Category: Leaders

The long-running trademark tussle between real estate heirs Abhishek and Abhinandan Lodha has taken a personal turn, with their mother, Manju Lodha, stepping in to urge a resolution.

In a letter dated February 21, she reminded her sons of the 2017 family agreement, calling it the binding document that should settle their differences.

The conflict centres on the use of the ‘Lodha’ trademark, with Abhishek Lodha’s publicly listed Macrotech Developers suing House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) for alleged trademark infringement. Macrotech claims that HoABL has misused the Lodha name, creating brand confusion and misleading consumers.

The lawsuit, filed in the Bombay High Court, seeks ₹5,000 crore in damages. The legal case references two family agreements—2017 and 2023—both of which, according to Macrotech, establish that the Lodha name and all related intellectual property belong exclusively to Macrotech. The agreements state that Abhinandan must develop a distinct brand identity for his ventures, a condition he allegedly violated by applying for similar trademarks, bidding for the Lodha name on Google, and using the brand in advertisements.

In her letter, Manju reminisced about the brothers' childhood, when they were affectionately called "Ram and Lakshman," emphasizing their once inseparable bond. She issued six commandments, urging them to refrain from speaking ill of each other, avoid conflicts, acknowledge separate business ownership, make no financial demands from each other, respect business boundaries, and bring an end to all disputes while supporting each other’s growth. She stressed that the 2017 family agreement remains final, confirming that neither brother has any rights over the other’s business, assets, or shareholding.

Abhishek Lodha responded to his mother’s appeal, stating, “I respect my mother’s letter and will abide by it. The 2017 agreement clearly states that the Lodha real estate business and its IPR, including trade name ‘Lodha,’ is owned by, and will exclusively be used by, Macrotech / Lodha Developers. I wish my younger brother, Abhinandan, all success in his business. I hope that he brings an end to this dispute by implementing the 2017 agreement and starts using a distinct and separate identity which does not lead to any confusion with our highly recognised and valuable brand name—Lodha.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, was awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in recognition of his contributions to UK-India business relations on February 22.

The medal was presented at a formal investiture ceremony at the British High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi, attended by his family and close associates. The honorary knighthood was announced in 2024 with the approval of King Charles III.

Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said, “I was delighted to present Sunil Bharti Mittal the KBE medal on behalf of His Majesty the King. Mittal is a great friend of the UK – with significant investments, including BT, Gleneagles, Norlake Hospitality, and OneWeb. Mittal’s leadership has made a lasting impact on the UK-India partnership, including through his work with the India-UK CEO Forum. Most recently, he led a senior Indian business delegation to the UK to meet with Prime Minister Starmer, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor, and other Cabinet Ministers to identify opportunities for accelerating economic growth across both nations. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Mittal and congratulate him once again.”

Receiving the honour, Mittal said, “It is an honour to have received the KBE from His Majesty, King Charles III. As India and the United Kingdom continue to chart remarkable scale in our bilateral relations, I acknowledge this recognition both as a privilege and a responsibility. I remain committed to working with stakeholders in our nations towards advancing India – UK business relations. On the occasion of this very special milestone, I extend my gratitude to all for their support through this journey.”

Uday Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, expressed apprehensions regarding the future of India's economy due to a waning enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, which he refers to as a decline in economic 'animal spirits'.

He cautioned against a diminishing entrepreneurial zeal among younger business families who are increasingly inclined towards investment management over active business operations.

Speaking at Kotak Institutional Equities' investor conference, Chasing Growth 2025, Kotak pointed out a significant shift in mindset among young business heirs. "What concerns me is that many in this generation are taking the easy way out, especially in the post-Covid world. They claim to be managing family offices and investments, trading in the stock market, allocating funds to mutual funds, and treating it as a full-time job," he said. He added: "If someone has sold a business, they should be thinking about starting, buying, or building another business. Instead, I see many young people saying, 'I'm running my family office. They should be creating real-world businesses. Why not start from scratch?"

Kotak raised questions about why individuals aged 35 or 40 were not directly contributing, despite recognising the significance of startup funding. "I would love to see this generation be hungry for success and build operational businesses. Even today, I firmly believe that the next generation must work hard and create businesses rather than becoming financial investors too early in lif

He also voiced apprehension about over-financialisation in the Indian economy. He warned that over-reliance on financial instruments could potentially harm the economy, as uninformed investors pour their savings into equities without considering their true valuations. 

"Should we continue encouraging retail investors to keep buying? Retail investors in India are funneling money into equities daily, contributing to domestic institutional flows. Money from individuals from Lucknow to Coimbatore is flowing to Boston and Tokyo," he said, noting that foreign companies were taking advantage of high valuations to book profits and repatriate funds. According to Kotak, the US dollar is behaving like a vacuum pump, draining capital from emerging markets due to the rise in US Treasury yields exceeding 4.5%. Indian stock valuations continue to be notably higher than the majority of global markets. He emphasised that there has been a shift in the dynamics of capital flows, signaling a need for adaptability in the economic landscape.

He further emphasised that India must steer clear of protectionist policies and instead focus on leveraging the changing global market conditions to enhance the competitiveness of the Indian industry. The Economic Survey for 2024-25 also highlighted over-financialisation and observed that such a phenomenon has resulted in unprecedented levels of public and private sector debt in developed economies.

Viraj Bahl, Veeba Foods founder and managing director and Shark Tank India season 4 judge, recently shared his take on the 90-hour work week debate. Bahl said that making people work for such long hours is "utter nonsense". He said that he himself works more than that because he is the biggest beneficiary of Veeba's success.

"I think this 90-hour work hour, 90-hour work week, and 70-hour weeks is utter nonsense. I mean it is so wrong, I work more than that, but I am also the biggest commercial beneficiary of the success of Veeba." Bahl said at an event earlier this month. He added that it only makes sense to make people work this hard if business owners and/or companies share the same level of commercial benefit with their employees.

"Either I share the same commercial benefit with all the 2,500 employees that I have or do not expect them to work for 70 hours. I am very clear about that." His take concurs with that of his fellow Shark Tank India judge and Emcure Pharmaceuticals executive director Namita Thapar.

She said that expecting employees to invest excessive work hours is a "crock of bull***". Thapar mentioned that while founders and high-level stakeholders have a huge financial incentive to put in long work hours but expecting the same from employees is not only unreasonable but also harmful.

She also mentioned that when Emcure went public, the company was valued at $3 billion. "Obviously, we could work 20 hours a day, which is what we all do. But the employee? Emcure has 10,000 employees. My accountant, for instance, is making a salary. He doesn't have the same financial upside of putting in that kind of hours.

Instead, he'll face serious physical and mental health issues," she said. Some of India's corporate giants have advocated for long working hours to boost productivity and growth. While Infosys' Narayana Murthy suggested a 70-hour work week, Larsen & Toubro chairman SN Subrahamanyan went a step ahead and suggested a 90-hour work week to employees including working on Sundays.

Last year, Ola's Bhavish Aggarwal supported 70-hour work week and said the concept of holidays on Saturdays and Sundays was brought from the West and should not be there in India.

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.