The Sketch

Welcome to another installment of The Sketch, In today's installment, we are thrilled to have a special guest, Nadir Godrej, the Managing Director at Godrej Industries and the esteemed senior operational leader. Many of us have relied on Godrej products to safeguard our belongings with their trusted safes and almirahs. Listen in to his wonderful insights on the Godrej business and the various subsidiaries under the group, with backstories leading way back to British Raj.This episode is not to miss out, Tune in to hear from Nadir Godrej as he shares his perspectives on the Godrej business and the various subsidiaries within the group. Get ready for a journey through time as he reminisces about backstories dating back to the British Raj. This episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to discover the fascinating history and current developments within the Godrej Group.

Luxury car sales in India have reached all-time high levels, with Mercedes-Benz India leading the race, closely followed by other German players like BMW Group and Audi as an increasing number of Indians are choosing to buy cars that might cost as much as a small apartment. What are the factors behind this? In this special episode of The Sketch, Mint’s premium business podcast, Former Mint Editor-in-Chief, Sruthijith KK spoke with Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO of Mercedes Benz India Pvt. Ltd to explore the trends in the luxury car segment in the country. And what makes Mercedes the most popular luxury car brand in India.

A ‘no margin for error’ business, semiconductor chip manufacturing requires high precision and expertise over extremely complex processes. It has been a year since PM Modi launched the ambitious Semicon India initiative with a clear goal to help India emerge as a major semiconductor manufacturing base. A year down the line, those plans are still to take off despite the government's best efforts. Why is that the case? Is India’s ambition to compete with China in the semiconductor manufacturing space realistic? What are the roadblocks India needs to deal with on the way? In this special episode of The Sketch, Mint’s premium business podcast, Mint Editor-in-Chief Sruthijith KK sat down with David Reed, CEO, Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductors Ltd, to explore the questions, concerns, and possibilities India must take into account as it embarks on this journey.

Harsh Jain is the founder and CEO of India’s biggest fantasy sports app—Dream11. In this conversation with Mint editor in chief Sruthijith KK, he talks about the startup’s early days, the struggle to find funding and the product-market fit and eventually persisting against the odds to become a profitable unicorn with an $8 billion valuation.

Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan is a physician and CEO of the $50 billion Swiss pharma giant Novartis AG. In this conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK, he discusses the company's direction under him, its presence in and plans for India, battling the extreme odds in drug discovery, the role his Indian heritage played in his life and work, and much more.

In this episode of The Sketch, Metro AG India MD Arvind Mediratta discusses the intricacies of modern retail, what makes the kirana store a formidable force in India, the shifts in consumer tastes and why India has seen the exit of so many western retailers.

In this episode, Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala, who turned a small family-run business into an FMCG behemoth with marquee brands such as Parachute and Saffola, a top-line exceeding Rs10,000 crore and presence in more than 25 countries, reflects on his journey, the essence of success in this highly competitive industry, the digital disruption in FMCG, his legendary battle with Hindustan Lever for marketshare in coconut oil, and how young entrepreneurs can find mentorship through his foundation.

In this hour-long conversation, economist-turned game developer Trivikraman Thampy, co-founder and co-CEO of Games 24X7, talks to Mint Editor-in-Chief Sruthijith KK about how he built a $2.5 billion gaming company, the behavioral economics principles applied in gaming, the debate around addiction in real money gaming and what the future holds for the industry.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta runs a suite of apps that are among the most used in India—Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram. In this conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK, Meta’s India MD Ajit Mohan discusses the company’s priorities, the future of social media, its engagement with regulators around knotty issues such as content moderation, the rise of the influencer economy, and the roadmap for Whatsapp pay here.

Alison Rose became the CEO of Natwest Group in November 2019 and has since had to steer the bank through Brexit, the Covid 19 crisis and now the Russia-Ukraine war and high inflation. In this episode, she tells Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK about helming a major banking institution through covid and macroeconomic headwinds and delivering a strong financial performance through it all, the banks with more than 14,000 employees in India that’s its “technology and innovation hub”, leading with purpose, what organisations can do to foster and support women leaders and whether the Queen has ever called her with customer service complaints (The Queen’s bank—Coutts—is part of Natwest).

Starting with India’s first multiplex—PVR Anupam in Saket in 1997—Ajay Bijli has built an exhibition and lifestyle brand that is now merging with Inox to create India’s largest multiplex firm by a big margin. In this episode, Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK talks to the PVR founder about riding out the Covid disruption, the evolution of cinema-going experience in the country, the technologies he has seen come and go in the last 25 years, and the changes he has witnessed in the dynamics of the film industry. Grab the popcorn!

In this episode, Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK discusses with Mensa Brands founder Ananth Narayanan, the rise of direct-to-consumer brands and the investment scrum around aggregators of such digital-first brands. How is Mensa brands, which became a unicorn within six months of founding, navigating this new and exciting turf, and what lies ahead for the D2C revolution! Tune in to know more!

In this episode, Pramath Raj Sinha and Ashish Dhawan, founding trustees of Ashoka University, are in conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK about the challenges plaguing higher education, building a world-class university in India, liberating students from a narrow pedagogical framework and the role of philanthropy in institution-building. This is the second in a two-part conversation.

In this episode, Pramath Raj Sinha and Ashish Dhawan, founding trustees of Ashoka University, are in conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK about the challenges plaguing higher education, building a world-class university in India, liberating students from a narrow pedagogical framework and the role of philanthropy in institution-building. This is the first in a two-part conversation.

Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder and CEO of Meesho, a homegrown e-commerce platform, features in the latest episode of The Sketch with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK. They discuss the origins of the firm, which has grown popular among users in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, allowing users to resell using their social media networks, the hurdles, and the future of Indian e-commerce. Tune in to this insightful conversation now!

Reese Witherspoon’s “What do we do now speech”: https://youtu.be/JKKRBnpDpBY The Indus Valley Annual Report 2022: http://bit.ly/IndusValley2022

In this episode, Mint editor in chief Sruthijith KK is in conversation with renowned investment banker and CEO of Moelis India, Manisha Girotra, about the art of deal-making, Ms Girotra’s three-decade-long career in which she has had a ringside view of the evolution of Indian businesses, and battle scars from the rough and tumble of balancing it all.

Rich Lesser, global chair of one of the big three management consultancy businesses BCG, discusses with Mint editor in chief Sruthijith KK the evolution of the consultancy business, the changes he's seen among business leaders' attitude, the talent crunch that everyone's facing and making a case for decarbonisation being a great business opportunity in the coming decade.

Piyush Pandey, Chairman of Global Creative at Ogilvy, features in a freewheeling chat with Mint editor in chief Sruthijith KK in this episode of The Sketch. He talks about his creative process, how the advertising industry is adapting to digitisation, and why he's not afraid of making ads on sensitive topics.

Anil Agarwal is the chairman of Vedanta Resources, the multi-national mining and commodities company with large interests in India across aluminium, zinc, copper, oil, iron ore and steel. He also has an extraordinary life story, having achieved business success from modest beginnings as a scrap metal trader in Mumbai in the 1970s. In this episode, Agarwal speaks about his upcoming semiconductor project in partnership with Taiwan’s Foxconn, his desire to see India become self-sufficient in natural resources, and how he fought depression at a stage in his life when odds were stacked against him and the succession plan at Vedanta. Listen now!