Monday, November 19, 2007

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Kumar Mangalam Birla

Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group; Vhosen as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - India in 2005

Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. The group is India's third largest business house. Major companies of Aditya Birla Group in India are Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular. Aditya Birla Group's joint ventures include Birla Sun Life (Financial Services) and Birla NGK (Insulators). The group also has its presence in various countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, China and Australia.

Born on June 14, 1967, Kumar Mangalam Birla spent the early of his life in Calcutta and Mumbai. He is a Chartered Accountant and did his MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from the London Business School, London. Kumar Mangalam Birla took over as Chairman in 1995, at the age of 28, after sudden demise of his father, noted industrialist Aditya Birla, after whom the group is named.

When Kumar Mangalam Birla assumed the mantle at the Aditya Birla Group, Doubts were raised about his ability to handle a giant business house with interests spanning viscose, textiles and garments on the one hand and cement, aluminium and fertilisers on the other. But Kumar Mangalam proved his skeptics wrong. He brought in radical changes, changed business strategies, professionalised the entire group and replaced internal systems. Kumar Mangalam reduced his group's dependence on the cyclic commodities sectors by entering consumer products.

Under Kumar Mangalam Birla's leadership, the Aditya Birla Group, apart from consolidating its position in existing businesses, also ventured into sunrise sectors like cellular telephony, asset management, software and BPO.

Kumar Mangalam Birla also holds several key positions on various regulatory and professional boards, including chairmanship of the advisory committee constituted by the ministry of company affairs for 2006 and 2007, membership of the prime minister of India's advisory council on trade and industry, chairmanship of the board of trade reconstituted by the union minister of commerce and industry, and membership of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India.

Kumar Mangalam Birla has won several honors. Major among them include The Business Leader of the Year (2003) by The Economic Times, Business Man of the Year - 2003 by Business India, and The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - India in 2005.

Dr. K. Anji Reddy

Founder-chairman of Dr Reddy's Group of Companies; Awarded with Padma Shri in 2001.

Dr. K. Anji Reddy is a pioneer in the pharmaceutical research in India and is founder-chairman of Dr Reddy's Group of Companies.

Dr Kallam Anji Reddy did his B.Sc in Pharmaceuticals and Fine chemicals from Bombay University and subsequently completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, in 1969. Dr. K. Anji Reddy served in PSU Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited from 1969 to 1975. Dr. Reddy was the founder-Managing Director of Uniloids Ltd from 1976 to 1980 and Standard Organics Limited from 1980 to 1984.

In 1984, Dr. K. Anji Reddy founded Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and soon the company established new benchmarks in the Indian Pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories transformed Indian bulk drug industry from import-dependent in mid-80s to self-reliant in mid-90s and finally into the export-oriented industry that it is presently. In 1993, Dr. Reddy's became the first company to take up drug discovery research in India and in April 2001 it became the first non-Japanese Asian pharmaceutical company to list on NYSE. By the end of fiscal year 2005, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories was India's second largest pharmaceutical company and the youngest among its peer group.

Presently, Dr. Reddy is a serving member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade & Industry, Government of India, and has been nominated to the Board of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER).

Dr. K. Anji Reddy is also a philanthropist. He is the founder-Chairman of Dr. Reddy's Foundation for Human & Social Development, a social arm of Dr. Reddy's, which acts as a catalyst of change to achieve sustainable development.

Dr. K. Anji Reddy has received many awards and honors. These include Sir PC Ray award (conferred twice, in 1984 and 1992); Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations (FAPA)'s FAPA-Ishidate Award for Pharmaceutical Research in 1998; leading business magazine Business India voted him Businessman of the Year in 2001; CHEMTECH Foundation bestowed on him the Achiever of the Year award in the year 2000 and the 'Hall of Fame' award in 2005, for his Entrepreneurship, Leadership and thrust on Innovation; and in 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Benefits of being self-employed

Imagine this. The company you work for has just amassed a multi billion-rupee profit; your annual bonus for playing a part in this achievement is Rs 20,000. You work till 9 pm most evenings, and your boss doubts your commitment. You painstakingly prepare the sales presentation and your boss gets the credit since he always presents it.

When such things happen - and I am sure these things do happen -- do you feel the itch to just break out on your own and leave the company politics behind for good? Does any of this sound like the woe-story of your work life?

It's probably true that each of us have felt strongly about some of the above statements at our work place. There are varied reactions to such situations. Some people feel frustrated, crib and carry on. A few others want to change this situation for good in order to fulfill their potential. If you fall into the latter class, you just might consider starting your own business.

Am I meant to be self-employed?

Starting up a business requires detailed planning. An entrepreneur needs to anticipate change in markets, adapt quickly and avoid pitfalls. Odds are that even if one gets most of these elements in place, most businesses aren't profitable for the initial few months.

Owning a business is fraught with risk, but the excitement and rewards make the risk taking quite worthwhile. Most people are meant to be self-employed, just that they must choose the area of business in sync with their personality and strengths.