India Inc feasts on charm
Monday, July 20, 2009
The much-awaited visit of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton got off to an early start in the commercial capital over breakfast with the doyens of India Inc.
The chefs at the Taj Mahal Palace & Towers had prepared several delicacies for the power pow wow. The dishes remained untouched because there was too much food for thought.
“Nobody ate breakfast. We were riveted by this charismatic lady in strawberry pink and simply couldn’t do anything else but listen to her,” said Swati Piramal, director of Piramal Healthcare and one of the women CEOs invited to the closed-door meeting.
Piramal described the US secretary of state as a wonderful and knowledgeable leader who was very comfortable with diverse subjects like health, education, micro-finance and renewable energy.
Clinton, who was seated at the head table with two of India’s most influential business leaders — Ratan Naval Tata, chairman of the Tata group, and Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd — chose to steer clear of what was widely expected from her: a discussion on defence and the nuclear agreement.
