While personal brands lend a human face, add to trust etc they also can turn out not so nice if the choice isn't good. So one has to be careful in cultivating personal brands in an organization. Only the people who reflect company values should be nurtured for this.

Also, I feel this should come more from the individual than from the company, so if someone has reached a certain level by himself, I'll lend a helping hand but I won't prefer pushing someone from the start

Hope my perspective is a bit clearer now :)

Most companies(startups included) are way to conscious about the media/ new media exposure they give to their employees, so personal brand would be more of a personal effort in most cases. As an employer while I might not actively promote personal brands but I won't stop if such a thing happens.

Great Round up Sampad. Thanks for sharing.