Richard Gere boosts visa power

Hollywood superstar Richard Gere is the the brand ambassador for Visa International in the Asia Pacific market. 
A 90-minute commercial—Birds—featuring Gere has been shot in Jodhpur for the company’s new advertisement campaign that will be aired from June 9 in English and Hindi across the Asia Pacific, said Visa International regional head for south Asia Santanu Mukherjee. 
Richard Gere was quoted in a company release as saying: “India is like a second home to me... Hopefully, it’s (advertisement) an interesting fusion of east and west and the ancient and modern.”

Taj bags NY luxury hotel contract

The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has entered into a 30-year management contract agreement to operate and manage Pierre, a luxurious hotel on New York’s Fifth Avenue. The company will take the management control of the hotel from July 1.
Taj Hotels would spend $35 million on the renovation of the hotel, which will be completed by the year-end. The Pierre offers 201 guest rooms, including 52 suites.

Dravid laughs all the way to bank of baroda

Rahul Dravid will be the brand ambassador of Bank of Baroda for the next three years. Launching the new logo of the bank in Dravid’s presence, the chairman and managing director of the bank, Anil K. Khandelwal, said the association with India’s reliable middle order batsman synchronised with what BoB stood for. “Rahul’s exploits on the field are legendary. He brings a rare dedication and commitment to his profession. Quite aptly he’s called Mr Dependable.”
The CMD, however, refused to divulge how much Dravid had scored—in terms of the financial package. But it’s clearly a multi-crore deal.

Ritu beats fakes

Veteran designer Ritu Kumar has just won a ‘landmark’ victory. “In 1999, we discovered some of our famous print designs were copied in Kolkata. We had nearly six-seven reputed advocates fly down there and we took nearly nine miscreants to court. These included boutiques in Kolkata, socialite Nina Talukdar and some of our employees who were stealing our screen prints and running parallel printing units. After fighting a lengthy court case for seven years, the Delhi High Court has finally decreed in our favour against all the persons concerned,” says Kumar.