Apple CEO's Tim Cook- takes big cut !!!

Apple CEO's Tim Cook pay takes big cut vs record 2011 package

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REUTERS: NEW YORK, DEC 28 2012, 11:38 IST

New York: Tim Cook, tech giant Apple Inc’s chief executive officer (CEO), has taken a 99 percent pay cut this year after receiving record compensation in 2011.

Cook's 2012 compensation package of $4.17 million is a huge cut on paper for the top executive of the most valuable US corporation, after a 2011 package fattened by more than $376 million in long-term stock awards.

Cook will receive 4.17 million dollars for the past 12 months after pocketing 378 million dollars last year, the iPhone maker said.

Cook received the largest single pay package awarded to a company CEO in about a decade when he replaced Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in August last year, shortly before the Silicon Valley legend's death in October 2011.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad made the 2012 compensation disclosures in a regulatory filing on Thursday. Cook, 52, has been with Apple since 1998.

Virtually all of Cook's $376 million stock bonus in 2011 was in awards that vest in two chunks - one in 2016 and the other in 2021. This structure was intended to keep Jobs' longtime lieutenant at the helm for many years, as the value of the stock will depend on how well the company is doing in 2016 and 2021.

Cook, who is credited with masterminding a sprawling but efficient Asian supply chain, has generally received high marks for his first year for shepherding several successful gadget launches, including the iPhone 5.

But he was forced to make a public apology in September after the company launched a mapping service application riddled with glaring geographical errors. The Maps app fiasco contributed to the departure of fellow Apple veteran and software chief Scott Forstall.

In addition, some analysts questioned whether Cook, whose only major new product since taking the helm was a smaller version of the iPad that Jobs propelled into the mainstream in 2010, has the vision to produce the next big product category and sustain historically stellar growth for Apple as global mobile competition intensifies.

"The jury is still out in terms of the job he is doing," said fund manager Tim Ghriskey, whose Solaris Group counts Apple stock as the biggest holding among the approximately $2 billion it manages.

But he added that the company's long-term prospects look strong, particularly if it rolls out oft-rumored television products in the next few years.

As of Thursday's close, Apple shares were almost 37 per cent higher than when Cook became CEO 16 months ago. However, since a record-high close of $702.10 on Sept. 19, the stock has fallen almost 27 percent.

Ghriskey said Wall Street remained nervous about the growing popularity of Google Inc's Android phone software, used by global smartphone leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, and potential margin pressure from that intensifying competition.

BY THE NUMBERS

In terms of base salary, Cook actually received a 50 percent increase to $1.4 million for 2012, and the same 200 percent non-equity bonus other top Apple executives like CFO Peter Oppenheimer earned, Apple said in the Thursday filing ahead of a Feb. 27 shareholders' meeting.

Cook's 2012 package includes a nonequity bonus of $2.8 million.

Despite the increase, Apple said Cook's target annual cash compensation is "significantly below the median annual cash compensation level for CEOs at peer companies". It also said Cook will not receive any stock awards for 2012.

Cook's latest compensation package also pales in comparison to his package in 2010, when he was chief operating officer. That package was 14 times higher.

A company spokesman would not comment beyond the filing.

Jobs famously received $1 a year in salary in the three years before he stepped down, though in 2000 he too received a stock option that analysts say was valued at almost $600 million at the time.

Looking beyond Apple, Yahoo Inc's CEO, Marissa Mayer, a former Google Inc high-flyer hired this year to try to turn around the struggling Internet icon, won a pay package worth more than $70 million. Despite her lack of a track record as CEO and Yahoo's tiny size in comparison, her basic pay is comparable to Cook's, with about $1 million in annual salary and up to $2 million in an annual bonus.

Oracle Corp's Larry Ellison, one of the most highly paid US chief executives - and also the world's sixth-richest man, according to Forbes - received total compensation for the year ended May 31, 2012, of $96.2 million - almost all of it in stock options. That compared with $77.6 million in 2011.

According to a study of the Fortune 500 conducted by Forbes this year, CEOs were paid a base salary of $1.1 million in 2011 on average, with the mean annual bonus at $2.4 million and average total compensation - including stock awards - at around $17 million.

Apple shares closed up 0.4 percent at $515.06 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/apple-ceos-tim-cook-pay-takes-big-cut-vs-record-2011-package/1051376/0

Your body clock ...HEAR CLEARLY...

Your body clock is ticking

Why it’s important to start the day early.

When was the last time you saw the sun rise? For most of us, the answer is never. Our pace is set by our gadgets; they decide when we start the day; and this can sometimes stretch to the next day. In fact, a few people even stay up the entire night, at least getting to see the sun rise, in a manner of speaking. All this is normal. What’s become unusual is waking up early and falling asleep at the right time at night.

I hated waking up early during school holidays. My mom usually said, “Has the sun ever failed to rise? You should wake up early like the sun.” I wonder how she knew the significance of waking up with the sun. Maybe she just told me what her mother had told her. Wherever she got from, she was absolutely right. There is a pattern and a unique rhythm in Nature, which depends on the sun. Our biological body has been following this rhythm forever and breaking it causes disturbances.

This does not seem too important at a micro level but, at a macro level, it has humongous implications. Our changing lifestyle increases health complications. Our body, similar to plants and animals, follows a pattern or a timetable called the circadian rhythm, which is any biological process that displays an endogenous clock of 24 hours. ‘Circa’ means around and ‘dian’ means day; so, roughly, the word means going around the day. This rhythm adjusts to the local environment through external clues called ‘zeitgebers’ (the time givers). The most common zeitberger is daylight. Our biological clock affects the daily rhythm of many physiological processes.

Going by the system (see box), it is best to have a balanced and sumptuous breakfast in the morning, as it prevents binging during the day. It is also a good idea to drink water and fresh juice through the mid-morning and have an early lunch when the sun is at its peak. As the sun starts setting, one should reduce the portion of food and have an early dinner.

Though the circadian rhythm tends to synchronise with cycles of light and dark, other factors that can influence it are meal timings, temperature, stress and exercise. So think about how our present lifestyle can affect the rhythm. Today, many of us have our biggest meal at dinner, just when the body needs the least energy and when bowel movements are suppressed. This way, most of the food gets stored as fat.

When we work late at night, with the help of electrical lights, our body’s photoreceptors sense light and slowly suppress metatonin (a hormone secreted to slow down metabolism and to help in sleeping). So not only do we fake light to work, we also fake darkness in the morning to sleep. We alter the natural cycle and disrupt the circadian rhythm, which otherwise follows nature.

If you start waking early with the sun, you can reset the biological clock and rely on your body to do the rest. Studies have also shown that light has a direct effect on health because of the way it influences the circadian rhythm. Disrupting the circadian and biological rhythm has significant and adverse consequences on health like fatigue, disorientation and insomnia. Remember the old saying: make hay while the sun shines. Now go do it.

How it works

For an early riser the system works like this:

6.00 am: wake up

6.30 am: sharpest rise in blood pressure

7.30 am: melatonin stops secretion

8.30 am: bowel movements likely

9.00 am: cortisol secretion

10.00 am: high alertness

Noon: metabolism at its peak

2.30 pm: best coordination

3.30 pm: fastest reaction time

5.00 pm: optimum cardiovascular efficiency and muscle strength

6.30 pm: blood pressure is high

7.00 pm: body temperature is high

9.00 pm: melatonin secretion starts

10.30 pm: bowel movements suppressed

11.00 pm: sleep

2.00 am: deepest sleep

4.30 am: lowest body temperature

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/your-body-clock-is-ticking/article4221093.ece?homepage=true

Akhil Gupta- Bharti Airtel, top place in mobile telephony

18 DEC, 2012, 06.50AM IST, JOJI THOMAS PHILIP,ET BUREAU 

Akhil Gupta: Sunil Mittal's man behind Bharti's top place in mobile telephony

When the initial public offering (IPO) of BhartiBSE 4.23 % Infratel closed last Friday after pulling in almost Rs 4,200 crore, a veteran of 18 years with the wireless telephony-lead group was on his way to becoming richer by roughly Rs 160 crore.That's how much the 0.4% holding of Akhil Gupta, vice chairman & managing director of the tower arm of the tower arm of India's largest mobile phone service provider, Bharti Airtel, will be worth when it lists on the stock exchanges in the days ahead.

Gupta has dismissed speculation that he will cash out and exit Bharti Infratel to fulfil a dream of launching a private equity fund."There is just so much scope here (within Bharti). All possibilities are open," said Gupta.
Officially, Gupta's 18-year association with Bharti AirtelBSE 4.23 % ended on September 28 when the company announced his resignation from the board.
But Gupta, who has been with the flagship since it launched mobile operations in Delhi way back in 1995 and whose role has never been defined by designation, says he needs no official title to be a part of Bharti. Gupta moved out of the day-today activities of the mobile phone company nearly four years ago, but continues in his primary role as banker to Bharti Airtel.
He has spent a considerable amount of his time over the past two years plotting the Bharti group's return to the street, nearly a decade after it first debuted on the bourses.

"I am still related toAirtelBSE 4.23 % as deputy group CEO of the group. When I am taking the group's tower company public, it's not possible to have common directorship in Airtel, from a corporate governancepoint of view," Gupta explained in a recent interaction.
A successful listing, says Gupta, will be his most satisfying achievement with the group. This is significant considering he's achieved plenty in the past 18 years.
Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Mittal and Gupta have been a formidable duo, expanding the company's vision from 'creating a baby bell in North India,' to becoming a 'national operator,' to taking a seat with international biggies at the high table of global communication.A chartered accountant with a master's degree from Harvard Business School, Gupta's deal-making skills and ability to form partnerships with investors have been pivotal to Bharti's phenomenal growth. No wonder that Mittal has often described Gupta as the fourth Mittal brother.
"Akhil is an exceptional business leader who combines entrepreneurial and managerial capabilities to achieve superior outcomes. His strong understanding of business triggers and his passion to succeed against odds make him an indispensable and integral part of the Bharti story," says Mittal.
Their paths first crossed in the early 90s when Gupta's CA firm was appointed auditor for Bharti group companies. Gupta was also on the board of some of Mittal's companies, and the founder asked him to join Bharti before the company had won any mobile permits.With the acquisition of two companies in the south in the late 1990s --bankrolled by the entry of Warburg Pincus and SingTel - Bharti began its pan-India march. It took Warburg 10 months to finalise the first $65 million; then another $300 million followed.
"When they (Warburg) met us, they saw passion," Gupta had told ET in 2007. Gupta says he gets credit for the deals simply because the top team at Bharti was small at that time. "Sunil and I were the only people around; we had no choice but to do it. I've never felt that I have been a classic CFO. I am more of a generalist. What happens is that when you are a CFO and your primary task is to raise resources, people assume you are an expert in finance, which is not true in my case," Gupta said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/akhil-gupta-sunil-mittals-man-behind-bhartis-top-place-in-mobile-telephony/articleshow/17658724.cms

Roshni Nadar - Shiv Nadar Foundation !!!

18 DEC, 2012, 05.27AM IST, SHELLEY SINGH,ET BUREAU 

Roshni Nadar Malhotra: Building poor man's Doon school in UP to help build future leaders

Driving out of the Delhi National Capital Region on a spanking new highway to Agra, glitzy hotels, fancy apartments and fountains quickly give way to a narrow, four-meter wide road, heading into Bulandshahr, a district in Uttar Pradesh. There are mounds of drying cow dung, haystacks and open fields on both sides of the road. An hour's drive into the countryside and you won't miss the distinct two storey brick building on a 30 acre plot. It's the VidyaGyan School, one of the two free schools that the Shiv Nadar Foundation has set up. The building has been deliberately kept low rise to merge with the surrounding fields and villages.
Inside, the school could be mistaken for one in any big city. Sprawling sports grounds, neat assembly areas, boys and girls hostels and residences for teachers are part of this boarding school. Thirty-one-year old Roshni Nadar Malhotra set it up three years ago to help build future leaders from among India's bottom of the pyramid population.She believes this could do to poor students in UP what Doon school and the like do to India's elite. Daughter of technology czar Shiv Nadar, Roshni oversees one of the three areas in which her father's philanthropic foundation plans to spend a billion dollars in the next five years.The other two are museums, looked after by mother Kiran, and the eponymous Shiv Nadar University, where the founder himself is hands-on. "This (the school) is my baby," declares Roshni, a mother of two. Her second child, Aarman, is two months old. The foundation is spending Rs 1.5 lakh per child and offers free education from class six to the 12th standard. The spend covers student stay, uniforms, books et al. "We take the brightest lot from the bottom of the pyramid and want to give them the best education that any child in India can get," says Roshni. Fifth grade toppers across UP, among the underprivileged, can get admission to VidyaGyan. The school has 703 students (will scale up to 1,400) and 39 teachers and gets students mainly from western UP.The other school in Sitapur, near Lucknow, attracts students from central UP. The Foundation is planning a third school, to be located in east UP, and thus cover the whole state. This is Shiv Nadar's way of giving back to the state where the $6.2 billion in revenues HCL group was birthed.
The Road Less Travelled 
Roshni came back from the US three years ago after a management degree in social enterprise from KelloggGraduate School and brief stints at SkyNews and CNN as a news producer. She got busy in her father's companies with stints in treasury, finance, brand and corporate strategy. Then, she decided to take the road less travelled. "I am not interested in the technology business, at least not getting hands on. My involvement will be at the corporation level, in the preservation of wealth rather than direct involvement in HCL," says Roshni, executive director & CEO, HCL Corporation and trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation.
It's VidyaGyan that excites her now. Her plan is to pick up the brightest among the underprivileged at the bottom of the pyramid and give them the right environment and training to mould them into future leaders.

"Schools like Doon or Lawrence in Sanawar didn't decide to create leaders when they started. Look at their alumni list today and you have former a prime minister, Olympic gold medallist, army generals, cabinet ministers and leaders in different spheres. Some kind of training started at the school level itself that helped create leaders. We have just started that journey," says Roshni.
"VidyaGyan is a radical concept, yet to be tested and proven. We have to create a replicable model that will be an example of philanthropy both within and outside the country." "This (the philanthropic initiatives) is creative entrepreneurship for us. To make a difference you have to have large aspirations," she explains.
"I expect a future prime minister and future leaders out of VidyaGyan. These things don't happen over night, but over three-four decades." "She brings in lot of passion to any activity she takes up and is also hard working. That should help her see the dream come true," says Roshini Vadehra, director Vadehra Art Gallery.
She has known Roshni Nadar for 12 years. Roshni visits the school at least once a week and gets updates on progress on mails and phone. She knows the faculty by name and interacts frequently with students. The school has already made an impact in the region, with kids aspiring to study there. Says Biswajit Banerjee, principal, VidyaGyan, Bulandshahr: "Coaching schools have come up to train kids for admission to VidyaGyan. Roshni has the perseverance and patience to see results." Banerjee, an academician with 25 years of experience was previously principal of DPS Lucknow and head of Physics department at DPS Noida. Roshni's plan is not to take philanthropy to the masses, but rather focus on the brighter students among the poor.
"At present we are serving 1,400 students through the two VidyaGyan schools and that's really a drop in the ocean. We can't do and don't want to do everything," says Roshni. Could collaborations, perhaps with Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, help? "Philanthropy is all about sharing if there's an opportunity to collaborate, we will.Collaborating just for finance is pointless. It has to be like a business collaboration. As for the Gates Foundation, their focus is healthcare and we focus on education. There's no common ground at present," says Roshni. What about taking her father's business legacy forward - he built the HCL Group from scratch."I have given him a grandchild, and that's taking forward the legacy at the moment," says Roshni, looking at two-month old Aarman's picture on her iPhone.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/roshni-nadar-malhotra-building-poor-mans-doon-school-in-up-to-help-build-future-leaders/articleshow/17658856.cms?curpg=2

Wealth managers tap i-banks for talent

Published: Monday, Dec 10, 2012, 8:00 IST 

By Sachin P Mampatta | Place: Pune | Agency: DNA

Job-hunting investment bankers, please note: wealth managers want to hire you.Both foreign and Indian wealth management and private banking firms such as Barclays, India Infoline and Karvy are looking at sourcing talent from the investment banking segment.For, similar skills are required; and India's talent pool in wealth management is small. “Given the shortage of talent in wealth management, it becomes imperative to look at other avenues for sourcing talent,” said Anirban Banerjee, senior vice-president of human resources at IIFL Private Wealth.Satya Narayan Bansal, CEO of wealth and investment management at Barclays in India, said that roughly 25% of his workforce now has a corporate or investment banking background.

Similarly, Sunil Mishra, CEO of Karvy Private Wealth, said he has been hiring people from that segment for the last two years. Banerjee said IIFL, too, is looking to recruit investment bankers, including a couple of seniors.Typically, investment bankers provide banking services including cash management, advice on mergers and acquisitions, so on. Of late, revenues from investment banking have been on the decline, in line with market weakness.In a sense, job opportunities in wealth management may well prove a godsend for investment bankers in the existing environment. That bankers often share a relationship with the owners of the businesses that they service is a big help as a network of such contacts can come in handy in wealth management.With ex-investment bankers in charge, the wealth management segment may be able to tap owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which contribute over $200 billion (Rs10.8 lakh crore) to India's economic output, said some observers.

“Investment bankers bring valuable relationships on board, especially with SME owners. Hence, I feel that bankers working in the SME and the mid-market tiers are a good fit for wealth management,” said Mishra. He should know: he has added around five bankers to his team in the last couple of years. Banerjee of IIFL said it often helps private bankers or wealth managers snag deals involving family businesses which may be looking at inorganic growth opportunities or stake sales.“On one hand, an investment bank may not service such deals, as they deem these transactions small. On the other hand, trusted accounting counsels are not always equipped to handle such transactions. So, it makes for an interesting opportunity for a private wealth management company to be able to fill this void,” he said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_wealth-managers-tap-i-banks-for-talent_1775441