Business Today, People

PEOPLE

Y.S. Kim, MD, Hyundai Motors India Know Your Kims
Nearly a quarter of the South Korean population has this last name. So it's not surprising that the CEOs of four South Korean consumer durable companies answer to the appellation of 'Kim'. As this can be quite confusing for those whose exposure to Kim is limited to Rudyard Kipling, we paid them all a visit. The first, Young-Chang Kim, 52, heads the troubled Daewoo Motors India. The K.S. Kim, Head, Samsung India chain-smoking MBA from Wharton has been in the country for five years now. '' I have been 85 per cent indigenised,'' he smiles. The finance man is now focusing on marketing-and on the fight ahead. Then, we met K.S. Kim, 50, Samsung India's head, in India since September 1998. The avid golfer tries to spend time with his wife and two sons, also living in the country. His ambition is to change Samsung's orientation from a product-driven to market-driven company. ''We can do it,'' he says. Hyundai Motors India's Managing Director Yang Soo Kim, 57, is up next. The diminutive Kim earned his spurs while spearheading Hyundai's interactions with the government, from day one. A remarkable feat considering his passable command over English. A shop-floor man, he is actively involved in marketing, as well.

K.R. Kim, MD, LG Electronics India Finally, there's Kwang-Ro Kim, the 46-year-old managing director of LG Electronics India. In India since 1997, his is perhaps the best English among the four. No wonder then that despite a back problem, he spends at least three days a week in the field.

P.S.: According to kabalarians.com, ''Your name of Kim contains many fine qualities-musical and artistic ability... and a good business judgement.'' Oh well.

Pepsi Checks In
The star of Pepsi's latest TV spot isn't, alas, the pretty lass...it's Jaggu, the chimp. Otherwise known as Sam, the chimp hails from East London, a river port situated on the mouth of the Buffalo River in South Africa. Not surprisingly, the film was shot in Cape Town; and co-actor Preity Z looks comfortable enough. Does this mean we're going to see a spate of animal-centric ads? Over to Maneka Gandhi.

Deal Makers
He collects matchboxes with the same penchant as he does deals. Munesh Khanna--Partner and Head of Global Corporate Finance for Arthur Andersen-has worked on mega-deals like Tata Tetley, Arvind Mills to ICICI, GVK Hotels to Indian Hotels, Tata Power's bid for PowerGen...and more. Now, with the acquisition of Ind Global Financial Trust, Khanna will be able to offer the entire package for a deal. Says Khanna, who has 5,500 matchboxes from across the world: ''With R. Sankaran, CEO, Ind Global Corporate Finance this deal, our corporate finance division is different from other consulting firms. It's more like an investment bank.'' Part of the package is R. Sankaran, the 52-year-old Chairman of Ind Global Finance Trust, who sold out his investment banking business to Arthur Andersen. Sankaran, a consummate deal-maker in his own right, will now be the CEO of the re-christened Ind Global Corporate Finance. The former head of Standard Chartered Bank's merchant banking operations between 1986 and 1989 is remembered for his sublime breakfast diplomacy skills while breaking into South Indian markets. He says, enthusiastically: ''With my local relationships and AA's ability to bring cross-border clients, we would be able to do deals in the range of $100 million to $300 million.'' Let the deal-making begin.

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