Poging GOUD - Vrij

Circle of influence

THE WEEK India

|

December 22, 2024

The circle of influence is not an isolated one. It is etched by myriads of experiences, relationships and learnings that we amass, helping us address tectonic shifts in life.

Circle of influence

Last week, three Indian women-social activist Aruna Roy, funeral rites performer Pooja Sharma and wrestler-turned politician Vinesh Phogat-featured in the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. I was filled with a sense of pride and ruminated about my circle of influence.

After spending five years in Egypt, Nestlé decided to move me to the Philippines, one of its biggest operations in Asia. I was quite happy about the move-a peaceful country with steady operations.

It had been four months in the Philippines, and my wife and I finalised a house. On a Friday night, in 2015, I was at a friend's home for dinner in Manila when Wan Ling Martello, Nestlé's executive vice-president for Asia, Oceania and Africa, tried calling. But I didn't hear the phone ring, so she messaged me, "Call me back".

MEER VERHALEN VAN THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

The buzz is real

The investment announcements by Google and other companies in Andhra Pradesh are already yielding tangible results, triggering a real estate surge across Visakhapatnam's IT zones and adjoining districts.

time to read

1 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

Legacy reloaded

From sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai's high-street retail, a new generation of scions is reshaping India's old businesses

time to read

7 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

TRIAL IN THE US IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF MADURO

Mercedes Baptista Guevara is an attorney and diplomat based in Spain.

time to read

3 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

Wrong decisions, right places

Sometimes a film, a book, and a bottle of vodka blend in ways so unexpectedly perfect that you feel grateful simply for having been present.

time to read

4 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

TRUST FACTOR

Lokesh's willingness to listen, his comfort with detail, and his bias for execution create confidence

time to read

3 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

March to Caracas—Yankee oil doo

Lefties and liberals want Narendra Modi to condemn Don Trump's invasion of Venezuela. All invasions are bad; innocents get shot. But if we condemn one, shouldn't we condemn all?

time to read

2 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

Revision before the exam

BJP and Trinamool use SIR to kick-off state election campaign, but those affected by the exercise remain anxious about their future

time to read

5 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

Nuclear governance: caution to confidence

Nuclear power has long occupied a singular and somewhat uneasy place in Bharat's public imagination. It has been viewed, often with pride, as proof of scientific achievement and strategic resolve, yet governed with a restraint that reflected a deeper discomfort with the diffusion of risk.

time to read

2 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

I WANT TO BE KNOWN AS CHIEF JOB CREATOR

Historically, the Telugu Desam Party has been a regional party but it has always had the nation’s interest at heart.

time to read

12 mins

January 18, 2026

THE WEEK India

THE WEEK India

The battle of words

As young adults we certainly used abbreviations and cryptic phrases. But MC and BC did not stand for the master of ceremonies and the era before Christ. They stood for something else which, if said in full, would certainly have made our mothers make us rinse our mouths with soap. Once you have tasted soap, you would not want to taste it ever again.

time to read

4 mins

January 18, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size