SANJIV GUPTA: Finally, in the driver's seat

As the deputy president of Coca-Cola India, Sanjiv Gupta would have celebrated the 4th of July anyway. Now, though, he has an added reason. On the American day of Independence, the 42-year-old Gupta will take over as the India CEO of the world's best-known brand. That makes Gupta, an IIT-Delhi grad, the only second Indian after Jaydev Raja to head the cola giant in the country. Gupta's elevation, however, couldn't have come a day sooner. For six long years he has toiled in the cola trenches, helping the American company cut its losses and consolidate its position in the market. As his boss Alex von Behr prepares for a posting in the Philippines, Gupta has his job cut out. And which is to make cola more affordable to a larger number of Indian consumers and push profitability at CCI.

CII's TARUN DAS: Itching for a lead	FICCI's AMIT MITRA: First-mover davantage

Dragon Jockeys

CII and FICCI have a new wrestling ground: China. Last fortnight, the sworn rivals went into overdrive, each trying to establish itself as the voice of Indian industry over the other. The occasion was historic alright: PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China-the first by a PM in 10 years. CII, which reopened its office in Shanghai, wants to ensure that it has an upper hand in lobbying like it does in India. FICCI, on the other hand, has been in China longer (it's also older than CII) and has a bigger staff in the city. Therefore, it wants to maintain its lead in PRC. As long as they don't work at cross-purposes, it really doesn't matter who leads or trails. Except to them, of course.

ANITA UDEEP: Shoestring show-women

Making The Cut

Knock, knock, I am looking to marry." no, that's not 24-year-old Anita Udeep getting desperate on the marriage circuit, but a 90-minute romantic comedy that she-daughter of Chennai-based Pentamedia's V. Chandrasekaran-plans to release in the first week of August this year. Like the 5ft 4-inch Loyola Marymount grad, the movie is a simple story of the traditional match-making process. Udeep-who also debuts as a playback singer in a soon-to-be-released Tamil movie, Whistle-has done the script-writing, production, and direction herself at a cost of Rs 75 lakh. "It's a one-man show," says the chirpy lass. Let the show begin.

RAYMOND BICKSON: Saying aloha to India

Everybody Loves Raymond

At least the people who matter in Bombay house do. How else does one explain Raymond Bickson's lightning-fast rise to the very top at the Indian Hotels Company? Barely seven months after joining the Taj group as coo, the polyglot Hawaiian has made it to the corner room as the outgoing MD R.K. Krishna Kumar's successor. And Bickson denies that any such progression was part of the deal when he was poached from The Mark in New York. Not that Bickson lacks credentials. He's worked all over the world, has degrees in hotel services, cooking, and management. As the new MD, Bickson plans to "focus on strategy already in play and take it to the next level". And when time permits, the surfing enthusiast also plans to chase waves on Indian beaches.

MANOJ CHUGH: Blaming it on a whim

Plugging Out

He grew a Rs 360-crore business into a Rs 1,109-crore company in about three years. Which is why it's a little surprising that the affable CEO of Cisco India, Manoj Chugh, should quit the router-maker all of a sudden. In fact, the 43-year-old Chugh admits that he put in his papers without any offer in hand. So what happened? One school of rumour-mongers says that Chugh probably had to take the fall for financial indiscretion of one of his now-departed senior executives. Chugh vehemently denies such rumours, saying that he quit because he had been thinking about doing something else for sometime now. But smoke without fire?

SORAB MISTRY: Increasing sphere of influence

Globe-trotting, Still

For Sorab Mistry, Chairman & CEO of McCann Erickson India, the world is not enough. Starting out as a management trainee with McCann in Iran way back in 1973, Mistry went on to work in the UK and Canada, before donning the mantle of South Asia Head, in charge of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. And now as the se Asia Head, he'll also oversee Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. ''This enhanced role is a reflection of my experience with the Indian operations and the quality of talent here," says Mistry. He'll be shifting base from Dubai to Singapore, and will be looking at bringing managers from India. Or "Jewel of Asia Pacific (for McCann)," as he calls it. Bon voyage, Sorab.

-contributed by R. Sridharan, Shailesh Dobhal, Vandana Gombar, Nitya Varadarajan & Ashish Gupta