BUSINESS SPECIAL INDIAS HOTTEST BUSINESS LEADERS 40 AND UNDER 1TO3

BUSINESS SPECIAL INDIAS HOTTEST BUSINESS LEADERS 40 AND UNDER

1.                 Nishant Rao, 36





Managing Director, LinkedIn India

Education: MIT Sloan (MBA); University of Texas at Austin (Computer Science)

 Previous Jobs: LinkedIn, McKinsey & Co, Ariba, Epicenter, Microsoft Claim to fame: Founded India's first voicebased call centre in the late 90s

Success to me is: Being able to look myself in the eye and say that I truly gave it my best shot, irrespective of the actual outcome

My favourite people: My two year old, who is helping me re-learn the zest for life

What I wanted to be when I was 20 years old: A successful software developer starting my journey as a continuous learner

One thing I would like to change about myself: Live more in the present.

How I unwind: Spending time with my family, listening to music, watching sports & comedy on TV

My favourite book: Good to Great, Tuesdays with Morrie

My favourite movies: 3 Idiots, My Cousin Vinny

My favourite sport: Cricket & American football (NFL)

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2.             Jairam Sridharan, 40





President, Retail Lending and Payments, Axis Bank

Education: IIT Delhi (Chem. Engg.), IIM Calcutta (PGDM)

Previous Jobs: ICICI Bank, Capital One Inc

Claim to fame: Led the transformation of Axis into a retail bank

Best advice anybody gave me: Finish what you start, Shikha Sharma

How I unwind: I read ­ about 40 books a year--literary fiction, business, behavioral economics, politics. Traveling with my family

Success to me is: Making my parents proud and moving the needle ­ making an impact on my business, my bank, the industry, society at large

My favourite people: Warren Buffett ­ for his intellect, clarity of thought and folksy wit; M.S.Dhoni ­ for his leadership skills, his composure under pressure

What did I want to be when I was 20 yrs old: Anything but a chemical engineer!

If there is one thing I would like to change about myself ...Talk less, listen more

My favourite book: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie and The Harry Potter series

My favourite movie: This year ­ Margarita with a Straw

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3.Neeraj Arora, 39





Managing Director, Global Service Provider, Cisco Consulting Services, Asia-Pacific and Japan

Education: Delhi College of Engineering (BE), IIT Delhi (MBA)

Previous Jobs: McKinsey & Co, ABB

Claim to fame: Incubated a disruptive digital consulting business in Cisco APJ (fastest growing worldwide); selected as Cisco `Catalyst' top 0.5% of Directors globally

Best advice anybody gave me: My mentor at McKinsey advised me to be like a `Michelangelo while sculpting David', focusing on learnings from every opportunity

Success to me is: Creating a sense of purpose and meeting my goals at work, home, community and self

My favourite people: My parents for their `anything is possible with self-belief' attitude

What I wanted to be when I was 20 years old: As an engineer, I wanted to excel at architecting and implementing mega transformation projects

One thing I would like to change about myself: Greater work-life harmony

How I unwind: Nothing beats a round of badminton, particularly with my wife and our little champ

My favourite book: All-time favorite is Tagore's `Where the Mind is Without Fear'.

I aspire to lead my life based on the Karma yoga as professed in the Bhagvad Gita

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