Men behind top Indian tycoons' success - Ravi Nedungadi - He complemented Mallya's vision with a feet-on-the-ground approach, focusing on financial basics

  

     Ravi Nedungadi

In mid-2005, when the UB Group made a Rs1,300-crore offer to buy out rival Shaw Wallace, it came down to few small details. When the offer letter had to be given to sellers Kishore Chabbria's wife and daughters, the lawyers had drafted a complex document. Nedungadi, who is simply Ravi to boss Vijay Mallya, realised that this could raise suspicions. Mallya had been engaged in a bitter war with Chhabria's family for over a decade. To allay any suspicion, Nedungadi handwrote a three-page offer letter, which set the ball rolling. Mallya then mooted the idea of a public offer for minority shareholders, which finally sealed the deal and catapulted United Spirits into the big league. It made the liquor business profitable, attracted investors, and helped Mallya acquire Whyte & Mackay, start an airline and buy another. He complemented Mallya's vision with a feet-on-the-ground approach, focusing on financial basics.

Source : Rediff Business

Men behind top Indian tycoons' success - P M S Prasad - Man with management skills and detailed planning

 P M S Prasad

If Reliance Industries' petroleum business was an independent company, he would be heading one of the largest companies in India. He was instrumental in implementing two world-class refineries at Jamnagar, a natural gas field that today accounts for 40 per cent of all hydrocarbons produced in the country. He is recognised for helping RIL morph from a refining and petrochemicals group into a vertically diversified E&P business. As head of petroleum and refining business -- the key driver of RIL's profits -- the 58-year-old executive director was the second homegrown professional after SS Kohli to get a seat on the RIL board last year. Chairman Mukesh Ambani zeroed in on Prasad, known for his man management skills and detailed planning, to give the Ambani family-dominated board a professional face. The engineering graduate was also RIL's representative in the gas dispute hearings in the Supreme Court.