Newsletter 2
- 1. This newsletter is meant to act as the “voice of employees”, starting with its name “Connexions” which was proposed by some of our colleagues. Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions and recommendations. We trust that this newsletter will enable employees to showcase their talent and skills in terms of creative arts, poems, short stories, write-ups, etc. It will hopefully also facilitate communication and synergies across our various teams. While you as employees will be the ones giving life to this initiative, I’d like to thank the editorial team for their efforts in putting together the inaugural issue of “Connexions”. Please feel free to give your feedback to the editorial team on the content and we obviously look forward to receiving your inputs for the future editions. Happy Reading!! Thanks and Kind Regards, Nicolas Bertsche, General Manager, India New Core Values launched across all India offices and Shared Services Voluntary contributions across the office amounting to INR1,06,676/- directed to “Goonj: Uttarakhand Relief Fund” for victims of the floods Kick Off Meeting organised with participation from Intl.SOS, GKSC, TSS teams and MS site invitees Q1 1314 budget met at Notional EBITDA level 100% working capital KPIs for Q1 achieved First visit of TSS’ new CEO John Whitwam to foster synergies between Intl.SOS and TSS India Sentinel brought under the umbrella of TSS APAC Regional Security Centre to drive membership and quality Rohit Khanna, Business Development Director - EMI and Deepak B., Senior Business Development Manager - Corporate Sales attended SSEA summit club meet in Pattaya High value cross border deal was closed by Ankur Kackar, Business Development Manager - Corporate Sales and Kanwar Ajay Singh Business Development Director - Corporate Solutions worth plus USD 50,000 First repatriation case to Argentina completed successfully; the first one for South America in the history of DEL Assistance Centre Q1 concierge customer spends growth of 26% over PY PAN India agreements renewed at discounted prices with Fortis, Max & Apollo group to support DEL Assistance Centre Site visit and audit conducted at one of the most challenging remote site in Himachal Pradesh for a Hydel power project 44% increase in MERP production vs. PY Webinar on “Emerging Infectious diseases-A(H7N9) and MERS-CoV and Pandemic Preparedness” conducted for clients and prospects Disclaimer: This document is meant for internal use only for International SOS employees. This newsletter is a joint initiative of the S&M & HR teams. Please send your thoughts and ideas and feedback to [email protected]. Editorial Team: Nicolas Bertsche, Vandana Ahuja, Rashmi Dastidar, Arati Bhat and Anshu Handa. ISSUE NO 1/OCTOBER 2013 It gives me immense pleasure to introduce the first issue of “Connexions” - our Quarterly Newsletter. This newsletter is seeing the light as a lot of you expressed the desire to have a medium providing an insight into our activities, business highlights and above all about employees of International SOS India. We are pleased to announce the joint winners for the title of the Newsletter: Congratulations Nomita Nahar and Vandana Ahuja Abhishek Misra Concierge Consultant joined 01 July, 2013, New Delhi Rosario Baretto Head - Sales & Marketing joined 01 July, 2013 Mumbai Siddhartha Thyagarajan Analyst- TSS joined 01 July, 2013,New Delhi Divya Arora Executive - Claims joined 22 July, 2013, New Delhi. Aparna Kumar Assistant Concierge Manager joined 05 August, 2013, New Delhi. Amit Gupta Manager Financial Planning & Analysis, joined 16 September 2013, New Delhi Hi, my wife and I are blessed with a bonny baby boy Ayaan born on 20 August 2013 . –Amit Gupta, Manager Financial Planning and Analysis, Hi, meet our joy and pride, Tanmay born on 10 July, 2013 . –Dr. Shweta Gupta Senior Medical Analyst, Dear Team
- 2. Tell us something about your education and family background I was born in 1971. I was a boarder from 1975 to 1986 in the hills of Kurseong (the word means the land of white orchid) close to Darjeeling . After I finished my 10th, I joined St Joseph’s college, Allahabad. My medical degree was from Darbhanga Medical College. I have previously worked at AIIMS, Apollo, Max hospitals in Delhi. Tell us something about your family I am married to Kiran. She used to be an Asst. Professor of Chemistry, but is currently taking time off for our 6.5 year old son Abhijay. He is a lovely kid. He studies at Amity, Vasundhara. He is also learning to play the keyboard . My dad is a retired judge and stays with us. We stay in Vaishali, Ghaziabad, around18 km from our office in Delhi. We are originally from Kanpur, but I have spent my childhood in Kurseong and Bihar, where my father was posted. “I’m happiest with my family” “My rock star family in London” What was your first job and what did you like about it most? My stint at AIIMS as Junior Research Fellow. Being attached to the premier medical institute in the country was an honor for me. What is your favourite food? Punjabi. God bless the punjabis for this. I am not very adventurous with my food. I stick to basic Indian food and I want this even when I am abroad. Your favourite vacation and why? London. It was very well planned and my son enjoyed it. It was June and the best weather you could ask for in England. I have a dear friend in Dartford (very close to London) who we visited after several years. All this made it very special. Disclaimer: This document is meant for internal use only for International SOS employees. This is a joint initiative of the S&M & HR teams. Please send your thoughts and ideas and feedback to [email protected]. Editorial Team: Nicolas Bertsche, Vandana Ahuja, Rashmi Dastidar, Arati Bhat and Anshu Handa. What do you like doing in your free time? Quite a few things : I play the flute, key board, mouth organ. My favourite western band is the Eagles. I enjoy sher-o-shayari and listening to ghazals. My all time favourite ghazal singer is Jagjit Singh. I love photography. I have a Nikon D 5000. I like doing portraits and macros. Talking to old friends is another thing I do in my free time. I keep in touch with my old friends. Just recently when I went to Bangalore, I met a friend from my school in Kurseong, after a gap of 25 years. It was a great feeling. Your most fun and memorable moment with International SOS Memorable moment – being awarded the ‘Star of the Year’ with a standing ovation. It was a pleasant surprise. The standing ovation was very touching. One experience in your life that left you surprised Many, but the latest is the award. If we granted you one wish to change the world what would it be and why? My mother had cancer and she succumbed to the disease. I often wish that some magic treatment would be developed to cure this disease, once and for all. If you weren’t a doctor what would you be? A rock star. “A rock star in the making” What do you often eat for your breakfast? Wheat flakes in milk (keeps me full), with 4-5 walnuts and freshly ground flax seeds (to give me omega 3 fatty acids). This is what I eat for breakfast 90% of my days. If we take a look inside your refrigerator what would we find? I open my fridge only to drink water. I really don’t look inside much, but probably you will find fruits vegetables, milk, sometimes eggs, ice cream generally, milk maid etc. “Receiving my Star of the Year award”
- 3. WORDS TO LIVE BY! Excerpts from Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford University (2005) “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.” Contribution: Tansi Nayak, Junior Analyst - Global Knowledge Support Centre Riddle 1 a) What 2 keys can’t open any doors? b) How do you make the number one disappear? c) What goes up but never comes down? d) What comes down but never goes up? (Scroll down for answers) Contribution: Pooja Malhotra, Supervisor, MedFit Joke: A man to doctor: Doc is there any medicine for a long life..? Doctor: Get married..!! Man: Will it help? Doctor: No, but it will avoid such thoughts!! Contribution: Jennifer Saini, Supervisor, International Operations Riddle 2: 1. A dad and his son were riding their bikes & crashed. Two ambulances came and took them to different hospitals. The man’s son was in the operating room and the doctor said, “I can’t operate on you. You’re my son.”How is that possible? 2. If a blue house is made out of blue bricks, a yellow house is made out of yellow bricks and a pink house is made out of pink bricks, what is a green house made of? – Contribution: Hemalatha Nair, Manager, Client Services Imaginary Walls Imaginary, but imperishable, boundaries do exist, Residents on either side detest each other, I remember stones were pelted, Sometimes axes with blood stains also lay abandoned on our side, Did you call out for peace? Nah, we simply retaliated with bigger stones, axes Did you see them pelting stones? Nah, but undoubtedly they did, Day before, a child skittered near the wall, Scaled the wall, grabbed a cat, then threw an axe Oh, that was merely a child! Indeed it was, but he laughed at us, So you don’t laugh with people across, Of course not! So what do you do with each other? Simply keep throwing stones, Till walls come up! Contribution: Kusum Kumari, Analyst - Global Knowledge Support Centre AnswerstoRiddle1 a)DonkeysandMonkeysb)AddtheletterGandits “Gone”c)YourAged)Rain Disclaimer: This document is meant for internal use only for International SOS employees. This is a joint initiative of the S&M & HR teams. Please send your thoughts and ideas and feedback to [email protected]. Editorial Team: Nicolas Bertsche, Vandana Ahuja, Rashmi Dastidar, Anshu Handa and Arati Bhat. AnswerstoRiddle2 1)Thedoctorishismom!2)Glass.
- 4. My Marathon Experience I would like to share my half marathon experience in September 2012. Until then, I never ran a 21 km marathon at a stretch. It was a beautiful bright day and I ensured I had a good night’s rest. There were at least 8,000 runners at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium including a few Hollywood celebrities (Bipasha Basu, Gul Panag, Rahul Bose to name a few) . The best part was that I started my race waving at them. I ran the first 10 kms maintaining a good average of 7.5 km/hr. There were several water and refreshment zones in between the circuit. Somewhere after 14 kms, I felt like giving up but the only thing that kept me going was the commitment to myself to complete what I started. I really enjoyed the company of other runners and ran, walked and limped the entire 21 Km in about 3:15 hrs. In the end, I would like to quote that “races end but running doesn’t”. Contribution: Gautam Malik, Senior Customer Service Executive, MedFit ROAD RASH Honk ! Honk ! Honk ! crazily goes my car horn, As I try to bully and get the car ahead to move on. I swear at the day the unworthy driver was born And struggle in my seat to get a peek at the form. Why oh why do they grant a license to kill? When anyone steering the wheel fits the bill! Trying to make my way quite futilely, I decide I have to move ahead & avoid calamity. The car in front of me veers dangerously; From left to right it goes perilously. Using all of my driving experience of years, I try to put valiantly to rest all my fears. Each time I inch closer to overtaking, The car ahead bursts with a speed not so endearing. The love for my car keeps me at bay, Waiting for a chance when I get to have my day! At last the narrow lane widens generously, And I get ready to accelerate desperately. Preparing myself for an ugly brawl, Pledge I won’t hesitate to even mar and maul. As I overtake my frown turns to an expression tender Guess what, I have encountered a species from my own gender I should’ve figured this out with ease I feel, That there has to be a lady sitting royally at the wheel!! Disclaimer: This document is meant for internal use only for International SOS employees. This is a joint initiative of the S&M & HR teams. Please send your thoughts and ideas and feedback to [email protected]. Editorial Team: Nicolas Bertsche, Vandana Ahuja, Rashmi Dastidar, Anshu Handa, Arati Bhat. Contribution: Pooja Salian, Business Development Manager - EMI OFFICE HUMOR Contribution: Anshu Handa Senior Executive, Human Resources