Last week, we announced the nominees for the IMPACT Person of the Year, 2015 award. Here’s taking a look at why each one of the eight nominees deserves to win the award, to be presented in Mumbai on December 16
Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Govt. of India: Proponent of cult branding campaigns such as ‘God’s Own Country’ and ‘Atithi Devo Bhaba’, he has been the force behind many key initiatives of the government. India has received more greenfield foreign investment than any other country in the first half of this fiscal and mobile handset majors are rushing to manufacture here — evidence of his ‘can do’ spirit with the government’s FDI reforms, the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ programmes. He also drives the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project, for faster delivery of services and goods.
Arnab Goswami, President-News & Editor-in-Chief, Times Now and ET Now: He has changed the paradigm of how TV news is consumed and the aura of Brand Arnab Goswami almost overwhelms that of the brand he steers. It is little wonder that Times Now commands 50% of the advertising of all English news channels when Goswami’s show Newshour is on. In June this year, he was elevated to President - News & Editor-in-Chief, Times Now and ET Now. Under him, ET Now has gained leadership position in the business news genre, with high convergence between digital and television across the revamped Times Network.
Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network: With Bhasin at the helm, the Dentsu Aegis Network has made rapid strides and has been one of the fastest growing agencies in the domain. The agency has grown at almost 300% of the market growth rate. It has also acquired multiple creative and digital hotshops, won major clients and looks very promising just now. Bhasin’s personal journey too has also been tremendously successful, with recognition and awards coming his way this year.
CVL Srinivas, CEO of GroupM, South Asia: With his sharp media acumen, CVL Srinivas has steered GroupM India to dominate industry awards with over 400 metals and won over 100 new businesses over the last one year. Srini is the mastermind behind GroupM’s New ME, that has helped launched several initiatives in digital, content, experiential marketing and analytics, laying the foundation of the agency of the future. He has also taken a leadership position to work with agencies, brands and broadcasters to find viable solutions to challenges facing the industry such as TV measurement ratings and ad cap regulations. As per RECMA ratings GroupM agencies have over 43% marketshare in India – an all-time high for the conglomerate.
Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal: Scale, solidity, quality, maturity and ability to deliver are some of the sterling qualities that have enabled Wharton-graduate Kunal Bahl to build Snapdeal into one of India’s top three e-tailers. Bahl also recently managed to raise money from top global investors at a valuation of $5.5 billion. Jasper, the company that runs Snapdeal, with Bahl’s expert steering is now a 300-member strong organization with operations in 30 cities and five countries, and leads the way in building consumer services centred around couponing in a culture obsessed with deals.
Nikesh Arora, President & CEO, SoftBank Corp: Nikesh Arora is one of the most sought-after investors in Indian start-ups, and is well known for his sharp business acumen and entrepreneurial mindset even outside the start-up ecosystem. His work in recognizing startups in India and the effort he has put into mentoring and scaling them up has been instrumental in nurturing the thriving entrepreneurial culture in the country.
Under him, Softbank has invested in startups like Snapdeal and Ola. Nikesh Arora, who was Chief Business Officer at Google, then played a key role in garnering more revenues from display ads.
Rana Kapoor, Co-founder, MD & CEO, Yes Bank: Yes Bank, under Rana Kapoor’s management, has flourished to become the fifth biggest private sector bank and boasts of marquee shareholders including Franklin Templeton and GMO, an international fund. Yes Bank’s July-September quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations, as profits increased 26.4% year-on-year to Rs 610.4 crore. A high achiever throughout his career, Kapoor has been felicitated with various national and international awards and is highly involved in many socially responsible initiatives. Kapoor has redefined the bank’s original goal, and shifted its journey to its next growth phase.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO, Paytm: Sharma’s mobile-first marketplace is home to over 50,000 merchants and the platform is processing over 75 million orders a month. It is today a global brand. In September, Paytm attracted fresh investments of about $680 million from Alibaba and is currently at a gross merchandise value run rate of Rs 12,000 crore. Experts believe Sharma will fast track expansion plans and invest about $200 million in upcoming start-ups. Sharma, as CEO of One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, is one of only two entrepreneurs to get ‘in-principle’ approval from the RBI for setting up a payments bank in the country.
