The Fly’ING’ Dutchman

IIPM is A World of Career

It’s time to take India to the world; and ING Investment knows it.

VINEET K. VOHRA, MD & CEO OF ING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (INDIA)

In the Hollywood blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, the ‘Flying Dutchman’ was a fictional ghost ship which could never sink and was destined to sail forever. Cut to the real world, there is a Dutch company which seems to have been blessed accordingly, destined to sail forever in the rough financial oceans; just like the Flying Dutchman – ING Investment Management (India) Pvt. Ltd.. Today, ING has expanded its arms to 50 countries and on the Indian soil; it is recognised as one of the most trustworthy investment management companies. And the credit for this goes to the captain of this Indian safari. Yes, this Dutch ship has found a deft captain to spearhead its Indian venture in the form of Vineet K. Vohra, its MD & CEO. Creating a trust level and sustaining it in investment & banking market is not easy. But this company has been sustaining its goodwill since 1999 and cashing in on this trustworthiness, ING Investment Management – the flagship company from the ING Group, has become one of the country’s fastest growing fund houses. Today with 40 branches and as many as 100,000 clients in the country, the company has the widest reach among private sector mutual fund players.

An MBA degree holder from IIM(C) and a qualified CFA, Vineet fitted the bill perfectly. He is also a mechanical engineer by education and prior to joining ING, he’d worked with Citibank, across Asia. Setting the ball rolling from day one at ING, he’s currently on a roll to introduce innovative investment modes for Indians and even take them to the huge global investment market.

He unleashed the ING Global Real Estate Fund on November 19, 2007, which is an open-ended fund scheme and furnishes accessibility to Indian customers towards reaching the global market. And just as fortune favours the brave, for Vineet too the story was no different with his home soil brimming with promises of colossal returns; and reasons enough to pay heed to investing opportunities in the global market, as he asserts, “India has gone global in every aspect, then why not in financial investments? Real estate risk in many countries is less than in India and we’re helping people manage their financial assets with lower risks by taking Indian investors to global markets.”

Surely, global diversification is a term unknown to many Indian investors who want to enjoy the fruits of rich returns at comparatively lower risks. So how does he actually succeed to bring in the differentiating factor in the face of all and one in the financial sector claiming the same and with the customers flooded with varied investment options, besides the promise of ‘geographical’ diversification? Ask him that and pat comes the reply, “Most Indian consumers prefer investing in low-risk bonds. But they give you only 5% return! So what we give them is higher returns at the same levels of risks, which like our other offerings will spread your investments in the widest possible modes. For instance, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is a new concept in India but at the same time it’s very lucrative investment globally. So 55% of our portfolio is loaded with REITs. It’s rich returns guaranteed! And that is a differentiator alright.”


Today, the company has 40 branches, which no other asset management company has managed so far. Even when you talk about the leadership model he follows, the answer is not too hard to guess – participative leadership. Yes, his management model is not based on the keystone of dictatorship or authoritarian leadership as he explains, “If you take all decisions by your own, you can’t come out with any better option. So I encourage my people to contribute in all the activities of management decision-making. We believe in team work and we always motivate freshers to take risks. I think this also helps to create future managers....” When asked about the youthfulness in his organisation, he has another line to add, ‘The secrets of success lies in believing that you can do it and then step out there to take any risk. Most of our team members are between 28 to early 30s and I simply keep on repeating this mantra to them.”

Although he finds it very difficult to give time to his family, he manages it really well. Maintaining a balance in his personal and professional life, Vineet believes that, “you need to draw a line in both your professional and personal world. Everything has to have a limit and it becomes necessary to have a sound sleep every night. I think an adequate sleep helps you to keep fit and to perform in both the worlds....”

So what next? “We have long lasting stable plans in India as 44% of our investment is in Asia and India holds a key position in Asia. There is no subprime and it’s the right time to invest in India,” replies the promising leader. As we bid him good bye, like the perfect industry expert, he gave us a piece of wisdom, “invest for a better future.” Sure thing, Captain! We’re willing to jump onto the Flying Dutchman, for we know that its captain will only fill our pockets with double digit profits.


Edit bureau: Angshuman Paul

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Of the people, by the people & for the people

IIPM is A World of Career

On what makes Ashok Leyland a deserving winner of the ‘Employer of Choice Award 2007’ for the manufacturing sector instituted by CNBC-TV18.Fighting the ‘war for talent’ and making the right HR decisions is what sets the company apart from the herd. Excerpts from the interview...

What are the main initiatives taken up by the company till date that makes it an employer of choice?

We have built a young technical talent pool by inducting around 350 engineers annually. Ashok Leyland is considered as a Day One recruiter in the top engineering colleges. In contrast to the industry, Ashok Leyland sees an annual turnover of only 1.5% of high potential personnel, thanks to an enabling, performance oriented culture. It has been further enhanced by the creation of the Young Executives (YEs) Forum for addressing aspirations of the 42% of Ashok Leyland’s executives below 35 years of age. The YEs forum is a platform to showcase their talent and innovative ideas. Another index of the changing climate is the very open, energetic and effective ‘bottom-up’ communication that occurs within the Company through a variety of channels- from the annual communication meetings where the top management interacts with employees in groups, to ‘soapbox’, an employee’s direct channel to the Managing Director.

The company has also initiated several employee engagement programmes like Improve – a company-wide employee project contest, BITES (Breaking thresholds by Involving Total Employees), RISE (Reward for Individual’s Search for Excellence) to recognise individual efforts at achieving excellence in any area of working as on date et al.

Investments in brand building advertising campaigns have also revolved around the employee-centric theme of ‘Passion for Engineering’. Then there are personal development plans through 360 degree competency assessment, Future Leader Development Programme and e-learning initiatives across the board, collaborative off-campus programmes (Ashok Leyland has a tie-up with BITS, Pilani for the BS and MS programmes).

Why is it becoming increasing important for companies to become employer of choice?

Primarily this is so because because because of the ever intensifying ‘War for talent’ as right talent is a scarce resource and today, attrition and re-training hidden costs are very high. Surely, hiring and honing key skills in your company is a competitive advantage today.

How does it help the company (not just in terms of hiring people but branding to the public at large) to be crowned as the best employer?

Surely, employee opinion helps build brands and reinforces share-holding value and our employees are our best ambassadors. So winning such an award creates positive word of mouth which translates into superior brand image and brand perception which in turn lends for attracting the right talent. It also helps in building employer branding initiatives at leading business schools adn therefore gives a higher pay-off from brand building advertising expenditures.



Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
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Hello Moto... watch your back!

IIPM - Admission Procedure

Nokia rules indisputably; but every other player is trying to snatch the No.2 slot!

Who had thought that voodoo inspiring numbers (1100 or a 6300) would become brands in their own right. But, Finnish handset manufacturer, Nokia, through its irresistible prices and marketing blitzkrieg ensured that it is numbers that matter more in the ‘dialled numbers’ game! And Nokia continues to rule hearts in the Indian terrain, still controlling nearly two thirds of the market. What’s more, this is despite other players – Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG – eroding away some market share from the leader in recent times. Considering that Nokia (still!) corners a large chunk of the market and remains the unbeatable No.1, all other players in the segment are engaged in a similar (agonising?) struggle, to snatch away market share from Nokia. Since the 2nd slot is occupied by Motorola (with a much smaller market share by comparison - 12%), all players in the segment are vying for a larger share to dominate the number two slot, with a respectable margin that is.

Nevertheless, in the past year, Nokia’s position has somewhat weakened, with some of its market pie being sucked up by Motorola and Sony Ericsson. With its range of stylish phones like RAZR, SLVR, KRZR and lately MotoROKRamong others, Motorola has been able to divert some attention from Nokia toward itself. What has helped Motorola sustain and retain its second position has been the aggressive marketing and great positioning that the American major continues to indulge in. With Bachchan Jr. as brand ambassador, Motorola is indeed finding it easy to attract attention. The American major is also consolidating its position in the burgeoning PDA segment, with the latest addition to the portfolio being the MotoQ.

The actual number three slot among handset makers in India is with Sony Ericsson, which despite witnessing bouts of success (both in the country and globally); remains stuck as an also-ran in the Indian market with a mere 9% market share. But Sony Ericsson has the advantage of having brands in its portfolio that are already legends the world over. Aidedwith great campaigns and attractive features, its Walkman and Cyber-shot series have become a huge hit, helping Sony Ericsson to consolidate its No.3 position in India. While it’s Q2 results show an upswing of 59% year-on-year basis on the Indian turf, they have piled up a descent market share vis-à-vis Motorola. “We expect the market to remain competitive, but with products such as Walkman, we aim to grow faster than the market,” says Miles Flint, President, Sony Ericsson.

Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (India) adds: “We are not bothered about being number 3, but about delivering products that are technologically superior and meet customer demand.” Better watch out Moto, this one’s on track to snatch the No. 2 slot from you, the anguish of Nokia’s lead notwithstanding...

Edit bureau: Karan Mehrishi

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

An insured innings!

IIPM is A World of Career

Shot at Madh Island in Mumbai, the ad has been conceptualised by Nima Namchu, Senior Creative Director of Publicis India and has been directed by Soojit Sircar of Red Ice Productions. Namchu recollects the experience of working with Sachin and says, “He was very easy to work with and displayed no airs of being such a big star. We had already sent the scripts to him in advance and he was prepared completely and knew what was expected out of him.” Namchu goes on, “During the shoot, the entire team was in awe of the man. He is Sachin, after all! And there were young boys (many of whom idolize him!) and we had our share of autographs by the maestro during the shoot!”

Just like the message in the ad, Namchu points out that the central concept of the advert was to not be restrained and play the shots ‘Khul Ke’. The group of boys who are seen playing alongside Sachin play an important role in the ad and Namchu says, “Before every commercial, we do the auditioning of the actors. In this one, we wanted to have nice looking kids who could play cricket. I think that was more important.” He adds that the kids were fun to shoot with. “Kids are easy to shoot because they are not conscious about the fact that they have to act alongside a celebrity and in this case it was Sachin Tendulkar,” says Namchu.

Though the ad does not have a very strong story-line, it conveys the message (to enjoy every moment by letting Aviva take care of the future) through an association with cricket. And that’s where the use of Sachin stands out. Unlike most ads, this one does not waste the celebrity and employs him to convey its message simply yet powerfully. The clutter-free background of the ad along with the actors clad in a soothing white and yellow really stand out.

More than three centuries in this business and with Sachin to score runs for them now, Aviva seems set for a longer innings and Sachin needn’t really worry about the pitch, as everything is ‘insured’ this time!

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure

Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!