HPCL CMD Vasudeva named CEO of the Year at Platts awards

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) Chairman and MD Nishi Vasudeva has been chosen CEO of the Year among other shortlisted top executives of global energy majors, while Reliance Industries has bagged the CSR Award at the 17th annual Platts Global Energy Awards, often called the Oscars of energy.
Spain's Repsol stole the show as a triple winner -- Energy Company of the Year, one of two "Rising Star" honors and this year's newly revised "Industry Leadership-Downstream," Platts said in a statement.
"For the first time in the program's near 20-year history, and a sign of the changing face of global energy, women won two of the top honors: CEO of the Year, awarded to Nishi Vasudeva and "Rising Star -- Individual," awarded to Maria Victoria Zingoni, Repsol's executive managing director of downstream," it said.

The CEO of the Year, who was also honoured by Platts as its 2015 Top 250 Asia CEO of the Year, has effectively turned around stated-owned HPCL, delivering an increase of over 200 per cent in stock market value during her first year on the job, Platts said.
Her "sharp business acumen" as well as her ability to smash the glass ceiling, Vasudeva is the first female head of a large Indian oil company, and one of only 14 women to helm a Global Fortune 500 company.
An IIM-Kolkatta passout, she has strengthened the company's primary distribution infrastructure, commissioning new depots and revamping facilities.

"As CEO of the Year, both in her region and internationally, the judges felt Vasudeva exhibited strategic marketing and effective financial management skills, as well as

consistent clarity of vision and sound judgment," Platts said.
On conferring the Corporate Social Responsibility Award on RIL, it said, "Character is at the core of the CSR award: it lies at the convergence of profitability and company values. This year's winner is India's most profitable company, and its CSR performance is a shining example of the enormous positive impact on society that a corporate giant can bring when it commits to sustainable development."

Reliance's efforts, which judges called "diverse and comprehensive", include supporting small farmers in order to bridge the gap between rural and urban India.
Among other works mentioned were operating multiple medical care facilities including the area's only private indoor facility for HIV/AIDS patients, sponsoring 14,000 corneal transplants for visually impaired, providing access to education for more than 15,000 children, creating exhibitions of Indian art, building parks, walkways and jogging paths, and even collaborating with NBA to bring the joy of basketball to more than 800,000 children.