Business Today Net Special

CEO Visitations

A clutch of American CEOs stormed through the subcontinent in recent past weeks. Here's a lowdown on the high-profile corporate schmoozing.

BY Ashutosh Sinha

They came. They saw. They concurred. That, for the foreseeable future, India is a market to be in. Saying that, of course, were a clutch of American CEOs, who came a-calling on their Indian customers, partners, and powers-that-be.

The line up began on September 4, 2000, with Robert Bishop, the CEO of Silicon Graphics India (SGI). Bishop, whose company reported a net loss of $829,544 during the year ended June 30, 2000, broke bread with customers, and also paid the mandatory visit to the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology. SGI already supplies high-end visual computing products to various scientific institutions, and Bishop's agenda was to enhance such co-operation.

Informally, at a gathering of customers and channel partners, Bishop also met Tata Elxsi, Crompton Greaves, Tata Consultancy Services, and Zenith Computers. Says a company spokesperson: "The visit also sought to create, grow, and expand broadband media commerce business in India."

Of course, you don't expect a loss-making company to commit any investments. So, Bishop did not play to the galleries.

Bill Gates' visit was the high point of the past week, although the "CEO of the Millennium", Jack Welch, also made a short, but meaningful visit. Gates did raise a lot of hope, with everyone---from industry captains to politicians---queuing up to meet him. Few could, most couldn't. Among the political satraps who got a one-on-one with Gates were Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu; Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel; and Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna.

The official line was that Gates was here in India to be part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Microsoft India. At the formal dinner, the star cast was impressive and included former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, NIIT Chairman Rajendra Pawar, GE India Country Manager Scott Bayman, Cisco India's Rajeev Chopra, apart from the Microsoft India team. At the dinner, business didn't seem to be an item on the plate.

Gates had a 45-minute audience with IT Minister Pramod Mahajan, where the Microsoft Chief Software Architect said that he would look at promoting regional language software in India. If that happens in the near future, penetration of computers could get a boost.

The Gates press conference was a bit of a let down, except for the announcement of an alliance with Infosys. His meetings with the chief ministers were more of a formality, and did not yield any significant results. Gates also addressed a CEO interactive session where he presented his .NET (dotnet) strategy and fielded questions from the corporate chieftains.

But, while no business related investments were committed, Bill & Melinda Foundation did dish out $35 million for polio eradication. Says an upbeat Microsoft India Managing Director, Sanjay Mirchandani: "For us at Microsoft India, this visit reinforces our commitment to India and endorses the work we have done over the last decade."

Honeywell Inc.'s CEO, Michael Bonsignore, knocked on India's doors as well. With the US government curbing exports high-end aviation sector exports in response to India's nuclear tests, Honeywell CEO's room for manoeuvre was already restricted. Yet, he did pay a visit to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Chairman, C.G. Krishnadas. In Mumbai, Bonsignore met Ratan Tata and discussed a possible collaboration in the automobile sector. Bonsignore's visit was also packed with one-to-one meetings with Karnataka Chief Minister and Indian Oil Chairman, M.A. Pathan in Delhi.

While the automobile business will be an extension of the existing relationship with the Tatas, the Honeywell CEO was also scouting for business in the oil and power sectors. No investments were talked about, but Bonsignore did make his intentions very clear on takeovers. "It will be an ongoing process. Some companies have been identified, but we cannot tell the names for obvious reasons," he told BT.

But the big question is: when will the moolah enter India? Honeywell says that the money will come for takeover or joint ventures "when it makes business sense". Bonsignore, accompanied by Chief Technology Officer, Barry Johnson, did promise that India would be an important R&D centre for Honeywell. Johnson is scheduled to return in the next few weeks to explore the possibility further.

One guy---and the biggest of them all---who put cash on the table was Jack Welch. With GE stepping on the accelerator as far as its India operations are concerned, an additional $100 million has been promised for the R&D centre which will have 2,200 scientists. GE will become the first overseas company to carry out basic research in India in key business areas. The technology centre will be GE's largest such invest outside the United States.

Welch's agenda was clear: meet key customers and partners. On September 16, 2000, he addressed a luncheon meeting, which included select CEOs and media. Yet, he also found time to address employees and answer their questions both in Delhi and Bangalore.

The star cast of CEOs isn't over, though. Later this month, Michael Dell, the young Chairman of Dell Computers will come for his share of the Indian Sun. The official word is, yet again, that he will be meeting "key customers and partners".

Watch this space.

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