Young turks gear up to run India Inc

The elevation of Wipro chairman Azim Premji's elder son Rishad as the vice-president (V-P) of the information technology (IT) giant is the latest in a series of sons and daughters of India Inc's promoters moving in to charge at the top.

Last year, Shravin Mittal, the 23-year-old Bharti Airtelscion, had joined as manager, Bharti Airtel International-Netherlands (BAIN), the company's subsidiary. Before being promoted as VP, Rishad Premji was chief strategy officer (CSO) a Wipro. The latest move is said to be in line with a succession plan that has long been speculated about.

However, a Wipro spokesperson said, "According to our company policy, we don't comment or make an announcement outside about our internal promotions." Rishad joined Wipro in July 2007 as business manager in the banking and finance division. In 2009, he was promoted as general manager of investor relations and was made CSO in September, 2010.

An MBA from the Harvard Business School and BA in Economics from Wesleyan University, Connecticut, Rishad worked with Bain Consulting and GE before joining Wipro. Shravin was meanwhile instrumental in BAIN's highprofile acquisition of mobile and data services operator Zain Africa. Before joining BAIN, Shravin had worked with JP Morgan Cazenove as a technology analyst.

See our special on India's hottest young executives

"Unlike earlier, business families or promoters nowadays educate the young generation and through business exposure and training make sure that they are in a position to take up bigger responsibilities," said P. Vijayakumar of the Center for Social and Organisational Leadership (CSOL) at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

"These young generation leaders are exposed to the interactive and structural tools that need to be used in strategic and day-today decision making," he said. Sidhartha Mallya, 23, son of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, was integrated in the UB group's top-level management at the age of 18. He has played an important role in formulating the company's marketing strategy.

Sidhartha's leadership helped UB group acquire Glasgowbased whiskey maker Whyte & Mackay in 2007. Later in 2010, Sidhartha joined United Spirits as the deputy general manager for new sales outlets. According to brand consultant Harish Bijoor, the induction of GenNext into family-run businesses is a natural phenomenon. "They will imbibe the culture of the company better," Bijoor said.

In 2009, Roshni Nadar, daughter of HCL founder Shiv Nadar, joined her father's company as chief executive officer (CEO) at the age of 27. Prior to that she had served at the Shiv Nadar Foundation. A one-time television producer, Roshni had studied Social Enterprise Management from Northwestern University.

Check which are the India's best business families

As a young entrepreneur, Pallavi Gopinath, the daughter of Captain G.R. Gopinath , played a key role in the launch of Air Deccan, India's first lowcost airline. Having three master's degrees - in media, literature and aerospace - she joined Deccan 360 as a management trainee in 2008.

TVS Group's managing director Venu Srinivasan's daughter Lakshmi Venu, 27, who recently got married to Infosys scion Rohan Murthy, joined as vicepresident of Sundaram Clayton Ltd, the holding firm of TVS Motors. She studied economics at Yale University and has a PhD in manufacturing management from Warwick University.

Courtesy: Mail Today