Ace explorer

It is difficult to slot the multifaceted Mark Bouris, 51. A chartered accountant by profession, Bouris, Executive Chairman, Wizard Home Loans, has written a book on wealth creation. A logical step considering he possesses just the right credentials-Bouris built a successful low-cost retail mortgage business in Australia before eventually selling it off to GE Money in 2004. That was not the end of his association with Wizard, though.

Along with partners James Packer and GE Money, Bouris plans to take the Wizard model international. And that began very quietly with India a few months ago. In Delhi recently, Bouris was bullish on India, saying "a gentle rising tide is what India is". Bouris and his partners intend to spend $200 million (Rs 820 crore) over the next four years building a footprint in India.

Native Dreams

He has had an action-packed career so far and is gunning for more. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, AJAY SRINIVASAN, 43, is back in India to start his innings at the Aditya Birla Group as Chief Executive Officer overseeing the group's financial services venture. Consider his impressive job stints: after honing his skills at ITC's treasury and development financial institution ICICI Ltd, Srinivasan went on to head Prudential ICICI Asset Management in 1998.

In just two years, Srinivasan was elevated to head of Prudential's Asian business. A pointer to his top-notch record is that as he leaves, Prudential business manages over $50 billion (Rs 210,000 crore) in the Asian markets. With such precedents to follow, the spotlight is firmly on Srinivasan.

Sound Performer

After all the hard work, comes the reward. ALOK MITTAL, who joined venture capital firm Canaan Partners as its Executive Director for India in March 2006, has been elevated to the post of Managing Director. "The new designation means more responsibility," says Mittal cryptically. A founding member of the Band of Angels in India, Mittal, 35, surely has the knack for hitting the right notes at the most opportune of times.

He was responsible for the company's investment in matrimonial site bharatmatrimony.com and Delhi-based computer support startup iYogi.com last year. Apart from the existing focus area, he is now looking at clean technology. When not busy with new businesses and ideas or blogging about them, Mittal likes to play guitar (strictly solo) and spend some quality time with his kids. A string of pursuits for sure.

Big Fish, Small Pond

One of the world's most powerful advertising men, SIR MARTIN SORRELL, 62, Chairman, WPP, has big digital designs on India. Facing the media in Mumbai recently, the dapper Sir Martin underlined the group's plans for Indian operations while at the same time, maintaining a steely grip on the proceedings at the interaction.

Since digital growth is the way forward; of his 30 acquisitions in the last one year, 15 were in the digital space. Sorrell is also looking at acquisitions keeping in mind the booming mobile market in India. Talking about China, the advertising maverick says that though one can't speak about India and China in isolation, it is easier to set up and run a business in India. And notwithstanding his diverse businesses, WPP will remain just that-Wire and Plastic Products-"at least for as long as I am around", he says.

A Deal in Peril

Sun Pharmaceutical industries' proposed acquisition of Israel-based taro pharmaceutical seems to have run into a bit of a problem and the man at the centre of it is none other than emerging markets guru, MARK MOBIUS.

The bone of contention is the 9 per cent stake that Templeton Asset Management holds in Taro. Mobius, 70, is Managing Director, Franklin Templeton. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Templeton has maintained that Sun's offer at $7.75 per share is low. Recent reports have now suggested that Mobius has written to Taro's Chairman saying that the deal be called off. Sun Pharma had earlier agreed to acquire Taro for $454 million. At the time of going to the press, it wasn't clear which way the issue would move. Mobius clearly is on the warpath on this one.

The Homecoming

Nearly two decades after he left India for a computer science scholarship at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, RANJAN DAS, 38, now finds himself back home to head the country operations for sap, the German enterprise software giant. "India's a vital market for sap and we already have nearly 2,000 customers here and plan to reach 15,000 customers by 2010," says the part-time soccer coach and movie buff.

Das will relocate from Silicon Valley to Mumbai later this month. Speaking to BT between hectic rounds of house hunting and trying to zero in on a school for his young kids, Das says, "Small businesses will be a key growth driver in the Indian market." Das comes well-equipped to handle this fast-changing market, having been an entrepreneur with solutions firm Patkari and also being instrumental in starting the xApps business for SAP.

(With Venkatesha Babu, Deepti Khanna Bose, Shalini S. Dagar, Krishna Gopalan and Pallavi Srivastava)