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Ratan Tata

December 29, 2012 Leave a comment

Yesterday,ie on 28th of December 2012, on his birthday,when he turned 75, Ratan Tata retired,succeeding on his third try.In 2002, when Tata was to retire at 65, the Tata Sons board promptly re-designated him non-executive chairman, which meant he could continue for another five years.Three years later, the board upped the retirement age of non-executive directors to 75. The message was clear: Ratan Tata was indispensable.And it was not just the board that felt that way. There were loud cries of support from shareholders. As one shareholder put it”We can’t lose our ratan (jewel).”Others asked him to stay on as chairman emeritus. Read more of this post

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Alok Kejriwal On The Different Shades Of Money.

August 1, 2012 2 Comments

wealthymatters.com

Some interesting observations from Alok Kejriwal :

“After my first round of VC funding, I ran into my uncle at a dinner. He had read about the financing in media and cornered me. ‘So you’re rich! Why are you looking so gloomy?’ he said. ‘Huh’ I asked? ‘My Company’s the one that got funded, not me! No one got rich. The VCs got poorer and a long arduous road lies ahead of me to return the money to the VCs many times over’. He chuckled and said’ ‘What nonsense! The first rule of the funding game is to siphon out 25% of the funds and make yourself-rich. Investors can be dealt with later’. Shucks… hadn’t I heard that story before? Many of my relatives have floated public issues that were nothing short of scams and they still boast about it!

This ‘get rich, siphon out’ philosophy left so many old industrial houses bankrupt. They were never capitalized to take advantage of acquisition opportunities and punished their shareholders so harshly that they could never raise capital again. Think Mafatlal, Dalmia and many more. Even today I meet embarrassed professional managers working in ‘family’ firms who get paid salaries in ‘half white and half black’ to avoid taxes! Read more of this post

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Sudha Murthy and JRD Tata

August 23, 2011 8 Comments

Sudha Murthy is the wife of N.R. Narayana Murthy,Founder of Infosys.She is the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation.Here is a story I found today.In it she narrates how JRD influenced her life.Enjoy!

“There are two photographs that hang on my office wall. Every day when I enter my office I look at them before starting my day. They are pictures of two old people, one of a gentleman in a blue suit and the other a black-and-white image of a man with dreamy eyes and a white beard.

People have asked me if the people in the photographs are related to me. Some have even asked me, “Is this black-and-white photo that of a Sufi saint or a religious guru?” I smile and reply “No, nor are they related to me. These people made an impact on my life. I am grateful to them.” “Who are they?” “The man in the blue suit is Bharat Ratna JRD Tata and the black-and-white photo is of Jamsetji Tata.” “But why do you have them in your office?” “You can call it gratitude.” Read more of this post