Seven-Plus
Strings A master of all trades and jack of
none? Yes, Michael Conrad, Vice-Chairman & Chief Creative
Officer of Leo Burnett, can hold forth on Eric Clapton and B.B. King's
latest collaborative work and the changes in Leo Burnett's creative
policies with equal aplomb, and even play the blues. And last fortnight,
when he was in Mumbai to announce the rechristening of Chaitra Leo Burnett
to just Leo Burnett, Conrad took the opportunity to grab the centre-stage.
At a press conference, he stunned a bunch of hacks by picking up a guitar
and bursting into a 12-bar tune, which dealt with the agency's quality
management system-called seven-plus. It calls upon every Leo Burnett
creative to strive to make the seven-plus cut, on a scale of one to 10.
''This was a song I had composed at the year-end in Chicago, when I had to
wrap up the year's performance. I thought if I sing it at the press
conference, I could loosen it up a bit,'' says Conrad, 55. He did it again
two days later, at the CNBC studio where he gave a ditty on Infosys'
plunging stock, and how stock tickers irritate him, on camera. And the
previous evening, he hogged the limelight by grabbing the guitar at a
'creative summit' hosted by Arvind Sharma, Managing Director, Leo Burnett,
India, and jamming with a tabla player and a flautist. ''It's not always
this way, but I look for opportunities to collaborate with the media
outside the world of advertising. Otherwise, we would be living on a
one-way street. It's one way to stay fresh,'' says the CCO. True to style,
Conrad once invited a rather unusual guest to a creative seminar in
Chicago: a stand-up comedian. This man sure is comfortable in his skin...
Up
in the Clouds She is, no doubt, the proverbial
woman behind the successful man. But Anita Goyal, wife of Jet
Airways honcho Naresh Goyal, is a high-flier herself . As Vice-President
(Marketing), she strategises on sales and marketing, capacity control and
the all-important pricing, besides buffing the company's image. And she
reports... no, not to her spouse, but to a professional CEO. Says Anita,
47: ''My job has nothing to do with my role at home. In the office, I am a
travel industry executive.'' And a good one at that. For, Anita has 20
years of rich experience in the trade, spanning TWA, Jet Air, the Group's
general sales agency, and Jet Airways itself. And while she is not
crafting the marketing and pricing strategies, she watches motor racing,
tennis, and hold it, WWF bouts, on TV. Says the lady with a chuckle: ''I
am a sports freak.'' No paragliding?
From
Cash to Compassion For two decades, he has kept count of
his rupees as an efficient banker. Now that it is done by using chips and
bytes-well, the Global Trust Bank was one of the first players in the
country to introduce on-line banking-the dapper chief executive, Ramesh
Gelli, finally has time for other things. And disadvantaged groups
like destitute children and the elderly are his new focus. ''I want to
play a role in either building institutions or facilitating innovations in
existing institutions that deal with the welfare of destitute children and
the aged,'' says Ramesh, 54. The banker will be stepping down as the
managing director after March 31, 2001, following the recommendations of
global hr consultants Hewitt & Associates, and dissociate himself from
the bank's day-to-day operations. However, he will continue to have a
strategic role as the chairman. Ramesh says: ''I will view broader issues
from a long-term perspective.'' He surely deserves credit, of a different
kind...
The
Time-Keeper Do you take more than 20 seconds to
fall asleep? If you do, perhaps you should pay a visit to the Swamiji--Swami
Parthasarathy, in this case. After all, ''every businessman other than
Ratan Tata has come to me,'' says the Swami, 74, a self-proclaimed
authority on Vedanta philosophy who has penned several tomes on the
subject. He avers: ''Vedanta is all about who you are and your relation to
the world. Vedanta shows you how to be dynamic and peaceful at the same
time.'' Clearly, the Swami has struck gold. He has made presentations at
the World Presidents' Organisation in the US, the World Economic Forum at
Davos, the European Business Council in France, and the Indian Chambers of
Commerce. His next project, a quick-fix seminar on 'The Technique of Time
Management' in Mumbai, has a price-tag of just Rs 9,500 per 'delegate',
and Rs 18,000 for those with spouses in tow. A bit steep perhaps? ''One
has to charge businessmen. If we don't, they won't come,'' quips the
worldly-wise Swami. One should say he does manage his life and time
well...
A master of all trades and jack of
none? Yes, Michael Conrad, Vice-Chairman & Chief Creative
Officer of Leo Burnett, can hold forth on Eric Clapton and B.B. King's
latest collaborative work and the changes in Leo Burnett's creative
policies with equal aplomb, and even play the blues. And last fortnight,
when he was in Mumbai to announce the rechristening of Chaitra Leo Burnett
to just Leo Burnett, Conrad took the opportunity to grab the centre-stage.
At a press conference, he stunned a bunch of hacks by picking up a guitar
and bursting into a 12-bar tune, which dealt with the agency's quality
management system-called seven-plus. It calls upon every Leo Burnett
creative to strive to make the seven-plus cut, on a scale of one to 10.
''This was a song I had composed at the year-end in Chicago, when I had to
wrap up the year's performance. I thought if I sing it at the press
conference, I could loosen it up a bit,'' says Conrad, 55. He did it again
two days later, at the CNBC studio where he gave a ditty on Infosys'
plunging stock, and how stock tickers irritate him, on camera. And the
previous evening, he hogged the limelight by grabbing the guitar at a
'creative summit' hosted by Arvind Sharma, Managing Director, Leo Burnett,
India, and jamming with a tabla player and a flautist. ''It's not always
this way, but I look for opportunities to collaborate with the media
outside the world of advertising. Otherwise, we would be living on a
one-way street. It's one way to stay fresh,'' says the CCO. True to style,
Conrad once invited a rather unusual guest to a creative seminar in
Chicago: a stand-up comedian. This man sure is comfortable in his skin...
She is, no doubt, the proverbial
woman behind the successful man. But Anita Goyal, wife of Jet
Airways honcho Naresh Goyal, is a high-flier herself . As Vice-President
(Marketing), she strategises on sales and marketing, capacity control and
the all-important pricing, besides buffing the company's image. And she
reports... no, not to her spouse, but to a professional CEO. Says Anita,
47: ''My job has nothing to do with my role at home. In the office, I am a
travel industry executive.'' And a good one at that. For, Anita has 20
years of rich experience in the trade, spanning TWA, Jet Air, the Group's
general sales agency, and Jet Airways itself. And while she is not
crafting the marketing and pricing strategies, she watches motor racing,
tennis, and hold it, WWF bouts, on TV. Says the lady with a chuckle: ''I
am a sports freak.'' No paragliding?
For two decades, he has kept count of
his rupees as an efficient banker. Now that it is done by using chips and
bytes-well, the Global Trust Bank was one of the first players in the
country to introduce on-line banking-the dapper chief executive, Ramesh
Gelli, finally has time for other things. And disadvantaged groups
like destitute children and the elderly are his new focus. ''I want to
play a role in either building institutions or facilitating innovations in
existing institutions that deal with the welfare of destitute children and
the aged,'' says Ramesh, 54. The banker will be stepping down as the
managing director after March 31, 2001, following the recommendations of
global hr consultants Hewitt & Associates, and dissociate himself from
the bank's day-to-day operations. However, he will continue to have a
strategic role as the chairman. Ramesh says: ''I will view broader issues
from a long-term perspective.'' He surely deserves credit, of a different
kind...
Do you take more than 20 seconds to
fall asleep? If you do, perhaps you should pay a visit to the Swamiji--Swami
Parthasarathy, in this case. After all, ''every businessman other than
Ratan Tata has come to me,'' says the Swami, 74, a self-proclaimed
authority on Vedanta philosophy who has penned several tomes on the
subject. He avers: ''Vedanta is all about who you are and your relation to
the world. Vedanta shows you how to be dynamic and peaceful at the same
time.'' Clearly, the Swami has struck gold. He has made presentations at
the World Presidents' Organisation in the US, the World Economic Forum at
Davos, the European Business Council in France, and the Indian Chambers of
Commerce. His next project, a quick-fix seminar on 'The Technique of Time
Management' in Mumbai, has a price-tag of just Rs 9,500 per 'delegate',
and Rs 18,000 for those with spouses in tow. A bit steep perhaps? ''One
has to charge businessmen. If we don't, they won't come,'' quips the
worldly-wise Swami. One should say he does manage his life and time
well...
