People on the move:

03 May 2004

Ramesh Kumar to head NMDC
Hyderabad: B. Ramesh Kumar has been appointed as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (NMDC), a Government of India enterprise, and has formally assumed charge as the CMD.

Kumar, Director (Technical), is a Mining Engineering graduate from the Osmania University, Hyderabad and has been with the NMDC for the last 35 years. It was under his direct control that the new project at Bailadila was commissioned.

07 May 2004

New Managing Director for RITES
New Delhi: V.K. Agarwal, a member of Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), has been appointed Managing Director of the Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd. (RITES), a public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Railways.

Earlier, Agarwal was Chief Administrative Officer (Construction) and Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi in the Northern Railway. He also held several positions in the Railway Board and the Zonal Railways. A civil engineer, Agarwal brings with him the experience and expertise in construction of railway infrastructure including bridge management, track laying and mechanised track maintenance.

A book titled "Engineering Economics and Industrial Management", co-authored by Agarwal, is a standard textbook in engineering colleges across the country for the last 20 years.

06 May 2004

Rodrigo Rato appointed IMF Chief
Washington: The IMF has announced that Rodrigo Rato, a former Spanish Finance Minister has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a five-year term. He succeeds Horst Kvhler, who resigned on March 4, 2004.

Rato was Minister of Economy and Vice-President for Economic Affairs for the Government of Spain between 2000 and 2004. Before that, he was Spain's Minister of Economy and Finance from 1996 to 2000. Under his guidance, Spain has posted eight consecutive years of growth-consistently above the EU average.

Isdell is new Coke Chairman and CEO
Atlanta, USA: The Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. has said that its board of directors has tapped E. Neville Isdell to succeed Doug Daft, who announced in February that he would retire at the end of the year. The 60-year-old Isdell, an Irish citizen who joined Coke in 1966 before leaving in 2001, inherits a company that has posted strong results but has raised concerns among investors amid layoffs, key executive departures and federal investigations.