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Software's Most Famous Samaritan
He may be just 5 feet 6 inches tall, but N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys is easily corporate India's biggest heavyweight. And that recognition is pouring in from all parts of the world. Last fortnight, Time-CNN reporters named Narayana Murthy as one of the 25 most influential global executives. Justifying their choice of the only Indian winner, the judges said Murthy ''is vigilant about his employees' well-being-granting stock options, building exercise facilities, and spreading values as much as wealth''. To people who've known the principal founder of the software giant, that comes as no surprise. For, the man has been praised, feted, and almost worshipped for the institution and wealth he has created. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize, instituted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun-publisher of the leading business daily. Last year, he found a place among the 50 most influential people in Asia for the year 2000, identified by Asiaweek. And that's not all at all. Earlier, he was nominated among ''The Stars of Asia'' by BusinessWeek for 1999 and 2000, and in 1999, ing Barings crowned him as the Emerging Market CEO of the year. On another front, India's most famous software czar is giving the Taj Mahal a run for its money. When Li Peng, Chairman of National People's Congress of China, visited India in January this year, he made a 45-minute stop at the Infosys Campus in Bangalore. Again, when Yoshiro Mori-the then Prime Minister of Japan-visited the subcontinent in 2000, he not only visited the campus, but also tried his hand at golf on the company's nine-hole golf course. Even Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spent an enviable 45 minutes at Infosys in January this year. Apparently, if there's anything better than being a millionaire, it is making hundreds of them. Bless you, Mr Narayana Murthy. Lending A Hand
Having spent almost all of his working life in the US, Bala V. Balachandran is renewing his India connection with a vengeance. The ace accounting professor at the Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois, was instrumental in the formation of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He is aiding the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram preserve the knowledge of ancient vedas, and he has even donated two houses in the mutt for vedic scholars. And now-in India for the fifth time this year-Balachandran is helping Personalitree (an ''e-varsity for people skills'') network. ''Indians are well-known for their brainpower, but lack softer skills like communication and personal grooming,'' says Balachandran. This is where Personalitree-promoted by S.K. Birla, Shiv Jatia, Ramesh Vangal, and Rama Luthra (an advertising professional-turned-entrepreneur)-comes in. Its idea is to offer a virtual university where professionals can log on to complement their technical skills with people skills. Balachandran is helping Personalitree rope in partners and customers. Way to go, Prof. Castro, But Not Fidel
Delivering pizzas is an uninspiring job, right? Not quite. Just ask Manish Dutt, 30. Here's the story: A trained commercial pilot, Dutt landed up in the US in 1997 to make a high-flying career. But landing a job proved harder than landing a plane. At loose ends, Dutt took up odd jobs at night clubs and pizza chains. One day, he was asked to deliver a pizza to a cigar store owner. And life for Dutt would never be the same again. Coming back to India in 1998, he opened a cigar shop (Kastro's Cigar) in Delhi. Starting with 200 cigars, Dutt has risen to selling 3,000 cigars a month, and is now planning to roll out India's first cigar retail store in Bangalore, Goa, Mumbai, and Calcutta. For the launch, Dutt is flying in Davidoff's expert cigar rollers from the Dominican Republic. ''If I get it wrong even once, my customers would perhaps not touch a cigar ever,'' says he. We agree. |
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