Gaja Capital Business
Book Prize 2019

Manish is a successful serial entrepreneur, currently co-founder and chairman of TeamLease Services. Manish also currently serves as an Independent Director on the Board of the RBI, as member of the Central Advisory Board on Education in the HRD Ministry and Member of Advisory Board of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Imran is a founding member of the Gaja Capital team and has over 22 years of experience in private equity, pharmaceuticals, and technology services. Imran has co-led investments in the education and consumer clusters. He holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a master’s degree in software engineering from BITS-Pilani.

Michael is a reputed successful global investment professional, currently Chairman of the University of Surrey. He was formerly Chief Executive of 3i Group plc and served as Chairman of the British Venture Capital Association. He is also serving as the Chairman of Thames Bridge Capital, where he provides strategic advisory to alternative asset managers and corporates.

Narayan is a successful investment professional and a keen social entrepreneur. He was earlier the country head of Morgan Stanley in India (2007-10). He had also previously led portfolio management of Morgan Stanley’s Global Emerging Markets and Global Asset Allocation teams, managing over US$25 billion in assets.

Neelkanth Mishra is currently the Chief Economist, Head of Global Research, and member of the Board in Axis Capital. Until recently, he was the Co-Head of Equity Strategy, APAC and India Equity Strategist, and Securities Research, at Credit Suisse. He is part of the Advisory Council to India’s 15th Finance Commission and has been an advisor to government committees such as the Revenue Neutral Rate Committee on GST and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee.

Prithvi is a member of several capital market related committees of SEBI and has served as a member of the Indian finance minister’s high level expert committee on corporate bonds and securitization. Prithvi has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1989, he set up Prime Database, India’s first and largest repository for all primary capital market offerings.

Shailesh Haribhakti is an experienced accountant and an independent board member of several leading Indian companies. He is also the Chairman of DHC (Desai Haribhakti) one of India’s leading accountancy and advisory firms. He is actively involved with several prominent financial institutions in India, including the NSE, CII, IMC and ASSOCHAM.

Upendra Kumar Sinha headed the RBI Expert Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He was the Chairman of the SEBI, having served two consecutive three-year terms, starting in 2011. He was also the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI Mutual Fund. He was selected for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 1976.

A business journalist by profession, Deepali Gupta is the former Sr. Assistant Editor at the Economic Times who covered Indian economy, businesses and M&A landscape. She has also worked with the Wall Street Journal and the Dow Jones Newswire. Deepali Gupta’s first book - Tata vs Mistry is a well-researched look at a boardroom battle that drew a lot of media attention but also highlighted the importance of succession planning and the transfer of power from one generation to the other in a large institution like the Tata group. The book is unbiased, fast paced and has an engaging style of writing that feels like a Novel or a courtroom drama highlighting conversations, key decisions and evidence from either side of the debate presenting a balanced view.

A senior business journalist, a political commentator and an author, Shelley Vishwajeet has worked with various media platforms such asBusiness India, The Observer of Business & Politics, Star Television Network, Aviation World, and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. He is currently a Doctoral Research Fellow with TERI School of Advanced Studies.India is now the 3 rd largest aviation market in the world. In the last 20 years, the domestic Indian aviation has witnessed 6 prominent airlines entering the market and the demise of 3 major airlines – Air Deccan, Kingfisher and Jet Airways. Indigo Airlines stands out as a spectacular story of entrepreneurship given this backdrop growing from a new entrant to the dominant brand within 10 years. The Indigo Story captures the evolution of the Indian aviation industry from the formative years of how Indigo found its wings to become a successful, profitable airline. The book is engaging, captures key success factors for Indigo in a turbulent market and is backed by research and financial analysis.

A media specialist and a celebrated writer, Vanita Kohli Khandekar- a Cambridge University fellow has been tracking Indian media and entertainment business for over 15 years. Currently she is a columnist and writer for Business Standard and Content Asia. Her previous book The Indian Media Business (Sage), has sold 14,000 copies. The Making of Star is a detailed, well researched account of Rupert Murdoch’s high conviction adventure in India as well as the tale of the Indian media industry. In many ways, it also chronicles the story of a billion people who, post-1991 economic reforms, were poised to become the one of the world’s biggest consumers. Vanita is an insider to the media industry and the book captures Star network’s tumultuous nineties to its early success with the ‘K-factor’ string of successes - Kaun Banega Crorepati, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii; the evolution from a regional media entertainment company into a sports and digital powerhouse that could be one of the biggest growth drivers for Disney.

A business journalist by profession, Soma Das has worked for over a decade with publications like the Economic Times and the Financial Express. Before entering journalism, she worked as a lecturer in Delhi University. She has authored a bestselling work of fiction, and finally owing to her specialization in pharmaceuticals has successfully chronicled the story of India’s largest pharma company. The Reluctant Billionaire is a story of, the very private but ambitious, Dilip Shangavi. The book draws on years of research on Sun Pharma and Dilip Shanghvi involving many hours of primary interviews. This book is an assimilation of over 150 interviews of employees, former employees, relatives and friends that through scores of stories seamlessly weaved captures the struggles, hard work, heartbreaks, sacrifices, and successes in building a billion-dollar enterprise.

A business journalist by profession, Vinay Kamath is an associate editor with The Hindu Business Line. He has earlier worked with TV18, Financial Express, Business World, Times of India and Economic Times.A graduate in economics and journalism, Vinay was also a member of the first batch of the Chevening Young Journalists’ Fellowship Programme at the University of Westminster, London. The Titan is a well-researched account of the brand’s remarkable journey since it was launched 30 years ago. The book captures Titan’s core strategy of identifying segments in India’s unorganized consumer markets and highlights how Titan has been able to create valuable businesses with the same repeatable thesis many times over the last few decades. Vinay Kamath has woven a highly engaging narrative, interspersed with interesting anecdotes and balanced views. The book focuses on some of the major events, key protagonists and situations that created one of the most successful consumer brands in India.