MAM
Brand-comm Survey ’05: Murthy most admired business leader
MUMBAI: Infosys chairman and chief mentor Narayana Murthy has emerged as India’s most admired business leader, for the 4th consecutive year, in a survey conducted by Brand-comm. The management students of 12 leading management institutes across the country who participated in the survey admire Mr. Narayana Murthy for being a visionary that he is, and for his value systems.
Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group, occupies second position in the list of most admired business leaders. Interestingly, Ratan Tata had a much lower rating last year. All the management students who chose Ratan Tata admire him for his leadership qualities. Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Technologies follows closely, occupying the third position.
According to the study, the Ambani sons seem to have dropped in the popularity charts. The others mentioned in the survey include leaders like Sunil Mittal, Kumaramangalam Birla, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Vijay Mallya, Ram Dorai, Vivek Paul. Surprisingly no new names were cited by significant numbers over the last 4 years.
Ramanujam Sridhar CEO Brand-comm said, “Branding is a long term phenomenon. Narayana Murthy has consistently stood for values and ethics that management students (and investors) admire. He also demonstrates the value of personal branding. It has been our constant endeavour to track and learn about admired personal and corporate brands. It will make us happy, if Brand-comm annual study provides insights to marketers as well as Advertising and PR agencies.”
The B-School students participating in the study named Infosys and Tata as the two most attractive Indian companies to work for. HLL, which occupied the top rank last year, has slipped to the third place. Both Infosys and Tata were chosen for providing the best work environment and work culture. Interestingly, this year, consulting firms like McKinsey and Boston Consulting are considered as the preferred choice of IIM students.
Tata Group was named as the “most admired corporate brand with operations in India”. Infosys follows Tata in this category. As much as 14 foreign corporate brands have been mentioned as “the best corporate brand with operations in India”.
The study also reveals that a majority of the B-School students, who are next generation business leaders, have expressed their desire to become entrepreneurs rather than work for an organisation. This trend is fuelled by the success of leading entrepreneurs who have significantly contributed to the overall growth of the economy and serve as role models to future managers.
Pavan Padaki, Director – Creative Planning, Brand-comm, who has been the architect of this study for the past four years, said, “Consulting, Software/EDP, Banking/Financial Services, FMCG, followed by Investment Banking continue to be the top five industry sectors as a choice for immediate placement. The IIMs preference for “Consulting” is significantly higher when compared to the other B-Schools. Surprisingly, the much-hyped sectors like Telecom, Bio-Tech, Pharma /Healthcare, Insurance, BPO, Fashion, Retail etc. are yet to be attractive for the B-School students this year too. “
Every year Brand-comm undertakes annual B-School Study with the objective of getting an insight into business leaders and companies admired by the management students of the leading B-schools in India and to give a cross-sectional view of the psyche of B-school students, who are on the threshold of entering the corporate world. The idea is also to study the power of ‘personal branding’ in today’s business scenario.
12 business management schools (including 5 IIMs) participated in the study and a total of 309 final year B-School students responded to a self-filling questionnaire.
Brands
Safex Group appoints Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer
Former Standard Chartered executive to steer finance
NEW DELHI: Safex Chemicals has appointed Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company prepares for the next phase of expansion in specialty chemicals and global agrochemicals.
In her new role, Malhotra will lead the group’s financial strategy, capital architecture and governance framework as Safex scales operations across multiple verticals including branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing.
A chartered accountant and graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, Malhotra brings more than two decades of experience in business finance, strategic planning, corporate banking and client management.
Before joining Safex, she served as executive director, financial markets at Standard Chartered, where she led teams across India and Sri Lanka and worked closely with large corporates, global subsidiaries and commercial banking clients. Her expertise includes capital structuring, treasury operations, risk management and financial markets led financing solutions.
Safex Group promoter director and joint managing director Piyush Jindal, said the appointment comes at a pivotal time for the company. “Safex stands at an inflection point as we build an integrated platform across branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing. Richa’s experience across global financial institutions will strengthen our financial discipline and help unlock value across the group,” he said.
Malhotra said she was looking forward to contributing to the company’s next chapter of growth. “Safex has built a strong reputation over 35 years with its focus on integrity, innovation and agricultural insight. I am excited to be part of the organisation as it expands its footprint in India and global markets,” she said.
The appointment comes as Safex continues to strengthen its financial foundations and scale operations internationally, positioning itself for future growth milestones.
