Will India sweep Monte Carlo?

ERNST & YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR/ WORLD SUMMIT MONTE CARLO 2006

As you take the short 10-minute flight by helicopter from Nice Cote d'Azure airport to Monte Carlo, with the calm deep blue waters below you, you wonder if it is a foretaste of the high that awaits the 1,000-odd participants that come in to Monte Carlo today for the World Summit and the World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) Award of Ernst & Young (E&Y). With winners from 32 countries this year, one can expect country delegations from these, and more who are coming to cheer their country candidates and exchange notes on entrepreneurship.

The excitement as to who the final winner will be has already started with hotel corridors and the Summit venue buzzing with participants betting on their favourite candidates.

Will it be India again (represented this year by Kumar Mangalam Birla) after N R Narayana Murthy won the award in 2003? Or will it be someone from Europe this time, in sync with the Summit theme that focuses on Central and Eastern Europe?

Or, will it be somebody else from Asia once again, who have been winners in the last few years? The formal interviews "" part of the rigorous judging process by the jury "" will start on the June 8. It is also expected that there will be some degree of informal interactions too, with the candidates.

The two key places in Monte Carlo, where a large part of the action is happening, are the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel where most of the country winners are staying and the seaside Grimaldi Forum "" a five-storied state-of-the-art convention centre "" where the panel sessions and other deliberations will take place over the next four days, starting tomorrow.

The main speakers who will take the lead, include Stelios Haji-Ioaannou, founder and CEO of the easyGroup; Daniel Thorniley, senior vice-president of The Economist Group, Lord Patten of Barnes, former governor of Hong Kong and EU Commissioner, and Erich Joachimsthaler, founder and CEO, Vivaldi Partners.

Interestingly, even though the World Summit of Ernst & Young has been referred to as the Davos for Entrepreneurs, it is different from the Davos Summit in many ways. One, the Monte Carlo summit is more formal, with black ties and formal business wear virtually a formal necessity every day.

On the other hand, with a view to make it as informal as possible, in Davos, one is fined ¤ 5, if one enters the convention centre with a tie.

Davos has a high degree of participation from politicians and government leaders from across the world, while in Monte Carlo there is a virtual absence of any significant political leadership. Understandably, therefore there is also less security at Monte Carlo.

(This correspondent's trip has been sponsored by E&Y India)

ACCESS INDIA

From far and wide
Apart from the India delegation and the significant top leadership from E&Y India that has come into Monte Carlo, there will be another India factor this year here.

The Singapore candidate, 35-year Vikas Goel, chairman and group managing director of eSys Technologies, has an India background. With a turnover of more than ¤1.5 billion, eSys is today one of the world's largest producers of low-cost computers and among the top ten IT distribution companies in the world. That's the other interesting feature.

Young foot forward
Birla and Gupta are part of a small band of younger country winners who are below their forties. A significant portion of others are much older, perhaps reflecting the good news that Indian entrepreneurship in India and overseas is getting younger.

Family outing
The importance 38-year old Kumar Mangalam Birla attaches to the Award and the Summit is reflected in the fact that his entire family has joined him here at Monte Carlo.

This includes mother Rajashree Birla, wife Neerja Birla and children Ananyashree and Aryaman.