Category: Leaders

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet has been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and the treatment is likely to last 12-16 weeks, according to a Moneycontrol report. However, the CEO will continue to look after the day-to-day operations of the IT services and consulting firm during the treatment.

“I was very recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The good news is that the prognosis from my doctor is excellent; the cancer was caught early, and my condition is curable,” Sweet reportedly told Accenture employees in an internal email. Scans have confirmed that there was no evidence of cancer elsewhere in the body, her letter added. After a surgery next week, Sweet's further treatment would involve radiation. Accenture is one of the largest IT services employers with around 3 lakh staff in India."

As stated in the memo Julie sent to our people, her prognosis is excellent, the cancer was caught early, and her condition is curable. She will work substantially as normal, and continue to lead the day-to-day operation of the company," Moneycontrol reported citing an Accenture spokesperson. However, she will curtail travel during the period. Accenture’s Board has been briefed and is fully supportive of the developments.

 “We have an incredible Global Management Committee, supported by our amazing teams around the world. I am confident that we will continue to do what we do best- deliver 360° value for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities,” Sweet's mail read further. Sweet was appointed Accenture CEO in September 2019.

Previously, she served as chief executive officer of Accenture's business in North America, the company's largest geographic market. She also serves on the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees.

Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran was awarded the Knighthood 'Most Excellent Order of the British Empire', the UK government announced Friday. Chandrasekaran won the civilian award for his services to India and UK business relations.

Chandrasekaran thanked King Charles III after receiving the recognition. "I am deeply humbled by this prestigious recognition, for which I am grateful to His Majesty, King Charles," he said. "We are incredibly proud of our iconic British brands like Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley. We employ more than 70,000 people in the UK," he said, adding that the Tata Group will continue to work for a strong strategic relationship with the UK across the domains of technology, consumer, hospitality, steel, chemicals, and automotive sectors.

 Bharti Enterprises’ Sunil Bharti Mittal has also been conferred Knighthood in the same category. Knighthood is among the highest civilian awards bestowed by the British sovereign.

Foreign nationals receive it as an honorary award. The other foreign nationals who have been conferred with the British awards in 2024 include former Google CEO and chairman Eric Schmidt, Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund co-founder Dagmar Dolby, Harvard University Economics Professor Jason Furman and Rajinder Dhatt, founder member, Undivided Indian Ex-Servicemen’s Association, among others. Chandrasekaran, popularly known as Chandra, was appointed to the top role at Tata Sons in 2017 following the ouster of Cyrus Mistry. He joined the Board of Tata Sons in October 2016.

Chandra is also the first non-Parsi at the helm of Tata Group. Prior to being appointed as the Tata Sons chairman, he had a 30-year stint at TCS, of which he was the CEO from 2009-17.

In 2023, Chandrasekaran was also awarded France’s highest civilian honour, the ‘Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur’ (Knight of the Legion of Honour). He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2022.

Nita Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, will deliver a keynote address at the Annual India Conference at Harvard University on February 15 and 16. The event will feature over 1,000 delegates discussing India's global influence in business, policy, and culture. Nita Ambani's speech will address India's traditions and economic impact.

The conference is expected to attract over 1,000 delegates including global leaders and scholars, to discuss India's expanding role on the world stage in business, policy, and culture. Nita Ambani plans to emphasise how India's rich traditions, artistic achievements, and economic progress influence global discussions, aligning with the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the world is one family. 

Joining Nita Ambani for a fireside chat is Nitin Nohria, a renowned academic and former Dean of Harvard Business School. The discussions will prominently focus on India's art and culture and their role in the modern world. This year's conference theme, "From India to the World," celebrates India's journey as a global contributor and recognises the impact of Indian innovations, ideas, and voices in fostering peace and prosperity globally.

The India Conference at Harvard, a significant event for over 22 years, serves as a platform for prominent leaders to explore India's influence on global affairs, touching on technology, climate action, economic growth, democracy, diplomacy, and cultural exchanges. 

Nita Ambani is recognised as a strong advocate for India's cultural diplomacy and was acknowledged by Forbes in 2016 as one of "the most influential women business leaders in Asia." In the same year, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman to be a member of the International Olympic Committee, further highlighting her significant contributions to international relations and sports. 

The Annual India Conference at Harvard has established itself as a premier forum, bringing together experts from business, economics, education, and culture to engage in critical discussions on India's global impact. By fostering dialogue and cultural exchange, the conference aims to enhance understanding and cooperation between India and the global community.

When the will of Ratan Tata was unsealed, it contained all the expected elements—substantial philanthropic commitments, family considerations, and meticulous distributions. But one name stood out, raising eyebrows across India’s business and social circles: Mohini Mohan Dutta.

A relatively obscure entrepreneur from Jamshedpur, Dutta has been left over ₹500 crore, according to The Economic Times. His inclusion has sparked intrigue, not least because Tata, who passed away in October 2024, was famously private about his personal affairs.

Who is Mohini Mohan Dutta? What role did he play in Tata’s life? And why did he receive one of the largest individual bequests in the will of one of India’s most revered industrialists?

Dutta, now in his 80s, reportedly first met Ratan Tata in the early 1960s at the Dealers’ Hostel in Jamshedpur. At the time, Tata was a 24-year-old navigating his way through the sprawling family empire. That meeting shaped the trajectory of Dutta’s life.

“We first met in Jamshedpur at the Dealers’ Hostel when Ratan Tata was 24. He helped me out and really built me up,” Dutta said at Tata’s funeral in October 2024.

Dutta’s professional journey intertwined with the Tata Group. After starting his career with the Taj Group, he founded Stallion Travel Agency, which merged with Taj Services, a division of the Taj Group of Hotels, in 2013. Tata Industries held an 80% stake in the business before Tata Capital acquired and later sold it to Thomas Cook (India). Dutta remains a director at the rebranded TC Travel Services and holds shares in Tata Group companies, including Tata Capital, which is preparing for a public listing.

Dutta, the report adds,  was more than an associate, an adopted son, it goes further to elaborate. However, the will and its accompanying codicil explicitly state that Ratan Tata never married or legally adopted children.

Dutta’s connection to the Tata family extends beyond business. His daughter worked with Tata Trusts for nearly a decade after beginning her career at Taj Hotels. He was also a guest at Tata’s birth anniversary commemoration at Mumbai’s NCPA in December 2024, an event attended by the most trusted names in the Tata ecosystem.

Despite his deep ties, Dutta’s inheritance has triggered murmurs of discontent. As per the will, he is entitled to one-third of Tata’s residual estate, which includes bank deposits exceeding ₹350 crore and proceeds from auctioning personal belongings such as paintings and watches.

The remaining two-thirds go to Tata’s half-sisters, Shireen Jejeebhoy and Deanna Jejeebhoy, who, alongside Tata Trusts trustees Darius Khambata and Mehli Mistry, are also executors of the will. However, sources cited by The Economic Times reveal that Dutta expects his inheritance to be worth ₹650 crore, a figure that does not align with the executors’ current estimates.

Tata’s half-brother Noel Tata and his children are conspicuously absent from the will, while Jimmy Tata is set to receive ₹50 crore. While The Economic Times has reported extensively on the matter, BT could not independently verify the claims regarding the inheritance estimates or the exact terms of Tata’s will.

As the will awaits probate in Bombay High Court, questions swirl around this unexpected bequest.

Bryan Johnson, tech millionaire, anti-aging influencer, and founder and CEO of Blueprint, said in a podcast with Nikhil Kamath, that money is a nightmare. He said that money colours everything and all relationships. Prashanth Prakash, Founding Partner of Accel India, founder of BioPeak and Longevity India, argued that money brings in the liberty to do whatever one wants. 

In the latest episode of ‘WTF is with Nikhil Kamath’ podcast, Johnson said, “When I made money, I wish somebody would have given me advice like…let me just sit you down and tell you – money is a nightmare. It is, on so many levels. It warps all of your relationships, like every person in your life. It’s like you have three people in your relationship, you, your money and the person, you are in a polyamorous relationship.” 

He elaborated this with the example of the relationship between an uncle and a niece. “Your niece has a birthday party and it is customary for a $10 gift. Your niece is like, ‘oh my rich uncle can certainly afford a $500 gift’,” said Johnson, adding that if you give a $10 gift they would argue about what you are doing and why you are not giving them a $500 gift.

“Or you are out with friends for dinner and the cheque comes, and everyone’s eyeballing each other and it’s like ‘why didn’t you grab the cheque, you have the most amount of money?’ So it is like it colours everything. It gets more complicated with stuff like dating,” said Kamath.

Nikhil Kamath asked Bryan Johnson if he could have it another way, with no money and no importance that comes with it, would he prefer it. 

“If that were the case, I would rationalise it in my mind and make a case for it. I think in any situation we are all going to make the argument that whatever situation we are in now is the best situation,” said Johnson. He said given a choice of being either a millionaire who gets a lot of attention vs someone who did not make that kind of money, he would “flip a coin”. 

Prashanth Prakash said, “But remember, the independence that you have now and your ability to kind of define and redefine and do things your way, would you still be able to do it without money?” 

Johnson replied, “I am calling bullshit on myself. If you ask this open-ended, suggestive question of this parallel life without money, we are all going to just make shit up.” 

Anupam Mittal, Shark Tank India judge and the founder-CEO of Shaadi.com, looked back at his investments on Shark Tank India so far. In a recent conversation, he spilled the beans on the returns he's yielded on some of his investments. 

Mittal said at a podcast that initially, people poked fun at founders during the first season of the show but as of now, he is invested in 5 Shark Tank India companies.

He mentioned that all of these companies have an annual revenue run rate of more than ₹50 crore.

Looking back at Shark Tank India season 1, Mittal said: “Let me tell you honestly about the first season, without holding my words, no one wanted to come on Shark Tank. People would make fun of us. Nobody wanted to come, not as sharks, not as founders,” he said.

He further said the very people who looked down took back their words as the show became highly successful. Mittal mentioned that he initially thought people who are not funded by venture capital firms would only come on the show such as family entrepreneurs and mom and pop shops.

Anupam noted that now, everyone has understood that Shark Tank can change the game and now everybody wants to be a 'shark' or an investor on the show. He also said that he saw it as "desh sewa" and not an opportunity to make money when the show. 

“Previously, I thought that I won’t make any money on Shark Tank because the best companies won’t come here but I told myself that let’s think of it as ‘desh sewa’ so as long as I break-even, maybe it is worth my time. Now, I have five Shark Tank companies in my portfolio that are doing more than Rs 50 crore annual revenue run rate. I never expected that.”

In season 1, Mittal invested around ₹5.4 crore across 24 companies whereas in season 2, he invested in 25 businesses. Details of his investments in season 3 are not publicly available yet. Some of his top investments on the show are Skippi Ice Pops, Sunfox Technologies, CosIQ, Thinkerbell Labs, and InACan. 

Anil Agarwal’s journey from a small office in Kalbadevi to becoming the chairman of Vedanta Group is a story of relentless ambition. 

Recalling his early days in Mumbai, Agarwal in a post shared how he dared to dream big despite limited resources.

“When I first came to Bombay, I was living near Cotton Exchange near Kalbadevi. My first business partner had a small office there, and that’s where it all began. Life was simple, but my dreams were not,” Agarwal wrote.

Despite financial constraints, he set his sights on buying a flat—not in the suburbs, where most advised him to look, but in Malabar Hill, near Peddar Road, where Mumbai’s elite resided. 

“Sapne bade the, lekin bank mein sirf ₹75,000 the,” he recalled.

Eventually, he bought a 330 sq ft flat in Navranga Apartment. “It was a small 330 sq ft flat, but it felt like my biggest achievement. That house wasn’t just bricks and walls, it was my belief that I was moving in the right direction.”

Reflecting on his journey, Agarwal emphasized the power of perseverance. “Looking back, I’ve learned one thing; life is all about dreaming big and believing in yourself. Start small, work hard, and never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot achieve. Dream it. Believe it. And one day, you will live it.”

As Vedanta prepares to announce its Q3FY25 results on January 31, investor sentiment remains positive. The stock rose 1.62% to an intraday high of ₹437.60 before paring gains to ₹433 by 1:20 PM. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 0.31% at 76,772.32.

Vedanta’s earnings are expected to reflect strength in its base metals segment, with analysts predicting a 6-7% quarter-on-quarter increase in EBITDA. Higher aluminum and zinc prices are likely to support this growth, while the oil and gas segment may see a decline due to lower volumes.

Sridhar Vembu, the founder of Zoho Corp, has stepped down as the CEO of the software company, marking a significant leadership transition for the tech giant. In a post on X, Vembu announced his decision to take on the role of Chief Scientist, redirecting his focus toward research and development.

"A new chapter begins today," Vembu wrote. "In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission."

The leadership baton has now been passed to Zoho’s co-founder, Shailesh Kumar Davey, who steps into the role of CEO. Vembu explained that this restructuring is a strategic move to ensure the company can tackle pressing technological challenges while maintaining its competitive edge.

Under this new structure, Zoho’s leadership will be divided across its core business divisions. Co-founder Tony Thomas will oversee Zoho’s US operations, Rajesh Ganesan will lead the ManageEngine division, and Mani Vembu will head the Zoho.com division.

Vembu, who is widely recognized for his commitment to sustainable development and uplifting rural economies, emphasized that his shift to a research-intensive role aligns with the company’s broader priorities. "The future of our company entirely depends on how well we navigate the R&D challenge," he said. "I am looking forward to my new assignment with energy and vigor. I am also very happy to get back to hands-on technical work."

The announcement highlights Zoho’s focus on navigating the evolving tech landscape, especially with the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. 

India’s borrowing habits are reaching dangerous territory, warns Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO of Zerodha.

Small-ticket personal loans and credit card borrowings are on the rise, often driven by aggressive marketing from fintech apps. Kamath pointed to a disturbing trend: “The defaults among this segment that can't afford to take loans are starting to increase. These delinquencies started to show up in the numbers of banks and NBFCs a couple of quarters ago. We’ll get to know the true extent of the problem in the next few quarters.”

Kamath shared CRIF data that shows how personal loans in India now total ₹13.7 lakh crore. Public sector banks hold 38% of this burden, followed by private banks with 33% and NBFCs with 24%.

However, it’s the meteoric rise in small-ticket loans—many under ₹10,000—that raises serious concerns. NBFCs dominate this segment, issuing 94% of such loans, and their share of new lending grew to 38.7% in the first half of FY25, up from 33.2% last year.

“The lowest hanging fruit and the most bang-for-your-buck thing you can do with your personal finances is to pay off all your high-interest loans, including credit cards,” Kamath advised. 

Small-ticket loans are particularly problematic. Among borrowers with loans ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000, nearly 29.3% experienced a drop in credit scores within six months of borrowing. Alarmingly, instead of slowing down, these individuals borrowed 62.7% more, increasing their total debt by 37.6%.

He also highlighted the psychological toll of debt: “If you are in debt, the psychological effects will show everywhere…from your personal life to your workplace.”

Small-ticket loans are particularly problematic. Among borrowers with loans ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000, nearly 29.3% experienced a drop in credit scores within six months of borrowing. Alarmingly, instead of slowing down, these individuals borrowed 62.7% more, increasing their total debt by 37.6%.

Defaults are rising faster in smaller cities, where the percentage of overdue loans in the 31-to-180-day range jumped from 6.8% to 8% in a year. Loans under ₹10,000 have seen defaults over 360 days surge to 39.7%, compared to 24.5% last year.

Kamath reflected on his personal experience: “The worst times in my life have been when I owed money for spending it on things I didn’t really need. The first lesson of personal finance is to borrow only when you are sure that it can earn a return more than the cost of money.”

These trends are happening against the backdrop of a broader credit market expansion. The unsecured business loan segment, for instance, has grown by 43.5% in the past year, hitting ₹7.8 lakh crore. But delinquencies are also rising in this category, especially in smaller towns where economic growth hasn’t kept pace with credit expansion.

Kamath’s advice rings clear: “Ensuring you get out of debt has to be the first thing you do, even before you save and invest.” 

Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, sparked a debate with his advice for youngsters to work 70-hour weeks. On Monday, he reportedly clarified that no one can dictate such a commitment — it’s a personal choice that demands introspection, not public discourse.

Reflecting on his own career, Murthy shared, “I used to get to the office at 6:30 am and leave at 8:30 pm. I’ve done it for 40-odd years. That’s a fact.” Speaking after delivering the Kilachand Memorial Lecture at IMC, he added, “These are not matters for debate. They are deeply personal decisions. No one can say, ‘You should or shouldn’t do it.’”

Murthy’s remarks come amid growing discussion on work-life balance, heightened by L&T Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan’s recent call for 90-hour workweeks. Murthy framed the conversation in stark terms: the moral responsibility to uplift the nation’s poor. 

“A child in poverty can only have a better future if I work hard, work smart, generate revenue, and pay taxes,” he said.

He drew from Max Weber’s sociological work to emphasize that hard work, discipline, and ethical values drive national success. 

For India, where 60% of the population relies on free foodgrain programs, he argued, such efforts are not just personal — they’re essential for economic strength.

Murthy also addressed concerns about capitalism’s credibility, citing corporate greed as a root cause of public distrust. “We need compassionate capitalism—fairness, transparency, integrity, and putting society’s interests ahead of personal gain,” he said. 

He urged business leaders to embrace this ethos for their own survival, warning that corporations cannot thrive in societies that fail.

On questions about the lavish lifestyles of corporate leaders, Murthy declined judgment, saying, “If no law is broken, it’s their right to spend their money as they see fit.” However, he reiterated that civil societies prioritize improving life for future generations, calling on corporate India to adopt a long-term, socially responsible approach.