Mehmood Khan grew up in Mewat, Haryana, one of the most backward districts in the country. Hard work and native intelligence took him to London, headquarters to consumer products giant Unilever, where he was head of global innovation. While there, he decided to use his network and business skills to help pull out the 4 million-odd residents of Mewat out of the boondocks. So he networked with IBM, Future Group and Mother Diary among others to build local enterprise using local talent.
There is a reason for it, says Nachiket Mor, president of the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth. He created a stir when he walked out of a high profile career at ICICI Bank to help set up the foundation in 2007 A few years ago, says Mor, he was at a dinner at the United Nations in New York after attending the board meeting of CARE, a leading NGO. While there, a senior business person who headed the local chapter in the city narrated a deeply personal experience. He was a high flier in a leading global firm and by all accounts was destined for the top job. That was until the chairman called him in one day and told him the board had been studying his resume closely.
(This story appears in the 04 December, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Thank you for such an interesting article. It is time that policies also made it easier for corporate entities and individuals to give back more to the society. Simple procedural changes, like permitting a company to directly credit dividend (at the behest of the shareholder) into the bank account of an NGO, providing tax sops for donations in kind - such as medicines donated by a pharma company (Today varying tax breaks are available for donations in cash u/s 80G) would go a long way. Best regards, Lubna
on Nov 22, 2009