IT firm CEO gifts BMWs to 5 senior employees to honour their loyalty
Chennai, Apr 9: Loyalty always gets rewarded. Sometimes even brings an expensive BMW car.
This is what five employees of a city-based software firm have discovered, for having assisted their boss in 'digging gold' and making the firm weather the covid-19 storm that threatened its very existence.
Global software-as-a-service company-Kissflow Inc handed over five BMW cars, each worth Rs one crore, to its senior management executives to honour their loyalty and commitment to the company on Friday.
The handing over ceremony were kept under wraps as some of the five recipients of the cars were informed just hours before the event that they are going to be proud owners of an expensive luxury brand.
According to Kissflow Inc CEO Suresh Sambandam the five were with him right from the inception of the company and stayed with him during the course of the journey.
Sambandam said some of the recipients of the cars hailed from humble background and had underwent various challenges before joining his company.
The firm too faced many hurdles on its journey and during the Covid-19 pandemic some of the investors even raised doubts if the company would run successfully.
"There were difficult times. Even during the pandemic, the investors were not sure whether this company will sustain and build a future. Today we are very happy that we have paid back the investors and now it has become a fully owned privately held company," he said.
Not many were aware of the event, as Friday afternoon was the last working day for the week and several questions popped up in the minds of those assembled at the ceremony, including about the possible infusion of funds or any acquisition.
With much fanfare, the five BMW 530d cars rolled-in one by one and were lined up parallelly along with the respective families of the five members, much to the delight of the gathered staffers.
"The cars are for these five who were with me when I dug 100 feet for gold (setting up Kissflow while others left the organisation midway)," Sambandam said.
To a query on what the other employees would receive, Sambandam, owner of a BMW 6 Series vehicle said, "this is an inspiration to them. We want to motivate them (to perform much better). We take care of our employees much better".
"For example, there is no sick leave or casual leave here unlike other companies. It is just one leave for them. If they do not want to come and work, they can work from home. There is no attendance system like biometric system and all...we know our employees", he said.
Echoing similar views, Vivek Madurai, one of the beneficiaries of Sambandam's largesse, said, "we take care of our team members. They are motivated to perform much better in whatever way they prefer".
The Navy Blue 5 Series cars, each valued at Rs 1 crore were handed over to the beneficiaries at an event held to mark the 10th anniversary of the company on Friday.
Some of the beneficaires were informed only in the afternoon about the fortune that awaited them and they termed it as a 'pleasant surprise' as some thought it was just an outing with the bosses.
The recipients of the cars were-- chief product officer Dinesh Varadharajan, director (product management) Kausikram Krishnasayee, director Vivek Madurai, director Adhi Ramanathan and vice-president Prasanna Rajendran.
"It is a pleasant surprise for me. I thought we are going for lunch or dinner with everyone. Did not expect this", Krishnasayee said.
Sambandam, after handing over the keys to them said, "These are the five people who stayed with me in the trenches. Without them Kissflow would not be where it is today, and this is a very small token of appreciation. I feel happy to see them enjoy it with their families".
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
