Kausik Datta: One-half of the power duo

BACKSTAGE

Hindalco was about to sign a mining deal in Australia. But its MD, after intense negotiations for a few days, found the deal unviable. As the locational disadvantages did not allow him to convey the message to the headquarters, he took the decision on his own. Back home in Mumbai, the MD told his close friends that he would not have taken the decision had he not been supported by his chairman.

Meet Debu Bhattacharya, 58, managing director of Hindalco. A typical Bengali bhadralok (of course, without the dhoti and kurta!), he always passes credit to someone else. Though fond of classical music and a voracious reader, Bhattacharya is essentially a one-dimensional man. By his own admission, he comes to office at 7 am and works till late evening "" he never forgets to return a call though, irrespective of his busy schedule. A glaring exception to today's genre of top executives who appear to know everything under the sun, Bhattacharya does not even like talking about himself, forget getting his views on other issues. His reticence extends to Hindalco's $6 billion acquisition of Novelis.

Bhattacharya surprised his friends by joining the Aditya Birla Group when India Inc was about to write off the group's new chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. Three years after Kumar Mangalam took charge, Bhattacharya joined him in 1998, leaving board membership of Hindustan Lever. Now it seems neither he nor his chairman committed an error by joining hands.

He joined as the MD of Indo Gulf Corporation and Birla Management Corporation. His friends say Bhattacharya was attracted by the young Kumar Mangalam. "He was impressed with Birla's dynamism and vision. And he never regrets joining the Birla group. In fact, he does not miss working with an MNC," says a close friend. The fact that the copper business across the globe was passing through difficulties offered an additional challenge. Later he became the managing director of Hindalco, the country's largest aluminium and copper company. Prior to joining the Birla group, the suave IIT-Kharagpur engineer, also served at senior positions both at the corporate office in London as well as in European subsidiaries of Unilever.

Bhattacharya and Birla make a winning combination, says a banker who knows them, as both are keen to take risks. The Novelis acquisition, for example, is a very bold step as no downstream aluminium company in the world is making money. "The unique virtue of the Birla-Bhattacharya duo is that they see business from a long-term perspective. The bleeding Novelis, by their own admission, will be in the black three years down the line. Betting $6 billion for taking over a loss-making company to get a global footprint requires courage which both of them boast of," he adds.

The recipient of the "India Business Leader of the Year Award 2005" and "The Asia Corporate Citizen of the Year Award 2005", Bhattacharya used to represent the football team at Kolkata's Presidency College as a forward player. This attacking instinct would drive him and his team to put Novelis back on the rails. And those who know him and the Birla group are sure of their success.