Top 10 BPO companies in India

1. Genpact

Genpact was born in 1997 as the India-based business process operations for GE Capital. In 2005, with equity investments from General Atlantic and Oak Hill Capital Partners, it became an independent company and was rebranded Genpact. It is India's No. 1 BPO firm.

Genpact manages business for companies around the world with a network of more than 30 operations centres in nine countries. Genpact offers services in finance and accounting, collections and customer service, insurance, supply chain and procurement, analytics, enterprise application and IT infrastructure.

Headed by Pramod Bhasin, the company had a staff strength of over 34,300 employees as on March 31, 2008. Its revenues for the year 2007 stood at $822.7 million.

Accolades won by Genpact

'No.1 Best Performing BPO' and 'No.3 Leader in Human Capital Development' by Global Services magazine, in 2008
Top 10 in IAOP's 'Global Outsourcing 100' list, 2007-08
'Top 10 Employer' distinction, Dalian, China, 2006-08
'No.1 ITeS-BPO Company' in India by NASSCOM, 2005-08

2. WNS Global

WNS Global serves several industries, including travel, insurance, financial services, healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, distribution and retail. Warburg Pincus is the majority shareholder in WNS Global Services.

The Nasdaq-listed company with more than 9,000 professionals was set up in 1996. Neeraj Bhargava is a co-founder of WNS (Holdings) Ltd and group chief executive officer. It posted a quarterly revenue of $116.1 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008, up 4.9 per cent from the corresponding quarter last year. Its revenues stand at $459.9 million, up 30.5 per cent from fiscal 2007.

Accolades won by WNS Global
Nasscom ranking: No. 1 BPO Company for the year 2005
NeoIT Global Survey: No. 1 'Best Performing' BPO Company / No. 1 in Human Capital

3. IBM Daksh

The five-year old IBM Daksh was created by four profesionals -- Sanjiv Agarwal, Pawan Vaish, MJ Aravind and Venkat Tedanki -- who saw a great opportunity in the business process outsourcing space. With no business model to follow, it was a big challenge to set up the company.

IBM Daksh is known for a good leadership, a focussed vision and an undying passion. In April 2004, IBM Corporation acquired Daksh e-Services to serve as a global hub to manage business processes for clients from across the world.

With 14 service delivery centres in India, IBM Daksh has more than 36 centers around the world. Today IBM Daksh employs more than 20,000 people. Pavan Vaish is the chief executive officer of IBM Daksh Business Process Services. A co-founder of Daksh eServices, he has been with the organisation since January 2000.

Accolades for IBM Daksh

Frost & Sullivan Contact Center Outsourcing Vendor of the Year 2007
Most Respected BPO Company in India(BusinessWorld)
IBM Daksh tops the 2007 Global Outsourcing 100

4. Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide

Aditya Birla Minacs is part of the $24 billion global conglomerate, the Aditya Birla Group. Aditya Birla Minacs was formed when Minacs, Canada's leading BPO company, and TransWorks, the BPO arm of Aditya Birla Group, joined hands to become a leading global business process outsourcing player.

Aditya Birla Minacs clocked revenues to the tune of $392 million (or about Rs 1,575 crore) till March 2008, a 17 per cent rise over the previous year's $335 million. With over 26 years of experience, Aditya Birla Minacs offers BPO solutions for Fortune 500 clients. Minacs has more than 12,000 employees at locations in North America, Europe and Asia.

It serves clients in automotive, banking, financial services, insurance, telecommunications and technology verticals. Dev Bhattacharya is the managing director for Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Nuvo.

Awards for Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide

Dataquest (annual Top 20 BPO listing) - Ranked as India's No 2 BPO company
NASSCOM 2006-07 - Ranked as India's third largest BPO, based on export revenues
NASSCOM - Among Top 100 IT innovators in India IT People Group

5. TCS BPO

TCS BPO is one of the leader players in the outsourcing industry. It offers services in areas such as finance and accounting, banking, HR outsourcing, KPO, insurance, payroll, healthcare, telecom, media, travel and entertainment.

TCS operates from more than 41 countries and has more than 155 offices across the globe. Its head office in India is located in Bangalore. It has branches in Mumbai, Gurgaon, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow and many other places in India.

While Tata Consultancy Services is India's top software company, TCS BPO established a stronghold in the BPO space. The TCS group posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,290.61 crore (Rs 12.90 billion) for the first quarter ended June 30, 2008, an increase of 7.3 per cent compared to the year-ago period.

Accolades for TCS BPO

In 2006, TCS BPO was named as one of the world's top BPO providers by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.

6. Wipro BPO

Wipro BPO has carved a unique position in the outsourcing industry. In 2002, Wipro took a quantum jump in the BPO services by acquiring the then Spectramind. Wipro BPO Solutions, complements the services offered by Wipro Technologies, making it one of the largest BPO service players.

The company with over 19,000 people, operating out of 9 different locations (India and Eastern Europe) serves clients across the globe. Wipro BPO clientele spans across banking and capital markets, insurance, travel and hospitality, hi-tech manufacturing, telecom and healthcare sectors. T K Kurien heads Wipro's BPO operations.The IT services revenue for Wipro Technologies stood at Rs 4,405 crore(Rs. 44.05 billion), a YoY growth of 39 per cent.

Accolades won by Wipro BPO

Wipro BPO & Cairn India declared winner at the first annual 'FAO Research Awards of Distinction'
Wipro BPO has been rated as a Best Employer in India in the Best Employers Hewitt Survey for 2007
Wipro BPO is the winner of the 2007 Global BPO Standard Bearer by IQPC

7. First Source

Firstsource (formerly ICICI Onesource) is a leading global business process management company. Founded in 2001, the company is ranked third in BusinessWeek's 'Hot player' list of offshore outsourcing companies.

The company has 17,000 employees in centres across India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina and the Philippines. Ananda Mukerji is the managing director and chief executive officer. Its revenues for the year ended March 31 2008 stood at Rs 12,988 million, up 53.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Accolades won by First Source

Ranked among the top 10 ITES companies by NASSCOM, 2007
National Outsourcing Association (NOA) award for best Telecom outsourcing project, 2007

8. Infosys BPO

Infosys BPO Ltd, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, was set up in April 2002. Today, it is ranked among the leading BPO companies in India by NASSCOM, Dataquest, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, Red Herring, FAO Today and NelsonHall.

Infosys BPO focuses on integrated end-to-end outsourcing through lesser costs. Infosys BPO operates in India, the Czech Republic, China, Philippines, Poland, Bangkok, Mexico and employs about 16,295 people. It closed FY2007-08 with revenues of $250.3 million.

Accolades won by Infosys BPO

Infosys conferred 'Provider of the Year' award by FAO Today in 2008
Listed among top BPO companies in Dataquest, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, Red Herring lists

9. HCL BPO

HCL BPO, a division of HCL Technologies Limited was established in 2001. With over 13,200 professionals operating out of India and Northern Ireland, HCL BPO runs fourteen delivery centres across India, UK and Malaysia.

The company has reported revenues to the tune of $220.9 million. HCL BPO also offers multilingual support in eight European languages and eight Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections (APAC) languages. HCL BPO's focuses on sectors like telecom, retail, banking and financial services, insurance, hi-tech & manufacturing, and media, publishing and entertainment. Shiv Nadar is the founder, chairman and chief strategy officer of HCL Technologies.

Accolades of HCL BPO

Ranked second in Purdue Benchmark (2003) Global Peer Group of BPO Service Providers
Ranked third in Highest Satisfaction for Business Process Outsourcing by the Black Book of Outsourcing (2007)
Ranks among the Top 10 ITeS-BPO companies in India (NASSCOM & Dataquest)


10. EXL Service Holdings

EXL Service Holdings came into existence in April 1999 in Delaware, US. It was founded by a group of professionals including Vikram Talwar (now executive chairman) and Rohit Kapoor, who is now the CEO. Vikram was then the CEO and managing director of Ernst & Young, and Rohit managed international investments for clients at Deutsche Bank.

In August 2001, Conseco acquired EXL and operated as its wholly owned subsidiary. Later, in November 2002, Oak Hill Capital Partners L.P. and FTVentures along with members of the senior management team bought EXL from Conseco making it a third party pure-play business process outsourcing service provider.

The company has seen a fast-paced growth with 50 clients and a staff strength of 8,200 employees. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 were $50.9 million compared to $39.9 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2007, an increase of 27.8 per cent.

Accolades for EXL Service Holdings

Recognised as one of the Top 100 hot growth companies for 2007
Among the top 10 best performing BPOs in CMP Media's list
No.1 rising star in the Global Outsourcing list by International Association of Outsourcing Professionals

Read more »

Meltdown: Thousands of jobs to go globally!

Kingfisher to cut 300 jobs, Lehman 2,500

Most of the 2,500-odd employees working for investment banking giant Lehman Brothers in India stand to lose their jobs.

With the financial crisis spreading and oil prices rising, the airline industry too is under heavy pressure. Just a fortnight after it launched international operations and integrated low-cost carrier Simplify Deccan with it, Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines has laid off at least 300 employees.

The move closely follows a recent announcement by value carrier, JetLite, fully-owned subsidiary of Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways that it was downsizing by at least 750 employees.

It is also believed that of the 300 employees, only five per cent are from Kingfisher Airlines, and the rest from the erstwhile Simplify Deccan.

HSBC to cut 1,100 jobs

British banking major HSBC will cut almost 1,100 jobs worldwide following the financial meltdown in US and European markets. The cuts will affect the bank's global banking and markets operation.

The reduction in jobs will be equal to nearly 4 per cent of the total workforce at its global banking and marketing division. HSBC currently has 335,000 employees.

Washington Mutual: 1,000 to lose jobs

Tumbling profitability, a slowdown in business in the global financial services sector and a major dip in confidence about the current turbulent market conditions have all contributed to a rise in job fears.

Washington Mutual's 'fall' too will lead to over 1,000 jobs being laid off.

GSK to cut 1,000 R&D jobs

GlaxoSmithKline, Britian's largest pharmaceuticals firm, plans to axe almost 1,000 people at its American and British R&D units. The cuts are likely to improve productivity and save costs.

AkzoNobel to cut 3,500 jobs

AkzoNobel, the Dutch chemicals giant, will cut 3,500 jobs across its global operations and will save close to $200 million dollars.

AkzoNobel has recently taken over paints major Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). AkzoNobel has recently also divested its pharma unit Organon to US-based Schering-Plough Corp.

H-P to sack 24,600

Hewlett-Packard will lay off as many as 24,600 people over the next three years as it seeks to cut costs at Electronic Data Systems, the IT major that HP recently acquired.

Although most of the jobs will be cut at the Plano, Texas-based EDS, some HP workers too will be affected.

HP said the cuts will produce an annual cost savings of $1.8 billion. HP employs more than 178,000 people worldwide.

UBS to lay off 2,000

European banking giant UBS plans to cut 2,000 jobs in its investment banking, equities, and fixed income units.

Some support staff jobs will also be lost. The current financial crisis has hit European banks hard.

UBS is downsizing its investment banking operations, after rising writedowns led to big clients withdrawing funds from the bank.

25,000 may lose jobs at Lehman

Employees of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, ever since the investment bank filed for the biggest bankruptcy in American history, are in a state of fear.

If the administrators at the bankrupt investment bank manage to salvage some parts of the Lehman Brothers business, then employees in those divisions will not lose their jobs.

However, as things stand, most of Lehman's 25,000 employees globally will have to find new employment.

Wachovia to see heavy downsizing

Lloyds TSB, which took over HBOS in a $21.5-billion buyout, also said that the deal will create one of the strongest banks in the UK but lead to thousands of job losses and branch closures.

Similarly, Wachovia which was acquired by Citigroup will also see some jobs being lost.

Chrysler to cut 250 white-collar jobs

US carmaker Chrysler is set to give the pink slip to 1,000 white-collar workers.

The job cuts are in line with Chrysler's plan to cut costs and streamline its operations.

Merrill Lynch jobs to go

The takeover of US investment giant Merrill Lynch by Bank of America for $50 billion will also lead to hundreds of employees losing their jobs.

Renault announces 2,000 job cuts

French automaker Renault says it plans to cut 6,000 jobs at its European subsidiaries over the next few months.

The auto company has been affected by a slowing down in sales due to the deceleration in the global economy.

Volvo to cut 1,400 staff

Swedish auto giant Volvo will lay off around 1,400 workers at truck plants in Belgium and Sweden because of falling demand in Europe.

The company said 400 jobs will go at a plant in Ghent, Belgium, and 980 at two Swedish plants in Gothenburg and Umea.

Sony Ericsson to sack 2,000

Cellphone firm Sony Ericsson will cut 2,000 jobs within a year as it restructures its worldwide operations. The move is likely to save $422 million for the company.

Wal-Mart to cut hundreds of jobs

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to cut about 500 jobs. A weak financial and economic climate has led to a significant drop in consumer buying causing a proportionate decline in corporate earnings.

And even as workers the world over shiver with fear, economists believe that more jobs may be lost over the next few months as major global economies experience a slowdown.

Read more »

India's hottest businessmen

Ratan Tata

Ratan Naval Tata has been in the news for the past few days due to the unseemly controversy over the Nano car plant in Singur, West Bengal.

The 70-year-old is the chairman of the Tata Group, which is one of India's largest conglomerates.

A bachelor, Tata is one of the most admired businessmen not just in India but the world over. He has been at the helm of the Tata empire since 1991.

N R Narayana Murthy

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy is the co-founder, non-executive chairman and chief mentor of India's best known software firm, Infosys Technologies Ltd.

Murthy is a globally known and highly regarded entrepreneur.

Azim Premji

Azim Premji is the chairman Wipro, India's second largest software firm after Tata Consultancy Services.

Premji is credited with transforming Wipro, his family's vegetable oil business, into one of the world's foremost software company.

Although one of the richest Indians, he flies economy class and is happiest when hiking, reading or discussing the foundation he has set up to promote primary education.

Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is, according to Forbes the world's fifth richest man and his net worth is estimated at $43 billion.

The Indian billionaire and his younger brother parted ways after the death of their father, Dhirubhai, the patriarch of the Reliance empire.

Mukesh is currently building a $2-billion home on Mumbai's Altamount Road.

Anil Ambani

Anil Ambani is Mukesh's younger brother. With a net worth estimated at $42 billion, he is also the world's 6th richest man.

The chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Anil has a vast range of companies under his umbrella: Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Mutual Funds, Reliance Energy, etc.

He is married to former Bollywood actress Tina Munim.

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Bharti Group chairman & managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal is one of India's greatest success stories. In just a period of 10 years, he has built India's largest cellular services company.

His net worth is estimated at close to $12 billion.

Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya is a shrewd businessman and a Member of Parliament. He is the chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines.

One of India�s richest men, his wealth is estimated at $1.4 billion. Mallya is also the owner of Force India F1 racing team and also of the Indian Premier League�s cricket team, Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Rahul Bajaj

Padma Bhushan awardee and Rajya Sabha member Rahul Bajaj is the chairman of Bajaj Auto.

An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Bajaj is an outspoken and fearless entrepreneur. His two sons, Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv, are now handling the Bajaj businesses, under his guidance.

Anand Mahindra

A Harvard alumnus, Anand Mahindra is the vice chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra.

The 53-year-old businessman has taken his company to unprecedented heights. He is married to Anuradha Mahindra, who edits three niche magazines.

S 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan

S 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Infosys Technologies Ltd.

An IIT-Madras alumnus, Gopalakrishnan is a very soft-spoken and shy person. His net worth is estimated to be around $1.4 billion.

Nandan Nilekani

Co-chairman and co-founder of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Nandan Nilekani is a well know and widely admired entrepreneur.

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej, chairman of the renowned Godrej Group, is one of India's great businessmen.

Even when India was still a closed economy, he managed to take his group to great heights. When India embraced economic reforms, he changed the way his group did business to face the challenges of changing times and needs. Godrej is also involved in philanthropy.

Read more »

Billionaire college dropouts!

Dhirubhai Ambani

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani (1932-2002) was born into a modest family of a schoolteacher. When he was 16, he dropped out of school and went to Aden to work as a gas-station attendant and then later as a clerk in an oil company.

He returned to India 10 years later and started a business with a meagre capital. By the time of his demise, his company -- Reliance Industries Ltd -- had grown into a mammoth business empire! He was one of India's greatest ever entrepreneurs.

Dhirubhai is credited with having single-handedly breathed life into the Indian stock markets and bringing in thousands of investors to the bourses. In the process he became one of the world's richest men.

His modern way of thinking brought into play his second achievement: the idea that Indian manufacturing could and should be world class.

His sons, Mukesh and Anil are among the top 10 richest persons in the world, each of them worth over $40 billion.

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani (1932-2002) was born into a modest family of a schoolteacher. When he was 16, he dropped out of school and went to Aden to work as a gas-station attendant and then later as a clerk in an oil company.

He returned to India 10 years later and started a business with a meagre capital. By the time of his demise, his company -- Reliance Industries Ltd -- had grown into a mammoth business empire! He was one of India's greatest ever entrepreneurs.

Dhirubhai is credited with having single-handedly breathed life into the Indian stock markets and bringing in thousands of investors to the bourses. In the process he became one of the world's richest men.

His modern way of thinking brought into play his second achievement: the idea that Indian manufacturing could and should be world class.

His sons, Mukesh and Anil are among the top 10 richest persons in the world, each of them worth over $40 billion.

Gautam Adani

Gautam Adani (1962-) is chairman of the Adani Group, that is one of India's largest export and trading houses.

He is one of India's richest businessmen with an estimated personal net worth of $6.7 billion.

The Adani Group, despite a humble beginning in 1988, is one of the fastest growing enterprises in India. The flagship company, Adani Enterprises Ltd. (formerly known as Adani Exports Ltd.), was established by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a partnership firm with a seed capital of Rs 500,000.

Gautam Adani dropped out of college at the age of 18 and went on to work in Mumbai at a diamond store. He later set up his own diamond firm.

Born in a family of modest means in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Gautam was one of the seven children of Shantilal and Shantaben Adani.

Later, along with his elder brother Mansukhbhai, he entered into import of raw materials used for manufacturing plastics. When import duties on the materials they imported were cut, following liberalisation, their profits multiplied.

Today, Gautam Adani owns two private jets.

Subhash Chandra

Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee TV and the Essel Group, dropped out of school when he was only 12.

He started his own vegetable oils and rice trading unit at 19 in Hissar, Haryana.

He launched Zee Telefilms in October 1992 as a content supplier for Zee TV -- India's first Hindi satellite channel.

He pioneered new businesses: amusement park (Esselworld), laminated tubes (Essel Tubes,) satellite television (Zee TV). He has also set up world class facilities that made quality products at competitive prices.

His personal wealth is estimated at $2.3 billion.

Bill Gates

For long the world's richest man, till he was upstaged by legendary investor Warren Buffett recently, Bill Gates wears many a hat: computer whiz kid, entrepreneur extraordinaire, compassionate capitalist, top management thinker. . .

Born on October 28, 1955, William H Gates III grew up in Seattle with his two sisters.

Their father, William H Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Their late mother, Mary, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International.

Gates attended public elementary school and the private Lakeside School. There, he discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13.

In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's chief executive officer. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair.

In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen.

Bill Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January, 2000; remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. Gates's last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as a part-time, non-executive chairman.

Gates married Melinda French from Dallas, Texas on January 1, 1994. They have three children: Jennifer Katharine Gates (1996), Rory John Gates (1999) and Phoebe Adele Gates (2002).

Li Ka-shing

Li Ka-Shing, whose net worth is estimated at $18.8 billion, is one of the richest men in Asia.

The chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings was only 12-years-old when his family fled from China after the Japanese invaded the country.

They arrived in Hong Kong looking to make a life for themselves. However, when Li was only 15, his father passed away forcing him to drop out of school and support the family.

He started off working at his uncle's shop, selling watches. When he was 21, he established his own plastic manufacturing company that dealt in high-quality plastic flowers. He also ventured into real estate development, retail, ports, and power, electronics, and telecommunications.

Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn, a corporate raider and a private equity investor, was educated at Princeton University and New York University School of Medicine, but left prior to graduation.

Not becoming a doctor turned out for the good for Icahn, who is a billionaire financier with an estimated net worth of $14 billion.

Icahn calls himself an activist investor and is leading a shareholder revolt at Yahoo hoping that the Internet giant will sell out to Microsoft. He has launched a proxy fight to unseat Yahoo's board.

Roman Abramovich

Billionaire Russian businessman Roman Abramovich is best known for owning the United Kingdom's Chelsea Football Club.

He started his business in the late 1980s after the then Russian President Michael Gorbachev set in motion a few economic reforms.

Abramovich has invested around $500 million into Chelsea Football Club since buying it in 2003 and transformed the fortunes of the London team in just two years.

He also owns the private investment company Millhouse Capital, and with a net worth of $23.5 billion, is one of the richest persons alive.

He invested around $500 million since taking over the football club in 2003 and transformed the fortunes of the London team in just two years.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren was born in a Jewish family in the Bronx. He was so enamoured of fashion that even as a schoolboy he would work after school to make money to buy suits.

He went to the City College of New York to study business but soon dropped out. He joined the army for a while and then began to work for Brooks Brothers as a salesman.

He started a necktie business under the label 'Polo' in 1967, and then went on to build a global reputation for himself as a fashion designer and a formidable businessman.

His net worth is estimated to be around $3.8 billion.

David Geffen

David Geffen is the founder of Geffen Records and Dreamworks SKG.

He was born in New York and studied at New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn before going to University of Texas in Austin. However, he soon dropped out.

He began his entertainment career in the mailroom working in a talent agency. In 1971, at the age of 28, which singed on noted artistes such as Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. His company was acquired by Warner and merged with Elektra Records in 1972, but Geffen remained in-charge of the business till 1975. In 1975, he become the vice chairman of Warner Brothers.

In 1980, he set up Geffen Records. His net worth is estimated at $4.4 billion.

Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs (1955-) and Apple Computer are names that have long gone together.

Born in the United States to an unknown Egyptian-Arab father, Jobs was adopted soon after birth. After graduating high school, he enrolled in Reed College, dropping out after one semester.

In 1976, 21-year-old Jobs and 26-year-old Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer Co in the family garage. Jobs revolutionised the industry by popularising the concept of home computers.

By 1984, the Macintosh was introduced. He had an influential role in the building of the World Wide Web. He is also the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

Today, with the iPod and the iPhone, Apple is bigger than ever. Incidentally, Jobs worked for several years at an annual salary of $1. It got him a listing in the Guinness Book as 'Lowest Paid CEO.' He was once gifted a $90 million jet by the company though. And his net worth? More than $5.4 billion.

Larry Ellison

Lawrence Joseph Ellison (1944-), co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, founded his company in 1977 with a sum of $2,000.

Once a school dropout, he is now one of the richest people in America with a net worth of around $25 billion.

As a young man, Ellison worked for the Ampex Corporation, where one of his projects was a database for the CIA. He called it Oracle, a name he was to reuse years later for the company that made him famous.

Ellison is quite a colourful man, and has long dabbled in all kinds of things. Want to learn more? Try his biography, The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison.

Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) is better known, today, as the steel tycoon who started over 2,800 libraries. His rags-to-riches tale is also among the most famous in American history.

After moving to Pennsylvania from Scotland, at the age of 13 he worked as a bobbin boy in a textile mill. He invested his money wisely and, within a span of four decades, managed to gain control of a number of manufacturing plants that grew to become the Carnegie Steel Company.

He is equally -- if not more -- famous for his donations of over $350 million to further public education: an ironic gesture coming from a dropout.

The author Dale Carnegie was a distant relative, gaining fame for his 1937 bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People. And here's another titbit to chew on: During the American Civil War, Andrew Carnegie avoided the battlefield by paying a replacement the sum of $850.

Read more »

The world's most reputable companies

TATA GROUP, 6TH IN THE WORLD

The Tata Group has emerged as the world's sixth most reputed company, joined by 10 others from India such as Infosys, Maruti and SBI in a list of Top-200 firms. Tata Group is one of India's largest industrial conglomerates and runs more than 98 firms.












No. 14: INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES

The Ratan Tata-led group is joined by India's second largest software exporter Infosys Technologies in the Top-50 league at 14th position.

Both Tata Group and Infosys have leapfrogged over 100 positions from their last year's ranks in the annual "Global 200: The World's Best Corporate Reputations" list, compiled by US-based Reputation Institute.

No. 1: TOYOTA

The global list, which includes 10 other Indian companies, has been topped by Japanese auto maker Toyota. The Japanese giant is also the world's largets car manufacturer.

No. 2: GOOGLE

Google is an American Internet company and worldwide search giant, and is the world's second most reputable company.

Apart from Tata and Infosys, 9 other Indian firms, which were among 600 companies considered in a survey to prepare the list, could not make it to the final 200. These firms include Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, the country's biggest by revenue among private sector firms and overall largest in terms of market value.

No. 3: IKEA

IKEA is a global home products retailer. It is the world's third most reputable firm. Earlier this year, the Swedish major trashed the Indian retail growth story saying that the country was not even 'an emerging market' ready for big retailers with players making more mistakes than success.

Meanwhile, the other Indian companies that were considered for the list, but failed to make the cut include the biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank, top private and public sector telecom firms Bharti Airtel and BSNL, IT giant Wipro, Birla group's Grasim Industries, tobacco-to-consumer goods conglomerate ITC as well as two state-run firms -- oil refining and marketing major BPCL and national carrier Air India Ltd.

No. 4: FERRERO

Ferrero is an Italian confectioner. It is the world's fourth most reputable business entity.

While releasing its latest Global Pulse report, Reputation Institute said that Tata Group and Air India have the strongest and weakest corporate reputations, respectively, among the companies from India.

Besides Tata and Infosys, other firms that made to the top 200 list include, Maruti Udyog (Suzuki) Ltd, State Bank of India, Hindustan Lever Ltd, Hero Honda Motors, Life Insurance Corp of India, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Mahindra and Mahindra and Indian Oil Corp.

No. 5: JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Johnson & Johnson is a global pharmaceutical major. The American major is the world's fifth most reputable firm.

Both Tata and Infosys have gained over 100 spots each to join the top tier of global companies.

"India's Tata Group and Infosys Technologies saw their reputations increase by over 8 points in 2008, and catapulted over 100 spots in the ranking to join the top tier of global companies in 2008, in recognition of their growing role among the world's business elite," the report said.

No. 7: KRAFT FOODS

Kraft Foods Inc of the US is world's third largest food and beverage company. It is also the seventh most reputable firm on earth.

However, the highest jump in ranking has been seen by China's Faw Group (ranked 41st with an improvement of 178 spots), followed by Norway's Coop, Canada's Sobey's and Japan's AEON, all of which have gained over 100 spots.

Maruti, the country's biggest car maker, has been ranked at 77th, SBI at 107th, HLL (now renamed as HUL) at 131st, Hero Honda at 147th, LIC at 161st, Bajaj Auto at 169th, ONGC at 186th , M&M at 191s and IOC at 199th position.

No. 8: NOVO NORDISK

Novo Nordisk is a Denmark's largest and one of the world's biggest manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. It is the world's eighth most reputable firm.

Globally, food and beverage giant PepsiCo, headed by a person of Indian origin Indra Nooyi, has been ranked 100th.

Tatas are ranked higher than companies like Walt Disney, Marks and Spencers, Xerox, Colgate-Palmolive, Sony, Honda, General Electric (GE), all of which are in the top-50.

The survey was conducted on 600 largest companies from 27 countries, out of which 200 were selected for the list। Toyota earned the highest ranking with a score of 86.53, followed by Google with 85.23 points.

No. 9: GRUPO BIMBO SA

Grupo Bimbo is a giant Mexican food corporation. It might not be too well known in India, but is considered the world's ninth most reputable firm.

Reputation Institute said that all the 200 companies earned scores higher than the global mean of 64.2 points, but despite earnings better-than-global average, the companies ranked 51-200 have "significantly weaker reputations than the top tier companies."

The top-20 include six from the US, two each from India and Japan and one each from Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland

No. 10: MIGROS

Migros is one of Switzerland's largest supermarket chain. The Federation of Migros Cooperatives, which owns Migros chain of superstores, ranks number 10 in the world in terms of reputation.

The overall rankings are based on the companies' performance on seven dimensions --- workplace, citizenship, governance, products/services, innovation, leadership and performance.

The global leader Toyota has topped on four dimensions. Among Indian companies, Infosys is ranked fifth in citizenship and leadership categories and fourth in governance and products/services.

Tata Group has been ranked fifth in governance and third in leadership.

Reputation Institute is a private advisory firm specialising in corporate reputation management and Global Purse is its flagship research study conducted annual with about 60,000 consumers in 27 countries, from which it derives the rankings of world's most reputed companies.

The institute said that general public tends to rate makers of consumer products, computers and electronics well above the global mean.

"By contrast, communications companies and utilities largely anchor the bottom of the distributions. Companies operating in these sectors face an uphill battle in communicating with the general public," it noted.

Financial companies also face similar uphill battle, the report said, adding that pharma, conglomerate, raw materials, airline, food/tobacco and chemical industries hover around the middle of the ranks globally.

Read more »