Future Starts with Us!

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) Bengaluru recently hosted its Annual Management Conclave, Alchemy 2016 – a two day event wherein eminent speakers from diverse industries share a common platform to share their views on where they see India in the distant future. This year’s theme for Alchemy was Quo Vadis India which translates into ‘Where are you going India’.

In all there were Four Keynote Speakers and Three Panel Discussions: ‘Running on Fumes’, ‘Destination: World?’ and ‘Digital Darwinism’. The Keynote speakers and Panelists were:

Day 1
Keynote Speaker #1: Prof. U.R Rao, Ex-Chairman, ISRO
Mr U.R Rao rightfully said, “We have come far today, from the Bullock cart Age to the Satellite Age. India is certainly headed towards greatness!”
Prof. Rao also mentioned that soon we will be able to colonize Mars. That is the next big idea which soon can turn into a reality. He proves that the world is not running out of ideas. We are still a baby, the Earth being our cradle. We have just started exploring our potential. Godspeed mankind!

Keynote Speaker #2: Mr. Subhabrata Ghosh, Founder and CEO, Celsius100
Mr. Ghosh, started off by jokingly saying, “I used to work in the advertising business which died right after I left.” He then proceeded to tell the students about our most valuable asset – the brain. He talked about the facets of the human brain and how it is hardwired to think in a certain pattern. Mr. Subhabrata Ghosh ended his Keynote address by saying that the young generation is the future and urged students to move beyond traditional ways of thinking.

Panel #1: Running on Fumes
Mr. Anumolu Balamurali Krishna, Consultant
Mr. Prajakt Raut, Co-Founder, Applyifi
Mr. R. Natrajan, CFO, RNT Capital Advisers
Mr. Rajagopal G, Founder CEO, Kites Health

Mr. Anumolu Balamurali Krishna aptly said, “If you are thinking about start-ups, right now is the time to start, especially in India.” The world will soon see many entrepreneurs creating jobs for all others.

Mr. Prajakt Raut in support said, “Everybody is a born entrepreneur. If you are willing to take up the opportunity, you will definitely become one.”

Mr. R. Natarajan said, “Your talent is your security, no one can steal it from you!”

Mr. Rajagopal G commented, “Entrepreneurs are always at crossroads, not start-ups”.
Day 2
Keynote Speaker #3: Mr. Sunder Madakshira, Head-Marketing, EdgeVerve
Mr. Madakshira gave a level-headed answer as how to proceed further when it comes to the future of India. He said “Every part of the engine has to fire for the rocket to take off. Every sector has to improve. I believe India is on a path of steady, inclined growth.”

Keynote Speaker #4: Mr. Srikar Reddy, MD & CEO, Sonata Software
Mr. Srikar Reddy in his Keynote address said “3D’s- Demographic, Democracy and Digital is what will drive India to its pinnacle. These are the factors which are in favour of India” Where other countries seem to lack, India has an abundance of strong will power and resilience. Moving further, he also mentioned the three critical ways for digital transformation of India, which are: Product Digitization, New Businesses Models, and Digital Transformation of Business Processes.

Panel #2: Destination: World?
Mr. Ashish Vaishnav, General Manager, Thermax
Mr. Vijay Kalra, Chief of Manufacturing Operations, Mahindra and Mahindra
Mr. R. Narayanan, Ex-Customer Head, Reliance Communications
Mr. Giridhar Rajagopalan, Group Editor, 9.9 Mediaworx
Mr. Deepak Dev, Co-Founder, EnPowerIndia Energy Solutions

Mr. R. Narayanan started off the discussion saying “Assimilation of cultural diversity is the main hindrance for a company to go global.”

A very pertinent question that every company needs to ask itself is “Are you going to be relevant in this competitive world?” said Mr. Ashish Vaishnav.

“Unless organizations embrace innovation, disruption is difficult in India.” added Mr. Giridhar Rajagopalan speaking on disruptive innovation in today’s time.
Moving on to global events Mr. Deepak Dev, Co-Founder commented by saying, “6 years to actual Brexit, but will affect us due to currency instability.” He also added, “Trump as president will have a positive effect on us, I believe.”

Lastly, Mr. Vijay Kalra ended the discussion by saying, “India is not far behind from being a world tech-leader.”

Panel #3: Digital Darwinism
Mr. Vinod Katkam, Senior Manager Software Development, NetApp
Mr. GBS Bindra, CEO, Charmboard
Mr. Kumar Rajendran, Director, Iron Mountain
Mr. Arun Mittal, PR & Brand Head, CashKaro.com

“Digital transformation should be more holistic and not myopic.” said Mr. Arun Mittal who believes that there are key players in the market who will end up becoming stars by the way of their thinking.

Mr. Kumar Rajendran rightfully said, “We’re lucky to live in an era where technology has made everything so easy.” But this does not mean that our work has finished. Ease of life knows no boundaries and it is true that the future generation will reap the benefits of hard work now.

“For companies to change, people have to change.” said Mr. Vinod Katkam. He added “People need to change with the emerging trends of the market for companies to survive in today’s world.”

Mr. GBS Bindra corroborated by saying “Larger the company, more difficult is the change.”

Disagreeing to that belief Mr. Vinod Katkam said that their company has been smart and agile enough to perceive the market and change accordingly.
All in all, every speaker came on stage and imbued the students with knowledge which will certainly help them look at the country in a new light. A fresh perspective is what was imparted to the management students.

Ms. Sweta Choudhary, coordinator Conferences and Events Committee, said “Rudimentary thinking will not lead us far. In order for us to see ourselves in glory, we must change the most fundamental thing – our thinking. Being on an international platform also dictates us to act our part. I am grateful to all those who helped us pull off this Conclave and make it a huge success.”

Tags: sibm SIBM Bengaluru