From highlights of Forbes India Leadership Awards to Vani Kola's entrepreneurship lessons, here are our most-read stories of the week

Girish Mathrubootham's 'Messi from Madras' dream, Spotify's spectacular run in India are some of the stories that piqued the interest of our readers this week

By Forbes India

Published: Apr 1, 2023 07:33:52 AM IST

Updated: Mar 31, 2023 05:59:00 PM IST

Every week, catch up on the best long form stories from Forbes India. Often peppered with our binge-worthy podcasts, videos or infographics too. Image: Shutterstock

1) Forbes India Leadership Awards 2023

The 12th edition of Forbes India Leadership Awards, held on March 24 in Mumbai, celebrated leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. It contributed to the conversation about inclusion and the importance of storytelling for brands, people, and leaders. Stalwarts from India Inc, sports, and entertainment industry including SN Subrahmanyan, MD & CEO of Larsen and Toubro; Abhay Soi, chairman and managing director of Max Healthcare; Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico; Padma Shri Avani Lekhara, Oscar winner Guneet Monga graced the occasion that honoured leaders of our time. Here are some glimpses of how the evening unfolded. Read here

2) 'Messi from Madras' dream

"Sprawling over 23 acres and built over a flattened watermelon field, the academy boasts of three Fifa-approved grounds (with natural grass, synthetic turf and hybrid), a learning academy and cutting-edge training and rehab facilities that align with global standards." This information, fitting of any European club academy, actually describes FC Madras Football Academy in Mahabalipuram. The Rs 100-plus crore project is being developed to fulfil Freshworks founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham's dream of creating a 'Messi from Madras'. “The setting up of the academy is the end of the journey for the architects, but, for us, the journey has only begun,” says Mathrubootham. Read here

3) Hitting high notes

India is one of the fastest growing markets for Swedish audio streaming giant Spotify, if you ask Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP of Markets and Subscriber Growth at Spotify. The streaming platform launched in India in 2017 with 70 percent international content on its roster. By 2023, 70 percent of the content comes from local artists and podcasters. This pivot to meet the audience on its terms has paid off. The growth has come on the back of an artiste-centric approach and adapting its subscription models. Is this the beginning of earning meaningful revenue? Read here

Discover

1) Vani Kola on Pathbreakers

This week on Forbes India Pathbreakers, Vani Kola, founder and MD of Kalaari Capital, one of the pioneers of venture capitalism in India, talks about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in times of mind-boggling valuations, rapid disruption, and intense competition. Kola reminisces about her learnings as an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and why she decided to return to India and build one of the first home-bred venture capital firms, solely focused on investing in early-stage tech startups. In this free-wheeling chat, she discusses a range of topics including market strategy, FOMO investing, the valuation game, governance issues, Kalaari's investment pipeline, and more. This is the first part of an exclusive two-part conversation. Watch here

2) Stories from Indian kitchens

What are the numerous untold tales behind a plate of food that you’ve ordered at a restaurant? In this episode of From the Bookshelves of Forbes India, restaurateur Gauri Devidayal talks about her new book Diamonds for Breakfast, which she has co-written with writer-editor Vishwas Kulkarni. She discusses how and why she wrote about her experience of running one of the most celebrated restaurants in Mumbai; who are the foot soldiers silently working behind the scenes to help run a successful business in India’s hyper-competitive F&B industry, and why running a restaurant, with all its perceived glamour and fun, is a game of patience and perseverance. Gauri is honest, fun, and candid. Listen on.

3) Plans for India

Antonio Neri, President and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has been on a buying spree. Since he took the reins of the IT giant in 2018, the company has acquired over 30 companies globally. On his visit to India in March this year, HPE announced plans to acquire Hyderabad-based OpsRamp, an IT operations management (ITOM) company. In this interview with Forbes India, Neri talks about how India stands out amidst concerns of a global recession, HPE's plans to manufacture in India, why the global IT sector may not feel much heat from a global economic slowdown and much more. Read here

4) Stubborn leader

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO of French electrical equipment giant Schneider Electric, first came to India as a backpacker in 1993. Three decades later, Tricoire reckons that India is at an inflection point in terms of economy. “It is on its way to becoming one of the top three, if not top two, economies in the world,” he says. In an exclusive interview with Forbes India, the 59-year-old Frenchman discusses the estimated Rs 1,400 crore investment the company is making to set up factories in India, the importance of empowering local teams, and lessons from his long career. Read here