Tarun Das Tarun
Das is back where he belongs. In the news, and this time, the context is a
strange match that brought two 61 year-olds together. In end-April, 2000,
Das, 61, was named the non-executive chairman of cement major acc, which
was created 61 years ago, by the amalgamation of 10 cement companies. And
whispers that this meant the end of his run at the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) were hushed in early May, 2000, when his contract-due to
expire in May, 2000-was extended by two years. Das, who has also served
stints on the boards IDBI and Air India was uncharacteristically
phlegmatic about the appointment. ''This is just an additional burden; I
will have to go on handling CII (also),'' he is supposed to have said.
Tha(t')s capital; Das Capital(IST).
Rena Golden She
has worked her way up, and now she is set to scale the top of the ladder.
Yes, the 33-year-old India-born Rena Golden, senior vice-president at
Atlanta-based CNN International (CNNI), would have grabbed the title of
the network's golden girl, had it not been bagged by her more glamourous
colleague, Christian Amanpour. But Rena is still a close second. Joining
CNN in 1985, Rena has helped cover the Gulf War, Bosnia, the Rwanda
massacres, and the Asian crisis. She has also produced CNN Newsnight and
The International Hour. Now responsible for international news
programming, Rena will flag off CNN's South Asia channel on July 1 this
year-an assignment that will have shows on technology, business, and
current affairs created in India. Says Rena: ''The move endorses CNN's
strategy of regionalisation. Plus, the sophisticated viewership profile
here makes it important for CNN.'' Way to go girl, or should we say NARI..
Prakash Gurbaxani The
ranks of cyberspace CEOs continue to swell. The latest one to join the
Web-wagon is Prakash Gurbaxani, the 39-year-old former head of Micro
Media, a division of Microland. Prakash has now floated his own
dot.com-24/7customer. com-which offers e-CRM for the uninitiated. Says
Prakash: ''The customer today is connected to the Net. Any adspend which
does not target him is a waste.'' Well, this one-time construction
projects manager, who built the IBM headquarters, plans to cater to the
'real' customer 24 hours a day, seven days a week virtually, when he's not
golfing or playing with his two little boys...
Arun Bharat Ram He
is holding the fort for the Old Economy. Arun Bharat Ram, Vice-Chairman
and Managing Director of the SRF Ltd and the newly-annointed chief of CII,
prefers to discount the reigning cybermania and remain rooted firmly in
reality. And in his new capacity as the CII president, he will actively
solicit support from member corporates to bolster the brick-n-mortar
economy. Says Bharat Ram, 59: ''I want to dispel the myth that the Old
Economy is not going to prosper, for it is the traditional industries
which are integral to our growth.'' He will also spearhead a dialogue with
the government on privatisation, albeit with a human face, and on the
problems of rural India. ''The corporate sector has a responsibility in
social development,'' he adds. And what does this genial family man-he is
very close to his three children-do when he is not running SRF or
orchestrating proceedings at CII? Play the sitar, of course. Though this
disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar does not get to practice every day..
Tarun
Das is back where he belongs. In the news, and this time, the context is a
strange match that brought two 61 year-olds together. In end-April, 2000,
Das, 61, was named the non-executive chairman of cement major acc, which
was created 61 years ago, by the amalgamation of 10 cement companies. And
whispers that this meant the end of his run at the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) were hushed in early May, 2000, when his contract-due to
expire in May, 2000-was extended by two years. Das, who has also served
stints on the boards IDBI and Air India was uncharacteristically
phlegmatic about the appointment. ''This is just an additional burden; I
will have to go on handling CII (also),'' he is supposed to have said.
Tha(t')s capital; Das Capital(IST).
She
has worked her way up, and now she is set to scale the top of the ladder.
Yes, the 33-year-old India-born Rena Golden, senior vice-president at
Atlanta-based CNN International (CNNI), would have grabbed the title of
the network's golden girl, had it not been bagged by her more glamourous
colleague, Christian Amanpour. But Rena is still a close second. Joining
CNN in 1985, Rena has helped cover the Gulf War, Bosnia, the Rwanda
massacres, and the Asian crisis. She has also produced CNN Newsnight and
The International Hour. Now responsible for international news
programming, Rena will flag off CNN's South Asia channel on July 1 this
year-an assignment that will have shows on technology, business, and
current affairs created in India. Says Rena: ''The move endorses CNN's
strategy of regionalisation. Plus, the sophisticated viewership profile
here makes it important for CNN.'' Way to go girl, or should we say NARI..
The
ranks of cyberspace CEOs continue to swell. The latest one to join the
Web-wagon is Prakash Gurbaxani, the 39-year-old former head of Micro
Media, a division of Microland. Prakash has now floated his own
dot.com-24/7customer. com-which offers e-CRM for the uninitiated. Says
Prakash: ''The customer today is connected to the Net. Any adspend which
does not target him is a waste.'' Well, this one-time construction
projects manager, who built the IBM headquarters, plans to cater to the
'real' customer 24 hours a day, seven days a week virtually, when he's not
golfing or playing with his two little boys...
He
is holding the fort for the Old Economy. Arun Bharat Ram, Vice-Chairman
and Managing Director of the SRF Ltd and the newly-annointed chief of CII,
prefers to discount the reigning cybermania and remain rooted firmly in
reality. And in his new capacity as the CII president, he will actively
solicit support from member corporates to bolster the brick-n-mortar
economy. Says Bharat Ram, 59: ''I want to dispel the myth that the Old
Economy is not going to prosper, for it is the traditional industries
which are integral to our growth.'' He will also spearhead a dialogue with
the government on privatisation, albeit with a human face, and on the
problems of rural India. ''The corporate sector has a responsibility in
social development,'' he adds. And what does this genial family man-he is
very close to his three children-do when he is not running SRF or
orchestrating proceedings at CII? Play the sitar, of course. Though this
disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar does not get to practice every day..
