The Kiruba Show | kiruba.com

July 6th, 2011

Interviewing HP’s President of Printing Division.

In a few hours from now, I will be in a conversation with Neeraj Sharma as part of my focus on getting business leaders and achievers to my show at Kiruba.TV .

Neeraj is the President, Imaging & Printing Group, Hewlett Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd. In this role, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to the IPG division. He aims to further strengthen HP’s leadership position in India by adding newer avenues and opportunities for the IPG division.

He joins HP with 20 years of experience in managing innovation and building sustainable businesses. He has been on various senior leadership roles across varied technology portfolios. He brings strong expertise in managing complexity, creating different routes to markets, optimizing coverage, and most importantly leading high performing and motivated teams. He augments his background of managing hardware portfolios with three and half years of services experience.

Prior to joining HP, he was on a leadership role at IBM and was pivotal in building the new Lenovo organization when IBM divested from their PC business in 2005. During his years at IBM both in India and at Asia-Pacific level, Neeraj built an excellent reputation for developing, managing and sustaining successful business investments across various divisions. His significant assignment at IBM includes creating complex technology solutions for major clients across the region.

| Posted in podcast, The Kiruba Show | 1 Comment

July 1st, 2011

Podcast with CIO of Daimler India (Mercedes Benz Trucks)

R.Chandran ( or Chandy as he is popularly called) is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Ltd. Daimler is better known to us as the manufacturers of Mercedez Benz cars.

Chandy comes with a rich experience of 25 years in the IT space. He carries with him the domain expertise in manufacturing and automobiles clubbed with the IT knowledge. A potent combination for an effective CIO

He has been the overall Business Lead for AsiaPacific, GM worldwide and EDS worldwide. In charge of $ 30 million of business and 400 consultants.

He is credited with implementing the first End to End SAP implementation at General Motors Japan. He has also led successful SAP implementations at Visteon Ford, LLoyd Steel, Sterlite, Kalyani Brakes, Pricol Pumps and Jurong Tech, Singapore.

His expertise lies in People management, Partnership Management,, Project Management and Client Relationship.

| Posted in podcast, The Kiruba Show | 1 Comment

June 29th, 2011

In Conversation with Canon India’s Head of Cameras.

Fresh on http://Kiruba.TV is a podcast with Seiji Hamanishi, the man responsible for the Camera division at Canon India.

I met up with Seiji San at Canon India’s Headquarters in Gurgoan. Like a good Japanese man, he was extremely punctual and didn’t make me wait. He had requested for the questions and a briefing document on the interview well in advance… a sure sign that he is taking this interview seriously.

We had a 45 minute meeting of which the podcast interview lasted 20 minutes. Usually I try to keep my podcasts short but Seiji San was enthusiastically conversational. Have split the podcasts into two halves to maintain brevity. Do listen in. Seiji San has a heavy Japanese accent and some of you may find it difficult to follow the conversation fully. I’m working on transcribing the audio and will have the transcript put online soon.

Here’s a short brief about Seiji San.

Seji Hamanishi is the Assistant Director, ICP division of Canon India Pvt. Ltd. He has come on board the management team of Canon India after a successful stint at Canon Inc and Canon USA.

With 24 years in the company, Seji Hamanishi has a rich experience across divisions and has worked with Canon Inc. for Laser beam printers, Inkjet printers and Imaging products. He has also been widely regarded for his contribution to Canon USA and Amsterdam in his previous assignments.

Mr. Hamanishi is a photography enthusiast himself and is passionate about cameras.

Tags: Kiruba.tv, podcast | Posted in Expert Talk, Photography, podcast, The Kiruba Show, Video | 1 Comment

June 24th, 2011

Got Questions for Mohit Anand, MD, Belkin, Indian Sub-Continent?

I’m meeting up with Mohit as part of the leadership podcast series at http://www.Kiruba.TV. I’ve listed down a set of questions for him (seen at the bottom of this post). If you have any specific questions for him, please leave them at the comments section or mail me at Kiruba(@)Kiruba.com. I’d be happy to ask him on your behalf.

Mohit Anand is the Managing Director of Belkin, Indian Sub Continent, which includes India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He is a key leader for Belkin across Asia Pacific.

His focus areas include enhancing visibility, introducing customer centric product innovations, establishing strong retail partner relationships, streamlining distribution & supply chain logistics and overall, increasing the company’s market share.

Mohit’s previous assignment was as Senior Vice President at Channel [V]. He played an important role in building the channel into the country’s most sought music channel for the urban youth. Mohit spearheaded Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division prior to his role at Channel [V]. At Microsoft, Mohit managed retail, media & entertainment partner relationships and also led the launch of Xbox360.

Acknowledged as one of the Top 50 young business leaders by Business India Magazine (2007), Mohit is also regarded as an Icon in the gaming industry.

About Belkin:

Belkin, a privately held company founded in California in 1983, is the recognized global leader in connectivity solutions.

Their products includes award-winning networking solutions, accessories for mobile devices, such as iPod, iPhone, laptops and netbooks, as well as energy conservation products.

From a garage in Hawthorne, California, with two employees and sales of $100,000 for the year, Belkin has become one of the fastest growing companies in the world, with over 1,000 employees and sales topping $1 billion.

Questions for Mohit Anand.

How big is Belkin? Tell me in terms of revenues and people strength. Both globally as well as in India.

Explain your business model? I understand the key lies in distribution.

Amongst all your products which ones are your best-sellers which gives you maximum revenues?

How do you handle the competition from Chinese unbranded manufacturers who make similar products (with decent quality) at such cut-throat prices? Remember, Nokia ignored this and is now paying the price!

Tell us about your marketing strategies. How different is marketing networking products like routers and accessories like iPad covers and stands?

What are your expansion plans for the next 2 years?

Mohit, talk us through your professional expeience and the various roles you have placed in Microsoft, Channel V and now at Belkin.

What are the important experiences you have learnt in each of these stints?

What are the achievements and high points in your professional life that you look back with a lot of pride?

Name a couple of big challenges you faced in your life. More importantly explain how you overcame them and the key lessons learnt.

Who are your mentors? Name important traits that you learnt from them.

What are your hobbies and how do you manange good work-life balance?

Tags: Kiruba.tv, podcast | Posted in podcast, The Kiruba Show | 1 Comment

June 24th, 2011

Got Questions for Canon’s Head of Cameras?

For those of you who know me, you know my passion for meeting leaders from various fields who are passionate about their line of work. For those who don’t, it might be worthwhile for you to check out http://www.Kiruba.TV where I host the conversations I have with these leaders.

Today, I’m having a conversation with Mr.Seiji Hamanishi, the person who heads the Camera division of Canon India.

Mr. Seji Hamanishi is the Assistant Director, ICP division of Canon India Pvt. Ltd. He has come on board the management team of Canon India after a successful stint at Canon Inc and Canon USA.

With 24 years in the company, Mr. Seji Hamanishi has a rich experience across divisions and has worked with Canon Inc. for Laser beam printers, Inkjet printers and Imaging products. He has also been widely regarded for his contribution to Canon USA and Amsterdam in his previous assignments.Mr. Hamanishi is a photography enthusiast himself and is passionate about cameras.

Here are the questions that I have lined up for him. If you have any of your own, please leave them in the comment section below or mail them to me at Kiruba@Kiruba.com .