Sitting in the sixth-floor conference hall in BP&rsquo;s headquarters in Central London on the afternoon of February 21 were two of the most powerful men in the world&rsquo;s energy business. One was the buyer and the other the seller. They were not at a negotiating table. That was all done and dealt with.

Newsmaker: Robert Dudley

Business Standard

HCL Techâ€™s new CEO would rather build on the legacy of his star predecessor to take the IT firm into the league of global biggiesYou expect a chief executive officer (CEO) in his second month in office to be in a hurry to reorder things a bit â€” more so if heâ€™s stepping into big shoes of a star predecessor. But I sense none of it in 47-year-old Anant Gupta, the new CEO of $4.2 billion HCL Technologies, as we settle down for lunch at Taipan at The Oberoi, New Delhi, writes Shailesh Dobhal. Gupta says he is a light luncher, and we decide on some soup â€“ hot and sour chicken for him and clear vegetable for myself â€“ Bengal Bekti in black bean sauce, noodles and some sticky rice.So, when did he realise he may have made the cut for the top job? â€œFrom the timing perspective, I have no view, but from the way my portfolio has been growing, itâ€™s been going on for a while.â€ Beyond the infrastructure management vertical that Gupta help build into

Lunch with BS: Anant Gupta

Newsmaker: Azim Premji

Family managements are coming of age in India, says a professional whose experience has mostly been in professionally managed multinationalsAfter a winter of notoriety for the city, meeting someone who feels good about being in Delhi is perplexing. But then, Ravi Uppal, managing director and chief executive officer of Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL), is a Delhi-bred professional who is enjoying a homecoming after three decades spent elsewhere, including in West Asia and Europe, writes Jyoti Mukul.But, in every other sense, the experience will be new for a man who has worked in a range of professionally managed multinationals and Indian conglomerates. Fast-growing JSPL is very much a family-managed business, promoted and chaired by a serving Congress Member of Parliament, Naveen Jindal. And Uppal came on board at a most challenging time â€” just as the group came under a cloud for possible collusive coal mine allotments and a sting operation against Zee TV that recor

Lunch with BS: Ravi Uppal, MD & CEO, Jindal Steel & Power

He is a control freak in the kitchenâ€”yes, he likes to buy his veggies and go through the entire drill of rustling up something nice for his boys  â€” but Rana Barua, the newly appointed chief operating officer at Contract Advertising, is a completely hands-off manager at work.â€œI like to delegate; if you hire a person and donâ€™t allow him or her to do his job, you would be cheating that person,â€ says Barua.Barua joins from Law & Kenneth and succeeds Umesh Shrikhande who left the agency after putting in 17 years. Shrikhande, along with Jagdip Bakshi, who preceded him, was credited with inculcating a culture of sound thinking and a value-based approach to doing business. Barua understands theirs will be a tough act to follow. â€œSee, there was a Contract of the 1990s and there was a Contract of the 2000s. And growth during these two phases happened in two different directions. Now the environment has changed and I can tell you itâ€™s time for Contract to cha

BS People: Rana Barua

The Board of Directors of General Electric elected Cognizant CEO Francisco Dâ€™Souza to its board of directors.

Cognizant CEO joins GE Board

It is perhaps his risk-taking nature, sometimes bordering on recklessness, that lands him in trouble. Just when Sanjay Chandra, managing director of Unitech, was getting back to doing what he knows best â€” real estate â€” heâ€™s hit the headlines again, and for all the wrong reasons. Chandra, 40, has denied any links with the taped conversation with CBI prosecutor AK Singh on the agency's trial strategy, but if the allegations of collusion between the two are true, repercussions could be serious.The investigative agency may seek cancellation of his bail that he had secured after seven months in custody in 2011 for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam when A Raja was the telecom minister.The alleged hobnobbing with the prosecutor is reminiscent of Chandraâ€™s networking with Raja and his men, both in the environment ministry and the department of telecom . CBI says Chandra would often meet Raja, the prime accused in the 2G case, when he was the environment m

Newsmaker: Sanjay Chandra

With the appointment of Mahendra Kumar Sharma, former vice-chairman of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, as an independent director of Wipro, it is clear that the tech giant wants to strengthen its corporate governance practices.

BS People: M K Sharma

A year ago, everybody complimented Manoj Tirodkar for his restlessness to grow and create value. Today, the same lot will turn around and say that is his millstone. At a dinner banquet last year at the Taj Mahal rooftop &ndash; after successfully concluding a merger between Aircel&rsquo;s towers and group company GTL Infrastructure &ndash; Tirodkar was hailed as sagacious, humble and hands-on by a motley bunch of suave bankers, analysts and media persons.

Newsmaker: Manoj Tirodkar

Ronnie Screwvala is an unconvincing media moghul. The founder and CEO of the Rs 664 crore UTV Group is erudite and completely nonchalant about discussing any issue whether it is regulation or media owners&rsquo; lack of vision.

Tea with BS: Ronnie Screwvala

In 2009-10, Prasar Bharati&rsquo;s revenues were estimated at Rs 1,050 crore. Its total operating expenses were Rs 2,200 crore. In the private sector, the CEO would have been sacked for this kind of performance and the company would have gone under.

Newsmaker: B S Lalli

Pramod and Vinod Mittal, the younger sons of Mohan Lal Mittal, have for years lived in the shadow of their illustrious elder brother, Lakshmi Mittal. It seems things will remain that way, going by the loss of their crown jewel, Ispat Industries.

Newsmaker: Pramod and Vinod Mittal

One of Pratip Chaudhuri&rsquo;s obsessions is to remain low profile &mdash; work quietly behind the scenes, as far away from the arc lights as possible. But the 56-year-old post-graduate in management will suddenly find himself at centre stage if his appointment as State Bank of India&rsquo;s (SBI&rsquo;s) next chairman is cleared by the appointments committee of the Cabinet.

Newsmaker: Pratip Chaudhuri

After stepping down as the managing director of United Spirits (USL), Vijay Rekhi is no less a busy man. With a 15-year stint as MD full of accomplishments, Rekhi is only out of operational activities of USL and will stay associated with the company as a mentor and advisor to determine its future course of action.

BS People: Vijay Rekhi

S D Shibulal, CEO and MD-designate of Infosys Technologies, is being seen as the harbinger of change at the country&rsquo;s second-largest IT software export company.

Newsmaker: S D Shibulal

Adani group recently became India&rsquo;s first port company to acquire a port outside the country &ndash; the Abbott Point Port in Australia.

BS People: Gautam Adani

His departure had been kept under wraps till the very end. The Rs 5,982-crore Tata Global Beverages (TBG) chose to reveal that its 52-year-old CEO Peter Unsworth had put in his papers on the day it announced its full-year results for 2010-11. Clearly, the attempt was to minimise the impact the news could have on the stock price. But the TGB stock did take a beating.

BS People: Peter Unsworth

On January 11 this year, the IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa landed in a way that violated all flying manuals. The rulebook says the larger rear wheels should touch the tarmac first, and then the small ones in front. Otherwise, the stress on the nose wheels can damage the aircraft and endanger the lives of passengers.

Newsmaker: E K Bharat Bhushan

He is Mr Dependable at British consumer goods maker, Reckitt Benckiser, and the candidate the company&rsquo;s board turned to in its hour of distress. Faced with the task of finding a suitable replacement for Bart Becht, the outgoing chief executive, Reckitt&rsquo;s board chose 52-year-old Rakesh Kapoor to succeed him last week. Until then, Kapoor had been the head of Reckitt&rsquo;s global category development, based out of the the company&rsquo;s Slough headquarters.

Newsmaker: Rakesh Kapoor

IT major TCS today said Rajesh Gopinathan will succeed S Mahalingam as the company's Chief Financial Officer

Gopinathan is new CFO of TCS

Media shy and a bit of a recluse, Basant Kumar Birlaâ€™s younger daughter, Manjushree Khaitan, suddenly found the spotlight on her when Kesoram Industries appointed her as the executive vice-chairman this week. While it appeared sudden, the signs of it coming had become obvious at least two years ago.In 2009, at the annual general meeting (AGM), it was a shareholder who first suggested Khaitan be made vice-chairman. It didnâ€™t happen, but the 2010 AGM was clearly her show.She addressed shareholders for the first time and also outlined a vision for the company, the most aggressive road map in recent times. Kesoram would go beyond Rs 10,000 crore, she had said, while emphasising the need for a strategically long-term view. And she is working towards it.Kesoramâ€™s annual revenue at the end of March 2012 was around Rs 6,000 crore, but it posted a significant amount of loss, too, at Rs 380 crore. FY13 is expected to be better, but will still end in loss

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