Fortune India - October 2017

“MAKE SOMETHING WONDERFUL and put it out there.” The legendary Steve Jobs once said that, and the current head of Apple, Tim Cook, tweeted that line on Jobs’s death anniversary. It’s something we all aspire to do, and it’s something worth thinking about now, as we celebrate seven years in business. Seven years is a long time. Through all this, as we promised back in October 2010, we have chronicled the exciting stories of India Inc., have criticised some corporate actions and praised others, and profiled the movers and shakers of the business world. We’ve found stories everywhere, in storied conglomerates and bootstrapped startups, in conservative manufacturing firms, and in audacious attempts to reach the moon.
One of the issues we have grappled with over these years is that of corporate governance. And events of the past year have put that in the spotlight. With Cyrus Mistry’s ouster from Tata Sons, and Vishal Sikka’s dramatic resignation from Infosys, questions are being asked about the role of boards, promoters, and minority shareholders. Deputy editor Ashish Gupta and assistant editor Debabrata Das say that unless there’s some attempt to define and codify corporate governance, Mistry’s and Sikka’s stories will be repeated elsewhere. Corporate governance can help at the top. What about all those thousands of employees fired by large IT firms (including Infosys) and other companies? That’s a job for HR, right? Except, as principal correspondent Sneha Bhura finds, HR is woefully untrained to deal with this. That’s on page 96. Meanwhile, staying with the HR department, assistant editor Purba Das finds that more and more Indian companies are adopting technology—stuff like artificial intelligence and robotics—to help them recruit the right candidates. There’s a lot more besides, but I urge you to read the insightful interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook on page 132.