Peoplebusiness
Calling it a Day
Ishaat Hussain, a veteran who has donned many hats in his journey at the Tata Group, has decided to retire from the group having attained the official retirement age of the company (70 years). Hussain had joined the company in the early 80s. He has worked closely with all the four chairmen of the company - J.R.D. Tata, Ratan Tata, Cyrus Mistry and, most recently, N. Chandrasekaran. In his early days, Hussain headed the finance function at Tata Steel, and later in the late 90s went on to become the Executive Director and then the Finance Director on the Tata Sons board. He has been a director at several Tata Sons companies over the years. He was appointed the interim Chairman of Tata Sons when the group was going through turmoil after the departure of Cyrus Mistry.
Thumbs Down for Bitcoin
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, has warned against trading in bitcoins, a cryptocurrency, and said that it is a "fraud" and would eventually blow up. Bitcoin is a virtual currency which has been gaining momentum lately. "The currency isn't going to work. You can't have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart," Dimon said at a bank investor conference in New York. He also added that he would fire any employee trading in bitcoin as it is against the company's rules.
Battle Continues
Vikram Bakshi, the estranged partner of McDonald's India, has been asked by the London Court of International Arbitration to sell his entire stake in the joint venture firm Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd (CPRL) to the fast food chain. The court has also asked for the appointment of an expert panel to determine the fair value of the JV firm for McDonald's to buy out Bakshi's 50 per cent stake. McDonald's and Bakshi have been at loggerheads since 2013 after Bakshi was removed as the Managing Director of CPRL by the fast food chain. In July this year, when the NCLT reinstated Bakshi as the MD, McDonald's challenged the decision. Simultaneously, Bakshi challenged McDonald's termination of the franchise licence in the tribunal, and refused to shut down the outlets run by his company in North and East India. These cases are still pending and it is not clear whether the recent judgment of the international court will have a bearing on them.
Taking the Reins
Vasant Narasimhan has been named the new CEO of global healthcare company Novartis, after Joseph Jimenez decided to quit. He has spent eight years at the helm. Narasimhan, of Indian origin, is currently the global head of drug development, and the chief medical officer of the company and member of its executive committee. Narasimhan has held several positions within the company, one of which was as its head of development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Offload Mode
Arijit Basu, MD and CEO of SBI Life Insurance, a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardiff, announced that the company would launch its IPO to raise about `8,400 crore. Both the promoters of the company will dilute their stakes in the company - SBI will offload 8 per cent, while BNP will sell 4 per cent. However, Basu has said that the issuance is pure divestment at the moment and that the company has adequate capital for the next three years. The price band for the proposed IPO has been fixed between `685 and `700 per share.
