Hottest Young Executives in India 2011

Age is on their side, they are successful, they make things happen. The seventh Business Today listing of the country's finest managers under 40.

Abhijit Avasthi, 39, National Creative Director, Ogilvy India

BEEN THERE
The first campaign in which he worked was 'A Day in the Life of India'
DONE THAT
In 2010, his team's effort, Cadbury's Shubh Aarambh ad, won an award
ANECDOTE
Has sold sarees to dyeing material to ad ideas
REACH FOR THE SKY
Cleared the exams for becoming an Air Force pilot but poor eyesight let him down

Aditya Ghosh, 36, President, IndiGo

BEEN THERE
Was General Counsel of InterGlobe Group at 28, President of IndiGo at 32. IndiGo has zoomed past heavyweights like Jet Airways, Kingfisher
DONE THAT
While studying law, he worked with legal eagle Jyoti Sagar
A-HA MOMENT
When IndiGo's first flight took off in 2005-06; and last year, when IndiGo was named the travel industry's best employer
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
Be accessible to employees

Arijit Ghosh, 40, Country Head, Defence & Space, Honeywell India

BEEN THERE
Served in the Indian Foreign Service. At McKinsey & Co, worked on B2B strategies
DONE THAT
Created strategies in India that support the needs of other emerging markets
A-HA MOMENT
The civil services had an aura of impossibility... Joining it changed my career from an engineering track to a general one and helped me understand people
THE LINGUIST
Speaks Japanese and Chinese fluently

Hari V. Krishnan, 33, Country Manager, LinkedIn

BEEN THERE
LinkedIn's first hire in the Asia Pacific region
DONE THAT
Grown LinkedIn from a one-man show to three units handling front end consumers, advertisers and recruiters
ANECDOTE
Quit career in the US and headed home, on an INSEAD professor's advice
FITNESS
Adventure sports junkie, trained scuba diver

Harsh Chitale, 39, CEO, HCL Infosystems

BEEN THERE
At 32, became the youngest-ever Managing Director of Tata Honeywell
DONE THAT
Drives HCL's ability to handle large projects
A-HA MOMENT
Secured admission into IIM Ahmedabad twice, but figured on-the-job learning would be better
LOVES TO SING ALONG
So much that he hosts karaoke parties at home, with a vintage cathode ray tube television set

Jagdish Mahapatra, 38, Vice President, ITS Sales, India & SAARC, Cisco

BEEN THERE
Grown Cisco's Linksys business, increased home consumers threefold in 18 months
DONE THAT
Transformed the unit that handles IT services firms
ANECDOTE
Built a manufacturing outsourcing business at Larsen & Toubro as a young engineer
FITNESS
Power yoga, pilates, kickboxing are part of his 5 a.m. workout routine under a personal trainer
 

Kavitha Nair, 37, VP, Enterprise Marketing, Vodafone Essar

BEEN THERE
Went from heading a single circle with a telecom firm to heading Vodafone's national marketing
DONE THAT
Rolled out the Orange rebranding campaign in a week
A-HA MOMENT
When the pug and young boy clicked and created an iconic ad series
FITNESS
On a rediscovery of her fitness: into half marathons and cycling

Kirthiga Reddy, 39, Director, Online Operations, and Head, Facebook India

BEEN THERE
In 2000, she was the youngest director of engineering and the only woman in this role in her team at Silicon Graphics in the US
DONE THAT
Started Facebook India operations from the ground up
A-HA MOMENT
As Facebook India's first employee, she had to actually open the office shutters on Day One

Madhu Kannan, 37, CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange

BEEN THERE
Named Young Global Leader in 2007 by the World Economic Forum, was Senior Vice President at NYSE Euronext
DONE THAT
From May 2009, the BSE has been on a technology drive
ANECDOTE
When the BSE launched its mutual funds platform, a senior broker told him he had brought back the glory of the bourse
FITNESS
Job leaves him no time

Manish Mohnot, 39, Executive Director, Kalpataru Power Transmission

BEEN THERE
Has grown Kalpataru into a diversified group
DONE THAT
Expanded Kalpataru from a five-country operation to a 30-country business
A-HA MOMENT
Bagged a $225 mllion deal in Kuwait, beating larger rivals
FITNESS
Squash, cricket with friends and chess with his eight-year-old son

Nikhil Patil, 34, Creative Head, Commercials, Pixion

BEEN THERE
Worked on international commercials for McDonald's, 7UP
DONE THAT
Many things, but Happydent Wave commercial was memorable
ANECDOTE
We were in a jungle trying to shoot with 11 tuskers. Everybody was trying to train them. Finally, we shot with seven. The rest were computer generated
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS
Uses public transport to get around

Rakesh Kaul, 37, Business Head, Citi Wealth Advisors

BEEN THERE
In 13 years at Citi, he has worked across six businesses
A-HA MOMENT
When, in October 2004, Kaul was deputed to implement Citi Financial's Consumer Finance & Auto Business in six countries across the Asia-Pacific region. He was 32 then
FITNESS
Has run over 100 marathons in the past five years. Runs at least 50 km a week

Renny Thomas, 37, Partner, McKinsey & Co.

BEEN THERE
Has worked with clients across North America, Europe and Asia. Leads the corporate finance and strategy practice in India
DONE THAT
High point was in 2006 when he became a partner
ANECDOTE
Once, at a steel plant, he had to interact with employees almost 30 metres under the ground. "It was an unbelievably steep learning curve," recalls Thomas
FITNESS
Loves football, but no treadmills please

Sameer Kamdar, 37, Against the Grain CEO, ASK Investment Managers

BEEN THERE
The poster boy of the mutual funds industry, he brought in institutional investors
DONE THAT
Has doubled assets under management since he took over ASK Investment Managers in 2010
ANECDOTE
Bagged a rare Sunday appointment with N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys to initiate research coverage
FITNESS
Gym for an hour, on weekdays

Sanjay Sharma, 37, Director, Swarovski Elements, Swarovski India

BEEN THERE
Set up Swarovski Elements, the business-to-business division
DONE THAT
Exceeded sales targets by 32%
in 2010
ANECDOTE
On his first visit to South India, a client refused to believe Sharma was the Swarovski head because he was just 27
INTERESTS
Golf, skiing, swimming, designing

Sanket Akerkar, 38, MD, Microsoft India

BEEN THERE
His role has been enterprise focused, identifying areas that will create business value
DONE THAT
Dealt with people problems
ANECDOTE
I was 24, working with McKinsey & Co. When I introduced myself to a client, he asked: "When did you graduate from kindergarten? Yesterday?"
My response: "No, two days ago"
FITNESS
Was a dirt-biking enthusiast in the US. In India, plays golf and squash

Shalini Pillay, 39, Executive Director, Advisory Services, KPMG

BEEN THERE
Graduated from industry-specific consulting to solution-centric consulting
DONE THAT
Led year-long integration of large Indian banking and telecom M&A deals
A-HA MOMENT
In 2008, when she became the youngest female partner at KPMG India, breaking the glass ceiling
FITNESS
Thrice a week to the gym, pushed by her fitness-conscious husband

Soumya Goswami, 40, Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine, The Oberoi Group

BEEN THERE
Helped set up premium properties, including the Nile Cruiser Zahra
DONE THAT
Set up the Patisserie at The Oberoi, New Delhi, and helped with the Trident Gurgaon launch
ANECDOTE
At Rajvilas, Bill Clinton told me my apple pie was better than what he gets back home. That felt great as the apple pie was born in America
DON'T GIFT HIM
A cookbook. He has 600 of them

Sundeep Sikka, 37, CEO, Reliance Capital Asset Management

BEEN THERE
Led by Sikka, Reliance Mutual controls 14 per cent of the industry assets under management
DONE THAT
Kept Reliance Mutual Fund profitable despite the sweeping changes in the sector
A-HA MOMENT
In 2006, when Reliance overtook UTI Mutual Fund to become India's largest
FITNESS
Day begins with an hour at the gym

Sunish Sharma, 36, Managing Director, General Atlantic

BEEN THERE
In 1999, when the Indian information technology industry was nascent, his team at McKinsey & Company had said it would grow business to $50 billion in 10 years
DONE THAT
Working on developing the Young India Fellowship, on the lines of the Rhodes Scholarship
A-HA MOMENT
When McKinsey made an offer on Day 1 of placements at IIM-C, in five minutes. He had been grilled the previous day, Day 0 of placements
FITNESS
Cycles to work when he is in Mumbai. You can see him on his Trek bike, gifted by his wife this February on their wedding anniversary

Uday Sareen, 40, Country Head, Retail Banking, ING Vysya Bank

BEEN THERE
Was in the Citibank team that launched Suvidha in India
DONE THAT
Transformed ING Vysya from a south India-based bank into a national player
ANECDOTE
Had to sit down to fiery meals with chilli traders in Guntur to win their trust and business
OTHER PASSIONS
Theatre, right from his BITS, Pilani, days. Many of his friends from those days are now in the movies

Viren Rasquinha, 30, COO, Olympic Gold Quest

BEEN THERE
Played hockey for India in 180 international matches over eight years. Also played at the Athens Olympics in 2004
DONE THAT
Put together the idea of a programme to back India's top athletes
A-HA MOMENT
When Manipur's Nanao Singh won the boxing gold at the National Games after recovering from surgery. OGQ had backed Singh
FITNESS
No hockey at all, but some badminton