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The Three Headhunters

ANIL SACHDEV
Founder, Eicher Consultancy

ANALJIT SINGH
Chairman, Max Group

K.K.NOHRIA
Chairman, Crompton Greaves

Like the famous musketeers, there are actually four: Anil Sachdev, the Founder of Eicher Consultancy Service; K.K. Nohria, the Chairman of Crompton Greaves; Yogesh Andley, the Co-founder of Nucleus Software; and the Max Group's Chairman Analjit Singh. The idea, of growtalent.com, a full service headhunting firm-it hires, assesses hiring requirements, and trains-is, of course, Sachdev's, and he thinks he can pull it off with a little help from his friends. Singh is a spiritual buddy from the Chinmaya Mission who's part-funding the project. The other two are old contacts who're actually on the board of the company.

Eicher isn't represented on the board and Sachdev is fairly upfront about the reason. ''Last time, my dream got converted into an Eicher Project. This time I wanted it (to be my own).'' He, however, continues to remain on the board of the consulting firm he founded. It's not just directors and funders Sachdev has culled from his Rolodex; it's also business. Apart from the Indian School of Business, Growtalent has signed on several companies in the pharma, telecom, and financial services space, but its CEO won't divulge their names. The name's a misnomer, though. Growtalent is a dotcom merely in name; the company has its roots firmly planted in bricks right now. Eventually, claims Sachdev, they may offer some (learning) modules on the net. And so, at 46, with a vehicle that sounds suspiciously like a new economy start-up and a little help from his friends, Anil Sachdev is going to start all over again.

Tatas' Morals-Keeper

RATAN TATA
Chairman, Tata Group

For someone so richly deserving of it, the honour was long in coming. Last fortnight, the redoubtable Ratan Tata was awarded the Outstanding Businessman of the Year award by the Mumbai-based Indian Merchant Chamber. As the citation noted, Tata not just runs one of the biggest and most professional groups in the country, but he also has managed (God knows how) to keep the legendary Tata values alive. Indeed, over the past three years, Tata has been constantly raising the bar across group companies, disbanding cliques, pushing senior executives to do better, and focusing on shareholder value. One of the most spectacular effects of that is the turnaround at Tata Steel, which made him proud by recently bagging the National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance. Tata's maxim: compete on a global basis. As Tata asked his audience at the IMC award ceremony: ''Can (India) create a name for (itself) abroad? I think, it can.'' And, no doubt, Tata will be one of the few leading India Inc. from the front.

Indophile From Down Under

PHIL SPENDER
CEO, Ford India

Wherever we go, we try to become part of that country's development process,'' Ford India's young CEO, Phil Spender, told BT several moons ago. And he's sticking to his word. Late last month, the Blue Oval opened the Ford Information Technology Services India (FITSI) in Chennai's hi-tech Tydel Park. The 800-engineer strong centre will serve as Ford's technology hub for India and Asia-Pacific, and focus on business software, Computer Aided Engineering (cad/cam) and call centre/e-mail processing. It has already roped in its first customer: Ford Asia Pacific. Creditably, Ford has roped in three Indian partners (Satyam Computers, Covansys, and Thirdware Solutions) who will provide the IT services. And as Ford races to wire up, FITSI will play a key role in developing e-commerce solutions to connect Ford with its suppliers, dealers and consumers. Says the racing-enthusiast Spender: ''We recognise that India is a leader in developing computer software and e-commerce business solutions, and we want to tap into that expertise.'' A win-win situation that Spender so loves.

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