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Tag: Bharti Enterprises

  • Sunil Bharti Mittal, Prathap C Reddy & Amitabh Kant honoured at the Business Today MindRush & Best CEO Awards

    Sunil Bharti Mittal, Prathap C Reddy & Amitabh Kant honoured at the Business Today MindRush & Best CEO Awards

    Mumbai: Like every year, the Business Today MindRush and Best CEO Awards, a much-awaited event for India, recently concluded with much pomp and fervour, with the who’s who of India Inc. in attendance. Hosted by the India Today Group, the event serves as a pivotal platform for industry stalwarts, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to converge, exchange ideas, and recognise outstanding achievements in business leadership.

    The annual event, known for its robust discussions on emerging trends and challenges in the business landscape, witnessed the captains of India Inc. across sectors coming together to share insights and experiences. This year’s BT MindRush was no exception. There were several thought-provoking sessions at the event. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, said that the time had come for the Indian private sector to shed some of its inhibitions and to accept global challenges, which were “low-hanging fruit for them”.

    In another session, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said that the country could not only grow on the back of services. “It has to grow in manufacturing, services, sustainable urbanisation, and also agricultural productivity,” he said. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise executive vice chairperson Preetha Reddy said there was an urgent need to transform healthcare into a fundamental right, aligning it with education, while Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, in a message for young Indian entrepreneurs, said that India was a country of possibilities and opportunities. Federal Bank MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasan said that India was witnessing a Cinderella moment in terms of banking and economy, while ITC Ltd chairman & MD Sanjiv Puri, highlighted the resilience of India, adding that consumer demand should be back in a couple of quarters.

    The highlight of the event was the felicitation of this year’s awardees of the prestigious BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking, where a distinguished panel of industry experts picked the winners awards after a rigorous process.

    This year, telecom tycoon Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, was honoured as the “Business Icon of the Year”, symbolising resilience and visionary leadership in the face of challenges. The jury also picked India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant as the “Impact Leader of the Year”, a special award underscoring his significant contributions to the country’s economic growth and global stature. Another distinguished awardee was healthcare pioneer Dr Prathap C Reddy. The visionary founder chairman of Apollo Hospitals was honoured with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his unparalleled dedication to healthcare and innovation.

    Winners were recognised across diverse sectors of Indian business, including infrastructure, healthcare, consumer goods, IT, energy, and more. The awardees included Kushal N Desai, CMD of APAR Industries, Satyanarayana Chava, founder & CEO of Laurus Labs, and Sunil Vachani, executive chairman of Dixon Technologies (India), among others. Meanwhile, Satish Pai, MD of Hindalco Industries, won in the category of super large companies; Sanjiv Puri, CMD of ITC Ltd for large companies; and Abhyuday Jindal, MD of Jindal Stainless, in the mid-sized category.

    The event also celebrated emerging companies and leaders who are shaping the future of the Indian business landscape. Naresh Jalan, MD of Ramkrishna Forgings, and Pradeep Gaur, CMD of RVNL, were among the distinguished awardees. Business leaders were also recognised for demonstrating exceptional leadership qualities and resilience. Patanjali G. Keswani, CMD of Lemon Tree Hotels, won the “Resilient CEO” award, while K.P. Ramasamy, Chairman of KPR Mill, received the award for “Glocal CEO”.

    Exemplary achievements in deal-making and disruptive innovation were recognised, with LTIMindtree CEO & MD Debashis Chatterjee, receiving the “Best Deal” award, while OfBusiness co-founder & CEO Asish Mohapatra won in the “Unicorn” category.

    India Today group chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie also spoke on the occasion, outlining that while India had made progress on many fronts, there was more work to be done in moving from a regulatory mindset to that of facilitation. He lauded the efforts of the winners in creating enterprises that India can be proud of.

    The special issue of Business Today on India’s Best CEOs was also unveiled at the event.

  • Business Today MindRush & BT Best CEOs Awards: Building resilient & sustainable businesses in a changing world

    Business Today MindRush & BT Best CEOs Awards: Building resilient & sustainable businesses in a changing world

    Mumbai: Business Today MindRush, the flagship annual business event of the India Today Group, is set to be held in Mumbai on Saturday, 9 March, 2024. Renowned as one of India’s most esteemed thought-exchange platforms, MindRush brings together top business executives, entrepreneurs, thinkers, and experts to share insights, strategies, and successful leadership traits in an era of dynamic change.

    In keeping with tradition, Business Today MindRush will also feature the winners of the BT-PwC India’s Best CEO Awards, which honours the exceptional leadership of some of India’s top business executives. The awardees are selected by a distinguished group of business professionals to recognise India Inc.’s innovative leadership. A special edition of Business Today that includes in-depth stories about the winners, highlighting their creative approaches and significant contributions to the business world, will be released on the occasion.

    The Business Today MindRush platform will play host to some of the most influential voices in business, offering invaluable insights into entrepreneurship, innovation, and excellence that define India’s economic landscape. A stellar line-up of speakers, including luminaries such as Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises; Sanjiv Puri, CMD of ITC Ltd; Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise; and Jinal Mehta, MD of Torrent Power promises to keep attendees immersed in thought-provoking discussions on changing paradigms in business and economy.  Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, will also be in attendance and highlight the government’s vision for economic growth and urban development. 

  • Meta onboards Dilpreeta Vasudeva as head of marketing – business messaging

    Meta onboards Dilpreeta Vasudeva as head of marketing – business messaging

    Mumbai: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp parent-company Meta has appointed Dilpreeta Vasudeva as the marketing lead for business messaging (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger).

    Prior to joining Meta, she worked as the founder of CMO Access. Previously, Vasudeva headed marketing at Jio Studios, before helming marketing transformation and financial services at Bharti Enterprises.

    An ISB Alumna, Vasudeva has worked alongside senior leadership teams of MNCs & Indian conglomerates garnering experience across more than seven categories & functional disciplines of marketing. She held a stint as head of digital marketing at Tata Play previously. Vasudeva has also worked with conglomerates Microsoft, Times Internet, Tech Mahindra and Radisson.

    Vasudeva took to LinkedIn to make the announcement, with the caption, “Meta Metamates Me.” She wrote: Stoked to join as the Marketing Lead for Business Messaging at Meta – WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger.

     

     

     

  • Bharti AXA Life Insurance ropes in Vidya Balan as brand ambassador

    Bharti AXA Life Insurance ropes in Vidya Balan as brand ambassador

    Mumbai: Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA insurance on Tuesday announced that it has roped in Bollywood actor Vidya Balan as its brand ambassador. 

    The National Award-winning actor embodies the core values of Bharti AXA Life Insurance and will help deepen the narrative of #DoTheSmartThing championed by the brand, stated the company. 

    “Vidya Balan has been a challenger in her field, expressing herself authentically and has always questioned stereotypes,” said Bharti AXA Life Insurance MD and CEO Parag Raja. “She has excelled in bringing compelling and unique narratives to life on screen and is self-made, reliant, and audacious- values that strongly resonate with Bharti AXA Life as a brand. We believe in long-term relationships and are excited to bring Vidya on board to further our goal of broadening life insurance penetration across India.”

    Speaking on the association, Vidya Balan said, “Bharti AXA has always been committed to simplifying insurance and empowering Indians to making smarter and savvier financial choices. I am extremely excited to represent the brand and help them further their manifesto of #DoTheSmartThing. It is heartening to see how the company has raised the bar of serving customers and constantly advocates for securing their financial futures. I look forward to the association and kicking off our engagement.”

    Bharti AXA Life had announced a new brand purpose last year, which centres on making insurance simple for customers in a complicated world.

    “We are excited to bring Vidya on board and look forward to an enriching partnership with her. We believe that our association will help us strengthen awareness around the category and build a more meaningful and purpose-driven connect with our customers,” commented Bharti AXA Life Insurance head of marketing Geetanjali Kothari.

    Over the past year, Bharti AXA Life Insurance has made strategic investments in digital platforms to enhance customer experience and facilitate seamless services. The company plans to expand on the back of strategic partnerships and by increasing its distribution footprints across the country.

  • Satellite remains an essential element of video distribution: AVIA

    Satellite remains an essential element of video distribution: AVIA

    Mumbai: The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) hosted its annual satellite industry forum on 18 November as a virtual conference.

    The forum opened with a look at satellite trends and forecasts post-Covid with Quilty Analytics senior analyst Caleb Henry. The traditional satcom industry continues to be in a state of rapid change, and still in a state of turmoil. While the industry is currently dominated by a handful of major players, this could also change dramatically over the next five years as new technologies and standards reset the competitive landscape. And despite the impact of Covid-19, there has been no let-up of interest in investment into the space industry with $5.5 billion in collective proceeds from all 13 space SPACs.

    AVIA was also privileged to host Stephen Spengler for his final keynote before he steps down as CEO of Intelsat. Spengler had spoken at the satellite industry forum for his first keynote as CEO in 2015, hence it was fitting the forum was his final address as well.

    While the industry continues to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible, it has yet to reach its full potential in fulfilling its essential role in the global telecommunications landscape. With digital video making up 70 per cent of internet traffic, satellite remains the essential and enabling technology, with the ubiquity, reach, and economics to serve the networks.

    Spengler’s outlook on industry trends for Asia remains positive, with linear and pay-TV distribution still a driving application for the Asia Pacific region, with a growth rate of 2.5 per cent per year. Spengler was also excited about 5G being a huge enabler and game-changer. With satellite fully integrated into the 5G world, it will make solutions and services more seamless, interconnected, and economical.

    Wrapping up his keynote address, Spengler shared Intelsat’s mission to unify the global telecoms ecosystem of the future. The vision requires all satellite and terrestrial technologies, networks and providers, and solutions and services to be unified as one global ecosystem. “If we focus on our customers, the people who benefit from a more connected world, that is success for the next year and beyond,” said Spengler.

    Asia Pacific’s leading satellite operators also shared similar positive sentiments despite the move from broadcast to streaming. MEASAT COO Yau Chyong believes that satellite will still be the main platform to deliver video services nationwide in Malaysia, and it is the platforms themselves who are transforming their services to include streaming. Hence broadcast and streaming will complement each other, with linear still having a role to play, and streaming alongside it. Similarly in Australia, despite a plethora of streaming services available, Optus head of satellite and space systems Nick Leake still sees the same requirements for satellite to go out for at least another ten years. The greatest issue for Asia Pacific remains one of scale, in order to provide reliable networks to serve the customers, added AsiaSat CEO Roger Tong. Tong believes that moving forward, creating more partnerships between competing satellite operators is important, especially when regulatory restrictions on consolidation remains a key challenge in the region.

    Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman and OneWeb executive chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal also joined the forum this year for a keynote conversation on the space business in India. With the holy grail of low latency, high speed, and sufficient capacity resolved by NGSOs, it has become a solution that works for the new world and into the future. 5G, too, is seen as a game-changing technology for Mittal, with its extremely low latency a boom for industry applications. However, Mittal also noted that while NGSOs will have an important role to play in the 5G ecosystem, it will only be at the periphery of supporting 5G ambitions. Mittal also shared OneWeb’s vision to connect all areas of the world, from oceans to aviation. “In 5 years’ time. . . there should not be anybody in the world that is not connected,” said Mittal.

    The satellite industry forum is generously sponsored by AsiaSat, Eutelsat, Hughes, Intelsat, Marsh and Maxar.

  • Mahesh Kanchan takes charge as FieldFresh Foods CEO

    Mahesh Kanchan takes charge as FieldFresh Foods CEO

    Mumbai: FieldFresh Foods, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises & Del Monte Pacific Ltd, on Monday announced the elevation of Mahesh Kanchan to the role of chief executive officer (CEO), with effect from 1 October.  

    In his new role, Kanchan will be focusing on further strengthening the Del Monte brand, the product portfolio, and the distribution network to cater to the emerging needs of the consumer, said the company in a statement. 

    “On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to congratulate Mahesh on his elevation and wish him the very best for his new role. I am confident that under his leadership FieldFresh Foods will prosper into a leading next-generation consumer products company,” said Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman and FieldFresh Foods chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal.

    Kanchan, who previously served as chief commercial officer with FieldFresh Foods, takes over from Yogesh Bellani who has decided to pursue opportunities outside of the company.

    “I would like to thank Yogesh for his exceptional leadership over the past one decade and for building a strong foundation for the next phase of our growth journey. Most importantly, under his leadership, Del Monte has become a household name in India,” Mittal further said.

    Kanchan, who has over two decades of experience in the FMCG space, joined FieldFresh Foods in 2020. He has played a pivotal role in creating growth opportunities for the Del Monte brand in the B2C segment as well as navigating the business during the pandemic. 

  • Siti Networks appoints Sanjay Berry as CFO

    Siti Networks appoints Sanjay Berry as CFO

    MUMBAI: Siti Networks Ltd, a sister company of Zee group, has appointed Sanjay Berry as the chief financial officer of the company.

    The new CFO Berry was working as the corporate financial controller with Bharti Enterprises. Berry has been handling finance function with expertise in financial management, compliance and internal controls. In his 25 years of work life, he had varied experience with Computer Sciences Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Patni Computer Systems, HCL Technologies and Arthur Andersen & Associates.

    Siti Networks got its new sobriquet earlier this year. Prior to this it was known as Siti Cable Network Ltd.

    It has gained respect from the cable community and is reputed to have a robust business model. In August this year, got board approval to raise up to $100 million through the issuance of securities.

    Siti Networks has chalked up improved financials in its latest quarter financials. It reported a 23.6 percent and 2.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in operating revenue and EBIDTA including other income for the quarter ended 30 September 2106 (Q2-17, current quarter). The growth in revenue was led by a 33.3 percent y-o-y growth in restated subscription revenue on net billing basis of Rs 135.3 crore (46.8 percent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to Rs 101.5 crore (43.4 percent of TIO) reported for the corresponding year ago quarter.

    The company’s cable TV customer base was stable at 1.22 crore in the current quarter as compared to the immediate trailing quarter. The company had 1.07 crore cable customers in Q2-16. The company says that is now present in 400 plus locations in India serving a total digital subscriber base of 87 lakh customers. For the last quarter the company had reported a digital subscriber base of 84 lakh and 59 lakh for Q2-16.

    Broadband revenue increased 167.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 24.9 crore (8.6 percent of TIO) in the current quarter from Rs 9.3 crore (4 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.

    By bringing in Berry who has a telecom background Siti Networks has indicated that its focus on the broadband sector is likely to increase as well that it is working on putting in place more rigorous financial processes in its operations.

  • Siti Networks appoints Sanjay Berry as CFO

    Siti Networks appoints Sanjay Berry as CFO

    MUMBAI: Siti Networks Ltd, a sister company of Zee group, has appointed Sanjay Berry as the chief financial officer of the company.

    The new CFO Berry was working as the corporate financial controller with Bharti Enterprises. Berry has been handling finance function with expertise in financial management, compliance and internal controls. In his 25 years of work life, he had varied experience with Computer Sciences Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Patni Computer Systems, HCL Technologies and Arthur Andersen & Associates.

    Siti Networks got its new sobriquet earlier this year. Prior to this it was known as Siti Cable Network Ltd.

    It has gained respect from the cable community and is reputed to have a robust business model. In August this year, got board approval to raise up to $100 million through the issuance of securities.

    Siti Networks has chalked up improved financials in its latest quarter financials. It reported a 23.6 percent and 2.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in operating revenue and EBIDTA including other income for the quarter ended 30 September 2106 (Q2-17, current quarter). The growth in revenue was led by a 33.3 percent y-o-y growth in restated subscription revenue on net billing basis of Rs 135.3 crore (46.8 percent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to Rs 101.5 crore (43.4 percent of TIO) reported for the corresponding year ago quarter.

    The company’s cable TV customer base was stable at 1.22 crore in the current quarter as compared to the immediate trailing quarter. The company had 1.07 crore cable customers in Q2-16. The company says that is now present in 400 plus locations in India serving a total digital subscriber base of 87 lakh customers. For the last quarter the company had reported a digital subscriber base of 84 lakh and 59 lakh for Q2-16.

    Broadband revenue increased 167.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 24.9 crore (8.6 percent of TIO) in the current quarter from Rs 9.3 crore (4 percent of TIO) in Q2-16.

    By bringing in Berry who has a telecom background Siti Networks has indicated that its focus on the broadband sector is likely to increase as well that it is working on putting in place more rigorous financial processes in its operations.

  • Gulf Oil presents LEADER TALK with Steve Waugh and Rajan Mittal

    Gulf Oil presents LEADER TALK with Steve Waugh and Rajan Mittal

    NEW DELHI : At a time when India is looking for young and dynamic leadership in all spheres, CNN-IBN, in association with Gulf Oil, brings you LEADER TALK, a unique new talk show that will explore the ever-evolving aspects of leadership, be it in a corporate boardroom or in a sports arena.

    This week, IBN Network Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai talks to legendary former Australia cricket captain Steve Waugh and Rajan Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Bharti Enterprises. On the show, Mittal talks about evolving and taking charge as a leader, especially in times of adversity. Waugh talks about leadership on the cricket field where it is important to not only work hard as an individual but also to be able to integrate yourself into a team and work towards a common goal.

    The show will be aired on Sat, Aug 24 at 12:30 PM, followed by a repeat telecast on the same day at 10:30 PM and on Sun, Aug 25 at 10:00 AM and 7:30 PM only on CNN-IBN.
    More details on this series can be viewed on www.ibnlive.com/leadertalk.