5 young guns who will take over top Indian companies

Roshni Nadar

Age: 29

Provenance: She is the only child of Shiv Nadar, founder of the $5-billion HCL Group.

Interestingly, she has majored in radio, television and film from Northwestern University. She also has an MBA in social enterprise management from Kellogg.

After returning to India in 2008, she was inducted into HCL Corporation.

The company she now heads is the group's holding company and owns 50 per cent in HCL Technologies and 44.4 per cent in HCL Infosystems.

Within a year of her joining the company, she was elevated as executive director and CEO of HCL Corporation.

Better Half: Shikhar Malhotra

Uneasy Sits the Crown: Roshni prefers to keep a low profile and speaks only about her philanthropy projects, even though she will be taking all investment decisions at HCL Corp.

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Mandate: For starters, she will be responsible for the brand building activities of all group companies and will also spearhead all strategic decision-making at HCL Corporation.

She will  be in charge of the treasury operations and all new investment decisions will be her responsibility.

As trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, her key responsibility will be to focus on expand the group's education initiatives.

Biggest Inspiration: Her father.

When she is not working: She's playing curator for the family's art collection and representing India at the World Bridge Championship.

Road Ahead: Her first initiative has been to set up a chain of rural schools titled VidyaGyan all over India.

Roshni will focus on expanding the educational footprint of the group under the aegis of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which includes setting up the Shiv Nadar University and a chain of schools in rural India titled VidyaGyan Schools.

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Sididhartha Mallya

Age: 23

Provenance: Son of liquor baron Vijay Mallya from his first wife.

Young Mallya was born in the United States but has spent a large part of his growing up years in London and Dubai.

A product of Wellington College, Berkshire, a boarding school in Berkshire, Siddhartha graduated with a Bachelor's degree in business from Queen Mary, University of London.

Best Known For: His friendship with Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone

Mandate: He dons two hats within the group -- as director of Royal Challengers (IPL team) and as deputy general manager (new generation sales outlets) at United Spirits.

At age 20, Sidhartha was given a choice to choose between the three large business verticals, and Mallya Jr has smartly chosen spirits and beer as they are the core business of the group.

And the recommendation on his curriculum vitae comes from none other than Paul Walsh of Diageo.

Uneasy Sits the Crown: Unlike many who find it difficult to deal with their inheritance and the silver spoon that comes with it, Mallya Jr has no such issues.

He parties as hard as he enjoys taking business risks in group companies where he holds an executive position.

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Having completed a two-year stint abroad, one at global spirits major Diageo, and the other at Whyte and Mackay, he is raring to go.  

Party Meter: Parties thrice a week with a good bunch of people

Role Model: His father because he can party hard even though he's past 50

When he's not working: He's partying with Dad or chatting with fans on Royal Challengers' official website.

Road Ahead: Not having lived in India, one of the biggest lessons that he will have to learn is how the Indian alcoholic beverage market works.

Before he thinks of expanding, he will have to learn the ropes of the trade and understand the Indian scenario. His focus within the group will be to market the group's brands very well.

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Pirojsha Godrej

Age: 30

Provenance: Son of Godrej Group patriarch Adi Godrej.

The youngest of Adi and Parmeshwar's three children, Pirojsha holds a Master's degree from Columbia University and Columbia Business School. Did summer internships at Hillary Clinton's office and at the Ministry of External Affairs.

Best Known For: Fast-track promotion to Executive Director of Godrej Properties from a management trainee in 2004. Has travelled to 50 countries in five continents

Better Half: Karla Bookman

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Mandate: The 20-year-old company is expected to be the biggest contributor to the group's profits in less than seven years, surpassing the 80-year-old fast-moving consumer goods business.

Pirojsha wants to be among the top three real estate companies in the next few years.  The joint development model is Godrej Properties' biggest strength.

Though most developers now follow this model, what makes Godrej different is that nearly 80 per cent of its 50 million sq ft of land is in joint ventures.

Pirjosha argues that with Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in hand, one can buy one piece of land and maximise profits or get into 10 joint ventures with a Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) initial investment each.

Role Model: His father, for his vision and perseverance.

When he's not working: Would rather be in a squash court or lounge in his family yatch.

Road Ahead: His heart is in politics and who knows maybe one day he may follow his instincts.

For now, there's enough on his plate. And its' not just about real estate.

Organisationally, the focus is also to build on leadership and that's where his long stint within the group comes handy.

Does the surname give him an edge? "Well, yes, and no, (it depends) on the way other members within the group treat me," he has been heard saying.

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Aditya Burman

Age: 30

Provenance: Son of Dabur group chairman Anand Burman, he returned from the University of Kansas in 2004 only to find that the Burmans had decided that no family member would have an executive position in Dabur.

So there was no comfort zone from which to learn the tricks of the trade. Aditya Burman had the option of working elsewhere, but he chose to join as a trainee in Onquest, which is into high-end research, clinical trials and research documentation, among other things.

Earlier, he handled sales and marketing for Dabur Pharma in Latin America.

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Mandate: He is member of the Family Council of the Dabur Group.

But his immediate priority is Onquest where the rules of a start-up are different and you have to bet your house and take risks.

He is exploring options of offering more affordable solutions as also starting a health fund.

Biggest Inspiration: Family elders who didn't let him enjoy the luxury of having a Burman brand name and gave him a chair and a desk in a corner of the office of his uncle, Gyan Chand Burman.

Memorable moment: When he got married some years ago to Shivani Sud who belongs to a hoteliering family, the pre-wedding party involved the creation of an entire Matrix film set.

Road Ahead: He sees no reason why one day Onquest can't be as large as Dabur.

Also, in a country where even educated women in urban areas are unaware or apathetic about cancer risks, spreading awareness itself is a huge priority.

Just setting up hospitals is not his idea of way to go.

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Nandini Piramal

Age: 30

Provenance: Eldest child of Ajay and Swati Piramal, Nandini has graduated form the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has been involved with the family business since 2006.

Life has almost come a full circle for her, as she has seen her father enter the pharmaceutical business and exit it in a little more than a decade.

She has been a not-so-silent witness to the journey that began with a corpus of $20 million and ended with a $3.5 billion-plus exit.

Mandate: As executive director of Piramal Healthcare and director of Swastik Safe Deposit and Investments, her profile is pretty cut out.

Armed with her father's Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion0 warchest, her next mission will be to scout for new business opportunities and expanding the existing healthcare business.

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After graduating, she did a stint with McKinsey as a business analyst and then went on to run the global operations of Nicholas Piramal in Canada and UK.

Uneasy Sits the Crown: Unlike her brother Anand, who is keen on working on social enterprises that benefit the rural population, Nandini is a businesswoman in a hurry. Clad in business suits, she has been involved with the group soon after she completed her management.

Food for the Soul: Enjoys weekly satsangs at home

Better half: PE Fund Manager Peter D'Young

Road Ahead: To utilize her international business experience in giving a new direction to the group's ventures.