Hyatt Appoints Sunjae Sharma as VP, Operations India from Dec 15

Hyatt hotels in India today announced the appointment of Sunjae Sharma as Vice President of Operations for India. A seasoned hospitality professional, Sharma will lead Hyatt’s India operations and will be responsible for executing the company's operational and growth strategy in his new role. He will assume his new position at Hyatt's Gurgaon headquarters effective December 15, 2017, and will report to Peter Fulton, Group President, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Southwest Asia for Hyatt.

Commenting on the appointment, Peter Fulton said, "Sunjae has been an integral part of Hyatt’s 34-year journey in India. His leadership skills, business acumen, industry foresight, and strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders speak volumes about his professional capabilities. He has been with Hyatt for over a decade, and we believe that with his operational skills and vision he is the ideal choice to lead Hyatt’s quest to be the most preferred hotel brand in India.”

"I am looking forward to this role in these exciting times for Hyatt globally and in India, as we celebrate 60 spectacular years in 2017. I have been very fortunate to grow within an organisation whose purpose is to “care for people so that they can be their best”; and one that has been my second home for more than a decade.  As I take on this wonderful opportunity, I look forward to making a difference and growing with intent towards an exciting future for Hyatt in India” said Sharma.

Prior to being appointed vice president of operations for India, Sharma was the Area Vice President for South & West India and General Manager of Grand Hyatt Mumbai, where he oversaw the strategic and financial performance of 16 hotels.

With diversified hospitality experience of close to 28 years, spanning a number of hospitality brands, Sharma is a graduate of the prestigious Institute of Hotel Management. He started his Hyatt career with the Grand Hyatt in Delhi as Director Food & Beverage in 2001; later moving on to Hyatt Regency Kolkata as Director of Operations. Apart from being an avid hotelier, Sunjae loves to travel, enjoys football and playing golf. 

CAPSI Hosts Security Skills & Leadership Summit 2017 in New Delhi

The 12^th Security Skills & Leadership Summit 2017 organized by CAPSI (Central Association of Private Security Industry) and APDI (Association of Private Detective & Investigators) was held on 16th December 2017 at Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi. Union minister of state for external affairs General VK Singh was the Chief Guest at the valedictory session. Shivraj Patil, former Governor of Punjab, also addressed this summit.

The agenda of this conference gave an opportunity to the members of the association to raise an alarm about the pertinent issues related to PSARA, GST, Labour and Skilling of the Security Guards and Supervisors.

The Chairman of CAPSI & APDI, Kunwar Vikram Singh addressed the members mentioning the strength and the weaknesses of the Private Security industry. He said “the sector currently employs 7.5 million people in 22,000 private security agencies. The current GST regime will collapse the sector financially and that there is a need for amendments of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act in consultation with the security agencies. They urge the prime minister to proactively consider their demands and save the sector which could prove crucial for success of skill India and also in generating jobs”.

While at the award ceremony, the most popular and much awaited award for the "Young Security Entrepreneur of the Year" was presented to Akash Saxena, Founder & Director, Topshield Security Services Pvt Ltd. 

“It feels great to be a part of an industry which is thriving each day. And receiving this award is just fulfilling my dream and the power to bring changes that I foresee”, says Akash Saxena.

Topshield Security has seen a tremendous growth within a decade under his guidance, laying emphasis on the significance of quick response team in their working.  

Apple Features the Bigbasket App in ‘The App Store Best of 2017’

Apple has featured the bigbasket app in its coveted list of ‘The App Store Best of 2017’ that covers most innovative apps and games. bigbasket’s online grocery app is the only platform from this segment to have got an entry into the prestigious list under the category Lifestyle - Save Time, Live Life: India.

The App Store Best of 2017 showcases this year’s most innovative apps and games, and celebrates the amazing app experiences that developers like bigbasket have created for the App Store. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded 12.5 Million times on both Android and iOS platforms. What makes the bigbasket app suited to this recognition is the fact that through an innovative platform, it is helping people save time, money and manage their other commitments without bothering about the hassles of going grocery shopping to the market.

Speaking about this, Hari Menon, CEO, bigbasket, said, “This is indeed another feather in bigbasket’s cap. We are delighted that our App has been rated as one of the best across categories. It reinforces that we are going in the right direction. We have always ensured that bigbasketeers get an extremely user friendly experience every time they purchase from us. With the new 4.0 version release of our app in July this year, we have made it even better in terms of discoverability, better search algorithms, navigation points & overall speed. Getting such a recognition from industry players certainly fuels our motivation to do better.”

With the bigbasket Mobile app, one can access all the products from the wide range of over 20000 SKUs that bigbasket offers. One can search/browse through the entire product catalog, view products on offer, manage shopping lists, place orders, and view the order history. A plethora of payment options are available. The app also has the smart basket which gives customers a smart compilations of the products they buy regularly. The App cart is synced to the user’s web account, so they can start shopping on the web and complete it on the mobile app or vice versa.

With a few hundred daily orders, bigbasket had a modest beginning. In five years, with the support of its customers, it has surpassed the 60,000 daily orders mark to become India’s largest online supermarket & 6^th largest grocery retailer of India across online & offline formats. The company has recently crossed the 6 million customers mark. bigbasket has also recently strengthened its B2B business by expanding to the HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, and Caterers) segment and partnering with SnapBizz, a retail-technology firm, in an effort to transform India’s kirana stores into technology-enabled modern retail stores. bigbasket closed the previous fiscal year with Rs 1,410 crore in revenue and broke even in 2 key markets – Bangalore & Hyderabad in its slotted delivery business.

Axis Start-up Social Aims to Provide a Platform for Startups to Network and Share Knowledge

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank is launching an exclusive networking property, Axis Start-up Social, at a ‘one-of-its-kind’ event aimed at supporting the country’s startup ecosystem. ‘Axis Start -Up Social’ will go ‘live’ tomorrow, i.e. December 15^th, 2017 at a gathering of the country’s leading startup players in Bengaluru.

The objective of this platform is to provide an opportunity for startups to network and share knowledge. Significantly, this initiative firmly underlines the Bank’s unflinching commitment towards providing multiple opportunities for startups in India to thrive and scale to the next-level-of-growth. The unveiling of ‘Axis Start-up Social’ comes close on the heels of the launch of the bank’s innovation lab, Thought Factory, which looks to aid startups to expand, besides opening up avenues with potential investors and companies. The Bank also launched its   Axis Startup Banking product earlier this year, which is bundled with all key technology enabled products and caters comprehensively to banking needs of startups. Over 100 leading names among the start-up community are expected to converge at the launch.

India continues to be a hotbed for startups especially with the Government’s relentless focus to provide a congenial environment for them to conduct business. As per a recent Nasscom Startup Report, the year has seen an addition of over 1,000 startups bolstering India’s position as one of the leading startup ecosystems across the world. This takes the total number of technology startups in the country to over 5,000, as per the Report. Importantly, while Technology continues to dominate conversations, startups in other sectors such as Healthcare, and Education and Logistics have also gathered pace.

Speaking about the initiative, Sidharth Rath, Group Executive, Corporate & Transaction Banking, Axis Bank said, “We are excited to launch Axis Start-up Social, a platform through which we hope to provide the much required, ‘extra edge’ to the start-up community by handholding them, sharing knowledge and providing the required financial solutions. Today, the Indian ecosystem is flooded with innovative ideas but what is missing is the presence of the right channel and guidance in terms of acceleration, scaling up and funding. Through Axis Start-up Social, we endeavour to create an ecosystem to encourage innovation and the next-level-of-growth opportunities to start-ups that are ready to take that leap.”

Fourth Edition of Indian LGBT Youth Leadership Summit to be hosted by ThoughtWorks in Bengaluru

The fourth edition of the Indian LGBT Youth Leadership Summit will be organized in Bengaluru over two days- December 16 and 17 - by Mission for Indian Gay and Lesbian Empowerment (MINGLE) in association with Love Matters and with the support of IBM, Canada Embassy, RNW Media along with local community partners - Humsafar Trust, Pink Pages magazine, and Gay Bombay. Notably, the summit will be hosted by ThoughtWorks at its campus in Kormangala, Bengaluru.

The objective of the summit is to identify potential leaders among the LGBT youth from India & SAARC nations, and groom them for future leadership roles. The two day event will consist of panel discussions and interactive workshops covering aspects of leadership, resilience, mental health, workplace inclusion, and social inclusion.

More than two hundred young LGBT people between the ages 21 and 32 had applied to attend, among whom 35 have been selected to attend based on their leadership potential and willingness to engage on LGBT issues. The participants are a diverse group of youth leaders representing all aspects of the LGBT+ community, from various professional, educational and cultural backgrounds- coming from many Indian cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Imphal and Indore among others, along with international participants from Sri Lanka & Nepal. The theme for the summit this year will be- “Oneness. Togetherness. Happiness.”

Tina Vinod, Inclusivity and Diversity Lead at ThoughtWorks said, “Organizations have a larger role to play in creating an inclusive, tolerant and supportive environment both, in society and our workplaces. The LGBT Youth Leadership Summit is one such event that will bring important aspects of diversity and inclusivity into the spotlight. We are thrilled to host the event, and bring these conversations to where it matters the most - to the people.”

Udayan Dhar, Head of Strategy at MINGLE explained the objective behind this initiative, “We started this leadership forum back in 2014 because we noticed that there was a lack of openly LGBT people in leadership positions both in the business and social sectors of India. If we need to change that over the next decade, it is important to start grooming those future leaders today.”

Harish Iyer, member of Advisory Board of MINGLE and prominent LGBT rights advocate said on the need to hold the summit, “The LGBT movement in India is going to be a long one and there is a need to build our capacities with younger, vocal minds taking the lead. This summit ignites the spark by getting young thriving members of the community to act as catalysts for change.”

Kotra Bengaluru and Amazon.in Brings Korean Beauty to India

Catering to the needs of modern and trendsetting customers with a taste for internationally established cosmetics brands, Amazon.in today announced its partnership with KOTRA Bengaluru (Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency) to offer customers access to leading Korean Beauty brands and products. Amazon.in will now host authentic and genuine products from well known Korean beauty brands in a separate store amazon.in/koreanbeauty .

The partnership with KOTRA Bengaluru enables Amazon.in to offer customers interesting Korean products such as Facial Masks, Skin care range, Makeup (Lipcare, BB Face Creams etc), Cleansing creams among others across established brands such as FaceShop, Dermal, The Beauty Co., It’s Skin, Coony and Swanicoco among others.

Amazon.in has witnessed a phenomenal growth in their beauty category with customer demand coming in from across the country. With over 20 Lakh products from over 19,000 brands, the store on Amazon.in is designed to cater to grooming needs of both men and women - with products ranging from shaving creams, moisturizers and perfumes to night creams, facial scrubs, hair care and products for sensitive skin.

Commenting on the partnership, Richa Gupta, Category Lead, Beauty, Amazon India said,“Korean Beauty products are steadily gaining popularity across the world. The natural ingredients used in these products have a strong global following and we are thrilled to offer this array our Indian customers through our tie up with KOTRA Bengaluru. With this partnership we continue to build a strong portfolio for the beauty category in our efforts to increase selection available to our customers across the country.”

Choong Sik Jang (Director General of Kotra Bengaluru) said “We are delighted to associate with Amazon.in and extend our reach to customers across India. The Korean Beauty market is growing and customers today demand quick and easy access to the bands of their choice. Through this partnership we are thrilled to be able to cater to our customers no matter where in India they reside”

Amazon.in is changing the buying experience of beauty products, bringing popular brands to your doorstep with a single click. Through the dedicated store, customers can take advantage of detailed product information; options to shortlist products by brand, category and collection and read customer reviews to find the perfect product as per their requirement.

OnePlus Celebrates 3rd Anniversary with the Launch of OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition

OnePlus, a leading global mobile technology company, today announced the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition, a special edition premium flagship device ahead of release of the new chapter of the popular space saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (releasing on December 15).

The Star Wars edition’s phone design has been inspired by the planet Crait from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The metal back of the device is painted in Crait white with a precise Star Wars logo in Red printed on the back. Crait is a mineral planet with red sediment under the surface, which is the inspiration behind the red alert slider on the device. Red is, after all, the color of Star Wars traditionally, similar to the alert slider, which has been the long standing feature of OnePlus devices. On the software front, there is a customized red, white and black theme with a set of 10 exclusive Star Wars wallpapers adapted to the new AMOLED immersive screen and a special Kylo Ren phone case along with a special surprise for Star Wars fans packed in an exquisitely designed gift box as a part of the complete offering.  

Speaking on the occasion, Kyle Kiang, Head of Global marketing, OnePlus, said, “Our community has inspired us in more ways than one. Their passion and involvement in the brand and the products since the very beginning has inspired us to come up with product that is superior in every way, from design to the overall experience.

We are excited to join the force and dedicate the exquisitely designed Star Wars Limited Edition to the OnePlus and Star Wars fans in India as a part of the 3-year anniversary celebration. Once again, we’ve worked hard to refine every last detail and we are confident that the Star Wars fans will appreciate the homage that we have paid to the iconic Star Wars saga."

The Star Wars edition of the OnePlus 5T phone features the highest resolution dual-camera system of 16 and 20 MP sporting f/1.7 aperture on both lenses for better low light photography. It has a large 6" display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, all while keeping a similar body size as the OnePlus 5. With Dash Charge, OnePlus’ signature powering technology, the user will always get a day's power in half an hour. Powered by the most powerful processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 835 platform, coupled with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, the OnePlus 5T can run many apps in the background without a single second of lag, allowing users to switch between apps with ease.

Price and availability

The OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition will be available with 8GB of RAM and 128 GB storage at Rs. 38,999, starting December 15, 2017 through exclusive online sales partner, Amazon.in as well as on its brand store oneplusstore.in. Customers can also experience and purchase the device across OnePlus Experience stores in Bangalore and Mall of India Noida, while supplies last.

The limited edition variant will also be available in select European countries which includes Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

For the first time ever, OnePlus is organizing pop-up events across 9 cities in India. Select users will be able to experience and purchase the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition at the Pop-up stores across 6 cities in India over 2 days- 16th and 17th December, 2017 on a first cum first serve basis: Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi. Users in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kochi can experience the device at the pop-up stores in these 3 cities. 

As a part of the anniversary celebration in India, all OnePlus buyers will be eligible for attractive offers including zero cost EMI, Rs. 2000 extra off on the exchange of any OnePlus device and Rs. 1000 extra off on the exchange of any other device. Additionally, Axis Bank debit and credit cards users are eligible for a Rs. 1,500 instant discount on purchase of any OnePlus device including the 5T Star Wars limited edition. OnePlus users will also be eligible for a complimentary 12-month Accidental Damage Insurance by Servify on downloading the Kotak 811 savings account and activating it with an initial deposit of Rs 1,000 in the introductory period.

Further, there are several other exciting partner offers including Amazon Prime and Kindle. OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition customers will get 1 TB of data from Idea. Customers are also eligible for 1 year of free membership of Zomato Gold — the newly launched premium subscription offering from Zomato. All anniversary offers are available till 19th December, 2017.