Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ex appeal
tain something' that sets apart senior
executives horn these companies? Is it
the quality of the seniors or the system
that makes these leadership factories so
prolific? And could the seemingly-
Hindustan Unilever Ltd,
W h y a l u m n i f r o m a f e w c o m p a n i e s are so never-ending pipeline of talent at these Akhil Basrai. Debashish Roy Sanjay Khosla
giants ever run dry? Business India stud HR Director, Greater Asia Div. Executive VP and President
p o p u l a r w i t h h e a d - h u n t e r s across I n d i a I n c ied t h e issue, a n d came u p with some
Global Head, HR
IBM F
• Colgate PatmoHve, Hong Kong Kraft International
Y
ou'll go crazy if you try to signed u p at a company-run dedicated and being results-driven. The best can Agro Tech foods
worrying about the effects of American
speak to every ex- website; of these, nearly 250 were didates don't hesitate to take complex
protectionist I T and outsourcing poli V Shankar
Citibanker who's at a senior executives and heads of compa decisions; they remain calm under
cies, while Citi is surviving on US gov R Gopalakrishnan MD
board-level position," nies. Of course, HUL'S reputation as a pressure, show strong process orienta-,
ernment hand-outs. Under the DShivakumar Executive Director Rallis India
declares Sanjay Nayar. The 'school for CEOS' dates back several tion and are personally flexible in
circumstances, writing about these MD and VP \_ Tata Sons
C E O of KKR India Advisors has a point. decades - t h e first Indian chairman of terms of mobility and willingness to
companies as talent nurseries is to Nokia India
Glance through the resumes of the t o p Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), Prakash learn. Oh, and they are big-picture Ravi Dhariwal
adopt an exceptionally simplistic
professionals in the financial world Tandon, went on to head State Trading thinkers, capable of a broader strategic Dalip Sehgal CEO
position, point out t h e devil's Bennett, Coleman & COR-
and, more likely than not, you will find Corporation and Punjab National vision for themselves and the organisa MD -
advocates in Business India. Codrej Consumer Products
Citibank listed somewhere under Bank after h e left the company. tions they lead. Sadashiv Nayak V S Sitaram
But is it, really? After all, what has
'Experience'. A former Citi employee Citi a n d HUL may be the perennial If that isn't a tall enough order, con Damodar Mall CEO COO
turned out to be the worst financial
himself - h e was CEO, Citi South Asia, favourites for poaching, but others are sider this. Of late, two more elements CEO, Innovation and Food Bazar Daburindia
downturn since World War II has
until a couple of m o n t h s ago - Nayar fast approaching their cult status. have moved across t h e page, from t h e INCUBATLORI
affected all companies across t h e Vlneet Taneja
glances through the proffered list of Wipro a n d ICICI Bank have n o t only 'desirable' to t h e 'imperative' column: Future Croup
Marketing Head
world, regardless of whether they are
alumni and reels off another half- groomed more t h a n their fair share of international exposure and high levels Nokia India
leadership factories or talent
dozen names. "I'm sure there are m a n y present-day C-level executives, they of personal integrity. "The bar is being
importers. Even GE, which has been
more I've missed," he muses. are also generating a breed of entrepre raised constantly," agrees MadhavSha-
called t h e best school of management
Citi isn't the only leadership factory neurs w h o w a n t to try their h a n d at ran, regional market leader of the * The above list is not exhaustive JIN™,
in t h e world, hasn't been spared: t h e
in India. Hindustan Unilever Limited creating wealth for themselves, rather industry practice, Asia Pacific, at execu • Over 140 managers of IHUL currently serve Unilever globally, including Hansh Manwani, Vfndi Banga.
company's market capitalisation fell to
(HUL) has an impressive track record in than for their clients. tive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry Inter Sanjiv Kakkar, Arun Adhikiari and Sanjay Dube
under $100 billion in February 2009,
exporting talent to other consumer However, n o n e of the CEO factories national. "But, depending o n t h e
t h e lowest in close to 20 years. And for their top executive requirements. management teams of HDPC Bank (ex-
goods companies, even other indus is being held u p as a spectacular busi company's lifecycle, some skills will be
although t h e halo around Citi US has Typically, a senioir leader's departure Citi), Mindtree Consulting (ex-Wipro)
tries. C o m p a n y officials believe there ness success these days, ICICI Bank more critical than others."
slipped and shattered, t h e Indian oper leaves a long tail: more resignations and Aviva (ex-Citi). "New companies
may be as m a n y as 800 to 1,000 former went t h o u g h a crisis of confidence a That's where companies like HUL, are growing explosively, but lack the
ations of the financial group have follow, either as his earlier team dis
H U L employees at board-level posi few m o n t h s ago, with rumours of Citi, ICICI Bank, Wipro and TCS come necessary internal resources, whether
remained more or less intact. bands or as he recreates it in the new
tions across companies in India. In just impending bankruptcy. Tata Consul in. Many talent brokers openly refer to it is technology, people or finance. So
What makes organisations like organisation. Just take a look at t h e
t h e past two m o n t h s , 550 alumni tancy Services (TCS) a n d Wipro are these companies as "one-stop shops"
these t h e first choice of head-hunters
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• so*
BUSINESS INDIA . April 19,2009
Cover Feature BUSINESS INDIA • April 19, 2009 Cover F e a t u r e
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B U S I N E S S I N D I A • A p r i l 19, 2 0 0 9
Cover Feature B U S I N E S S I N D I A • A p r i l 19, 2 0 0 9 cover reaiurc
IP M
CEO and Co-founder a substantial portion of top managers' value of their people. roles a n d accountability for their
includes a six-week international stint;
luly Systems annual bonuses is linked to their It starts early, with trainees and new y o u n g recruits. "Nobody at Wipro is
but t h e original, four-week rural India
ability to develop leaders and ensure treated like a trainee for a year. We
spell, designed to teach budding lead managers being moved regularly
succession cover for critical jobs.
ers 'humility and sensitivity', remains
*MSL. Sudip Nandy unchanged.
Class acts
Executive Chairman CEO Tailored training and induction
Mumgappa.Carpocate.Baafd Aricent
W h e n talent nurseries send their
Ashok Soota programmes are c o m m o n to the other
recruiters to the top B-schools and
Chairman and Founder PradeepKar companies as well and if they d o n ' t
MindTree Consulting! engineering colleges, their talent
Founder, C M D have t h e same cachet as t h e BLT a n d G N Nagaraj
Microldnd ' development programme is usually Citi's Management Associate pro
already underway: t h e process began Chief Technology Officer
gramme (MAP), they are n o less rigor-. Reliance-Money -
with deciding w h o to hire and where to ous. In fact, that is t h e hallmark of the
* T h e above list is not exhaustive
look for them. There's a double advan m a n a g e m e n t training programmes of mm | Harsh Roongta
that later), t h e quality of the incoming tage to bringing o n board t h e finest all the talent providers. Citi's flagship Ajay Srinivasan CEO I U h » n a Morpana
spends as m u c h time o n people as o n available talent. The young managers- CEO Apnapaisa CEO
talent - also t h e resiult of stringent initiative, MAP, for instance, is a two-
business issues, says Ranjan Acharya, in-the-making are already used to win .AdityaSirtaBnanceSeiyices — IP Morgan India
selection processes - and top year, high-intensity course t h a t even
senior vice-president, corporate H R D . ning: they are relentless in their K S Harshan
leaders' commitment to their b a n k officials concede is "not easy" Aluri Srinivasa Rao
"He personally signs off all overseas determination to succeed and are not Executive Director
h u m a n resources. and alumni describe in more colour MD
postings and reviews performance- afraid of hard work. "The Day Zero-Day federal Bank
Analysts and c o m p a n y HR heads, ful terms. "You feel like you've been Morgan Stanley Pt
potential assessment for the top 200 One candidates at the leading schools
without exception, believe that it is the passed through a churner, grinder and Ajit Sarap RasheshShah Prakash Gurbaxany
executives," Acharya says, HUI.'S have already been through very nar
last that distinguishes t h e CEO factories threshing m a c h i n e - and t h e n it Amey Saxena Venkat Ramaswamy Founder
management c o m m i t t e e also spends
from wannabes. "Such a n initiative is row filters, so they really are the cream begins all over again," says a former jitesn Kothari Founders QVC
about half its t i m e o n people issues.
doomed to failure unless there is com of the crop. The filters at campus Citi executive, only half-joking. Ashu Retail Lahiri . .Edelweiss-Capital -
That includes issues ranging from
plete buy-in from t h e management recruitments then are more about cul Suyash, M D , Fidelity India Fund, is Vinod Sudhindra Prakash Nene
recruitment, induction, mentoring,
committee and board on its impor
tance," says a Mumlbai-based talent
appraisals, target setting to identify
ing and grooming 'Listers', t h e com
ture issues and fitment than technical
skills," adds Korn/Ferry's Sharan.
more temperate. "Straight out of B-
school, associates come with acade
i
Vlvek Kumar
Founders (all six)
Platinum Power Wealth
-
^Tk
tSM
Corporate Director, Finance
B h a r t i
_
Enter
" "
P rises
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BUSINESS INDIA M April 19,2009
Cover F e a t u r e BUSINESS INDIA * April 19,2009
Cover Feature
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