Shillong (Meghalaya), Nov 20: IIM Shillong successfully concluded the 14 th edition of Learning on the Green Turf in tandem with the 6th chapter of the Business Leadership Summit, 2023. The theme of the conclave was “Evolving Horizons of the Global South: Navigating the Confluence of Technology, Talent, and Transformation in the Indian Context.” The theme sets the platform with India leading the charge and the role of enterprises in contributing to this new international order.
Learning on the Green Turf, a one-of-a-kind event that IIM Shillong pioneered 13 years ago brought together the corporate realm and professional athletes to network, share ideas, and engage in strategic discussions on the green. The Learning on the Greens provides an opportunity for the institute’s students to hone their leadership skills by engaging first-hand with the most accomplished industry leaders, while also contributing to the region by bringing such corporate executives to experience the abundant nature and potential of Northeast India. 30 Industry leaders/ corporate executives from all over India, diplomats of Northeast, officials of the armed forces, and an exchange of dialogue and ideas between all of them; shared with the fraternity of IIM Shillong through one-on-one dialogues, interactive sessions, panel discussions and imbibing the culture of Shillong through Immersive visits.
On Nov 17 , the annual leadership summit was inaugurated by Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), who engaged with students virtually, delivering a compelling keynote address. He emphasized India as a promising market poised for substantial growth in today’s evolving economy. He also elaborated on how India’s hosting of the G20 has firmly positioned it within the landscape of revamped global progress.
The most awaited Learning on the Green Turf was inaugurated by Ms. Sudha Natrajan, Director Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. (Times Group). The keynotespeaker, spoke about how India is in a prime position with all of the main drivers of growth to drive the economy of the Global South. She expanded on how India plays a pivotal role in the Global South, and encouraged the participants to be change agents. She pointed out that when one is asleep, India is expanding with enormous potential to grow and flourish.
Prof. D P Goyal, Director IIM Shillong while delivering the welcome address, highlighted the objective of the conclave to engage, invent, and create an influence on the community that distinguishes IIM Shillong students from other contingents in the country.
Atul Kulkarni, Member BoG, IIM Shillong, spoke on the theme, “The Northeast is the gateway to the South East countries, and Academic institutions are the right place for ‘churning’, experimenting, and interacting with various leaders and leading experts in their fields.” He further added,” The vision of IIM Shillong – Deeply rooted in Indian ethos, with a Global vision is synonymous with the Business Leadership Theme and how the institute can act as an ideal platform to offshoot more human-centric economy with a focus on society-centric development and how to integrate the students of tomorrow into the society.”
The 14 th Season of Learning on the green turf witnessed participation from ten distinguished individuals who tried their shots in the scenic Shillong Golf Course. The Corporate golfers includes Harpreet Duggal, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Vivtera; Dr. Hrishikesh Damle, Managing Director &CEO of Atrimed Pharmaceuticals; Krathish Bopanna, Founder Director of SalCorp HealthTechnologies Limited; Manpreet Sachdev, Founder and CEO of Elite Group; Pratik Potnis, CEO & CTO of BrainCellls; Rakesh Rajora, SVP-Transformation at Intelligent Automation Wells Fargo; Sachin Khanna, Director at SHIKRILDS; Shalini Sankar, National Head at Laqshya Media Group; Sriman Naarayan S, Partner-Technology Consulting at E& Y ,Vignesh Hebbar, Founder and CEO of iLeap.
The Leadership summit witnessed participation from many industry luminaries: The Finance panel featured industry luminaries such as Anshul Arzare, Managing Director, Yes Bank Securities, Vinod Keni, Managing Director of Peachtree Ventures, and IIM Shillong’ s own Associate Professor of Economics Amit Prakash Jha, along with moderator Pankaj Doval, National Editor, TOI. They delved into a crucial discussion on “Advancing Financial Inclusion Through Technology: Opportunities and Challenges.”, This session explored the potential of technology in enhancing financial inclusion and how India has the first mover advantage.
The Systems and Analytics Panel featured Ranjani Mani, Global Analytics Leader, Atlassian, Amitkumar Srivastava, Head, AI Unit, Fujitsu India, Shweta Sushil, Director, Myntra, Vignesh Kumar, Director, Cisco, and Rachit Pradhan, Director, Zee5. The panelists engaged in a discussion on “AI Renaissance: Navigating Generative Intelligence.” The session highlighted the importance of adopting a problem-first approach, ethical considerations in AI applications, and the integration of AI with Quantum technology.
The Operations Panel included industry experts such as Atul Kharate, COO, Indian Oil Adani Ventures, Lijosh Jose, Supply Chain Analytics Lead, Mars APMEA, Soumov Kundu, Operations Director- East, DHL, and Nishant Srivastava, Chief Manager-Projects, Siemens, Mobility. The discussion was centered around the theme ‘Global South’s Role In the Fourth Industrial Revolution.’ They outlined three key aspects: the use of dashboards for efficient information flow, integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning for automation, and the incorporation of robotics.
The marketing panel included industry figures such as Shweta Srivastava, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Mahima Garg, Marketing Head India at T&C Amazon Web Services, and Aradhana Mehta, former Head of Marketing at Tasva Aditya Birla Group, Tarun Tahiliani. The focus was on ‘Crafting Connections: Weaving Stories in Marketing Mastery.’ The conversation emphasized how narratives redefine brand identities and shape consumer perceptions.
The Consulting X HR Panel ignited a compelling dialogue on “Synergy for the future: Unleashing the Global South’s Potential in the Tech-Driven Economy,” The panel featured stalwarts from the industry: Dr. SL Raj, Executive VP, Global Business Strategy and HR, Newgen Software, Dr. Rupesh Kumar Singh, Partner & COO, EY India, SAP Practice, Prasanth R Krishnan, Director, Avalon Global Research, Sreethala Ganapathy, Vice President, HR JP Morgan Chase, and Vishal Sharma, National Managing Director Deloitte Consulting India Pvt Ltd.
The panel conversation outlined the immense potential and challenges inherent in leveraging technology for the Global South’s growth, emphasizing the need for balanced, inclusive, and personalized approaches in embracing the tech-driven future.
The Business Leadership Summit, 2023 & Learning on the Green Turf, concluded as a success by leaving the audience a lot to ponder on. The perspectives gained and connections forged during this summit are poised to steer the course of the business landscape, shaping a future marked by inclusive growth and technological advancement.
