HR Headlines : Jan.08 (Part-2)

Job Profiles And Respect Priority For Indian Employees
According to a global workplace research by human resource consulting firm Mercer Llc, Indian employees hold job profiles and being respected at their workplaces more important than compensation. Base pay and benefits come at the third place for Indian executives. The study into employee attitudes and perceptions was conducted in 22 countries. Curiously, employees in India give less importance to work-life balance contrary to their counterparts globally, who consider healthy work-life balance to be important. Overall, respect was the topmost factor noted in the UK and the US.
Source: 11-01-08 www.livemint.com



SC Rejects IT Dept Appeal Against Infosys
The Supreme Court has quashed an Income-Tax case against Infosys Technologies charging Infosys with failure to deduct TDS on earnings of its staff from an employees stock option scheme (Esop). During 1997-2000, Infosys offered warrants to its eligible employees at Re 1 each. Each warrant entitled the holder to apply for and be allotted one equity share of the face value of Rs 10 each for a total consideration of Rs 100. The total amount thus paid by employees was Rs 6.64 crore for shares whose market value was Rs 171 crore. The Income Tax Department levied Rs 165 crore as perquisite value and held Infosys as an assessee in default for not deducting TDS at 30 per cent under section 192. However, the apex court dismissed this appeal saying that this was not a case of tax evasion.
Source: 09-01-08 www.sify.com



Management Students Moving Away From Run Of The Mill Jobs
Setting a new trend, many management students are opting for hardcore yet traditionally unpopular sectors such as agri-business, micro-finance and rural marketing. It seems that diversifying career domains have become the order of the day at most B-schools. Even top notch companies such as Goldman Sachs, Stanchart, Citibank and Calyon are making offers to students with an understanding of these sectors. Students also want to stay back in India and be a part of the nation’s growth story.
Source: 06-01-08 www.sify.com



Awareness Drive For Gulf Job Aspirants Through TV Ads
The Indian government has started an awareness drive amongst Gulf job aspirants to warn them of illegal recruiting agents through a series of TV advertisements in Indian languages in Dubai. Several advertisements in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Punjabi languages caution potential labourers and warn women employees on how they might be duped. The advertisements issued by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs especially target gullible rural Indians and caution them on the dangers of going to the Gulf and other countries through unscrupulous agents.
Source: 07-01-08 www.rediff.com



Malaysia Bans Recruitment Of Indian Workers
Following the violence in Malaysia a few weeks ago, the Malaysian government has put on freeze the recruitment of Indian and Bangladeshi workers. This includes banning the recruitment of Indian priests, sculptors and musicians. It is still unclear whether the ban would apply to other classes of Indian professionals as well. The ban came in the backdrop of PM Mr Manmohan Singh’s appeal for freer movement of professionals and workers in the international labour market.
Source: 06-01-08 www.moneycontrol.com


National Skill Development Mission To Be Steered By PM
Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh is all set to head the National Skill Development Mission, as proposed by the Cabinet. Around Rs 31,000 crore have been earmarked for the mission which will extend training facilities to 10 mn people a month. This mission will train people to make the best of 70 million job opportunities that will be created during the 11th Plan (2007-12). The mission will look at 20 areas of growth for skill development in services and manufacturing. The high growth sectors that have been identified include automobile and auto components, transportation, warehousing and packaging, travel and tourism, logistics, media and entertainment and health-care services.
Source: 09-01-08 www.livemint.com



Ability Foundation Job Fair On Feb 24, 2008 In Delhi
The Ability Foundation, working for the cause of disabled people, will hold a one day job fair on 24th February, 2008 in Delhi. The fair is an extension of Ability Foundation’s Placement Wing. It been hailed as a milestone since the time it was first held in 2004. Trade-marked as EmployABILITY, the fair brings together discerning employers, sensitive to the right to equal opportunity employment for disabled people, with a sea of qualified candidates with disabilities. It connects committed companies to a wealth of graduates, post-graduates and professional diploma holders with disabilities, for mutual benefit. Here, the employer discovers a highly talented pool of future employees and the candidates have access to the job that they are qualified for and have set their hearts on. In 2004, 32 companies registered for participation. Last year, as many as 1100 candidates from across the country attended the fair and were interviewed for jobs by 75 companies.
Source: 14-01-08 Ability Foundation



Employee Incentive Programmes Working wonders For Automotive Companies
Automotive companies such as Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and Maruti Suzuki India have introduced various employee incentive programmes to bring about innovation and boost productivity. These programmes are helping them develop new products, save costs and even file patents. These companies have rewarded employee inputs with perks such as incentives such as training abroad and exotic domestic family trips. Companies are also rewarding employees with financial increments. At Mahindra, employee recommendations led to the newer version of Scorpio launched in March 2006.
Source: 06-01-08 Hindu Business Line


Management Programmes By FORE School Of Management (FSM)
FORE School of Management (FSM), New Delhi, a top-ranking business school in the country, has announced following Management Development Programmes during January 2008:
Finance for Non-Finance Executives (January 21-23, 2008)
Emerging Trends in Information Technology (January 24-25, 2008)
Effective Performance Management System (January 28-30, 2008)

For registration/additional information, please contact: Mr. Sat Parkash, Manager (MDP), FORE School of Management, B-18, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016, Phone (011) 2685 6301 (Direct), 4124 2424 (Extn.498); Fax: (011) 2652 0509, 2696 4229; E-mail: mdp@fsm.ac.in. (Website: www.fsm.ac.in)

For complete MDP Calendar (2007-2008) click here

For complete details of individual programmes, click at the relevant programme title.

For getting yourself registered click here.
Source: 11-01-08 Company Bureau



The New Year Started On A Job Hopping Note For Ad World
Within the first five days of 2008, almost 15 senior- and middle-level management people in the advertising industry made a job shift. Among these, the prominent job switches include Mr Sandeep Lakhina, who is joining Starcom MediaVest Group as Managing Director replacing Mr Manish Porwal, who is set to join Percept Talent Management (PTM) as CEO. Mr Ramesh Srivats, Executive Vice-President and Managing Partner of Rediffusion DY&R, has resigned to start his own venture in the digital space. Mr Vishal Ahluwalia, Vice-President (client servicing), Contract Advertising, too, is shifting to greener pastures while Mr Sandeep Tiwari, who quit LG Electronics (India) as Head (product marketing) late last year, has joined Dish TV as Deputy Vice-President (marketing). Apart from these, many other advertising professionals hopped jobs in the starting of 2008.
Source: 08-01-08 www.agencyfaqs.com



KARROX Presents TECH DIRECT’ 08
KARROX is organizing The Tech Direct ‘08 (The Technology Store) – Your Gateway to Global Career Opportunities- in association with Microsoft and Naukri.com on 25 January, 2008 at Lala Lajpatrai College auditorium in Mumbai. Tech Direct’08 will showcase Microsoft’s new product: Windows Server 2008 –new features of Longhorn. It will also display .Net 2.0, Sql 2005 and Biztalk server along with live demonstration of the security features. In the show, industry experts will talk about next generation Microsoft technologies and certifications along with the job opportunities in Microsoft Technologies. To register, visit your nearest KARROX centres or log on www.karrox.com or simply SMS “karROX” to 575758.
Source: 11-01-08 Company Bureau



Delhi Govt To Hire Private Staffers To Fill Jobs
The Delhi government is looking at private recruitment agencies to fill vacant posts in government departments. According to government sources, approximately 15,000 positions are lying vacant in different Delhi government departments. Retirement of officials has also increased over the past few years and the posts are not being filled at the same rate. So, the government will employ different private recruitment agencies to handle different sectors such as social sector, health, engineering, clerical and others.
Source: 06-01-08 Delhi Newsline


UK’s Caparo Group To Create 10,000 Jobs At Nellore Unit
UK-based Caparo group has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up an automotive, engineering and aerospace park and a component manufacturing unit in Nellore. Caparo would invest around Rs 3,500 crore in the facility that will create 10,000 jobs in the next 15 years. Apart from this facility, the company would also create a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 500 acres.
Source: 07-01-08 Business Standard


Unemployment Figures Fuel Fears Of US Slump
In December, the unemployment rate in US jumped to 5 per cent from 4.7 per cent, its highest level since November 2005. According to the labour department, only 18,000 jobs were added in December against the expected 70,000. This sudden increase in unemployment and weak j ob creation further stoked the prospect of a US recession. The dismal figures have also sent the dollar lower and pulled equities down. Interestingly, the average weekly earnings rose by 0.4 per cent in December.
Source: 07-01-08 Business Standard



Job Switch To Be Easier For Expatriates In UAE
Employees, who have completed three years in a company, no longer need a No Objection Certificate from their employer if they want to shift their job, in the United Arab Emirates. The move is meant to ease changing of jobs by expatriate workers. However, the fees for transfers would still apply. Previously, the ministry asked for an NOC from any employee who wanted to change his job. In the absence of the certificate, a six-month ban was imposed.
Source: 10-01-08 www.rediff.com



Mr Alan Schwartz Replaces Mr Cayne As Bear Stearns CEO
Bear Stearns Cos Inc has chosen its star investment banker, Mr Alan Schwartz, to replace Mr James Cayne as Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, his prime responsibility will be to revive the company's badly damaged mortgage franchise. In the 1990s, Mr Schwartz advised on some of the biggest corporate takeovers of that time. As CEO, he promised to return the company to strong profitability and expand in overseas market. Mr Cayne is retiring from the company, but will be Non-Executive Chairman. Appointed CEO in 1993, he more than tripled the company's revenue to $7 billion during his tenure.
Source: 08-01-08 news.yahoo.com



Avon To Lay Off 2,400 Jobs
As part of a restructuring plan, Avon Products, the world's largest direct seller of cosmetics, is set to cut 2,400 jobs. The company has announced that the plan, announced in November 2005, will cost $30m (£15m) more than had been expected. However, once the plan is implemented, it will save around $430mn a year. Avon has presence in more than 100 countries through five million representatives. Now, the company plans to move its manufacturing to countries where wages are lower.
Source: 08-01-08 news.bbc.co.uk



Virgin Cabin Crew Calls Off Planned Strike
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew has apparently reached a pay deal with the company management, thus calling off the planned 48-hour walkouts. The two-year deal comprises a 4.8% pay increase, followed by a rise in line with inflation. Earlier, Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson had told staff who had threatened to strike to quit and look for work elsewhere. Management and union representatives blamed prolonged negotiations for damaging the relationship between the airline, cabin crew and the union. Sir Branson conceded that rival airlines have often offered better basic wages, but claimed that they did not offer the perks that came with working for a smaller, more friendly company.
Source: 08-01-08 news.bbc.co.uk



HMIL Elevates Mr Arvind Saxena As Senior VP
Hyundai Motor India Ltd has promoted Mr Arvind Saxena from Vice President for sales and marketing to the position of Senior Vice President, markting and sales. Mr Saxena has 23 years of experience in the automobile industry, both in the two-wheeler and four-wheeler sectors.
Source: 07-01-08 DNA Money



Ms Neerja Bhatia Is New Etihad India Manager
Ms Neerja Bhatia has been appointed the country manager for India operations by Etihad Airways. She joined Etihad in 2004 as sales manager for western India. She was instrumental in the launch of Etihad Airways flights to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. Her appointment is being seen as a part of Etihad’s expansion plans in India.
Source: 09-01-08 DNA Money


Mr Vikaas Sachdeva To Head Business Development At Bharti AXA Investment
Bharti AXA Investment Managers Private Ltd has appointed Mr Vikaas Sachdeva as country head- business development. Bharti AXA is the asset management joint venture between AXA Investment Managers, AXA Asia Pacific Holdings and Bharti Ventures. Mr Sachdeva is an old hand in the financial services area and brings to the table 16 years of experience in marketing and distribution of financial products.
Source: 09-01-08 DNA Money


Mphasis Names Mr Jeya Kumar As New CEO
Mr Jeya Kumar has been named the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of Mphasis, a majority owned subsidiary of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Mr Michael Coomer, Executive Vice President of EDS, Asia Pacific Region, will be the Chairman of Mphasis replacing Mr Jerry Rao. Mr Rao will be the Chairman of EDS’ Asia Pacific Advisory Board.
Source: 09-01-08 Hindu Business Line



ExLService Gets New Global HR Head
Mr Amitabh Hajela has been appointed as Vice President and Global Head of Human Resources by the Nasdaq-listed BPO company ExLService Holdings Inc. Prior to EXL, Mr Hajela was with Dallas based chemical company, Celanese Corporation. At Celanese, he led the talent acquisition and review process in the US, Europe and China.
Source: 09-01-08 Hindu Business Line



Gulf Firm To Hire 20,000 Indian Workers And Professionals
Nasser S. Al Hazri Corp, the Gulf-based industrial contracting and oil refining company will hire around 20,000 Indian workers and professionals in the next six months. The company is expanding operations in Gulf as it has signed several multimillion dollar contracts with various international clients. Currently, the company has a headcount of over 35,000, including about 28,000 Indians. The company is planning to recruit about 1,000 fresh engineers from India. In all, the company will recruit 45 different categories of workers who will mostly be based in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Source: 10-01-08 www.sify.com


Compiled by Amresh Anjan

HR Headlines, Jan.2008

Foreign IT Companies Account For 15% Of Indian IT Workforce
Today, Information Technology (IT) multinationals in India account for an estimated 14-15 per cent of the Indian IT work force. The major IT MNCs alone-IBM, Accenture, Capgemini, EDS, HP and ACS- employ over nine per cent of the Indian IT-BPO manpower. IBM has shown the fastest growth with its workforce in India growing by around 37.3 per cent to touch 73,000. In fact, IBM stands as the fourth largest employer among all IT firms in India. Over the next three years, IT MNC hiring is expected to more than double year-on-year. Hiring at this pace is bound to raise stiff competition for talent and make talent shortage more acute.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



India R&D Sector Witnessing Reverse Brain Drain
According to top officials in Indian National Science Academy, around 30,000 scientists and researchers have returned to India to be absorbed in various organizations in the last three years. The positive trend has been witnessed with the advent of research and development in the private sector. With more than 300 companies setting up their R&D centres here, India is fast becoming a global R&D platform. This has thrown up a plethora of opportunities for the young students who need not leave the country for better jobs, Even the government is taking steps to create a pool of scientific talent in national universities. The government intends to create three more centres like the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in -- Poona, Kolkata and Mohali.
Source: 22-12-07 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


Companies Digging Into Untapped Pool Of Talent
Rising attrition and a dearth of quality human resources due to the fast developing economy has led companies to search for talent in unexplored areas. More and more companies are now hiring housewives, ex-army men, sophomores and physically challenged people to add to their manpower. As new age employees are changing jobs at a faster pace now, it has become increasingly difficult for companies to hunt for professionals and the bigger challenge is to retain them. Many companies are now trying to reform their faulty and monotonous human resources policy and induction system to contain attrition.
Source: 28-12-07 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


The India HR Summit 2008 “Targeting Excellence – The HR Way” In Delhi
Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, is organizing ‘The India H R Summit 2008 – Targeting Excellence: The HR Way’ on January 12, 2008 at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi. The eminent speakers at the event are Dr. Santrupt B Misra, Director, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd, Dr. Pritam Singh, Professor of Eminence, MDI, Dr. Prakash V Bhide, President – Corporate HR, J K Group, Mr P. Dwarakanath, Director - Human Capital, Max India, Mr S. Y. Siddiqui, Executive Director HR, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Mr G. P. Rao, Head HR & IR (Polyster Sector), Reliance Industries Ltd, Mr Narendra Nath Akhouri, Sr. VP-HR, Hero Honda Motors, Dr. Shalini Sarin, Head – HR, Cairn Energy India PTY Monica Mudgal, VP – HR, Max New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Mr Alok Sheopurkar, Head HR, HDFC Asset Management Company Limited, Mr Ashok Grover, Chief Human Resource Officer, JBM Group and Mr Biju Sebastian, Head – Corporate HR, Salora International.
Source: 28-12-07 Birla Institute of Management Technology Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Companies Helping Employees Prioritize Their Lives Better
These days, more and more companies are offering their employees flexible working hours and home working options in a bid to help them prioritize their lives better and create a balance between professional and personal lives. By dropping their rigid stance on work timings, companies are hoping to increase productivity of employees and chek attrition. IT companies like Infosys and TCS started the trend and now non-IT companies such as publishing firms, HR companies, media houses and advertising agencies too are following suit. Procter and Gamble has gone a step ahead by letting employees work up to two days a week from home and to facilitate this has also volunteered to set up their ’residential work stations’.
Source: 24-12-07 www.livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


OM Careers to Host World’s First Online Marketing Careers Conference in Delhi
OM Careers, a non-profit, online marketing careers community, is organizing OMCAR 2008, an online marketing careers conference on 12th January in New Delhi. This event is coupled with unique Job Clinic opportunity for organizations to hire right online marketing talent. This is a unique opportunity for those organizations who are struggling to hire online or search marketing talent. India’s leading online marketing companies such as Pinstorm, Communicate2 and Quasar Media have already confirmed their participation as Job Clinic partners.
If you also want to be a Job Clinic partner, please visit http://conference.omcareers.org/job_clinic.asp or contact Pradeep Chopra at 9810762902 or write to pradeep.chopra@omcareers.org
Source: 30-12-07 Company Bureau Compiled by Amresh Anjan


Govt To Reshuffle Top Management In PSU Banks
Come 2008 and the government will restructure the top management teams in the country's leading 11 public sector banks (PSBs), 10 of which are listed on the stock exchanges. Nine new chairmen and managing directors and 17 executive directors will be appointed following the retirement or transfer of the current incumbents in 2008. The current Union Bank chief Mr M V Nair will take charge of Bank of Baroda with Chairman and Managing Director Mr A K Khandelwal retiring in March. The incumbent Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Maharashtra will move to Union Bank. In the first week of January, the Financial Services Department will conduct an interview of executive directors for selection of new CMDs in nine banks. The banks are Canara Bank, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijay Bank, United Bank, Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank, Central Bank and Bank of Maharashtra.
Source: 24-12-07 www.rediff.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan



DMA Summit On ‘Compensation & Benefits – Going Global’ In Delhi
DMA is organizing a two day high profile Summit on ‘Compensation & Benefits – Going Global’ on 11-12 January, 2008 at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The Summit will facilitate a diagnostic comparison between the existing and the emerging trends in C & B practices both locally and globally, for divergent industry segment. The eminent speakers invited for the summit are Mr Amit Chincholikar, Mr Pavan Bhatia, Mr Sanjay Singh, Mr A Sudhakar, Mr Chandan Chattaraj, Mr Gopi Nambiar, Dr Y V Verma, Mr Shantanu Banerjee, Mr V C Agrawal, Mr G K Agarwal, Mr G Ohja, Dr A K Balyan, Mr Aquil Busrai, Dr C S Ventakaratnam, Dr Pritam Singh, Mr Jagdeep Khandpur, Mr Mark Thompson and Mr P Dwarakanath, eminent consultants from Price Waterhouse Coopers, Hewitt Associates and Ma Foi.
For further registration/sponsorship, please contact Mr Rajan Pandhi, Assistant Director, DMA, Mobile 9810877615, 24629555, 26629552, Email: dmadelhi@sify.com or dmadelhi@ndb.vsnl.net.in .
DMA Website : www.dmadelhi.org
Source: 27-12-07 DMA Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Tax Paid By Employer Is Non-Monetary Benefit In Kind: Tribunal
The income tax that an employer pays on behalf of its employee is a non-monetary benefit in kind and, therefore, exempt from tax. A special bench of the Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal gave this ruling following a petition of a company called RBF Rig, which paid salaries to some employees net of tax as the employer had borne the taxes. This ruling will benefit multinational companies operating through liaison and sales offices and unregistered Indian companies. Some of these companies are known to bear the tax costs for their employees. However, registered companies are not allowed to bear tax costs on behalf of their employees under law.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Shell Awarded For Empowering The Disabled
The national award for ‘Empowering People With Disabilities’ has been awarded to Shell India Marketing. The award came in recognition for empowerment of persons with disabilities as an employer. The award was presented by the President, Smt Pratibha Patil, to the Chairman, Shell Companies in India, Mr Vikram Singh Mehta.
Source: 22-12-07 www.thehindu.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan



HeadlinesSEBI To Increase Its Officers Strength
Capital market regulator SEBI is expected to hire about 100 professionals in 2008 in a bid to increase its officers' strength. Recently, USAID had reported that SEBI lacks enough skilled manpower. Presently, the regulator employs 535 people including 403 officers. Sebi is looking to recruit more as part of its ongoing policy of inducting professionals from business and law schools. Recently, SEBI had embarked on a major training programme for all its employees where all categories of employees were imparted training in managerial effectiveness.
Source: 23-12-07 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


Chevron To Hire IIT Engineers
The energy giant, Chevron Corp of US has set its eyes on the engineering talent pool in India. The company plans to hire young engineers from Indian Institutes of Technology for its worldwide operations. The company plans to hire 6,000 engineers globally and will soon join campus interviews at IIT Kanpur and Chennai, according to Mr Jeet S Bindra, President, Chevron Global Refining. Presently, the company employs 58,000 people across 180 countries. This is for the first time that the US energy giant would be visiting the campus of any Indian engineering college.
Source: 28-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



FBT On ESOPs To Be Paid By Subsidiary Of Foreign Companies
The finance ministry has issued a circular clarifying that the local subsidiary of a foreign company is liable to pay the fringe benefit tax (FBT) on shares allotted to Indian companies. The securities would come under FBT purview even if they are allotted by foreign holding company to Indian employees.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Govt Struggling To Find Right Talent For WB Funded Project
The government has failed to attract the right talent for its prestigious World Bank-funded capacity building programme in the food and drugs sector in the country. The government has already established world-class infrastructure and institutional framework like drug and food testing laboratories and state-of-the-art facilities for drug regulatory officials but it does not have talented people to carry out the regulatory functions. The human resource crunch is hampering the timely implementation of the programme. Apart from the talent crunch, the much-hyped online networking of drug regulatory offices is yet to be operational.
Source: 21-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Govt Looking For New Air India Chief
Mr V Thulasidas', the incumbent Chairman and Managing Director of National Aviation Company of India Ltd, which runs the merged Air India is due to retire in March next year. But the government has already began search for a new head. It has posted an advertisement on Civil Aviation Ministry website, which invites applications from officers of the level of Additional Secretary or equivalent, Lieutenant General in the Army and equivalent levels of the Navy and Air Force subject to their cadre clearance. The responsibility of the CMD is to oversee all activities of the company, which has about 33,000 employees and operates 140 aircraft.
Source: 25-12-07 www.dnaindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


PSU Banks Looking To Hire Specialists
With new generation private sector institutions, the public sector banks have realized the need to hire specialists to man different positions right from the lower order of clerical positions. Top officials at these banks feel that the traditional recruitment method of filling the clerical positions through a common test for all graduates is unable to cater to the operational needs of many a bank as these graduates generally have poor understanding of a balance sheet, inefficient front-office management and non-friendly approach to customer service. Thus, they feel that the need of the hour is to attract talent from specialist pool.
Source: 26-12-07 www.thehindubusinessline.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


Goldman Sachs Awards Record $68 mn Bonus To CEO
Even as mortgage losses Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns chiefs to forgo year-end payouts, Goldman Sachs Group awarded its Chief Executive Officer Mr Lloyd Blankfein a record $67.9 million bonus in 2007. While Mr Blankfein, 53, will receive $26.8 million in cash, and $41.1 million in restricted stock and options, co-presidents Mr Gary Cohn, 47, and Mr Jon Winkelried, 48, will each receive restricted shares and options valued at about $40.5 million, up from $25.7 million last year. This is consecutively for fourth year that Goldman shattered Wall Street profit records even as banks and securities firms including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co were forced to take huge writedowns.
Source: 24-12-07 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan


Alcatel-Lucent Rejigs Organizational Structure
French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent has appointed Mr Vivek Mohan as President for India operations as part of a major organisational restructuring. Mr Mohan has been a part of Lucent Technologies since 2001 and after the company’s merger with Alcatel, he has been heading services business for Alcatel-Lucent in South Asia. Mr Ravi Sharma, who is currently heading the South Asia business including India, has been promoted as advisor to Mr Frederic Rose, President of Europe, Africa and Asia (EAA) business. In his new capacity, Mr Sharma would support the business in South and South East Asia, and India in developing and implementing a sound and profitable strategy to accompany Asian operators in these markets.
Source: 27-12-07 www.sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Mr Narasimhan To Be New Chairman For Lanka IOC
Mr S. V. Narasimhan has taken over as Chairman of Lanka IOC from Mr Sarthak Behuria who resigned recently. Mr Narasimhan joined Indian Oil Corporation in 1975. A chartered accountant and a management expert by profession, Mr. Narasimhan has over three decades of experience of working in the oil sector. He held the position of Director in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd before joining IOC as Director (Finance) in 2005.
Source: 25-12-07 www.ptinews.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Siemens India Appoints New MD
Siemens India has appointed Mr Armin Bruck as its Managing Director, w.e.f January, 1, 2008. Presently, Mr Bruck is a whole time director on the board of Siemens Ltd and looks after the energy business. Mr Bruck will succeed Mr Juergen Schubert.
Source: 26-12-07 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Coca Cola appoints Mr Krishnakumar As COO
Mr T Krishnakumar has been appointed the new Chief Operating officer (COO) of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd. Mr Krishnakumar joined the company in 2004 and worked out of Mumbai as the Senior Vice President, Central Region. However, in his new role, he will be based out of Gurgaon and oversee the national manufacturing, corporate sales and all regional operations.
Source: 24-12-07 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Mr Emani Quits Wipro Ltd
Mr Ramesh Emani has resigned from the post of President of Telecom and Product Engineering Solutions division of Wipro Ltd. Mr Emani will now pursue interests outside Wipro. His place at Wipro will be filled by Mr Sudip Nandy, who has over 24 years experience in Wipro. He has excellent understanding of the product engineering business and has also served as the Chief Strategy Officer of Wipro Technologies in the past.
Source: 25-12-07 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Mr Gaincarlo’s Exit Puts Cisco’s Succession Plans In Trouble
For long, Cisco Systems had seen Mr Charlie Giancarlo, development officer, as the successor to Mr John Chambers, Cisco’s Chief Executive. However, these succession plans have been put in turmoil following Mr Giancarlo’s resignation. He is leaving to become a managing partner at Silver Lake, the private equity group. His departure has left Cisco without a clear successor. However, Mr Chambers has indicated that the position is most likely to be filled by somebody from within at the same time not ruling out an external candidate.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Mr Banka To Be CEO Of AV Birla PE Fund
A part of the old guard and head of AV Birla Group’s corporate finance, Mr Bharat Banka, will now head the company’s private equity (PE) fund. Mr Banka has playeda key role in the company’s acquisitions of Ultratech Cement and Idea Cellular. Private Equity foray is the first venture where AV Birla Group has not joined hands with any foreign partner. The PE fund would primarily be a growth fund and invest in companies that offer growth opportunities in the long term.
Source: 22-12-07 Hindustan Times Business Compiled by Amresh Anjan



BT Appoints Mr Sudhir Narang As MD For India Operations
Mr Sudhir Narang has been appointed as the Managing Director of British Telecom’s India operations. In his new capacity, he will lead BT’s global services strategy, improving presence and spearheading services in India. Becoming a core member of the Asia Pacific regional executive team, he will be reporting to Mr Allen Ma, President, BT Asia pacific.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan



Mr SK Mitra Appointed Additional Director To Hexaware Board
Hexaware Technologies, provider of IT and BPO services, has appointed Mr S K Mitra as an independent director and a new member to the board of Hexaware. Mr Mitra has rich professional experience, having worked for companies such as Bank of India and Standard Chartered Bank. He also enjoys association with several reputed companies as an independent director and advisor.
Source: 22-12-07 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan