The big moves of 2008
February
Chief Economist, Revenues and Customs Department, UK
The former Economic Adviser to the Union Finance Minister of India moved to UK’s main tax collection agency in February.
Kevan Watts, 57
President, DSP Merrill Lynch
Before moving to India, Watts was Head of European Investment Banking and Chairman of Merrill Lynch International. In February, he took charge of DSP Merrill Lynch’s India operations. In October, Merrill Lynch was taken over by Bank of America.
April
Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Capital
After catapulting Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance into the big league, Ghosh now finds himself leading the charge at the Financial Services arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) since April.
May
Jandhyala Harinarayan, 60
Chairman, Insurance Regulatory Development Authority
As the insurance sector faced severe criticism from the mutual fund industry, this former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh is betting on bringing in more transparency in life insurance agent commissions and disclosures by insurance companies. He became Chairman in May.
June
Sanjay G. Ubale, 48
Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer, Tata Realty and Infrastructure The former Secretary, Special Projects, Maharashtra, who had the task of a Mumbai make-over, will give shape to the Tata Group’s real estate and infrastructure plans. He moved to the group in June.
July
Vice Chairman, Reliance
Natural Resources and Reliance Cementation The former Managing Director of Ambuja Cements did a short stint as a financial advisor before joining the Reliance ADAG in July.
August
Sumant Sinha, 41
Chief Operating Officer, Suzlon Energy
After spending seven years with the Aditya Birla Group and spearheading its global M&A Strategy and Retail foray, in August Sinha moved into a completely different industry—of wind turbines and energy.
September
Kalpana Morparia, 59
CEO, JPMorgan India
After being a part of the largest private sector bank for 33 years (since it was a development financial institution), Morparia has the task of strengthening JP Morgan’s position in India.
Keshav Sanghi, 38
Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Equities International
The former Head of Equities at Deustche Bank faces a formidable task of building an institutional equities business for the Reliance ADAG, amidst a stock market meltdown. He joined the group in September.
November
Chief Executive Officer, KKR India*
He was seen as an inseparable part of Citigroup India, which he joined in 1985. At private equity and fixed income giant KKR, Nayar’s role will be to offer structured finance options, pick up stakes in companies and get global investee companies to invest in India.
* He will join in February 2009.
