First-ever business leadership summit gets underway in Shillong

SHILLONG, Sept 15: The Indian Institute of Management, Shillong kick-started its first-ever business leadership summit on September 14. Themed ‘Refine, Define, and Design Business in a New India,’ the three-day conclave will host experts from various domains to give students keen insights into the industry.

Welcoming the chief guest, Governor of Meghalaya Tathagata Roy and announcing the conclave open, the Director of the Institute, Prof. Keya Sengupta highlighted the close linkage between industry and academics.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar also congratulated the Institute and its students over a recorded lecture and highlighted how an event such as the business leadership summit will promote the start-up and innovation culture in India by bringing together the energetic youth and the experienced industry veterans.

Chief guest Tathagata Roy talked about leadership being an aspect that goes to the very core of management. He said that motivation is the most important thing that can be taught to managers and that it is motivation which requires the greatest attention in the academic sphere. He also mentioned that graduates from a management institute can effectively use their managerial skills in the professional services, entrepreneurial, and public service domains.

The first session of the day, themed ‘Are financial assets the new gold for Indian Middle Class?’ gave IIM Shillong students a better idea of how the investment scenario in India has changed and how to go about planning one’s finances.

“People chase things which go up recently- gold was the then-Bitcoin, but with greater realism,” shared Dhirendra Kumar, founder and Chief Executive, Value Research talking about constantly soaring gold prices. He was followed by Nishit Shah, Chief Financial Officer of Infosys BPM who encouraged the MBA participants to aim retiring at the age of 40. “Create an aspiration, take the risk, and invest,” he said.

Calling holding cash a “dead investment”, Shah spoke about the time value of money and why the smartest route to make money is to start investing now. The final panelist for the session, Kotak Mahindra AMC CIO- Equity and Sr EVP Harsha Upadhyay, spoke about how the Indian affinity for gold was increasing the country’s current account deficit. “We shouldn’t worry about whether foreigners are investing in India. Even if we can get Indians to invest in India, that would be enough,” he said.

The panel touched upon a myriad of topics relevant to the audience, such as the importance of financial education and what not to do as an investor along with the payments bank revolution taking over India.

Over the next two days, IIM Shillong will host industry stalwarts as part of the Business Leadership Summit from fields and specializations such as consulting, human resource, and marketing for more such insightful sessions.