line and a share price that's climbed over five-fold (in the Rs 40 range) since the restructuring.
Does that make Bhandarkar a star in Indian investment banking circles? She'll probably recoil with horror at such a suggestion. "It's a lot of grunt work. It's the visible results that add a touch of glamour ---you either raise equity/debt or you don't; an M&A either works or it doesn't." In Bhandarkar's case, it invariably does.

Vinita Bali- Britania Industries

Vinita Bali was appointed Managing Director on 31st May 2006. Vinita joined as Chief Executive Officer of the Company in January 2005. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Economics from LSR at the University of Delhi and her MBA at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies at Bombay University. She pursued postgraduate studies in Business and Economics at Michigan State University on a scholarship from The Rotary Foundation, and was selected to work as a Graduate Intern at the United Nations headquarters in New York. She started her career with Voltas Ltd.-a Tata Group company focusing on consumer products, where she launched Rasna soft-drink concentrate. In 1980, Vinita joined Cadbury India, where she had a successful career in roles of increasing responsibility, not just in India, but also in the UK, Nigeria and South Africa. Vinita also served on the Boards of Cadbury Nigeria and Cadbury South Africa. The Coca-Cola Company chose her as its worldwide Marketing Director in 1994 where she was responsible for the worldwide strategy for Coke, and was one of the key players in doubling its historical growth rate. In 1997 she took over as Vice President of Marketing for Latin America, and in 1999 relocated to Chile as President of the Andean Division with sales in excess of USD 1 Billion. In 2001, she was made a corporate officer of The Coca-Cola Company and appointed Vice President of Corporate Strategy reporting to the Chairman. After an eventful nine-year association with Coke, Vinita joined her mentor at Coke, Sergio Zyman at the Zyman Group in July 2003 as a Managing Principal and Head of the Business Strategy practice in the company's Atlanta office. As a member of the company's Board of Managers, Vinita shared responsibility for developing and managing Zyman Group's consulting business.

Ashu Suyash- Fund Manager Fidelity Fund Management

Fidelity, the world’s largest fund manager, appointed Ashu Suyash as head of its mutual funds business in India earlier this year. Suyash’s appointment ended several months of speculation on who would man – er, woman – this prime slot. Fidelity Fund Management Pvt Ltd is an arm of Fidelity International Ltd, which, along with Fidelity Management & Research Company, Boston, US, has $1.2 trillion assets under management.
A CA by qualification, Suyash, 37, brings with her over 15 years of financial services industry experience, including a stint with Citicorp Brokerage India Ltd as CEO (1996-1998) and as head of investor sales (1998-2000). Most recently, she was head of strategy and business development for Citigroup in India. She also did a year’s stint with Timesofmoney .com. Fidelity is is likely to hit the market with its first product in October 2004. “India is a strategic market for Fidelity and we have a long-term app-roach to the business,” says Suyash.

Komal Wazir------- Shaw Wallace

Bhavika Godhwani, the little-known eldest daughter of Vidya Manohar Chhabria, has demanded a four-way split in the $2 billion Jumbo Group.
The business, she has demanded, should be divided equally between Chhabria and her three daughters - Bhavika, Komal Chhabria Wazir and Kiran Chhabria.
Bhavika has always kept a low profile. When her father, Manu Chhabria, was alive, he would often say that Bhavika was the least likely of his three daughters to join the family business. Then why this sudden flare-up in the family?
Sources close to Godhwani say that her angst is directed at 29-year-old Komal who has emerged as the public face of the Jumbo Group after her father's death in April this year.
Wazir is not new to the Indian corporate scene; she shot into prominence some years ago when she started attending Shaw Wallace board meetings in her father's place, who was then unable to visit India because he was facing FERA charges.
Wazir's pre-eminence among the sisters can be gauged from the fact that she is on the board of all the family's Indian ventures whereas Bhavika Godhwani is on the board of only one of them - Hindustan Dorr-Oliver.
Kiran Chhabria, the youngest, has just joined the family business in Dubai. A talented writer, she is helping out with group communications out of Dubai.
It is also worth noting that Manoj Godhwani, Bhavika's husband, was on the Dunlop India board but stepped down subsequently.
In fact, the Chhabria family has decided to keep its sons-in-law out of the family business. Thus, Komal's husband, Rajiv Wazir, runs his own advertising agency.
A commerce graduate from Mumbai's Sydenham College, Komal Wazir has been in the family business for six years now after starting out as a management trainee. Those who have worked with her say she knows her job.
In some ways she is like her father. For instance, she is a movie buff. But while her father enjoyed Bollywood flicks at home, she likes to watch good cinema at theatres.
There are differences too - Manu Chhabria loved to go out with friends, while Wazir is a home-bird and an avid reader.
Since the Chhabria family is trying to professionalise the group, Wazir says that her role is now restricted to strategising, with professionals looking after the day-to-day work of the group companies.
True to her word, when she was recently asked by Business Standard if a North-based group had approached her to sell its brewery, she said she would have to check with Shaw Wallace executives.
Shortly before his death in April this year, Manu Chhabria set up the Jumbo Group Corporate Management Board to convert the group into a professionally-managed business entity.
The group recently appointed H N Nanani, formerly with ModiCorp joint venture Xerox India, as CEO in charge of its India operations. More independent directors are reportedly soon to be inducted on its board.
Though Wazir insists that she is totally hands-off, the pace of things has picked up considerably at SWC, the group's Indian flagship, in the post-Manu Chhabria era. It has raided its arch rival, Vijay Mallya-promoted UB, for top talent.
A K M A Shamsuddin resigned as a chief operating officer of the UB Spirits Division (which includes Herbertsons and McDowell's) to join SWC as president (liquor division).
Now, another UB Spirits Division COO, S K Bishwal, has put in his papers and is likely to join SWC soon. Thus, two out of the four COOs of UB Spirits Division might soon be in the SWC camp.
Ironically, the flare-up between the siblings has happened at a time when Wazir and her mother are trying to end the earlier feud in the family between Manu Chhabria and his brother Kishore.
Before his death, Manu Chhabria had started a process of rapprochement with his brother, settling several issues out of court.
Wazir says she is committed to resolving the remaining issues with her uncle out of court too. At the moment, though, her hands are full with an issue with her elder sister.

Pooja Jain ---The Writing Gem

Pooja Jain – Executive Director, Luxor Writing InstrumentsA degree in International Business from the London School of Economics, as well as a stint with Gillette (UK & USA), helped Ms. Pooja Jain gain an insight into effective corporate branding and her experience paid rich dividends when she launched the B2B division of Luxor Writing Instruments in 1998. She later headed the marketing operations of the company and subsequently propelled it to the top of the corporate sales ladder. From a modest Rs 2 crore, the B2B business today is worth a whopping Rs 20 crore and has the top 5000 companies among its clientele.As the Head of Business Operations, Ms.Pooja Jain is actively involved in positioning premium brands like Waterman and Parker in an Indian context. In a bid to correlate the brand value with the user’s profile, Luxor decided to introduce a legendary icon like Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador. Ms. Pooja’s idea became an instant hit – leading to further brand enhancement and skyrocketing sales figures. When the Group diversified, Ms.Pooja shared her experience and expertise with other units and now plays an active role in business lines dealing with hospitality, technology and finance. Young and enthusiastic, Ms.Pooja Jain has a zeal for community services and takes active interest in promoting education among underprivileged children. She is also a great advocate of technical education and has taken effective measures to help spread computer literacy.