Ravi Santhanam, who led HDFC Bank as chief marketing officer and head of corporate communications has been elevated to the position of group head and CMO.


Santhanam, who started his career at Bajaj Auto, went on to work across ICICI Bank, Powergen, Reliance Communications and Vodafone. 

HDFC Bank elevates Ravi Santhanam as group head and CMO

Ravi Santhanam was previously the chief marketing officer and head of corporate communications.

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Representational image via Unsplash

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By Jomy Jos Pullokaran

Kitchen appliances maker Stove Kraft Ltd on Monday (November 27) said it faced a temporary disruption in its operations due to an Income Tax Department search at its office premises and manufacturing plants.

The company initially communicated on November 22, 2023, about the ongoing search and assured full cooperation with the authorities.
In an evening update on November 27, Stove Kraft said the I-T Department completed its search, and the company's manufacturing plants in Bengaluru and Baddi experienced disruptions on November 22-26 and November 21-23, respectively.

"...we would like to further inform you that the operations at the manufacturing plants of the company were disrupted from 22nd November 2023 (afternoon) to 26th November 2023 for the Bengaluru location and 21st November 2023 to 23rd November 2023 for the Baddi location," according to a stock exchange filing.

The interruption was a consequence of the tax-related scrutiny, causing a temporary halt in manufacturing operations, the company said. Despite the challenges, Stove Kraft announced that manufacturing operations at the Bengaluru plant resumed fully on November 27, and the Baddi plant restarted on November 24.

All employees and factory workers returned to work, signifying a return to normalcy in both sales and manufacturing operations, the 
company said.

The delay in updating stock exchanges was attributed to the disruption of IT and communication systems during the period of the search operations.

Income tax raid at Stove Kraft ends, kitchen appliance maker resumes operations

Sam Altman could return to OpenAI as CEO after the company initiated talks to potentially reinstate the former CEO of the artificial intelligence (AI) research lab. 

OpenAI said, "We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this." 

Former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor will serve as a director on a new board. 

This development comes after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an interview to CNBC that he’d be open to Altman returning to OpenAI, rather than joining his company. Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman were set to join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

Over 500 OpenAI employees, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever, on November 20 signed a letter demanding the resignation of the remaining board members. They indicated that they would follow Altman to his new AI research venture at Microsoft if their demands were not met.



Read More: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/openai-saga-how-the-corporate-drama-will-impact-the-companys-brand-17669.htm">OpenAI Saga: How the corporate drama will impact the company's brand</a>

BREAKING: Sam Altman returns to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board?

By Vijay Anand

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday (November 21) told CNBC that there is a pressing need for a governance overhaul at OpenAI following the sudden removal of CEO Sam Altman. Nadella stressed the necessity of changes in OpenAI's governance structure, signalling that Microsoft intends to engage in a constructive dialogue with the OpenAI board regarding these modifications.

“At this point, I think it’s very clear that something has to change around the governance,” Nadella told CNBC. He added that Microsoft would have “a good dialogue with their board on that.”

While dispelling concerns about potential long-term damage to OpenAI, Nadella assured that the crucial artificial intelligence research and the partnership with Microsoft would persist. However, uncertainties remain about the future roles of ousted CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, who served as the company's chairman.

Nadella on Monday announced that Altman, Brockman, and their colleagues would join Microsoft as part of a new AI research group. Despite this, as the day progressed, the clarity on Altman and Brockman's transition to Microsoft became less evident. OpenAI employees, in response, expressed their concerns by signing a letter to the company's board, demanding resignations or indicating their potential departure to join Altman at Microsoft.

Nadella acknowledged that OpenAI employees have the option to either stay in their current roles or transition to Microsoft, stating that Microsoft possesses the capability to continue innovating independently.

“I’m open to both options,” he said during the interview.

The possibility of Altman's swift reinstatement had begun to gain traction over the weekend, with news emerging that a group of prominent investors, including Microsoft, Tiger Global, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia Capital, were actively working to reverse the board's decision. Notably, none of these firms held board seats and were reportedly caught off guard by the sudden developments.
In a post on the platform X, Altman expressed his love for the OpenAI team, hinting at a potential desire to return. Greg Brockman, who resigned as chairman alongside Altman's removal, echoed these sentiments by reposting the comment with a heart symbol, a sentiment shared by other OpenAI employees.

Nadella emphasised Microsoft's respect for OpenAI's nonprofit roots and its shared belief in the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence.

“We want to make sure that we’re dealing with not only the benefits of technology, but the unintended consequences of the technology from day one, as opposed to waiting for things to happen,” Nadella said.

Satya Nadella says governance needs to change at OpenAI

By Kanishka Sarkar

Did someone say ChatGPT could take away your job? Not so soon for its makers at OpenAI, at least. Out from survey reports and just posts on LinkedIn and recruitment websites, the war for artificial intelligence (AI) talent is on. Courtesy: OpenAI board’s move to oust Sam Altman.

When the OpenAI board on November 17 announced its decision to fire its CEO Sam Altman, it may have known that it could face some resistance from investors, including Microsoft and Vinod Khosla. But, that staffers would have a near total mutiny may have come as a surprise.

Nearly all of OpenAI’s employees have threatened to quit and follow ousted leader Sam Altman to work at the company’s biggest investor, Microsoft Corp., unless the current board resigns, leaving the future of the high-profile artificial intelligence startup increasingly uncertain.

More than 700 of the AI firm’s roughly 770 employees signed a letter on November 21 addressed to OpenAI’s board stating that the signatories are “unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees.”

The letter called for every member of the board to resign and for Altman to be reinstated, or else employees might jump to Microsoft. The software giant “has assured us there are positions for all OpenAI employees,” the letter said.

Hours later, Salesforce Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff is immediately offering jobs to researchers who resign from their posts at OpenAI and said that their compensation will be matched.

“Salesforce will match any OpenAI researcher who has tendered their resignation full cash and equity OTE to immediately join our Salesforce Einstein Trusted AI research team under Silvio Savarese. Send me your cv directly to ceo@salesforce.com. Einstein is the most successful enterprise AI Platform completing 1 Trillion predictive & generative transactions this week! Join our Trusted AI Enterprise Revolution,” Benioff said in a post on X.

Satya Nadella told CNBC International, has said it’s the choice of OpenAI employees whether they stay in their current roles or move to Microsoft, adding that his company has what it needs to keep innovating on its own. “I’m open to both options,” he said.

While that’s for OpenAI employees, Satya Nadella has already hired Altman to head the software developer's new internal artificial intelligence unit. Greg Brockman will join Altman at Microsoft that will move “quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success," CEO Nadella has said in a post on X.

In fact earlier on November 18, a person by the username Alex Cohen had posted that he found another job in nine hours after being laid off from OpenAI along with my boss Sam. “I was the person in charge of putting together the presentations for our board meetings. No one has told me why I was let go but Sam texted me “wtf” and next thing I know my Slack and Gmail were disabled. I’m now looking for a new role, so if you’re hiring for investor relations, my DMs are open!” Few hours later, he tweeted that he has accepted a new role as lead AI researcher at http://roofer.com.

But can Altman go back to OpenAI? In a post on X late November 18, Altman wrote, “i love the openai team so much.” Brockman, who quit the company after the board removed him as chairman alongside the ouster of Altman, reposted the comment with a heart symbol. Other OpenAI employees did the same.

OpenAI employees ready to quit after Sam Altman ouster now have job offers from Salesforce, Microsoft

I first met Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi on the verdant lawns of his office-cum- home at the Oberoi Farms on the outskirts of Delhi decades ago. He had heard of my work in the realm of brands and was very keen to do a catch-up. A brief catch-up, I was told. A casual catch-up.


I was curious about the agenda of the casual catch-up, but when the invitation came directly from the office of PRS (Biki) Oberoi, curiosity was best laid aside and not clarified. The rookie brand manager that I was respected the man and his reputation enough not to ask questions from a titan of industry as tall as PRSO was.


The tickets were sent (business class, of course), and I was all set to go. It was a day meeting and a room had been booked for me at the Oberoi Maidens for the evening. There was a liveried chauffeur waiting for me at Delhi airport, and a gleaming Mercedes-Benz was my set of wheels.


I was driven straight to the Oberoi Farms, which had me totally in awe. It looked no different than any of the Oberoi hotels I had stayed at. Neat was the word. Impeccable was another.


I was made to sit on the lawns and tea was served by a liveried butler out of a gleaming silverware tea set. The treatment was totally white-glove. As I sipped my tea, in strode PRS Oberoi (diminutive as ever), with a reputation that was tall as the tallest of them all.


Disarming manner


The 45 minutes I spent with him was my first introduction to a gracious man. A hotelier who believed in platinum-standard hospitality. A man who did not compromise on quality at all. A man who had two constituencies in his heart at the fore – guests at his hotels and his employees. In that order.


While the subject of our meeting was discussed in detail (and not to be revealed here), I do remember talking to him animatedly with pride about the newly launched Club Floor at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. He listened intently and at the end of it all, dismissed me altogether in his disarming manner. “Harish, every floor at the Oberoi is a Club Floor” were his exact words! This had me floored.


This said it all. I left the meeting with the impression that I had met the God of luxury hospitality. In PRSO, there was grandeur, class, perfection, an eye for detail and everything that makes a platinum-standard luxury hotelier tick. And PRSO ticked and ticked off many, for sure! Ask any of his general managers, and they will tell you!


The Oberoi Group has lost its Chairman Emeritus, and the world of hospitality has lost its finest practicing star.


RIP PRSO! Om Shanti! We will all miss you!


Views expressed are personal


Harish Bijoor is a global brand expert and founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara India Pariwar, passed away on November 14. He was 75.


In a statement, the Sahara group said, "Saharasri ji an inspirational leader and visionary, passed away on 141h November 2023 at 10.30 pm due to cardiorespiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension, and diabetes. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute (KDAH) on 12th November 2023, following a decline in health. " Roy is survived by wife Swapna Roy and two sons, Sushanto Roy and Seemanto Roy.


Born in Bihar's Araria in 1948, he made a modest start with a capital for only Rs 2,000 to build Sahara India. Eventually he shifted to Lucknow in the 1990s and made the city the headquarters of his group. The company was once hailed by Time magazine as the second-largest employer in India after Indian Railways.


Over the years, the company grew and Roy became known for hosting film stars at events and having “friends” across political parties. He was known to share deep ties with Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party. "The death of Shri Subrata Roy ji is an emotional loss for Uttar Pradesh and the country because along with being a very successful businessman, he was also a very sensitive person with a big heart who helped countless people and became their support," Samajwadi Party chief and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on X.


Under Roy’s leadership, Sahara expanded into numerous businesses. It launched the Hindi language newspaper Rashtriya Sahara, initiated the Aamby Valley City project near Pune and entered the television space with Sahara TV. In the 2000s, Sahara acquired iconic properties such as London's Grosvenor House Hotel and New York City's Plaza Hotel.


However, soon Sahara faced a host of issues over funds in the "Sahara chit fund scam". The market regulator SEBI moved against him. It was alleged that the company had collected over Rs 24,000 crore from three crore individuals. The Himachal Pradesh High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate to look into alleged money laundering by the Lucknow-based group.


Roy was sent to jail on March 4, 2014, for not paying an outstanding amount of Rs 10,000 crore. According to Indian Express, the court stated that would not be released until he brought in Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5,000 crore by way of bank guarantee. In 2013, Sahara had sent 127 trucks containing 31,669 cartons of over three crore application forms and two crore redemption vouchers to the SEBI office. He was jailed for He stayed in jail for over two years and was out on parole in 2016.


Earlier this year a website was opened where depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies can claim their refund in 45 days. It was reported that only 4,600 investors came forward to collect the refund in 2014. The regulator was unable to trace the investors.


Calling him an inspirational leader and visionary, the company statement said, "his loss will be deeply felt by the entire Sahara India Pariwar. Saharasri ji was a guiding force, a mentor, and a source of inspiration for all who had the privilege to work alongside him".

Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy passes away at 75

With the world changing every passing day, the Indian festive shopper has changed as well. But one thing that has remained is their love for celebration. In this report called The Marketer's Guide to the Festive Season by InMobi and Glance, emerging trends in consumer behavior this festive season and how they shape digital marketing trends for brands to follow are explored. 

A vast majority of Indian festive shoppers are willing to spend more than Rs 25,000 on festive season shopping. 66 percent plan to spend over Rs 25,000 and 33 percent plan to spend over Rs 50,000.

84 percent of Indian consumers reported an increase in online shopping budgets compared to the previous year. Reduced price consciousness leads to an interest in exploring options, with 63% reporting that they know what item
to buy and are only left to decide on the brand.

Hybrid shopping leads with 54 percent reporting they will combine online and offline shopping, followed by 44 percent who said they would shop online only. Unplanned shoppers are inclined to shop closer to festivals, with 58 percent planning to shop around Dusshera and Diwali, whereas about 36 percent are looking to start as early as September.

68 percent of female respondents ranked themselves on top as both the primary decision-maker and the person they are mainly shopping for. 

Top categories are clothing and accessories, gadgets, home appliances, gift packs and beauty products. 


68 percent of female respondents ranked themselves as the primary decision-maker in shopping: Report

Lifebuoy has collaborated with Imagimake, a toy design company to launch the H for Handwashing Games, in conjunction with Global Handwashing Day (GHD) on 15 October 2023. These games are guided by Lifebuoy’s behaviour change model and are designed to engage and educate young Indian minds by blending play with practice of hand hygiene.

Recent trends across the globe have shown that the handwashing rates with soap have drastically reduced in the post-COVID era. One of the primary reasons for the decline has been the hygiene fatigue caused by the pandemic. The ‘H for Handwashing Games’ is a direct response from Lifebuoy to this fatigue and aims at reigniting healthy hand hygiene habits amongst the kids.

 
Commenting on the launch, Madhusudhan Rao, executive director and general manager - South Asia (Beauty & Personal Care), Hindustan Unilever said, “The H for Handwashing Games upholds our brand’s purpose and commitment to inspire and foster good hygiene habits that last a lifetime. The reimagined classic boardgames from India creatively addresses the hygiene fatigue and makes handwashing fun, exciting, and a part of everyday play. We are confident that these games will reignite the relevance of handwashing among kids with help of one of the most powerful tools of learning – PLAY."


 
The "H for Handwashing Games" collection features four board games - “Germs & Ladders”, “Handwashing Ludo”, “Soap-Tac-Toe” and “Lose the Germs” - that have been recreated for Indian kids. These games provide solutions to educate children to practice proper hand hygiene consistently by highlighting various instances where children should wash hands with soap. 

The ‘H for Handwashing Games’ also uses the reward mechanism, trophies and wrist bands, to further associate hand hygiene habits with health through positive stimulus. Finally, at the end of each game, kids will be encouraged to take a pledge to champion the habit of handwashing with soap, ensuring a profound and lasting impact on behaviour after playtime.

The initiative has received significant endorsement from the state governments of Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. The games will be made available for students from state-run schools across these states and is expected to encourage over 75,000 kids across the region to cultivate the habit of handwashing with soap and lead a healthier life.

"Play is a fantastic driver of learning, bringing about connections with a purposeful and joyful flow! These games are a testament to the power of play, and its ability to bring about change," said Disha Katharani, co-Founder, Imagimake.

The ‘H for Handwashing’ movement that began in 2020 has impacted over 12 million children from more than 30,000 schools across 25 countries, promoting handwashing with soap as a fundamental practice for better health. To date, Lifebuoy has reached over 1 billion people through its handwashing programmes.

 

Lifebuoy partners with toy design maker Imagimake to promote hygiene through boardgames

CRED, the credit card bill payment firm has seen its marketing expenses go down by 27 percent to Rs 713 crore in the fiscal ending March 2023, from Rs 976 crore in FY22, a Moneycontrol report revealed.

In advertising, almost everything CRED touches goes viral. Known for its quirky and hilarious advertising, the fintech startup in the past had rolled out a campaign in the form of classified ads which appear in newspapers as either product listings, announcements, matrimonial ads and even apologies. CRED’s eccentric ads featuring Zeenat Aman, Rahul Dravid and Madhuri Dixit have also gone viral.  


The Moneycontrol report shared that as per Cred, an average monthly transacting user (MTU) performs around 20 sessions on the platform, which may include credit card bill payments, other utility bill payments, travel packages, shopping, money transfers, and merchant transactions through UPI.Kunal Shah’s Cred was valued at more than $6 billion last year and has around 12 million users. In contrast, the country's unique credit card customers are estimated to be around 40 million. Recently, the number of credit cards issued in the country crossed 100 million, and most affluent customers use multiple credit cards.

Cred Cash is a big revenue driver for Cred. It has disbursed about Rs 12,000 crore worth of loans, sources shared. Almost 90 percent of its revenues come from Cred Cash, utility bill payments and from Cred Max, insurance services.

Credit card bill payments is mostly a reason for Cred to attract premium customers, it does not generate revenue by itself.

Moneycontrol report further revealed that today, about one-third of credit card bill payments are made through popular UPI apps. Cred has been expanding its UPI payments game over the last year. From around 0.3 percent market share in UPI transactions last October, it has gone up to 0.8 percent this year. In UPI transaction value, Cred’s market share improved to 2 percent this year from around 1.6 percent last year.



How much did the maker of angry Rahul Dravid ad, CRED, spend on marketing?

Nilay Chandra, who had led the electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy as vice president, scooter business head, has quit the EV maker after eight years with the company. 


Chandra said “Ather not only changed my professional expertise, but equally, the people I worked with shaped my perspective on life and work. And I hope I was able to make a difference.”

In early September, two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp said it had got the board's approval to invest Rs 550 crore into Ather Energy, in which it is an existing investor. "The Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on September 4, 2023, has approved an investment of up to INR 550 crore (Rupees five hundred fifty crores), in the Rights issue of Ather Energy Private Limited," The NSE filing by Hero MotoCorp said. Industry sources said that Ather Energy is mulling an IPO by 2024.
 
During Chandra's stint at Ather, he led the growth stage of the brand achieving a 4x growth over last year with a market share increase of 2.5 percent, while driving the category to a 192 percent growth rate. Chandra's experience was across, sales strategy, retail financing, P&L management, customer insight, cross-functional team leadership, business intelligence and analytics. He joined the Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy in 2019. 


He started his career with Bosch and went on to work across Wipro Consumer Care, GSK Consumer Healthcare and Flipkart. Chandra has a degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University.

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HDFC Bank elevates Ravi Santhanam as group head and CMO

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