Boardroom to ballot
The boardroom is their familiar turf, but for the moment they are both gunning for the 15th Lok Sabha. Aviation entrepreneur Captain G.R. Gopinath and CEO of ABN AMRO Bank’s India operations, Meera Sanyal, have taken up the gauntlet to fight the election as independent candidates from Bangalore and South Mumbai, respectively.
The boardroom is their familiar turf, but for the moment they are both gunning for the 15th Lok Sabha. Aviation entrepreneur Captain G.R. Gopinath and CEO of ABN AMRO Bank’s India operations, Meera Sanyal, have taken up the gauntlet to fight the election as independent candidates from Bangalore and South Mumbai, respectively. Founder of low-cost airline Air Deccan, Gopinath, 58, is still an active businessman, having just founded Deccan Express Logistics. But, politics has taken precedence over business.
Gopinath is appalled at the apathy of political parties to terrorism, especially after the Mumbai attacks. “I want to make a difference,” he says. In a coincidence, Sanyal’s plunge into public life was also triggered by the 26/11 terror attacks. “I always had this thought to do something for the people, but that (terror attacks) strengthened my resolve,” she says. On a sabbatical till May 15, Sanyal has hit the campaign trail.
Is she in politics for the long haul? “I want to devote the next 25 years of my career in the service of nation,” says Sanyal, 47, who is pitted against sitting Congress MP Milind Deora. How the corporate duo play on the poll pitch remains to be seen, but they have surely made a start.
She is one bahu (daughter-in-law) who is scripting a success story that would make any saas (mother-in-law) proud. Reema Nanavaty, Chairperson, SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre (STFC), aspired to be in Civil Services, till life took a different course in 1985 when she joined the illustrious Ela Bhatt, founder, SEWA, also her mother-in-law, to help out with relief operations in the then drought-stricken Gujarat: “There was no looking back,” she says. Nanavaty, 44, has pushed the establishment into a wider realm—she is grooming 11 lakh member-households across eight states to hone their sales and distribution skills. “We are roping in small and marginal farmers to offer us their produce and then employ women to process and package it,” she says. The products are sold in various pack-sizes—including tea and spices for a Re 1 price-point. If the long queue of marketers at STFC’s doorsteps is any indication, it’s a win-win for all.
Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy, 67, is back in the news after he stepped out of RBI as Governor six months ago. He has joined the academic ranks of the University of Hyderabad as its Emeritus Professor in the Department of Economics. He will use the opportunity to deliver regular lectures on economic issues of global importance, and alongside mentor scholars and the faculty there. Dr Reddy is no stranger to academics. Careful enough not to lose himself in the rigmarole of bureaucracy, Dr Reddy made copious use of his stint in the government to enhance his knowledge in his pet areas of Finance and Planning. That eventually took him to the Ministry of Finance, the World Bank, the IMF and, finally, RBI. Fresh out of RBI, who else is better equipped to comment on the Central Bank’s policy approach in classrooms at the moment than Dr Reddy?
Four years after relinquishing the reins of DSP legacy, Hemendra Kothari, 63, has hung up his boots at DSP Merrill Lynch. In 2005, Kothari sold his 47 per cent stake in the joint venture to Merrill Lynch for $500 million. Last month, he sold the remaining 10 per cent of his stake. After bulls and bears, Kothari will be busy with travel, forest conservation, more charity work that includes working with NGOs to set up schools around forest areas.
Won’t he miss the adrenaline rush of getting big mandates or doing billion-dollar deals?
“As of now, I have many things to think and plan. The thought of missing the satisfaction of a big mandate might cross over after few months,” says Kothari. Though he won’t confirm, the market buzz is that the 10 per cent stake sale has fetched him around Rs 400-500 crore, which is as good a deal as it was in 2005 when the valuations were sky-high. Trust a banker to crack a smart deal in tough times.
After foraying into interiors and jewellery, veteran designer Raghavendra Rathore, 41, is courting technology. His latest venture is iCarbon, a lifestyle software for iPhone, launched under the “Rathore Jodhpur” brand. What does iCarbon do? It helps calculate individual carbon footprint—the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by an individual. It then offers solutions to neutralise your carbon rating. “Design, to me, is a 360-degree medium,” says Rathore. When Apple created a palatable opportunity with iPhone, he decided to diversify. What’s next? “Designing is now an integral part of all corporate projects and ventures. This will lead to greater opportunities for Indian designers,” he says. When fashion meets technology, sky, it seems, is the limit.
— Contributed by K.R. Balasubramanyam, Anand Adhikari, Shamni Pande, Rachna M. Koppikar And Anumeha Chaturvedi
