Recent Appointments Oct-23

HP appoints Apple executive Ipsita Dasgupta as SVP, MD for India market

PC and printer major HP announced the appointment of Ipsita Dasgupta as the Senior Vice President (SVP) and Managing Director of the company’s India market. Joining HP on October 30 and reporting to David McQuarrie, HP Chief Commercial Officer, she will lead all aspects of HP’s strategy and profit and loss (P&L) in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Gurpreet Singh Brar, who was officiating as interim MD for HP since November last year, will move to a new role of Vice President, Innovation and Growth for HP’s India Market.

HP:

• Headquarters: United States
• President: Enrique Lores
• Founded: 25 September 1998

Parag Milk Foods appoints Rahul Kumar Srivastava as chief operating officer

Parag Milk Foods announced the appointment of Rahul Kumar Srivastava as the chief operating officer (COO) of the organisation. Srivastava served as the managing director of Lactalis India, a division of the world’s largest dairy conglomerate, for over a decade. Additionally, he was managing director at Amul for more than ten years.

President Draupadi Murmu appointed new governors for Tripura and Odisha.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das and Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Indra Sena Reddy Nallu have been appointed as the Governors of Odisha and Tripura, respectively. Das, currently a national vice president of the BJP, was the first non-tribal chief minister of Jharkhand from 2014 to 2019. He has been appointed to the gubernatorial post in place of Professor Ganeshi Lal, who has completed his tenure. Indra Sena Reddy Nallu is a BJP leader from Telangana. Nallu is a BJP national executive member and he succeeded Satyadeo Narain Arya as the Tripura Governor.

Tripura:

• Capital: Agartala
• Chief minister: Manik Saha

Manipur:

• Capital: Imphal (Executive Branch)
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh

Arindam Bagchi will be India’s permanent representative in UN

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi will take over as India’s new permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations in Geneva. Among the NOVEMBER 2023 diplomats being considered to replace Bagchi as the foreign ministry’s spokesperson are Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, joint secretary (G20), and K Nandini Singla, high commissioner to Mauritius. Bagchi took over as spokesperson in March 2021 and has had an eventful stint that spanned the country’s response to the Covid19 pandemic and India’s standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Before the Geneva assignment, Bagchi served as ambassador to Croatia from October 2018 till June 2020, which currently is held by Raj Kumar Srivastava. Later, he also served the Prime Minister’s Office as a director. As the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, where he handled relations with the UN, the Americas, and Russia, Bagchi has extensive expertise in global diplomacy. He previously worked at India’s permanent mission to the UN in New York, where he handled economic and development issues

Kotak Mahindra Bank to appoint Ashok Vaswani as the new MD and CEO

Kotak Mahindra Bank said Ashok Vaswani, former Citigroup banker, will be its next Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Vaswani as the Bank’s MD&CEO. His appointment will be for a three-year period from date of taking charge which shall not be later than January 1, 2024. Currently, he is President of Pagaya Technologies Ltd – a US-Israeli AI Fintech.

Kotak Mahindra Bank:

• Founded: 1985
• Founders: Uday Kotak
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Non-executive director: Uday Kotak
• MD & CEO: Dipak Gupta (Interim)

Aakash Chaudhry set to return as CEO of Aakash Educational Services

Aakash Chaudhry, the promoter of Aakash Educational Services, is poised to return as the CEO of the tutoring unit that Byju’s acquired in April 2021, as the two parties are finally closing in on a deal after months of dispute. As part of the agreement, Chaudhry will exchange a portion of his ownership in Aakash with Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Byju’s. Chaudhry will take over from Abhishek Maheshwari, who quit as CEO of Aakash last month. Byju’s had acquired Aakash in April 2021 for a mix of equity and cash deal. The deal had a 70 percent cash component and 30 percent equity component, meaning, promoters of Aakash and private equity firm Blackstone, which holds about 12 percent stake in the company, would have got shares of Think & Learn Pvt.

Asian Games Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra appointed Laureus Ambassador

Asian Games Gold medalist and reigning Olympic, and World Champion in men’s javelin, Neeraj Chopra was named Laureus Ambassador, pledging his support to Laureus Sport for Good. His involvement with Laureus dates back to 2022 when he was shortlisted for the Breakthrough of the Year award at the Laureus World Sports Awards as a result of winning the first gold medal for an Indian track and field athlete at the Tokyo Olympics. Neeraj now joins a unique team of elite athletes from across the generations, including Academy Members and icons of Indian sport Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Neeraj has climbed to the World No. 1 ranking with golds at the World Championships and, earlier this month,the Asian Games. His gold medal run has catapulted him to an incredible level of fame in his home country. August 7, the date of his winning throw in Tokyo, is now celebrated as National Javelin Day.

Laureus Sport for Good:

Laureus Sport for Good helps local organisations to develop sports programmes that lead to positive social developments among disadvantaged or marginalised young people in terms of their health and education.

Navneet Munot Elected Chairman of the AMFI

Navneet Munot, MD and CEO of HDFC Asset Management has been appointed as the Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Navneet Munot will take over the charge from A Balasubramanian, CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset ManagementIn addition to AMFI chairman, the board of the industry body also elected Anthony Heredia, MD and CEO of Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund as its vice-chairman.

AMFI:

Association of Mutual Funds in India, abbreviated as AMFI, is the association of all the asset management companies of SEBI registered mutual funds in India. The organisation aims to develop the mutual funds market in India, by improving ethical and professional standards.

• Founded: 22 August 1995
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

General Insurance Corporation appoints Ramaswamy N as Chairman and Managing Director

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) announced the appointment of Ramaswamy N as its new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). This appointment follows the decision by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Ramaswamy, a veteran in the insurance industry, has diverse experience of over three decades at GIC Re.

General Insurance Corporation of India:

• Founded: 22 November 1972
• Headquarters: Mumbai, India

Muneesh Kapur appointed as RBI’s executive director

The Reserve Bank of India announced the appointment of Muneesh Kapur as the Executive Director. In his new capacity, Kapur will oversee the Department of Economic and Policy Research. Before this role, he acted as the Adviser-in-Charge of the Monetary Policy Department and held the position of Secretary to the Monetary Policy Committee. With a career spanning three decades at the Reserve Bank, Kapur has significant experience in macroeconomic policy, research, and monetary policy. He also served as an Adviser to the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund between 2012 and 2015.

PayU India CEO Anirban Mukherjee elevated to the position of global CEO

PayU India chief executive officer Anirban Mukherjee has been elevated to the role of global CEO. PayU global CEO Laurent Le Moal will step back from operational management of daily business, but will remain with Prosus and PayU in an advisory capacity.

PayU:

PayU is a Netherlands-based payment service provider to online merchants.

• Founded: 2002
• Founder: Jose Velez, Martin Schrimpff, Arjan Bakker, Grzegorz Brochocki, Nitin Gupta, Shailaz Nag
• Parent: Naspers

Maldives election: Pro-China candidate Muizzu wins presidency

A pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu has won presidential elections in the Maldives, defeating an incumbent who had strengthened relations with India. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih accepted defeat in the run-off poll. Mr Solih will serve as caretaker president until his successor is inaugurated on 17 November. Muizzu, currently serving as the mayor of the capital city, Male, is a well-educated leader with a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. He previously held the position of Minister of Housing in former President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet.

Maldives:

• Capital: Malé
• Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa
• Vice-President: Faisal Naseem

ASCI appoints Marico CEO Saugata Gupta as chairman of board of governors

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)announced the appointment of Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Marico Limited, as the new chairman of the ASCI board of governors. Partha Sinha, president of response, Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, was elected vice chairman, and Sudhanshu Vats, deputy managing director, Pidilite Industries Ltd, was appointed honorary treasurer.

ASCI:

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a voluntary self-regulatory organization of the advertising industry in India.

• Established: 1985
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Dr L Murugan to lead Indian delegation to Tashkent International Film Festival in Uzbekistan

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan will lead an Indian Delegation to the Tashkent International Film Festival at Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The participation in this film festival is aimed to build cinematic partnerships, have exchange of programmes, nurture filmmaking and act as a bridge between the cultures. Known as the Pearl of The Silk Road, the Tashkent International Film Festival was started in 1968 and Indian film Amrapali was screened in the opening edition of the festival.

Theme:

India’s participation in TIFFEST is on the theme ‘Showcasing India’s Creative Economy,’ given by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur which promises to be a catalyst for exciting and meaningful discussions.

Centre reappoints M. Rajeshwar Rao as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of one year

The Centre has reappointed M. Rajeshwar Rao as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India for a period of one year. Rao was appointed as the deputy governor of the RBI in October 2020 for a period of three years. He is currently in charge of the department of regulation, communication,enforcement, legal and risk management in the RBI. Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India: The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the second most senior executive of the Reserve Bank of India after its governor. Currently the rank of deputy governor is equivallent to the rank of secretary to the govt. of India. The term of office typically runs for three years and can, in some cases, be extended for another two years. The inaugural officeholder was James Braid Taylor, while K J Udeshi holds the unique distinction of becoming the first female deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

Amazon executive Dave Limp to join Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin as CEO

Outgoing Amazon’s devices and services chief Dave Limp is joining Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin as CEO, replacing Bob Smith. Limp will join Blue Origin, starting December 4 as CEO and Smith will step aside on January 2 “to ensure a smooth transition. Panos Panay, Microsoft’s former Windows and Surface chief, is reportedly joining Amazon to oversee its hardware business. Panay is likely to run Amazon’s division for its Alexa and Echo speakers. Blue Origin won a $3. 4 billion NASA contract earlier this year to build a lunar lander for the US space agency’s astronauts.

Blue Origin:

• Founded: September 8, 2000
• Founder: Jeff Bezos
• Headquarters: Kent, Washington, United States
• CEO: Bob Smith