MindRush 2016 Business Today Speaker winners 2016

winners

Irfan Razack

Irfan Razack is a rare commodity in a struggling market – he is a profitable real estate developer, and India’s third largest, too. The King of Bangalore’s realty has many landmark projects to his name – including the UB City – but he started as the part-owner of a humble tailoring shop. More[+]

Today, Razack’s Prestige Estate Projects has revenues of close to Rs 3,000 crore, and profits of more than Rs 350 crore. Truly, a benchmark for the industry. Irfan Razack, Chairman & MD, Prestige Estate Projects Less[-]
Romesh Sobti

Romesh Sobti, the man behind the transformation of IndusInd Bank from a staid, slow bank to a dynamic, fast-growing entity, has banked on innovation to drive this change. One such innovation allowed customers to choose currency denominations while withdrawing money from ATMs, which helped a great deal after the demonetisation move of the government. More[+]

In eight years, IndusInd Bank’s total income rose from Rs 2,178 crore to Rs 14,878 crore, and NPAs fell from 2.27 per cent to 0.36 per cent. Romesh Sobti, CEO & MD, IndusInd Bank Less[-]
H.M. Bharuka

When H.M. Bharuka took up the top job at Kansai Nerolac Paints 16 years ago, the company's wooden and worn-out units were in bad shape, the focus was on industrial paints, and margins were a paltry 3 per cent. More[+]

Bharuka then announced Mission 2010, replaced sick units with environment-friendly plants powered by latest technology, overhauled the product range, and invested heavily in decorative paints. In the past 10 years, Nerolac’s revenue has grown 300 per cent, and net profit 550 per cent. H.M. Bharuka, Managing Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Less[-]
Ramesh Kumar Dua

For Ramesh Kumar Dua, learning never stops – he regularly visits his factories and meets distributors “to learn”. He joined Relaxo Footwears in 1976 at the behest of his father, while preparing for MBBS exams. More[+]

From only blue and white slippers in 1976 to 10 casual and semi-formal footwear brands, Relaxo has emerged as one of the largest manufacturers of footwear in the country, with a production capacity of more than 6 lakh pairs each day, across eight factories. Ramesh Kumar Dua, Managing Director, Relaxo Footwears Less[-]
Sunil Duggal

When Sunil Duggal was offered the CEO’s post at Dabur in mid-2002, there was unprecedented competition, and the over 100-year-old Dabur, despite strong brand recall, was struggling for growth. More[+]

Dabur was going through one of its worst years. Sales had declined and the company, for the first time, reported a dip in profits. In the 14 years since, Duggal set Dabur up for exponential growth, mainly through acquisitions, with revenues rising seven-fold, and profits soaring 20 times. Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India Less[-]
C.P. Gurnani

has built a collaborative family culture at Tech Mahindra. Gurnani knows the names of his leadership’s family members and remembers every anecdote relating to their children. More[+]

His people skills have played a big role in the bulking up of Tech Mahindra, which now employs more than 110,000 people. Today, Tech Mahindra is India’s fifth-largest IT services company but its revenues, operating profits, and total shareholder returns have grown the fastest in the industry over the past three years. C.P. Gurnani, CEO & MD, Tech Mahindra Less[-]
Punit Goenka

For Punit Goenka, year 2016 has been action-packed. He bought Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network, expanded international operations by launching a Spanish channel in the US, re-entered film production, bought a 49 per cent stake in Big FM, and forayed into live entertainment with Zee Live. More[+]

Going ahead, Zee is starting a theatre venture, developing IP in the music and food festival space, and doing much more in digital. Bottom line: Goenka wants to make Zee the largest media and entertainment company in emerging markets. Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Less[-]
Nishi Vasudeva

Within a couple of months of Nishi Vasudeva taking over the reins of HPCL, Brent crude prices, which were about $110 a barrel, started their downward journey. By the time she demitted office in March 2016, prices had crashed to about $39 per barrel. More[+]

The continuous fall in the global price of crude oil had heads of even MNC oil majors worried, but Vasudeva was quick on her feet and countered the onslaught. Today, HPCL is sitting pretty, thanks to her foresight. Nishi Vasudeva, Chairman & Managing Director, HPCL Less[-]
Samir Mehta

India’s leading pharma companies such as Sun Pharmaceuticals, Lupin, and Dr. Reddy’s had forayed into the US market many years ago. Compared to them, Samir Mehta’s Torrent Pharmaceuticals was a late entrant. More[+]

But his leadership has ensured that today, Torrent Pharma is one of the leading generic drug companies in the US, having netted over $400 million in 2015/16 from sales there. Mehta’s strategy was led by a couple of recent acquisitions and aggressive research-based product development. Samir Mehta, Executive Chairman, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Less[-]
Sudhir Mehta

Sudhir Mehta’s Torrent Power generates 3,400 MW of power and distributes to more than three million customers in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Bhiwandi, and Dahej SEZ distribution circles. Between 2009/10 and 2014/15, the company commissioned 2,348 megawatts, besides a brownfield expansion in Surat. It has also added 350 megawatts of wind and solar capacity. More[+]

Besides capacity additions, cooling of gas prices helped the company post higher margins in recent years. Sudhir Mehta, Executive Chairman, Torrent Power Less[-]
Anil Kumar Jain

Almost 49 per cent of the bed linen of the $4.5-billion market in the US is imported from India. Out of that, 17 per cent is manufactured by Anil Kumar Jain’s Indo Count Industries, while the rest are by Welspun and Bombay Dyeing, among others. More[+]

Indo Count is the most sought after supplier in the export market – if you have shopped at Walmart, Macy or JCPenny in the US, chances are that the bed linen you bought was manufactured by Indo Count. Anil Kumar Jain, Executive Chairman, Indo Count Industries Less[-]
Venu Srinivasan

From the humble moped to the ultra-modern high-end motorcycle and scooter, Venu Srinivasan’s TVS Motors makes them all, and demand for them has been on the rise in recent times. Over the past three years, TVS’s revenue grew at a CAGR of 16.2 per cent, and net profit grew at 27.8 per cent. More[+]

TVS is now India’s third-largest two-wheeler company, with around 14 per cent market share. Its stock is trading at its highest levels in the past 15 years. Srinivasan is now aiming for higher and even better performance. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman & MD, TVS Motor Company Less[-]
Kenichi Ayukawa

When you talk cars in India, you talk Maruti Suzuki. And Kenichi Ayukawa has taken India’s auto market leader where it feared to tread earlier – success in premium cars. Its premium hatchback Baleno and compact SUV Brezza – among other cars – have taken Maruti into hitherto uncharted territory with great success. More[+]

Since Ayukawa took over, Maruti’s share price has tripled, profit has nearly doubled, and its market share has gone up by a spectacular 10 percentage points to 48 per cent. Kenichi Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki Less[-]