RAIPUR: The second day of IIM Raipur’s 6th Leadership Summit continued the immense knowledge and rigorous discussions of the first day. The event was graced by the presence of Dr. Sarveshwar Bhure, I.A.S, Collector & District Magistrate, Raipur as the Guest of Honour for the Valedictory Session, Prof. Ram Kumar Kakani, Director, IIM Raipur and Prof. Parikshit Charan, Chairperson, Corporate Relations, IIM Raipur, and leaders from various industries presented their thoughts driven from years of experience in their respective fields, exposing the students of the institute to the pandora’s box of their expertise.

The day started with a panel discussion on “Emerging Engines of the Future Indian Economy” moderated by Prof Kamal Jain, Dean (Academics) & Professor - HRM & Organizational Behaviour, IIM Raipur. Jay Mehta, Director, Deutsche Bank, focused on the importance of developing infrastructure and funding, calling them two pillars of credit and capital building. Ajit Chaturvedi, CEO, Hindustan Times Learning Centres, talked about the existing value chains that are emerging as engines of digitization such as semi-conductors and textile industries, and how the most important engine for growth are the people, the human resource of the country. Shri. Pradyumna Maheshwari, CFO, Carlsberg India Private Limited called India a sweet spot for the manufacturing industry and how it will lead to an increase in GDP toward our goal of becoming the second largest economy in the next 5 years. Dr. Bhavna Sapra, Head Strategy, Special Projects, Distribution and Capital Equipment India Hub, Boston Scientific, emphasised the Healthcare industry as an emerging engine for economic growth as it has the highest rising start-ups and plethora of growth prospects with growing demands.

The second panel of the day was on the topic “Strategy to drive Sustainability in an Era of Business Disruptions” moderated by Prof. Jagrook Dawra, Professor - Marketing, IIM Raipur. Dr. Suraj Bahirwani, President and Global Sales Head, Aditya Birla Grasim, kick-started the discussion saying that organizations today are in the process of understanding what sustainability means to them with climate change being their biggest threat. Shri. Lokesh Gowda, Vice President and General Manager, Optiv India, showed his passion for environmental sustainability as Optiv has sponsored rejuvenation of two lakes in Bangalore and is building a corridor for elephants. Ms. Karishma Gupta, Vice President - Finance, Jubilant Food works Ltd., stated the strong correlation between environment and businesses, how businesses must innovate and adapt to the environment around them, such as the energy generation industry is doing with solar panels. Shri. Sanjay Gupta, CFO & Head of Finance shared services, TIAA, said sustainability has two segments - endurance and longevity, with three factors – Plant, People, Profit, and a balance in them makes businesses sustainable. Ms. Divya Sonali Minz, Director HR, Avnet defined sustainability with disruptions with a simple ideology – when there is a flood, one can either take shelter, or one can build a windmill.

The third panel was on the topic “Decoding Integrated Logistics & Market Shifts for Driving Growth” moderated by Prof. Mohit Goswami, PhD Goswami (Moderator), Associate Professor-Operations & Quant. Methods, IIM Raipur. Deepak Jain, Director, Argon &Co., kickstarted the discussion with talking about technology and its importance in evolving supply chains. More and more companies are investing in new end-to-end technology for ease in logistics. Shri. Sachin Mathur, Sr Vice President SCM & Procurement, Dorf Ketal, highlighted the evolution of safety standards in logistics, which is necessary as the supply chain can help in building a business. Dinkar Singh, Director, UPS, highlighted the government’s point of view that logistics make the backbone of any economy, which was realised when logistics had to be shifted during the covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Arun Giri, Vice President SCM, Calderys India Refractories Limited, further praised the government’s initiative in developing and easing the way logistics are handled in the country in the form of transportation, customs, documentation and integration.

The day came to an end with an inspirational and motivating address from the Valedictory Session Guest of Honour Dr. Sarveshwar Bhure, I.A.S, Collector & District Magistrate, Raipur, as he drew similarities between his journey and that of management leaders. He emphasised on the importance of hard work and keenness for knowledge at every stage of one’s career and how to choose role models while carving your own path in life.

Prof. Parikshit Charan, Chairperson, Corporate Relations, IIM Raipur took the stage to express his gratitude towards all guests, panelists, management and faculty of the institute for their graceful presence and the value they added to the summit, hence concluding another successful edition of Leadership Summit by IIM Raipur.