Winners were selected by a panel comprising of eminent businessmen and women including:
Shikha SharmaAxis Bank
Company, which was amongst the first private sector companies in India to be awarded
a life license in December 2000, and since its inception the company has established
itself as India?s leading private life insurer, offering a complete range of products
to meet the varying needs of the Indian customer. Shikha is a B.A. (Hons.) graduate,
has a Post Graduate Diploma in Software Technology, National Centre for Software
Technology, Mumbai and completed her Masters of Business Administration at the Indian
Institute of Management ? Ahmedabad. She began her career with ICICI, one
of India?s largest financial services providers, in 1980. She has been instrumental
in setting up various group businesses for the company, including investment banking
and retail finance.
Ireena VittalMcKinsey
for the world?s best-known consulting firm, KPMG (formerly McKinsey). According
to Ireena, the more the competition the more the noise and better the results; perhaps
that?s why she continues to encourage her clients to welcome all competition. ?The
job, despite having spent 10 years on it, is still fun?, says Ireena, because she
is ?still learning?. Even her stints with Nestle (her first job) and Max (she helped
launch Max?s mobile telephony service in Mumbai), she claims, were good learning
experiences. The lady, believes that this is a good time to be in India. Therefore
in an age when every business is looking at ways to conquer the Indian consumer,
she has suggested ways for MNCs for ?Winning the Indian Consumer.? Since 1996, when
she signed on with McKinsey & Company, she has been ?complicating it? in sectors
such as retail, consumer goods and energy, and ?complicating? it successfully at
that.
Vijay MahajanSocial Entrepreneur / BASIX
Technology, Delhi (IIT-D), a post graduate degree, Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad (1970-81), was a mid- career fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School Of Public
and International Affairs, Princeton University, USA, 1988-89, where he studied
economic development policy.
After IIT-D, Vijay worked in Philips as a marketing executive for 4 years and after
graduating frm IIM-A he started working in the rural development field in Bihar,
the poorest state in eastern India. In 1983, he established an NGO, PRADAN which
works with over 120.000 poor households, promoting livelihoods and community institutions.
In 1996, Vijay set up BASIX as to help support the livelihood of poor households.
Till March 2008, it succeeded in extending micro-credit worth over Rs 1200 crore.
It also offers livelihood promotional services including savings and insurance services,
agricultural/business development services and institutional development services
to rural producers and groups.
He was a member of the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms. He
is also the member of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
and the Rajasthan Mission on livelihoods. He serves on the Boards of ASSEFA, Gram
Vikas, ARAVALI, DSC and the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), and on
the Executive Committee of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a global
microfinance body.
Sanjeev BikhchandaniNaukri.com
Edge India Ltd. He is also a Promoter.
Mr. Bikhchandani obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, St. Stephen College,
Delhi University in 1984 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (?PGDM?)
, IIM-Ahmedabad in 1989. He is one of the founders of Info Edge India which is a
leading provider of online recruitment, matrimonial, real estate & education
classifieds and related services in India operating through
www.naukri.com, www.naukrigulf.com,
www.brijj.com and Quadrangle,
www.jeevansathi.com , www.99acres.com,
www.shiksha.com.
Mr. Bikhchandani joined Info Edge in April 2000. His work experience includes an
advertising position at Lintas India Limited, a marketing position at HMM Limited
(also known as Glaxo SmithKline), and a senior management position at CMYK Printech
Private Limited (owner of The Pioneer newspaper).
Mr. Bikhchandani was selected as a finalist for ?Ernst and Young ? Entrepreneur
of the Year? award in 2005.
Bharati JacobSeedfund
experience in diverse areas such as marketing research, financial planning and analysis,
investment banking and venture capital.
Presently, she is the managing partner of Seedfund, India ?s only, dedicated
early-stage investment fund. Seedfund aims to target small, innovative startups
with seed?stage funding of around US$500,000 (Rs. 2.25 crores) and provide
all the mentoring and guidance needed to get guidance needed to get the business
idea transformed into reality. Seedfund has backing frm global leaders who believe
in backing true innovation frm India ? investors in the fund include, Motorola
Ventures, Reliance Capital and SVB Financial Group and Sierra Ventures.
Bharati graduated frm the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991,
majoring in marketing and finance. Prior to the Wharton School, Bharati worked in
a marketing research agency and a leading petroleum company in India. Bharati is
a charter member of TiE and an active member of the TiE Women?s Chapter.
Meena GaneshEdurite
TutorVista.com and Manipal Education and Medical Group it provides Supplemental
education services for international markets using its proprietary technology platform
and the services of teachers pan-India.
A graduate of Madras University and IIM?Calcutta, Meena?s first work
assignment was with the computer education and training pioneer NIIT Ltd (1985?1992),
where she initiated computer training programmes for education institutions. After
an interregnum of 23 years, during which she switched tracks to work in top-ranked
companies including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Microsoft India and UK-based retail
chain TESCO, Meena has returned to the education sector as chief executive of the
Bangalore-based Edurite Technologies, which offers IT?enabled products, processes
and services to 3,000 schools countrywide.
Meena took charge of Edurite in September 2008, 11 months after it was acquired
by TutorVista, a Bangalore-based online learning com-pany promoted by serial entrepreneur
and husband ? K. Ganesh.
Her biggest project is to transform Edurite into one of the top providers of ICT-enabled
teaching?learning products and services in the country. With two decades of
hands-on experience, Ganesh is confident she can ?build an organisation that
brings about real change in Indian education?.
Sridar IyengarBessemer
of TiE Global. He serves as a director on the boards of several other companies,
including Rediff.com India Limited, Rediff Holdings, Kovari Software Inc, Career
Launcher Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, OnMobile Global Limited, and Infosys BPO.
Mr. Iyengar is the Chairman of the Audit Committee of ICICI Bank Limited, Career
Launcher Limited and Rediff.com India Limited. He also serves as the Chairman of
Compensation Committee of OnMobile Global Limited and as member of the Compensation
Committee of Infosys BPO. Sridar is an independent mentor investor in early stage
entrepreneurs and companies. For more than 35 years, he has worked in the UK, US
and India with a large number of companies at all stages of growth, globalization,
etc., advising them on strategic and other issues. He is also the President of Foundation
for Democratic Reforms in India and serves as a director of American India Foundation,
both of which are US-based non-profit organizations. Sridar was previously a senior
partner with KPMG in the US and the UK and served for three years as Chairperson
and CEO of KPMG?s operations in India. He is also an advisor to several venture
and private equity funds with respect to India. He is now also an Operating Partner
at Bessemer Venture Partners. Mr. Iyengar has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree,
the University of Calcutta and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales.
