People, places and products

GWYN SUNDHAGUL
Bettering Indian Lives

After a successful career as a Director on the Board of Tesco Lotus, Thailand, Gwyn Sundhagul, 47, chose to test the retail weather in India. He joined Reliance Retail as CEO (Value Formats) and a member of the Board. Soon after completing his 100 days in office, the first thing that Sundhagul did was to share his five-year business plan with the senior leadership team at a 'Let's Talk Growth' meet held in Mumbai recently.

With the initial plan focussed on building a value chain starting from farmers to consumers, the new plan articulates the brand strategy that is going to be driven by the core purpose of "Bettering the lives of Indians everyday". "It is vital to create a people-centric culture and demonstrate our care and respect for three key stakeholders— customers, community and colleagues.

We will use this strategy as one of our core principles in the way we do our business," says Sundhagul. A BA in Economics from Cornell College, US, Sundhagul is also armed with a Certificate of Investment Banking from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and a Certificate of the Senior Executive Program jointly run by Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Kellogg School of Management and Wharton School.

— Anusha Subramanian

SAVITA MAHAJAN
Breaking New Grounds

The first campus of Indian School of Business (ISB) outside Hyderabad is coming up in Mohali at a cost of Rs 200 crore and it is an important milestone for Savita Mahajan, 51, Deputy Dean and Chief Executive of the new campus. Says Mahajan, who has been with ISB since its inception in 2001 and was Associate Dean (Strategic Initiatives) earlier: "In the first week of June, we will start the construction at Mohali and the idea is to start the first class here in 2012 with 140 students."

Last month, ISB signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MIT Sloan School of Management, to develop two new institutes at Mohali— The BML Munjal Institute for Manufacturing Excellence and Innovation and The Punj Lloyd Institute for Physical Infrastructure Management.

As an Associate School, MIT will provide faculty support, curriculum design and offer joint executive education programmes. MIT faculty will teach at both the Hyderabad and Mohali campus. The wife of Vijay Mahajan, a veteran in the Indian microfinance space, she says: "I learn more about livelihoods each time he is talking to others on the phone!"

— E. Kumar Sharma

EA SPORTS—FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA EDITION
Virtual World Cup

Every four years, Electronic Arts (EA) releases a World Cup version of its leading football video game. Some fans might argue that Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) is a better game, but, through the years, EA has built up one of the strongest global franchises in video games, thanks to its 'official' FIFA badge.

The 2010 iteration of the World Cup games allows you to choose from all 199 football associations and play in all the 10 stadia that will actually be hosting the World Cup. Using the improved controls that were introduced in the 2008 version of the game, you could even steer India to a FIFA World Cup win if you so want, even if you know that the chances of that happening in our lifetimes is slimmer than the disc the game comes on. PRICE: Rs 2,499; AVAILABLE ON: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii.

— Kushan Mitra

Munnar
One of Asia's Best

Munnar, known for its lush green mountains, pristine valleys and sprawling tea plantations, has been rated as the second-best Asian tourism destination after Tokyo by TripAdvisor, a travel guide and research website that has 15 million registered members, more than 34 million monthly visitors, and 30 million traveller reviews and opinions. Located in the Kerala's Idukki district, Munnar has been attracting tourists who are looking for a hill station that is not completely commercialised.

They preferred Munnar over Ooty and Kodaikanal in South India, thanks to its relatively undisturbed beauty. Its topography has been attracting adventure tourists, who enjoy paragliding, trekking and rock climbing. Nature lovers prefer to visit Eravikulam National Park, which is home to the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, a stocky goat with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane, and a whole lot of other colourful wildlife. That characteristic of Munnar could well be lost soon as its popularity continues to rise.

— N. Madhavan

VINEET TANEJA
Phones to Connections

Vineet Taneja, former Marketing and Go-to-market Head at Nokia India, has moved from selling handsets to selling the connections that power those handsets. He is switching over to the country's largest mobile operator, Airtel, where he will be heading the southern region.

The move has surprised many industry watchers, but may not be that surprising in light of the recent 3G auction where Airtel bagged 3G licences for Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for a total of Rs 4,418 crore and Taneja, who did not comment on his switch, might have the unenviable task of selling 3G down south. With his experience promoting multimedia and data-rich services, he might just be the right person to convince people to make the switch to 3G.

— Kushan Mitra