People who made news last fortnight
People who made news last fortnight -
Archie Comic Publications co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit (Photograph by Aditya Kapoor; Artwork by Santosh)
Riverdale Still Rocks
Nancy Silberkleit
Co-CEO, Archie Comic Publications
Her visiting card is a unique 'scratch n sniff' one, with Betty and her apple fragrance on one side and Veronica with her 'Veronica' fragrance on the other. NANCY SILBERKLEIT, a former teacher, runs Archie Comic Publications, yes, the one that produces those memorable comics that have enthralled generations. Archie, the freckle-faced, carrot-topped teenager, his two love interests - Betty and Veronica - and their pals at Riverdale High School, were created by John L. Goldwater with the help of artist Bob Montana in 1941.
Silberkleit, who also runs a non-profit entity, Rise Above Social Issues Foundation Inc, was in India recently to speak at the education convention, One Globe 2013. "A lot of advertisers in India use speech bubbles for their ads, but they should try different types of bubbles such as the spiky ones and the dotted ones," she says. Her own favourite character in the Archie series? Mr Lodge, the richest man in Riverdale and Veronica's dad.
- DEARTON THOMAS HECTOR
In Top Farm
Gyanendra Shukla
India Region Head, Monsanto
Monsanto, the company which has courted much controversy for its aggressive campaign seeking greater use of genetically modified foods, recently elevated GYANENDRA SHUKLA to the position of India Region Head. The company also sells seeds, crop protection chemicals and plant biotechnology traits. "Some 70 per cent of India's population is still dependent on agriculture, and Monsanto is giving options to farmers to increase their farm yields," he says.
Having worked across various verticals at Monsanto India, Shukla will drive the company's farm advisory business and strengthen partnerships with state governments. "About three years ago, we decided to combine our products business with services," he adds. Monsanto India has tied up with seven states - using the private-publicpartnership model - where it will play the dual roles of both seed supplier and knowledge partner.
- MANU KAUSHIK
Wizard of Laws
Sarosh Zaiwalla
Senior Partner, Zaiwalla & Co, Solicitors
He recently won a high-profile case in the European Court of Justice against the European Council's 2010 order to blacklist Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, on charges of involvement in the country's nuclear proliferation programme. In a career spanning over three decades, SAROSH ZAIWALLA, Founder and Senior Partner at Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors, a UK-based law firm, has represented or provided consultation to a string of celebrities, including Sonia Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Amitabh Bachchan, and the late Benazir Bhutto. He believes that if India wants to attract more FDI, it should allow foreign law firms to operate in the country. "A foreigner investing in India would be more comfortable dealing with a foreign law firm," he says.
- MANU KAUSHIK
More Power to Him
Banmali Agrawala
President and CEO (Designate), GE India
Global conglomerate General Electric Co (GE) recently announced a change in its top leadership in India, appointing BANMALI AGRAWALA, a veteran with over two decades of experience in the power sector, President and CEO of GE India from April 1. GE India has a presence in numerous sectors, including transportation, energy, health-care and financial services. Last year, it invested $200 million to set up a manufacturing unit in Pune, which will make products - across its various businesses - which are localised to meet the needs of domestic customers.
To begin with, GE India will focus on energy products and technologies. Agrawala has the challenging task of keeping the growth momentum going.
- MANU KAUSHIK
At a New Terminal
Vikram Mehta
Chairman, Brookings India
He was the first to bring a foreign player into India's newly liberalised oil and gas sector in the early 1990s, in the form of Royal Dutch Shell. He remained Chairman of the Shell group of companies in India for more than two decades, quitting only last year. Now, VIKRAM SINGH MEHTA, who was also an IAS officer once, will head the India chapter of the US-based Brookings Institution, one of the oldest and most respected independent think tanks, which is opening an office in this country for the first time.
Mehta himself has conceded that Shell's record in India has been an average one, mainly because he could not convince his bosses to be as aggressive as he would have liked. But Shell is still the company which, along with France's Total Gaz, set up India's first private LNG terminal at Hazira in Gujarat
- ANILESH S. MAHAJAN
Travelling the Milky Way
Harsha Moily
CEO, Moksha Yug Access
HARSHA MOILY, the 40-year old son of Union Petroleum Minister M.Veerappa Moily, has entered the highly competitive marketplace of milk retailing. Moksha Yug Access, the Bangalore-based rural supply chain solutions company he founded seven years ago, has now launched a dairy brand, Milk Route. Moily has already built a network of dairy farmers in southern Karnataka with whom he has been working for the past three years. He is backed by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla and Unitus Equity Fund, and has invested `42 crore in the dairy business. The cooperative milk brand, Nandini, is the market leader in packaged milk in Karnataka, but Moily says: "This is a market familiar to us, and ripe for disruption."
- K.R. BALASUBRAMANYAM
Nancy Silberkleit
Co-CEO, Archie Comic Publications
Her visiting card is a unique 'scratch n sniff' one, with Betty and her apple fragrance on one side and Veronica with her 'Veronica' fragrance on the other. NANCY SILBERKLEIT, a former teacher, runs Archie Comic Publications, yes, the one that produces those memorable comics that have enthralled generations. Archie, the freckle-faced, carrot-topped teenager, his two love interests - Betty and Veronica - and their pals at Riverdale High School, were created by John L. Goldwater with the help of artist Bob Montana in 1941.
Silberkleit, who also runs a non-profit entity, Rise Above Social Issues Foundation Inc, was in India recently to speak at the education convention, One Globe 2013. "A lot of advertisers in India use speech bubbles for their ads, but they should try different types of bubbles such as the spiky ones and the dotted ones," she says. Her own favourite character in the Archie series? Mr Lodge, the richest man in Riverdale and Veronica's dad.
- DEARTON THOMAS HECTOR
Gyanendra Shukla, India Region Head, Monsanto PHOTO: Nishikant Gamre
In Top Farm
Gyanendra Shukla
India Region Head, Monsanto
Monsanto, the company which has courted much controversy for its aggressive campaign seeking greater use of genetically modified foods, recently elevated GYANENDRA SHUKLA to the position of India Region Head. The company also sells seeds, crop protection chemicals and plant biotechnology traits. "Some 70 per cent of India's population is still dependent on agriculture, and Monsanto is giving options to farmers to increase their farm yields," he says.
Having worked across various verticals at Monsanto India, Shukla will drive the company's farm advisory business and strengthen partnerships with state governments. "About three years ago, we decided to combine our products business with services," he adds. Monsanto India has tied up with seven states - using the private-publicpartnership model - where it will play the dual roles of both seed supplier and knowledge partner.
- MANU KAUSHIK
Sarosh Zaiwalla, Senior Partner, Zaiwalla & Co, Solicitors PHOTO: Aditya Kapoor
Wizard of Laws
Sarosh Zaiwalla
Senior Partner, Zaiwalla & Co, Solicitors
He recently won a high-profile case in the European Court of Justice against the European Council's 2010 order to blacklist Bank Mellat, Iran's largest private bank, on charges of involvement in the country's nuclear proliferation programme. In a career spanning over three decades, SAROSH ZAIWALLA, Founder and Senior Partner at Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors, a UK-based law firm, has represented or provided consultation to a string of celebrities, including Sonia Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Amitabh Bachchan, and the late Benazir Bhutto. He believes that if India wants to attract more FDI, it should allow foreign law firms to operate in the country. "A foreigner investing in India would be more comfortable dealing with a foreign law firm," he says.
- MANU KAUSHIK
Banmali Agrawala, President and CEO (Designate), GE India
More Power to Him
Banmali Agrawala
President and CEO (Designate), GE India
Global conglomerate General Electric Co (GE) recently announced a change in its top leadership in India, appointing BANMALI AGRAWALA, a veteran with over two decades of experience in the power sector, President and CEO of GE India from April 1. GE India has a presence in numerous sectors, including transportation, energy, health-care and financial services. Last year, it invested $200 million to set up a manufacturing unit in Pune, which will make products - across its various businesses - which are localised to meet the needs of domestic customers.
To begin with, GE India will focus on energy products and technologies. Agrawala has the challenging task of keeping the growth momentum going.
- MANU KAUSHIK
Vikram Mehta, Chairman, Brookings India PHOTO: Aditya Kapoor
At a New Terminal
Vikram Mehta
Chairman, Brookings India
He was the first to bring a foreign player into India's newly liberalised oil and gas sector in the early 1990s, in the form of Royal Dutch Shell. He remained Chairman of the Shell group of companies in India for more than two decades, quitting only last year. Now, VIKRAM SINGH MEHTA, who was also an IAS officer once, will head the India chapter of the US-based Brookings Institution, one of the oldest and most respected independent think tanks, which is opening an office in this country for the first time.
Mehta himself has conceded that Shell's record in India has been an average one, mainly because he could not convince his bosses to be as aggressive as he would have liked. But Shell is still the company which, along with France's Total Gaz, set up India's first private LNG terminal at Hazira in Gujarat
- ANILESH S. MAHAJAN
Harsha Moily, CEO, Moksha Yug Access PHOTO: Nilotpal Baruah
Travelling the Milky Way
Harsha Moily
CEO, Moksha Yug Access
HARSHA MOILY, the 40-year old son of Union Petroleum Minister M.Veerappa Moily, has entered the highly competitive marketplace of milk retailing. Moksha Yug Access, the Bangalore-based rural supply chain solutions company he founded seven years ago, has now launched a dairy brand, Milk Route. Moily has already built a network of dairy farmers in southern Karnataka with whom he has been working for the past three years. He is backed by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla and Unitus Equity Fund, and has invested `42 crore in the dairy business. The cooperative milk brand, Nandini, is the market leader in packaged milk in Karnataka, but Moily says: "This is a market familiar to us, and ripe for disruption."
- K.R. BALASUBRAMANYAM
