Endorsements
“Is India going to reach its potential, which its incredible demographics offer the nation? In much of our BRICs analysis out to 2050, the outlook for India seems potentially the most exciting of these emerging giants. But if India is going to get there, it is going to have to boost its productivity significantly along the way. India Inc examines the key players that are shaping the India of tomorrow; these are the people that will lead the country into a new future, both in terms of what they are doing now and through the examples they set as role models.”
Jim O’Neill, Head of Global Economic Research, Goldman Sachs & Author of the BRICs Report
“In a sea of global content, few stand out as as influential or as passionate as Vikas Pota, in providing a fresh, new perspective to the subject of India Inc. going global. By telling the stories of some of India’s best business brains, this book provides a fantastic insight into how the big challenges of our time are being tackled by the next wave of globally successful entrepreneurs.”
S. A. Hasan, Director, TATA Ltd
“An insightful and thought-provoking look at some of the world’s top entrepreneurs and how they got there. A must-read for any aspiring Dragon or business person wanting to understand the minds behind the greatest business expansion of our world today.”
James Caan, Dragons' Den
“India Inc. details Vikas Pota’s fascinating exploration of the business people who have provided the backbone for the past decade of extraordinary economic growth in India. Acknowledging its newfound classification as an ‘emerging power’ and ‘land of opportunity,’ Pota sets out to answer some of the more difficult questions that have arisen from this period of globalization and great success in India.
Formulating his work into a series of mini-biographies, Potadoes an excellent job of addressing these questions and highlighting the traits that have allowed India’s now famous innovators, entrepreneurs and legacy business owners to reach the pinnacle of success. This book is well researched, highly informative and, most of all, relevant as it sheds light on one of the world’s most exciting growing economies.”
Lynn Forrester de Rothschild, CEO, E.L. Rothschild LLC
“Vikas Pota’s detailed analysis of India’s top business leaders provides comprehensive insights into the Indian way of doing business. It helps us to understand what works and what it takes to reach the pinnacle of global business.”
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, India
“The story of India’s outstanding entrepreneurs has captured the global imagination... and it’s a story that India Inc. tells brilliantly. Read this book for real insight into the people and the companies that will increasingly dominate the world economy.”
Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP, Chair, UK – India Business Council
Like Paris in the 1920s, which produced artists, composers, and writers who shaped the intellectual thought of that age, India over the past two decades has been prolific in spurring a star-burst of iconic business leaders that would change the course of human history. Unshackling from a command–control economy of the past sounds like such a simple idea now. But, looking back, could the future Prime Minister of India, as the then-Finance Ministerof the Country – an economist by education and profession – ever have imagined that in his determination to enable India to gain access to much-needed capital, technology, and best practices when he embarked on the reform path of the early 1990s, he would simultaneously unleash a pent-up dynamism and energy of a special breed of entrepreneur that would positively influence the destiny of the 21st century? It would be from this environment of creativity and free enterprise that an indigenous but constrained private sector would finally erupt with a volcano of ideas, new business models, and vision – all imbued with a commitment to social responsibility.
The contribution of India’s leadership, which persuaded a country of a billion population to open and embrace free-market principles, and then encouraged its business leaders to flourish with conscience, has now only begun to be measured as India rises to join China and the United States as the three most powerful economies on this planet. Family values, tradition, discipline, dharma (duty), and grit are the essential ingredients that lace together Vikas Pota’s thoughtful collection of essays on the men and women who made India’s transformation possible. These men and women, and this work, are a testament to democracy and to what can be achieved when imagination, properly motivated commerce, and the human spirit are set free.
Ron Somers, President, US–India Business Council
“India has arrived! ... This book explores the contributions of ten of India’s entrepreneurs in a way which not only answers the ‘who?’ but also the ‘how?’ and even more importantly the ‘and now what?’. This book is your guide to some of those men and women who are making the difference... Enjoy your journey!”
Lord Digby Jones Kt, Former UK Trade Minister & former Director General, Confederation of British Industry
“India’s growth story has been propelled by private enterprise and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Vikas Pota appropriately indicates that the transformation is happening across different sectors. The book dives into the heart of what makes India Inc. tick. The learnings from the spectacular growth of the individuals profiled in the book are relevant for practitioners globally.”
Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, Indian School of Business
“Given the heightened global attention on Indian corporate leaders, and indeed on emerging market business leaders going beyond their local markets, Vikas Pota’s book is a timely look at ten Indian business leaders, each unique in his or her own way. Covering leaders across a range of businesses, backgrounds (from inheritors of family businesses to first generation entrepreneurs to professional managers), leadership styles and growth paths, the book tells fascinating stories of vision, ambition and execution.”
Sonjoy Chatterjee, Executive Director, ICICI Bank, India
“Vikas Pota is known as a great communicator. The firm he leadsshines a light on the best that India has to offer and his book goes even further, offering the scope for a detailed examination of the people behind the headlines. This book really uncovers the human side of the Indian success story – read it!”
Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, Director, National Outsourcing Association, UK
“India Inc. is an important work for anyone who is trying to understand the India of today in the business of tomorrow. It offers a unique insight into what drives an Indian to conquer the world, to access markets beyond India and to create enduring value for consumers and stakeholders alike. This is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the DNA of today’s Indian titans and what makes them tick around the world.”
Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage, India
“Vikas Pota’s insights, ability to look beyond the obvious, and his outstanding ability to interpret the inner workings of the boardrooms of India’s most enterprising firms makes this book an essential read for anyone interested in the meteoric rise of Indian businesses going global. If you care about the impact of some of the fastest growing global companies, then India Inc. is a must read.”
Dixit A. Joshi, Managing Director & Head of European & Asian Equities, Barclays Capital plc
“Vikas Pota has been building bridges between India and the UK for many years. Now he has put his knowledge between two covers. He has done a great job showing us that India’s strength is in its business leaders – their spirit, their values and their immense capacity to overcome obstacles. If you want to do business with India – read this. It will help you to understand India better.”
Lord Meghnad Desai, Professor Emeritus of Economics, London School of Economics
“An outstanding read which is both readable and informative. Unusually for this category of book it is entertaining and insightful; an absolute must-read for anyone involved with Indiaor business or the general reader wanting to know the forces shaping our world today.”
Alpesh B Patel, India Dealmaker for the UK Government and Chairman, UK India Business Angel Network
“Everyone will be able to identify with the top ten people... Hopefully this book will encourage even more of India’s talent to ask themselves ‘what am I waiting for?’”
Dr Shailendra Vyakarnam, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
“This is a captivating account of India’s progression into a leadership position on the global economic stage, seen through the experiences of some of India’s most prolific and successful business leaders. With IT entrepreneurs leading the charge, Pota documents how India’s tech titans have become part and parcel of everyday lives by delivering critical services to a global customer base.”
A. S. Lakshminarayanan, Vice President & Head – Europe, Tata Consultancy Services, UK
“With TV shows about entrepreneurship like Dragons' Den leading our TV ratings, this book hits the mark by chronicling the success of some of India’s most successful entrepreneurs. Through his interviews, Pota tells the stories of their journey to success, but more importantly asks some tough questions that provide an opportunity for them to comment on subjects such as the challenge of China, the impact of climate change, and the future of family owned businesses, which gives an invaluable insight to an inter - national audience that debates these issues daily. A ‘must buy’ for anyone interested in learning what makes ‘India’s best’ tick.”
Dr. Mohan Kaul, Director General, Commonwealth Business Council, UK
“Our ancient texts tell us 'mahajano yena gatah, sa panthaaha', 'the path we must follow is how the great lived their lives'". We learn and are inspired through stories, and Vikas has superbly captured these incredible leadership journeys to inspire us all to follow the paths of these great leaders.”
Subhanu Saxena, CEO & Country President, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, UK
“Inspiration and ideas. That’s what Vikas Pota offers readers in this book that brings together the insights and experiences of some of India’s most accomplished entrepreneurs. Taking a global perspective, Pota shows how these leaders are striving to solve important challenges while helping position India for international success in the decades ahead. The story is exciting and the characters are compelling – even heroic at times. Those seeking a behind-the-scenes look at the innovation that drives real entrepreneurs and fuels their success will find India Inc. invigorating.”
Dean Dipak Jain, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA
“As India’s entrepreneurs define the new India, we needed someone to look into their minds. Vikas Pota has taken that look and has some excellent insights into their ambitions and methods.”
Ketan Patel, CEO, Greater Pacific Capital LLP & author of, The Master Strategist
“One of the important trends of the first decade of the 21st century is the presence of Indian companies on the world stage... India Inc. will play an important role in providing a nuanced understanding of India’s role in this globally shifting economic environment.”
Dr. Vishakha N. Desai, President and CEO, Asia Society, USA
“We’ve been talking about the coming of the Indian economic boom for the best part of the last decade. Well, the boom is truly with us now and so (at last!) is a book that’ll not only explain how it arrived but also what it means for all our futures. Good job Mr. Pota.”
Arup Ganguly, President, Sewa International (London) & Managing Partner, KNG Securities LLP
“Entrepreneurship is the key to India’s increasingly dynamic economy... Overseas companies wanting to be part of this success story need to understand the true spirit of Indian entrepreneurialism. In this book, Vikas Pota, through a series of fascinating case studies, gives an invaluable insight into some of India’s star performers. I recommend it.”
Graham Ward CBE, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers & Vice-Chairman, UK–India Business Council
“Whether we’re talking of how Narayana Murthy borrowed Rs 10,000 from his wife to found Infosys which today is a multibillion dollar success, or how Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has built her biotech empire despite having been discriminated against due to her gender, or how Tulsi Tanti has stuck at it to strike it rich with Suzlon, which is his 17th consecutive entrepreneurial attempt, Vikas Pota’s book is truly inspirational. India Inc. brings to the fore a new set of role models to the world, whose names will undoubtedly be taken in the same breath as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Donald Trump in years to come. What a great book.”
Bhikam C. Agarwal, Executive Vice President, Arcelor Mittal
“This book is timely, to say the least, in providing an assessment of the motivations of a range of India’s businessmen and women. As Indian companies play an increasingly active role overseas, not least in the UK, it will be increasingly important for the rest of the world to understand what drives these companies... Vikas Pota’s curiosity for the lives of a selection of Indian ‘trailblazers’ makes India Inc. an invaluable insight into India’s recent past, and its future.”
Gareth Price, Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House (formerly the Royal Institute of International Affairs), UK