Young blood takes charge
Young blood takes charge
What I find most emblematic of Gen Next:The New Inheritors (BT cover, March 7) is their passion for finding new purpose and their enthusiasm for redrawing the profiles of their family-run businesses. These pedigreed talents are already taking their companies on a transformational journey and building on the pioneering spirit of their founders.
— Shashi Shekhar, Bangalore
Making their own mark
Even lumpy caterpillars become silk-winged butterflies. By virtue of their genetic destiny, the NextGen business leaders are already plugged into big business and they only need to inhabit their roles efficiently to be dubbed successful. However, there is something refreshing about business scions going against the grain of established family business to plant their flags on new ventures. Instead of enjoying the fruits of their parents' labour, these young inheritors at least want to hit gold by doing their own digging and prove themselves not by their pedigree but by their performance.
— Vineet Achyut, Delhi
At loggerheads
The bickerings of the Ambanis, Mafatlals, Modis, Doshis and Shrirams bear out the truth that the biggest challenges facing family businesses today aren't market challenges, inheritance taxes or competition from larger rivals but those from family dynamics. Sibling rivalries, incompetent heirs and equity spread too thin are the reasons why family businesses run out of fuel after the third generation.
— M. Kumar, Delhi
Overworked and underpaid
I am astonished to see SBI ranked 7th in the list of The Best Companies to Work For (BT, Feb.7). It seems your correspondent did not speak to employees before writing the story. Otherwise it would have been difficult to escape how demoralised SBI employees feel today due to the delay in wage settlement. Clerical employees in SBI who joined last year receive Rs 8,000 p.m., which is less than what a class IV state government employee gets.
— Bithika, Cuttack
Correction and clarification
We refer to your story The GenNext Cometh, dated March 7. In a table “Top 25: Circa 2009”, the asset base of the Essar Group is given as Rs 36,837.49 crore whereas it was Rs 97, 360 crore.
— Manish Kedia, Sr. VP, Corporate Affairs, Essar
The asset base of Rs 36,837.49 crore for the Essar Group in 2009 was based on the value of its listed companies and not for all companies under the group, many of which are unlisted.
— Editor, BT
Salary bar
With reference to The Coming Battle Over Executive Pay (BT, Feb. 21), the top exec's pay should be pegged as a multiple of the average pay of the firm or its lowest-paid employee. For listed companies, executive pay needs to reflect the growth in EPS and dividend payout.
— Tony Augustine, Bangalore
