SULAJJA MOTWANI: Bigger bike for the buck

When we asked Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Joint Managing Director, Kinetic Motors, the meaning of her company's latest two-wheeler offering 'Aquila', she said 'eagle'. According to the Webster's Dictionary, the term Aquila is derived from the Latin word aquilae. We hope the nomenclature of the company's newest launch matches its performance. For, the Hyosung Aquila is India's first-ever 250-cc cruiser; at Rs 1.45 lakh it is also the most expensive bike going around. Motwani, a Masters in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon and a former badminton champ, reasons that even at the seemingly exorbitant pricetag, Aquila is actually a good deal for the customer. It's a limited edition bike and there are only a 100 up for sale. "Since we're importing completely knocked down units from Korea, we have to pay only 35 per cent duty as opposed to 60 per cent if someone wants to import a cruiser," she says. For someone who came to mobikes late, the 31-year-old Motwani, certainly has an eagle-eye for winning propositions.

HARRY FANE: Cartier crazy

Antique Interest

Did you know that India was the biggest market for Cartier in the 1930s? Harry Fane, the 49-year-old Briton and a specialist Cartier dealer, was here in India to talk more about the company's Indian connections and to pursue his passion of tracing Cartier antiques once owned by the royal families. "It tickles me no end to see an old masterpiece again," says Fane.

RAVI NATH: Breaking in to the big league

Legal Bugle

For Ravi Nath, a beethoven devotee, this bit of news would surely have sounded sweeter than a symphony. The 56-year-old Delhi-based corporate lawyer becomes the first Indian to head the influential Inter-Pacific Bar Association, which comprises 2,000 lawyers from 62 nations and advises globocorps on legal matters. The legal eagle's flying higher than ever. PS: we promise, no more allusions to eagles.

SUNITA NARAIN: Raising a ruckus

Now It's Water

After a five-year-long relentless campaign to get Delhi to go the CNG-way, the Delhi-based NGO Centre For Science and Environment (CSE) is now making bottled water biggies Coca-Cola, Pepsico and Bisleri, run for cover. CSE's 42-year-old Director Sunita Narain blew the whistle when a study carried out on the quality of drinking water found "unacceptably" high levels of pesticide contamination even in bottled water. The reaction from the bottlers, and babus of Bureau of Indian Standards ranged from the confused to the ridiculous. "Even the MNCs aren't ready to do business in an open and aware society," she contends. What next? "Packaged juice, maybe."

CHANG HYUN HOON: Stiff targets, stiffer competition

Chaebol Change

On valentine's day this year, Samsung India had a change of heart. It replaced the Managing Director S.S. Lee with Chang Hyun Yoon, an electronics engineer who has been with the chaebol for 26 long years. The 50-year-old Yoon has the experience of managing Samsung's subsidiaries in the UK and Malaysia as well as marketing the company's home appliances globally from its Seoul headquarters. For the avid golfer, the brief from Seoul is simple: consolidate the lead in the it segment and get to the pole position in all white good categories. Yoon's personal target is to make Samsung India a $1-billion company by 2004. lg and others better watch out.

ANITA NAYYAR: Yet another change

Starry Eyed

If only Delhi had any institute of repute that offered advanced courses in microbiology some 15 years back, life for Anita Nayyar would have been a lot different. The 40-year-old, soft-spoken Nayyar who is a microbiology graduate and a MSc. in medical technology (she would have gone in for a doctorate in microbiology had Delhi had the means), takes over as the Executive Director (North) at Publicis' media planning arm Starcom India in March. Her appointment comes after Andrey Purushottam quit the company, and the operations were split into South and West (headed by Ravi Kiran), and North. Although Nayyar would like to spend more time with her two daughters and listen to her favourite ghazals, she knows that her new assignment is sure to stretch her 12-hours-a-day schedule further. "Delhi is a very promising market where Starcom's business grew from Rs 5 crore to nearly Rs 60 crore in little more than a year," she says excitedly. Research has always been Starcom's strength, and now a bit of clinical precision would do no harm.

-compiled by T.R. Vivek with reports from Moinak Mitra, and Abha Bakaya