PATHBREAKERS 1


HDFC Bank’s managing director Aditya Puri is sharp, aggressive, demanding and sharply focused on the bottom-line. He is gregarious, informal and loves a good laugh. But don’t let that fool you. If HDFC Bank is among the most consistently profitable banks in the country today, it is because...

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SBI chairman AK Purwar has taken on the challenge of turning a banking behemoth into a nimble-footed and tech-savvy entity. After a brief stint as a lecturer in Business Administration at the Allahabad University, Arun Kumar Purwar opted to become a banker. He soon realised that he had...

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Ashank Desai figures prominently among those who grasped the opportunity after Indian entrepreneurship was unshackled in the 1990s When history notes how Indian entrepreneurship was unshackled after the 1990s, Ashank Desai will figure right up there as one of those who grasped the opportunity...

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Dr Jagdish N Sheth internationally known for his work on consumer behaviour, relationship marketing, competitive strategy etc. Dr Jagdish N Sheth, 68, is internationally known for his work on consumer behaviour, relationship marketing, competitive strategy and geo-political analysis. Now a...

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In the brief history of the Internet, Ram Shriram occupies a pivotal role. But his entry into the tech world was more a matter of chance. In the brief history of the Internet, Chennai-born Ram Shriram occupies a pivotal role. Yet, he is an MBA and not an engineer; in fact, his entry into the...

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RC Sinha, 70, is among those rare IAS officials who have managed to truly serve public interest, in each of their postings. RC Sinha, 70, is among those rare IAS officials who have managed to truly serve public interest, in each of their postings. If that meant finding daring solutions that...

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Mukesh Ambani explains the clear thought process behind the Reliance group’s decision to move beyond its polyester business If Dhirubhai Ambani was a larger-than-life patriarch and Anil was the public face of Reliance, Mukesh was an enigma. Those who knew him well credited him with leading...

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Satish Magar found a unique way of extracting full value from his ancestral farmland by converting it into a model township. Satish Magar, 47, is an interesting combination -- he comes from a political family, with landowner background but had an urban, Western education. He then opted for...

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Prof Man Mohan Sharma is one of India’s most decorated teachers and a global figure in the world of chemical engineering. Prof Man Mohan Sharma, who recently turned 70, is one of India’s most decorated teachers and an internationally renowned figure in the world of chemical engineering. He is...

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There’s plenty to learn from Geet Sethi—a hugely talented, persevering, sensitive, successful and thoughtful person. A lot has changed in India over the past three decades. Shortages of everything have disappeared and jobs are aplenty for those with minimum qualifications. Not only is India...

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Dr Vijay P Bhatkar is an acclaimed initiator of the electronics revolution in India and a renowned global leader in computing Dr Vijay P Bhatkar, 61, is an acclaimed initiator of the electronics revolution in India and a renowned global leader in computing. Of his many path-breaking...

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Meeran Borwankar, Mumbai’s first woman Joint Commissioner of Police, has shattered an important glass ceiling In a city that is the playground of gangsters like Chhota Rajan, Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem, not to mention continuous threats of terrorist attacks, Meeran Chadda Borwankar, Mumbai’s...

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In a business that is completely dominated by MNCs, Sam Balsara’s Madison Advertising has gone from strength to strength In a business that is completely dominated by multinationals, the small-built Sam Balsara stands tall and independent. As one advertising agency after another succumbed to...

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Sudhakar Prabhu has built the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the Jeejeebhoy Towers that houses the Bombay Stock Exchange. Frischmann Prabhu -- announces a small board at the start of a dirty lane in Prabhadevi in Mumbai, flanked by tightly-huddled hutments. Down the uneven lane is a massive...

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After a brilliant career at HLL, Keki Dadiseth now wants to be associated with businesses that will “challenge the grey cells” India is now the centre of global attraction. And if there is one manager who is at home at a time like this, it is Keki Dadiseth. He studied chartered accountancy in...

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If India is emerging as a global platform for R&D today, the process began at the NCL, Pune, and the credit goes to RA Mashelkar. It is not for nothing that he is called the “Warrior of Haldighati”. Dr Raghunath (Ramesh) A Mashelkar, 65, led the challenge against the attempt to patent haldi...

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Jignesh Shah was an employee of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Today he runs one of the 10 largest commodity exchanges in the world. Ten years ago, Jignesh Shah was an employee of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Three years ago, he was running a small software company called Financial Technologies...

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Rakeysh Mehra has gone from being a sportsperson, to ace salesman, to advertising man and, finally, went into making films. Eureka Forbes’s loss is clearly the gain of Indian cinema. Rakeysh Mehra’s roller-coaster life and its myriad experiences translated into a path-breaking movie that has...

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Glenn Saldanha, a serious, highly focused and confident young man, seems extremely certain about his company’s growth path. Five years ago, Glenmark was a small formulations company, the bulk of its revenues coming from India. Today, it is a radically transformed company focused on daring new...

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For Hafeez Contractor, India’s best-known architect, it has been a long struggle to make it in India, rather than stay on in the US Hafeez Contractor. 57, is clearly India’s best-known architect. This is partly because he is amazingly prolific and can work almost anywhere and is also very...

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