Nominees announced for Teacher’s Achievement Awards 2004

Allied Domecq Spirits and Wines (I) Pvt Ltd (ADSWI), the market leader in Scotch segment in India, today announced the eminent jury panel and nominees for the fourth successive ‘Teacher’s Achievement Awards’. The awards which have grown from strength to strength over the last four years will be held in Delhi this year on November 20th 2004.

The annual awards, instituted by Allied Domecq in 2001, aim to recognize individual merit, with the twin objective of honouring excellence as well as exhorting others to scale new heights. This award programme is supported by Teacher’s 50, the 12-year aged premium select blend Scotch whisky and is one of the most successful products from the wide-ranging Allied Domecq portfolio.

Announcing the fourth ‘Teacher’s Achievement Awards 2004’, Mr Harish Moolchandani, Managing Director, Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine (I) Pvt Ltd said, “Our journey with the awards has been constantly reinforced and bolstered by the enthusiastic response we have received from the nominees and the jury members. As like every year we have further added new elements to enhance the glory of the awards and we look forward to inviting a new set of achievers to our family.”

Teacher’s Achievement Awards recognises individual excellence in five different categories, namely Business, Sports, Communication, Entertainment and Teacher’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The final nominees in four of the five categories are:

Business: Kiran Karnik, BS Nagesh, Ajay Bijli, Deepak Puri, Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Sports: Rahul Dravid, Rajyavendra Rathore, Pargat Singh, Mansher Singh, Narain Karthikeyan, P Gopichand
Communication: Karan Thapar, Ajay Shukla, Govind Ethiraj, Srinivasan Jain, Sunit Tandon
Entertainment: Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Santosh Sivan, Palash Sen, Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy

To further enhance and add magnitude to the achievement awards this year, Allied Domecq has introduced an advisory panel. The advisory panel comprises prominent personalities from various fields of life who have made a mark in their professions. The advisory panel has played a very vital role in assisting Allied screening for suitable candidates in each category. The members of the advisory panel are: OS Kanwar, Subodh Bhargava, Piyush Pandey, Kris Srikkanth, Pritish Nandy, Louiz Banks, Ayaz Memon.

Allied Domecq has been working closely for the past year with KPMG, the leading global audit firm, to validate the entire process of nomination and selection of both the nominees and the jury. The eligibility criteria for a Teachers Achievement Award nominee are quite stringent, adhering to those outlined by KPMG. Some of the critical deciding factors include a proven track record, originality and innovation, peer recognition and significant milestones achieved in the chosen area of expertise, among others.

Further a three-member jury has been appointed for each category and comprises prominent individuals who too are achievers in their respective fields of work. Judging the Sports category would be KPS Gill, Zafar Iqbal, and Prakash Padukone The panel for the Communications category includes MJ Akbar, Vinod Dua, Nalini Singh Deciding the winner in the entertainment category would be Ramesh Sippy, L Subramanaim, Amjad Ali Khan and the jury for the Business Category will include Dr. Anji Reddy, Subodh Bhargava and Ravi Boothalingam.

The winners of the third Teacher’s Achievement Awards held last year were Naina Lal Kidwai (Business), Shiamak Davar (Entertainment), Mahesh Bhupati (Sports), Vikram Chandra (Communication) and Yash Chopra (Outstanding Achievement Award).

Since its inception, Teacher’s Achievement Awards has recognised achievers in diverse categories such as photography, science, theatre and the creative and performing arts. Feroz Khan, the internationally acclaimed theatre director, producer and actor – was the first recipient of Teacher’s Achievement Awards 2002. He is man who put Indian theatre on the world map with his highly successful plays like Mahatma v/s Gandhi and Tumhari Amrita. He bagged the Teacher’s Achievement Award for Theatre. Nagesh Kukunoor, the young chemical engineer turned film director who redefined Indian cinema with small budget blockbusters like Rockford, Hyderabad Blues and Bollywood Calling, was the winner of the Teacher’s Achievement Award for the Creative and Performing Arts in 2002.

The Teacher’s Achievement Awards will culminate with a distinguished ceremony, organised by Wizcraft, in the end of November 2004. The media partners for the event are Radio Mirchi, NDTV and India Today. NDTV will telecast the event on November 27, 2004.

About Allied Domecq
Allied Domecq is the second largest spirits and wine company in the world with a turnover of £3,410 million. Incorporated in 1994 in India, Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine (I) Pvt. Ltd. (ADSWI), is today amongst the market leaders in the Scotch segment in the country. Its flagship brands are Teacher’s Highland Cream and Teacher’s 50. ADSWI is a consumer-focused organization, striving for excellence in product quality and customer service.

Allied Domecq’s international portfolio consists of Ballantine Scotch Whisky, Beefeater Gin, Kahlua liqueur, Teachers Highland Cream Scotch Whiskey, Sauz’a tequila, Tia Maria liqueur, Courvoisier cognac, Maker’s Mark bourbon, Laphraoig whisky, Cockburn’s port, Harvey’s Bristol Cream, and La Ina Sherries as well as a range of super and ultra premium wines. In India the company has launched Teacher’s Highland Cream, Teacher’s 50, Old Smuggler Scotch, Long John, Old Smuggler Rum, Old Smuggler Gin and Old Smuggler Brandy.