A Business Delegation from Karnataka led by Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa were in New York City on Sept. 5 to meet with local business leaders, visit infrastructure projects and present a Road Show for investment and development of Karnataka. The delegation included Katta Subramanya Naidu (Minister for Large and Medium Industries); Sudhakar Rao (Principal Secretary to Chief Minister); K. M. Shiva Kumar (Principal Secretary — Commerce and Industries Department); Raj Kumar (Commissioner Industrial Development and Director Industries and Commerce); H. L. Shivananda (MD, Karnataka Udyog Mitra); V. Umesh (Managing Director, Karnataka State Financial Corporation — KSFC) and Sai Prakash (Erin Consultants).

The delegation was staying at the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York. A. R. Ghanashyam, Deputy Consulate General of the Indian Consulate in New York and C. V. Shashi Kumar, President of C. V. Associates PE, LS, P.C. joined the delegation members in the lobby. The first item on the agenda was a breakfast meeting organized by Tishman Speyer, at an exclusive place called the Rainbow Room in the Rocke - feller Center Club.

Tishman Speyers are one of the leading owners, developers, fund managers and operators of first-class real estate in the world, managing more than 77 million square feet across the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. They are the owners of the Rockefeller Center complex and the Rockefeller Club (founded in 1934) located on top of the building, which is the 65th floor. The unparalleled view of New York City and the world famous cuisine makes this an exclusive club.

The meeting was attended by Katherine Farley, the company's Senior Managing Director; Kok Huat Goh, Managing Director (Emerging Markets); Florian Reiff, Senior Director and Thomas D. Farrell, Senior Managing Director. The delegation discussed about constructing iconic buildings such as the Rockefeller Center etc, in Bangalore. They also discussed about introducing major players of their share holders such as GE, NBC etc., to the Karnataka Government. After the breakfast, the delegation returned to the suite of Yediyurappa where they had a One – to - One Meeting with leading entrepreneurs.

The 10 am meeting was with Parag Saxena, CEO of Vedanta Capitals. Saxena has been involved in more than 300 private transactions, has served as a director of venture-backed health care and communication companies, and has been advisor to more than 15 partnerships. The 10.30 am meeting was with Anand Dorairaj, Vice President of Citi Bank (Emerging markets, Mergers and Acquisitions). Saxena and Dorairaj discussed about the infrastructure in Bangalore and alternates for investing in Karnataka.

At this time, the delegation was joined by Neelam Dev, Consulate General of India in New York and the whole group visited the New York Governor's Office at 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York. The delegation had an audience with the Chief of Staff for the Governor of New York, John Cahill and the Chairman of Empire State Development, Charles Gargano. Gargano is also the Chairman of the New York State Republican Party and the Port Authority of New York & NJ.

Later the delegation visited the 'Air-Train' project, an infrastructure achievement worth mentioning. This transportation system was designed by STV Inc., a consulting engineering firm and built by Slattery Skanska, a heavy civil construction contractor that manages and provides construction services on railway, roadway, bridge, tunnel, environmental, and power generation projects. The delegation and others went to the office of STV at 225 Park Avenue in Manhattan, where a presentation was given by the Executive President of Slattery Skanska, Gary Winsber on the project.

The Air Train is 12.8 km in length connecting New York with JFK Airport. The whole project was completed in approximately in two years. At 2 pm, the delegation proceeded to view the Control Room of the Air Train Service at JFK Airport in Queens, New York. An official from Bombardier Transportation, which manages and maintains the Air Train, explained the method of operation. The trains are operated without drivers and controlled at the Control Room by the 'Card System'.

At 4.15 pm, the delegation proceeded to the Consulate General of India's office in Manhattan, New York where One-to-One meetings were held with several business leaders including: Dr. Mohamed I Amin, President, American Medical Infotech Network Inc. and Tim, Damedian, CEO, FONAR USA — offering health care services; Faisal Syed, President and CEO of UCA Global, Inc., NJ, USA. — offering IT Services with 1500 employees and $300 in revenues; Derish Wolff, Chairman of The Berger Group, USA — offering civil, structural, mechanical and environmental engineering services; S. A. Ibrahim, CEO of Radian Group Inc, USA — a leading provider of global credit enhancement products and services; Kristin H. Hughes, Head of International Trade and Policy, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Vembar K. Ranganathan, Director (Corporate Solutions Group) of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the second largest German Bank.

At 6 pm, the delegation had a 'Road Show' where approximately 120 business leaders attended the program in the ballroom at the Indian Consulate General's Office. A video presentation, well prepared from Bangalore, was presented followed by Yediyurappa highlighting the investment opportunities in Karnataka. After the presentation, Steve Hamm, a Business Week journalist presented his book 'Bangalore Tiger' to Yediyurappa, which reveals the management principles that propelled Indian phenomenon Wipro from a tiny start-up to a $2 billion market leader

The actor, producer and photographer Nestor Carbonell, also attended the Road Show.

During the second week of August, C. V. Shashi Kumar was in India and met with the Managing Director, H. L. Shivananda of Karnataka Udyog Mitra. At that time, it was decided to connect Shashi Kumar with Event Manager, Sai Prakash of Erin Consultants to co-ordinate the delegation's schedule in US. Shashi Kumar after returning from India, contacted the Indian Consulate General's Office and the International Development Office of New York State.

The staff of C. V. Associates, with the help of A.R. Ghanashyam, Deputy Consular General chartered out the schedule. Christine Sargent, Lenora Generalli, Louise Alicea of C. V. Associates, and Manjit De Souza and Rajesh Kumar of the Indian Consulate General's Office contacted and invited the business leaders to attend the evening Road Show.

C. V. Shashi Kumar
is an alumnus of NIE,
Bhagini Seva Samaj School in city and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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